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By Meymo Lyons
Consensus appears to be developing around a proposal to to dissolve Virginia's monopoly of the liquor business.
Although ABC may not be as easy as 1-2-3, Gov. Bob McDonnell's policy chief, Eric Finkbeiner, says four options for selling the state-owned Alcoholic Beverage Control outlets are under consideration.
Finkbeiner says the proposal would increase the number of stores from the current 332 for a state populace of about 8 million to roughly 800 stores. Licenses would be tiered in three groups, and the largest would be for food outlets such as supermarkets.
A second level would be for traditional package liquor stores. And a third would apply to small liquor displays in convenience or drug stores.
The state plans to adopt a final recommendation on Aug. 26.


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The Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER) will make suitable arrangements for showcasing the Northeast organic products all over India. This was stated by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Dr Jitendra Singh in a meeting of NERAMAC (North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation) at Guwahati on Friday.
He informed that an initiative in this direction has already begun with the opening up, recently, of a Showroom-cum-Restaurant bearing a common brand name “ONE” (Organic North East) at Dilli Haat in New Delhi.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, it is under the present government that Sikkim was declared as the first “Organic State” of India and a roadmap for developing the entire region as an organic hub of India has been envisaged.
Emphasizing on the importance of developing the agri-horticulture ecosystem of Northeast, Dr Jitendra Singh said, NERAMAC must take up the responsibility of carrying forward this mission and build a modern dynamic marketing apparatus for the purpose.
He said, in the absence of organized “Mandis” in most parts of the North-Eastern region, one of the priority activities of NERAMAC should be to act as an aggregator of agri-horti produce in the region, particularly when 80-82% of the agri-horti produce from the region happens to be organic in nature.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, people in other parts of the country are yet to be introduced to the rich and exclusive organic produce of the North-Eastern region and once this happens, they would spontaneously come looking for it. This will not only give a boost to trade and business, but also create opportunities of livelihood, he said.

domain: news


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Las Vegas, According to a study by Shop.org and Forrester Research, 88% of retailers said they would focus their efforts in the next year on improving content presented on product-detail Web pages.
Retailers are also focusing on their homepages by integrating top sellers and “what's new” sections. Companies are also making their Web sites more sophisticated, with dropdown menus and rollover lists in navigational areas.
To differentiate themselves from competitors, online retailers are also making customer service a priority, with 33% of companies planning to invest more in live chat and 53% planning to enhance their guest checkout process within the next year.
The survey also found that retailers recognize the importance of operating in multiple channels and having them work together to deliver the best customer experience. Survey respondents said that 43% of catalog customers have also purchased from their online store and that 35% of online customers have also purchased from their bricks-and-mortar store.
In 2006, online reporters dedicated on average 18% of their marketing spend to cross-channel sales, up from 13% in 2005.


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Alongside its Pro Tools 10 and HDX unveiling, Avid turned some heads by recently announcing it was replacing its RTAS and TDM formats to a new format called AAX, “Avid Audio eXtension.” Now, your first reaction may not be unbridled enthusiasm, exactly: it seems the last thing users are likely saying is, “yes, please, I’d […]Read more
For some time, the move has seemed inevitable – even more so as the rumor mill started echoing with suggestions that a native release was coming. But now, it’s happened: Pro Tools HD will now run without HD DSP hardware. And that’s not all — you can also use the same hardware with your existing […]
Photo (CC-BY) Bruce Turner. The explosion of interest in filtering out sounds of the vuvuzela has spawned some interesting discussions. Most amusing to me is the notion of some sort of anti-vuvuzela bias. The simple matter of the fact is, recorded (and broadcast) sound are not the same as the sound you hear when you’re […]
brings together the latest breaking news on music, technology, gear, and live visuals. Got a project, found a news tip, or want to share your product? Submit to us directly.


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Americans experienced lower costs last month for some services as well as cheaper merchandise that limited receipts at retailers and showed a weaker trajectory for consumer spending entering the third quarter.
While economists projected a slight increase, consumer prices were little changed in June and held back by cheaper home furnishings, cars and clothing. Households also enjoyed modestly priced airfare and hotel stays at the start of the summer, Labor Department data showed Friday.
The discounts on merchandise may partly explain why the Commerce Department’s data on retail sales, which aren’t adjusted for prices, unexpectedly decreased for a second month.
The back-to-back decline in retail sales, the first since July-August of last year, also show consumers remain hesitant to ramp up their spending as the economy enters its ninth year of expansion.
“Consumers are cautious to spend despite the positive backdrop of upbeat job gains, rising — albeit sluggish — wage growth


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For People Who Wished They Liked Scotch, Dewar's Adds Honey
One of the more disturbing trends for those of us who enjoy a proper drink is the dumbing down of alcoholic beverages. Take the Bud Light Lime-A-Rita, or its younger sister, the Bud Light Lime Straw-Ber-Rita. Both concoctions sound frightening to sip. But it’s still Bud Light, after all, and there’s not much one can do to make Spuds MacKenzie’s favorite brew any less palatable. And bold mixtures like these are confined to cheap beers consumed largely by spring breakers, right?
Unfortunately, no. The same multi-flavored mentality is creeping into the more respectable stuff. There is a proliferation of flavored whiskeys like Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, Jim Beam Red Stag, and Wild Turkey American Honey. Diageo introduced Bushmills Irish Honey last year. And this week marks the most unsettling news yet: Bacardi unveiled a brand called Dewar’s Highlander Honey, which the company describes as a Scotch whisky “infused with Scottish heather honey filtered through oak cask wood.”
“We’re trying to reach out to a younger, newer consumer and speak to them in a language that they’ll identify with, in an environment that they’ll want to be in. Dewar’s Highlander Honey takes that one step forward,” Arvind Krishnan, vice president and brand managing director for Dewar’s, told Shanken News Daily.
There has been some pushback—and not just from purists like yours truly. Whiskycast.com reports that the Scotch Whisky Association is concerned that Highlander Honey may not be a true Scotch. The SWA’s statement on the matter is so delicious that it must be savored in its entirety:
There is no law preventing the production of new products based on Scotch Whisky. The important thing is that they are labelled and marketed in a way that clearly distinguishes them from Scotch Whisky. We do have concerns that the labelling and promotion of Dewar’s Highlander Honey could distinguish the product more clearly from Scotch Whisky. Under EU law it has to be sold under the sales description ‘Spirit Drink’ and it would assist if that description was more conspicuous on the labelling to help make it clear it is not Scotch Whisky. Promotion of the product should also not suggest it is Scotch Whisky. Any issues about labelling and promotion used by members are resolved through discussion with the Scotch Whisky Association.
I have a feeling that Bacardi’s attorneys can come up with the proper wording to mollify the Scotch police. But it’s nice to see authority figures trying to maintain some sort of standard for spirit makers. I just wish the Kentucky Distillers’ Association would take such stands. In any case, I prefer bourbon to Scotch. Hold the honey, please.


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Terex Utilities, a division of Terex Corporation (NYSE: TEX), announced plans for a $4 million expansion of its current manufacturing and office facility located in Watertown, S.D. The 40,000-square-foot expansion will include a new, multi-stage paint operation, a new research and development facility, and offices. The expansion is expected to contribute up to 175 new jobs to the local economy.
“The expansion of the Watertown, S.D. facility is central to our customer-focused approach to manufacturing the quality products that our customers demand and deserve,” said Don Anderson, director of operations for Terex Utilities. “The industry has come to expect the best from us over the years and we want to put ourselves in position to deliver the best quality equipment to the industry for many years to come.”


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Popular trends have not been to kind to some of the foods which present farmers’ produce in its healthiest forms, such as whole grains and legumes.
But the Grains and Legumes Nutrition Council is hoping to help turn these trends around and swing eating habits toward healthier options.
Popular low-carbohydrate, high protein fad diets like paleo have driven the consumer trend away from grain consumption.
A study from the GLNC, which surveyed 1200 Australians over 2 days about their diet, found that by 2014 60 per cent of Australians were limiting grain foods, leading to a whopping 30pc decline in average daily serves of grain foods.
In 2014, 60 per cent of Australians were limiting their grain consumption, the GLNC found. But now, the number of people putting a cap on grain consumption has shrunk to 47pc.
Legume consumption is another promising trend, being driven by the popularity , with a 4pc increase in consumption of legumes in the past three years.
The turnaround is driven by increasing awareness of the health properties of whole foods and a plant-based diet, particularly the benefits from grains and pulses to digestive health and chronic disease.
GLNC’s launch of its consumption study in Sydney yesterday and guest speaker was dietician and health advocate Dr Joanna McMillan.
She said while popular food fads can have a negative impact on some demographics, mainstream dietary concerns centred on consistent issues - especially in the bush.
“When I speak in regional areas, the questions I get are from people who are struggling with their household budget, wondering how they can feed their family more healthily,” Dr McMillan said.
“There’s a luxury choice to be made in new food trends, most people are just dealing with real issues.”
Hype around high fat, low carb diets and other new food trends directed attention away from more important issues, she said.
“We spend too much time in the media talking about paleo diets or the next super food. We have to talk more to the people who have the biggest health problems, and that includes the indigenous population.”
GLNC general manager Dr Sara Grefenauer said 73 pc of Australians do not eat their daily recommended target of whole grains.
“Taste and habit are barriers, and people are also unaware of all the benefits of whole grains and legumes,” Dr Grefenauer said.
The average Australian eats 6 serves of grain foods a day, down 2.5 serves since 2011.
Those six serves include two serves of whole grain choices, or roughly 28 grams worth, well short of the 48g daily recommended target - or three to four serves.
That means 73pc of people don’t achieve their recommended daily intake, Dr Grefenauer said.
GLNC marketing manager Alexandra Locke said despite challenges in the Australian market, there are some positive trends toward increased grain and legume consumption.
Vegetarians comprise 11pc of the population, Australia is the world’s third-fastest growing vegan market and the “flexitarian” trend - which advocates a plant-based diet is gaining popularity.
Consumer’s desire for traceability has extended to grains and legumes and producers are looking to cash in.
There is a burgeoning fleet of farmer branded grain and legume products, including The Lupin Co.’s lupin flakes, Dad’s Oats from Natte Yallock and South Australia’s Laucke Flour from Kangaroo Island.
“Snackification” of the diet is a growing trends, especially among Millennials and two out of three Australians purchase food as part of a new trend, Ms Locke said.
But we are also increasingly focused health and grains and legumes are well placed to capitalise.
Consumers want to feed the benefit of their food,” Ms Locke said, “and that benefit must be intrinsic to the food they eat (such as in whole grain products.”


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On the Front Lines of the Human Trafficking Battle
NATIONAL REPORT — Adults, teens and children across the country are being exploited daily by human traffickers who force them to perform commercial sex or labor against their will.
Nearly 11,000 cases of human trafficking were reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline in 2018, a 25 percent increase from 2017. Overall, the hotline received more than 41,000 contacts via phone calls, texts, webchats, webforms and emails in 2018. Experts say the actual number of people being trafficked is probably a lot higher.
Human trafficking is the second-largest crime in the world (after drug trafficking) and the fastest-growing, according to Convenience Stores Against Trafficking (CSAT), a program of the nonprofit organization In Our Backyard. The organization engages the convenience store and fuel industries to play a role in the fight against human trafficking.
With longer hours of operation, public restrooms and more than 153,000 stores in communities across the country that serve half the U.S. population each day, convenience store operators are in a unique position to disrupt this criminal enterprise and help victims of human trafficking, according to CSAT. Travel centers and truck stops, situated at key points on America’s highway system — and thus even more likely to encounter human trafficking — are also positioned to make a difference.
The Industry Response
C-stores and travel centers are responding. In April, two major Iowa-based convenience store chains announced their joint partnership with CSAT to combat trafficking. Des Moines-based Kum & Go LC, which operates nearly 400 stores throughout the Midwest, and Ankeny-based Casey’s General Stores Inc., which has more than 2,100 stores in small and midsize markets in the Midwest and South, agreed to leverage their network of stores — many of which are open 24 hours a day — to provide a neighborhood watch and safe haven for trafficking victims. Store associates at both chains participate in CSAT training, and stickers are placed in bathroom stalls with numbers for victims to call or text to reach the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
CSAT is run by In Our Backyard, a national nonprofit known for its anti-trafficking work around the past eight Super Bowls and for the critically acclaimed book by Founder and Executive Director Nita Belles: “In Our Backyard: Human Trafficking in America and What We Can Do to Stop It.”
“Traffickers and their victims are walking around in plain sight just like anyone else and just like anyone else, they go into c-stores daily,” Belles told Convenience Store News. “The c-store industry has begun to see they have a huge opportunity to safely help those who are being trafficked. C-stores have become heroes in the fight against human trafficking, in many instances by joining CSAT and bringing hope and help to those who need it most.”
Savannah, Ga.-based convenience store chain Enmarket was approached in May 2017 by In Our Backyard/CSAT. At the time, company executives didn’t know just how significant the problem is, particularly in the states where it operates, said Brett Giesick, president of the retailer that operates 124 stores in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
“One of the biggest motivators for us to get involved was learning that the abductees are brought into convenience stores to use the restroom, for food, general clean-up, etc., as they are transported along interstates and highways,” Giesick told CSNews. “Knowing that we could potentially provide an outlet for help for even one individual was enough for us to get involved.”
As a result, Enmarket worked with CSAT to place victim outreach materials in all its restrooms and at registers, providing a phone number for abductees to call if they are in trouble.
“On top of that, as new Enmarket employees are onboarded, they are educated about the issue and what they should do if they encounter a child looking for help or seemingly in trouble,” said Giesick, who also noted that a page in the retailer’s monthly marketing bulletin is dedicated to this cause in order to keep awareness heightened throughout the year.
On the Lookout
Travel centers and truck stops are doing their part to end human trafficking, too.
Situated at key points on America's highway system, travel centers and truck stops may be the retailers most likely to encounter human trafficking.
"Human traffickers tend to move their victims from their home base to areas where they have no support system. This applies to both the sex trade and labor trafficking," said Tom Liutkus, senior vice president of marketing and public relations for TravelCenters of America (TA), explaining what prompted the Westlake, Ohio-based company, which operates in 43 states and Canada, to get involved. "Here in this country, the quickest way to go undetected from Point A to Point B is to use the interstate highway system. So, our sites might encounter this activity and need to be vigilant."
Keeping an eye out for the warning signs of trafficking is just step one. To be effective, employees need to know three things: what they’re looking for, what to do if they see something suspicious, and what to avoid doing.
"At Pilot Flying J, we are committed to the safety and security of all our team members and guests. This is why we require each new team member at our travel centers to complete an e-learning module on human trafficking," said Stephanie Myers, corporate spokesperson for Knoxville, Tenn.-based Pilot Flying J, which has 750-plus locations in 44 states. "This module emphasizes that team members should look out for individuals — oftentimes young girls — moving from truck to truck in the parking lot as a sign of trafficking."
The module includes a video segment created by Truckers Against Trafficking that features a real-life trafficking story to showcase the severity of the issue.
Pilot Flying J also recently held a staff training on the matter at its headquarters. Led by Knoxville-based nonprofit The Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking, team members were trained on what trafficking looks like, how to identify red flags, and what to do if they witness a potential trafficking situation. This includes calling the local authorities, as well as the national hotline number for Truckers Against Trafficking.
The industry’s efforts are already making a difference.
In late July, Channel 13 in Iowa reported that two young women in Ankeny, Iowa, were rescued from an alleged sex trafficking ring due to the quick thinking of a truck driver and a convenience store worker. A newspaper delivery driver noticed a woman in distress. She waved her down and upon talking with her, the driver noticed the woman didn’t have a purse, ID or a cell phone. At that moment, the driver said her gut told her something wasn’t right.
She drove the young woman to a Kum & Go store down the road, where the clerk called the police. After questioning the young woman, police were led to a motel across the street, leading to the arrest of a suspect for allegedly running a sex trafficking ring. Local police then handed the case over to federal investigators because some criminal activity possibly occurred in another state. The young woman and another victim were granted no-contact orders against the suspect.
Still, despite these efforts by social service organizations, law enforcement, c-stores and travel centers, there’s more that needs to be done — and more partners needed.
“As more stores in our industry become involved, the better the chances that traffickers will be identified,” said Giesick of Enmarket. “There’s zero cost to acquire the victim outreach materials and CSAT has put together any training materials necessary to implement an awareness program. It all begins with awareness, and continues with consistent and repeated training to keep the issue top of mind.”


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China is tightening its Covid-19 limits following hitting a new record quantity of daily scenarios on Wednesday, raising fears of a additional slowdown for the country’s luxury market place.
China’s National Health and fitness Fee mentioned the range of locally transmitted Covid circumstances arrived at 31,444 on 23 November, jumping previously mentioned the former record of 29,317 in April 2022. The governing administration has introduced new lockdowns in essential locations which include Beijing, Shanghai and producing hub Guangzhou, as well as ordering mass testing.
“Consumer confidence has been dramatically knocked since the commencing of this year,” suggests Adam Knight, co-founder of China-centered manufacturer consultancy Tong. “Rolling lockdowns, spiking youth unemployment and declining economic overall performance are all taking their toll. As prolonged as this kind of uncertainty persists, with a seeming lack of a central roadmap out of the situation, businesses really should anticipate ongoing pressures.”
The recurring lockdowns have induced an financial crisis in China, with store closures and supply chain concerns hitting Western fashion and beauty manufacturers. Luxurious executives throughout the globe experienced hoped Chinese president Xi Jinping would use the stage at the Chinese Communist Party’s Nationwide Congress in Oct to announce a leisure of the zero-Covid coverage. But, in the close, China reiterated its commitment to stamping out, rather than living with Covid. Estée Lauder, Capri Holdings and Tapestry all slash back their outlooks a short while ago, blaming China restrictions for the slowdown. Farfetch noted losses in China, while Ferragamo was in a position to offset the disruptions with strong profits in Europe and the US. Richemont said sales in China had been “flattish”. Ralph Lauren was an outlier, retaining momentum in China.
“China’s luxury market place is probable to sluggish down [further] as far more and additional entry-level shoppers make your mind up to save more revenue because of to the uncertainty entailed by the zero-Covid approach,” warns Antonello Germano, luxurious company analyst at China study and management organization Daxue Consulting. “However, it is not likely luxurious product sales are going to absolutely dry up given that core superior-profits luxurious people are going to continue to keep buying significant-end items. Affluent people will possibly choose for extra discreet luxury parts throughout this interval of economic slowdown and as a consequence of the Common Prosperity campaign [China’s strategy to address the wealth gap], while.”


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In an article called Social media is still minefield for brands, Gideon Spanier, the paper’s media commentator, writes:
There is no doubt that brands must embrace social media. Tomorrow,
I wrote a marketing letter today. Not surprising, I grant you. Except that I mentioned – without irony – that non-media brands require “media skills” to create trust. Given the current crises in the media sector, this may have seemed chutzpah of the highest order.
The Leveson enquiry, and all that it encompasses, shows that (in the UK, at least) trust in traditional media is collapsing. The newspaper watchdog, the PCC, has failed. The industry has been accused
We’ve been working recently with eSocialMedia to improve the way that we communicate with our clients – an area in which, up till now, we could definitely improve.
I was intrigued to see on their website mention of the Direct Resourcing Think Tank (DRTT), which they hold every six weeks or so.
This article first appeared in Press Gazette
At the end of last month’s column, I wrote: “That thing they always said about treating people well on your way up because you might need them on your way back down is really true. I can think of a number of people who struggle to get work because they burned so many bridges in the past.”
I have written little about the importance of maintaining good relationships in your career; cynically, it might be called career management. A great many people in business


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POSTED BY Kevin Tan
Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency, emerged in 2009 which gives its network participants the ability to make transactions free of any transactional fees that banks and credit card companies would usually require. Furthermore, using bitcoins for international purchases would not subject the parties to the country’s laws or to its regulations. The use of bitcoins has appealed to many small businesses and restaurants worldwide. There are also some established large firms that have accepted bitcoins such as Overstock.com, the Sacramento Kings, Zynga, and Virgin Galactic, among several others. Bitcoins can be bought and sold for many different currencies worldwide from individuals and companies alike.
Bitcoin users do not have to reveal their names. All that is needed is their account number. Because of this fact and the fact that all parties involved are not subject to the conventional transactional fees, to government regulation, or to its laws, Bitcoin users have used bitcoins for various criminal activities: money laundering, Ponzi schemes, purchasing stolen goods, guns, and drugs, among many others. Believing that most of these transactions were done on the server called the Silk Road, the FBI has stepped in by seizing nearly 30,000 bitcoins (currently valued at $25 million) from the server. Having found that these bitcoins were the proceeds of crime, District Judge Oetken announced for the forfeiture of these coins.
In his press release, United States District Attorney Bhara supported Oetken’s holding because it furthered the government’s role in taking out “the profit of crime and signal to those who would turn to the dark web for illicit activity.” Although the holding does support this view, it is very difficult to claim that all activities done on that server were illegal. It is still unclear what sorts of transactions were done here. Furthermore, the money that was left there were there at the end of the transaction- the government did not prove that these coins were to be used to commit a crime or to further a crime. The holding suggests that the government could take money from anyone so long as the money were from the proceeds of crime. This is equivalent to stating that the government could take money from girl scouts for selling their girl scout cookies to a drug dealer because the money obtained from the drug dealer were from the proceeds of selling drugs. This doesn’t sound right.


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First EVs making their way to European customers
Friday 04 February 2011
The first shipment of Nissan Leafs in Europe arrived in the United Kingdom February 3, Nissan has confirmed.
The cars, which are among the first global mass-produced electric vehicles, rolled off a specially-constructed fuel efficient car carrier and will be distributed to the Leaf's first customers in the UK and Ireland in the coming days.
The arrival also marked the end of the maiden voyage of 'City of St Petersburg', the energy-saving car carrier Nissan intends to use to export the Leafs from its English factory when European production begins in 2013.
For now, the first shipment of Leafs was produced in Japan at Nissan's Oppama plant, which is struggling to meet demand for the vehicles in Europe, Japan and the United States, where it launched in December.
Only 67 of the vehicles were on board the first shipment, although many more are expected to arrive in the coming weeks to fulfill orders that have been placed in the European launch markets of the UK, Ireland, Portugal and the Netherlands.
A total of 27,000 orders of the vehicle have been taken by Nissan around the world.
Last week, Mitsubishi Motors launched its first official EV sales center in the UK in London, handing over its i-MiEV vehicle to its first London-based customers.
Life & Style blogs
Men in crop tops seem to be trending thanks to Kid Cudi, the social media and the catwalk
What is ALS and the Ice Bucket Challenge?
How processed food makes you eat more
Greggs Google fail: bakery falls afoul of search engine's algorithms with 'unofficial' logo
Anal sex study reveals climate of 'coercion'
Isis threat: Cameron wants an alliance with Iran
Crisis? What crisis? A visiting US doctor gives the NHS a rave review
Ukip MEP calls for reintroduction of death penalty on fiftieth anniversary of last deaths
Russell Brand calls for Israel boycott: Comedian urges big businesses that 'facilitate the oppression of people in Gaza' to pull funding
Michael Brown shooting: Chaos erupts on the streets of Ferguson after autopsy shows teenager was shot six times – twice in the head
World peace? These are the only 11 countries in the world that are actually free from conflict
- 1 Three of Pope Francis' relatives die in Argentina car crash, including two young great-nephews
- 2 Michael Brown shooting: Amnesty International sends team within US for first time as National Guard deployed
- 3 Reading Festival 2014: Tesco branch replaces salad with Jager and potatoes for vodka as campsite opens tomorrow
- 4 Here’s the damning letter Robin Williams wrote to his Mrs Doubtfire co-star's principal after they expelled her
- 5 Ferguson protests: 90-year-old Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein ‘arrested’ by police during St Louis demonstrations
£700 per day: Harrington Starr: Quantitative Developer C++, Python, STL, R, PD...
£30000 - £44000 per annum + Bonus+Benefits+Package: Harrington Starr: Web deve...
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OpenAI has announced it is adding more voice and image features to its ChatGPT chatbot. It will allow users to speak with the chatbot in a conversation and images can be uploaded for analysis.
Windows 11 build 23545 fixes a number of File Explorer bugs and more
windows 11 insider preview
Google reportedly is trying to launch its next-gen "Gemini" AI this fall. It will reportedly combine text prompts and image generation, trying to compete with OpenAI and Microsoft.
Facebook is developing AI chatbots that can take up different personas to simulate conversations with various individuals and celebrities, in an attempt to attract and retain users on its platforms.
OpenAI announced that it has added Browse with Bing feature to the ChatGPT app for iOS. The integration allows the generative AI chatbot to access fresh information beyond its knowledge cutoff date.
Chinese tech giant ByteDance Ltd. is working on a ChatGPT-style chatbot. As suggested by a company spokesperson, it is the first sign of the Chinese company stepping into the field of AI.
A new leak suggests Instagram is actively working on a new AI chatbot for its social media app. The bot is designed to answer questions, offer advice to users, and offer help writing messages.
AI chat apps utilizing ChatGPT technology are a growing industry led by European developers, with 23.6 million Google Play Store downloads since November 2022. Europeans are more open to it.
Ex-Google engineer fired from Google's Responsible AI team reveals OpenAI's ChatGPT rival Google Bard had gone sentient. This has caused months of delays in the product launch over safety concerns.
A new iOS app named Call Annie allows real-time video conversations with a ChatGPT-powered AI. The app's animated avatar can answer various questions and offers an audio-only mode for older devices.
It might take a lot of money to run the popular AI bot ChatGPT. A firm estimates that the number could be as high as $700,000 per day, most of which goes into hardware infrastructure used to run it.
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI has confirmed the development status of GPT-5. He also shared further insights about GPT development and approaches to bolster security during an event at MIT.
Alibaba Cloud is reaching out to businesses to see if they want to try out its generative AI bot. Corporate entities that are interested can check out Alibaba Cloud's WeChat for more details.
In addition to longer messages in Bing Chat, Microsoft's chatbot can pick up a conversation in the sidebar where you left the chat in the main window, and there are some performance improvements.
Microsoft is starting to place links to ads inside of Bing Chat conversations. It is working with its Microsoft Start partners to place ads both inside chats or rich captions beside chat answers.
General Motors is working on an AI system in collaboration with Microsoft. It will use similar technology that's used in ChatGPT and it'll be voice-activated for road safety reasons.
The new DuckAssist generative AI takes information from Wikipedia to help create its natural language answers. It's available now in DuckDuckGo's browser apps and its browser extensions.
The latest edition of Microsoft Weekly is filled to the brim with news about the latest major update to Windows 11, "Moment 2", a reference to Windows 12, and updates to services like Windows 365.
Apple has reportedly blocked an update to Blix' BlueMail app due to an integration with ChatGPT. Apple wants a higher age rating or content filtering if BlueMail wants to add this functionality.
The opening of ChatGPT's APIs by its creators at OpenAI will allow any developer to use its chatbot AI in its apps and products, and could help fund OpenAI's future software developments.
Meta head Mark Zuckerberg says the company is combining many of its AI teams into one larger team to develop and launch generative AI products for Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, and more.
Snapchat+ subscribers can now access the experimental My AI chatbot, which will help users with planning events, finding information, or just entertaining them with poems or other content.
This week's edition of Microsoft Weekly contains interesting news items about ads for Edge, current and upcoming Windows development, and bugs in Microsoft's OS. Find out more in our latest digest!
Microsoft has expanded the number of daily chat turns and sessions for the new Bing chatbot to 60 turns a day and six turns per session. Major improvements for Bing are promised for Thursday.
Microsoft latest endeavor into the AI-powered chatbot space has proven that the company is still grappling with the inherent challenges of the technology, such as curation, biasness, and accuracy.
Microsoft has shared some statistics regarding the response and feedback related to its new AI-powered Bing experience, currently in preview. It has also detailed what's next for the chatbot.
Tesla founder and Twitter CEO Elon Musk said this week that while AI programs like ChatGPT and others have a lot of promise, they can also come with "great danger" and they need to be regulated.
Microsoft's Yusuf Mehdi has shared that demand for the new Bing experience is in "multiple millions." And amid high demands, he has also shared some tips to quickly let you through the waitlist.
Now that the first invites to try out Microsoft's new Bing chatbot have been sent out, it looks like some users are asking questions that generate some rather odd and even mean responses.
After announcing the new chatbot-AI based Bing search engine last week, Microsoft has begun to send invites to people on its waiting list to try out the full version of the new Bing.
Many Google employees reportedly posted on the internal forum Memegen that they felt the launch of the Bard AI chatbot earlier this week was "rushed" and ultimately "botched" by the company.
The signup milestone shows that there's been a ton of interest in the new Bing search engine with its chat AI features that were first developed by OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT.
The full press presentation of Microsoft's new Bing and Edge reveal is now online to watch on YouTube, allowing everyone to see the new OpenAI-powered chatbot technology that's slowly being rolled out
The same report says that Microsoft will allow those same third party companies to replace Microsoft and OpenAI's branding with their own when they release the chatbots made with Microsoft's tools.
It's no secret that Google is panicking about the swift rise of ChatGPT. The company seems to be preparing to fight back by developing its own language processing tool and testing various homepages.
OpenAI is looking into monetizing ChatGPT, its popular AI-powered chatbot that can write code, poems, and email. Those interested in providing feedback can sign up using a waitlist form.
Meta has launched BlenderBot 3, a new conversational AI. A web demo featuring the chatbot is accessible in the U.S. It said data that it collects will be shared with the scientific community.
Microsoft has announced that it is open-sourcing its latest GODEL conversational AI, which enables goal-oriented interactions while still providing external information, just like a real conversation.
A Google engineer has been put on paid administrative leave following his claims that the company's LaMDA AI model has become sentient and wants to be acknowledged as a person with consent rights.
Uber has launched a chatbot for WhatsApp for ordering taxis in India. It will be rolled out in Lucknow initially before coming to New Delhi. Next year, it will arrive in the entire country.
Facebook has finalized an agreement to acquire Kustomer, a New York-based startup that provides customer-service platforms and chatbots. The firm's entire team will join Facebook as part of the deal.


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The Start Button appears to be making its way back to Windows with the oncoming release of Windows "Threshold," also tipped to be called Windows 9. This system has not been confirmed by Microsoft, nor has it been officially suggested as removing the Metro UI revealed in Windows 8 at all - instead, it’s likely to be a slightly more incremental update than Windows 8 was in the first place.
The Windows Threshold updates, which may or may not be dubbed Windows 9, will usher in a shakeup to how Modern UI ("Metro") will be used by the operating system. Clear lines will be drawn between the mobile versions of the system versus how it is displayed for laptop and desktop users, it is being reported.
There’s a new Windows 8 update coming your way this year which is said to bring a real return back to a more "classic" desktop environment. With Windows 8, the launch of the "Modern UI" was made ready for touch screens, appearing to many to ditch the original work environment. Microsoft has clearly seen the light and felt the complaints of workers around the world - Threshold will alleviate.
Xplore has introduced a new tablet that goes toe-to-toe with Panasonic's Toughpad. The Xplore Bobcat is a rugged tablet running Windows 8.1 Pro (Windows 7 is also an option). With the slate comes a body designed to handle a fair amount of abuse, and a design that matches its inherent ruggedness.
Panasonic may not be as active in the smartphone rat race anymore, but it isn't completely out of the rugged mobile device ring yet. It has just revealed the availability and pricing of two of its newest devices, the Windows Embedded-powered Toughpad FZ-E1 and the Android-powered Toughpad FZ-X1, both very rugged 5-inch tablets.
One of the first Star Wars games to be developed with the Disney Video Games team is Star Wars Assault Team - and it’s surprisingly decent. This game is entirely free and made to be a mix between turn-based card collecting and adventure. Here you’ll be able to play on your iPhone or iPad on iOS, Android devices, and devices running either Windows Phone 8 or Windows on your desktop.
The 2-in-1 isn’t a new platform, but it is a questionable one. Do you need a computer that snaps off into a tablet? The genre has its use cases, and Acer hopes to make a strong entry into the forum with their Aspire 10, a tablet-cum-computer offering that strikes a balance. With a 10-inch screen, the Aspire Switch 10 is an appropriately sized tablet, but does it work as a laptop, too?


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While many automakers had a tough 2017, Aston Martin is essential again after about a decade, surging on to a record year of sales in 2017 interjection to a new DB11. And it’s usually removing started.
According to Aston Martin, altogether sales were adult 58 percent on final year, offered 5,117 cars in 2017, a initial time it’s sole some-more than 5,000 cars given 2008. The association claims that’s interjection to “sell-out demand” for a new V12 DB11. There was also assistance from specialty models like a Vanquish Zagato cars and a Vantage GT8, with those sales doubling over a prior year.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) was reported as during slightest £180 million, or approximately $243.7 million. A full gain news will be expelled in March.
The celebration won’t stop here as Aston Martin has even some-more sparkling things entrance up, including prolongation of a new V8 DB11, a recently suggested Vantage and a introduction of a new Vanquish. Aston will also get to work on a new UK bureau to furnish a arriving DBX crossover starting in 2019.
Even nonetheless many of us aren’t utterly certain Aston’s new pattern denunciation lives adult to a prior generation, it’s transparent that all a association indispensable to do to get behind into a black was refurbish a cars. Now that a opposite indication lines have some-more graphic styling, as evidenced by a DB11 and Vantage, it will expected lead to even some-more success going forward.
Aston might be going for a crossover crowd, though a fact that it’s means to find profitability and success but one nonetheless is intensely calming in these perplexing times. Cheers.


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New Ad Campaign: Medicaid Pays More than Medicare, Fortune 500 Companies for Prescription Drugs
WASHINGTON, June 15, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new ad campaign launched today highlights the clear choice policymakers in states across the country have in finding savings for their state's Medicaid program: cut benefits for patients or billions in overpayments to independent drugstores. States and the federal government could save $33 billion over the next decade by cutting independent drugstore overpayments and modernizing pharmacy benefits to be more like those in Medicare and commercial plans.
"Taxpayers shouldn't pay more for Medicaid drug benefits than Fortune 500 companies and Medicare," said Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) President and CEO Mark Merritt. "Currently, the program uses fewer generic drugs and pays drugstores more than double the fees that Medicare or private insurers pay. Over the next decade, states and the federal government could save $33 billion – without cutting benefits or payments to doctors and hospitals – by modernizing Medicaid pharmacy benefits."
Transitioning to a more efficient and affordable pharmacy benefit model would save states across the country billions without limiting access the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) announced in a new white paper, "Increasing the Cost-Effectiveness of Medicaid Drug Programs."
Most state Medicaid programs pay too much for prescription drugs because they use an archaic, fee-for-service approach in which state officials set payment rates and are therefore constantly lobbied to inflate them by special interests like pharmacists. To avoid this trap, most non-Medicaid drug benefits programs -- like those offered by Medicare, employers and unions -- rely upon independent, third party pharmacy benefit experts to negotiate competitive rates with pharmacies. These programs also reduce costs by employing cutting-edge, market-proven strategies to increase the use of generics. Polling finds voters would rather modernize Medicaid pharmacy than cut benefits for patients or payments to doctors and hospitals.
Research shows consumers have broad access to pharmacy choices in urban, suburban, and rural areas, as an average of 21 pharmacies are located and compete near independent pharmacies throughout the United States. The independent drugstore lobby's own economic report found that 400 new stores opened last year amidst what was a very profitable year for the industry despite the economic downturn.
PCMA represents the nation's pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which improve affordability and quality of care through the use of electronic prescribing (e-prescribing), generic alternatives, mail-service pharmacies, and other innovative tools for 200-plus million Americans.
SOURCE Pharmaceutical Care Management Association


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December 27, 2011 BBC News
Traders at Sheffield’s Castle Market have said they are worried some stalls will not be open for business in 2012.
Some traders said the three months in the run-up to Christmas were the worst they had seen.
A new £18m market will be built by 2013 but traders said unless the council did more to help, businesses may fold before it is completed.
The council said stall-holders had been given a rent reduction for the past three years.
Ian Bingham, from Bingham and Brown greengrocers, said: “This is the worst I have ever known it in 28 years.
“This is going to be my worst Christmas ever. It’s very serious. I think you’ll find after Christmas a lot of the traders will start leaving this place.”
Mick Cull, chairman of the Sheffield branch of the National Market Traders Federation, said the market was struggling to compete with supermarkets.
Continue Reading. . . . .
Mar 21, 2019 0Wrexham.com A Continental Street Market showcasing cuisines from across the world will return to Wrexham town centre this week. Over the next four days (Wednesday 20th – Saturday 23rd March) Hope Street, Regent Street and Queen Street, will play host to international themed traders selling street...


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9to5Mac leaked screenshots on Monday of the Healthbook, a long rumored project by Apple. Healthbook is a fitness and health tracker, but the screenshots suggest that counting calories and monitoring your heart rate are just scratching the surface of what this app is capable of.
The app tracks vital Read More
If you’re being generous, one could say your smartphone already grants some version of comic book superpowers. The mobile browser lets your feign omniscience at will; email-in-your-pocket lets you be everywhere at once. Scientists at the University of Texas at would like the add X-ray vision to that list.
As the British tech site The Inquirer reports, electrical engineering professor Dr. Kenneth O and his team developed an imager chip that could let your smartphone see through walls . . . and wood and plastics and paper and more.


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You've got to laugh at these celebutantes who pump themselves up to E cup deliciousness and then end up regretting it after the fact. Apparently, that the sentiment UK Big Brother star Chantelle Houghton has about her surgical boost to 32E.
But that minor issue didn't stop Houghton from using her assets to make a little money along the way. In a new campaign for La Senza, Houghton proudly flaunts her generous curves for the lingerie brand.
Sharing her regret over having the surgery, Houghton told Heat magazine, "They're just too big. Now I just want to hide them. I thought I wanted to go up to that size and I loved them at the time, but now I wish I'd never had them done."
Well, Chantelle, hoisting your pulchritudinous puppies into some revealing lingerie is hardly going in the right direction if concealment was your goal.
Digital agency Albion has created a new campaign to tout Air New Zealand's new interiors, seating set up and inflight meals. The campaign carries the tagline, "Forget everything you know about flying."
The campaign includes print but also some interesting page takeover units you can view here, here and here.
We're guessing the new seating and service arrangement isn't going to be cheap.
So there's nothing really wrong with this new Hot Commute commercial for Rockport which touts the brand's ability to make commuting stylish. It's just, that, well, Rockport just isn't all that hot as a fashion designer and the "hot commute" we see hear, well, isn't hot at all. See, the brand is sort of like a step up from L.L. Bean. The whole thing comes off like a run-of-the-mill Macy's commercial.
But that hasn't stopped the brand from cashing in on all it can. In a deal with Donald Trump's The Apprentice, the brand will be the subject of a challenge in the October 14th episode.
The campaign, which will break in over 30 countries will include television, print, digital, mobile, out of home and POP.
- Bored in that dull meeting? Check out Adverbotz, a collection of your favorite phrases spoken in robot voice.
- The Gerald R. Ford Airport in Grand Rapids has launched a new brand and advertising campaign.
- Minneapolis-based Little & Company asked 30 creatives to record their thoughts on design. The results are collected on ThirtyConversationsOnDesign.
- And the Cornelius Trunchpole idiocy continues. Now a person claiming to be Gerry Graf (who likely isn't since our reply email bounced) says Mr. Trunchpole is Trevor Bittinger, an art director who once told Graf he intended to create an agency based on a ficticious ad legend. Does anyone really care?
- To promote Red Bull's Flutag event, Monkeyhead is out with another On the Wings of Glory video.
- AdWeek's Social Media Strategies Conference will take place on Oct 13th & 14th at 10 On The Park in New York City.
- Well here's a pretty cool iPhone iAd.
There's a few ways to sell auto glass replacement. Most are boring and forgetful. While this Apple Auto Glass campaign from Jan Kelly Marketing may not end up becoming the most memorable, it gets points for being one of the strangest. By associating meticulousness, safety conscious behavior with a dented windshield, Apple Auto Glass gives us reason to remember. That or we'll just be continuously reminded there are just a lot of weird people in this world.
In a recent study, the Edge Anti-Irritation Index, Atlanta was found to be the most irritated city. Following Atlanta were Houston (No. 2), Washington DC (No. 3) and Baltimore (No. 4) ranked Findings were based on 11 different irritating factors, including humidity levels; weather conditions; incidence of traffic delays and congestion; average commute times; frequency of flight delays and cancelations; rates of sleeplessness; underemployment; pollens and allergens; pests; and comedy clubs per capita.
The study is part of a new campaign from the brand which hopes to help stamp out iritation. Part of the campaign provides real time irritation relief to people voicing their frustrations on Twitter. Irritation Solutions Team staffers, using the Edge Twitter handle @EdgeShaveZone, monitor for annoyed tweeters and then offer a helping hand in the form of prizes, gift cards or other items that might lend a little relief. To join the conversations, people can use and search #soirritating.
Well we suppose if you're in jail and you've got a clothing line to promote, you can always enlist the help of a family member. Which is just what Lindsay did when she asked her 16-year-old sister, Ali, to model for her 6126 clothing line.
For the campaign, Ali models two short dresses, one of which is being billed as "cleavage-baring." We assume there's cleavage there but we just don't see it. Anyway, sister to the aid of another. How sweet.
UPDATE: OK. Here'sthe hotness we were looking for.
Much like McDonald's used to do, Pizza Hut, for its new Your Favorites Your Pizza Hut campaign is bringing out its fresh-faced talent to front the new campaign.
"With our new brand campaign we really wanted to hone in on what sets Pizza Hut apart," said Kurt Kane, Vice-President of Marketing at Pizza Hut. "Pizza Hut customers know that they'll get great tasting pizza, pasta or wings from us. But what keeps them loyal to the brand is a connection between our food and the special moments in their daily lives. Whether it's family pizza night or a get together with friends; at Pizza Hut we believe every moment deserves to be a favorite moment."
What Kane meant to say was young, good-looking people are much more enjoyable to look at and a more effective advertising strategy than stalking celebrities' children, abandoning babies or unleashing a sexed-up Jessica Simpson on a horny kid. OK, a sexed-up Jessica Simpson is never a bad thing but that particular scenario was a bit creey.
Antonio Federici ice cream, which had its pregnant nun ad banned by the UK's Advertising Standards authority for making a mockery of Roman Catholic beliefs isn't taking the ban laying down. The company plans to continue with the same theme and, in addition, make a point of targeting Pope Benedict with the campaign during his four day visit to the UK which begins today.
An Antonio Federici spokeswoman said, "We intend to defy the ASA's ban and will publish another ad from the series before the Pope's visit later this week. We are also in the process of securing billboards close to and along the planned route of the Pope's cavalcade around Westminster Cathedral."
The ad carries the tagline, "Immaculately Conceived ... Ice cream is our religion."
And on the heels of Brazilian model Sabraine Banando's traffic stopping billboard appearance for Wonderbra's Full Effect Bra, 19-year-old X Factor contestant Lucie Jones has been selected to front a new campaign for the line.
Which makes perfect sense because Jones has always wanted bigger boobs. In an interview with MailOnline, she said, "Sometimes I really want to wear a specific dress and I just have nothing to fill the top half of it." Well now you can bust right out of that dress, Lucie because your breasts will be enormous thanks to the miraculous Full Effect Bra!


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Hat chain Lids, Kenwood Towne Centre accused of trying to squeeze out local shop owner
A local memorabilia shop owner is accusing hat retailing giant Lids and the Kenwood Towne Centre of colluding to muscle him out of the region's premier shopping destination just weeks after opening a new store.
Mark Stapleton, the owner of Hats N' More, opened his new store on Feb. 1. On the same day, mall officials threatened to terminate his lease after admitting to him they were being pressured by rival Lids, according to a lawsuit filed by Stapleton.
Stapleton who is grooming a third and fourth generation to work in the stores, says opening his fifth mall-based shop got ugly fast.
The trouble started after mall officials agreed in January to allow him to move into a spot vacated by a Lids affiliate a few doors down from a Lids store that stayed open.
Despite paperwork clearly stating the new store would be called "Hats N' More," mall officials later told Stapleton they thought hats would be a small percentage of his sales, according to a lawsuit over the dispute. Cincy Shops began using "Hats N' More" in 2006 as hat sales became its majority source of income.
A day before opening, mall officials complained to Stapleton that Lids representatives were "throwing a fit." They told him Lids was pressing the mall's corporate parent, reminding them the larger chain "had 100 stores" at their malls. Lids objected to a competitor being leased space they had left, according to the lawsuit.
Calls seeking comment from General Growth Properties, the Chicago-based parent company of the Kenwood Towne Centre, and Genesco, the Nashville-based parent company of Lids, were not immediately returned.
Mall officials pressed Stapleton to remove hats from his display windows, pressured him to change the store name, asked him to move to a more expensive location in the mall and told not to sell hats, the lawsuit states. Stapleton said he's tried to work with the mall, but refused most of the requests.
Stapleton tried to play ball. He didn't have a lot of leverage; he was given the space under a temporary two-year lease that could be revoked with 30 days notice. Stapleton agreed to the original terms with the understanding the mall would give him a longer-term lease once he demonstrated solid sales results.
In an Enquirer interview, Stapleton declined to discuss the dispute outlined in the lawsuit he filed.
Stapleton, 49, who lives in Bridgetown, grew up in his father's Cincy Shops business and took it over five years ago. The company now sells baseball caps and other licensed sports memorabilia at Kenwood and four other area malls.
"I loved going to work with my dad (Roger Stapleton) all those years – it was awesome, we shared our lives together," Stapleton said, fondly recalling his appearances in some of his dad's now-vintage TV ads.
After a rough start at Kenwood, things got even worse.
On the second day of business, Stapleton heard from his employees that sales clerks from the nearby Lids came to the store, taunting them that Lids was going to shut them down, according to the lawsuit. Some of the Lids workers took pictures of store displays.
Hats N' More called mall security to warn Lids from coming back. But a few days later, mall officials called the store, accusing them of provoking Lids with window displays of hats, the lawsuit says.
Mall officials also chided Stapleton, saying he would not have been given the store space had they been aware of "the contentious relationship and issues Hats N' More has had with Lids in other malls."
A week after opening at the Kenwood mall, Stapleton learned that a Lids district manager had visited his Florence Mall store and grilled an employee about Hats N' More's new store operations.
After three weeks of friction, on Feb. 20, mall officials gave Hats N' More 30 days notice to move out.
On Wednesday, Stapleton filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati against the parent companies of Lids and the Kenwood Towne Centre to fight his ouster and seeking a temporary restraining order to block his store from being shut down.
The lawsuit accuses Lids and Kenwood Towne Centre of engaging in an "anti-competitive conspiracy" against Hats N' More, interfering with its business and other charges.
Stapleton's attorney, Aryeh Younger of Ritter & Randolph, said the next step in the lawsuit would be a hearing on their bid for a temporary restraining order to allow Hats N' More to remain in Kenwood.


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Volkswagen assembly line employees in Chattanooga, Tennessee, can’t finish a Passat without passive-aggressive threats coming from all sides. Just one week after hourly employees voted against union representation by the United Auto Workers by a slim margin, Volkswagen’s German labor chief Bernd Osterloh voiced his opposition to any new VW plant built in the southern U.S.
Translated from German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Osterloh said he “can imagine fairly well that another VW factory in the United States, provided that one more should still be set up there, does not necessarily have to be assigned to the South again.”
Osterloh, who sits on a supervisory board that selects the company’s board of directors, shares authority to approve decisions on plants. In reality, VW has no official plans for a second U.S. plant other than to expand Chattanooga’s annual production by 100,000. But his statement would sit well with South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who alluded her high-heeled shoes were helping the state dropkick unions in the face.
“You’ve heard me say many times I wear heels. It’s not for a fashion statement,” she told The Greenville News on Thursday. “It’s because we’re kicking them every day, and we’ll continue to kick them.”
Osterloh is no stranger himself to hothead remarks, having last month called VW’s U.S. operations a “disaster” despite the company achieving record sales for the past two years. And last week, republican U.S. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee warned before the vote that if the UAW lost, VW would reward the plant with a second model. Volkswagen denied that claim and Corker, refusing to reveal his source, irked the UAW so much that it filed an appeal Friday with the National Labor Relations Board claiming “interference” from Corker, Tennessee Governor William Haslam and five other Republican state senators. If the UAW wins the appeal, the Chattanooga election will be null and a new vote counted.
- Long-Term Road Test Update: 2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI
- Prototype Drive: Volkswagen CrossBlue Concept
- First Drive: 2014 Volkswagen Passat 1.8T
Volkswagen’s U.S. management, under Osterloh’s pressure, wavered between worker choice and pro-union sentiment during the UAW’s months-long campaign at the factory. Chattanooga CEO Frank Fischer said VW was “committed to neutrality” before the election and afterward said he wanted to “determine the best method for establishing a works council.” That type of setup—an internal union paid for by the company that can force management into arbitration committees, among many other restrictions—isn’t guaranteed under U.S. law like it is in Germany. It also isn’t how the UAW, which negotiates from the outside, conducts its business with the Big Three.
Whomever wins at VW, at this heated pace we’re not sure any side—pro-union or not—will be satisfied at having the last word.


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Streaming shows have become internet fast food not junk food
Are streaming shows becoming like junk food? We don’t think so — we’d rather say that streaming shows are the internet’s fast food regardless of what anyone else says.
At the Television Critics Association meeting in Pasadena, California, the president of the Disney-owned FX network, John Landgraf, made a comment that has struck a nerve with this analyst.
“The danger of the internet is that everything becomes junk food.”John Landgraf, FX President.
- The U.S. TV industry released 532 scripted shows last year. That is an annual increase of 7% over the previous year.
- Landgraf also called the quantity of content made “bananas” and was critical of funding coming in from technology companies that don’t need to make money from the shows they make.
- Finally, he stated that over the past decade, HBO released 19% of the shows on critics’ top 10 lists, while FX was second with 18% and Netflix fifth with 10%.
CHECK OUT: Cable ratings prove pay TV DOA in 2020
Internet taking the blame
Landgraf’s comments are a mix of concern and accuracy. Big tech business spending is a problem for FX (concern) and HBO is great (accuracy).
He’s also right about the amount of content being made — it is bananas. However, his take on the internet is wrong.
- Quantity: 532 scripted shows is a lot, and we’re definitely over-saturated with content. Yet, content made is no longer controlled by networks or critics. Instead, shows are being made that fit all interests and opinions. Plus, we now have full control over what streams on our screens, and that determines what gets made. This is supply and demand.
- Quality: Netflix spent $15 billion on content in 2019, and Apple spent $120 million on a single season of The Morning Show. With this huge new investment and a flourishing streaming sector, new content with amazing quality is premiering constantly. This is capitalism.
Not the consumers’ problem
Binging a show is unhealthy, but that’s the only real comparison to junk food that’s accurate. Even if there were 10,000 shows made yearly, we as consumers would only watch what we wanted to. Nothing changes.
The problems aren’t for the consumer, but for streaming services and pay TV. They are the ones fighting for our subscription dollar.
Please follow us on Flipboard and Twitter for more news, rumors, and reviews. If you prefer Facebook or LinkedIn, we’re there as well and would love to talk streaming content with you and our group of friends.


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“Survey Shows Businesses’ Need for Stormont Help from Inflation” – Cllr. Emmet Doyle
An Aontú Councillor in Derry, Emmet Doyle, has called on the government to take steps to mitigate the impact of inflation on the business sector following the findings of a survey on the matter.
Speaking today, Cllr. Doyle said: “Surveys conducted by Ulster bank are starting to show the impact that inflation is having on the economy here. Businesses are starting to see a serious drop in demand, particularly in retail. It’s heartbreaking to hear from shop owners and restaurant owners who are terrified about the future of their companies. The hospitality sector was particularly hurt by the lockdown restrictions and are now confronted by widespread staff shortages”.
Cllr Doyle continued: “Business across the north is starting to contract. The Bank of England is already starting to predict a recession by 2023. There are small and family businesses throughout our communities that are at risk of closing. I’ve heard horrible stories from business owners who are at risk of losing what they’ve invested everything in for years. Stormont needs to understand the severity of the situation and get back to work before businesses start to close!” Concluded Cllr. Doyle.


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The smell of cotton candy wafted through rows of colorful tents and brightly colored tables during the second annual Small Business Festival Thursday afternoon at Clary-Shy Park.
The event, hosted by the Columbia Chamber of Commerce, featured more than 50 small businesses promoting a wide variety of goods and services, from cotton candy to healthcare.
“This is a really different event for the chamber,” said Lisa Driskel Hawxby, co-chair of the chamber’s small business committee. “Most Chamber events are Chamber-to-Chamber business events, and this is actually a community engagement event where we intend to really bring the whole community out.”
The free festival featured live music, food trucks, a beverage garden, and a variety of events for kids and families. The Small Business Festival was made possible by a number of sponsors, including Hawthorn Bank and Liberty Family Medicine.
The number of companies present increased compared to last year. The Columbia Chamber of Commerce defines a small business as having 25 or fewer full-time employees, and Driskel Hawxby said small businesses make up the majority of chamber members.
Cruz Chavez, owner of Sawdust Studios in Columbia, stood next to a table full of cutting boards and chatted with other business owners and event attendees. Chavez said the tight-knit nature of Colombia’s small business community has been invaluable since he opened his carpentry shop in 2020.
“When I started, immediately other business owners reached out and kind of became mentors, which I totally didn’t expect,” Chavez said. “I feel like they’ve done everything they can to make sure I’m okay and making decisions that will help me grow.”
Other sellers echoed Chavez’s sentiment, citing the collaborative community as one of the best parts of owning a business in the city. Samantha Boisclair, owner of party supply store Party Perfectly, hosted a table displaying a variety of party decorations.
“Columbia has a really good spirit of collaboration,” Bosclair said. “There’s no competition, it’s about succeeding and growing together as a whole community.”
In addition to rows of vendor tables, three food trucks and a fire truck were parked outside the pavilion. A make-up stand was set up and the children munched on free crushed ice and candy. Shela Mullins was picking up her daughter from volleyball when they passed the festival and decided to stop. Mullins said what drew her to the event was also what she loved about the city’s small business community.
“I like it because it’s not just something for adults, there’s usually whole families that can come and participate,” Mullins said. “I love that Columbia is really family oriented.”
Driskel Hawxby said Columbia residents and business owners make the small business community what it is.
“I think people who come to college towns usually have an affection, an affinity, a curiosity to come and meet new people and do things,” Driskel Hawxby said. “I think the small business community here understands that when they help each other, they can leverage that power, that community power to do really big things.”


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Google has been looking into another acquisition in the home security sector according to reports. Google has been looking at possibly buying Dropcam. Dropcam is a company that sells a $150 camera unit capable of streaming video to smartphones and computers. Dropcam launched in 2009.
Google's last major purchase was of Nest Labs, the makers of smart thermometers and smoke alarms. It's unclear at this time how far the talks progressed or if they are still underway. Google is no stranger to buying firms with tech it wants and certainly has the cash lying around to make a purchase of Dropcam.
The deal would get Google one more piece of tech that it could use to make its way into user's homes. So far, Dropcam investors have over $48 million put into the company. Dropcam announced not too long ago that it would be making people-detecting software available in early August.
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Last month we found out about a leaked version of Android 4.3 for the international version of the HTC One with the build 3.09.401.
the ROM was picked up by developers and it became a flashable zip which rooted handset users could install. The president of global sales for HTC revealed on Twitter that they were going to skip past Android 4.2.2 in the US and go to Android 4.3, before the end of September.
So we are half way towards the end and they are running out of time for the release. But HTC could be about to release Android 4.3 in the US if the latest leak is anything to go on. Last night we saw RootzWiki dev drop a new build over at the forum, for the AT&T version of the HTC One. The build is RUU and flashable from zip. However it doesn’t come with root.
The developer has also warned people that when you update through RUU it does update the hboot and this means that you cannot stop s-off using revone/moonshine. So you are advised to install it with caution.


text: Hammonds said he was disappointed that the federal bill would not pre-empt more restrictive laws in states like Oklahoma and Iowa, where cold remedies are sold from behind pharmacy counters. At least 37 states have enacted laws to restrict the sale of cold medications to starve meth manufacturers of their key ingredient. Many leading retailers – including Kmart, Walgreens, Target and Wal-Mart – have already adopted guidelines to limit customer access to cold products or to limit their sales. Some drug makers have changed the ingredients in cold pills to take out pseudoephedrine and replace it with another substance, phenylephrine, that cannot be used to make meth. A new product called Sudafed PE, is already on store shelves, though the old Sudafed is still available. The measure would provide nearly $100 million a year for five years to train state and local law enforcement to nab meth offenders and would expand funding to prosecute dealers and clean up environmentally toxic meth labs. Talent called the measure “the toughest anti-meth bill ever considered by Congress.” He predicted that it would help reduce the number of clandestine labs where the illegal drug is made with common items like household cleaners and coffee filters. The meth problem is particularly severe in the Midwest, where rural areas provide cover for the pungent chemical odor from meth labs. In Missouri, law enforcement officers seized more than 2,700 meth labs last year – more than any other state. Passage of the measure could take place as early as next week, when Republican leaders press for a vote on the anti-terrorism bill. Some opponents who claim Patriot Act threatens civil liberties are threatening a filibuster unless changes are made. 160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set! AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MOREBlues bury Kings early with four first-period goals Those limits target meth dealers who buy large quantities of the drugs to extract the pseudoephedrine. The measure is a compromise reached after months of haggling over the 30-day limit. Sens. Jim Talent, R-Mo., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who pushed the legislation in the Senate, insisted the limit was needed to curb the meth epidemic. “The heart of this legislation is a strong standard for keeping pseudoephedrine products out of the hands of meth cooks,” Feinstein said. The bill is weaker than one passed by the Senate in September that would have required cold remedies to be sold from the pharmacy counter. That would have prevented many stores without pharmacies, such as convenience stores and some supermarkets, from carrying the pills. “We’re pleased to see the current compromise,” said Tim Hammonds, president and CEO of the Food Marketing Institute, which represents grocery stores and other retailers. “It addresses a serious law enforcement concern, but in a way that balances the need for consumer access to safe and effective products.” WASHINGTON – Cold remedies that can be used by drug dealers to make methamphetamine would be forced behind store counters under legislation Congress is poised to pass by year’s end. Lawmakers hope that federal restrictions – included in the agreement reached Thursday to reauthorize the USA Patriot Act – will stem a meth trade that has hit rural America particularly hard. A number of states have already moved to curb the sale of cold pills containing pseudoephedrine, the ingredient used to cook meth in makeshift labs. The federal law would prevent meth makers from moving to states with weaker laws. Stores would be required to keep medicines like Sudafed and Nyquil behind the counter and consumers would be limited to 3.6 grams, or about 120 pills, per day and 9 grams, or about 300 pills, a month. Purchasers would also need to show a photo ID and sign a logbook.


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Award-winning illustrator Dapo Adeola has been revealed as the creator of this year’s ‘Books Are My Bag’ Limited-Edition Bag.
The ‘Limited-Edition Bag’ is part of an annual campaign organised by the Booksellers Association to celebrate books and bookshops, and previous designers of the trendy tote include the likes of Orla Kiely, Charlie Mackesy and Tracey Emin.
Accomplished illustrator Dapo Adeola is the artist behind bestselling picture book Look Up! which won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and was the number one debut picture book of 2019.
Dapo’s illustrations are characteristically bold in portraying characters that depict gender equality and social justice from a fun-loving and optimistic angle.
“Accomplished illustrator Dapo Adeola is the artist behind bestselling picture book Look Up!”
A respected voice in the Black creative space and the creative industry at large, he has been instrumental in pulling together a community of Black illustrators worldwide through his Twitter hashtag #blackbritishillustrators. The initiative encourages Black illustrators to share their creations and tell their stories in an industry where Black people are largely underrepresented. Last November, Dapo challenged the media to credit illustrators for their work through an open letter signed by celebrated authors including Malorie Blackman.
When he’s not busy cooking up new characters you can find Dapo running illustration and character design workshops with children or organising events to help highlight the possibilities of a career in illustration to underrepresented members of the Black diaspora.
Speaking about his recognition, Adeola said: “I was super stoked to be asked to illustrate this year’s ‘Books Are My Bag’ tote. Supporting bookshops is and has always been a huge part of my journey in this industry, so saying yes to this opportunity was a no brainer. Now more than ever, bookshops need our help to stay afloat. We’re gonna need the type of magic only they can provide when things go back to normal, so anything we can do to help them in the meantime should be done. Let’s keep these wonderful hubs for magic and community alive.”
“I was super stoked to be asked to illustrate this year’s ‘Books Are My Bag’ tote.”
Emma Bradshaw of the Booksellers Association was also very excited about working with Dapo Adeola and had the following comments to share: “We are so excited to have teamed up with Dapo Adeola for this year’s Limited-Edition Bag. We are huge fans of his work, and the bag’s vibrant, fresh design is absolutely stunning – I can already picture those bright colours bringing some good cheer to all book-lovers on Bookshop Day!”
Books Are My Bag Limited-Edition Bag will be available exclusively in bookshops across the UK and Ireland on Bookshop Day – Saturday 9 October 2021.
Find out more information about the campaign here.


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(CNN Money) — Tesla’s finances are so dicey that the largest quarterly loss in the company’s history couldn’t bring investors down.
The electric car company said it lost more than $717.5 million in the second quarter. But it ended up with $2.2 billion in cash at the end of June. That meant Tesla had to burn through $430 million worth of its unrestricted cash reserves last quarter.READ MORE: 25,000 Pounds Of Lake Tahoe Trash To Be Turned Into Eagle Sculpture
Tesla spared no expense to reach its long-sought milestone of making 5,000 Model 3s in a week. But with low cash reserves, investors have worried that Tesla would need to borrow more money to keep the company afloat.
The company said it maintained its level of production, making 5,000 Model 3s in a week multiple times in July. Tesla also said it wants to churn out 10,000 Model 3s per week “as fast as we can.” It expects to produce between 50,000 and 55,000 Model 3s this quarter.
Tesla’s stock was up nearly 5% in after-hours trading.
The Model 3 is Tesla’s first that’s aimed at a more mass-market audience, and it debuted to great fanfare, with thousands clamoring to put down $1,000 reservations for the vehicle.
CEO Elon Musk made the bold promise earlier this year that Tesla would post its first quarterly profit in years this fall, Tesla doubled down on that promise again in a letter to investors Wednesday.READ MORE: Golden State Warriors Beat Luka Dončić Led Mavericks, Reach Sixth NBA Finals In Eight Years
Many analysts viewed that claim skeptically. Others are more optimistic.
“Based on what we’re seeing in the trajectory of production, we think they will be profitable” later this year, automotive analyst Jamie Albertine told CNBC last month.
Tesla recently laid off about 9% of its staff. Musk explained in June that the job cuts were part of a restructuring plan to eliminate “duplication of roles” and added that the layoffs should reduce costs and help the firm on its path to profitability.
Wednesday’s earnings report also comes as Musk has faced scrutiny for recent erratic behavior.
Earlier this month, he made an unfounded criminal accusation about one of the rescuers who helped save a group of young boys and their soccer coach from a flooding cave in Thailand.
During May’s conference call with analysts, Musk’s behavior was bizarre. He told analysts them their questions were boring, and spent a significant amount of time fielding questions from a YouTuber.
Tesla’s stock has fallen more than 13% over the past six months.MORE NEWS: Gun Control Or Mental Health Reform? UC Davis Researchers Say We May Be Focusing On Wrong Problem
™ & © 2018 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.


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Martin Sorrell has done pretty well out of the City, London’s financial centre, persuading investors to back his S4 Capital venture when he was rudely defenestrated from his creation WPP.
Faith in Sorrell helped S4 rise to a dizzy valuation of £6.7bn not that long ago, more than half the giant WPP’s then valuation. But accounting problems, a profit warning and confessing that costs had risen too far in its breakneck expansion, have reduced S4’s valuation to “just” £1bn, painful for Sorrell who’s a big investor with a controlling share.
Now, according to the Telegraph, hedge fund GLG Partners, a subsidiary of FTSE100 Man Group, has disclosed a £5m/0.5% short position in S4, basically a bet that its shares have further to fall. This may not, of course, be a reflection of what it thinks about executive chairman Sorrell’s management but a dim view of the ad sector’s prospects in total.
Sorrell won’t be only ad holding group boss casting a wary eye over his share register. WPP shares have lost a third of their value in the past year or so even though its published figures have been healthy enough. WPP, whose shares rose in early trading today, is now valued at just over £8bn, about half its worth when Sorrell was ejected. As a pointer, Publicis paid $4.4bn for data business Epsilon a few years back.
Ad holding companies and S4 in particular are suffering from the fallout in tech stocks, chiefly Meta (Facebook) although they’re all suffering. If all-conquering digital advertising really is going into reverse they will suffer too as their businesses have been shaped by the perceived need to service the tech giants, WPP and Publicis especially alongside S4.
When stocks go into freefall, bargain hunters emerge alongside the short sellers. We could well see some serious takeover action as we move into 2023.


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Fashion can be harsh, one minute you are the ‘Chanel’ of the business and the next minute you are the ‘Juicy Couture’… It can be ruthless. While there are many factors that can contribute to one being replaced, sadly age can be a big part of it. Although I doubt it is the case with of Justin Bieber being dethroned…
After first releasing the cover of her controversial (you can barely recognise her face with all the retouching) upcoming V Magazine cover earlier this week, Britney Spears has finally revealed the editorial contents
Fashion has long been an outlet for consumers to express their social status, their taste level and most importantly their creativity. Sadly that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. Magazines produce creative imagery that
Sometime in life you have to look for signs. Signs that a greater power is returning. No, not Jesus. He only got to come back for a second time while Rihanna has returned to the spotlight for the eighth time… And this might be her greatest return yet.
While everyone seems to be tripping over themselves to voice their opinion on Nicki Minaj and her demure transformation for the new issue of Dazed & Confused, I was more delighted and mesmerised by one of the shots that doesn’t feature the rapper


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Why the TPP Matters for Latin America
Traditionally, Latin America’s role in global trade has been impeded by the same anti-trade suspicions which are now discrediting the benefits of globalization in the United States. The TPP is the world’s most extensive trade agreement to date, extending into different industries and reforming trade practices in areas such as intellectual property. The 12 country agreement, whose members include: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, Japan, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam, make up almost 40 percent of global GDP and almost 30 percent of all global foreign direct investment (FDI).
Trade and Regional Development
Despite the waves of populism in the United States and Europe, a trend which is all but unknown in Latin America, trade is universally recognized as the fuel for growth in the Western hemisphere. Mexico, for instance, can attribute most of its recent growth to its reliance on trade and foreign investment; Mexico has signed the most free-trade agreements in the world.
The region’s growth, however, also depends on intraregional trade, which is low but slowly increasing. The TPP’s three Latin American members: Mexico, Peru, and Chile, are also members of the Pacific Alliance, a Latin American trade bloc encouraging regional integration and intraregional trade.
By approving the TPP, countries like Mexico gain access to a market of almost 1 billion consumers and low cost goods which can be traded within the region. Mexico already does this through the NAFTA agreement with the United States and Canada. By importing value-add products from the United States, the region gains access to a market of American goods that would otherwise be unavailable. This agreement also facilitates the creation of small to medium sized businesses in the region who will inevitably have lower costs of production and new markets.
Despite the enormous benefits of trade in the region, it is not enough for countries to reach their development goals. A strong middle class and a new entrepreneurial class are the future of a less commodity dependent region. By lowering costs, the new trade agreement will empower the middle class by offering low-cost goods to increase domestic spending. This agreement also facilitates the creation of small to medium sized businesses in the region which will have lower costs of production and access to new markets.
Regional Trade Security
Besides the potential gains from trade in the Pacific, the TPP fulfills an important geopolitical strategy of Chinese containment.
China’s footprint in the hemisphere over the past decade has increased substantially. In part due to the United States’ interests in the Middle East, China’s international pivot not only perpetuated Latin America’s dependence on commodities, it also increased their vulnerability. China has expanded its interest in the region through investment in infrastructure and even arms sales to governments for preferential business. Playing to historic resentment towards Western institutions like the World Bank and the IMF, unconditional loans from China have done little to strengthen the region’s institutions.
Instead, these kinds of loans only fuel indiscriminate spending, turn a blind eye to accountability, and create no incentives for middle class growth. Though trade with China is in the region’s interest, it is important that a strong region is able to form better ties with emerging Asian economies. Despite its slowing reliance on primary products, China recognizes the soft implications of its influence in the region. Through the TPP, and by trading with Chinese competitors, China becomes incentivized to adopt more fair trade practices, at the risk of losing giant customers.
It is also crucial that Latin America expand their military capability at sea to deter bullying and illegal Chinese practices in the hemisphere. Chile and Argentina have a strong role to play in trade security in the Southern Cone. In 2015, the Chilean navy scrambled ships in two separate incidents when Chinese fishing ships appeared in Chile’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). This year, Argentina’s coast guard opened fire and sunk the Chinese fishing vessel Lu Yan Yuan Yu 010. By taking on a larger security role at sea while increasing trade, Latin American TPP states can protect their economic interests and deter unfair Chinese incursions and ensure fair trade.
By encouraging more trade and a stronger military in the region, Latin America will fill the vacuums of influence the developed world is creating as it moves inward. It is long overdue for the hemisphere to exemplify its economic influence and continue the global trend of multi-polarity. Latin America’s growth has been halted by commodity dependence and populist leaders. Its progress has been overshadowed by the “East Asian Miracle” and it is time for Latin America to exemplify growth through a focus on trade and security.


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A village mum has come up with a ground-breaking initiative to help both the environment and low income families in our village – the Ruddington Children’s Clothing Library.
After first doing a bit of market testing via Ruddington Mums, Sally Dyson launched her new library – and is now hoping to spread the word about it even further. The library loans out children’s clothes for a fixed period of time, on payment of a refundable deposit. There is no fee for borrowing clothes and the deposit is then repaid on their return.
“I started the Clothing Library in October 2018 after becoming increasingly concerned about how little wear my children were getting out of their clothing and what a dreadful impact on the environment this was having” says Sally. “In our loft we have about six large boxes of good quality, hardly worn clothing and it occurred to me that there must be lots of other boxes sitting in lofts all around Ruddington. So I had the idea that the bundles of clothing could rotate around the village, getting used and loved until it was genuinely time to dispose of them.”
Of course, this has the added bonus of saving people time and money shopping for clothing. Sally reports that a lot of donations of good quality clothing have already been made – thanks to the generosity of the people of Ruddington. “I wanted to build up a good amount of stock before launching the loans part of the service – which we did about three weeks ago. Currently we have a large amount of baby clothes in stock, in particular, and are keen to get those loaned out asap.”
How it works:
The Ruddington Children’s Clothing Library is run through a Facebook group. You can request to be added through this URL: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RuddCCL.
Once you’ve joined the Facebook group you’re able to borrow clothes. You can either PM Sally or post on the group stating what you’re looking for (gender and size). Loans are always made in bundles. “We don’t lend single items of clothing as it’s too time consuming” explains Sally. “The only exceptions to this are coats, wellies and sleeping bags.”
On collection, your bundle will be ready to take away once you’ve paid your deposit and agreed a return date. This can be flexible (3, 6, or 9 months). Deposits are £10 for a small bundle, £20 for a larger bundle.
Sally adds “Please make every effort to look after the clothes so that they can be loaned to another family. However, don’t worry too much if a piece of clothing gets stained or damaged – with children this happens! Please do still return the item(s) to us and we will recycle them. You will then still get your deposit back.”
Meantime you can enjoy the warm feeling of reducing your environmental impact – whilst also clothing your children for free!
Graham Wright via RUDDINGTON.info


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Signify achieves carbon neutrality; to double number of women in leadership roles
Global lighting solutions provider Signify on Tuesday said it has achieved 100 percent carbon neutrality across all its operations.
The company (formerly Philips Lighting) has achieved this by using renewable electricity and through emission reductions under a carbon offsetting programme.
"It also uses 100 percent renewable electricity, supported through two power purchase agreements, one in Texas and a second in Poland. The balance of emission reductions is achieved through a carbon offsetting programme with projects aimed at benefitting the well-being of local communities," it said.
"It is a truly significant achievement for us and we call on many others to join us," Signify CEO Eric Rondolat said at a virtual press briefing.
The company will embark on a new five-year journey in which it will focus on doubling its positive impact on the environment and society.
"Growth for sustainability and providing a great place to work are firmly anchored as central parts of our company strategy. This means that when it comes to sustainability, we will go beyond carbon neutrality and double our positive impact on the environment and on society in 2025," he said.
Signify has reduced its operational emissions by more than 70 percent since 2010, having shifted to more energy-efficient technologies at its sites and through optimised logistics planning.
The company also plans to double its 'circular revenues' — turnover from products that can be reprinted, refurbished, reused or recycled — to 32 percent by 2025.
It includes revenues from 3D printed luminaires and streetlights with reusable components.
3D printing reduces the carbon footprint by 47 percent compared with metal luminaires, it added.
Signify is also removing plastics from all its consumer packaging before the end of 2021.
The company further said it will double the number of women in leadership roles, taking the number to to 34 percent.
This is part of the company's commitment towards diversity and inclusion it said.
"It is across the board globally and the number 34 percent represents the female executive and women leadership. In order to achieve that you have work on the whole pipeline," the firm's VP Sustainability, Environment, Health and Safety, Nicola Kimm, said.
Edited by Kanishk Singh


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Troubles continue today in the Toyota recall, and the automaker’s problems only seem to be getting bigger.
Toyota, already under scrutiny by the U.S. government after the automaker recalled millions of cars under two separate recalls over unintended acceleration, has now been ordered by the Japanese government to investigate possible defects in the brakes of its latest Prius hybrid, above.
The New York Times reports that the action came after 14 reports of brake trouble on the car, which is the poster child for hybrid cars and just entered its third generation.
According to the article:
The drivers have complained that the brakes on their Priuses have momentarily stopped working when driving at low speeds, especially on slippery surfaces, said Kenji Sato, a transport ministry official in charge of recall policy.
In one incident in July 2009 in Japan, a Prius collided with another vehicle at an intersection, hurting two people. Ten of the 14 complaints in Japan about the new Prius, which went on sale here last May, came in January.
In the United States, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has logged at least 136 complaints about the brakes on the 2010 Prius. Many are from drivers who say the vehicle surged forward or temporarily lost braking after driving over a pothole or other uneven surface, and many say it is a recurring problem.
Four cases involved a crash, and two of those resulted in injuries, according to the safety agency’s complaint database.
In other news this morning, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said he misspoke this morning he told a Congressional subcommittee that owners of recalled Toyotas should “stop driving” their vehicles until they were repaired, the Associated Press reports.
“What I said in there was obviously a misstatement,” LaHood told reporters in a hasty news conference held after he testified before a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation.
The secretary chief, who has been vocal about Toyota’s woes, said that owners who were concerned about their vehicles should bring them to dealers and have them examined.
The CEO of automotive Web site Edmunds.com, Jeremy Anwyl, was quick to issue a comment LaHood’s remarks, saying, “This flip-flop is not helping concerned motorists who are being presented with confusing and contradictory information about the Toyota recall at every turn.”
“But in this situation, there are facts and there is speculation, and no factual revelation popped up this morning to cause anyone any additional concern.”
As always, please stay tuned to Auto Motion for the latest in the Toyota recall.
More on the Toyota recall:
- Wozniak’s Toyota software claims under scrutiny
- Fed to reportedly expand probe to electronics
- Wozniak blames Toyota problems on software
- Toyota was “safety deaf,” LaHood said
- See how Toyota will fix recalled vehicles
- O.C. Toyota owners could get fix within days
- Would you still buy a Toyota?
- Toyota has fix for sticky pedal
- Toyota could announce recall fix next week
- Consumer Reports drops “recommended” status for Toyotas
- Toyota sending pedal fix to factories first
- Q&A: What you need to know about the Toyota recall
- Toyota supplier making new pedals
- Toyota adds 1.1 million cars to prior recall over floor mats
- Latest safety advice from Toyota
- Consumer Reports: How to tell if your car is affected
- Do this first if you own a recalled Toyota
- GM offers incentive to Toyota owners
- Toyota plants reportedly set to receive replacement pedals
- Toyota halts sales of 8 recalled models
- Toyota recalling 2.3 million cars over sticking accelerator