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“There’s a lot of Pride stuff I get where I’m like, Okay, there’s one time a year I can wear that,” says Satchel Lee, the LGBTQ+ activist, photographer, and daughter of director Spike Lee.
Wearing items to celebrate Pride Month is nothing new, but when Lee was approached by the Accessory Junkie, a jewelry brand that specializes in handcrafted and unique pieces, to curate a Pride collection, she wanted hers to be different. Lee wanted the accessories to show off pride in a low-key way, but also keep queer activism at the forefront.
“If I have the privilege and pleasure to work with a company like the Accessory Junkie, it’s also my privilege and obligation and duty to uplift the most marginalized voices in the LGBTQ community, which are trans people, and specifically, Black and brown and Indigenous trans women.” she says.
To achieve this, Lee helped the Accessory Junkie team up with the Human Rights Campaign’s transgender and non-binary initiative, Count Me In. Her 15-piece jewelry line will include a capsule of items that will donate 15 percent of proceeds to the initiative, including the Sam Earring, the Tylin Ring, the Nadene Earring, the Muse Necklace, and the star of the collection — the Jill Phone Bag, which is available in a (tasteful) rainbow and black, and was handmade in Argentina.
“I am not a big colors person, but this is a nice pastel rainbow. I wanted to celebrate Pride, but not have it feel too on-the-nose,” says Lee. “The [Jill Phone] Bag communicates what you want to communicate and you can take it wherever, whenever — so [I’m] excited.” She photographed the line herself, including her own friends with identities that represent the full breadth of the queer community, including many queer people of color.
Michelle Reeves, the co-founder and CEO of the Accessory Junkie, says she hopes the line inspires ongoing activism. “We loved working with Satchel, she embodies the very essence of our brand. She’s globally minded, inclusive, and she really loves to empower others. We viewed Pride as a catalyst to put this in the spotlight and start the conversation,” Reeves says.
The brand is hoping to continue this collaboration and collection in the fall, but you can purchase it now in celebration of Pride.


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Smartphone shipments have steadily been declining since the past few years and in the hopes of turning things around, smartphone makers are betting on innovations such as foldable handsets. Moreover, the impending arrival of 5G is also expected to drive growth in the market. If a recent report by the research firm IDC is anything to go, things will start looking up soon, even if the increase in shipments will not be seen immediately.
4G Handsets Are Expected to Continue to Reign Supreme in the Coming Years
As per IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, overall shipments are expected to fall by 0.8 percent this year, making 2019 the third consecutive year to see a downward trend. However, a year-over-year growth of 2.3 percent is expected in the second half of the year, and the uptick is expected to continue thereafter until 2023. The firm speculates shipments of 1.39 billion units this year, which are projected to increase to 1.54 billion by 2023.
Although IDC notes that sales will be boosted by innovations such as foldable smartphones and 5G-ready devices, its data shows that 5G rollout and adoption will be painstakingly slow. This year, 5G-based handsets are expected to account for just 0.5 percent of the total smartphone sales. By 2023, the market share of 5G-enabled smartphones is speculated to go up to 26 percent. On the other hand, 4G handsets are expected to be the most mainstream devices for the next five years.
Of course, things can change moving forward. Qualcomm recently announced that its next flagship chipset will come with a built-in 5G modem, which will make the new standard of wireless connectivity a default function of most Android flagships. Moreover, as time goes by, the cost of 5G handsets will come down, and this can increase adoption rates.
Since IDC has broken down its shipment forecasts according to cellular connectivity, there is no data about foldable phones. However, with most manufactures expected to produce limited numbers of their flexible devices, it can be assumed that the adoption is going to be slow. Overall, the forecast looks good for the industry, which has been grappling with a decline for three years.
IDC expects smartphone sales to gain momentum from the second half of the year and the upward trend is expected to continue into 2023.
News Source: IDC

domain: news


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Anyone who has visited popular domains such as YouTube.com, Amazon.com or Ads.Yahoo.com could be a victim of a new, mutating malware attack distributed through the adverts displayed on the sites.
Archives - September 2014
Autumn: the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, not to mention a couple of excellent security conferences. Virus Bulletin and AVAR make a very tasty Conference Pair.
Nearly a billion users of a dozen chat apps for Android including popular apps such as Instagram, Oovoo, OKCupid and Grindr could be at risk from eavesdroppers and snoopers after University of New Haven researchers found serious data leakage problems.
The world’s largest home improvement chain store, Home Depot, yesterday confirmed a data breach affecting credit cards and debit cards used in stores on the American mainland, which may have continued since April.
A new Harris survey found that almost all Americans care about online privacy, and 71% said that they ‘care deeply’ about it. The survey found that the service that worries Americans most is Facebook.
Google Chrome will now recommend pronounceable password hoices, according to developer and Chrome “happiness evangelist” Francois Beaufort, who announced the change via his Google+ page.
A bank is to allow remote log-ons using a hi-tech vein-scanning biometric system for large corporate accounts. The bank security system, using Hitachi’s VeinHD scanner, will be available to corporate customers from next year.
Three weeks ago, iSIGHT Partners discovered a new Ransomware encrypting victims’ documents. They dubbed this new threat TorrentLocker. TorrentLocker propagates via spam messages containing a link to a phishing page where the user is asked to download and execute “package tracking information”. In August, only Australians were targeted with fake Australian Post package-tracking page. While
LinkedIn may not have a spotless record when it comes to security and privacy, but we should give them credit when they do something right. Learn more now.
Another major phone brand has added biometric security to a flagship smartphone as Huawei unveiled the ultra-thin Mate P7, complete with a rather unique fingerprint scanner, at Berlin’s IFA 2014 show.
A YouTube scam where users are threatened with suspension for an unspecified “violation” of the video site’s guidelines has been circulating via email. Here's what to do if you get one.
The government is to work with car manufacturers to prevent hackers using electronic means to break into increasingly hi-tech vehicles in Britain after a spate of 'car hacking' thefts hit London.
Shoppers at Home Depot stores may have had their credit card details leaked online, after a massive batch of card information went on sale on a criminal internet site this week - and veteran security reporter Brian Krebs warns it may be the biggest leak yet.
Hosting provider Namecheap said that it has come under attack from hackers apparently using the “Cybervor” hoard of 1.2 billion usernames and passwords and warned that some accounts may have been compromised.
As many as 18 top cybercrime experts from around the world will form a new Joint Cybercrime Action Task Force based in the Hague, which will target “top-level criminals”.
A push-button function on many wireless routers designed to bypass the Wi-Fi password and provide quick access to the network could allow attackers to break in in “one second”, reports have claimed.


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- Publish Date
- Monday, 28 August 2017, 2:25PM
We all love to pamper ourselves at the hair salon.
Whether we're trying to cover our grays or experience a new shade, you always walk out feeling a million bucks.
But now a rather worryingly new study has revealed many common hair treatments - including hair dye - could increase the risk of breast cancer.
Researchers at Rutgers University found there was a significant increase of developing the disease when women used dark hair dye and chemical relaxers.
The study looked at more than 4000 women, aged between 20 and 75.
The concerning results found that white women who used chemical straighteners had a 74 per cent increased risk of breast cancer, while black women who used dark hair dye had a 51 per cent increased risk.
“These novel findings support a relationship between the use of some hair products and breast cancer,” the study concludes. “Further examinations of hair products as important exposures contributing to breast cancer carcinogenesis are necessary.”
It is not yet understood why dark hair dyes in particular pose a risk.
Lead author Adana Llanos said: "More research is needed to determine specifically which compounds and chemicals are dangerous and even which specific consumer products and brands contain those chemicals.
"Just because we found these associations doesn't mean that if you dye your hair dark, or any colour, you're going to get breast cancer.
"But at the same time, the study points to something else we should be mindful of."


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Filed under: News, US, Weird News
NORFOLK, Virginia (WTKR) - Virginia Zoo officials are looking for Sunny, a 19-month-old red panda, who was last seen Monday at 5 p.m.
According to the Virginia Zoo, the red panda was not in her enclosure...
SAN RAMON (dpa-AFX) - Chevron Corp.(CVX) said that its wholly-owned
subsidiaries have entered into a sales and purchase agreement with Star Energy
Consortium to sell Chevron's Indonesian and Philippines Geothermal assets.


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“Determined to grow its share of the personal computer market during the worst economic climate in its corporate history, Apple is tailoring changes to a pair of its offerings that will help drive down prices of some of the most popular Macs,” Kasper Jade reports for AppleInsider.
“Apple’s move towards more affordable Macs… is an interim solution to combat the proliferation of budget notebooks — often called netbooks — until the company is ready to introduce its own take on the market in the much rumored Newton-like web tablet, a project which is taking considerably longer to complete than once anticipated,” Jade reports.
“Consumers in the coming months can look forward to more affordable versions of both the 13-inch MacBook and iMac, according to people who’ve proven extremely reliable in predicting Apple’s future business directions,” Jade reports.
“Exact pricing is unclear or still undetermined at this time… It’s believed that the first batch of more affordable Macs could turn up as early as this spring as part of a restructured MacBook line,” Jade reports.
Full article here.


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Banana Republic is among a small growing segment of mainstream fashion brands catering to the Muslim population.
With Eid-ul-Adha just around the corner, the time was just right for Banana Republic to launch a collection of hijabs, head scarves worn by many Muslim women as an article of their faith. The small collection comprising four different hijab styles and colors to choose from, was immediately seen as a mark of inclusion to a large Muslim population in the United States.
It becomes especially significant at a time, when discussions on “us,” “ and “you” and rhetoric like “go back to your country” have been in the news directed towards those who may be dressing “different,” or belonging to “another” faith or culture.
The brand also featured a model of color, Fatuma Yusuf, to showcase its newest offerings. While Muslim women and many inclusion activists were elated at the move, there were others who also saw cultural appropriation.
Some observers of hijab pointed out that in one shot the model was wearing a short sleeved t-shirt along with a hijab and in another she is wearing a slit skirt while covering her head with a hijab. Some have pointed out that the head covering should also be accompanied with modest dressing, blaming the blooper on cultural misappropriation, a blame that has often been leveled against western brands for their limited or lack of understanding of other faiths and cultures.
However, many hijabis are celebrating the new choices that they can now opt from. Among the designs offered are a turban wrap hijab, popularized by Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. Another one is a pale pink more traditional headscarf style wrap. There are also prints such as floral and leopard style to choose from to suit those who may be looking for some fun twist to their hijabs.
The hijabs are retailed at $20 and $25. The move is largely being seen as a sign of inclusion and is being hailed as an example for other brands to follow.


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The “Mississippi” has long been used as a filler to count seconds, but many are now concerned about counting its feet. Case in point: Levels of the important waterway in Memphis have just hit a new all-time low record of -10.77 feet. The situation is reminiscent of troubles seen on the Rhine River in Europe and the Yangtze in Asia as years of severe drought deliver harmful effects across the globe.
Snapshot: The Mississippi River is a critical shipping route, especially for farmers and commodity dealers, and the lower water levels have impacted transportation. Estimates vary greatly, but the river is thought to normally carry around 60% of America’s corn and soybean exports. Many farmers are also throwing away their crops instead of harvesting right now, in the hope of better conditions that could still be weeks away.
Meanwhile, companies are not loading as much cargo onto ships – so they can travel safely and not bottom out – while fewer barges are included in each tow. According to the American Commercial Barge Line, the industry has agreed to a 25-barge tow max size, which translates into around a 17-38% reduction in capacity. Dredging by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been helpful to keep the traffic flowing, but new challenging spots can surface any day.
Commentary: “While the public and media generally understand that our economy depends upon viable international ocean shipping, trucking, and rail transportation, the essential role of our inland waterways is often overlooked,” said Peter Friedmann of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition. “Our members depend upon adequate water levels in the Mississippi River system, to reach domestic and international export markets. The low water disruption of the supply chain will be felt not only by our U.S. producers of food, farm, and fiber but also by U.S. and international consumers as well.”
Image and article originally from seekingalpha.com. Read the original article here.


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RFID Brings Lululemon's Inventory Accuracy to 98 Percent
The yoga and sports apparel retailer has increased its e-commerce sales by tracking the locations of millions of goods as they move throughout its stores.
Apr 18, 2016—
Global athletic apparel company lululemon reports that it has boosted its in-store revenue by deploying a radio frequency identification system at all of its stores to track its products' movements as they arrive at stores, are placed on display on the sales floor and are sold. The system has increased the company's inventory accuracy to 98 percent, says Jonathan Aitken, lululemon's RFID program director, which is one reason that the company's revenue is up, since its stores know what goods are available in the back room to be restocked on the sales floor and purchased. The company's ability to access RFID-based inventory data and choose to sell goods online or in store accounted for 8 percent of e-commerce revenue for the quarter, said Stuart Haselden, lululemon's CFO, during the firm's third-quarter investor call in December 2015.
Aitken will describe the project for the deployment in detail during a keynote at RFID Journal LIVE! 2016, to be held next month in Orlando, Fla. Aitken's speech will take place on May 3 at 5 pm.Tyco Retail Solutions' TrueVUE Enterprise Software and RFID Sensormatic readers, Avery Dennison RFID printers and tags, Technology Solutions (UK) Ltd. (TSL) handheld RFID readers and Zebra Technologies (Motorola Solutions) RFID reader antennas in the back room and RFID handhelds at the point of sale (POS).
To date, Lululemon has already tagged 3.5 million items at its three distribution centers, as well as at a third-party warehouse. Its suppliers tag another 6.7 million units annually with tags provided by Avery Dennison.
The RFID system was first launched as a pilot at two stores in 2013, where the company studied the technology's effectiveness for 11 months. Based on the pilot's early success, the project was expanded to 12 locations in 2014. Beginning in April 2015, lululemon rapidly rolled out its RFID-enabled inventory system at all North American and Hong Kong stores during a period of just six months, finishing in the third quarter of last year. RFID is now standard at all new store openings in North America.
"From the time that lululemon decided to move forward, they were live in 300 stores in nine months," says Doug Wilson, an account executive at Tyco Retail Solutions. "This is an incredibly fast-paced business, so one challenge is simply keeping up with customer service and sales-floor replenishment. The store personnel move very quickly throughout the day."
Each lululemon store is unique. Therefore, the implementation, especially regarding RFID shielding, was slightly different for every store. Some locations were painted with RF-blocking paint, Aitken says, while others received RFID-shielding ceiling tiles, but most ended up with a back room that "looked a little like the inside of the International Space Station."
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DNB will take over Nille shops in order to save the discount price chain from bankruptcy. The chain has over 360 shops with a total of 2,000 employees in Norway.
To Dagens Næringsliv newspaper, Communications Director,Thomas Midteide of DNB stated that Nille owed the bank money and that the takeover came to secure DNB’s own loans.
“This is also the best solution for Nille’s employees, customers, and partners as the situation stands now,” said Midteide.
The chain has been owned by the British acquisition fund, BC Partners,and has 360 shops with 2,000 employees in Norway. In addition, Nille has 30 shops in Sweden.
Dagens Næringsliv reported that DNB has put in Reidar Mueller as chairman of the company.
‘’He was also in Kid. We put the best people onto it and then we try to turn the business around,” said Midteide.
Source: NRK / #Norway Today


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- Oil prices have dropped again, this time by 16%, and has heightened fears of storage
- COVID-19 has led to a fall in global demand for oil and subsequently a fall in global prices of the commodity
- A number of producers have, meanwhile, initiated moves to cut down on production due to the drop in demand
Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in
YEN.com.gh has learned that oil prices have fallen by another 16% and led to fears over storage.
Information available shows that West Texas Intermediate (WTI), which is the benchmark for the United States of America (USA), slipped 16.12%, or $2.06, to trade at $10.72 per barrel.
It has also been gathered that the international benchmark, Brent crude, traded 5.45% lower at $18.90 per barrel.
READ ALSO: Energy minister commissions GHC30 million to provide power for Ghanaians
Per a myjoyonline.com report, estimates show that the coronavirus pandemic has erased as much as a third of global demand for oil, leading to prices tumbling to record lows.
Oil prices were subjected to a new form of pressure on Monday, April 27, 2020, after the United States Oil Fund, which trades under the ticker ‘USO’ and is popular with retail investors, said it would sell all of its contracts for June delivery beginning Monday, in favor of longer-term contracts.
According to the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU), USO’s move is a recognition of the bleak prospects for the US oil sector in May and June 2020.
Several producers have also announced production cuts as demand for oil drops but some are convinced it won’t be fast enough to combat the unprecedented fall in demand resulting from the pandemic.
YEN.com.gh earlier reported that oil prices in the United States of America (USA) dropped by a historic 305% and sold at -$36.73 per barrel.
The historic fall on Monday, April 20, 2020, saw traders unloading positions ahead of the May contract’s expiration on Tuesday, April 21, 2020.
YEN.com.gh understands that presently, buyers are being paid to take delivery as there is cost associated with transportation and storage.
READ ALSO: Royal Vopak NV: World's biggest storage firm running out of space to store oil
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Nana Addo shouldn't share the food to the kayayo's only - Market women cry out | #Yencomgh
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RadioShack to close over 1,000 underperforming stores
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RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) plans to close up to 1,100 underperforming U.S. stores, according to the company's fourth-quarter earnings statement.
In February, the Fort Worth, Texas-based retailer said it would close about 500 stores, half of the total it now plans.
RadioShack, which has more than 80 stores in the greater Houston region, has about 4,500 locations in the U.S. The statement did not say which locations would be closing.
"Our fourth quarter financial results were driven by a holiday season characterized by lower store traffic, intense promotional activity particularly in consumer electronics, a very soft mobility marketplace and a few operational issues," said CEO Joseph Magnacca in the statement. "Even in this environment, we're continuing to make progress on the five pillars of our turnaround plan: repositioning the brand, revamping the product assortment, reinvigorating the stores, operational efficiency and financial flexibility."
Magnacca has been leading the company in a restructuring plan since he took the helm in February 2013, including rebuilding its leadership team and introducing a new concept store and marketing strategy.
"We have been encouraged by the positive response to our new brand positioning around 'Do It Together,' which we kicked off with our award-winning Super Bowl commercial," he said. "Key hires during the fourth quarter in merchandising, global sourcing, planning and allocation and, more recently, our new chief financial officer, round out our new leadership team as we continue to re-build the business."
RadioShack has been working to push a new image appealing to the modern customer. The Super Bowl ad Magnacca referenced featured icons from the 1980s saying they wanted their store back.
In its fourth quarter earnings the company posted net sales $935.4 million, down from $1,171.4 last year. Same-store sales were down 19 percent, the statement said.
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TORONTO, CANADA – July 27, 2021 – Vox Royalty Corp. (TSXV: VOX) (“Vox” or the “Company”), a high growth precious metals focused royalty company
As Apple is expected to launch new iPhones, Apple Watch, Macs, and even a new AirPods in the second half of 2021, now serves as a good time to look back at what Apple has already released this year. Today, we want to know: which of the products the company has already released this year is your favorite so far?
The 14th annual iPhone Photography Awards winners have been announced, and this year's winning photograph was taken with an iPhone 7."Untitled" | Image Credit: Yayun Liu/IPPAwardsThe iPhone Photography Awards is an annual contest that judges images exclusively shot on either the iPhone or the iPad. 2021 marks the competition's 14th year, with winners spanning the globe. Read more
Shortly after the first Sight Tech Global event, in December last year, Apple and Microsoft announced remarkable new features for mobile phones. Anyone could point the phone camera at a scene and request a “scene description.” In a flash, a cloud-based, computer vision AI determined what was in the scene and a machine-voice read the [
As part of Transform 2021, we’re excited to announce the full list of nominees for the third annual Women in AI Awards.
As 2021 Emmy nominations are announced this morning, we'll be updating you with the full list, snubs and surprises and other key takeaways.
This year’s winners will be revealed in a virtual ceremony in October
San Diego Comic-Con went virtual again in 2021 but managed to bring plenty of exciting news about your favourite movies and TV shows.
The rumored new iPad mini is expected to be unveiled by Apple in the second half of 2021. Of all the features rumored to be coming with this overhaul, what’s the one are you most excited about?


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Captain Carter and Hydra Stomper Coming Soon to Hot Toys
Hot Toys has already started off their 1/6th scale Marvel Studios What If…? figure line with a bang. Zombie Hunter Spider-Man is kicking off the line, but it looks like Hot Toys is not stopping there. The company has teased another figure on the way as Captain Carter, and the Hydra Stomper who are ready to kick some Nazi butt. No one knows how Peggy Carter gets the super soldier serum yet, but we will as we explore that Multiverse with Marvel Studios' new animated show coming on August 11 to Disney+.
Captain Carter has been the frontrunner of all the promotional material for the series, so it is no surprise that she will be getting the 1/6th scale treatment. The biggest surprise, though is that Steve Rogers and his Hydra Stomper mech will be joining the fight! This massive mech will be coming to 1/6 scale proportions as it is faithfully recreated from the upcoming What If…? Series and will even include a Steve Rogers to ride inside. Thankfully, Hot Toys has showcased this behemoth during their Showcase showing off the height of the Hydra Stomper compared to Captain Carter. These two will make quite the team, and collectors will definitely have to clear up some shelving space to display them together.
No release date or price has been revealed for these two just yet, but with them already on display, I'm sure we will see them soon. I am more curious about if each will be sold solo or if there will be a Captain Carter and Hydra Stomper Deluxe set that will include both. Either way, Marvel fans will be dishing out some serious cash to get their hands on these two. Be sure to check the Zombie Hunter Spider-Man who has pre-orders up here, and keep your eyes out for the Zombie Captain America figures also coming from Hot Toys….


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Existing home sales drop for ninth straight month in October
Housing market is ‘depressed’ and consumers will start pulling back: Fred Lane
Lane Generational founder and CEO Fred Lane predicts ‘persistently high inflation’ over the next four to five years and run ahead of interest rates.
U.S. existing home sales slowed for the ninth straight month in October as rising mortgage rates, surging inflation and steep home prices drained consumer demand.
Sales of previously owned homes tumbled 5.9% in October from the previous month to an annual rate of 4.43 million units, according to new data released Friday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). That is slightly better than what economists were expecting, according to Refinitiv.
On an annual basis, home sales plunged 28.4% in October.
"More potential homebuyers were squeezed out from qualifying for a mortgage in October as mortgage rates climbed higher," NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. "The impact is greater in expensive areas of the country and in markets that witnessed significant home price gains in recent years."
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Source: Read Full Article


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OpenAI employees do not appear to have threatened to quit en masse after former CEO Sam Altman joined Microsoft. The OpenAI website states that Altman is now acting as a president and board member of OpenAI, which suggests that the organization has accepted his transition to Microsoft. OpenAI employees have posted about their excitement for Altman’s new role at Microsoft on social media, but no actual reports have surfaced of employees threatening to quit.
The 2021 American Jobs Plan proposed by President Joe Biden aims to create 10 million jobs in the clean energy sector. Of the $2.3 trillion in funding proposed by the plan, $2.2 trillion is earmarked for investments in infrastructure and clean energy, including $400 billion for clean energy investments. It includes a focus on investments […]
, experts say Rite Aid’s announced bankruptcy filing may slow, but not stop, the disappearance of pharmacies across the country. In recent years, both major chain and independent drugstores have been shuttering as retailers respond to changing consumer demands. Analysts say market forces and economics, not the specific bankruptcy filing, will determine whether more stores […]
In the wake of an unprecedented number of travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, tourists hoping to get refunds for upcoming trips to Maui have been met with conflicting and muddled responses from Airbnb, the popular home-sharing platform. For those trips that haven’t already been canceled by Airbnb, customers have been encouraged to use […]


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Kalyan Jewellers celebrates #AlwaysWalaLove on Father’s Day
Kalyan Jewellers, one of India’s leading jewellery brands, has kick started its Father’s Day campaign with an interesting video chat between Amitabh Bachchan and Shweta Bachchan. The video story captures a candid conversation between the two where Shweta speaks about her happiness in spending a day with her father, while Big B reveals an anecdotal story from when his daughter was a toddler.
Using this video as the launch pad to their Father’s Day campaign, Kalyan Jewellers has partnered with social media influencers from around the country, to take this conversation further. The idea is involve a larger audience and get them to speak about the #AlwaysWalaLove that they share with their father.
Kalyan Jewellers is parallelly running a contest on the sidelines of their #AlwaysWalaLove campaign wherein the brand has urged its customers and followers to share their father-child story and stand a chance to win exclusive gifts from Kalyan Jewellers.


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- Springfield Central
- What's on
- Real Estate
- APN Network
Art & Theatre BUNDABERG will step back in time to an era filled with Gatsby, flappers, jazz music and black and white pictures.
News A BYRON Shire resident was awarded a PhD for research that tried to identify what it is to be a ‘good bloke’ in Australia
Environment Combating the growing number of takeaway coffee cups ending up in landfill
News Australia’s biggest retailers and supermarkets have again been caught out selling merchandise that is made overseas — some designed as far away as Canada.
News Butchers are ready for the busiest period on the calendar behind Christmas. Are you game to try the cheese and Vegemite sausages and patties?
News Treasurer Jackie Trad’s has received the recommendations from a $100,000 gas royalty review - and there appears to be no clear way forward.


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GTA: PLAYER-CONTROLLED SEX IN GTA: SAN ANDREAS
Popular teen game now rated Adults Only
2004’s top selling video game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, already allows players to blow out cops’ brains, slit hookers’ throats, and pick up prostitutes. But it gets worse; players can now actively participate in virtual sex.
A few months ago, Dutch video gamer Patrick Wildenborg discovered hidden code in the PC version of GTA: San Andreas and unlocked part of the game creators had locked. In June, he went public with the “Hot Coffee Mod,” a gaming modification that can be downloaded off the Internet which unlocks the hidden code and allows players to participate in a completely new element: interactive sex.
GTA: San Andreas, a best selling video game, has always allowed player-controlled character CJ to hook up with a variety of women. If a date goes well, CJ’s new girlfriend invites him to her house for “hot coffee.” The game’s camera remains outside while CJ enters the house, but muffled noises from inside leave no doubt about what “hot coffee” really means.
When the “Hot Coffee Mod” is activated, the camera follows CJ and his girlfriend into the bedroom for a controllable sex mini-game.
President of the National Institute of Media and the Family, David Walsh, comments, “Everybody has known about the hyper-violence in Grand Theft Auto since it was released… What we discovered…is that there are explicit pornographic scenarios in which the player literally directs the pornographic scenes--becomes an actor in porn scenes of explicit sexual activity.”
After the release of the modification, Senators Hilary Rodham Clinton and Joseph Lieberman called for a Federal Trade Commission investigation in order to determine whether the game’s content warranted an “AO” (Adults Only) rating, stricter than the “M” (Mature–17 year old) rating the game originally carried.
After intense pressure from politicians and media watch groups, the video game industry changed GTA: San Andreas’ rating from “mature” to “adults only.” Wal-Mart, Target, and Best Buy immediately pulled all copies of the game from their shelves nationwide. Most retailers will not stock adult games.
GTA’s producer, Rockstar Games, has stopped making the current version of San Andreas and is working on a new, more secure version in order to keep an “M” rating. The company also promises to offer an update that would make the “Hot Coffee” hack useless in the PC version of the game.
GTA: San Andreas was 2004’s top console game, selling more than 5.1 million copies in the US after its release in October. A recent Gallup survey found that 71% of teenage boys have played one of the ultra-violent games in the Grand Theft Auto series. Survey results also found that boys who played these games were twice as likely to get into a physical fight as the boys who had not played. Labeled this year’s worst game for kids, San Andreas received a zero on a 1-5 “Family Friendly” rating scale (Funhousegames.com). Tom Loftus, columnist for MSNBC, stated, “Parents who buy this game for their children should have their heads examined.”
This time, game makers have really gone too far. Parents, pull the plug on GTA: San Andreas, regardless of whether your child accesses these sex scenes or not. It’s time we send a clear message to the gaming industry that we will not tolerate their corruption anymore.
Take action: Write to stores such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and Target, commending them for maintaining a “no adult rated games” policy and encourage them to not even let remade versions of GTA: San Andreas back on their shelves. Pray that this incident will cause the ratings board to be stricter and more thorough in their review of video games. Pray also that parents and teens will be so disgusted with the perversion of the gaming industry that they will stop buying games containing indecency. Plus, forward this article to a friend to help make others aware.
MTV, Plugged In, Associated Press, BCC News, Media Family
Parent's Television Council, Plugged In, Zap2it, Entertainment Tonight
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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shared the latest data on cryptocurrency scams, disclosing that beyond $2 million worth has been stolen by “Elon Musk Impersonators” in just six months.
Since October, the number of folks scammed has risen to over 12 times before, with 1,000% more funds lost.
All told, 7,000 individuals reported falling victim to scams. The FTC logged over $80 million lost, with the average loss sitting at $1,900.
The regulatory body says the new digital currencies are particularly prone to fraud, especially those unfamiliar with the rapidly developing cryptocurrency landscape.
One popular technique is a “giveaway scam,” where someone impersonating a celebrity promises to give back any money sent to them with extra. That’s how fake Elon Musks managed such hefty profits in the latest report.
Other scams come in the form of websites masquerading as opportunities to invest in cryptocurrency mining. Some even report to the victim that their investment is growing, but nothing happens when they attempt to withdraw the money.
Classic online dating scams are even making their way to the new era. Fully 20% of those who reported losing money in romance scams said it was through cryptocurrency.
Scammers – If it’s too good to be true, then it’s not
For those wondering how to tell authentic investments from scams. FTC offers some modest advice:
The age group most exposed to the scams were people in their 20s and 30s. The said victims lost more on investment scams than any other type of fraud.
The FTC wrapped up its report with three pieces of advice the avoid cryptocurrency scams.
- Promises of guaranteed huge returns or claims that your cryptocurrency will be multiplied are always scams.
- The cryptocurrency itself is the investment. You make money if you’re lucky enough to sell it for more than you paid. Period. Don’t trust people who say they know a better way.
- If a caller, love interest, organization, or anyone else insists on cryptocurrency, you can bet it’s a scam.
📣 Cryptonetwork.News is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, and Cryptomining headlines.


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Dressdo.co.uk, a reputable online store in the UK, recently started offering big discounts on prom dresses UK. The owners of the firm confirmed that the discounts and other special offers are a part of their end of summer sales fiesta. They underscored the fact that the primary objective is to generate interest in consumers about their products, especially the prom dresses and the other special occasion dresses.
Apart from prom dresses UK, the online store is also offering massive discounts on evening dresses, formal dresses, cocktail dresses, bridesmaid dresses and wedding dresses. The owners of the firm said that customers can enjoy free delivery across the UK if the order is over £200. New customers can also sign up on the site for a small amount of money and get newsletters. However, the owners reiterated that their aim is to make the prom dresses and bridesmaid dresses UK more popular than any other special occasion dresses. For this reason only, they are offering special discounts and other exciting offers on prom dresses and bridesmaid dresses UK only. They also added that the other products also come with discounted price tags.
“Our special occasion dresses have always been much sought-after in the UK. We have our own inventory in the UK and a large retail chain through which we operate in the country. However, 2015 Q1 sales figures show that prom dresses and bridesmaid dresses are selling better than any other product in our store. We thought we should jump at this opportunity and try to increase sales by offering special prices on these products. Our forecast didn’t go wrong and we have actually been able to boost sales by offering massive discounts on prom dresses and bridesmaid dresses,” said the owner of Dressdo during a recent press conference.
A senior executive told the press that 2015 prom dresses and 2015 bridesmaid dresses have been added to the product catalogue. “We have started working with a number of new and outstandingly creative designers. We hope our customers will like the new designs,” he said.
About the Company
Dressdo.co.uk is an online store selling a variety of special occasion dresses.
To know more, visit http://www.dressdo.co.uk/
Company Name: Dressdo
Contact Person: Allen, CEO
Phone: +86 18755105961
Country: United Kingdom


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The IFA 2010 opens officially today. Yamaha is unveiling with the BD-S1067 a new 3D Blu-ray player. Other features of the Yamaha BD-S1067 besides playing the not existing 3D Blu-ray discs are DivX HD Plus format support, DLNA, USB, Youtube viewer, HDMI 1.4 and Dolby TrueHD.
Don't Miss: Nintendo Switch: Everything You Need To Know
THe Yamaha BD-S1067 will start shipping in October for 599 Euros.
Don't Miss: Sam's Club Black Friday 2016 Details
The IFA 2010 Consumer Electronics Show will take place in Berlin from September 3rd to September 8th. The IFA 2010 is celebrating the 50th edition and we will be reporting about all the new announcements. Stay tuned for tons of 3D TV related news.


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BRAMPTON and CHATHAM, Ontario—Two separate Coca-Cola Refreshment Company facilities are in the news this week: one because it’s set to close and one because its workers are on strike.
Members of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) Local 973 are picketing the company’s Brampton, Ontario facility, which is the company’s largest in Canada. The Brampton plant produces all Coca-Cola products (except Minute Maid), a total of 136 different brands. It also serves as a distribution facility for products shipped across all of Ontario and into parts of Manitoba. The plant employees approximately 700 unionized employees and 100 temporary employees.
Erika Mozes, director of public affairs and communications for Coca-Cola, says talks broke down on June 26 at midnight, “before we could provide them with a comprehensive offer,” adding that “we were never able to talk about wages”.
CAW Local 973 plant chairperson Ryan Parson stressed the strike isn’t about wages, salaries, benefits or pensions. He says it’s about safety and working conditions.
“The issues circle around precarious work. They’re adamant there will be no full-time employment. We have a mechanism in the agreement to transition temporary workers to full-time. It’s so restrictive and they want to further restrict it so workers won’t have the ability to get full-time job. They want elevated and increased levels of outsourcing for the highway transport group that takes Coca-Cola products to other Coca-Cola workplaces in the province, as well as their holding centres where they stockpile their products. They want elevated in-sourcing for skilled trades as well as our outsourcing for one of our skilled trades departments. And with the increased access to outsourcing, they also want to restrict any layoff transfer rights that we’ve historically had in the Coke system for years, in so far as workers having a right to move with their work. Those are the major sticking points.
“They don’t want to address any of our safety concerns. We were looking to enhance commitments in the collective agreement about the safety of our members and the public, as we have 200 member truck drivers on the road, and they’re not interested in any enhancements about safety.”
He added that the reason the union wants to see safety dealt with in the agreement is so there is recourse if unsafe working conditions occur. “We just want them to recognize the safety rules in the agreement and commit to them. We’re not seeing progress. If it’s in the collective agreement, we have access to the grievance procedure.”
Union members set up pickets at the Brampton facility. In addition, members from the Brampton bargaining unit were at the company’s facilities in Weston, Hamilton, London, Kingston, Ottawa, and Peterborough in what Parson calls “information sessions, talking to the other Coke workers about what’s happening in their workplace. Brampton is the largest facility. It’s about one-fifth of Coca-Cola’s employee population and it generally sets the pattern for the country in terms of working conditions, seniority rights and other things contained in the collective agreement.”
In addition, union members set up at Dominion Warehousing, a 3PL that stores and handles products for Coca-Cola.
“We have ventured into an agreement with the manager at Domion. Because we don’t want to disrupt all of their business there—they work for other companies. So they have agreed Coc-Cola products will only be coming from one gate of three gates, as opposed to the other gates at their main facility—so we don’t disrupt other people’s business.
According to Parson, the CAW was ready to continue negotiations even after the midnight deadline had passed and the union was legally allowed to strike. He puts the existence of the strike at the feet of the company.
“They had built a fence around their compound as early as Wednesday morning. They illegally locked our workers out at about 9:00 PM Wednesday night before the deadline, and refused to pay them for the duration of their shift. As of yesterday, they were still withholding live manual paycheques from temporary employees who had worked the week prior as well.”
Mozes says Coca-Cola has its contingency plans in place and expects to keep distributing products “with limited downtime to customers”.
Coca-Cola has two separate operations in Chatham, Ontario, but come this fall, that number will be cut in half.
The company runs a remanufacturing facility, which services and repairs equipment including soft drink fountains and vending machines, and a distribution centre which employs over 30 people. The distribution centre is shutting down.
“We’ve made a business decision to move the distribution centre and offer all of the employees that work there positions in either of the distribution centres we have in Windsor or London,” says Mozes.
“It’s a decision based on the fact that the operations are housed in a building that we lease a portion of—and we own a portion of. When the lease came up, we decided that we are not going to renew the lease and move the distribution to London and Windsor.”
She said the company will work the the union at the Chatham facility to decide which employees will be given offers to move to Windsor or London.
The Chatham DC distributes products into the Southern Ontario market, which is also a market served by both London and Windsor.
“That was also part of the decision for us to not renew the lease, because we knew we’d be able to service the area out of our London and Windsor facilities,” says Mozes.
She expects the facility to close some time in September or October, once negotiations have been completed with the union and talks have been held with the employees.


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India’s Axis Bank has partnered with fitness technology provider GOQii to develop a wearable device that will allow its customers to make contactless payments. “The device will allow consumers to make NFC payments and will come loaded with the regular fitness related features like the coach etc that the GOQii bands come with,” the bank’s Rajiv Anand told Economic Times. The two companies expect to roll out the device in the coming months.
- Federal Reserve plans to endorse a faster payment system
- Carrier billing for Apple services spreads to Denmark, Hong Kong, Sweden
- TD Canada for iOS now lets you easily add TD cards to Apple Pay
- PayPal to let Citibank and Chase customers pay with loyalty points
- Rambus explores five key reasons retailers should have a mobile wallet


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Same day courier service CitySprint has taken on former Royal Mail regional manager Craig Eddy as director of operations. Eddy’s brief is to help drive growth in the firm’s final mile operations whilst maintaining service levels. He will also manage CitySprint’s fleet across all the firm’s operational centres. In the 19 years Eddy spent with Royal Mail he progressed from depot manager to his most recent post as regional East of England manager, where he directly managed the day-to-day operations […]
A degree-level apprenticeship standard will be available to the supply chain sector from mid-2018, after Uniserve Group’s Supply Chain Leadership framework was approved by the Institute for Apprenticeships.
UK Mail Group’s depot closure programme will cost it approximately £2m as it looks to continue to cut costs. In a pre-close trading update for the year ended 31 March, UK Mail says the closure of four depots in the past 12 months will leave it with a low-cost and integrated network. It is left with a network of 50 depots as a result. The parcels giant also reveals a Q4 revenue increase of 14% year-on-year. However, when adjusting for […]
Royal Mail is increasing prices for some of its mail contracts to help offset the impact of the decline in mail volumes and generate cost savings.


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You Can Root Your Pixel and Pixel XL Phones – Google Spokesperson
Google has prompted several concerns over its latest Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones by partnering with Verizon. The carrier yesterday clarified that unlike previously believed, ALL Pixel devices will receive software updates simultaneously, "much like" the iPhones. Whether you buy your phone from Google or Verizon, it won't have any effect on how or when you receive latest security and system updates. But would you be able to root Google Pixel and Pixel XL devices?
Worried if you'll be able to root Google Pixel? Google says YES
Another concern that remained was the ability to root Pixel devices. Google has now released a statement confirming that if you buy your Pixel from Google, you will be able to root your Pixel phone. While we already knew that Pixel and Pixel XL bought directly from Google have unlocked bootloaders, the tech giant has now confirmed that rooting the lineup will be possible.
"Yes, Pixel owners who purchased the device from the Google store will be able to root their devices.
Pixel phones purchased from the Google store will ship with an unlockable bootloader." Iska Saric, Google Spokesperson
There you go. Now, we have the official confirmation. You will indeed be able to root Pixel, whenever developers share some working root methods. If you, however, bought your device from Verizon, rooting won't be possible. Pixels sold from Verizon ship with locked bootloaders.
You should know that you won't be able to receive OTA updates from Google's new "seamless update" process once you have rooted your device. "Rooting involves modifying partitions on the phone. If the partitions are modified the OTA will fail to apply," Google confirmed. Many had hoped that Google would fix this age old issue of users unable to update their rooted devices to benefit from latest security patches. Perhaps we will see that coming next year?
We will update our readers with news and guides on rooting and installing custom recovery on their Pixel phones, followed by some popular custom ROMs installation, as and when they come. Yes, we too can't wait to get started!
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Didi, Meituan Dianping and bilibili (bilibili) have all partnered with a number of banks involved in digital currency projects, Caixin reported on July 8. Among them, Meituan Dianping may try to expand the use scene such as Meituan bike, while the cooperation between bilibili and the participating bank has entered the stage of technological development. In addition, companies such as byte jump are also discussing the possibility of cooperation with banks.
A few days ago, the Institute of Digital money of the people’s Bank of China formally reached a strategic cooperation agreement with DiDi to jointly study and explore the scene innovation and application of digital RMB in the field of smart travel, Beijing Business Daily reported on July 8. The two sides hope to establish a cooperative relationship to promote the platform ecological construction of digital RMB in diversified travel scenarios. At the same time, the Institute of Digital currency of the people’s Bank of China recently released the “Digital Research New Star Program” internship recruitment, recruiting interns in Beijing, Shenzhen and Suzhou.
In early June this year, Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Kuroda again said that the Bank of Japan has no plans to issue digital currency for the time being. According to previous news, Toshihiko Kuroda said many times in 2019 that Japan does not need to issue central bank digital currency for the time being, but will continue to study digital currency. Not long ago, on July 2, the Bank of Japan released a summary report on digital currency technology. The Bank of Japan defines digital money as “a means of settlement that anyone can safely and reliably use anywhere at any time”. In addition to making it available to the elderly who do not have smartphones, the Bank of Japan has also proposed an offline settlement function to ensure transactions in the event of communications and power outages caused by disasters.
In early July, European Central Bank Executive Board Leon Panetta said the central bank’s digital currency, (CBDC), could have an impact on monetary policy. The ECB is a pioneer in exploring the possibility of the central bank’s digital currency (CBDC) program. The global potential of the euro has not yet been fully unleashed, but the right policies can unleash it. In addition to the direct impact of the epidemic crisis, the acceleration of the digitization of monetary policy may have an impact on the global status of the euro. The central bank’s digital currency will have an impact on the euro in the areas of monetary policy, financial stability and payment systems, which requires a thorough assessment. If central bank digital money is allowed to be used outside the euro zone, it is also likely to have an impact on the global monetary and financial system.
In late June, the Italian banking association (ABI), made up of more than 700 Italian banking institutions, expressed its willingness to participate in the digital euro pilot, hoping to help accelerate the implementation of digital currencies backed by the European Central Bank by participating in projects and experiments.
South Korean bank (BOK) set up a legal advisory group on the central bank’s digital currency (CBDC) on June 15 to help review legal issues related to the possible future issuance of such currencies, according to Yonhap news agency. However, the Bank of Korea said that the move does not mean that preparations have been made for the actual launch of digital currency, it is just making the necessary preparations, just in case. According to previous reports, the Bank of Korea announced its medium-and long-term development strategy “BOK 2030” on June 9. The strategy mentions that the Bank of Korea is upgrading its research capacity to cope with the rapidly changing global economic and financial environment and is actively engaged in the research and preparation of digital currencies.
Earlier news, the Lithuanian central bank is testing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The digital currency, LBCoin, is based on the NEM blockchain and is scheduled to be launched in July. The Bank of Lithuania has conducted blockchain experiments for more than two years. However, the digital currency is a commemorative digital token that almost no one can use. Officials say no shopkeeper has the e-wallet necessary to accept LBCoin. Andrius Adamonis, the bank’s head of innovation and blockchain project manager, says LBCoin will be a very interesting project because some say it is like a small-scale trial of CBDC.
On July 2nd Lithuania said it would launch LBCoin, the first digital currency produced by the central bank, in the euro zone. Pre-sale will begin next week. Each token contains a portrait of one of the 20 people who signed the Lithuanian Declaration of Independence in 1918 and will be sold in a package of six for a total of 24000 at a price of 99 euros. Marius Jurgilas, deputy governor of the Lithuanian central bank, said that LBCoin is very similar to the so-called central bank digital currency (CBDC), putting Lithuania at the forefront of the development of legal tender.
At a press conference on the morning of July 9, the Lithuanian central bank displayed the digital commemorative coin LBCoin,. The central bank also launched lbcoin.lb.lt, an electronic store specially set up for the LBCoin project. Marius Jurgilas, a member of the board of directors of the Bank of Lithuania, said: “Today, we have opened a new chapter in the history of money science and further explored the potential of the central bank’s digital currency (CBDC). LBCOIN may be the most advanced testing ground for testing different avatars of CBDC at a time when the central bank is starting to change its view on digital money. “
In early July, David Treat, senior managing director of Accenture (Accenture), head of the global blockchain and co-head of the digital dollar program, said that once the project was approved and launched, the US could quickly enter the central bank’s digital currency pilot. In response to a reporter’s question “when will we see the Fed have its own CBDC pilot”, he said he hoped it would be available soon, and said, “from the beginning, within a few quarters, you can have real work cases in the real world, and it is easy to imagine that people can use wallets on their phones and exchange tokens in a certain context. As a result, the first pilot use case can be completed in months and quarters and does not take years or more. “
At the end of June, experts from Kazakhstan, Russia, China and other countries gathered on the 2020 Astana online Financial Day to discuss the digital currency plans and strategies of relevant central banks. The development of blockchain technology gives new practical significance to digital currency. In May 2020, Kazakh presidential adviser Moussin proposed the introduction of blockchain technology and digital tenge, aimed at combating corruption and ensuring transparency in the allocation of state budget funds. In June, Kazakhstan adopted the outline for the Development of Block chain and Digital Technology. In 2019, the Kazakh digital currency mining project will attract 82.6 million tenge, and the scale of investment will be increased by another 80 million tenge in 2020.
At present, the central bank of Kazakhstan is demonstrating the feasibility of introducing digital tenge. Zalenov, adviser to the governor of the Central Bank of Kazakhstan, believes that the main task of the central bank is to maintain the inflation target and financial market stability, the digital currency solution is secondary, and the key is to ensure that the design of the digital monetary system is consistent with the monetary policy objectives. Kaliev, development manager of (AIFC) of Astana International Financial Center, said that AIFC is willing to provide testing support and legal basis for the introduction of digital currency in Kazakhstan. Prior to this, Kazakhstan has formulated a scheme for the storage and circulation of encrypted currencies to standardize the storage and circulation of virtual currencies through professional platforms. The AIFC protocol has included terms commonly used in the cryptocurrency market, such as virtual currency and its classification, intelligent contracts, digital wallets, and so on.
“the Bank of Canada is embarking on a socially significant project to design a temporary system for CBDC that can be seen as banknotes, but in digital form,” the Bank of Canada wrote in a job advertisement for a project manager in a recruitment announcement issued by the Bank of Canada on June 11.
According to the job advertisement, CBDC in Canada should protect the privacy of users (although it is less private than cash), make it available to people who do not have bank accounts or mobile phones, and can work in the event of a power outage, which is as secure as paper money to gain the trust of the cash-holding public. In addition, the central bank wants its CBDC to be based on a framework that “may have a development life span of decades” and to develop in line with policy objectives. However, other technical details have not yet been determined. The bank did not specify the technologies its CBDC might use, such as whether it uses a token-based or account-based model, or how to create an electronic money that can run in the event of a power outage. These details will be formed during the three-year term of office of the position. In the meantime, the central bank also hopes to establish a “CBDC pilot system”.
In an analysis on June 30th, Bank of Canada experts said the CBDC should mimic the characteristics of ordinary paper money. This means that urban, rural and remote communities can enjoy this service with or without bank accounts. With or without smartphones, people can use CBDC to trade, even during power outages, whether they have Internet access or not. Earlier, the Bank of Canada released an employee analysis report that showed that zero knowledge proof and similar blockchain network privacy encryption methods were still in their infancy and were not ready to be widely used in the central bank’s digital currency (CBDC) system.
On June 24th the Swedish central bank studied the feasibility of the central bank’s digital currency (CBDC) in its own market. In a 96-page economic report updated on June 18th, the central bank proposed four models for providing an electronic version of the Swedish krona and outlined how different models met its policy objectives. These goals include promoting stable storage of value and accounting units, becoming the lender of last resort ((LOLR),) to provide secure means of payment and settlement, and providing tools to maintain financial stability. Under this background, the four modes in the study include “central electronic krone supply mode without intermediary”, “centralized electronic krone supply mode with intermediary”, “distributed solution with intermediary” and “synthetic electronic krone”.
On June 18, the 12th Lujiazui Forum opened in Shanghai. Meng Wenneng, Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said in a round-table discussion that CBDC is a very hot topic at present, and the people’s Bank of China is very active in exploring this field. Singapore and the people’s Bank of China have a lot of exchanges, and the two sides are discussing the landing scenarios related to CBDC. In Meng Wenneng’s view, although the motivation for developing CBDC varies from country to country, attention should be paid to the use scenario. On June 24, on the question of cooperation with China in the field of digital currency, a spokesman for the Monetary Authority of Singapore said in response to reporters that the Monetary Authority of Singapore has been exploring the use of wholesale central bank digital currency to improve the efficiency of cross-border payments through Ubin projects. Many central banks are engaged in similar projects and can learn a lot from each other. The HKMA has been holding extensive discussions with the people’s Bank of China on the development of financial technology and looks forward to continuing to explore new areas of cooperation.
(NBC), the National Bank of Cambodia, released a white paper based on the blockchain payment project Bakong in late June. The Bank of Cambodia said Bakong would help reduce the dollar the country’s dominant blockchain technology by allowing Cambodians to use QR codes and mobile apps instead of traditional paper money payments., Hyperledger Iroha’s blockchain technology will help enable real-time money transfers between bank accounts and digital wallets. The white paper revealed that the project could operate between Bakong digital accounts and traditional accounts, keeping accounts in distributed books, using a consensus mechanism called “Yet Another Consensus”, with each transaction time of five seconds or less. At the same time, the throughput of the network is between 1000 and 2000 TPS, which depends on the technical specifications. At the same time, the project has the potential to expand its capacity.
In mid-June, the Bank of Thailand announced a project to develop a prototype commercial decentralized payment system, becoming the latest monetary regulator to join the central bank’s digital currency (CBDC). The prototype of the Bank of Thailand’s CBDC will be based on the Inthanon project, a distributed ledger project launched by the Bank of Thailand in partnership with the country’s eight major commercial banks. The scope of the project will include conducting feasibility studies and developing an innovation platform that integrates CBDC with enterprises, the announcement said. The new prototype project is scheduled to begin next month and is expected to last until the end of the year, when the Bank of Thailand will release a summary and results of the project.
The Venezuelan government announced on June 12th that nearly 15 per cent of fuel payments at gas stations across the country had been paid in petroleum coins in the first week of the new plan to promote the use of (Petro). Earlier, the government had asked all gas stations in Venezuela to accept the country’s cryptocurrency Petro as payment.
In mid-June, the Central Bank of Belarus will allow 12 state-owned and commercial banks to pilot issue digital tokens and conduct business in a high-tech park. The project will run from January 1, 2021 to January 1, 2024, with participating banks including Belarusian-Swiss Bank and Belarusbank, the country’s largest bank. Banks will be allowed to raise funds from domestic companies or individuals to issue Belarusian rouble tokens, according to a document obtained by media sources from the central bank. The central bank also said that non-citizens can use domestic legal currency and foreign legal currency to buy tokens, but banks cannot accept digital currency. In addition, banks must not invest more than 10% of their total capital in token issuance projects, and only companies or individuals registered in the high-tech park can use the new tokens for transactions.
Christina Segal-Knowles, executive director of the Bank of England’s financial market infrastructure, said in June that the COVID-19 pandemic had exacerbated the existing trend of reduced cash use. ATM withdrawals in Britain have plummeted since the country imposed a blockade in March to crack down on novel coronavirus, as stores insist on contactless payments in some cases. She said the Bank of England had published a discussion paper on potential CBDC, arguing that the use of CBDC could include cutting cross-border payments, such as remittances. The Bank of England is actively exploring because of the potential opportunities for CBDC, Segal-Knowles said.
Maxwell Opoku Afari, chief deputy governor of the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG), said at a seminar on June 8th that the bank was still committed to experimenting with (CBDC), the central bank’s digital currency. This spring, the Central Bank of Ghana established the Office of Financial Technology Innovation to respond to major changes in the payment industry. Although some methods have been adopted to encourage e-cash transactions, Opoku Afari stressed that the specific CBDC pilot scheme still has a solid foundation.
These are the latest developments of the central bank digital currency from June to early July. From the above news, we can see that many countries have made substantial progress in the research and development of the central bank digital currency, and circulation and use may be just around the corner. Of course, many countries are still doing further research and judgment on the central bank digital currency CBDC, as well as analyzing the feasibility of its issuance, and so on. More about the latest news of national CBDC and the follow-up development trend.


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A new week is upon us, as is a new issue of Currents. Things have gone from busy to chaotic recently. Trying to balance new content for the site, finalizing rewrites of an upcoming novel (you'll hear more next issue), and preparing for PAX East have led to more than a few sleepless nights. However, you can expect a ton of slick interviews, hands-on details of new and exciting games, and a plethora of event media in the very near future.
There are plenty of interesting topics in this issue, but we'll be starting with gender representation in video games (in case you weren't aware of the trope, the title of this issue is actually an allusion to how women can be killed, injured, or depowered as a plot device in certain media). A few weeks back, I wrote an editorial about female representation and its role in RPGs, but more recently there has been an abundance of media regarding big publishers and their hardened disinterest in female protagonists. We'll get into the nitty-gritty of that news shortly, but for now please enjoy the controversial Anita Sarkeesian's first video in her multipart series Tropes vs Women in Video Games:
Enough damsels in distress. Industry coverage awaits!
Female representation in video games seems to be a more important issue these days. Rightfully so, as the "women don't play video games" mentality seems to have had some adverse affects on the industry. A few months back, after Bioshock Infinite's ho-hum box art went public, Irrational Games' perpetually blunt Ken Levine publicly discussed Elizabeth's bumping to the back cover. It was his assertion that the female main had to be relegated to the back cover of the game's case, lest the presence of a woman turn young men away from purchase. Not long after, Naughty Dog recalled a situation when it had to fight for the main character of Ellie to remain on the cover of The Last of Us. Now, the developers of Remember Me, a platforming action game whose female protagonist has the uncanny ability to manipulate the memories of her targets, have gone public with how negatively industry stakeholders reacted to the concept of a female main character.
In an interview with Penny Arcade, Dontnod Entertainment's creative director Jean-Max Morris detailed how hard they had to fight to get the main character they wanted. "We had some [publishers] that said, 'Well, we don't want to publish it because that's not going to succeed. You can't have a female character in games. It has to be a male character, simple as that." He then discusses the odd industry mentality that men canít control female characters or experience those characters in heterosexual relationships, lest it make the players — whom they understand to only be male — sexually awkward. To Morris, this tunnel-vision thought process is what is inhibiting the medium from maturing and allowing for a more immersive experience. I would have to agree.
Excellent games like Beyond Good and Evil and Mirror's Edge did manage to star female protagonists, but unfortunately both games didn't sell tremendously well. According to Geoffrey Zatkin of EEDAR, a leading provider of video game research, that is probably because their publishers didn't really put the promotional effort in. "Games with a female only protagonist, got half the spending of female optional, and only 40 percent of the marketing budget of male-led games. Less than that, actually," said Zatkin. He argues that this is the result of a "general feeling" from industry marketing that it's hard to sell mass-market games that feature a female protagonist. No hard fact.
This year's Tomb Raider seems to be the exception. The series reboot was a commercially successful game that featured a realistic, flawed protagonist who happened to be female. This revamped Lara Croft is a strong step in the right direction and was heavily promoted by its publisher Square Enix, but many have rightfully argued that it was only able to get away with a female protagonist today due to Tomb Raider's legacy. A legacy that originally got its start with a well-endowed sex object for teenage boys to drool over.
If you were to look around yourself, you would likely notice a diverse world. There are people of different races, sexes, ages, orientations, creeds, and physical/mental capabilities, but so little of that diversity is currently represented in our media. It seems like most games available today are being marketed steadfastly to white men between the ages of 15 to 24 years old, and anything that deviates from that norm is typically left in the cold by its publisher. If we really want fair representation it looks like it is something we'll have to fight for. That fight is worth it though. Not just because it's the right thing to do from a gender equality perspective, but also because more dynamic and realistic characters would likely make a better overall gaming experience.
The most interesting thing about executive culture today is how the internal politics play out to the public. The official statement from Electronic Arts indicates that John Riccitiello, originally appointed to CEO in 2007, will be stepping down, effective March 30, to allow for "leadership transition." As a result, the company is placing former EA CEO and current Chairman of the Board Larry Probst to serve as executive chairman, effective immediately. While he ensures the company continues to run, an executive search firm will be headhunting for the vacant CEO position (prep your resumes, if you're interested).
That is the official statement though. It's well known that in executive culture "stepping down" is code for "ceremoniously fired." Riccitiello, whose resignation letter was filed with the SEC, owns up to his parts in the events that led up to this outcome. "The progress EA has made on transitioning to digital games and services is something I'm extremely proud of. However, it currently looks like we will come in at the low end of, or slightly below, the financial guidance we issued in January, and we have fallen short of the internal operating plan we set one year ago. EA's shareholders and employees expect better and I am accountable for the miss," he noted in his letter. Which, while apt, is a very nice way of saying, "We know financial outlook isnít good, and I get to bite the bullet for it."
Cowan and Company analyst Doug Creutz wasn't quite as kind about the CEO's departure. "Riccitiello's first and biggest mistake was underestimating how deeply the rot had set in at EA when he assumed leadership; we do not believe his successor will face a similar problem," Doug Creutz wrote in a note to investors. "Riccitiello's reign has often been a difficult one for the company; shareholders have seen EA's stock lose more than half its value since he became CEO in 2007. The company has missed earnings guidance on a semi-regular basis and ceded market leadership to Activision Blizzard. We think the first half of Riccitiello's term was marked by flawed strategy while the latter half was impacted by spotty execution. That first year of Riccitiello's years at EA included expensive acquisitions, too many games in production and time wasted chasing the Nintendo Wii, followed by a failed reboot of the Medal of Honor franchise and most recently a shambolic launch of SimCity." Electronic Arts now presents an interesting investment case, according to the analyst, focused on the ongoing transition to a digital games business, the growth of mobile and the boost to core gaming with new consoles.
Naturally, EA stock took a jump after Riccitiello's resignation announcement. Electronic Arts' stock is up over 2.6 percent in after-hours trading following the news and is now trading at about $17 a share. This may be temporary good news for the company, in the wake of a potentially disastrous financial quarter, but it's even better news for an industry that doesn't have a lot of love for the mega publisher. EA won the Consumerist's "Worst Company in America" title last year and is up for nomination this year has well. There has never been a repeat winner for the Golden Poo trophy (yes, it looks how it sounds), but EA could easily break that tradition with both the resignation of Riccitiello and blunders of Metal of Honor: Warfighter and SimCity still fresh in mind. In the same vein, Kotaku recently posted a hilarious article chronicling the best John Riccitiello jokes twitter has to offer.
However, not everyone is happy about this development or the media's reaction to it. Former Xbox head and current Electronic Arts COO Peter Moore is not amused and not afraid to call people out over it. "Kotaku reveling in what, due to their self-smugness, they don't realize is a sad day for our industry, which is the platform on which they actually make money. John not only helped propel our company and interactive entertainment into new experiences, thus enticing millions of new people to become 'gamers', his work leading the ESA in recent years has helped ensure that we don't experience the fate of the music industry," Moore said of his former boss. "Sad loss for all of us who had the pleasure of working with him as we emerged from The Burning Platform."
It is definitely a time of change for both the industry and the company, but I would hope that they see this as an opportunity to get their act together. Regardless of which former industry leaders chime in to defend Electronic Arts, companies donít get nominated twice for the "Worst Company in America" award if they're doing all the right things. EA needs to stop approaching industry like it's a marketing-by-the-numbers game; if your releases are of high quality, they will sell. Otherwise, more financially unfortunate quarters await on the horizon.
SimCity has had a rocky opening. The North American launch earlier this month was crippled by a number of technical issues, with Electronic Arts' server architecture resulting in bugs and lengthy wait times for players to get into servers. Naturally, this has led to EA committing to the addition of more servers and a full time operations team working 24/7 to resolve issues, but the damage has already been done. Recently, users and professional critics alike slammed the online-only game on Metacritic with the professional score now standing at a low 64 out of 100 and the user score, based on over 3000 reviews, wallowing in a sad 1.7 out of 10, SimCity is looking less and less attractive to potential virtual homeowners.
According to Maxis General Manager Lucy Bradshaw, "SimCity is an online game and critics and consumers have every right to expect a smooth experience from beginning to end," in a internal memo posted by Polygon. "I and the Maxis team take full responsibility to deliver on our promise." Bradshaw also acknowledged that reviewers have been docking the game as a result of the server issues, and that Maxis is working to "manage this as closely as possible." Polygon's own review of SimCity dropped from a 9.5 out of 10 to an 8, and sits at a 4 as of this writing. Shifting review scores is a bit unprecedented in this industry, but itís a standard I stand by in the case of the online-only SimCity.
In spite of the huge audience disappointment coupled with the game's rocky release, Electronic Arts has announced that SimCity has sold more than 1.1 million units within its two week launch window — citing 54 percent digital sales with 44 percent of all sales coming through EA's Origin online platform. "SimCity had a great weekend with sales strong across both North America and Europe, adding to overwhelming demand at launch that has us tracking well beyond expectations for the game," said EA COO Peter Moore. "SimCity is one of the storied brands in gaming, and Maxis delivered a game re-envisioned and engineered for the online age." An interesting statement, considering that EA Origin has asked affiliates of its LinkShare to "stop actively promoting" SimCity on their websites — presumably to give Maxis a bit more room to get its act together.
The games still isn't where it needs to be, but EA has offered one free Origin game in a marketing mea culpa to the connectivity issues. Interested users must purchase and register their copy of SimCity prior to March 25 and claim their free game by March 30. Offered games include standard editions of Battlefield 3, Dead Space 3, Mass Effect 3, Medal of Honor: Warfighter, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Bejeweled 3, Plants vs. Zombies, and the deluxe edition of SimCity 4. I'd argue that it is does little to aid the ailing reputation of Electronic Arts, Maxis, or SimCity in the wake of a terribly planned release, but if you're interested in checking out this offer you can view it here.
Samsung recently unveiled the very sexy Galaxy S4 smartphone at a press event in New York. With an eight-core processor (a little excessive, eh?), 5-inch Super AMOLED screen, and the lightest polycarbonate body in the world, this Android phone is looking primed for your pocket. Unfortunately, it also looks primed for a lawsuit.
Along with the phone's release, Samsung has a number of accessories lined up. One of these accessories bears an uncanny resemblance to that of an Xbox 360 controller. The eggshell white piece of hardware features dual grey analog sticks, a suspiciously familiar d-pad, four primary face buttons with a yellow-red-blue-green/YBXA configuration, and shoulder buttons. It pairs with a the phone via Bluetooth, but also includes an upper cradle in which the phone can sit — as though it were a dedicated handheld.
Accusations of plagiarism on Samsung's part are nothing new to the tech world, but just look at this device. This accessory isn't inspired by the Xbox 360 controller. It is the Xbox 360 controller. Expect things to get litigious really quickly.
Phantasy Star is celebrating twenty-five years, and while the fan-fare isn't as cacophonous as Final Fantasy's 25th Anniversary, SEGA is excited to be celebrating the accomplishment. On March 30th, the publisher will be holding a very special one night symphonic tribute to the Phantasy Star Series, promising special guests and tracks from nearly every Phantasy Star title released.
Sympathy will feature famous voice actress Atsuko Enomoto and Yuki Naka, who will be hosting the celebration. The Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra will be providing music, as conducted by Masamichi Amano, and Shenmue composer Takenobu Mitsuyoshi will be the vocalist for the Go Infinity piece.
SEGA will also have a number of exclusive music item codes for Phantasy Star Online 2. Which makes it all the more unfortunate that I will be unable to attend the event. Still, itís nice to see Phantasy Star getting some much deserved acknowledgement.
Pixar Vets Make Games
A group of Pixar veterans has officially established its own video game studio, Steel Wool Games. This new studio has signed a deal with UK-based publisher Ripstone for its first game, Flyhunter, which is expected to be released this summer. The studio co-founders remain employed by Pixar Animation, which has no involvement in their indie game development, but boast impressive artistic klout. Keep an eye for what's to come.
Is Disney Executing Order 66 on LucasArts?
Star Wars: The Clone Wars was recently cancelled, much to the dismay of many fanboys. Looking around at other Star Wars properties now owned by the big mouse in the sky, Star Wars 1313 stands out. Disney has supposedly been quiet with LucasArts employees over that game's future and has been rumored to have frozen the studioís hiring. Considering how Disney is known to farm out the development of IPs to external studios and the fact that Junction Point Studios was just shuttered, will LucasArts be around much longer?


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Flurry: Mobile App Usage Increases as Mobile Web Decreases
In its latest report on the state of the mobile development industry, app analytics vendor Flurry found that smartphone users now spend 2 hours and 42 minutes using their devices on an average day. That's an increase from 2 hours, 38 minutes in March of 2013. Users spend 86 percent of that time using native apps and just 14 percent on the mobile Web; that's a change from 80 percent apps and 20 percent mobile Web a year ago.
Breaking out that app usage by category, games remain the most popular with 32 percent of users' time, followed by Facebook with 17 percent and the browser with 14 percent.


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On Tuesday, VRJournal covered a new eMarketer report that highlights and underscores the power of virtual reality for branding and marketing.
When Eloi Gerard, a serial entrepreneur and the co-founder and current CEO of Shanghai-based virtual reality (VR) content studio Crow’s Nest was interviewed by eMarketer’s David Green about VR commerce, Gerard had many interesting things to say.
For starters, Gerard believes VR is not just for games and experiences — it’s highly suited to commerce.
“In our view, the main way people are going to use virtual reality and interact with a brand will be in VR commerce,” he is quoted in the VRJ report. “Even if we are doing brand awareness, we help them shape their VR commerce.”
It’s still true, according to Gerard, that VR is still unmapped marketing territory — complete with insufficient supporting data.
“Right now there are no strong metrics for VR,” Gerard said. “Let’s face it, there is absolutely nothing. There are no figures, no ROI. You cannot prove anything about VR, and those who say they can, I would be quite surprised if they could.”
But the preliminary stats are impressive.
“We have some really good data, but it’s still not significant enough. For example, we have a travel client who says when you sell something through VR, it’s increased sales by 180 percent. But it’s just too small to be significant, though it is very promising.”
Travel marketers could be among the winners in the coming VR advertising ecosphere.
“Zanadu is trying to lead [having opened a VR concept store in Shanghai] but there is no ecosystem yet despite many people having invested a lot of money,” Gerard noted. “There will be one major actor at some point. Maybe it’s going to be Airbnb, but at the moment we are at an in-between stage and there is plenty of room for new ideas.”
To review the eMarketer report in full, click here.


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It's here! 2012 Toyota Camry is ready to drive
The seventh-generation Camry will make its public debut at the Automotive Hall of Fame on Oakwood Boulevard in Dearborn, Mich., west of Detroit on Aug. 23. The unveiling will happen at the same time for auto writers in New York, Los Angeles and Georgetown, Ky. Toyota assembles the Camry at a plant in Georgetown.
Reporters who arrive at the true introduction in suburban Detroit by 12:30 p.m. will see and hear a formal presentation describing the virtues of the new cars by Jim Colon, Toyota VP of product communications.
Following the presentation and unveiling, Camry cars and Camry Hybrid cars will be available to reporters to drive from the Automotive Hall of Fame, for a few hours. The cars will be in showrooms a month from now.
BREAKING NEWS: http://www.torquenews.com/1063/toyota-says-today-public-can-see-2012-camry-intro-real-time
TN will drive the cars that day and provide readers with impressions by early evening.
A 44-second YouTube video teasing the introduction of the car by Toyota President Akio Toyoda was posted for TorqueNews.com readers by TN Managing Editor Patrick Rall. But that video was taken offline by YouTube after another car company complained of copyright infringement.
In the video, Toyoda spent 42 seconds thanking those who buy the Camry and saying it will be the “best Camry ever” and will “exceed all expectations.” But at the 28-second mark of the video, Rall notes, the camera pans down to Toyoda’s left side as he gestures – giving us our first look at the 2012 Toyota Camry.
This 2-second glimpse of the passenger side headlight of the 2012 Toyota Camry shows a headlight housing that is much larger and runs further into the side of the upper grille opening, Rall reported earlier. He predicts "a far bolder look across the front."
A leaked black-and-white picture of the Camry that is circulating on the Internet shows differences in the headlight housing from the vehicle pointed to by Toyoda, so it's not obvious whether the bad picture that was leaked to the auto press out of Alabama is real or fake.
We'll figure it out for ourselves up close and personal on Aug. 23.
For insiders, the Camry goes by another name: "050A series." It will be assembled outside of America in Australia, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Russia, for sale in foreign markets. This is not confirmed directly by Toyota but is auto press scuttlebut. Take that for what it's worth.
Hawke Fracassa writes about new cars and trucks from Detroit for TorqueNews.com. You can reach him at (248) 747-1550 or [email protected]
Image source: Toyota


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Amazon has just published its latest set of financial results and in the same press release announced that we will see a CEO transition in Q3 this year. Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos will transition to the role of Executive Chair on the Board of Directors in Q3. Current Amazon Web Services (AWS) boss and employee of 23 years, Andy Jassy, will become Chief Executive Officer of Amazon to complete the transition. Amazon was founded by Bezos 27 years ago.
Bezos steps down at a time of momentous financial achievement for Amazon. Its latest set of results, covering the three months ending 31st December 2020, mark the first time Amazon quarterly revenue has been above US$100 billion. Interestingly AWS, under Jassy, was one of the star performers of the business with 28 per cent revenue growth in Q4, and accounting for approximately half of all Amazon's operating income.
There are a few hints about what Bezos, 57, wants to do with his time and talents in a letter to employees shared by CNBC. In the letter Bezos says that CEO is an all-consuming position which leaves him little time to put into pet projects such as "the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions". Thus, the move is in no way about 'retiring'.
Mr Jassy, aged 53, will take over as CEO when the transition completes sometime in Q3 2021. The current head and leader of AWS since its inception, Jassy joined Amazon in 1997. Bezos says Jassy will be "an outstanding leader, and he has my full confidence". Amazon's CFO, Brian Olsavsky, said Bezos will surely still be involved in lots of Amazon activities, but that Jassy is a visionary leader who will bring his own skill set to the top role.
Amazon shares are up about four per cent so far in 2021. In the last 12 months the share value is up a healthy 70 per cent.


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Supply Chain Preparedness During COVID-19
Each year, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) contracts, purchases, stores, and distributes $42 billion of consumable, expendable, and reparable items for the DoD. The DLA's nine supply chains are responsible for delivering food, textiles, energy, medical, construction, industrial, personal items, and repair parts to deployed and non-deployed warfighters, U.S. military installations, depots, shipyards, U.S. government agencies, and allied partner nations. This complex and well-oiled global supply chain is responsible for our nation's readiness.
During a crisis, these global supply chains may face procurement and distribution issues as unforeseen demands surge existing items and create the need for items not in the supply chain. And in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, this was highlighted for DLA Troop Support, Philadelphia's medical supply chain. The $8B medical supply chain saw drastic demand increases in response to COVID-19. During this critical time, CSA's experts innovations helped the DLA navigate red tape, unblock backlog, and restart stoppages to ensure the health and medical items were procured and delivered to those who needed them the most as the world fought COVID-19.
DLA Troop Support, Philadelphia manages five supply chains for food, textiles, construction material, industrial hardware, and medical supplies and equipment. The medical supply chain uses a traditional acquisition model that pre-vets inventory items, maintains minimum supply stock levels, and distributes supplies as necessary. The Berry Amendment and the FAR's fair and reasonable pricing act protects the domestic industrial base by prohibiting the overseas purchase of items and ensuring goods were procured reasonably. Items procured in DLA’s supply chains are made in the United States by a four-year contracted prime vendor.
During this global crisis, regulations restricted the use of agility of the medical supply chain to support the evolving demands of its customers and nation. COVID-19 demands quickly depleted the existing supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical items, medical supply replacements, and subcomponents needed to replenish stock. And, as industry started to market new, innovative medical technologies to fight COVID-19, the DLA could not introduce them into DLA supply chains because they weren’t made in the United States or procured fairly and reasonably. The only way to acquire such items is to obtain a congressional waiver.
Procuring medical items through the medical supply chain was nuanced and time consuming, and the DLA desperately needed a solution to alleviate the impeding and mounting backlog quickly and efficiently. To solve the problem, the DLA looked to the construction and equipment (C&E) supply chain. The C&E supply chain doesn’t use a traditional acquisition model of in-stock inventory and relies on a part-numbered-based model leveraging low-price threshold direct buys and just-in-time inventory management to manage its items, contracts, and vendors.
CSA has deep involvement in the C&E supply chain, from developing its business model to building and maintaining its procurement app. Looking to build an efficient tool that would excel in the face of unforeseen circumstances, such as those presented by COVID-19, CSA C&E experts helped develop BidWiser. BidWiser is a custom tool used to manage the C&E’s unique acquisition model. BidWiser expedites orders while applying price controls (being able to compete for requirements across six vendors) and captures fair and reasonable rationale for selecting vendor offers while still being able to stand up to an audit.
Although created years ago, BidWiser continues to meet the C&E’s unique acquisition needs and it is still managed by CSA experts to this day. BidWiser was exactly the solution the DLA needed to get our nation the medical equipment it required.
Processed items in BidWiser
While others were scrambling to find solutions to meet the demands for processing new orders and unique purchases items, CSA Troop Support leveraged C&E’s BidWiser tool. The DLA identified the C&E supply chain as an ideal business model for processing requirements of never-before purchased items and on off items and as an excellent model for supply chain management. The BidWiser tool, already proven as an effective tool for C&E, allowed DLA Troop Support to expedite orders and emerging requirements in the face of COVID-19 and was the perfect solution in the face of price control and compliancy restrictions. This situation is precisely where BidWiser's simplicity and agility shine. Minimal-to-zero ramp-up time while fully compliant with the regulations that could have slowed down the government's response time.
The DLA Support Troop’s ability to respond in the face of COVID-19 was due to BidWiser’s agility and responsiveness. There was no lag in DLA’s Troop Support response because CSA’s C&E experts had already built a tool that would stand up to the unforeseen requirements forced upon them during COVID-19. The solution had already built years prior. There was no need to waste time running scenarios or potential process updates to prepare for the surge because all the backward had already been done.
Using BidWiser, CSA’s experts worked with DLA Troop Support CSA to offer 24/7 operational support. When everyone was shutdown, CSA was busy processing orders. Our team quickly loaded an initial 1,200 items into BidWiser for processing. At the peak of the crisis, the DLA executive director of operations cited the demand for N95 masks increased by 3,500 percent while the need for nasal testing swabs rose 876 percent. C&E staff and CSA worked around the clock to keep the progress of their orders moving forward, which allowed the DLA to requisition and issue over 6,700 ventilators; an item that was never bulk-ordered prior to the pandemic. As a result, the BidWiser app now includes items once only procured through its medical supply chain: masks, gloves, particle respirators, PPE, decontamination shelters, decontamination kits, infectious disease training, steam cleaners, and electrostatic sprayers.
Since the COVID-19 crisis began, the BidWiser system has seen more than 1,800 requisitions for $735M to support government agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Health and Human Services (HHS), of which CSA is responsible for overseeing the ordering and delivery of equipment.
Today, ordering unique items is simple. All that is needed is a part number and CSA’s purchasing experts can get items into the hands of whoever needs them, quickly and with minimal lead time.