text:
News articles about Treehouse Foods (NYSE:THS) have trended somewhat positive on Sunday, Accern reports. The research group ranks the sentiment of media coverage by reviewing more than 20 million news and blog sources. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Treehouse Foods earned a coverage optimism score of 0.01 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave media stories about the company an impact score of 47.559348327754 out of 100, indicating that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the immediate future.
These are some of the media stories that may have effected Accern’s analysis:
A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on THS shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Treehouse Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $84.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. Jefferies Group LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Treehouse Foods from $90.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 6th. Stephens lowered shares of Treehouse Foods from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Treehouse Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 7th. Finally, Vertical Research downgraded shares of Treehouse Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.89.
Shares of Treehouse Foods (THS) opened at $43.08 on Friday. Treehouse Foods has a 12 month low of $40.26 and a 12 month high of $90.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $2,464.82, a P/E ratio of 14.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.63.
Treehouse Foods (NYSE:THS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. Treehouse Foods had a positive return on equity of 6.61% and a negative net margin of 4.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. analysts anticipate that Treehouse Foods will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Treehouse Foods declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 2nd that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
In other news, Director Gary Dale Smith purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $42.64 per share, with a total value of $85,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,555.44. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sam K. Reed sold 11,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total transaction of $775,818.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,440 shares of company stock valued at $2,027,712. Insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.
WARNING: This news story was published by Dispatch Tribunal and is the sole property of of Dispatch Tribunal. If you are accessing this news story on another site, it was stolen and reposted in violation of U.S. & international copyright laws. The correct version of this news story can be read at https://www.dispatchtribunal.com/2017/11/12/treehouse-foods-ths-earning-somewhat-favorable-media-coverage-report-shows.html.
Treehouse Foods Company Profile
TreeHouse Foods, Inc is a consumer packaged food and beverage manufacturer. The Company’s segments include North American Retail Grocery, Food Away From Home, and Industrial and Export. The Company manufactures a range of shelf stable, refrigerated, fresh and frozen products. Its product categories include beverages, salad dressings, snack nuts, beverage enhancers, pickles, sauces, cereals, pasta and dry dinners, cookies and crackers, retail bakery, aseptic products, jams and other products.
Receive News & Ratings for Treehouse Foods Inc. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Treehouse Foods Inc. and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.


text:
The Electric Vehicle (EV) numbersis taking leaps in India, with rising sales as each year passes by. The Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) announced that the sales of EVs touched 22,000 (2,000 four wheelers and 20,000 two wheelers) for FY 2015-16. This marks a 37.5 per cent growth over the previous fiscal year.
SMEV stated that although the growth trend is positive, the intended target of 5-6 million EVs by 2020 as proposed by National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020 and FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles) will prove to be a difficult task. This is due to the lack of ground level infrastructure as well as complicated credit facilities for buying EVs.
Intentions at policy level abound but government at every level, be it Centre, State or Municipal, now has to go the extra mile to facilitate mass migration to green mobility," says Sohinder Gill, the director of corporate affairs at SMEV. Here, lack of charging stations are proving to be a bottleneck to the large scale migration of green mobility.
Gill stated that SMEV developed a technology to easily install a 1,000 charging stations in three months, across New Delhi. Each charging station costs Rs 30,000, reasonable enough to create an efficient network. Government backing is the missing piece of an otherwise completed puzzle.

domain: news


text:
IT departments have been struggling to support applications across a growing number of endpoints, from mobile devices to cloud and the Internet of Things. Yet they’re expected to deliver more, and faster.
That’s why more IT departments are looking to expose business logic as an API. Application programming interfaces have evolved; it’s no longer about exposing legacy services internally, but allowing corporate assets to be shared, reused or even resold to external parties.
This is becoming a critical component of business workflows across industries, from healthcare to government and financial services. Industry analysts say we’re seeing the rise of the API economy, where organizations can extend existing services, boost innovation and even create new revenue sources. APIs can also be used for competitive advantage to collect information and predict customer behaviour.
APIs allow external developers to create alternative applications for existing mobile and desktop platforms. And the API economy is being fuelled by the IoT, where interconnected devices — from parking meters to washing machines — connect to the cloud via APIs, turning data into useful, actionable information.
“The vast majority of digital business interactions will happen through APIs,” says research firm Gartner, “and these APIs will need to be tracked and managed, especially as the number of things consuming APIs spike up.” Gartner says application services governance and API management, delivered through software or cloud services, will help track, manage, monetize, extend and control APIs.
For many organizations, this is uncharted territory. They need to build a business case for APIs and provide value to customers, while ensuring those APIs are designed in a way that protects corporate and customer data. It’s essential to understand how data and services will be used externally; if handled incorrectly, it could lead to legal liabilities or expose security holes.
API management solutions allow organizations to create, publish and manage APIs on premise or in the cloud. Most offer a dashboard view to help govern, secure and monitor usage of APIs. But API management also involves new polices and procedures (and often new roles and responsibilities) to balance the user experience with security and privacy.
While there are challenges ahead, the API economy also offers new opportunities to transform and reinvent the way we do business.


text:
Telsey Advisory Group (TAG) upgraded Foot Locker to “Outperform” as the investment boutique expects the sneaker chain’s comps can turn positive as a strong lineup of product launches arrives.
“Although the athletic industry’s issues will likely linger into 1Q18, we feel like the worst is behind us and believe that Foot Locker acted quickly to adjust expenses, reorganize the business, and prioritize investments,” wrote Kelly Chen in a note to clients.
TAG raised its price target on Foot Locker to $56 from $44.
Overall, TAG listed Deckers, Foot Locker, Nike and Shoe Carnival as its top picks for 2018 in the sporting goods and footwear space.
“We expect the athletic space to pivot back to offense in 2018 as the market gets cleaned up ahead of a strong wave of innovation and events such as the World Cup,” Chen stated.
TAG expects Nike’s North American business to resume growth heading into its fiscal year ended May 31 2019, and believes that will boost Foot Locker’s top-line. TAG’s price target on Nike was raised to $71 from $68.
Deckers is expected to benefit from some of the reorganizational changes and cost-cutting initiatives it’s made as well as the recent cold weather. The recently-announced stock buyback, she believes, also hasn’t been reflected in Deckers’ stock. Deckers’ price target was increased to $96 from $84.
Chen added, “SHOO will be facing tough comparisons, but we think the company remains on trend and believe solid execution and share buybacks will enable the stock to climb higher.” TAG’s price target on Shoe Carnival was increased slightly to $52 from $51.
Photo courtesy Foot Locker


text:
Amazon and Alphabet’s healthcare arm Verily said it would let go some of its healthcare employees as an uncertain economy has been causing financial and operational challenges for tech companies.
Most recently, Verily said it would lay off 15 percent of its staff, sunset some of its healthcare projects and restructure its leadership.
“We cannot do everything and have had to make some difficult choices,” said Verily’s CEO, Stephen Gillett, in an email to employees on Jan. 11.
The healthcare unit will discontinue work on remote patient monitoring for heart failure and microneedles for drug delivery. The company will also say goodbye to long-time team member Jordi Parramon, who currently serves as the president of Verily’s devices businesses.
The restructuring comes as the company is looking to focus on areas of precision health, data and evidence.
Amazon is also letting go of some of its healthcare employees who worked on Amazon Care, the company’s in-person and virtual primary care services.
The company said back in August that it was planning to shutter the service on Dec. 31.
The shutdown caused 159 Amazon Care employees to lose their jobs, as well as 236 employees from standalone company Care Medical.
Care Medical employees were in charge of treating Amazon Care patients.
The layoffs come as Amazon deemed the service “not a complete enough offering” for large enterprise customers.


text:
The Genesee Brew House has released “the Grüngeist Pale Ale” as the latest installment of its Pilot Batch series.
“We wanted to offer a crisp, clean beer with the fresh, juicy flavor and aroma profile everyone loves in hoppy craft beers,” said Dean Jones, brewmaster at Genesee, in a statement. “Our Pilot Batch series is all about innovating classic styles in unexpected ways, and this beer is a truly unique offering that will surprise Genesee fans and craft beer drinkers alike.”
Grüngeist means Green Ghost in German. The new brew was created in partnership with Michigan-based Hop Head Farms LLC. The beer’s Grüngeist hop was imported from Germany.
“We were thrilled to partner with Genesee Brew House for the creation of the Grüngeist Pale Ale,” said Jim Passios, chief operating officer of Hop Head Farms. “Dean’s creative exploration of innovative brews with the Pilot Batch series drew us to bring this unique hop to Genesee.”
Follow Kerry Feltner on Twitter: @KerryFeltner
(c) 2017 Rochester Business Journal. To obtain permission to reprint this article, call 585-363-7269 or email [email protected].


text:
Rapes in India have become a common affair and even after the entire Nirbhaya gangrape incident, things haven’t changed. In fact, the latest Hathras incident is proof that women and even little girls aren’t completely safe in India.
There are several of us who do call out against these actions but has anyone of us done anything yet? The answer would be a straight no. However, Siddharth Mandala who in 2015, at the age of 15 decided that enough was enough.
Siddharth’s mother was one of the women who partook the protests and campaigns during the Nirbhaya incident. In fact, he at the age of 12 was also a part of protests alongside his mother.
In 2015, Siddharth started to think of ways to do something that would stop rapes. It was then when he decided to use the Piezoelectric effect which turns mechanical stress into electrical energy. This was his base for a footwear which he named as the Electroslipper. It took him 17 attempts and 2 years to perfect the Electroslipper.
He said that it may be that women forget to carry a pepper spray or a swiss knife, a taser, but no one forgets wearing shoes before leaving from home.
The Electroslipper is battery operated and has a GPS device as well, it will first electrocute the attacker and even send the location of the one wearing it to family members and even the police.


text:
Cleafy, an Italian provider of fraud prevention technology for digital banking, has raised €10 million in funding led by United Ventures through the fund UV T-Growth.
As part of the investment, Cleafy's parent company, Movri group, will retain a minority stake while relinquishing control.
Founded in 2014, Cleafy's technology proactively detects and prevents online banking fraud in real-time.
The firm protects over 100 million users through deals with the likes of Findomestic by BNP Paribas, ING Bank Romania and illimity Bank.
The new money will be used for product development and expansion into new markets.
Fabio Pirovano, partner at United Ventures, says: "We believe that Cleafy's technology has the potential to transform the way we approach online security and we look forward to working with the team to help them achieve their vision."


text:
BMW Star in MoneySupermarket Car of the Year Competition
Join Date: Dec 2001
BMW may not have picked up the overall honour of producing the ‘MoneySupermarket.com Car of the Year’, but they were the outright stars of the competition; picking up more points from the judges than any other manufacturer.
This was the first time that MoneySupermarket.com have run this competition, with the company asking some of the most respected motoring experts on the internet to vote for their top ten best cars of the past 12 months. Each nomination was awarded points, with ten points being handed to the car in 1st place and 1 point to the car in 10th.
Volkswagen’s new UP! model was the overall winner of the competition, a win which it shares with the Seat mii and Skoda Citigo which both use the same chassis and engine combination. However, it was an incredibly close competition with the BMW 3-Series missing out on outright victory by just two points. The 3rd place Range Rover Evoque was a further 26 points adrift in a distant 3rd.
Bimmerfest was delighted to be one of the judges on the competition, and actually included the BMW 3-series in its nominations commenting that it set a new standard for sport sedans. This was an opinion which was shared widely amongst the judges, even those who are not overly supportive of BMW. Many commented on the superior build quality of the 3-series, with buyyourcar.co.uk describing it as completely “faultless”. The 320d also proved to be popular judges thanks to its Efficient Dynamics technology which has significantly improved its fuel economy. This seemed to be a very significant factor which was taken into consideration by judges as fuel prices continue to rise.
Two other BMW models featured in the top 20, with the BMW 1 series just missing out on the top 10 in 11th place and the ever popular BMW M5 in 18th. This all helped make BMW the most popular manufacturer overall and undoubtedly points to a prosperous 2013 for the brand.
The popularity of BMW cars and the outright victory of the VW UP! helped ensure that Germany was the most successful nation overall; with German manufacturers racking up more than double the number of points of Japanese manufacturers.
Image source: MoneySupermarket Car Insurance


text:
Want to join the conversation?
$CXW, owner of partnership correctional, detention, and reentry facilities, said its BoD declared a quarterly dividend of $0.54 per share. The dividend will be paid on July 15, 2016 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on July 1, 2016.
For the past few years, $AAPL has been buying domains with the iCloud name. According to a report from TechCrunch, the latest acquisition was of the domain name iCloud.net.
$AAPL just released the first look of its $5 billion Cupertino campus, now named Apple Park. Take a look.
Looking forward to the first $TSLA earnings after SolarCity acquisition.


text:
Congratulations on a great honor
When Mateus Barioni lifts his voice in song, ears stand up and take notice.
His talents were recently recognized with his selection to the National Honor Mixed Choir. The Lincoln High School senior joins a select group. He apparently is one of two Stockton students to be selected for the honor. The other student, Janell Reyner, was selected in 2014. She also was a Lincoln High student.
“They’re not just looking for pretty voices,” said Paul Kimball, a Lincoln High School music teacher. “They’re looking for complete musicians, beautiful voices that can sing with expression, sing in a foreign language, someone that can read spots off the notes.”
From that description it appears the National Association for Music Education judges made a selection that was spot on.
A light in remembrance
It’s well into the holiday season, and there are only 17 shopping days until Christmas, but let the recent annual Hospice of San Joaquin Tree of Lights ceremony serve as a reminder of what the season is all about.
For the 400 people who attended the 29th annual ceremony, it was an opportunity to remember lost loved ones.
The lights of the tree at San Joaquin Delta College and of other trees elsewhere “bring comfort and the assurance that their loved ones will receive the best possible support and care in their journey with the ones they love as have those who remember their loved ones having journeyed with them,” said Jim Russow, with Hospice of San Joaquin.
Lighting ceremonies were held elsewhere in the county. There is a ceremony scheduled for tonight in Lodi. Take time out, if you like, to remember a loved one.
Sad to see it go
It’s sad to see any business in Stockton close. The news that REI in Stone Creek Village is scheduled to shutter its doors next year is unwelcome news to the outdoors lovers who shopped at the member-owned co-op.
The nine-year-old 23,000 square-foot facility served as an anchor store at the retail center at Pacific Avenue and Robinhood Drive.
And although REI, which has 147 stores in 36 states, reported record revenues in 2016, the Stockton location became a victim of the “challenging” retail landscape.
Other stores in the area offer similar goods, including the Utah-based Sportsman’s Warehouse, which opened a store at Park West Place in Stockton in August.
It is hoped that a new tenant for the REI location is found quickly.
Bionic babe rides again
She is an unsung hero who rides her bicycle 200 miles as easily as some ride around the block. Yet in her real job she goes about helping the visually impaired navigate in a world made for those who can see. Joni Bauer, mobility specialist for the Community Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, teaches people “to get from point A to point B without getting run over by a Mack Truck.” It doesn’t look easy, and it’s not. But it is more than Bauer’s job, it is also her passion. In 40 years with the center, she has taught, preached and advocated for her clients and the community. In her spare time she does 200-mile bicycle rides. Three of those rides in a year is known in the cycling community as a Triple Crown. Completing 50 double century rides, as they are known, will get you into the California Triple Crown Hall of Fame. Bauer is a hall of famer. And if you’re wondering, she has done more than 60 double century rides, hence her cycling nickname: the Bionic Babe.


text:
At the beginning of June the Chicago Sun-Times fired its entire photography staff. Their reasoning? Well, all the reporters now have iPhones, and therefore they can shoot photos to accompany stories. Ignoring for a moment what this says about the Sun-Times' view of the photojournalists, how is that ...
The next time you visit your local Walgreens store to get a prescription, find pain relief, choose laxatives or buy "Walker Balls," you may get help from an iPad-toting Walgreens employee called a "health guide." Walgreens, based in Deerfield, IL, is testing a new service in 16 stores in the ...
Uncle Walt has weighed in, and most of the other big tech pundits are starting to weigh in on the Apple iPad. The Chicago Sun Times columnist and Mac geek extraordinaire Andy Ihnatko has offered his input, not only in the first of what he says will be many posts about the device, but also in an ...
Subscribe to Newsletter
Software Updatesmore updates
- Readdle rolls out PDF Expert 5: iCloud support, shared folder with Documents by Readdle
- FlightTrack 5: new look and features just in time for holiday travel
- HBO Go for iOS update adds Google Chromecast support
- Haiku Deck updates iPad app, launches web-based cloud version
- Weather Underground iPhone app gets crowdsourced weather, iOS 7 style
- Apple updates iMovie, adds support for older Macs


text:
Inkblot Studios Signs A Multi-Year Contract With Amazon Prime Video
After announcing a Netflix production contract earlier this year, this will be Inkblot’s second streaming partnership.
By Omotayo Olutekunbi
Inkblot Productions, a Nigerian film production business, has confirmed Amazon Prime Video’s first Nollywood distribution agreement.
According to various sources, the business formed by Damola Ademola, Zulumoke Oyibo, and Chinaza Onuzo recently struck a multiyear partnership that would give Amazon Prime Video exclusive distribution rights to the company’s 2022 theatrical films.
‘Moms At War 2’, ‘The Set Up 2’, ‘New Money 3’, and new releases like ‘Charge and Bail,’ ‘Superstar,’ and ‘The Blood Covenant’ are among the games already licensed by the streaming service.
Ayanna Lonian, director of content acquisition and head of global major studio licensing strategy at Prime Video, spoke about the new alliance.
“We know Prime Video customers around the world love movies and this new deal with Inkblot Studios will deliver some of the best Nigerian and African films available for our customers.”
“Nigerian stories are truly some of the most exciting and thrilling in the world. The Inkblot deal will allow us to deliver great Nigerian movies, post their theatrical release in Nigeria, to our global audience, and will continue to build upon Prime Video’s catalog and goal to delight Prime members,” he added.
Chinaza Onuzo, co-founder Inkblot Studios, shared: “At Inkblot Studios, we produce some of the biggest and most creative, original films in the Nigerian film industry.
“We are very excited about the opportunity to showcase our films to Amazon Prime Video’s over 200 million members. We believe that Nigerian films have a truly global appeal and are thrilled to be working with Amazon Prime Video to deliver the very best in entertainment worldwide.”
In November, during the 2021 AFRIFF, Amazon made its first public presence in Nollywood.
Follow Our Activities On Facebook
6 hours ago
7 hours ago
8 hours ago
Jabeur’s injury curtails Serena Williams’ comeback
By Nmachi Dike Serena Williams and Ons Jabeur have withdrawn from the Eastbourne doubles because of a right knee injury…
CBN Freezes Risevest, Bamboo, Trove and Chaka Bank Account.
Central Bank of Nigeria has frozen the accounts of Risevest, Bamboo, Trove, and Chaka founders for the next six months.
Hacklab Foundation Partners BlueAfric Media to Host AI Hackathon in Nigeria
The largest hackathon in West Africa is set to take place in Lagos, Nigeria, with BlueAfric Media at the forefront of communications for the event.


text:
November 15, 2003
State Health Department Issues Health Warning on
Lead-Contaminated Chapulines (Grasshoppers)
Consumers, particularly pregnant women and children, should avoid eating
chapulines (grasshoppers) from Oaxaca, Mexico, because they may contain
excessively high levels of lead that could cause serious health problems,
State Health Director Diana M. Bontá, R.N., Dr.P.H., warned today.
"Lead is toxic to humans, especially infants, young children and developing
fetuses, in both short- and long-term exposures," said Bontá. "Lead can
cause damage to the central nervous system, resulting in learning
disabilities and behavioral disorders that could last a lifetime."
Residents from some regions of Mexico eat chapulines (chap-oo-lean-ès) as a
traditional snack food. Chapulines are usually prepared with ingredients
such as garlic, salt, lime juice or a red chili powder coating. They are not
widely available in commercial distribution and usually brought into the
United States by individuals who have recently visited Oaxaca or other parts
The product, often a dull red color, is sold in small, unlabeled bags at
Hispanic retail food stores, in restaurants and at flea markets. The public
and sellers of chapulines are encouraged to contact the California
Department of Health Services (CDHS) at (916) 445-2264 to provide
information that can assist public health investigators in learning more
about the potential threat that the product poses to children.
Recent analysis of chapulines from Oaxaca, Mexico, showed that they may
contain as much as 2,300 micrograms of lead per gram of product. The U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended that children under age 6
should consume on average no more than 6.0 micrograms of lead each day from
all food sources. A young child eating one of these highly contaminated
chapulines could ingest nearly 60 times his or her tolerable daily intake
for lead. While some of the chapulines analyzed contained no detectable
lead, consumers have no practical way of determining if the product is
contaminated with lead. The source of lead in the chapulines from Oaxaca is
under investigation CDHS began investigating the product after it was
referred to the department by the Monterey County Health Department. County
investigations of several lead poisoning cases involving children determined
that the children were eating chapulines. CDHS investigators are working
with FDA and local health departments to ensure that the wholesale and
retail food industries are aware of the potential hazards associated with
lead in foods.
Parents of children who may have consumed chapulines should consult with
their physician or health care provider to determine if further testing is
warranted. For more information about lead poisoning, parents may contact
their local childhood lead poisoning prevention program or local public
health department. Additional information and a list of local lead
prevention programs are also available at DHS' Web site at: http://www.dhs.cahwnet.gov/childlead/
or by calling the California Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch in
Oakland at (510) 622-5000.


text:
One of the raging topics that have been going around is the fire in the Amazon forest. There are instances of so many fires in Brazil this year- about 76% more than the last year, the count going up to 72,000 incidents. The intensity of the fire is such that the skies of Sao Paulo have turned black due to the smoke rising from the fire which is 2,700 km away. Online platforms are buzzing with some misleading photos and facts. Let us try to clear some of the misinformation in our blog.
While some fires are expected in the dry season of Brazil in Amazon jungle, many of them are believed to have been started deliberately. President Bolsonaro is not transparent and has still not condemned deforestation. Moreover, he openly supports clearing the Amazon for agriculture and mining. The smaller groups of people are also responsible for starting the fires than the big corporations. More than 20 percent of the Amazon rainforest is already gone, and much more is severely threatened as the destruction continues.
It was also stated that, so far this year 228 megatonnes of carbon dioxide has been released into the atmosphere which is highest since 2010. The forest is burning since July but the trend on social media started recently because of #PrayforAmazonas and #PrayforAmazonia hashtag. Why? The first real sign was reported when smoke from the Amazon fire hit Sao Paulo causing a daytime blackout on 19th August. From that day the hashtag became the trending topic all over the social media handles.
The size of a football pitch is lost every minute due to fire in the Amazon forest.
Many people quoted in their social media handles that Amazon produces 20% of the world’s oxygen. But academics say that this is a very big misconception. The figure is less than 10%. The majority proportion of the world’s oxygen is produced by plankton. According to 2018 satellite data compiled by a deforestation monitoring program called Prodes, amazon deforestation has hit its highest rate in a decade.
Talking about the effect of these amazon fire on global weather, well there will be an immediate effect of fire on the climate of South America leading to less rainfall and more prolong dry seasons. The Paris climate deal which aims to limit average temperature rise to below two degrees will be more difficult to achieve. For most of human history, Amazon rainforest deforestation was primarily the product of subsistence farmers who cut down trees to produce crops for their families and local consumption.


text:
We Are Social’s Monday Mashup #37
Facebook’s Foursquare competitor is imminent
A spokesperson for Facebook has confirmed to CNET that the social network plan to launch their geolocation ‘check-in’ feature within the next few months. The feature will take the form of an application programming interface (API) for third-party companies on the Facebook developer platform which integrates the current ‘check-in’ setups more deeply within the service thus permitting a more location-aware data to become a key part of the existing platform applications.
Multiple sources say that Facebook has teamed up with Localeze, the local-search company which is behind Twitter’s “places” directory. This is what allow Twitter uses to add their location to their tweets if they are tweeting from a location-enabled device.
Twitter launches official ‘Tweet’ button
As rumoured last week, Twitter has launched it’s own official Tweet button for third-party sites to use. There have been numerous unofficial buttons that publishers and bloggers have been making use of for a while, and the maker of the most popular unofficial button, TweetMeme, have announced that they have been working with Twitter in creating the official sharing option.
MySpace revamps user homepage yet again
Former Social Networking leader MySpace have rolled out a redesign of their user homepage. The new look focuses on content discovery through the stream and it also features notable sharing tools. The new revamp was launched earlier today to all users, it’s part of the company’s new effort to showcase all of that MySpace has to offer. According Christina Wodtke, General Manager of Myspace, the new homepage is an attempt to portray to users what’s cool and interesting on the MySpace network.
Twitter usage doubles, big in Indonesia, Brazil and Venezuela
comScore have released a new research report on the growth of Twitter worldwide. The study has identified that in June, almost 93 million users had visited the site which is an increase of over 109% from the previous year. The social network gained vast popularityacross all global regions in the past few months. The report highlights Indonesia as the country with the highest penetration, with 20.8% of Internet users using Twitter in that month, followed by Brazil and Venezuela. Venezuela’s growth is attributed to President Hugo Chavez’s decision to join Twitter in April.
Gap offer 25% discount for all customers that check-in via Foursquare
American clothing retailer Gap have teamed up with Foursquare to offer a unique discount for it’s customers who check-in to its retail stores. By doing so the customers will receive a 25% discount on the prices for all their clothes. This deal was initially only valid for the 14th August but the retailer has since extended the promotion until the 22nd and included Facebook and Twitter users in the promotion. Grab your smartphone and run down to your local Gap store if you want get your shop on.
Pet-food brand Pedigree find social media more effective than on-pack promo
Pedigree have recently adopted social media as the main focus of its marketing strategy after discovering it was more effective than on-pack promotions. The company said it has stopped using on-pack donation invites and TV ads to promote its annual donation campaign for pet adoption. Their reasoning for this change is because social media encourages engagement and direction whereas traditional channels only deliver reach. In one month, the campaign had generated over 100,000 video views and 27,192 ‘likes’ on Facebook.
Save the Children use ‘mummy bloggers’ to highlight Bangladesh plight
Save the Children have decided to take three of the UK’s best known ‘mummy bloggers’ to Bangladesh in order to highlight the fact that almost 9 million children are dying every year before they reach their fifth birthday. The bloggers will be tweeting, creating video and photo galleries as well as writing about their experiences direct from the country. They will meet with Bangladeshi mums to find out what measures the country has taken to stop these deaths.
Conservative MP threatens campaign group for publishing email address
Tory MP for Esher and Walton Dominic Raab is threatening legal action against 38 Degrees for displaying his email address on their ‘contact MP’ email system. 38 Degrees, a campaign group that have been working together to make all MPs more accountable for voters and now the first MP has got in touch to tell them that he doesn’t want his constituents to be able to contact him via email. The irony of the situation is that Raab claims to be “ready to serve every community…”. Of course, this only matters if emailing MPs actually makes a difference, which was publicly questioned in the Guardian this week.
[disclosure: 38 Degrees is a We Are Social client]


text:
Most of the nation’s retailers on Thursday reported improved sales in February, topping expectations in a month hit hard by winter weather and sharply higher gasoline prices.
The Thomson Reuters overall index that tracks sales of retail stores open at least a year rose 4.2 percent in February.
“It doesn’t meant there are no headwinds, but I think this is moving in the right direction,” said Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics, which had forecast a 3.7 percent rise last month in sales at stores open at least a year, a crucial indicator called same-store sales.
“Sales might have been even better had we not seen this precipitous rise in gas prices,” Mr. Perkins said. “It is certainly on consumers’ minds. People are really starting to notice $3.50 a gallon in some parts of the country. If it is sustainable and goes to $4, it is really going to have an effect.”
Weather was also a factor. Mr. Perkins said winter weather might have dampened shopping in the early part of the month but there was a progressive pickup in sales from the middle of the month because of pent-up demand, shopping for Valentine’s Day and during the Presidents’ Day holiday.Continue reading the main story
Within the various sectors of the index, apparel retailers recorded a 5.6 percent increase, but that number was skewed somewhat because it did not include Gap, which recorded a decline. The department store index was up 5.3 percent and the index for discount stores was up 4.9 percent.
Among the department stores, Saks was up 15.3 percent, while Nordstrom’s sales rose 7.3 percent, with jewelry, dresses and women’s shoes among the top-performing categories. Sales were strongest in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, Nordstrom’s said. J.C. Penney rose 6.4 percent, and Kohl’s had a 5 percent gain. All of those results topped expectations.
Limited Brands, which owns Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works, had a 12 percent gain, which also topped forecasts.
The retail sector has been struggling as rising commodity costs and stubborn unemployment have held back the discretionary spending of consumers, and retailers have responded in recent months with discounting and promotions.
Economists say that an oil price rise because of recent turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa could hit consumers if it is sustained, a point reinforced earlier this week by the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, in testimony on Capitol Hill. Retail gasoline prices have risen more than 20 cents in the last week.
A dichotomy for the month was highlighted by the results of Stage Stores, where same-store sales declined 7.2 percent in February, the largest fall of the 25 retailers in the Reuters survey.
But Andy Hall, president and chief executive of Stage Stores, noted the difference between the first of the month and the end of the month in a web cast.
“We were pleased with the way the business performed in the second half of the month, with comparable-store sales up approximately 10 percent,” Mr. Hall said. “Unfortunately, this was not enough to offset the weakness we experienced in the first half of February, as a result of extreme weather conditions in the center of the country, most notably Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri, which represent close to 51 percent of our comparable-store sales base.”
Dillard’s slipped 1 percent, saying sales in the home and furniture category and the men’s category were significantly below trend during the four-week period ended Feb. 26.
Among retailers aimed at teenagers, Zumiez had a 12.8 percent gain, driven by sales in footwear and accessories but held back by boys’ apparel, the company said in a webcast.
“Teen retailers were especially strong, which is a reflection of consumers responding to new spring fashion,” said Randal J. Konik, a managing director for Jefferies & Company.
But he said he was surprised that the Old Navy unit of Gap had a 4 percent decline.
“It could be early signals of consumer hesitancy responding as a result of these higher oil and gas prices that have been in the headlines,” Mr. Konik said.
Gap’s comparable same-store sales fell 3 percent, including online sales, but net sales were down 2 percent. Mark Webb, the vice president for investor relations, said in a recorded call that sales were strongest in the fourth week of the month and weakest in the first. He said the company was “not pleased” with the result, but added: “It is a relatively small month and we remain focused on our full-year goals.”Continue reading the main story


text:
Bob Lutz returned from retirement to head up General Motors Company’s marketing and communication – and he’s not about to slack off on the job either.
Six months from now, “if GM ads look the same as they did six months ago then somebody really needs to ask, ‘Why is Lutz here?'” Lutz said in an interview with Automotive News.
He said that he wants “recapture the attention of the American public” and said that ad agencies that don’t come through will be put up for review. He said that his plan includes changing the way GM works with its ad agencies and shifting to a more product-driven advertising.
Lutz said that he will also give GM designers the power to have influence on the overall look and feel of a campaign of a new vehicle launch. He said he will also use the Internet to develop viral ad campaigns.
“We have to move fast, and we have to move powerfully because we’re coming from behind,” Lutz said. “We have this obstacle to overcome called negative perception.”
– By: Kap Shah


text:
While this is not an endorsement for Ron Paul, we can still applaud his stance on freedom of choice in the food supply.
Until next time,
(NaturalNews) In a recent town hall meeting in New Hampshire, Presidential candidate Dr. Ron Paul spoke on Health Freedom and the Constitutional rights of Americans to buy and sell natural food, like raw milk, which hasn’t been tainted with chemicals, hormones, or cooked until completely void of nutrients.
Ron Paul represents the polar opposite of nearly every politician in control of legislation today. Most politicians accept legal bribes (called lobbying) from the big pharmaceutical companies that lead the proliferation of prescription drugs in America, the third leading cause of death. Not only has Ron Paul introduced legislation to repeal the FDA’s prohibition of interstate sales of raw milk, he consistently reminds everyone that Government should not have control over our food choices.
The loudest applause came when Ron Paul spoke about the regulations on raw milk sales. He explained how the FDA does not “take care of us” but rather interferes with our choices by collaborating with special interests. It’s the drug and insurance companies that keep a stranglehold on the American chronic care management system, which doesn’t cure anything, but rather treats symptoms with dangerous pharmaceuticals.
The real reason the FDA bans raw milk sales and shipping is because pasteurized, homogenized and rBGH (hormone-laden) milk poses horrible dangers to the public, and when diseases and outbreaks rise up, like with chicken and beef, the FDA will use raw milk as their scapegoat, saying they tried “to contain and limit its distribution.” It’s also all about competition, and raw food enthusiasts and nutrition experts all know that live food keeps you healthy, and dead food makes you sick.


text:
I was intrigued by an interview on Sky News last week with Tamsin Omond, an environmental campaigner from Climate Rush. A keen supporter of levying a 5p charge on plastic carrier bags, she claimed that in Wales—where such a law has been in force since October 2011—“use of these bags has fallen by 95 per cent.”
This is a remarkable and barely believable statistic and the Sky presenter looked suitably sceptical (see video below from 3 minutes in). “It fell by 95 per cent?!? Over how long a period?” Osmond replied that “because it’s only been in place for a quarter of the year, use fell by 22 per cent over the last quarter...” “So you extrapolate that through?” “Exactly.”
Hmm. That’s quite an extrapolation. If we look at the figures, we can see that the average number of plastic bags used in Wales fell from 9.7 per person in 2010 to 7.6 per person in 2011. This, indeed, is a drop of 22 per cent. Such declines are not unprecedented. Plastic bag use fell by 22.5% in England in 2008, for example (presumably because of the credit crunch), but since Wales was the only part of the union to record a significant fall in use in 2011, it is reasonable to assume that the plastic bag charge played a role.
But does this equate to a 95 per cent reduction overall? To reach this figure, the campaigners have assumed that there was no decline in plastic bag use until the 5p charge came in on October 1st. If so, the annual rate could only have fallen by 22 per cent if the last quarter saw plastic bag use plummet by 95 per cent. They further assume that plastic bag use will remain at a five per cent of the pre-levy rate throughout 2012 and forevermore.
This logic does not stand up to scrutiny. Firstly, the basic maths is wrong. If the levy introduced in the final quarter was responsible for the entirety of the 2011 drop, it would mean an 88 per cent decline in that quarter, not 95 per cent. This would be nit-picking if the other assumptions were sound, but they are not. There is no reason to believe that plastic bag use was not already declining in the previous quarters. In the months running up to the 5p levy, the government, shops and the supermarkets informed the public that the charge was about to be introduced and it is fair to assume that people were already being weaned off free carrier bags to some extent before October 1st.
Moreover, the last quarter of the year is not a typical retail period. The pre-Christmas period is the food and retail sector’s busiest time (see graph below from the Office for National Statistics) and, therefore, it is the period in which a disproportionately large number of plastic bags are consumed. Doubtless, the plastic bag levy led to fewer bags being used between October and December, but it is wrong to assume that the decline in the absolute number of bags used will continue during quieter shopping months when fewer bags are used overall. That, however, is exactly what campaigners have done.
Looking at the survey data, it seems clear that the 5p levy did not lead to a 95 per cent reduction in plastic bag use, nor anything close to it. Figures from the British Retail Consortium show that “the number of shoppers [in Wales] who said they had used their own bags on their last supermarket trip rose from 61% in September 2011 to 82% by April 2012.” In other words, the number of people who didn’t use their own bags in supermarkets fell by half. This is all well and good, but it is some distance from 95 per cent. Research from Cardiff University found that “the number of people who always take their own bags when shopping rose in Wales from 27% (42% in supermarkets) before the introduction of the charge to 43% (64% in supermarkets) afterwards”. This is an increase of about 50 per cent and many would applaud it, but it is not congruent with the claimed 95 per cent drop in plastic bag use.
None of this is intended to suggest that the Welsh policy is necessarily misguided. Clearly, there has been a marked decline in plastic bag use which many would welcome. Equally, we know that such laws have unintended consequences, such as the tenfold increase in the sale of black bin bags in Ireland after similar legislation was introduced in 2002. The point is that policy should be based on sound evidence rather than hyperbolic claims from special interest groups. It is easy to bandy impressive figures around, but when one digs a little deeper, they often turn out to be built on weak foundations. Time will tell what effect the Welsh levy has had, but the available evidence suggests that the 95 per cent figure is a junk statistic based on dodgy mathematics and unsound assumptions which should not be taken seriously.


text:
U.S. drone producer Impressed Flight has launched a made in the united statesA. various to the DJI M600, applicable for U.S. Division of Protection (DoD) missions: the IF1200. The IF1200 Hexacopter is a model new, federally compliant heavy-lift drone. “Supporting payloads as much as 8kg raise capability and with flight occasions as much as 40 minutes, the IF1200 […]
The submit U.S. Drone Manufacturer Inspired Flight Designs DJI M600 Alternative appeared first on DRONELIFE.


text:
Can Costco save Blue Apron?
Blue Apron is still working to turn its business around, and it's hoping Costco can help.
Blue Apron said during its first quarter earnings report that it has started selling meal kits at Costco. The company is hoping that a multi-channel strategy with retailers can help it grab more customers. The meal kit provider has been losing customers for several quarters but reported Thursday that it had seen a 5% increase in customers during the first quarter ended March 31.
Net revenue increased 5% sequentially from the fourth quarter of 2017 as Blue Apron reaccelerated its marketing efforts.
“We are pleased with the progress we achieved this quarter, including significant improvement in operational efficiencies as reflected by our margin performance, which was the strongest we have seen since the second quarter of 2016,” said Brad Dickerson, Chief Executive Officer, Blue Apron Holdings Inc. “We also improved our customer metrics as we began to methodically reaccelerate marketing late last year, with a specific focus on attracting new customers with high affinity as well as deepening our engagement with current customers.”
Blue Apron said average revenue per customer was $250 in the first quarter of 2018 compared to $236 in the first quarter of 2017, and $248 in the fourth quarter of 2017.
“We look forward to building on this momentum as we continue to optimize our direct-to-consumer business, create new products that complement our core offering, and leverage new distribution channels––including our newly launched pilot program with Costco––to expand the reach of our strong brand to more households across the country,” Dickerson said.
Net revenue at Blue Apron increased 5% quarter-over-quarter reflecting the company's methodical reacceleration of its marketing efforts and advanced product merchandising capabilities in the first quarter of 2018.
Net revenue decreased 20% year-over-year to $196.7 million in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the first quarter of 2017, driven primarily by a decrease in Customers and Orders following the deliberate pullback in marketing spend in the second half of 2017, as Blue Apron builds toward momentum in the business in 2018.
Blue Apron said earlier this year it will make its kits available in supermarkets by year end.


text:
Before we say anything, let us publicly thank Miss Fabulous herself, Kate at the Nautical by Nature blog for tipping us on where to get the scooop about those darling dresses worn by Malia and Sasha Obama on election night. Below, a photo of the future First Family on Tuesday night.
As we reported on Thursday, (although at that time we were not entirely convinced it was actually the same dress), the bright red dress worn by Malia Obama is by Biscotti, Inc. The full name of the item is the Biscotti Girls Precious Jewels Christmas Party Dress with Bubble Hem.
“Buyers really, really wanted it. We found out we had more of the fabric so we’re quickly producing more,” said Bernadette Reiss, Biscotti’s co-owner. The label says it has enough fabric to make 150 to 200 more pieces.
Here is the Nordstrom photo, followed by a tight shot of the belt that comes with the dress, although Malia opted for a more understated belt.
The dress is made in Vietnam, and Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan’s story notes that this additional run now being manufactured should be available in stores in approximately three weeks.
The story reports that an Obama family spokesperson says the dress was purchased at Nordstrom, which is where we originally showed the item, available at $110. Best Dressed Child also shows the dress, but at $104. While this style does appear to be sold out/selling out fast, there are a number of *very* similar styles by Biscotti, including this one; the primary difference is in the sleeves and the big bow in the back. We show the dress as available at ‘Shop Girl Super Chic Boutique‘.
Here is one of the matching cardigans or shrugs in the Biscotti Girls Precious Jewels Christmas Party group.
We now move on to the incredibly sweet party frock with the giant bow on the front worn by Sasha Obama. We have deliberately kept the photo almost full-size to better show the dress.
It turns out the dress is made by Gerson & Gerson, Inc., according to another story on the Journal’s fashion blog. The company’s headquarters and showroom are in New York; their apparel is made under the Iris & Ivy label as well as the Bonnie Jean name.
Here is a photo from the Gerson & Gerson website; the URL may also show up in your browser as “Bonnie Jean.” Gerson is the parent company to that line.
Ms. Tan’s story includes company President Barbara Zein’s plans for exploiting the Sasha Obama connection to their dress:
“Ms. Zein already has plans to further capitalize on the Obama connection. “We’re bringing back the style immediately in a different fabrication,” says Ms. Zein, who adds that the pieces will probably be in stores by spring. To cement the link to the new First Family, she’s given the style a name: Sasha.”
TP believes there is a very fine line between smart, aggressive marketing and the boundaries of good taste. Ms. Zein’s toe just went over it.
Above all, the Obama children looked beautiful and were charming throughout the evening. Below, a behind the scenes photo shows Sasha giving big sister Malia a little kiss as Mom watches.
There is an entire album of behind-the-scenes photographs available for anyone to view at the Flckr website.
Another tidbit from Tuesday night we hadn’t shared (for space considerations) is the Vogue magazine chatter. Below, a fun shot of Vogue magazine’s editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley, via Fashion Week Daily’s story. TP loved reading this if only for the knowledge she was not hallucinogenic Tuesday evening when watching the events in Grant Park.
“Rumor has it André Leon Talley is just dying to get his hands on Michelle Obama. The New York Post reports he wants to style her, like he did Venus Williams for the Costume Institute gala or Jennifer Hudson at the 2007 Oscars. Only ALT’s not always spot-on with his wardrobe choices; many critics flat-out hated the gold python bolero jacket Hudson wore at said Oscars. And some Democrats are a wee bit nervous that Talley might lead Obama to fashion faux pas–dom as well. (Since when did these politicos become so fashion-conscious?)”
But the real chatter involves Ms. Obama appearing on Vogue’s cover, a tradition for First Ladies, although not always immediately following the elction. Another celebrity in the VIP area of Chicago’s Grant Park Tuesday was super-celebrity Oprah Winfrey.
We have to post this photo collage because we just didn’t realize all the magazine covers featuring the President-elect prior to the election.
We have yet to obtain positive confirmation that Cassandra Bromfield has been selected to create Michelle Obama’s gown for the Inaugural Balls, or that she is designing daywear for the other events on January 20th. Below, another image


text:
- Infowars - http://www.infowars.com -
World Health Organization Moving Ahead on Billions in Internet and Other Taxes
Posted By admin On May 11, 2010 @ 11:08 am In Big Brother,Old Infowars Posts Style | Comments Disabled
May 11, 2010
The World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations’ public health arm, is moving full speed ahead with a controversial plan to impose global consumer taxes on such things as Internet activity and everyday financial transactions like paying bills online — while its spending soars and its own financial house is in disarray.
The aim of its taxing plans is to raise “tens of billions” of dollars for WHO that would be used to radically reorganize the research, development, production and distribution of medicines around the world, with greater emphasis on drugs for communicable diseases in poor countries.
The irony is that the WHO push to take a huge bite out of global consumers comes as the organization is having a management crisis of its own, juggling finances, failing to use its current resources efficiently, or keep its costs under control — and it doesn’t expect to show positive results in managing those challenges until a year from now, at the earliest.
Article printed from Infowars: http://www.infowars.com
URL to article: http://www.infowars.com/world-health-organization-moving-ahead-on-billions-in-internet-and-other-taxes/
Copyright © 2015 Infowars. All rights reserved.


text:
Wexford-based company Scurri has scored high on the the list of the Best Workplaces in Ireland for the fifth year running.
The global software provider was ranked 24th in the Small Company category, making the list for the fifth consecutive year.
Headquartered in Wexford town, Scurri is a delivery management platform that connects and optimises the online ordering, shipping and delivery process for online retailers.
The company provides support at stages along the eCommerce journey, from helping to get the purchase over the line in the basket to selecting the most effective delivery option for each package, creating accurate labels, tracking the packages and running analytics to support process improvement.
CEO and founder Rory O’Connor said the company is delighted to have been officially recognised once again as one of the Best Workplaces in Ireland.
He described the past few years as a particularly challenging time for the eCommerce industry with many obstacles along the way.
“I am pleased to note that despite this, Scurri continues to lead the industry and offer an exciting work environment for everyone within our company. Our culture is a vital component of our business, and one that I am particularly proud of as we continue to navigate the ever-evolving eCommerce sector”, he said.
Heather Reynolds, Chief People Officer at Scurri said: “Making sure our staff feel heard and helping them be their best selves is one of our priorities. It is important to stay committed to creating an environment in which our high performance teams can drive innovation and flourish.”
Scurri is an Irish company, which has raised €15.3 million to date, following a €9 million investment to accelerate growth in the European markets in 2021.
Fuelled by the growth in online shopping in the UK and Ireland, the company has opened offices in London, and the Scurri technology now manages in excess of 100 million parcel deliveries annually for eCommerce merchants including eBay, Everything 5 Pounds, Vision Direct and Bulk Powders and works with delivery partners such as UPS, Royal Mail, An Post, HIVED, DHL, TNT, DPD, Yodel and Evri.


text:
Coronavirus: Worker at Amazon fulfillment center in Moreno Valley tests positive
A worker at one of Amazon's 14 fulfillment centers in the Inland Empire has tested positive for coronavirus, Amazon spokesperson Timothy Carter confirmed in a statement to The Desert Sun Tuesday night.
"We are supporting the individual who is recovering. We are following guidelines from local officials and are taking extreme measures to ensure the safety of employees at our site," Carter said.
As Americans order essentials like food and toiletries for home delivery, Amazon, which accounts for 39% of all U.S. e-commerce sales according to the latest estimates from digital research firm eMarketer, is attempting to keep its employees safe while capitalizing on an unprecedented surge in consumer demand.
Amazon workers at facilities in New York, Kentucky, Florida, Texas, Michigan and Oklahoma have also tested positive, Washington Post reported on Wednesday. The tech giant's responses have varied; they've shut down some facilities for cleaning, while requiring employee quarantines at others,
Workers at Amazon's Ont-8 fulfillment center in Moreno Valley were alerted that one of their peers had tested positive for coronavirus starting yesterday. The diagnosed employee, who the company said was last on site on March 18, is receiving medical care and is in quarantine.
Coronavirus in the Coachella Valley:Can you get evicted if you lose your job due to coronavirus? Here's the status of each valley city
Amazon is not suspending operations, but is asking employees who worked in close contact with the diagnosed individual to self-quarantine for 14 days. The company is providing up to two weeks of pay for all employees diagnosed with COVID-19 or in quarantine.
They've also increased the frequency and intensity of how they're sanitizing door handles, stairway handles, elevator buttons, lockers, touch screens and other items.
An Amazon employee who builds boxes for delivery in the facility's outbound fluid load department said staff was alerted one-by-one on Monday about their diagnosed colleague. The employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution, said the company had yet to call or email staff who weren't on shift.
She said Amazon's containment and prevention policies and worker protections were insufficient amid the spread of coronavirus. Although the company has implemented staggered shifts and unlimited unpaid vacation, she said, if it really wanted to contain the spread, they would shut down the facility.
"On the news they say on cardboard it lasts, I think, for three days," she said. "In outbound, we touch so much cardboard it's ridiculous. Yes, we wear gloves. We wear (personal protection equipment). But imagine you're wearing a short-sleeve shirt. They're touching things no matter what."
Sam Metz covers politics. Reach him at email@example.com or on Twitter @metzsam.


text:
Here's How to Watch All 15,000 WWE Content For Free and Without Ads
Good news for WWE fans, the WWE Network will finally be making more than the 15,000 titles available with zero costs and even without ads! In other words, fans will be able to watch all of their favorite titles for free!
A certain no-cost version of the streamer launches today with over 15,000 titles even including episodes of the popular Monday Night Raw and even the Friday Night SmackDown!
WWE for free?
According to the executive vice president of advanced media at the WWE Jayar Donlan in his statement to THR, the company actually sees the introducing of a brand new free product that is dubbed the Free Version of the WWE Network as a sort of balance that aims to provide an excellent experience for their fans for free!
It was also stated that they will still be able to maintain the value of their more premium content at the price of $9.99 per month despite most of the content finally being offered up for free.
The free version is said not to be ad-supported upon its launch and it will in fact offer the recent episodes of WWE flagships such as Monday Night Raw, Friday Night SmackDown, and even the NXT.
In addition to these, it will also be carrying out new shows jut like the Raw Talk, which is said to stream every Monday night; original series just like Monday Night War, Ride Along, and even the upcoming Table for 3; some of the historical pay-per-view programming; and last but not the least, the classic highlights like the Top 10 and also The Best of WWE.
The WWE Network
The WWE Network previously launched back in 2014 in order to offer live and also on-demand professional wrestling programming to the masses. Earlier this current year ahead of the WrestleMania, WWE actually gave away much of its streaming content for free.
According to Donlan, this was a very good acquisition strategy for them as they got fans to crawl all over the network once again. The success of streaming of the WrestleMania in the WWE Network, they were able to hit an amazing 2.1 million subscribers reaching early April.
Donlan also adds that the network plans to make the programming permanently free to the masses saying evolving is just as smart as putting up new offers in the marketplace for them to stimulate consumer activity. Donlan also said that this move gives them a good fan experience.
How to watch the WWE Network for free
In order for you to be able to watch the WWE Network for free, all you need to do is go to their website or click this link right here. You can also download the app on your phone or tablet if you really want to enjoy the full experience. Once you've done that, just make your free account and enjoy watching it! That Simple! The WWE Network is free to watch and free to enjoy.
[Video] WWE's Undertaker Literally Freezes Himself at -240 Degrees as Part of His Preparation
The Undertaker named Mark William Callaway is a feared WWE superstar and in a recent clip released on Facebook, the wrestler shows how he literally freezes himself under -240 degrees to prepare.
WWE Raw's Becky Lynch Announces She's Pregnant: Asuka is Now the New Champion
Becky Lynch has just recently announced her pregnancy naming Asuka as the next WWE Raw Champion. Will she ever return?
No WWE 2K21 This Year? Should Wrestling Fans be Sad or is 2K Planning Something Else?
Rumors have started to surface that 2K Games won't be releasing WWE 2K21 this year. What on earth is 2K up to?
Former Olympic Lifter Mark Henry Remembers History As He Shares Tense Encounter With Michael Jordan Back in the 1996 Summer Olympics
Mark Henry almost exchange blow with Michael Jordan during their confrontation in the 1996 Summer Olympics
WWE Gearing Up Seth Rollins To Take Down John Cena, Roman Reigns? WrestleMania 34 To Possibly Change Brock Lesnar Plans
WWE is reportedly prepping up Seth Rollins to be the next big thing. Meanwhile, Brock Lesnar's match levels up as he is planned to fight Roman Reigns in SummerSlam.
MORE IN ITECHPOST
Elon Musk’s Brain Microchip Neuralink Will Allegedly Cure Depression and Addiction
Elon Musk founded Neuralink in 2016, but what is the purpose of this brain-implanted computer chip? Musk has revealed additional details that you may find interesting.
Spotted in Deep Space: Never Before Seen Four Mystery Objects
A few mysterious objects that haven't been seen until now have recently been spotted in deep space thanks to massive radio telescopes.
A Leaker May Have Confirmed The Release Date Of 'Resident Evil Village'
A leaker who has been reliable in the past regarding Resident Evil may have revealed the release date of Resident Evil Village.


text:
Pope Francis will officially swap in his popemobile for a new model running entirely on electric power.
In May, the pope met with founders of the California-based electric car startup Fisker, who shared renderings of the mobile they are planning to put into production and have ready to deliver by the end of the year, according to NBC News.
“I got inspired reading that Pope Francis is very considerate about the environment and the impact of climate change for future generations,” co-founder Henrik Fisker said in a statement.
When the vehicle is finished, it will feature a solar roof, a retractable glass cupola and a sustainable interior details like carpet made out of recycled plastic bottle, per Reuters.
If you’re debating whether to switch to an electric vehicle, AAA has information about electric car batteries.
According to AAA, the law states that automakers need to warrant electric vehicle batteries for eight years or 100,000 miles. This will help cover repair costs and is an excellent opportunity for car owners to save money.
When driving, EV batteries are expected to last a decade before the owner needs to replace them.
If you’re looking to save some cash, True Car reports that owners who charge at home can save up to $1,000 a year compared to gasoline. When switching to electric, fewer moving parts and no internal combustion are less expensive, a benefit for owners who are keen on reducing the effects of their transportation on the environment and their wallet.
For more ideas on how you can save the planet, visit 1Thing.


text:
And in terms of the latter, the show's scores of millennial viewers may want to have their phones fully charged and Snapchat app open. Official social media sponsor Audi will be Snapchatting exclusive bonus content from the ABC Family program and the show's stars in real time.
"The PLL audience is always looking for exclusive content to help get more information about the show," said Mark Rejtig, svp of national sales for ABC Family. "The nature of Snapchat will create the sense of urgency since the images appear quickly. It's an interesting way to deploy content to our rabid fans."
Rejtig said each message—or "snap," in the mobile-social platform's vernacular—will connect directly with the scene that is airing to help foster chatter about the teen drama, marking the first time concurrent Snapchat content will be lined up with a TV program. The campaign will also be pushed through the program's official Twitter handle and via the social media accounts of Ian Harding, who plays Ezra on the show and has 1.34 million Twitter followers.
Gartner research director Julie Hopkins said that the marriage between PLL and Snapchat seems perfect given their matching audiences, but what surprised her was the Audi sponsorship. Most teens who watch the show probably aren't in the market to buy a car, let alone a luxury vehicle, she pointed out.
However, what Audi could stand to gain is that by activating around Snapchat, it can be seen as a younger brand, similar to the reputation Acura garnered after running its Snapchat campaign last year around its NSX prototype. "It sells the brand and builds buzz that Audi is a forward-thinking contemporary brand," she explained.
Audi execs echoed the sentiment, saying the integration allowed them to introduce themselves to novel eyes.
"Partnering with a show that is a phenomenon amongst [a young] audience was a natural fit for us to continue to increase brand awareness and perception," Loren Angelo, director of marketing for Audi of America, said in a press release.
Though this marks the first time a Snapchat campaign has been activated to correspond directly with show content, other TV programs have utilized the fleeting nature of the app. HBO's Girls recently snapped content to its followers. And NBC's The Voice announced in March that Chris Martin of Coldplay was going to be an advisor via the app.
Hopkins believes that brands are going to be more fluid with mixing how they use innovative social experiences and traditional spots to present their products. However, with the growth of the so-called second-screen experiences, marketers will have to carefully navigate the effect of adding content, she warned. Audi will have to learn if its investment into bonus materials is helping its brand resonate with fans, or if all the extra media is splitting their attention so much that it doesn't drive the message home.
"It's a balance of adding content to help viewers remain engaged throughout the program but not to the point where you're getting disengagement during some of the additional experiences," Hopkins said.
Meanwhile, PLL's renewals suggest that ABC Family has high hopes for the show. And by contractually locking down the talent through 2016, the Disney-owned cable channel seems to believe the program's roster of young actors is only going to get more expensive.


text:
CLINTON — Dickens Days got under way this morning. While a few businesses were putting the finishing touches on their holiday decorations — everything from canoes to cabbages were decked out.
The sound of Christmas carols from the North Hunterdon High School Brass Ensemble and the smell of baking pretzels filled the air as shoppers took to the streets. A Victorian style Santa was posing for photos. Many visitors stopped for photo ops by the famed Red Mill and also Santa’s Chair which had yet to be occupied by Santa.
The horse drawn carriage which will be offering rides to visitors arrived in the late morning.
There were shoppers of all ages. Ashlyn Butterwick, 2, of High Bridge ogled a miniature Ferris Wheel at Made to Order as her dad, Chris held her up to the window. Others admired a saddle at the consignment shop and clothes marked down at 50% at another.
Martin Coleman and Thomas Vito were doing a book signing at the Clinton Book Shop and brought along some puppets to help them. Their children’s book is called “What if Jesus was a New York City Firefighter? It’s a story born out of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.
Dickens Days continues through Sunday. The annual holiday celebration follows a Victorian theme in honor of author Charles Dickens, who was born 200 years ago, this year. The event began more than 30 years ago to entice shoppers to come to downtown Clinton.
Tonight at 6:30 the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony will be held. Santa will arrive for the ceremony by firetruck.
There will be carolers, street musicians, and other entertainment throughout the weekend.
The Christmas Parade will be held on Dec. 7 at 7 p.m.
The Red Mill will host the Festival of Trees through Dec. 2.
Festival of Trees showcases beautifully decorated trees and wreaths designed by local business, organizations, and creative individuals. Each tree and wreath will portray an original theme and will be part of a silent auction for the lucky winners to take home and enjoy year after year.
During the event the iconic Red Mill will be decorated with bows of holly, garlands, twinkling lights and of course holiday cheer. Guests are invited to enjoy the site's historic wonder while getting in the holiday spirit as they peruse the lovely décor, wreaths, and trees. Everyone can vote on her favorite tree or wreath. Winners will be announced by the Museum.
The Mill's Festival of Trees coincides with Dickens' Days runs from Nov. 23 to 25, and Nov. 27 through Dec. 2. The event will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $5. Children under six year of age are admitted free of charge.
All the proceeds will benefit the museum and its mission to preserve, maintain and present the social, industrial and agricultural heritage of Hunterdon. The Red Mill Museum Village is a nonprofit.
For more information, contact Amy Boyce, curator of public programs at 908-735-4101, ext. 102, or email for more information.


text:
- Photo Courtesy Kuhlman Cellars
- Two of Fredericksburg’s Kuhlman Cellars wines won big in renowned French wine competition.
The only Texas winery to win medals at this year’s contest, Kuhlman submitted its 2017 Sangiovese and 2019 Estate Kuhlmanation White. The tannic and acidic red Sangiovese won gold, while the crisp Kuhlmanation won silver.
This year, Concours de Lyon judges tasted 2,254 wines and only awarded medals to six U.S. vintners.
“This is a huge honor because of the competition itself,” Kuhlman co-founder Chris Cobb said. “Concours de Lyon is one of the largest and most revered wine competitions in France. Most of the entries come from France, so to have a Texas wine win gold is a huge win for all of us in the Texas wine industry.”
To mark its victory, Kuhlman created a limited-time Lyon Lineup Bundle, which includes a bottle of each of the award-winning vinos. The bundle is the only opportunity to get your hands on the Sangiovese, since there's a limited quantity still available. The 2020 Estate White will be released later this year.
So many restaurants, so little time. Find out the latest San Antonio dining news with our Flavor Friday Newsletter.


text:
India’s largest telecom service provider Airtel has rolled out 20,000 e-KYC units on Sunday, 18th of September. This step has been taken in compliance with the notification sent by the Department of Telecom, Govt. of India.
This fully secure process has been initiated to increase the convenience and offer better in-store experience to the customers. It shortens the process by eliminating paperwork. According to a statement by Airtel, the initiative has received a positive response, and the plan is to shortly introduce it to over 50,000 customers across the country. This ramping up of the rollout is expected to increase the number of customers multifold, and in the first phase itself, the company intends to introduce the e-KYC solution in over 50,000 stores across India, including rural areas.
Mr. Ajai Puri, Director of Operations, Bharti Airtel (India and South Asia) said, “We plan to deploy this solution in the majority of our general trade stores, including those in rural pockets.” He also said that this could prove to be a huge step forward in the PM’s Digital India vision.
How Aadhar-based e-KYC works?
Since it is an Aadhar card only based verification, the security will be ironclad. It will require the biometrics of the customer, which includes fingerprint and iris scan. These details will be uploaded online and instantly matched with UIDAI database. The verification notification will follow shortly and the connection will be immediately started in the name of the customer.
The process is simple and convenient, much to the peril of a formerly tedious process. The core of the Digital India initiative lies in making things simple and convenient, and bringing the country up to speed with the technology, equally. This campaign has seen several steps taken to make the country digital, and this is one of them.
This is the time when telecom companies who have been massively affected by the launch of Jio are developing new USPs, to combat an economically fierce new competitor. The $20 billion investment in the Mukesh Ambani-led company, Jio is proving to be a thorn in the side of all the incumbent operators, and even the largest service provider Airtel, along with the giants like Vodafone and Idea have suffered from a setback of a huge chunk of their number of customers. This step by Airtel is just the first to start recovering.


text:
Facebook is attempting to make News Feed ads even more relevant to users.
“When deciding which ad to show to which groups of people, we are placing more emphasis on feedback we receive from people about ads, including how often people report or hide an ad,” Facebook said in its announcement.
Facebook said advertisers will reap the benefits.
“If someone always hides ads for electronics, we will reduce the number of those types of ads that we show to them.” Facebook added that it’s “ultimately better for marketers, because it means their messages are reaching the people most interested in what they have to offer.”
Facebook said advertisers could see some distribution variation on ads in the coming weeks while the News Feed algorithm change rolls out.
This announcement is just one of many planned News Feed algo updates as the company promises to be more transparent about how it serves content.
This article was originally published on http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/news/2297433/facebook-tries-to-make-news-feed-ads-more-relevant-with-algorithm-update.
As it prepares for a 2017 IPO that could be the largest in the social media space since Facebook went public in 2012, all eyes are on Snapchat.
What would we do without social media?
Facebook isn't just the world's largest social network. In the past two years, it has also become one of the world's most popular online destinations for consuming video content.
If your responsibilities have anything to do with marketing, advertising, PR or social media, you can’t afford to be camera-shy in this day and age.


text:
Roll up, roll up… Tickets now available in Forster!
The Manning Entertainment Centre and Stockland Forster are thrilled to announce a new ticketing service for the Great Lakes community.
Manning Entertainment Centre tickets are now be available for purchase from the Customer Care Desk at Stockland Forster.
“We are proud to offer this new service for our customers,” said Linda Pate, Centre Manager at Stockland Forster. “This is a wonderful initiative for our community which makes it easier for locals to access the wide range of attractions at the Manning Entertainment Centre”
Theatre Manager, Jeremy Miller agrees, “Great Lakes residents have been coming to see shows at the Manning Entertainment Centre for over 25 years, but until now this has meant buying tickets over the phone or online.”
“Residents now have a local option to get information about upcoming shows, choose their favourite seats and collect their tickets, all while they do their weekly shopping in Forster.” Said Jeremy


text:
At least he tried! Woman who asked for a Fenty Beauty highlighter and a brush for her wedding anniversary reveals her VERY confused husband ended up buying her SHARPIES and a hair brush
- Charlema Webb of Oakland, California, was married on April 14 this year and her husband Vincent had asked her what she wanted as a one month anniversary gift
- When he returned with a box of highlighter pens and a Goody hair brush, Charlema said she hasn't 'ever laughed so hard in my life'
- The post on Facebook went viral and eventually caught the attention of Fenty, her preferred beauty brand
Rihanna's Fenty Beauty is treating a woman to a new highlighter after her husband hilariously failed to pick up one of the products for their anniversary.
Charlema Webb of Oakland, California, and her husband Vincent were married last month on April 14. After one month of marriage, Vincent decided to buy his bride a gift, and asked her what she would like.
In a Facebook post that has since gone viral, Vincent wrote: 'I told him I wanted a highlighter and a brush to go with it. I said I preferred Fenty but was open to anything that popped.'
Newlyweds: Charlema Webb of Oakland, California, and her husband Vincent have gone viral after he hilariously mixed up her anniversary present
Quite a feat: In a viral Facebook post, Charlema revealed that she had asked for a Fenty highlighter and brush and was brought a pack of Sharpies and a Goody hairbrush
Vincent went out on a mission to please his lady love, but couldn't find this mysterious 'Fenty highlighter' at any of the local drug stores.
Determined not to go home empty-handed, he decided to improvise.
Charlema shared a photo of his purchases along with her post, showing a pack of bright neon Sharpie highlighter pens and a drugstore hairbrush from Goody.
She wrote: 'Vince says "Stink after going to a few drug stores I couldn't find no Fenty but I got you sharpie because they are the best highlighters and they been around for a cool minute."'
Snuggled up: The lovebirds were wed just on April 14 and the highlighter was meant to be a one month anniversary present
Charlema's post about Vincent's shopping efforts has already racked up more than 100,000 likes and was shared over 37,000 times
Along with a mass of crying-laughing emoji, Charlema added: 'Thank you for my present baby but.... I don't think I ever laughed so hard in my life!!!!'
The post, shared on May 17, quickly went viral with more than 37,000 shares and 100,000 likes - not to mention hundreds of comments from equally amused make-up lovers.
'Aawwww, he tried and that's all that matters,' wrote one user, while another added: 'He's a keeper!'
The story even spread far enough to be spotted by representatives for Fenty, who promptly shared the post on social media.
Catching on: Rihanna's beauty brand Fenty soon spotted the post and offered to send along some products
The boss: The brand is headed up by Rihanna and has already proved to be massively popular with make-up lovers
Going around: Fenty shared the post on multiple social media accounts, and even attracted a comment from Goody
The brand shared the post on Twitter, joking: 'When you ask for a Fenty highlighter and brush to go with it as a wedding anniversary gift and he gives you this.'
The Rihanna-fronted make-up company added: 'Don't worry— we're working on getting her the real thing.'
One of the brand's posts caught the attention of Goody, the brand behind the hairbrush Vincent picked up.
'We love a good highlighter but at least he has good taste in our kind of brush!' Goody wrote in the comments for the Instagram post.
Fenty responded: 'Yasss cause we all know y'all brushes keep our edges and wigs slayed!'


text:
(Jason Howerton) One particularly rude Dunkin’ Donuts customer is quickly becoming known across the Internet as the “worst customer ever.”
The female customer went off in the store and demanded free food because she wasn’t given a receipt on a recent purchase. And the polite and patient employee at the receiving end of the woman’s wrath apparently had nothing to do with her complaint.
It is true that Dunkin’ Donuts customers that don’t get a receipt with their order are entitled to a refund on their purchase. But that doesn’t mean you get to treat employees like garbage.
The Huffington Post explains what how it all went down:
In the video, the customer says she should get free food because of Dunkin’ Donuts’ policy that stipulates that customers who do not get a receipt with their order are entitled to refund of their purchase. A Dunkin’ Donuts representative confirmed that the Dunkin’ Donuts featured in the video does abide by the policy.
The unlucky worker who was on duty when the rant occurred offered free goods in exchange for the receipt slip up, but that apparently wasn’t enough to appease the unruly customer.
“This girl was so f**king rude to me and said ‘OK will you can get your order free next time,’ So you know what I told her, I said ‘I want the whole fucking menu b**ch, twice,’” the woman says in the video. “A guarantee is a guarantee and I’ve already called my lawyer and he is already on it.”
“The employee featured in the video really deserves a medal of honor for his calm and collective response. Dunkin’ Donuts, if you’re reading this, give this guy a raise!” HuffPost adds.
“Forget about tracking her down — find this man and give him a serious raise,” Gawker agrees.
This author also believes the man’s professionalism and patience are deserving of a pay bump.
Watch video of the incident below (Warning! Very strong language):


text: Posted by Matt CorneliaThe Internet of Things—referring to the inter-networking of physical devices, machines, and other items over the internet—is growing. With the increasing number of internet-enabled products comes another increase: the number of access points for hackers. And while a hacker’s access to (and possible control of) internet-enabled household items and many other consumer goods poses little threat to the general public, this isn’t the case for many other items in the Internet of Things. For example, in the automotive industry, a great deal of attention has been focused on the cybersecurity risks associated with the increasingly autonomous and self-driving vehicles the industry is rolling out. For example, in a recent report, Andy Greenberg described how two hackers were able to remotely access his Jeep Cherokee through the car’s entertainment system, sending commands to its dashboard functions, steering, brakes, and transmission. Lawmakers have also taken note of these risks. For example, in July of last year, Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal proposed the “Security and Privacy in Your Car Act” (SPY Car Act). Their proposed legislation seeks to implement technological safety standards for vehicles, including standards to protect against hacking and to enhance the security of driving data collected by a vehicle’s electronic systems. This bill and other related proposed legislation are still under consideration.As the automotive industry transitions from “traditional” automobiles to cars with built-in wi-fi hotspots and ultimately to autonomous and self driving vehicles, the number of potential access points for hackers will necessarily increase. In order to secure these access points, vehicle manufacturers will need to start thinking more and more like software companies.This could be good news for other industries. Vehicle manufacturers will have to develop new ways to secure access points and segregate software systems, and will have the incentive (risk to occupants of their vehicles) to invest in accomplishing these tasks. As the vehicle manufacturers develop solutions, other companies may be able to benefit from their investments by implementing similar technologies in their own computer systems and networks. Andy Greenberg’s article is available online at https://www.wired.com/2015/07/hackers-remotely-kill-jeep-highway.


text:
So Amazon will be holding an event today where presumably they will be showing off new Kindle e-readers and Kindle Fire devices, but according to The Verge’s sources, it seems that we could be in for a surprise. So far Amazon has released Kindle e-readers and the Kindle Fire Android tablet, and many expect that these products will be refreshed later today, so that can hardly be called a surprise. What could prove to be a surprise is the rumor that Amazon could be unveiling an Android smartphone of their own!
As it stands, the phone is reportedly unfinished which means that we could get a glimpse of how it looks like but we’ll probably not be able to try it out. Either that or the phone will be announced but no photos will be available. Word has it that the phone will run on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and is expected to come with Nokia Maps which is an interesting twist. Surprisingly there hasn’t been any word about such a device until today so if it is true, kudos to Amazon for managing to keep a pretty tight lid on things! In any case we’ll find out if these rumors are true in a few hours, so check back with us later for the details!


text:
Harare — HOW on earth can a high technology scan machine that can detect a small object such as a needle fail to detect a one-tonne consignment of contraband, unless the person manning the machine is sleeping on duty?
This is a common question people ask each other whenever a smuggling bid is foiled on the South African side of Beitbridge Border Post.
Every week dealers are arrested smuggling goods either into South Africa or Zimbabwe, despite the border post having international standard state-of-the-art scanners.
According to Zimra, it is a different case of hide-and-seek with dealers who are very daring and moving with technology. Zimra officials say most smuggling rackets were being operated by the elites, given the way things are done.
He said that Zimra had since made a mutual arrangement with their South African counterparts (South African Revenue Services) to put smugglers into a tight corner.
"We are doing the best we can to arrest this smuggling problem which at times is a result of ignorance and cultural behaviour on the part of the criminals. "At some point, we intercept people trying to smuggle goods which do not attract any customs duty. You will realise that we have 120 officers doing a job for 400 people and at times this also affects our efficiency and leaves room for some shoddy deals within the organisation," said a senior official.
But the question remains: How do these goods get smuggled when each vehicle is searched? "We search most of the vehicles but not all of them pass through the scanner as we exercise risk management and use the officer's discretion on others.
"The dealers are now taking advantage of this hence we have reached a mutual agreement with our South African counterparts to do more physical searches on some trucks especially those transporting metals and make use of sniffer dogs on containers," said the official.
Mobile scanners which can clear about 12 trucks within an hour, were installed on the Zimbabwean side of Beitbridge Border Post in 2003 as Zimra intensified efforts to avert smuggling which had become rampant.
Currently, the border is running on two scanner machines with one clearing north-bound (into Zimbabwe) and the other clearing south-bound (into South Africa) traffic, respectively.
A bigger mobile scanner with the capacity of clearing between 30 and 50 trucks per hour has been installed on the new trucks' clearing point for north-bound traffic.
An average of between 900 to 1 500 trucks pass through Beitbridge en route to South Africa, while an estimated 15 000 people come into the country through the same border post daily.
The machines can scan consignments in relation to the Zimra Customs documents known as the Bill of Entry and detect any foreign object as small as a needle. But since then, it is inexplicable how a number of Zimbabwean trucks pass through Beitbridge Border Post with smuggled goods only to be nabbed on the South African side where there are no scanning machines.
This scenario has been boggling the minds of many who of late have been alleging that some Zimra officers were getting kick backs to facilitate the shipments. Buses and private vehicles are some of the modes used in smuggling after people realised there is increased scrutiny on haulage trucks.
This development has led to the revenue collector introducing a 100 percent search on all vehicles coming into the country in a bid to force compliance on duty payments. When you think of smuggling at Beitbridge, every time items like cigarettes, electrical gadgets, flea market wares and copper cables come to mind.
It is understood cigarettes and copper cables have a lucrative market in South Africa, while the flea market stuff is destined for the informal sector in Zimbabwe.
The Zimra offices are ever busy with people making representations every day to get their seized items released. Zimra handles on average of 3 000 cases of smuggling mainly those by small importers per month. Currently, the state warehouses in Beitbridge are full to capacity with goods seized from customs defaulters.
He added that the illegal transportation of cigarettes through the border post had stopped since the introduction of sniffer dogs on the South African side of the border. Cigarettes were being smuggled in fuel tankers in most cases, and at some point Zimra recovered a smuggled car that was hidden in a refrigerated truck in 2006 destined for South Africa.
Last year, the South African Revenue Services destroyed over 1 500 boxes of cigarettes worth R1, 5 million that were intercepted on their way to that country.
Copper cables have become a hit with the criminals who always forge documents and try to ship it as scrap metal from either Zambia or DRC.
Last month, police intercepted a 40-tonne truck carrying 35 tonnes of copper cables worth US$532 million that were destined for South Africa.
A fortnight ago, they foiled another bid to smuggle 3, 3 tonnes of a similar consignment worth US$66 000 at the same border post. Six people have since been arrested in connection with these cases and are standing trail in the courts.
The selling of copper was banned in Zimbabwe in the last three years in a bid to thwart vandalism on telephone lines, railway and electricity lines. This has cost government US$58 million in repairing vandalised railway line cables.
In his recent visit to Beitbridge, Finance Minister Tendai Biti indicated that the Government would urgently review customs laws in light of the increase in smuggling cases at the country's major ports of entry.
He said the drastic increase in cases of smuggling was cause for concern hence the need to come up with deterrent penalties. Currently, smugglers are fined and have their goods forfeited to the state, but the car used in committing the offence cannot be seized if it belongs to a third party.
Furthermore, the courts have no power to forfeit foreign registered vehicles as compared to other countries like South Africa. Recently, the South African Revenue Authority put to auction three buses belonging to Chigubhu Brothers after they were intercepted with smuggled cigarettes in that country.
Minister Biti said most criminals were taking advantage of the lenient laws and the situation had adversely affected the state's revenue collection. Most of the intercepted smugglers are those who pretend to be carrying goods in transit whereas they would be destined for the local market.
Already reports abound that the practice is rife among retailers in Harare who claim their cargo will be in transit to Zambia, empty the containers in Harare before the empty haulage trucks exit the country through Chirundu just to have a record that they exited, before coming back into Zimbabwe.
Travellers believe the increase in smuggling is a result of restrictive customs duty and lack of knowledge among the importers which force people to evade duty payments.
They also believe that the lack of effective supervision of the customs officers, while some say the officers create a hostile situation for the importers and exporters which therefore creates room for smuggling.
"How do you expect one customs officer to clear over 3 000 people, who sacrifice to pay restrictive duties, with one slow computer? People end up leaving without paying. "We urge Zimra to make reforms and deploy more staff at the border post and also review duty rates if they want people to comply," said a traveller from Harare, Martin Zhou.
The police officer commanding operations in Beitbridge district, Superintendent Paul Muhoni said that police were making a breakthrough in terms of dealing with cases of smuggling. He said they had put in place a strong Ferret squad made up of Zimra, ZNA and the police, which was patrolling the border on a 24-hour basis.
"We are working on different strategies as we have realised that the criminals are now using other methods. "As police, we have positioned ourselves well and I want to warn the criminals that their days are numbered. We also believe that the deployment of more Zimra officers and the review of customs rate will help reduce this type of crime," he said.
He said their heavy presence had also reduced the number of cases as witnessed by the decline in people smuggling items using haulage trucks. Beitbridge district chairperson for the Shipping and Forwarding Agents' Association of Zimbabwe, Mr. Benford Lazalo said they were encouraging their members to be professional at all times when handling customs issues.
In most instances clearing agents have been linked to the smuggling rackets. "Smuggling is now in the blood of some people especially younger boys who think they are advanced in terms of technology and as SFAAZ, we discourage such unfaithful behaviour.
"We have made it a point to our members that anyone caught on the wrong side of the law will be suspended from the association and de-registered from dealing with Zimra," he said.
Thirty percent of the government's revenue comes from customs duty and of the 30 percent revenue, 70 percent of Zimra's money is collected at Beitbridge Border Post.
The laxity of the law would strongly affect revenue collection.