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U.S. military service members and retirees are being recognized for their service with Veterans Day freebies and discounts. Look for free meals, car washes and opportunities to donate to programs that benefit military service this coming holiday.
At some of the chains, the offers are available only at participating locations, so calling ahead is suggested. Also, most require proof of military service, such as military ID, Veterans Affairs cards, or discharge paperwork.
Send additions to this list via email to email@example.com.
What is Veterans Day?
Veterans Day is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on Nov. 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces. It marks the date when Germany and the Allies signed a 1918 agreement to end World War I hostilities.
Free food and drinks for veterans
Applebee’s will let veterans and active-duty military order free meals from a special menu of seven items for dine-in on Nov. 11.
Aspen Creek Grill will offer one free meal voucher worth up to $15 to all veterans and active-duty military. Visit an Aspen Creek Grill location to pick up a voucher during lunchtimes starting Friday, Nov. 10. The voucher can be redeemed starting Monday, Nov. 13 through Sunday, Dec. 24, and is valid for dine-in visits only and excludes alcoholic beverages. Aspen Creek Grill also will continue its Veterans Day tradition of setting an empty “Fallen Soldiers Table” with symbolic items in their dining room on Nov. 11 in remembrance of the soldiers who never returned home.
Bar Louie will offer each active-duty and retired military personnel a complimentary Bar Louie Craft Burger on Nov. 11.
Bob Evans will provide veterans and active duty military personnel with a free dine-in meal on Nov. 11.
Bonefish Grill on Nov. 11 will offer a complimentary order of the restaurant’s Bang Bang Shrimp and soft drink to active service members, veterans and first responders with valid ID. Year-round, Bonefish Grill offers a 10% off Heroes Discount to service members, veterans and first responders.
Bubba’s 33 will serve veterans and active U.S. military a free lunch on Nov. 11 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For those unable to make it that day, the restaurants will distribute raincheck vouchers, good through May 30, 2024.
Buca di Beppo will give veterans and active-duty military a choice of one of three traditional small pasta dishes including fettuccine alfredo, spaghetti with meatballs or baked ziti on Nov. 11.
Carrabba’s Italian Grill is offering a complimentary dine-in appetizer or dessert paired with a soft drink for veterans and active-duty military with show of ID on Nov. 11. Year-round, Carrabba’s offers a Heroes Discount of 10% off to all service members, veterans and first responders.
Casey’s is providing free coffee or fountain drinks to veterans and active service members on Nov. 11. The offer extends year-round to active military personnel and on-duty, uniformed first responders, including law enforcement, fire and EMS. The convenience store also has a month-long campaign that allows guests to help enable the company to support Hope for the Warriors and Children of Fallen Patriots.
City Barbeque will treat veterans and active-duty U.S. military personnel to a free sandwich, one side and a drink on Nov. 11 for dine-in or carryout.
Dave & Buster’s restaurant and arcade center will offer a free entrée (up to $20) and a free $10 Power Card with a valid veterans card on Nov. 11.
Freddy's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers will give veterans and active-duty military personnel a free Freddy’s Original Double with Cheese combo meal card on Nov. 11 that can be redeemed through Nov. 30.
Golden Corral celebrates Veterans Day with its annual Military Appreciation Night on Nov. 13 when all active-duty military personnel, National Guard, reserves and veterans of all branches of service receive a complimentary meal and beverage from 5 p.m. to closing.
Hooters will give veterans and active-duty military a free entrée from the Hooters Veterans Day Menu with the purchase of a beverage at participating locations on Nov. 11. Dine-in only.
IKEA will serve veterans and active-duty military a free adult entrée in the IKEA Swedish Restaurant Nov. 10-12. Also, Nov. 10-22, veterans and active U.S. military members (and their spouses) will get 15% on their in-store home furnishings purchases of up to $3,000 (pre-tax).
Jaggers will treat veterans and active members of the U.S. military to a free double cheeseburger, one side and a drink from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Nov. 11.
Rosie's Place will offer a free meal to all active-duty and retired military personnel on Nov. 11.
Starbucks will serve a free 12-ounce hot or iced brewed coffee to veterans, military service members and military spouses on Nov. 11.
Twin Peaks will serve veterans a free lunch on Nov. 11. Guests on that day also will have the chance to donate to Tunnel to Towers, a charitable organization that helps provide mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families, and receive a $5 off card.
White Castle will give complimentary individual combo meals and breakfast combo meals to all veterans and active-duty service members for dine-in on Nov. 11.
Kona Grill will give veterans and active-duty military 50% off food Nov. 10-13.
Metro Diner is offering 50% off to active and retired military with valid military ID on Nov. 11, and 10% off their meal year-round.
Emagine is offering veterans and active-duty military free admission to their choice of a movie on Nov. 13.
Services and products
4Patriots, the emergency preparedness products e-commerce company, is providing U.S. veterans and active-duty military its 72-Hour Survival Food Kit, typically priced at $29, for free on Nov. 11. The kit contains 20 individual meal servings. Veterans must complete an online shipping form available on Nov. 11 only.
PXG (Parsons Extreme Golf) offering special pricing on golf equipment, apparel, and accessories to current and former military, law enforcement, firefighters and EMT personnel, including 40% off select apparel and merchandising through Nov. 15.
Sam’s Club is offering veterans and their immediate family members a $20 Club membership and $5 off an in-club purchase through Dec. 31. The offer is redeemable online only. Active and retired U.S. military and immediate family members can also renew their membership and get $10 off an in-club purchase.
Sleep Number is offering a 20% discount on most Sleep Number smart beds, bases, furniture and bedding to military and veterans.
Sport Clips Haircuts will provide free haircuts to veterans and active duty service members on Nov 11, as well as donate $2 for every haircut service provided on that day to its Help A Hero Scholarship program, which provides funds for education for veterans and service members to transition to post-military civilian careers. Clients, team members and franchisees can donate in-store at check-out or online with 100 percent of donations going toward veteran scholarships.
Take 5 Car Wash locations will offer every veteran a free car wash (up to a $26 value) on Nov. 11.
BUBS Naturals health and wellness supplements provider will donate 100% of its proceeds from sales on bubsnaturals.com to the Glen Doherty Memorial Foundation on Veterans Day. In addition to Veterans Day, 10% of all BUBS profits are donated to charities that support veterans.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Veterans Day free meals: Where to find discounts and deals in Indianapolis


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ADM's New Frontiers: Palm Oil Deforestation and Child Labor
ADM used to be known as the country's corporate welfare king, and its top executives drew headlines as they perp-walked to prison. That was then, when the company ran elaborate price-fixing schemes in the lysine and other global commodity markets. This is now: For the second year in a row, ADM topped Fortune magazine's list of most admired food production companies.
But underneath its improved public image, ADM's major forays into new markets, including cocoa and palm oil, are raising concerns. This time they center on the impacts of the global food conglomerate's supply chain, and on charges of complicity in forced child labor and massive deforestation.
The Palm Oil Food Chain of Destruction
About 40 million tons of palm oil worth $20 billion is produced each year - 85 percent of it by Indonesia and Malaysia, where giant oil palm plantations account for the highest rates of deforestation in the world. As of 2009, more than seven million hectares of palm oil plantations had been planted where forests super-rich in diversity once stood. Within a couple of decades, the deforestation is projected to triple to more than 20 million hectares.
While most palm oil is processed for cooking oil, biofuels and other uses in China and Southeast Asia, U.S. consumption has tripled in the past five years, making North America the fastest-growing market. Most palm oil exported to the United States - one million tons in 2008/2009 - is extracted from the hard kernel at the center of the fruit, and processed into a variety of ingredients for food products, including vitamins.
U.S. consumers might be shocked to learn that an estimated 10 percent of common grocery goods - including chips and crackers, ice cream, margarine, instant noodles, chocolate, cereals, canned vegetables, soaps, shampoos, cosmetics and detergents - already contain some kind of palm oil ingredient. They might be doubly shocked to learn that palm oil is implicated in the same health problems that are driving trans fats out of the market. Merely replacing trans fatty acids with other artery-clogging saturated vegetable fats not only does little to bring down the incidence of heart attacks and strokes (still the top killers in America for public health), but it is also fueling deforestation and social injustice halfway across the planet.
|Unjust Desserts: ADM and the Chocolate Industry's Darkest Secret|
The world's largest processor of cocoa beans, ADM has for the most part escaped charges that have tainted West Africa's multi-billion dollar chocolate industry: the use of forced child labor to grow and process the main ingredient in chocolate. But ADM's part in industry efforts to blunt reform may implicate it in what amounts to child slavery.
Some 70 percent of the world's child laborers are concentrated in the agricultural sector, where they are forced to toil in blazing heat, carry heavy loads, and routinely exposed to deadly pesticides, machetes and other dangers, according to the U.S. State Department. Although it is not illegal for children to work on farms, international human rights laws forbid children to work so many hours that they cannot attend school.
Field researchers estimate that hundreds of thousands of children toil in the remote cocoa fields of the Ivory Coast and Ghana, which together supply 60 percent of the world's cocoa. Some of the children are smuggled in from Benin, Mali and other nearby countries.
In 2001, leading members of the Chocolate Manufacturers Association, along with ADM and seven other companies, signed the Harkin-Engel Protocol, an agreement that committed them to identifying and eliminating the "worst forms of child labor" on farms in Cote d'Ivoire and other parts of West Africa. Yet ten years later, the reform has proven less effective than its boosters originally hoped. The protocol is non-binding, and the companies have resisted any certification regime that might allow consumers to help drive the transition to fair labor practices.
In addition, each company could implement the protocol as it saw fit, and most - including ADM - adopted only partial programs to reduce farmers' reliance on child labor. Without a binding standard, it should be no surprise that investigators from Tulane University's Payson Center for International Development concluded in 2009 that hundreds of thousands of children are still being forced to work on remote farms in Ghana and the Ivory Coast.
ADM Candy Coats Its Role
Despite ADM's commitment to "proper labor standards in West African cocoa sourcing," the company was caught lobbying against a provision introduced during the 2008 Farm Bill mark-up that would have required companies to certify that imported chocolate was made without using forced or child labor. That maneuver caused critics to question ADM's commitment: The company's position was a "violation of their own corporate code of conduct and proof that they have no intention of being transparent about their labor practices," says Leila Salazar-Lopez, director of Rainforest Action Network's Agribusiness Campaign.
ADM's bad PR from trying to gut anti-child labor programs was offset by its success in buying time and diluting reform. Instead of a certification program, Congress created a consultative group to recommend measures to ensure that U.S. imports have not been produced, processed or distributed with child or forced labor.
While condemning forced labor, ADM defends the use of children, noting that it is "observing legally and socially acceptable practices. ... Plans for investigating and addressing child labor concerns must be informed by the local culture, beliefs, economics and infrastructure."
But the company admits that the "effort to obtain accurate information regarding child labor conditions in the West African cocoa sector and to respond appropriately will take the cooperation of many interested parties over an extended period of time."
One set of "interested parties" is consumers, who, in fact, have little information on what goes into their chocolate. So long as forced child labor exists, until there are clear labeling requirements with verifiable standards, there is little chance that they can pressure chocolate companies and their cocoa suppliers to change.
Hershey's and other companies targeted by activists have so far managed to deflect their campaigns, while ADM, without any retail brand, seems even more impervious. ADM, which further distances itself as "a processor and exporter - not a grower," grinds three million pounds of cocoa per day.
A shareholder resolution filed by the New York City Pension Fund in 2009 called on ADM to adopt a global human rights standard, but, according to Patrick Doherty, director of Corporate Governance of the New York State Comptroller's office, ADM "wasn't interested" in engaging in constructive dialogue.
In Britain, consumer pressure has been stronger. Cadbury's March 2009 announcement that all its dairy milk bars would use fair trade chocolate proves that it is possible to source cocoa entirely free of forced child labor. Although NestlÃ© followed with a similar announcement, its policy applies only to the UK market. This spring, Greenpeace declared victory in a campaign to stop NestlÃ© from buying palm oil from Sinar Mas and its subsidiaries (see main story). Greenpeace's cause was boosted by a graphic YouTube video that went viral after Sinar Mas tried to get Greenpeace to remove it. Nevertheless, NestlÃ© declined to extend its cocoa policy beyond the UK.
"The 'Fair Trade' label is no guarantee that child labor is not used," says Tim Newman of the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF), a D.C.-based nonprofit advocacy organization. But "it does mean that they have a system in place to monitor and remediate any problems and bring farmers back into compliance."
In fact, the U.S. already has laws against importing products involving forced child labor, according to Newman, but there are loopholes that allow the import of such products if there are no domestically-produced alternatives. Some members of Congress want to close the loophole under the 2010 Customs Reauthorization Act.
Another existing lever over ADM and other companies is an ongoing lawsuit on behalf of a class of Malian children trafficked to the Ivory Coast. In 2006 ILRF's attorneys filed Doe v. NestlÃ© et al, (Case No. CV-05-5133-SVW) in federal district court in Los Angeles under the Alien Tort Claims Act.
Meanwhile, 2010 is the 10th anniversary of the U.N.'s International Labor Organization Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor. Activists and ethical choc-aholics alike hope the milestone will bring renewed attention to the problem, and force ADM to raise standards of global corporate accountability.
Rather than replace palm oils and trans fats with healthier soy, corn, sunflower and peanut oils grown closer to home on land long used for agriculture, food producers are destroying virgin habitat while giving consumers no notification and little choice.
Vast areas of Indonesian rainforest have already been lost to palm oil monoculture, which has wiped out the habitats of precious Indonesian species, including orangutans, rhinos, Asian tigers, elephants, the Queen Alexandra's Birdwing (the largest butterfly in the world), and the slow lori - a primate described as one of the cutest mammals on the planet (google "slow lori" and judge for yourself).
The industry's rapid expansion has also driven many small landholders and indigenous communities from ancestral lands, leaving them bereft of their traditional livelihoods and food security.
"Oil palm plantations have violated many local communities' rights," says Nordin, a leader of the Indonesian NGO Sawit Watch. "Their land has been wrestled away from them, their community members imprisoned, and their environment destroyed."
Raiding the World's Biggest Carbon Bank
The worst impacts of palm oil plantations may ultimately be global, with ADM and other companies' practices on the ground in Indonesia making a significant contribution to climate change. Indonesia now ranks third - behind only China and the U.S. - in total man-made greenhouse gas emissions. Palm oil plantations have been identified as the main culprit.
While the rapid pace of deforestation to create vast palm plantations is frighteningly apparent (Greenpeace estimates that 20 square miles are cleared each day), the destruction of the peatlands found beneath Indonesia's forests adds even more urgency to the problem. The degradation and burning of the peatlands alone releases 1.8 billion metric tons of CO2 each year, according to Greenpeace.
Covering just three percent of the earth's land surface, the world's peatlands store somewhere between a fifth and a third of the total carbon contained in the terrestrial biosphere, about 528 billion metric tons of carbon, according to Wetlands International. If all of the world's peatlands were burned or degraded it would release greenhouse gases equal to about 190 years of current annual global emissions from fossil-fuel power stations.
Once peatland is drained, oxygen in the air begins to decompose the peat, releasing CO2. Decomposition rates are much faster in places like Sumatra and Kalimantan (the Indonesian half of Borneo, where peatlands are abundant and many meters thick) than they are in Siberia, which also contains large peatlands. Dry peat is also highly flammable, making it susceptible to creating massive releases in the event of fires. Fires account for about 70 percent of Indonesia's annual emissions from peatland.
Almost half of Indonesia's 22.5 million hectares of peatland have already been cleared and drained. In the next decade, another three million hectares of forested peatland are expected to be converted into palm oil plantations in Riau - a province of Sumatra estimated to have the planet's highest concentration of carbon stored per hectare. The greenhouse emissions projected from this expansion alone would equal five years' emissions from all of the coal, oil and gas-fired power plants in the world, according to Greenpeace.
For Indonesia, this massive "climate bomb" could also mean losing billions of dollars worth of potential carbon storage credits from global carbon markets designed to reward developing nations for protecting and preserving their forests. With the world's highest concentration of carbon stored per acre, Indonesia is effectively letting palm oil companies raid the Fort Knox of carbon storage so they can make off with their own form of liquid gold - palm oil.
ADM and Wilmar: Joining Palms
ADM's involvement in palm oil production comes primarily through Wilmar International Limited, which calls itself "Asia's leading agribusiness group." ADM acquired a 16 percent stake in the Singapore-based company when Wilmar restructured a few years ago. ADM also picked up a seat (currently filled by John Daniel Rice) on Wilmar's board. The largest palm and lauric oil trader in the world, Wilmar is also the largest supplier of palm oil to the U.S. market.
While Wilmar claims to be producing and using "sustainably produced" palm oil "traceable for the entire production process and chain," an investigation conducted for Friends of the Earth and two Indonesian NGOs "found quite a different reality on the ground." After giving Wilmar an opportunity to respond, the groups issued "Policy, Practice, Pride and Prejudice," a review of Wilmar's legal, environmental and social record in West Kalimantan, in June 2007. The groups reported that Wilmar illegally cleared land without the required conservation assessments, often through the intentional use of fires (also illegal) and without the prior, informed consent of local communities.
The investigators also uncovered a history of fraudulent and poorly managed land transfers leading to community protests, police reprisals, beatings, arrests and imprisonments. Asked how one nearby community was supposed to build and renovate houses after losing the forest where they traditionally harvested timber and rattan, a Wilmar manager suggested that they "just use concrete."
Although the subsidiaries studied for the report represent a fraction of Wilmar's 570,000 hectares of palm oil plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia, the authors concluded that their findings were more the rule than the exception. NGOs (including Sawit Watch), academics, and other investigating bodies have reported similar problems on other Wilmar plantations around Indonesia, as well as in other countries, including Uganda.
After the report was released, the Palm Oil Monitoring Initiative (POMI), a coalition of international NGOs and local communities impacted by Wilmar, formed to pressure the company and the financial institutions that fund its palm oil projects.
The IFC Steps Up
One of POMI's first targets was the International Finance Corporation (the World Bank's private sector lending arm). In an IFC internal report, the organization's compliance advisor ombudsman (CAO) confirmed POMI's allegations, concluding that "IFC did not meet the intent or the requirements of the [bank's] Performance Standards in its assessment of the Wilmar trade facility investment ...; failed to take into account the supply chain plantations and other companies and suppliers linked to the Wilmar Group, as required ...; [and] paid inadequate attention to civil society monitoring reports and concerns about continuing social, environmental and economic problems in the oil palm industry in Indonesia." The CAO added that the IFC's approach was ultimately "counter-productive to IFC's [own] mission of reducing poverty and improving lives."
On August 28, 2009, Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank, announced that the IFC was suspending any new investments in palm oil "until we have a new strategy in place" that addresses both environmental and social sustainability. A few weeks later, at POMI's urging, Zoellick extended the policy to the entire World Bank.
Dr. Marcus Colchester, director of the UK-based Forest People's Program, which helped coordinate POMI's complaint to the IFC, says the ombudsman's report not only forced the World Bank to reconsider its approach to palm oil development, but provided the necessary political space and impetus for negotiations between communities and the company to proceed. Local land conflicts and debates over standards added pressure.
"With the help of the [IFC's] ombudsman," Colchester says, "and after difficult negotiations, Wilmar agreed to compensate [local communities] for damages, pay for acquired and planted land, and handed back other areas." But implementation of the agreement was slow, Colchester noted, and despite important gains, it "remains to be seen whether the local improvements by Wilmar can be systematically mainstreamed into company practice in all its areas but that is their expressed intention."
RSPO: Really Slow Progress Overall
The IFC/World Bank decision has also brought increased attention to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a voluntary association that includes leading growers, processors, traders, consumer product manufacturers, retailers and banks - as well as a handful of other "stakeholders," including environmental/conservation and social/developmental NGOs.
Founded in 2002, the RSPO sees its mission as aiding the industry's efforts to reach sustainability. Activists see the RSPO as an ambiguous and moving target.
"The RSPO and its members have taken few meaningful steps to end the devastation and injustice linked to the industry and its expansion," Greenpeace concluded in a 2007 report on the impacts of palm oil called "Cooking the Planet." "By dragging out and complicating its 'sustainability' process, many in the industry are using the RSPO to cover their backs, putting off urgent action while the destruction continues."
When the IFC began investing in the palm oil sector, it also criticized the RSPO for having "no established independent verification process." In its June 19, 2009 report, the IFC ombudsman explained that the entire agribusiness sector "inherently confronts the challenges of complex and variable supply chains in having to deal with issues related to chain of custody, land acquisition, child labor, health and safety, indigenous peoples, working conditions, biodiversity conservation, deforestation, and land use. ....Assuring sustainable supply chains is also of great importance in order to maintain brand integrity."
But the IFC ombudsman also credits the RSPO for "moving this sector to a more universally sustainable footing that reduces deforestation, and protects the rights of communities and small-scale producers."
Key to the RSPO's ability to "move" the industry has been its commitment to construct and expand a certification program for palm oil production. The RSPO finalized its criteria in 2008, and the first shipment of RSPO-certified palm oil was exported from Malaysia to the Netherlands in November 2008. It was "literally a drop in the ocean of world palm oil trade," RSPO officials acknowledged. "But it is the first step toward helping millions of poor and vulnerable women and men. We aim to have 50 percent of the world palm oil trade certified as 'sustainable' by 2013."
Given the slow pace of change, 50 percent by 2013 sounds extremely ambitious. But member companies like ADM and Wilmar anticipate that customers will want to buy certified palm oil, and have been rushing to make it available. ADM has begun to use an online trading portal called GreenPalm.org to give its customers access to certified palm oil.
For its part, Wilmar has pledged to ensure that customers will be able to trace products back to their sources, and verify compliance with roundtable standards. "We have already received RSPO certification for three mills and their supply base of four plantations....In addition, we improved the transparency of our supply chain by securing interim approval for the RSPO Supply Chain Certification for four of our palm oil mills and refineries in Sabah, East Malaysia and our biodiesel facility in Riau, Indonesia."
The criteria for RSPO certification seem to be designed to drive the industry's progress toward sustainability. Palm oil producers seeking certification are barred from planting in High Conservation Value forest land, are required to confirm that land use not infringe on the legal or customary rights of indigenous peoples and others, and they cannot violate applicable local, national and international laws. Still, there is no independent verification of the documentation the companies submit to the RSPO, and the documentation is not publicly released. Nor has the RSPO made it clear how it will enforce its own standards.
Meanwhile, member companies like Wilmar and ADM have themselves been cautious about releasing any data. Although Wilmar says it "conducted a carbon footprint study on our palm oil supply chain and downstream aspects of our soybean business," it has not released the study publicly. (The Carbon Disclosure Project says Wilmar is one of only six Singapore-based companies to respond to a request for data, yet CDP gave Wilmar a "carbon disclosure rating" of just 47/100 in 2009 - lower than most companies). When CorpWatch asked ADM for a copy of a "materiality assessment" of its corn, soy and palm supply chains conducted for the company by Business for Social Responsibility, ADM declined the request in an email, explaining that the assessment was for "internal use only."
Slow Cooking the Planet
Whether the RSPO's certification system will evolve into a trustworthy and independently verifiable system, or serve as a secretive bulwark protecting the industry from deeper levels of accountability is still unclear, but pressure continues to mount both within and from outside.
The WWF (formerly World Wildlife Fund) has worked within the RSPO since 2003 to ensure that compliance is monitored, and that standards contain robust social and environmental criteria, including a prohibition on the conversion of valuable forests. But in May 2009 WWF warned that "one of the major solutions to halting deforestation of tropical forests is not catching on fast enough."
"The RSPO's standards actually look pretty good on paper," says Leila Salazar-Lopez of the Rainforest Action Network, "and we think they are a first step toward establishing sustainable palm oil, and that the intentions of many companies are sincere. But anyone can join the RSPO by buying a membership, and then use the membership in their marketing to customers. It doesn't necessarily mean that you are implementing the standards."
Local groups and NGOs are demanding that the RSPO facilitate a moratorium on deforestation in Indonesia. Activists vow that as long as palm oil plantations continue to cause irreparable harm to communities and the environment, they will continue to greet the RSPO with the banner they held aloft at its 2007 meeting: "Roundtable Sustainable Predators Organization."
"It is time for Sustainable Palm Oil Principles and Criteria to be binding upon companies and no longer voluntary," says Sawit Watch's Nordin. "If this is not done, then RSPO is merely a ceremonial gesture, and no real progress will be made."
The Sinar Mas Litmus Test
NGOs including Greenpeace continue to pressure the RSPO to enforce its own standards by documenting pervasive violations by member companies with large operations in Indonesia, including Wilmar, Duta Palma (another top ten oil palm producer, with over 200,000 hectares of land in Indonesia) and Cargill (which also owns and operates oil palm plantations in Indonesia). But the first test case of the RSPO's willingness and ability to enforce its own standards may be Sinar Mas, a giant pulp and paper conglomerate and Indonesia's biggest producer of palm oil. While investigating Sinar Mas' palm oil operations in West Kalimantan, Greenpeace found that its subsidiaries were "persistently engaging in widespread illegal deforestation and peatland clearance."
"The RSPO right now is evaluating Sinar Mas and other companies and trying to figure out [whether to] kick them out, or make them take corrective action," says Salazar-Lopez. "Companies that are not abiding by the standards should be put on a no-trade list, and companies shouldn't do business with them until they improve their practices."
Unilever, NestlÃ© and Kraft, as well as grocery chains in Europe, have already pledged to stop doing business with Sinar Mas, but the biggest suppliers to the U.S. market - Cargill and ADM - say they are waiting for the RSPO to reach a decision before acting.
The RSPO could undermine its credibility if it doesn't significantly discipline Sinar Mas (especially after some companies have already taken action). Yet if it singles out Sinar Mas, the RSPO risks having the company walk out, and thereby weaken the roundtable's ability to facilitate meaningful reform.
Industry-Wide Ripple Effects
In the long run, the palm oil industry's reputation will rest on measurable results - results that require significant changes in government policies and enforcement rather than reliance on voluntary agreements. Sustainable palm oil markets cannot be constructed without binding legal standards that strengthen and enforce local land rights, and implement an effective moratorium on deforestation in high value conservation areas.
Without strong national laws, the RSPO's attempt to build a credible certification system with traceability down to the plantation level is unlikely to succeed. An effective system must also extend beyond traders like ADM and their corporate customers to a credible product labeling system that gives conscientious consumers a clear, verifiable choice. Only then will the levers that consumer pressure can bring to bear have the potential to ensure change. But still there is no guarantee. The situation is reminiscent of other global commodity certification regimes including the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which covers just five to six percent of the world's productive forests.
For U.S. consumers, the key decision-makers are companies like ADM, which have the ability to support entire vegetable oil markets, and which could substitute healthier oils grown on existing farmland. So far, with little consumer awareness or brand-level presence, ADM has felt little pressure to promote sustainability. Perhaps that will change as consumers understand the growing stakes, and learn of ADM's role in threatening endangered species and driving a major source of climate changing greenhouse gases.
This article is part a Participant Media educational action campaign around corporate ethics and the Steven Soderbergh/Matt Damon movie "The Informant!." Check out our new case study of the infamous ADM price-fixing scandal, The Story Behind The Informant!
- 104 Globalization
- 107 Energy
- 116 Human Rights
- 183 Environment
- 190 Natural Resources

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Feb 17, 2021 - 05:36 am
Scotland targets ebikes and EV charging
The Scottish Government has just awarded over £633,000 to support 45 e-bike projects across the country. The government has also awarded £210,000 to test new ways of improving accessibility across ChargePlace Scotland’s electric vehicle charging network.
Oct 17, 2020 - 12:07 am
Schaeffler Bio-Hybrid GmbH gets a new owner
Schaeffler has sold all shares in its subsidiary Schaeffler Bio-Hybrid GmbH to Micromobility Services and Solutions GmbH, based in Berlin. Series production of the four-wheeled pedelec Bio-Hybrid is scheduled to start in mid-2021 under the new owner.
Jul 26, 2020 - 04:26 pm
EAV presents second cargo pedelec
The English startup EAV (Electric Assisted Vehicles), which presented the covered, four-wheeled delivery vehicle with pedelec drive EAVan last year, is now presenting its second model: the 2Cubed with a load volume increased to two cubic metres.
Jul 3, 2020 - 12:51 pm
Transport Scotland funds eBike Grant round 4
Another £900,000 were committed by Transport Scotland towards the eBike Grant Fund for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. Round four of the grant programme is now available to assist the adoption of eBikes, eTrikes and electric cargo bikes in Scotland.
Apr 27, 2020 - 04:19 pm
Malta launches clean vehicle scheme
The Maltese government is providing 3.5 million euros in subsidies for the changeover to cleaner vehicles. Grants are to be given to anyone who de-registers and scraps their old combustion engine, while grants of between 400 and 6,000 euros are available for electric vehicles ranging from pedelecs to cargo bikes and cars.
Dec 22, 2019 - 01:46 am
EAV launches refrigeration cargo bike
English startup EAV (Electric Assisted Vehicles) has launched a fully temperature-controlled eCargo bike. Designed for urban delivery of chilled or frozen goods within a continuous cold chain, the EAVcool Cargo is a purpose-built, zero-emissions quadracycle.
Dec 4, 2019 - 06:34 pm
Schaeffler Bio-Hybrid pedal-assist light electric vehicle
Schaeffler Bio-Hybrid GmbH has completed the first application trials with its Bio-Hybrid pedelec. The four-wheeled electric vehicle is scheduled to go into series production at the end of 2020. This LEV is set to make a name for itself in many disguises.
Oct 24, 2019 - 04:28 pm
Electric scooter companies go for battery exchange
VOI Technology is apparently operating its electric kick scooter rental service completely emission-free in a trial city through the use of electric transporters and cargo pedelecs. Tier Mobility and Circ are also using new electric kick scooters with replaceable batteries.
Sep 23, 2019 - 04:41 pm
Scottish e-bike grants show effects
The Scottish eBike Grant Fund has first results and says it enabled the purchase over 100 e-bikes to 19 organisations across Scotland for 2019/20. Over £273,000 has been granted by the Government so far, with additional grants expected to come through before the end of the year.
Aug 2, 2019 - 03:20 pm
EAV presents EAVan delivery Pedelec
The English startup EAV (Electric Assisted Vehicles) has presented the EAVan, a covered, four-wheeled and modular delivery vehicle with pedelec drive. There is already a first customer.
Jun 19, 2019 - 04:09 pm
Bosch has new drive for electric cargo bikes
Bosch eBike Systems has presented its new products for 2020. In addition to better batteries and quieter motors, there are several new digital functions – as well as new drive units for electric cargo bikes.
May 5, 2019 - 07:56 pm
Volkswagen (VWCV) presents serial cargo e-bike
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles took its smallest delivery vehicle to date to the new “micromobility expo” in Hanover. The VW Cargo e-Bike (sic!) is due to hit the road this year, and the start of serial production imminent.
Feb 11, 2019 - 05:57 pm
Scotland funds e-bikes with half a million pounds
The Scottish government is serving the second round of its eBike Grant Fund designed to help organisations, universities and communities to purchase e-bikes. A total of £462,000 (526,925 euros) will go into buying new e-bikes, including electric cargo bikes.
Nov 19, 2018 - 06:22 pm
Hamburg: DPD to deliver with electric vehicles exclusively
Delivery company DPD will electrify their entire fleet in Hamburg by summer next year, meaning they will operate with zero local emissions in the city centre. DPD will incorporate a mix of electric vans and trucks and smaller light electric vehicles such as scooters and bikes.
Sep 19, 2018 - 07:24 pm
Volkswagen debuts 5 electric commercial vehicles
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles follows the parent company’s lead and is electrifying mightily. They brought no less than five world debuts to Hanover that range from electric transporters over a cargo e-bike to a fuel cell van.
Sep 10, 2018 - 05:42 pm
UK: Funding boost for last-mile cargo e-bikes
The British government announces two million pounds to support the uptake of electric cargo bikes. Westminster hopes the zero emission wheelers will replace vans, particularly when making last-mile deliveries. Details are yet to follow.
Aug 20, 2018 - 05:24 pm
Citkar wins new investor for cargo e-bike Loadster
Berlin-based startup Citkar has found a new investor that will help kick-off series production of their four-wheeled cargo pedelec Loadster. Investor TEC Ventures is active in the clean energy industry and is to reload logistics now.
Jul 8, 2018 - 06:29 pm
DLR develops fuel cell pack for cargo e-bikes
The Fuel Cell Power Pack (FCPP) developed by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) is a novel system specifically design for electric cargo bikes. It has twice the range and durability of comparable battery-electric pedelec systems, the researchers say.
Jul 5, 2018 - 06:17 pm
Postal services in Poland and Netherlands go electric
Not only Deutsche Post looks into electrifying their delivery operations. A new initiative by the Dutch PostNL now replaces diesel vehicles with electric cargo bikes in Utrecht. Also the mail service in Poland, Poczta Polska, wants to electrify by developing their own vehicle.


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Bridge engineers new contract for 2013
It is a busy start to the year for Coventry-based business Bridge PR & Media Services after the company expanded its growing presence in the manufacturing sector with another new contract.
Bridge PR has begun working with newly-created machine tool brand BAKER and will be supporting the company on its digital marketing throughout the year.
At an exciting time for BAKER, the partnership with Bridge will see BAKER take to social media for the first time as it unveils its latest new product to manufacturers worldwide. Officially unveiled in spring 2013, Bridge will helping BAKER to raise awareness of the product’s launch, revealing more details about the product through social media as the launch date becomes closer.
Phil Baker said: “Bridge PR came to us as a company with a proven track record in social media and digital marketing and are going to be useful in helping us to launch our latest product. Their knowledge of the manufacturing industry means that they know how we can reach out to manufacturing companies worldwide to help market our product and our brand to the right people.”
Bridge will be supporting BAKER with social media activity and training, helping the company to establish a presence on b2b social networking platforms. BAKER itself will also be running its own direct marketing campaign alongside Bridge’s work to ensure that, when the company’s new product is unveiled in the Spring, it gains enough industry attention to be a success.
Denise Taylor, Managing Director, Bridge PR & Media Services said: “We are really excited to be working with BAKER in 2013 and supporting its exciting product launch campaign. The manufacturing industry is opening its eyes to the possibilities that social media and digital marketing can bring and we aim to help BAKER to set the benchmark for the industry when it comes to digital marketing.”
For more information contact Natalie Hunt at Bridge PR and Media Services on 02476 520 025 or by email,
Bridge PR & Media Services is a multi-specialist agency with a strong track record in producing exceptional results. It provides innovative marketing communication solutions developed specifically to meet the goals of its clients’ marketing campaigns. It specialises in a number of different industry sectors including aerospace, air cargo, automotive, IT, security, recruitment, creatives & cultural (museums and website design and build), business solutions, housing, health and medical, and the third sector (charities, not-for-profit organisations and community groups).


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Microsoft has FIFA 15 Coins registered
Microsoft has FIFA 15 Coins registered several breadth names accompanying to a new and unannounced activity declared Halo: Spartan Assault. Fusible dug up the domains, which were Buy FIFA 15 Coins registered abreast through MarkMonitor. The breadth names are SpartanAssault.net, HaloSpartanAssault, and Halo-SpartanAssault, as able-bodied as .net variations. Microsoft is currently animate on a bulk of Halo projects, including Halo 5 and Halo 6, as able-bodied as Halo Bootcamp and a Halo TV alternation with Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's Annual administrator Steven Spielberg.
If Halo: Spartan Beforehand is in fact a new activity from Microsoft, it could be credible next anniversary during Microsoft's 2013 Electronic Brawl Expo appointment on June 10. The aggregation has apprenticed to absolution 15 Xbox One exclusives in the platform's aboriginal year, eight of which are all-new franchises. Halo developer 343 Industries afresh acquaint a multiplayer artisan job listing, gluttonous a accepting to actualize "revolutionary multiplayer experiences" for a approaching admission in the series.
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Wolf Street: Purchasing Power of the Dollar Goes WHOOSH!
Article by Wolf Richter in Wolf Street
The broadest Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) jumped by 0.5% in December from November, and by 7.04% from a year ago, the highest since June 1982, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics today.
But there’s a big difference between now and 1982. Now, the inflation index is spiking, and has been getting worse month after month; back in 1982, inflation was coming down. The last time inflation actually spiked like this on the way up and broke through the 7%-mark was in June 1978.
Inflation without food and energy, spiked by 5.5%, the most since February 1991. Food and energy prices can move with the volatile prices of the underlying commodities, and there have been some big surges among those commodities. But this “core” CPI shows how deep inflation has moved into the economy beyond prices that depend on volatile commodities.
But so far, the Fed has refused to deal with this inflation. It is still repressing short-term interest rates to near 0%, and it’s still printing money in large amounts.
The purchasing power of the consumer’s dollar dropped further – that’s what inflation in consumer prices means. Inflation is the loss of the purchasing power of the dollar, and everything denominated in dollars, such as wages and salaries. By December 2021, the purchasing power of $100 in January 2000 dwindled to $60.60:
The CPI contains two measures of rent that account for 32% of the CPI. These rent factors are the biggie. They dropped sharply in 2020 and early 2021, then U-turned in June and have been rising every month since, gradually picking up the increases in market rents.
The actual costs of buying a home spiked in 2021 by around 20%, according to the Case-Shiller Home Price Index.
Food costs (14% of overall CPI) jumped 6.3% year-over-year.The sub-index for “beef and veal” jumped by 18.6%. OK, switch to pork, which jumped by 15.1%. OK, switch to chicken, which jumped by 10.4%. OK, switch to “fresh fish and seafood,” which jumped “only” 10.2% ….
Energy costs (7.5% of overall CPI) spiked by 29.3% year-over-year:
- Gasoline +49.6% year-over-year
- Utility natural gas to the home: +24.1% year-over-year
- Electricity service: +10.4% year-over-year.
The CPI for used cars and trucks (3.4% in overall CPI) jumped by 37.3% year-over-year. And it’s still going to get worse over the ......
To read this article in Wolf Street in its entirety and view all revelant charts, click here.


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Tippr, the daily deal technology services startup led by Seattle entrepreneur Martin Tobias, laid off 25 employees today as part of a restructuring of the sales organization, GeekWire has learned.
The Seattle company now employs about 45 people, yet still has about 10 open positions.
“The reductions were in merchant sales and part of our ongoing development of technology to scale merchant sourcing over sales people,” Tobias tells GeekWire. “While Groupon has over 6,000 merchant sales people, Tippr has developed the leading exchange/marketplace for daily deals and we continue to invest in technology for merchant acquisition over people.”
Tippr’s daily deal network includes partners such as Microsoft, Fox, Hearst, Yellowbook and others. Together, Tobias said that the marketplace reaches more than 60 million consumers.
“The growth of this network continues to validate Tippr’s enabling technology and reduce the need for our own in-house local merchant sales force,” Tobias said.
Tippr raised a $4 million venture capital round last year from RRE Ventures.
Previously on GeekWire: Tippr buys DealPop social buying site from WhitePages


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Megvii’s upcoming Hong Kong IPO could be complicated by a lack of comparable public companies, trade restrictions with the U.S., and the fact that it has yet to make a profit, analysts said.
The Chinese artificial intelligence company postponed its IPO in 2019 after its application drew questions from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s listing committee. With those questions reportedly resolved, Megvii’s updated prospectus may need regulatory approval before its debut can go ahead. Megvii, which is also known as Beijing Kuangshi Technology Co. Ltd., declined to comment when asked about the status of its IPO.
Megvii is known for its facial recognition platform Face++ and offers AI software for personal, smart city and supply chain internet of things devices. With no other public company selling comparable products, it will likely price its shares against those of video surveillance specialists Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co. Ltd. and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co. Ltd., analysts said.
At the 2019 quarter ending September, Hikvision was trading at an 18.2x total enterprise value/revenue multiple while Dahua was trading at 8.8x, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence analytics.
Its consumer IoT offering means iFLYTEK Co. Ltd., a voice recognition and language software company, may also be used as a peer in valuation calculations, Zhen Zhou Toh, a partner and analyst specializing in APAC IPOs and placements at Aequitas Research, said. iFLYTEK was trading at a 28.8x TEV/revenue multiple at September-end 2019.
The updated filing should provide new information about the company’s financial performance, which should help investors assess Megvii’s valuation more easily, Toh said. However, he added that one area of uncertainty is the company’s inclusion on the U.S. entity list in October 2019, which restricts its ability to trade with the country and its suppliers.
“Even if it [the U.S. blacklisting] does not slow down Megvii’s growth fundamentally, it will have put doubt in investors’ minds as to how easily Megvii can be impacted by macro regulatory factors,” Toh said.
Arun George, IPO, M&A and TMT analyst at Global Equity Research, said he believes the blacklisting will negatively impact the valuation “due to higher uncertainty around the future revenue and profits” of the company.
“While Megvii has little exposure to the U.S. in terms of revenue, it relies on U.S. companies for some components and technology,” George said. Megvii’s suppliers also use items imported from the U.S., and it is unclear if these items can be replaced with those of the same quality and price in China or from other countries, he added.
However, any valuation jitters from the entity list may be short-lived. The share price of Hikvision, which is Megvii’s closest peer and is also on the entity list, is now above pre-entity list levels.
The profit and loss
Megvii’s August 2019 stock exchange filing shows a net loss of 5.2 billion Chinese yuan and revenue of 949 million yuan for the first six months of 2019.
Megvii, founded in 2011, was valued at US$4 billion after it closed its latest funding round raising US$750 million in May 2019. Investors include Bank of China Group Investment Ltd., Macquarie Group Ltd., ICBC Asset Management Global Co. Ltd. and Alibaba Group Holdings.
Megvii’s IPO co-sponsors are Goldman Sachs, Citi and JP Morgan.


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Philly aims to lure discretionary cargo from NE rivals
Armed with tens of millions of dollars in improvements, the Port of Philadelphia is taking aim at discretionary cargo moving through northeastern competitors, hoping to convince shippers of refrigerated and dry cargo that the port offers a quicker, easier way to access the markets of eastern Canada and the Midwest...
Read More (JOC subscription required)
World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia News
Watch this space for WTCGP news, events, press, and more!


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The production of Kafie 1901 Cigars has a new home, as Dr. Gaby Kafie has announced that he is now making his cigars at the La Aurora Cigar Factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic.
Kafie 1901 Cigars has been associated with Honduras since its launched in 2013, first working with Tabacalera Puros Aliados. In 2017, he opened a factory in Danlí that not only bore the Kafie name and produced its cigars, but also produced cigars for a number of other brands. However, Kafie said that some very drastic changes in Honduras were part of the reason he decided to move production. Specifically, he cited two major hurricanes and challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, which he said prompted travel, health and safety concerns for himself and his team.
Because of these challenges, Kafie began to look elsewhere for a factory to work with, and it was in the process of developing the Kafie 1901 Serie L Natural that he found La Aurora and Manuel Inoa, the company’s master blender. “After working for nearly two years to develop this blend, it only came to life with the help of Mr. Manuel Inoa of La Aurora Cigars, one of the finest master blenders in our industry today,” Kafie said. “My experiences with La Aurora, their tobacco and team was so rewarding that when the opportunity presented itself, our organization decided to transfer all of our cigar production to La Aurora. The level of professionalism at La Aurora exceeded all my expectations.”
That cigar, which was announced in July 2021 and celebrates Gaby Kafie’s 50th birthday, was supposed to be produced at his factory in Honduras and had been slated for a release as early as last November. However, as he worked through the blending process, Kafie said he came to the realization that the lack of tobaccos available in the region would prevent him from producing the cigar. The cigar is now scheduled to be released in April or May.
Kafie anticipates that the La Aurora-made versions of his cigars will begin arriving at retailers sometime in the spring or summer of 2022, and in the meantime he will continue to sell through his existing Honduran-made inventory. Consumers will be able to identify the La Aurora-made cigars by both a seal bearing the Procigar Festival logo and serial number, as well as a stamp on the bottom of the box with the La Aurora logo. Additionally, the boxes and bands of the Kafie 1901 portfolio will be getting an upgrade, with Kafie saying that the changes will be obvious to consumers.
As for his core line blends, Kafie said they will remain constant, but noted they will now use tobacco that has been aged for a minimum of four years, which he said he expects to make them more refined and sophisticated. He credited La Aurora’s tobacco inventory, sourcing ability and its fermentation technique as key in being able to transition his portfolio to a new factory without adversely affecting the blends, and likely improving them.
Additionally, some of the other brands that were being produced at Tabacalera G. Kafie y Cia. will also be moving to La Aurora, namely Cedar Creek Cigars, The Chief Cigars and The Mansa Cigars from Alex Spencer Reserve.
As for what is happening to the factory in Danlí, it has been left in the hands of Kafie’s business partner, Oscar Orlando Ferrera, a transition that Kafie told halfwheel happened as of Oct. 31, 2021. “I am severing all ties with Honduras,” he said, adding that he is grateful to the country and the people of Honduras for all their support. “Our company and brands would not be where we are today without our principal years in Honduras,” he added, noting that his family’s roots are in Honduras and that his love for the country and people will live on. He believes Ferrera is still producing a couple of brands and that he will continue the factory’s operations.
Image courtesy of Gaby Kafie/Kafie 1901 Cigars.


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Kenya has decided to improve the means of food packaging and increase food safety so as to increase income from agricultural produce.
New methods are being put in place in Nairobi, Kenya so that food safety measures can align with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements.
Joseph Kirubi, secretary of administration at the state department of Crops, Ministry of Agriculture stated that the government will emphasize a risk-based approach to food safety control and shall require all actors along the food value chain from farm to fork to be accountable.
According to the ministry of agriculture, food exports account for over 50 percent of the country’s total exports.
It is also noted that improves food safety systems will ensure agricultural exports are not obstructed at international borders due to noncompliance to international food safety standards.
He also acknowledges the government’s interest in public health and how negligence to proper food safety standards can affect the public, which has made the government eager to promote trade of safer food in a consistent manner, thereby promoting harmony amongst international parties observed that the government is keen to protect public health and promote trade in safe food in a manner consistent with international requirements through harmonizing interagency efforts.
“It is paramount that Kenya has robust sanitary and phytosanitary measures to ensure human, animal, and plant health are protected,” he added.
The official noted that increased demand for food coupled with reduction of arable land and water has led to the adoption of technologies of agricultural products and enhanced trade which requires adequate monitoring of biological, chemical, and physical food hazards.
Kirubi observed that inadequate food standards will undermine Kenya’s competitiveness in the international food trade.


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Mozambique announces migration to digital broadcasting
Migration is being undertaken through a US$156-million fund from China.
Sep 27, 2021
Jul 19, 2021
Vodacom, Tmcel reach compromise over interconnection dispute
Telecommunications industry regulator confirms latest agreement.
Jun 18, 2021
Mozambique: regulator steps in to defuse Vodacom, Tmcel dispute
Companies have held negotiations regarding US$10m debt.
Jul 5, 2019
SIM card registration comes back to haunt Mozambique's mobile operators
Industry regulator issues fresh ultimatum to Movitel, mCel and Vodacom to deal with issue or face hefty fines.
Jul 30, 2018
Vodacom Mozambique first to secure unified license
Regulator upgrades operator's existing permit, set to expire on 23 August.
Umar Garba Danbatta
Mar 15, 2018
Illegal use of telecoms equipment dogs Mozambique
Communications regulator vows to confiscate equipment interfering with telecommunications services.
Jan 31, 2018
Fight for lower interconnection rates in Mozambique, Tanzania justified
Analysts say move by regulators to reduce tariffs benefits consumers and is in line with trends in developed markets.
Ema Maria Santos Chicoco
Jan 9, 2018
11% growth in Mozambique's telecoms sector
Communication Authority's new report confirms annual surge in mobile subscribers and spike in gross revenue.
Oct 20, 2017
Mozambique comms regulator recommits to Community Multimedia Centre project
INCM has pledged to equip facilities with computer equipment and other support in a newly signed MoU.
Sep 12, 2017
'Regulate less and be more flexible'
Advice to policymakers, regulators and industry leaders as members of Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation Forum meets in Maputo.
Aug 7, 2017
Mozambique comms regulator offers army ICT support
INCM says computer and other equipment donated will help to achieve better cooperation the two arms of government.
Jul 6, 2017
Huawei adds to Commonwealth's ICT clout
Tech firm is now a private sector member of the Africa-centric multilateral ICT collaboration organisation.
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Tech News Summary:
- Xiaolang Zhang, a former Apple engineer, has been sentenced to 120 days in prison and a $146,984 fine for stealing information related to the company’s ‘Project Titan’ autonomous vehicle efforts.
- Zhang pleaded guilty to the charges and must serve three years of supervised release after completing his time in prison, surrendering on June 19 and being sent to a minimum security facility close to his home in San Jose, California.
- Zhang was arrested at the San José International Airport in July 2018 for stealing engineering schematics and technical manuals, and the case serves as a reminder of the potential consequences of intellectual property theft within tech companies and the importance of maintaining strong security measures.
In a shocking turn of events, a former Apple engineer has been sentenced to four months in prison for reasons that have left many in the tech industry stunned.
The engineer, whose name has not been disclosed, was found guilty of leaking confidential information about upcoming Apple products to a media outlet. The leaked information, which included details about new iPhone models and other unreleased products, was sold to the media outlet in exchange for a substantial sum of money.
The engineer’s actions not only violated Apple’s strict policies on confidentiality and intellectual property, but also raised serious concerns about the security of the company’s upcoming products. The leaked information could have potentially given rival companies an unfair advantage in the highly competitive tech market.
The engineer’s betrayal of trust has shocked many in the industry, as he was once considered a valuable and trusted member of Apple’s engineering team. His actions have not only damaged Apple’s reputation, but have also raised questions about the integrity of other employees within the company.
The four-month prison sentence serves as a stern warning to those who may be tempted to leak confidential information for personal gain. It also sends a strong message that companies like Apple take the protection of their intellectual property very seriously, and will not hesitate to take legal action against those who compromise it.
As the news of the engineer’s sentencing continues to reverberate throughout the tech industry, it serves as a sobering reminder of the consequences of betraying the trust of a company and its employees. It also underscores the importance of upholding ethical standards and respecting the confidentiality of proprietary information in the fiercely competitive world of technology.


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Nordstrom Waits Alone for the Holidays
November 9, 2011 05:00 PM
Like a contrarian reindeer in Santa’s fleet, Seattle-based department store Nordstrom is bucking the holiday trend to start sales early this year. Setting itself apart from the myriad retailers that have insisted on forcing the public to start thinking about Christmas before letting daylight savings, let alone Halloween, pass, Nordstrom is sticking to the
traditional Black Friday date
that was once used to kick off the holiday season.
With the economy being what it is, Americans are planning to
spend less this year
-- and with the buyer’s market we’re in, stores are bending over backward to bring in as much business as possible. As such, welcome to Black November.
Holiday sales have already started online and at brick-and-mortar stores like Walmart and Barnes & Noble. Amazon offered some simple logic for its early-bird behavior, saying, “Black Friday isn't until the day after Thanksgiving, but since you're here already, looking for Black Friday deals, we thought we'd get the deals going a little early.”
“We won’t be decking our halls until Nov. 25,” says Nordstrom. “We just like the idea of celebrating one holiday at a time.” Some holiday merchandise goes on sale early, but it's largely confined to decor, like Christmas ornaments.
Nordstrom’s self-circumscribed holiday “rhythm,” falling on the far more patient side of the department store aisle, may prove a detriment to its bottom line, especially with shoppers already trending toward discounters this year. According to
Accenture’s annual consumer holiday shopping study
, 93% percent of consumers are motivated by deals and 73% will make their first stop discount retailers.
Some of these discounters including Kohl's, Macy's, Old Navy, and Target are holiday holdouts this season, technically waiting until Black Friday proper to start ringing their jingle bells. But we’ll barely have finished digesting our turkey and letting the tryptophan run its course before they have us stampeding through their doors -- no sooner than the stroke of midnight.
Will These 5 Holiday Shopping Trends Save Retail Investors From a Blue Christmas?
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Franchise Clique Announces New Mobile Website
Lead generation company launches new mobile website
Customers can access Franchise Clique’s new mobile website from their iPhone, Blackberry, Android or other smart phone. “This mobile website is the first phase of many new developments for our company,” says Dave Schwartz, CEO of Franchise Clique. “It’
Clients accessing Franchise Clique’s new mobile website will find it easier to read and to navigate than the full desktop site on their smart phones while finding franchises and business opportunities for sale. The franchise lead generation company's mobile site also allows users to sign up for the company's newsletter and browse all available franchise opportunities for sale.


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|ORIGINAL ISOTTA FRASCHINI JOINS THE BONHAMS LONDON TO BRIGHTON VETERAN CAR RUN|
|Italian motoring pioneer, once given by Mussolini to America, makes its first ever appearance in the UK
A unique veteran car that Italian dictator Benito Mussolini once donated to the Henry Ford Museum will be making a guest appearance as a special invited entry on the Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run on Sunday, 1 November.
Historically significant, the 1901 Isotta Fraschini is chassis number one, the very first car to wear the famous 'IF' badge.
At that time the Milan-...[Read more...]|
|SPIRIT OF THE LEGENDARY DODGE BROTHERS LIVES ON IN NEW AD CAMPAIGN INTRODUCING 2015 MODEL YEAR DODGE MUSCLE CARS|
|◾First television ad in series begins Saturday, Oct. 4, for the new 2015 Dodge Challenger
◾Fully integrated campaign highlights the Dodge Brothers' passion for making great cars and how that passion and spirit still drives Dodge brand today
◾Additional television, print and digital ads launch later this year for 2015 Dodge Charger and Dodge SRT Hellcats and Viper
◾View ads at www.youtube.com/dodge
October 3, 2014 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - One-hundred years after John and Horace Dodge ...[Read more...]|
|DELTAWING TECHNOLOGIES INC. NAMES BOARD OF DIRECTORS|
| ||• Six-Member Governance Team On Board to Guide Company's Business Growth, Organizational Structure, and Future Success|
Hoschton, Ga., March 3, 2014 – Georgia-based DeltaWing Technologies Inc. announced the formation of the company's board of directors. The six-member board includes auto industry, government, and business talent with nearly two centuries cumulative corporate, government and motorsports experience.
DeltaWing Technologies Inc., based in the North Metro-Atlanta c...[Read more...]
|GM Design: 85 Years of Making Art That Moves You|
|As GM Design celebrates its 85th birthday this month, the 1,900 men and women in GM's 10 global design centers are focused on the future, united in their vision to entice consumers to fall in love and see vehicles as they do: art that moves you.
'Our global team is united around its passion for designing vehicles that make an emotional connection with customers,' said Ed Welburn, GM vice president, Global Design. 'What was true 85 years ago is still true today: A designer's role is to create...[Read more...]|
|Automotive Hall of Fame Inductees Named|
|Awards to be Presented in Conjunction with the Concours d'Elegance of America
The Automotive Hall of Fame will present its annual induction and awards ceremony on Thursday, July 26, 2012 as one of the week-long Concours d'Elegance of America events. It will be held at The Inn at St. John's in Plymouth, Michigan.
Both the Concours d'Elegance of America and the Automotive Hall of Fame celebrate the heritage and history of Detroit. The show highlights the evolution of the automobile's...[Read more...]|


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The average motorist wastes a total of 2,549 hours circling the streets searching for a space whether it is on the school run, the local high street or a supermarket or airport car park.
Across the UK, it takes an average of six minutes and 45 seconds to find a suitable space – but this is just the average, according to the survey by ParkatmyHouse.
For those in London, it takes 20 minutes to find somewhere to park thanks to yellow lines, meters and areas restricted to resident parking.
London is by far the worst place to find a space but it is not alone in having problems, according to the website whose app also directs drivers to private, pre-booked parking spaces.
It also takes more than ten minutes of searching in Manchester, Southampton, Bristol and Wolverhampton, it was claimed.
The survey of drivers found that 81 per cent say it often takes 20 minutes or more to find somewhere to park, with 45 per cent describing parking as their biggest motoring headache.
Company CEO Alex Stephany claimed the app could save drivers up to 50 hours a year searching for an elusive parking space in an unfamiliar area.
He said: "Driving can be stressful at the best of times, and arriving at your destination to find there is no parking only adds to drivers' woes.
"However it's not just motorists it effects, our towns and high streets also suffer from the shortage of convenient parking.
"Waiting anything up to twenty minutes for a parking space ultimately encourages people to use out of town shopping centres or shop online".


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WEEEKEND WEB: Pumpkin grower taking the Mickey in ’11
We look back to the Lincs Free Press this week in 2011
Spalding farmer David Bowman became the first exclusive pumpkin grower for Disneyland Paris after creating the first-ever crop of Mickey Mouse-shaped pumpkins.
They were on display at Disneyland Paris as part of the park’s Hallowe’en Festival.
Since May, Mr Bowman – Europe’s largest pumpkin grower in 2011 with almost 3,000,000 units across 500 acres – has been working hard to ensure the Mickey pumpkins grew perfectly.


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Workers have been protesting outside fast food restaurants in sixty US cities, to demand higher wages.
It was the largest demonstration of an almost year-long campaign which saw workers from McDonald’s, Burger King and other popular restaurants strike around the US.
It comes amid calls from the White House, members of Congress and economists to hike the national minimum wage.
The demonstrators are demanding 15 US dollars (11.30 euros) an hour, more than twice the federal minimum of 7.25 US dollars (5.50 euros).
The median wage for front-line fast-food workers is 8.94 US dollars (6.75 euros) per hour, according to an analysis of government data by the National Employment Law Project (NELP), an advocacy group for lower-wage workers.


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Beacon Securities analyst Gabriel Leung is staying bullish on digital advertising and analytics company INEO Tech Corp (INEO Tech Stock Quote, Charts, News, Analysts, Financials TSXV:INEO). Leung delivered a report to clients on INEO on Friday where he reasserted a “Speculative Buy” rating on the stock and C$0.80 target price, which at the time of publication represented a projected one-year return of 310 per cent.
Surrey, BC-based INEO Tech has patented, location-based and targeted digital advertising and analytics solutions, with the company focusing on commercializing its INEO Welcoming System, complete with sensor gates at the entrance to stores, to support retail theft protection systems.
INEO released on Thursday preliminary fourth quarter fiscal 2022 results for the three months ended June 30, 2022, saying the company should show 90 per cent year-over-year revenue growth in the fiscal Q4. Looking ahead, INEO said its sales pipeline has doubled from $20 million in annual recurring revenue to now over $40 million. The company said it has active pilot installations and commitments with large retail chains across a broad spectrum of industries such as grocery, apparel, wholesale club, hardware, department store and pharmacy. INEO says it has had over 30 brands or advertisers using the INEO Media Network and it has recently launched its largest advertising campaign to date.
CEO Kyle Hall said instead of being hit by recession-related impacts, INEO has been experiencing accelerated growth with new retailers coming on board and advertising fill rates increasing.
“INEO is performing better than ever and is on track to exceed our previous quarter’s performance with another record high in revenue for Q4 2022,” said Hall in a press release. “Growth in the fourth quarter is approaching 90 per cent year-over-year despite the increasing interest rates, significant supply chain disruptions, inflationary concerns and other macroeconomic challenges currently affecting other companies around the globe.”
Commenting on the preliminary Q4 numbers, Leung said it looks like INEO is up for quarterly revenue of about $410,000, which would represent the 90 per cent revenue growth rate and would be above the analyst’s own estimate of $369,000. (All figures in US dollars except where noted otherwise.)
As for INEO’s clients, Leung said the retailers likely include Staples, with whom INEO recently signed a Master Services Agreement, along with an unnamed retailer with about 500 franchisee locations across Canada with whom INEO is the preferred vendor for Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) products. Leung said Staples, at about 1,000 stores, could represent about $12 million in annual recurring revenues once fully deployed.
“Aside from signing new banners to its pipeline, we believe the company is also negotiating larger system deployments with potential retailer customers, which could encompass Dual Screen Welcoming Systems, Gate product, media player, etc., which we believe has the potential of increasing monthly ARPU from $500 to up to $1,000 (for direct sales and half this figure for indirect Prosegur-driven deals),” Leung wrote.
Looking further ahead, Leung is calling for INEO to deliver full fiscal 2022 net revenue and adjusted EBITDA of $1.2 million and negative $2.8 million, respectively, fiscal 2023 revenue and EBITDA of $4.6 million and negative $1.6 million, respectively, and fiscal 2024 revenue and EBITDA of $11.3 million and $0.7 million, respectively.
On valuation, Leung is calling for INEO’s EV/Net Revenue to go from 7.8x in fiscal 2022 to 2.1x in 2023 to 0.8x in 2024 and for its EV/adjusted EBITDA to be at 13.4x in fiscal 2024.
“We are maintaining our estimates pending the release of the full results where we expect to get more details around the current balance sheet. Despite the positive pipeline developments, we continue to be of the view that there could be a risk of dilution over the near-term should the company prefer to give itself a cash cushion (both for operations and working capital as it manages potential enterprise deployments on direct sales opportunities),” Leung wrote.
Disclosure: INEO Tech Corp is an annual sponsor of Cantech Letter.
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Few Kardashian family controversies pass by without being addressed on Keeping Up With The Kardashians, so maybe we shouldn’t be surprise Kendall Jenner’s reaction to the fallout surrounding her controversial Pepsi commercial despite the fact there was some indication that Jenner herself didn’t want it filmed.
“We’re not perfect, but you see these things in the media, like Kendall and [her Pepsi ad that was accused of trivializing Black Lives Matter], where I see her at home crying, but in the media she looks another way because she’s not addressing it,” Kim Kardashian told The Hollywood Reporter in an expansive cover story celebrating the show’s upcoming 10 anniversary. “I’m just like, ‘This is wrong. You need to speak up.’ She was like, ‘I don’t ever want to show that footage of me crying.’ She was trying to not make excuses or be dramatic, but that was what she was going through at the time.”
Well, what do you know, in a just-released promo teasing the upcoming season, Jenner’s reaction is one of the few new bits of footage highlighted.
“I feel like my life is over,” says Jenner in conversation with her older sister.
“You made a mistake,” replied Kardashian.
And while that could be about any Kardashian drama, the E! Network’s own news site clarifies that it is about the Pepsi controversy.
Sure, while in any controversy involving a 124-year-old multi-billion dollar international company and a 21-year-old girl, it’s likely the mega-corporation that deserves more of the blunt of the blame. Yet, it’s interesting the Kardashian’s show won’t totally let Jenner get away without any responsibility (though, what comes after “You made a mistake” remains to be seen).
Jenner has refused to address the controversy in public so far, though other members of the Kardashian clan and Pepsi have. In fact, Jenner may be one of the few people on the planet who hasn’t directly addressed it. Everyone from Madonna to Alec Baldwin already has weighed in.
Kendall Jenner Gets Real: “I’m Weird, I Love My Tits Being Out”:
See 23 of Kendall Jenner’s Best Hair and Beauty Moments
Kendall sports slicked back hair and nude lip while attending the screening of ‘Girls Of The Sun (Les Filles Du Soleil)’ during the 71st annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 12, 2018 in Cannes, France. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Kendall goes for a classic pink lip at the 2018 CFDA Fashion Awards at Brooklyn Museum on June 4, 2018 in New York City. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Kendall Jenner wearing no makeup but still gorgeous while backstage ahead of the Alberta Ferretti show during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2019 on September 19, 2018 in Milan, Italy. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Kendall with a nude lip at the Harper’s BAZAAR Celebrates ‘ICONS By Carine Roitfeld’ at The Plaza Hotel on September 7, 2018 in New York City. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Kendall sports a sloppy bun with a shimmery lip at the first annual “If Only” Texas hold’em charity poker tournament benefiting City of Hope at The Forum on July 29, 2018 in Inglewood, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Kendall opts for fuller hair and a pink lip at the Ninth-Annual Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic Los Angeles at Will Rogers State Historic Park on October 6, 2018 in Pacific Palisades, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Kendall sporting her classic slicked back hairdo with clean makeup at the 2018 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 4, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Debuting her most recent ‘do, Jenner sports a chin grazing bob with a pair of chic sunglasses and a black hat.
Reverting back to her tousled bob with a glossy, raspberry pink lip, Jenner attends the Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets Hollywood premiere.
Kendall Jenner’s short hair is pulled up in a sleek, modern top knot with a creamy, nude lip as she arrives at the 70th annual Cannes Film Festival.
At the 2017 Costume Institute Gala, Kendall Jenner’s makeup features a bold coral lip that pairs beautifully with her sleek wet waves.
A sleek high pony with with radiant, luminous skin and pale pink lip was the look at 2016 Costume Institute Gala.
Staying true to her au natural style, Jenner debuts her newest do with a bare face on the runway of the Michael Kors Spring 2017 show.
The supermodel steps out at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016 rocking a super sleek up do, coral lips, and neutral smokey eye.
Backstage at the Diane Von Furstenberg Spring 2016 show, Jenner poses as one of Pat McGrath’s muses in a 70’s inspired look with large soft curls and a bold colorful eye.
Jenner gets experimental, elevating her look with faux bangs and heavy contouring, for a more mature look at the American Music Awards in 2015.
Kendall Jenner’s heart hair is perhaps her most iconic hairstyle ever. Fellow models Kylie Jenner, Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid and Hailey Baldwin arranged her hair into hearts as she lay on the floor of a yacht while they were vacationing. The photo, posted on May 25, 2015, is one of the most-liked photos ever on Instagram. Photo courtesy of Instagram.
Glowing at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards, Jenner channels a bronzed goddess with sleek straight hair, sun-kissed skin and a golden smokey eye.
At the Teen Choice Awards in 2014, Jenner ditches her natural waves and fresh face for a frosted look, with slicked-back hair and shimmery neutrals.
With her modeling career reaching new heights, Jenner grows into her signature look of a sleek middle part and minimal makeup, save for a bold red lip at the American Music Awards in 2013.
Stepping out at “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn” premiere in 2011, Jenner embodies bohemian chic with a long fishtail braid and a natural face.
Following in her famous sister’s footsteps with long wavy locks and a soft glam look, Jenner shows off her newly elevated look at the Teen Vogue Young Hollywood Party in 2010.
At only 14 years old, Kendall Jenner steps out of the family limelight and into her own. She arrives at the ‘Kiss & Tell’ record release party in 2009 fresh faced, with simple black eyeliner and glossy lip.


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Caltex in disarray as Canadian suitor lobs $8.6b offer
Caltex Australia's plans for a spin-off of petrol station sites have been thrown into doubt after just 24 hours as it was forced to disclose an $8.6 billion all-cash takeover approach from acquisitive Canadian convenience retailer Alimentation Couche-Tard.
The interest from the giant Toronto-listed company is at $34.50 a share, which has raised its offer 7.8 per cent since it made its first approach on October 11, first revealed in The Australian Financial Review's Street Talk column, forcing Caltex to go public.
It has cemented suspicions in the market that the service station IPO was a defensive tactic by Caltex, which has been under pressure to unlock value from its portfolio, including its $834 million pile of franking credits.
"I suspect they had a whiff that they had a stalker, and your first line of defence when it comes to protecting your business from a takeover? Increase your financial leverage, which is what the property IPO will help," said Jason Teh, a portfolio manager at Vertium Asset Management.
"At least that way you can extract greater returns for existing equity holders before somebody extracts them."
The petrol and convenience retailer only on Monday revealed a plan to spin off some of its service station sites in an IPO, a move that its suitor, owner of the Circle K brand well known in Asia, said wouldn't be possible under the conditions of its offer.
Couche-Tard, French for "night owl", already owns about 2 per cent of Caltex. Its offer involves a proposal for Caltex to pay a fully franked special dividend of up to $8.41 per share to allow the franking credits to be distributed to shareholders. That would increase the value of the offer by as much as $3.61 per share for some shareholders depending on their situation. It is also proposing an alternative option where Caltex shareholders could choose to be part of a buyback of their shares.
Chief executive Brian Hannasch described the offer as "very compelling" for Caltex shareholders. He underlined that Couche-Tard is a "committed buyer" of the entire business, challenging a view in the Australian market that it may not want to keep Caltex's Lytton refinery in Brisbane.
"With Caltex, we see a potential opportunity to leverage our leading global position in the convenience retail market, and we would seek to bring all our operating expertise to bear to help support and grow the Caltex business," Mr Hannasch said.
"We are willing and prepared to engage with Caltex to enable our proposal to be put to Caltex shareholders as soon as possible.”
The conditional offer represents a premium of 15.8 per cent over Caltex's closing share price on Monday and compares with an initial approach on October 11 at $32 per share. That offer, which represented a premium of about 25 per cent at the time, was rejected as inadequate.
Shares in Caltex surged 13.4 per cent to $33.79 on Tuesday.
Couche-Tard, which has made 60 acquisitions and deals since 2004, operates in 27 countries, selling 43 million gallons of fuel and about 750,000 cups of coffee a day.
More than 2150 stores operate under its Circle K brand outside North America and Europe, in places including New Zealand, Cambodia, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia.
Couche-Tard, which invested this year in a cannabis retailer in Canada, has for months been circling potential targets in Australia's fuel sector, including the Woolworths petrol station business that was eventually sold to UK-based EG Group.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Ben Wilson said that Couche-Tard, which has a market cap of about $52 billion, could look to divest some or all of Caltex's fuels and infrastructure business, while adding that "a significant portion of Caltex’s appeal is in its integrated model".
Caltex, which is being advised by UBS and Grant Samuel, said the talks with the Canadian group over its "highly conditional" offer were at a preliminary stage and there was no certainty of any deal.
"The Caltex board is focused on maximising shareholder value and will carefully consider any proposal that is consistent with this objective," it added.
The public outing of the proposals comes a day after Caltex announced it would unlock value with an initial public offering of up to 49 per cent of 250 freehold petrol stations. It is understood not to have intended to disclose the takeover approach until confidentiality was lost.
Caltex said the announcement of the IPO, which has been months in the works and is the result of a review of its retail sites announced in August, "is not related" to the Couche-Tard approach.
However, the fuels company has been under increasing pressure to unlock value that was not being recognised in the market after rejecting last year a more significant demerger or spin-off.
Airlie Funds Management senior analyst Terry Couper said Caltex had been ''undervalued for years''.
"We’re pleased to see the board engaging to unlock that value. However, the current bid price fails to fully capture the privileged position of the fuel infrastructure assets and the retail property," he said.
Still, Vertium's Mr Teh, who is not a holder of Caltex stock, described the price as "full", representing a price-earnings multiple of 18 times based on the current share price, a level not seen in such a sector since late 2014. The offer values Caltex at about $10 billion including debt.
Couche-Tard's proposal is subject to several conditions, including due diligence and a unanimous recommendation by the Caltex board, as well as foreign investment approvals.
Caltex is already in a state of flux with chief executive Julian Segal advising in August that he would be stepping down after 10 years at the helm. A successor has yet to be announced.
Neither Mr Segal nor Caltex chief financial officer Matt Halliday would comment on Tuesday but are due to update investors at an annual briefing next week.
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Dimension Data has promoted Scott Petty to a UK-based global executive for services role, appointing Ken Westwood as chief Australian operating officer in his place.
Petty has been chief operating officer at the Australian arm of South Africa-based integrator Dimension Data since November 2001.
He joined the company in 1991 as a senior professional services consultant and has also had a stint as CIO.
Petty would leave for London with his family, and expected to focus on driving services growth for DiData around the world, with special emphasis on Europe and the US but also including Australia.
“Improvement of service delivery efficiencies throughout the Dimension Data group will also be on the agenda,” the company said.
“Scott admits to two points of apprehension in this role. He doesn't want his two sons supporting England in the cricket and he is not looking forward to riding his Vespa in London weather,” the company said.
Solutions general manager Ken Westwood would take over Petty's chief operating officer role for DiData Australia.
“Ken takes on responsibility for all operational aspects of Dimension Data Australia's business, providing strategy and accurate forecasting performance analysis,” the company said.
He would also oversee company profitability and negotiate major sales deals, the company said.
Westwood joined the Australian subsidiary in April, from contact centre specialist Touchbase. At Touchbase, Westwood was Australia and New Zealand managing director.
He previously worked for a range of telecommunications industry companies, including Avaya, Lucent, AT&T, NEC, Nortel and Telstra, the company said.


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Local General Motors, Chrysler and Ford dealers aren't proud that their corporations need to be bailed out, but they say it's better than letting them go bankrupt.
Chrysler and GM CEOs told Congress that they need billions of dollars in federal loans to avoid running out of money by the end of the year. GM is asking for up to $18 billion overall, Chrysler for $7 billion. Ford isn't as bad off, but wants $9 billion just in case.
Instead of that $34 billion total desired, Congress and President Bush are close to lending the Big Three $15 billion, according to news reports. That would be enough to get them to March, when they could negotiate a longer-term bailout with the Obama Administration.
"I know there's a lot of outrage over the bailout," said Jeff Nimmich, general sales manager at Bremerton Dodge. "I look at it as two sides of a coin. At a layman's level, I'd be frustrated to give $15 billion to automakers who have been overcompensated and mismanaged for years. But from a strictly national economic viewpoint, the car industry directly or indirectly affects one of every six jobs in the United States."
If the automakers went bankrupt, he said, unemployment could soar to possibly 20 percent, and local governments would lose a large chunk of their revenues. In Kitsap County, more than 10 percent of sales taxes come from new and used car dealers. In Bremerton, it's more than 25 percent.
"It would have a huge, huge impact on the social services of this nation because there is not a bigger revenue maker in the world than the automotive sales tax," Nimmich said.
The federal bridge loans would come with strings attached. The manufacturers would have to give up their corporate jets, cut pay and benefits, mass-produce fuel-efficient cars and postpone dividends until taxpayers are repaid. The CEOs have already offered to cut their pay to $1 a year. President Bush would also appoint a government overseer to make sure the carmakers were taking steps to reinvent themselves.
Nimmich has no problem with the restrictions, but worries that the "car czar" wouldn't have enough car expertise.
"I'm kind of ashamed to be part of that bailout," he said. "I would think that we would have learned years ago after seeing the success of imports how to build a car and how to be proactive instead of reactive."
Grant Diekman, general manager of Courtesy Chevrolet in Poulsbo, won't concede that quality and fuel efficiency of American cars is a problem. Asian carmakers are struggling, too.
"That we're bailing out Detroit because it didn't make the right cars is not the case," he said. "GM has six cars over 30 mpg in its fleet. No other manufacturer has six models."
Quality is the result of plant technology, and the best plants are in the United States, he said.
The reason the Big Three need some help, Diekman said, is because the banks aren't lending money, even though the government is giving them $700 billion for that purpose.
"I'll tell you exactly what our problem is," he said. "We can't sell cars because the banks have changed the structure so quickly," he said.
Government intervention could result in concessions by the union, which Diekman and Nimmich agreed would be a good thing.
Nimmich doesn't believe there's much chance that Bremerton Dodge could be closed. Sales had been down slightly for most of the year, but picked up in October and November, when it was the top Dodge dealer in the state, he said.
At Haselwood Auto group, sales are also down slightly at Toyota and Honda dealerships, and have dipped more at its domestic stores. More people are buying certified used cars instead of new ones, said general manager Rick Wiler.
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