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Meet the guys trying to turn the infamous Ashley Madison site into more than a cheating hotspot
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The parent company of the infamous dating web site Ashley Madison, which made its name as a place for married people to find partners for affairs, is trying to recover from a terrible year.
Now rebranded as ruby Corp. (the "ruby" is intentionally lower case), the company formerly known as Avid Life Media is currently under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission. It was the subject of a "highly critical" review by Australian government investigators in August. And it's still enduring multiple legal battles since the massive breach of its database in July 2015 exposed the identities of 32 million users.
But its new leadership team — on the job for just four months — thinks it can turn all of that negativity around, regain the trust of old users while bringing more into the fold, and revamp the much-criticized brand.
"We felt the Ashley brand was very valuable and wasn't something to throw away," Rob Segal, ruby's new CEO, told Business Insider in a telephone interview along with company president James Millership.
As ruby focuses on security improvements, it can boast that roughly 17 million people have signed up for the site after it was hacked, and its own employee ranks have grown 40%. The executive duo that specializes in brand turnarounds and marketing seems to be a big reason why.
Meet the turnaround team
It took nearly a year for the company to find a new CEO. Its previous executive, Noel Biderman, resigned soon after the data breach, which exposed customer data and many of his own embarrassing emails, including some that suggested he was having affairs himself, according to Buzzfeed News.
Around March 2016, a corporate headhunter reached out to Rob Segal, a marketer by trade. Others from Avid's board approached him and asked him if he'd take over as CEO. The same happened for Millership, an expert with turnaround experience in manufacturing, gaming, and technology.
It wasn't an easy sell.
"We saw what happened with Avid," Segal said, explaining that they both undertook four months of due diligence on the company, digging into financials, meeting with the team, and discussing the issues with their own lawyers. The key question, Segal said, was whether Ashley Madison could shed its persona as untrustworthy.
"I think we let the data lead that decision," said Segal, who previously ran a communications firm that handled brands such as Sony, Virgin, and Party Poker. "It really is a global business operating in 46 countries with cash flow and a really strong team. ... We grew comfortable with the fact that there could be a resolution."
Since July, Ashley Madison has undergone a number of changes to win users back. One of the most notable is its pivot away from infidelity. Instead of the tagline "Life's short. Have an affair," it's website says simply: "Find your moment."
"In the past it was very male-targeted," Segal said, adding that the rebrand was meant to make it more inclusive and "open-minded." Instead of an adultery hotspot, the website says it is a safe space for same-sex relationships and polyamorous couples to look for new partners. Segal added that singles might be looking for others who are into unconventional sex practices, or BDSM.
"Having a breach like what occurred last summer is obviously something that keeps any CEO or anyone in leadership up at night," Millership said. "But what we're really excited for is to provide incredible experiences for our users."
'This is an ongoing effort to win back the trust'
All the rebranding in the world won't make any difference if users can't trust that their data won't be stolen once again — a fact both Segal and Millership are keenly aware of. So one of the first things they did was hire Deloitte to beef up their cybersecurity posture.
"This is an ongoing effort to win back the trust of our customers," Millership said. The company also implemented something called Level 1 PCI Compliance for credit card processing, which means it has to undergo annual internal audits onsite and have its network scanned by an outside vendor.
It also did away with the fake female profiles that were revealed in use on the site — bots that were chatting up men and goading them into purchasing more credits for messages. "We can say with certainty" they are gone, Millership said.
An audit by Ernst & Young confirmed that was the case. Now, Millership says, there are only real women using the site, at a ratio of about about one woman to every five men. On average, 1.6 million unique active members visit the site every month, the company said.
Can they do it?
It's far too early to tell whether Ashley Madison's rebrand will be successful, but its top leaders are confident, especially after the launch of a major ad campaign in July. Millership claims the ads — which ran only in English speaking markets, or more than two-thirds of its user base — brought in 20% greater sign ups among women.
"It struck a chord," Millership said.
The ads were not well-received by everyone. Its spot dubbed "Hotel," which showed a momentary glance between a man and an unfulfilled wife in a hotel lobby, seemed to reinforce the image of an adultery site that it had been trying to overcome. Though another, featuring a single man on a subway, could have worked just as well for any other dating site.
Still, Ashley Madison has a long way to go.
The company is due back in court next month for a status conference in a major class action lawsuit it's been embroiled in for more than a year. The FTC is still investigating its business practices, though the agency has declined further comment to journalists. (The FTC did not respond to our request.)
Its reputational damage is even apparent on the front page of Google search, which doesn't even surface Ashley Madison's home page on the first results page. Instead, the top organic results are a Wikipedia page about the data breach and various news stories detailing the hack that ruined many lives, and may have contributed to at least one suicide. (The company purchases Google Adwords to get a sponsored link at the top of the first results page.)
But perhaps, the leadership team of Segal and Millership — benefitting from not having been at the company during its rocky past — can pull it off, given what they've accomplished so far. They even hinted to Business Insider there were plans to rebrand ruby's other properties of Cougar Life and Established Men.
"Our goal is to create ruby as a digital technology in the middle of the online dating space for open-minded relationships," Segal said.
Whether people will have an open mind about a company with such a troubled past? That's a moment that Ashley Madison still needs to find.
SEE ALSO: Here's what the world will be like in 2045, according to top scientists
Join the conversation about this story »
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One look at the global population and it becomes quite evident that identifying the target audience may not be that easy, which is why digital marketers use classic customer segmentation techniques to segment, or divide customers into categories based on similarities. This segmentation can be done on the basis of demographics, lifestyle, behavior, media use etc. and provides marketers the proper grounds for focusing their message, pricing, product research and development, and for audience targeting. What kind of segments? Here are 20 effective audience segments in digital marketing in no particular order as they say.
Here are 20 Types of audience Segments in digital marketing.
50% on the first purchase through the app. That is nothing but a classic example of how segmentation based on visitor type works. This is done by identifying new visitors or returning visitors based on analytics and in personalization systems. This segmentation helps in personalization, creating welcome messages, discounts and rewards for repeat users.
Data collection is almost everywhere. From simple username creation to creating entire profiles or behavioral analysis all are ways of collecting customer information.
This is data segregation done on the basis of search analysis, preferences etc. A data that usually maps the user's journey across the website or mobile app.
This is usually based on the data shared by the customer/user includes the reason of interest in the business- VIP, infrequent visitors, first time visitor etc. The Profile is created based on data from: customer record (name or customer ID), customer accounts, quotes, orders, services, customer support records, reviews, payment methods, marketing offers, marketing sources, survey data, delivery data etc. This segmentation allows businesses to modify selling pattern, cross-sell and prompt the users to return and buy again.
Where do the customers/users come from? That is another way of creating segment. So, ideally it is the place/web source that leads the visitor to the landing on your website. While this data is available through tracking codes, AI-based personalization systems can add value by analyzing the effectiveness of different portals (Facebook, AdWords, Advertisements etc.).
Most commonly used by retail brands. This segmentation allows to push suggestions and drive targeted sales. The segmentation is based on product categories or individual products viewed, customization's done i.e. product variants such as color or size or reviews read etc. Based on this related products of a similar style can be shown. The value in the cart can also be a reference point.
Landing pages provide different data and often varies from the profile data. Here, the segmentation may be more biased towards the product/resource, and can even provide a more refined subset in certain cases.
Different users, different device preferences. Understanding this makes personalization easier. Analytics can recognize browser, screen resolution, and device type (smartphone, tablet or larger screen formats). This segmentation can be used to deliver mobile specific campaigns, identify high-value customers and provide users a seamless multi-device experience too.
The simplest style of segregation. Grouping customers users on the basis of their physical location i.e. country, region or city, weather and season etc. This is usually used by enterprises with global outreach. It provides clarity about natural conditions, culture, ideologies, etc., of the region, which can hence be used to attract the customers.
Yet another common segmentation factor is the grouping based on variables like gender, age group, income, marital status, occupation, etc. This in turn can be either used as one segment or as multiple segments, and it gives marketers a precise idea about creating the right pitch for the product which includes language and tone.
While this can be considered as a sub-set of behavioral segmentation, the social media generation can always use additional personalization. The data here is based on previous purchases, the personal preferences based on their likes and favorite tags etc. The personalization here can be done at product level including brand, category etc.
Again a subset of the segment- Products and Interaction, the cart value or order value gives information about the customers. This data can be used to cross-sell other products of similar value, or offer discounts for additional purchases etc. based on the customer's average purchase value.
Enterprises, small-medium industries all are different segments. This is a segmenting done on business level and hence more relevant for B2B customers. This can be segmentation is done on the basis of pricing tier or the product range etc.
Different business, marketers utilize different ways of segmentation to deliver targeted products, promotions etc. to targeted audience.
So, what are the other audience segments effective for digital marketing? Know more? Do share.
Hey Buddy!, I found this information for you: "20 Effective Audience Segments in Digital Marketing". Here is the website link: https://www.xenia-consulting.com/20-effective-audience-segments-in-digital-marketing/. Thank you.


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January 6, 2015 <January 6, 2015
An overview of BBC coverage of the Middle East in 2014
This time last year we reviewed the BBC's 2013 coverage of the Middle East against the background of civil liberties in that region. The 2014 Freedom House survey of political rights and civil liberties notes a general deterioration since we last visited the topic, with the report stating:
"The Middle East and North Africa as a whole had the worst civil liberties scores of any region."
Map by Freedom House: green – Free, yellow – Partly Free, purple – Not Free
Last year six MENA countries were categorised as 'Partly Free' by Freedom House with the definition of that categorization being as follows:
"A Partly Free country is one in which there is limited respect for political rights and civil liberties. Partly Free states frequently suffer from an environment of corruption, weak rule of law, ethnic and religious strife, and a political landscape in which a single party enjoys dominance despite a certain degree of pluralism."
This year the number of Partly Free countries has gone down to five: Tunisia, Lebanon, Morocco, Libya and Kuwait.
Freedom House categorises countries as 'Not Free' according to the definition below:
"A Not Free country is one where basic political rights are absent, and basic civil liberties are widely and systematically denied. "
Countries in the 'Not Free' category this year are: Jordan, Algeria, Egypt, Qatar, Oman, Yemen, Iraq, the UAE, Iran, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Syria. The PA controlled territories and the Gaza Strip are also defined as 'Not Free'. Two additional countries defined by the BBC on its website's Middle East page as part of the region are Mauritania and Sudan, both of which are also categorised by Freedom House as 'Not Free'.
Only one country in the Middle East is defined as 'Free' according to the following definition:
"A Free country is one where there is open political competition, a climate of respect for civil liberties, significant independent civic life, and independent media."
That country is Israel.
Chart by Freedom House
As we noted here last year, one might perhaps expect that at least two of the BBC's public purposes would have the effect of focusing the corporation's coverage on states which do not have independent media of their own and on informing BBC audiences of issues relating to the absence of political and civil rights in far too many Middle Eastern countries. But is that actually the case?
The data we have gathered here over the last year shows that in that period of time Syria (Not Free) has received the most exposure and coverage on the BBC News website's Middle East page – almost exclusively in relation to the civil war which has been raging there for nearly four years. The country receiving the second most coverage in 2014 was Iraq (Partly Free) – mostly in the wake of the rise of ISIS there. The third widest coverage and exposure was given to the one and only country in the Middle East defined as 'Free': Israel. Egypt, which in this year's Freedom House report moved from the 'Partly Free' category to the 'Not Free' category, came fourth in terms of coverage and exposure on the BBC News website and Iran came fifth, with the bulk of BBC coverage relating to the P5+1 talks rather than to internal affairs.
If we compare the BBC News website's coverage of Israel to that of the 'Partly Free' countries it defines as making up the Middle East we see that Israel ('Free') received more coverage than all of those five countries put together.
Countries receiving the least coverage on the BBC News website's Middle East page in 2014 were Mauritania (with zero coverage) followed in ascending order by Sudan, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. All those countries are defined as 'Not Free'.
Among the ten countries in the world described by Freedom House as the "worst of the worst" – i.e. having received the lowest possible score for both political rights and civil liberties – are three which appear in the BBC's definition of the Middle East: Sudan, Syria and Saudi Arabia. Israel received over two hundred times more coverage than Sudan and over four times more coverage than Saudi Arabia on the BBC News website's Middle East page in 2014.
Comparison of the coverage of Israel ('Free') with that of the 'Not Free' countries and territories shows that with the exception of Syria and Iraq, Israel received more coverage and exposure than all the other countries/territories.
As we have noted here before, an issue arising from the 2012 report commissioned by the BBC Trust on the subject of the 'Arab Spring' was that of excessive focus on one particular Middle East topic.
"Although the review does not cover the period before December 2010, some BBC executives volunteered the view that in that period Middle East coverage focused too intensively on the Arab-Israel conflict, at the expense of the wider Arab world, so that the public was more surprised by the outbreak of the "Arab Spring" than it need have been."
BBC News website coverage of the Middle East in 2014 shows that once again the editorial policies which brought about that conclusion have not significantly changed and that a disproportionate focus on the one free country in the region remains a characteristic of BBC reporting.
We have on several occasions noted here that the BBC refrains from reporting on internal Palestinian affairs and that as a result its audiences are not adequately informed with regard to the status of the political rights and civil liberties of Palestinians living under Palestinian Authority or Hamas control. The same observation is true with regard to many other regimes in the Middle East, with several of those having the worst records continuing to receive the least BBC coverage.
BBC, BBC News, BBC Online, Middle East reporting 2014, Uncategorized
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More unchallenged Hamas propaganda on BBC World Service's 'Newshour'

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Q: Can someone explain how this C snippet will be evaluated w.r.t sequence points? Is this Undefined Behavior under C? I say this because I think that the function inc(int *k) can be thought of as an expression whose side effect is to update the value at the address of k. So, would that make it equivalent to i=i++, which is UB?
#include <stdio.h>
/*Edited(See comments below on dbush's answer)*/
int inc(int *k) {return ++(*k);}
/*End of edit*/
int main()
{
  int i=0;
  int *ptr = &i;
  i = inc(ptr);
  printf("%d\n", i);
}

A: The behavior is well defined because calling a function counts as a sequence point, and each statement within the function is also a sequence point.  It is not the same as if the body of the function were put in its place.
First inc is called.  This invokes a sequence point.
Within the function, the statement return ++(*k) is executed, which first evaluates the containing expression.  This results in i in main getting incremented to 1, and the expression evaluates to the new value of i, which is 1.  The return statement returns that value from the function, and the completion of that statement is another sequence point, so the side effect of incrementing i is guaranteed to be complete.
Back in main, the value of 1 returned from inc is then assigned to i.
Had you instead done this:
i = ++(*ptr);

That would be undefined behavior because there is no sequence point between assigning to i and the side effect of incrementing i via *ptr.

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Divorce and Family Law Group partner Morriah Horani has been selected to the Judicial Screening Committee of the Fairfax Bar Association for 2015-2016. The FBA Judicial Screening Committee is charged with evaluating candidates seeking appointment to the Fairfax Circuit, General District and Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Courts. The nine committee members, recommended by the FBA Nominating Committee and elected by the FBA board of Directors, serve three-year staggered terms.


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Tuition-free college in California: a quick guide
Nico Savidge
CREDIT: FERMIN LEAL/EDSOURCE TODAY
The campus of Cal State Long Beach.
More than 1.3 million low- and middle-income students attend California's public colleges and universities each year without having to pay tuition, thanks to financial aid programs in each of the state's higher education systems that cover those bills.
A California law that allows for a free first year of tuition at the state's community colleges made headlines in 2017.
But close to half of students at the 114 California Community Colleges already attended tuition-free before the law was signed. At four-year universities, about 60 percent of students in the 23 campus California State University system, and the same share of in-state undergraduates in the 10-campus University of California system, attend tuition-free as well.
The new law, AB19, allows for community colleges to cover tuition for all students, regardless of income. Its impact is uncertain, though — each community college will decide whether to use the money they receive under the law for that purpose.
What does 'free tuition' mean?
UC, CSU and the community colleges each pledge to cover the cost of tuition for students who meet certain eligibility standards, typically based on income. Tuition in the Community College system is $46 per unit, so a student taking a full-time load of 12 credits per semester would have to pay $1,104 if they did not get any aid. At CSU, tuition runs $5,742 per year for a California resident attending full-time. And at UC, in-state undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees are $12,630.
How do I apply for free tuition?
The first step to receive tuition aid is to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or, for undocumented students, a California Dream Act application each year. The free-tuition initiatives at UC, CSU and the community colleges use information from those forms to automatically determine students' eligibility, so students don't need to fill out a separate application for the programs.
How do free-tuition programs relate to state and federal financial aid?
Although they aren't billed as "free-tuition" initiatives, and they may not cover all of students' tuition costs, Cal Grants from the state and Pell Grants from the federal government are the main financial aid programs that help students afford higher education in California.
At four-year public universities, more students receive Pell and Cal grants than benefit from the free-tuition programs detailed in this article.
Cal Grants, which provided $1.9 billion worth of aid to 329,000 students at public and private colleges in the 2016-17 school year, are among the most generous state financial aid programs in the country. Students' eligibility and the size of their awards are linked to students' family income and assets. Learn more about Cal Grants here.
Pell Grants from the federal government provided grants of up to $5,920 in the 2017-18 school year.
At the California Community Colleges, the most common form of aid that covers tuition costs is the College Promise Grant, formerly known as the Board of Governors Fee Waiver (see below for more details). Students at the community colleges can also receive Cal Grants and Pell Grants to cover other college costs.
Do free-tuition programs pay for other costs, such as student housing?
Free tuition does not equal a free college education. Financial aid programs typically leave students on the hook for other costs that can prove daunting, such as textbooks, food and California's ever-pricier housing.
Students may be able to use financial aid from other sources, such Pell or Cal grants, to handle non-tuition costs. But rules for doing so vary depending on the program. Students may have to pay out of their own pockets, or take out loans, to cover those costs.
What about my local college's 'Promise' program?
You may have heard about a free-tuition "Promise" program at a college near you. Dozens of cities, school districts and colleges in California have set up College Promise programs that provide grants and support services, such as mentoring and student advising.
While their names are similar to the free-tuition program at the California Community College system, local College Promise initiatives are different.
The system's College Promise Grant is a state-wide program that waives enrollment fees and is available at all of the community colleges. Local College Promise initiatives are typically tied to a single college, and are more varied. There are 42 such programs across California, each with its own eligibility rules and financial awards, ranging from grants to pledges to cover as many as four years of free tuition.
Learn more about College Promise programs here.
Adding to the confusion, students participating in local College Promise programs are also often eligible to receive a College Promise Grant.
The L.A. College Promise initiative, for instance, offers one year of free tuition in the Los Angeles Community College District to graduates of the city's public schools, regardless of their income levels. Most of the program's over 4,000 participants last year already had their tuition bills covered under the College Promise Grant described below. But by participating in L.A. College Promise, they gained access to a range of supplementary services, which include mentoring, academic advising and a summer transition program.
Click the boxes below for a breakdown of statewide programs that are available to cover tuition costs at California's public colleges and universities, in addition to aid from Cal and Pell grants.
California Community Colleges
College Promise Grant
Formerly known as the Board of Governors Fee Waiver, this program covered tuition for about 1 million students, or nearly half of the 2.1 million students enrolled in the 114-campus community college system. The average waiver was worth around $800 in the 2016-17 school year.
Who is eligible? To qualify for a fee waiver, you must be a full- or part-time student who falls into one of three categories:
Receive public assistance, such as food aid or housing aid;
Have income below 150 percent of the federal poverty level;
Based on your FAFSA or the Dream Act application, have $1,104 worth of financial need, defined as the difference between the total cost of attending college and your expected family contribution.
The program is open to students of all ages, as well as undocumented students.
To stay eligible, students must maintain at least a 2.0 grade point average in half of their classes.
How does it work? The program waives tuition before other scholarships or grants are taken into account. That means students can use other financial aid, such as Pell and Cal grants, to pay for their living expenses.
Does the College Promise Grant program pay for living expenses? Generally, no. The new free-tuition law could change that, however.
What will the new California law that could offer a year of free tuition to all students at some community colleges do? The law (AB19 described above) could start providing free tuition to first-year, full-time students, regardless of their financial need, in the fall of 2018 with $46 million of state funding. To receive that money, colleges will have to provide student support and advising services, similar to those in local College Promise programs.
But colleges aren't required to use the money they receive under the law to cover tuition for every student. The law requires only that the colleges put the money toward several goals spelled out in the law, such as closing achievement gaps.
Where can I learn more? icanaffordcollege.com
State University Grant
CSU officials estimate that 60 percent of their nearly 500,000 students pay no tuition thanks to Cal Grants, fee waivers granted to students who fall into certain categories and the State University Grant program.
Go here to see if you fall into one of the categories that might qualify for a fee waiver to cover tuition costs at CSU.
The State University Grant is aimed at students who don't receive Cal Grants. Many of the program's beneficiaries are older students who are returning to college after being out of high school for several years, or those who otherwise lost their eligibility for a guaranteed Cal Grant.
About 135,000 CSU students received State University Grants waiving tuition in the 2016-17 school year.
Who is eligible? Students from families making less than $70,000 per year typically receive State University Grants that cover tuition and fees.
Each of the system's 23 campuses sets its own rules for State University Grants. They generally target the awards to California residents who have expected family contributions of $4,000 or less, and who apply by March 2. Students can still receive aid if they apply after March 2.
The program does not guarantee that every eligible student will receive a grant that covers the full cost of tuition and fees, because the need for the grants outstrips available funding at some campuses.
State University Grants are available for California resident undergraduates and graduate students. Undocumented students and students who meet criteria under AB540 — a law that allows certain non-residents to pay in-state tuition — are eligible as well.
How does it work? The State University Grant covers tuition outright. Other forms of financial aid such as Pell Grants can then be used to pay other college costs.
Does the program pay for living expenses? The maximum State University Grant award at most campuses is capped at the cost of tuition and fees.
Where can I learn more? Visit CSU's State University Grant webpage.
Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan
In the 2016-17 school year, 104,000 UC undergraduates — 58 percent of in-state undergraduates — paid no tuition.
The vast majority of those students had their tuition covered by Pell Grants, Cal Grants and other financial aid. For eligible low- and middle-income students who still had tuition costs remaining after those forms of financial aid, the Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan provides an extra award to cover the gap.
Who is eligible? California resident undergraduates from families with incomes below $80,000 per year who demonstrate financial need through FAFSA.
Students who are exempt from nonresident tuition are eligible, as are undocumented students and students of all ages, though they must be in their first four years as a UC undergraduate or their first two years as transfer students.
Students must submit a FAFSA or a Dream Act application, as well as a Cal Grant GPA Verification Form, by March 2. They must also be enrolled at UC at least half-time.
How does it work? The plan pledges to cover any difference between the total cost of tuition and what students' other financial aid awards, such as Pell and Cal Grants, provide. Because it takes that aid into account, students at UC may not be able to use money from other grants and scholarships to pay for their living expenses.
Does the program pay for living expenses? It depends. UC's financial aid system takes the full cost of attendance — both tuition and living expenses — into account when determining how much aid students receive, so those with greater need can receive aid to cover some expenses. The average grant aid awarded to California students in 2016-17 was $17,000, more than $4,000 above the cost of tuition and fees.
Where can I learn more? Visit UC's Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan webpage.
Nico Savidge covered education in California for EdSource until 2018.
College & CareersPodiumQuick GuidesCalifornia Community CollegesCalifornia State UniversityCollege PromiseFeaturedfinancial aidTuition and FeesUniversity of California
Leave a Reply to Connie
Al Asencio 4 months ago4 months ago
Hellooooo.
Free education has been there for everyone; just inform yourself by doing some research and jumping some hurdles. People need to compete and apply for scholarships. Fill out FAFSA every year. And there is unspent federal money every year because people do not apply. Everyone pays taxes including hard-working immigrants.
Crazy Horse 5 months ago5 months ago
Does it seem odd to anyone that there's absolutely no mention of how this is being paid for? California, a state that is already broke, somehow manages to promise free college not only to US citizens, but to undocumented (read illegally present) residents.
Everyone loves a good deal, and 'free college' will certainly pique interest of many, but please don't place the debt burden on unwilling participants in your crazy schemes.
cecilia aguirre 7 months ago7 months ago
This is ridiculous. I've been working and paying taxes since 16; I am a single mother and never been on government assistance. My kids are successful young men now. In the midst of all this, I attained a BA Degree that I'm still paying for. I would love nothing more to be able to continue my education towards a master's degree in Public Health of Public Administration. It's so disheartening to know … Read More
This is ridiculous. I've been working and paying taxes since 16; I am a single mother and never been on government assistance. My kids are successful young men now.
In the midst of all this, I attained a BA Degree that I'm still paying for. I would love nothing more to be able to continue my education towards a master's degree in Public Health of Public Administration. It's so disheartening to know that I am not eligible for anything based on my gross income. Hello, I've been paying taxes forever, can someone give me a hand? I'd like to achieve my dream without having to pay for the rest of my life while undocumented individuals get free everything. This is not right. My struggle is real.
Connie 9 months ago9 months ago
Is there an age limit? Have a friend at age 75 wants to attend college, would she be eligible?
Julie Rose 10 months ago10 months ago
When AB19 passed, I thought "finally", something that might help middle income families trying to send kids to community college. Now that it has been rolled out and I'm digging deeper into the implementation of this legislation, I find that each college district determines if they participate in fee waiver (or however they decide to use funds). My question is pretty simple - which community colleges out of the 114 are participating in … Read More
When AB19 passed, I thought "finally", something that might help middle income families trying to send kids to community college. Now that it has been rolled out and I'm digging deeper into the implementation of this legislation, I find that each college district determines if they participate in fee waiver (or however they decide to use funds). My question is pretty simple – which community colleges out of the 114 are participating in fee waiver? One would think this information would be readily available and promoted. I am interested in the Coast Community College District. Thank you for any input.
Alan 11 months ago11 months ago
Does this "free tuition" apply for online courses as well?
Pam 11 months ago11 months ago
Why are disabled students not benefiting from this new law? My daughter was denied free tuition on the 9 units she is currently taking. She was given a note by her counselor at the school stating she is only able to take 9 units based on her disability. If the terms of the law are that a student must be enrolled in 12 or more units, how is this law accommodating the … Read More
Why are disabled students not benefiting from this new law? My daughter was denied free tuition on the 9 units she is currently taking. She was given a note by her counselor at the school stating she is only able to take 9 units based on her disability. If the terms of the law are that a student must be enrolled in 12 or more units, how is this law accommodating the student with disabilities who are taking less than 12 because of their disability?
Gis 11 months ago11 months ago
I'm confused. Community (jr) colleges in CA are already tuition free for CA residents. The $47 per unit is considered a enrollment fee, not tuition. So this new bill is supposed to grant 2 yrs of free tuition at community colleges? It already is free! What does this bill do?
Valeria 12 months ago12 months ago
Can anyone help me? we just migrated here in Fullerton, California. I just want to ask if I need to study again or take my course if I already graduated in the Philippines? Thank you in advance
Jared McMaster 1 year ago1 year ago
Tuition may be what you say it is, but you forgot to include mandatory fees for CSUs and UCs. Total cost to enroll full time at a CSU is $3,401 a semester. Although, one can opt out of a two dollar fee if one wishes. Last time I checked in with a colleague from UCSC, tuition was $3,401 a quarter.
Kevin hagberg 2 years ago2 years ago
I'm 60 yerars old I am a numbers guy. I have paid over $1.2 million in state taxes in my career. Free tuition? You better promote it. I got screwed and I have to pay for complete strangers' education.
I'm leaving g California. Moving to Reno Nevada. Saving $32k in state taxes this year. I love it here but the politicians pushed me out. Bye bye!!!!
Debra 1 year ago1 year ago
Have you ever thought about the possibility of these students getting free college becoming independent wage earners? If you crunch the numbers even further, you will find that the number of welfare recipients would decrease significantly, hence lowering our taxes. Surely, it may take a decade to see this shift, but I'm willing to pay higher taxes for a season to get our Californians better educated and employable!
Craig Johnson 5 months ago5 months ago
Debra, Having school 'given' to them engenders a sense of entitlement. The student has no skin in the game! If they have no money, let them take out loans like so many prior have done. Work while in school. Millions have done school through work and loans, later to pay those back. That way the individual has a vested interest in the process. There's no evidence that this concept reduces the social safety net burden. … Read More
Having school 'given' to them engenders a sense of entitlement. The student has no skin in the game! If they have no money, let them take out loans like so many prior have done. Work while in school. Millions have done school through work and loans, later to pay those back. That way the individual has a vested interest in the process.
There's no evidence that this concept reduces the social safety net burden. To the contrary, the program will raise an already unsustainable debt load for the state. California is already bankrupt. Taxing citizens to cover college for all (including undocumented individuals) will just push the state further into trouble.


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This is one dilemma bloggers often find themselves in. Should my blog be targeted at a niche audience, such as sports, technology, fashion, politics, pets, music, etc. or should I go for the numbers by offering a larger content range such as news, lifestyle, web, and entertainment?
While some will argue that with passion and knowledge of a particular niche, you get to grow an audience of loyal readers who get easily converted when it comes to monetization via direct sales or service offering, this approach often comes with a cap on numbers. On the other end going for numbers by offering a wide range of content corresponds to more traffic revenue in turn for looseness on reader's loyalty.
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DSTV, Where Is My 10% Discount?


text:
Home › News & Info › News › Bold leadership on renewables sends strong message to investors
Bold leadership on renewables sends strong message to investors
The announcement that Eskom will sign the outstanding power purchase agreements (PPAs) in the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) sends a strong message to investors that the renewable energy industry is very much open for business.
Mike Levington, SAPVIA
We now hope that Eskom heeds the president's commitment to finalise these agreements and that Tina Joemat-Pettersson, the minister of energy, moves ahead with the announcement of the expedited round.
It is reassuring to know that government remains committed to working together with the private sector to attract investment and drive much-needed job creation in the renewable energy sector. This industry has a strong track record when it comes to delivering on government's key objectives of economic growth and social development and it looks forward to building on the successes it has already had in rounds 1, 2, and 3 of the REIPPPP.
SAPVIA has been working together with partner associations in the South African Renewable Energy Council (SAREC) to build long-term partnerships with government and related stakeholders who benefit from the growth in renewable energy in South Africa. The first three rounds of the REIPPPP indicates that this collaboration between business and government provides a very successful foundation for sustainable and genuinely transformative enterprises and the industry looks forward to kicking on with the programme.
The association, together with the 170 players in this industry, appreciates the hard work that the minister of energy has done behind the scenes to assist in unblocking the obstacles to the finalisation of the financial close of the fourth procurement round. The association is looking forward to the announcement of the preferred bidders in the expedited round of the programme.
As a result of their efforts, many new construction jobs will be created, many current jobs will be secured, foreign and local investment will flow into the sector and the economy. Local ownership in the 37 projects as well as projects in the small IPP programme will be secured, particularly by black owned enterprises, and significant socio-economic benefits will flow to local communities over the 20 year lifespan of the projects.
Contact Kim Thomas, SAPVIA, Tel 021 200-5856, kim@sapvia.co.za
The post Bold leadership on renewables sends strong message to investors appeared first on EE Publishers.
Source: EE plublishers


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Haushaltshilfe ist eine Sozialleistung, die in Deutschland von den Trägern der Sozialversicherung und den Sozialhilfeträgern übernommen werden kann.

Rechtsgrundlagen
Folgende Vorschriften regeln den Anspruch auf Haushaltshilfe:
 in der gesetzlichen Krankenversicherung nach SGB V:
 nach  SGB V, wenn (i) der Versicherte wegen Krankenhausbehandlung oder wegen Leistungen nach  Abs. 2 oder 4 (bestimmter medizinische Vorsorgeleistungen), §§ 24 (Mutter/Vater-Kind-Kur zur medizinischen Vorsorge), 37 (häuslicher Krankenpflege), 40 (medizinischer Rehabilitation) oder  (Mutter/Vater-Kind-Kur zur medizinischen Rehabilitation) die Weiterführung des Haushalts nicht möglich ist und (ii) im Haushalt ein Kind lebt, das bei Beginn der Haushaltshilfe das zwölfte Lebensjahr noch nicht vollendet hat oder das behindert und auf Hilfe angewiesen ist, und (iii) keine im Haushalt lebende Person den Haushalt weiterführen kann,
 nach  SGB V (früher § 199 RVO) wegen Schwangerschaft oder Entbindung;
 in der gesetzlichen Unfallversicherung nach  SGB VII bzw. nach  SGB VII für landwirtschaftliche Unternehmer;
 in der gesetzlichen Pflegeversicherung als Bestandteil der Pflegesachleistung nach  SGB XI;
 in der Sozialhilfe nach  SGB XII "große Haushaltshilfe" oder  Abs. 3 SGB XII "kleine Haushaltshilfe" und (selten) in Verbindung mit der Hilfe bei Krankheit nach  SGB XII.

In der gesetzlichen Renten- und Arbeitslosenversicherung regelt  SGB IX den Anspruch auf Haushaltshilfe, wenn aufgrund einer Leistung zur medizinischen Rehabilitation oder einer Leistung zur Teilhabe am Arbeitsleben (berufliche Rehabilitation) die Weiterführung des Haushalts oder die Betreuung der Kinder nicht möglich ist. Der Anspruch auf Haushaltshilfe orientiert sich dabei an  SGB V. Kostenträger der Haushaltshilfe ist aber der Kostenträger der Rehabilitationsmaßnahme.

Spezielle Regelungen gelten nach dem Gesetz über die Alterssicherung der Landwirte (ALG), die Betriebs- und Haushaltshilfe bei krankheitsbedingter Arbeitsunfähigkeit, Schwangerschaft und Kur sind in  ALG geregelt.

Zuständigkeit der gesetzlichen Krankenversicherung

Formen der Haushaltshilfe

Die Haushaltshilfe umfasst alle Tätigkeiten, die zum Führen eines Haushaltes gehören, wie z. B. Kinderbetreuung, Essenszubereitung, Wohnungsreinigung, Kleiderpflege etc. Der Umfang der Leistung richtet sich nach dem jeweils individuellen, tatsächlichen Hilfebedarf. Kann der Haushalt noch teilweise weitergeführt werden oder ist zu bestimmten Zeiten die Haushaltsführung durch eine andere Person des Haushalts möglich (z. B. Wochenende, Urlaub des Lebenspartners), so können die Leistungen nur in eingeschränktem Umfang gewährt werden.

Haushaltshilfe kann von den Krankenkassen in verschiedenen Formen erbracht werden. Die erste, jedoch in der Praxis eher selten angewandte Möglichkeit ist, dass die Krankenkasse eine Haushaltshilfe in Form einer Ersatzkraft stellt. Dabei kann es sich um spezielle Angestellte der Krankenkasse handeln oder um Mitarbeiter von Institutionen, mit denen die Krankenkasse Verträge nach  SGB V abgeschlossen hat. Im Einzelfall werden die Kosten für eine selbst beschaffte Ersatzkraft in angemessenem Umfang erstattet ( Abs. 4 SGB V). Als angemessen gelten hier Kosten von 10,25 € pro Stunde bzw. 82 € je Tag (2021). Eine Haushaltshilfe wird für maximal 8 Stunden und im besonderen Ausnahmefall (haushaltsführende Person = erkrankte Person ist alleinerziehend) für max. 8 Stunden pro Tag genehmigt. Außer bei einer Haushaltshilfe wegen Schwangerschaft oder Entbindung fallen pro Tag Zuzahlungen an.

Für Verwandte und Verschwägerte bis zum zweiten Grad werden keine Kosten erstattet (es sei denn, die Satzung der Krankenkasse sieht ausdrücklich eine solche Erstattung vor). Die Kassen übernehmen in diesen Fällen aber erforderliche Fahrtkosten, wenn diese über der zumutbaren täglichen Pauschale liegen und einen eventuellen Verdienstausfall, z. B. bei unbezahltem Urlaub des Partners, dies ist in der Praxis die häufigste Art der Haushaltshilfe. Die Kostenerstattung in diesen Fällen regelt die Satzung der Krankenkasse, meist ist die Erstattung auf den Höchstbetrag der Kosten für eine gestellte Kraft (82 € pro Tag) begrenzt.

Es wird in der Satzung der Krankenkasse geregelt, wie viel Tage die Krankenkasse sich selbst verpflichtet, eine Haushaltshilfe zu gewähren. Bedarf über die in der Satzung festgelegten Tage hinaus werden nach medizinischer Notwendigkeit durch eine medizinische Kommission geprüft. Die Kommission legt dann das weitere Vorgehen fest.

Haushaltshilfe bei Krankenhausbehandlung oder Rehabilitation

Leistungsgrundlage ist  SGB V. Anspruch auf Haushaltshilfe kann wegen Krankenhausbehandlung, medizinischer Vorsorgeleistungen, einer medizinischen Rehabilitationsmaßnahme oder wegen einer Mutter-Kind-Kur bestehen, wenn wegen einer dieser Leistungen die Weiterführung des Haushaltes nicht möglich ist. Auch wenn aus medizinischen Gründen die Mitaufnahme mit einem Kind im Krankenhaus notwendig ist, besteht Anspruch auf Haushaltshilfe.

Voraussetzung ist, dass im Haushalt ein Kind unter 12 Jahren lebt und keine andere Person, die im Haushalt lebt diesen weiterführen kann. Eine Ausnahme hiervon bilden Kinder, die behindert und auf Hilfe angewiesen sind, in diesen Fällen gilt die Altersgrenze nicht. Nach  Absatz 2 kann die Krankenkasse in ihrer Satzung großzügigere Bestimmungen (beispielsweise eine Altersgrenze von 14 Jahren) vorsehen.

Bei ambulanter Krankenbehandlung besteht grundsätzlich kein Leistungsanspruch.

Die Krankenkasse kann in ihrer Satzung vorsehen, dass in weiteren Fällen nach ärztlichem Zeugnis Haushaltshilfe gewährt wird, z. B. bei Erkrankung (ohne Krankenhausaufenthalt) oder nach ambulanten Operationen. Im Gegensatz zur Regelleistung ist dies jedoch von Kasse zu Kasse unterschiedlich.

Die Dauer der Leistung bestimmt sich nach der Dauer der verursachenden Leistung, z. B. der Dauer des stationären Krankenhausaufenthaltes.

Seit dem 1. Januar 2004 muss zu den Kosten für die Inanspruchnahme einer Haushaltshilfe eine Zuzahlung geleistet werden. Diese beläuft sich auf 10 % der Kosten pro Leistungstag, jedoch mindestens 5 € und höchstens 10 € täglich. Dies gilt nur für volljährige Versicherte.

Haushaltshilfe bei Schwangerschaft und Entbindung
Rechtsgrundlage für diese Leistung ist  SGB V (früher:  RVO). Die Leistung wird gewährt, wenn die Weiterführung des Haushalts wegen Schwangerschaft oder Entbindung nicht möglich ist und niemand sonst im Haushalt diesen weiterführen kann. Im Gegensatz zur Haushaltshilfe nach  SGB V Absatz 1 oder 2 ist es in diesen Fällen nicht Voraussetzung, dass ein weiteres Kind im Haushalt lebt.

Auch die Zuzahlungsregelung nach  Abs. 5 SGB V gilt nicht, d. h. eine Zuzahlung bei Haushaltshilfe wegen Schwangerschaft oder Entbindung wird nicht verlangt (Anmerkung: dies traf schon unter § 199 RVO zu, durch Rundschreiben, Abs. 5.3).

Das Gesetz (§ 199 RVO) fordert(e) als Voraussetzung für den Anspruch der Schwangeren oder Entbindenden auf Haushaltshilfe, einen Haushalt zu haben und diesen auch selbst geführt zu haben. Außerdem muss(te) die Schwangerschaft bzw. die Entbindung die Leistungsursache sein, bei anderen ursächlichen Erkrankungen erhalten auch Schwangere und Mütter Leistungen nach dem SGB V. Da die Schwangerschaft an sich nur in Ausnahmefällen ursächlich ist (z. B. bei ärztlich verordneter Bettruhe), ist der häufigere Leistungsfall die Entbindung.

Haushaltshilfe kann sowohl bei stationärer Entbindung als auch bei einer Hausgeburt gewährt werden.

Haushaltshilfe bei Schwangerschaft oder Entbindung unterliegt keiner zeitlichen Beschränkung, sie wird solange geleistet, wie dies von Seiten des Arztes oder der Hebamme für notwendig erachtet wird. Auch nach der Entbindung besteht grundsätzlich Anspruch, wenn die Frau durch die Folgen der Entbindung noch geschwächt und nicht zur Weiterführung des Haushalts in der Lage ist.

Eine pauschale Obergrenze zur Dauer der Haushaltshilfe nach § 199 RVO bei Hausgeburt besteht nicht. Für eine Beurteilung der Leistungsansprüche sind die jeweiligen individuellen Verhältnisse maßgebend, die ggf. durch eine sozialmedizinische Begutachtung durch den Medizinischen Dienst der Krankenversicherung (MDK) zu überprüfen ist. Für die obere Grenzverweildauer gilt die DRG-Pauschale (O60D) als Anknüpfungspunkt für die individuelle Leistungsüberprüfung. Diese liegt aktuell bei 3,3 Tagen.

Haushaltshilfe als Leistung der gesetzlichen Pflegeversicherung
Haushaltshilfe wird in der Pflegeversicherung als "hauswirtschaftliche Versorgung" bezeichnet. Nach  Abs. 4 Nr. 4 SGB XI umfasst die hauswirtschaftliche Versorgung Hilfen beim Einkaufen, Kochen, Reinigen der Wohnung, Spülen, Wechseln und Waschen der Wäsche und Kleidung und dem Beheizen der Wohnung. Der Leistungsanspruch ist an das Vorliegen einer Pflegestufe gekoppelt, wobei der Hilfebedarf gleichzeitig teilweise mitbegründend für eine Pflegestufe ist ( SGB XI). Die Hilfeleistung ist Bestandteil der Pflegesachleistung nach  SGB XI, die in der Regel von ambulant tätigen Pflegediensten erbracht wird. Konkret festgelegt sind die Hilfeleistungen in Rahmenverträgen auf Landesebene nach  SGB XI. Die Vergütung richtet sich nach Vereinbarungen gemäß  SGB XI, die zwischen den Pflegediensten und den Pflegekassen abgeschlossen werden.

Haushaltshilfe als Teil der Sozialhilfe
Die Sozialhilfe kennt mehrere Arten der Haushaltshilfe. Die kleine Haushaltshilfe nach  Abs. 3 SGB XII kommt nur für Personen in Betracht, die 1. nicht erwerbsfähig und 2. nicht hilfebedürftig im Sinne des SGB XII sind, aber Unterstützung bei der hauswirtschaftlichen Versorgung benötigen. Die große Haushaltshilfe nach  SGB XII kommt nur in Betracht, wenn andere Familienmitglieder im Haushalt leben, die ohne eine Haushaltshilfe stationär untergebracht werden müssten.

Ansonsten wird eine Haushaltshilfe in der Regel als Teil der Hilfe zur Pflege nach  SGB XII i. V. m.  SGB XII gewährt, Pflegebedürftigkeit im Sinne der Pflegeversicherung ist hierzu ausdrücklich nicht erforderlich. ( Abs. 1 Satz 2 SGB XII) Auch Bezieher von Arbeitslosengeld II können über die Hilfe zur Pflege eine Haushaltshilfe in Anspruch nehmen.

Weblinks

 Rechtsprechung zu § 38 SGB V
 Gemeinsames Rundschreiben zu den Leistungen bei Schwangerschaft und Mutterschaft

Einzelnachweise

Sozialleistung (Deutschland)
Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Risk management has been getting a great deal of attention in the medical device industry recently, in part due to the increased focus on it in the new 2017 EU MDR. Where the 2007 EU MDD was intentionally written somewhat vaguely, to be interpreted and applied as best determined by individual companies, the 2017 MDR language is much more specific.
Manufacturers will now be required to provide evidence of a risk management plan that follows the lifecycle of products. These plans will be expected to document areas such as known or potential risks and provide detailed steps to eliminate or minimize these hazards. For companies already certified to ISO 14971, such requirements may not be new. Nevertheless, this can be anticipated as an area of increased scrutiny moving forward.
Limiting patient risk is the end goal of all quality management programs. The increased focus on risk management in the 2017 EU MDR is a reflection of medical device failures that caused serious harm to patients. By placing a great emphasis on continuous risk management, it can be hoped that these cases will become rarer.
Although there is still some time before the EU MDR is fully effective, implementing such updates as are now expected will not be a simple task. If you are faced with updating your quality management system to adhere to the new regulatory expectations, Medpoint can help. We have experienced consultants ready to come along side you and help develop a strategy to get started. To learn more, contact us at hello@medpoint.com or 800.200.9292.


A couple of weeks ago, in this Meanwhile, Back in Albany post, we learned about a really cool tax break - known as a 485-a - that developers can get when they put commercial space in their residential buildings.
In the case of the Three Vending Machines, it was a local project, Copper Beech Commons, built by a local developer who has made a difference with several of his properties over the years. But in this case, having the vending machines garnered the project some $3 million in property tax savings, and I think cost him a little bit of respect.
Now, clearly the NY Legislature didn't intend for this to happen -- as the prior post noted, we're burdened with a number of at least OK ideas put into law, only to have them identified as ripe for the picking by smart lawyers (or campaign donors, as the case may be).
For Copper Beech Commons, however, it seems the leaves have fallen, or something. In an article last week on Syracuse.com, Tim Knauss followed up on his original story and let us know that Syracuse city assessors have been out inspecting properties claiming the 485-a tax break "where commercial operations were not readily evident from the street."
Vending machines are not a commercial use, especially when they're owned and operated by the building owner. As far as I'm concerned, that's just like having a washing machine in the basement.
The assessors last warned the developer that the vending machines did not count for the exemption four or five years ago, so there should have been no surprise that there could be problems once the last (and only) tenant of the space moved out in 2015.
I hope the developer finds a tenant, or refunds us all of the tax money he got illegitimately for all those years. More importantly, I hope we can count on city officials to consistently be good stewards of our tax dollars, and that our legislators can find a way to correct these 'good ideas gone bad' laws while they're sitting around waiting for their leaders to come up with next year's budget.


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text:
San Benedetto - a company with an environmental vocation
www.risorseperlavita.it
ENRICO ZOPPAS
RESOURCES FOR THE PLANET, RESOURCES FOR LIFE
"The values of a company should always be based on its ability to contribute to the wellbeing of our planet and our children."
Why minimize environmental impact?
WATER – A RECIPE STRAIGHT FROM NATURE
Only nature knows the unique and unrepeatable recipe for San Benedetto mineral water. Our water rises from a depth of 300 metres below the surface of the earth, full of life and goodness. Our most precious resource is the work of nature: to protect it, we must protect nature.
Light, balanced and pure – like the springs it comes from. In our awareness of the exceptional qualities of our water, we've always sought to preserve its properties intact and reduce its environmental impact. Only in this way can we pass on its precious qualities to today's and tomorrow's generations.
PAYING NATURE BACK
We introduced PET packaging in the 1980s, and since then we've embraced an energy saving philosophy that involves reducing CO2 emissions at every point in the production chain, with annual reductions in the quantity of plastic used for bottling. Our objective is to become an example to follow for the mineral waters sector.
More recycling, less plastic
The great results achieved in environmental terms have been through the use of "smart", even smaller, tops that use less plastic, and the reduction in the use of plastic in the packaging. Between 2013 and 2017 we have obtained a reduction in bottle weight in the Ecogreen project for 0.5L, 1 L, 1.5 L, and 2 L bottles respectively to the extent of 8%, 19%, 18% and 10% and, also in the same formats, using a percentage of rPET (regenerated plastic) of 10% for the 0.5 L bottle, 50% for the one litre Easy and 30% on the family formats of 1.5 e 2 Litre bottles. These represent great strides forward, but we are not resting on our laurels, with our aim being to constantly improve further on these figures.
Ecogreen: together for the environment
In 2011 we decided to invest in a major programme, the Ecogreen Project, designed to protect the environment. We can now measure our commitment in a concrete way, from greater efficiency in production processes to the reduction of plastic used, from the use of rPET on family sizes, 1 l Easy and 0.5 l. We feel proud of these actions, and are sure they add value to our company. Also, for the whole Ecogreen line, we compensate for emissions by financing greenhouse gas reduction projects.
The results of our commitment are there for all to see. From 2016 to 2017 we reduced CO2 eq emissions by 4.3%* in the Acqua San Benedetto Italia water bottle line at the works in Scorzè, Popoli, Viggianello, Donato and Atella (data on litre basis). We thus confirmed our ongoing innovation in the sustainable innovation area, where the principles of sustainability continue to be a major driving force behind all the actions and endeavours of our business.
RESULTS 2013/2017
ON THE ECOGREEN BOTTLING PROJECT AT THE WORKS IN VIGGIANELLO AND POPOLI (DATA ON LITRE BASIS)**
ON THE EASY BOTTLING PROJECT AT THE SCORZE' AND VIGGIANELLO WORKS (DATA ON LITRE BASIS)**
* CSQA VALIDATION, ATTESTATION N°53590 23/04/2018
** CSQA CERTIFICATION N°53485 23/04/2018
CLEAN ENERGY FOR PURE WATER
Another goal reached is the use of the trigeneration plant at the Scorzè unit, where the plant will reduce energy costs by 20% each year, and reduce CO2eq. emissions estimated at about 17,300 tonnes*. Currently, the plant meets 80% of the unit's energy needs. Plus, photovoltaic panels were installed at the Viggianello and Popoli units.
*Estimate from plant start-up.
WE UNDERWRITE OUR COMMITMENT
On 13th February 2018 San Benedetto and the Ministry of the Environment and the Protection of the Land and Sea signed a new voluntary agreement for research and the promotion of joint sustainability initiatives , cooperating in continued action for the reduction of, and for the neutralising of, CO₂ eq emission, working out new models of Eco Design and Eco Efficiency, taking part in joint initiatives for raising awareness of, and developing, environmental sustainability in the production, distribution and sales of San Benedetto mineral water. The parties also promote the awareness campaigns in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the "National Programme for Environmental Footprint Evaluation" and cooperate on the drafting of Product Environmental Footprint guidelines in the "Packed Water" sector.
The road to Sustainable Innovation
After significant investment in technological innovation in the 1980s, our company becomes one of the first in Italy to use recycle-friendly plastic (PET) in its packaging.
Aseptic bottling technology
At our Scorzè plant we use aseptic bottling technology to eliminate the need for preservatives in our still beverages.
New sources
This period sees us develop new sources up and down Italy, opening new plants in addition to our main facility in Scorzè: we opened new plants in 1993 (Gran Guizza), 1997 (Alpe Guizza) and 2001 (Acque di Nepi).
The launch of Eco-Friendly: a range of bottles produced with more love for the environment. A result which allows our company to reduce the amount of plastic used in making each individual bottle - and that means reduced CO2 emissions. The same year, we were the first company to obtain a LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) and EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) for the 0.5, 1.5 and 2 litre formats.
San Benedetto becomes the first Italian company to sign a voluntary agreement with the Italian Ministry of the Environment. Under this agreement, it commits to monitoring its carbon footprint and defining a programme for across-the-board reduction of CO2 emissions.
RPET: 1L Easy
San Benedetto's 1-litre Easy format is the first bottle made of RPET: it is elected product of the year.
PET collection scheme
San Benedetto is the first company in Italy to implement a PET collection scheme. The same year, San Benedetto achieves carbon neutrality with its 1-litre Easy bottle.
Progetto EcoGreen
The Progetto Ecogreen range is the first carbon-neutral range in Italy, in all formats from 0.5 to 2 litres.
New life for PET
From 2008 to 2012 we reduced our carbon-equivalent emissions by 19.4%. During this same period, San Benedetto launches an innovative project in collaboration with the Veneto region: the "New life for PET" campaign. With this campaign, points of sale were equipped with special eco-compacters where consumers could return their used PET bottles.
San Benedetto launches a new range of products: Progetto Ecogreen, a new generation of bottled mineral water. Progetto Ecogreen bottles contain 30% RPET, a proportion which offsets the emissions produced. San Benedetto becomes the first company in Italy to create a comprehensive database on the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) of mineral waters.
Our Progetto Ecogreen range receives Ministry of the Environment approval for its total carbon neutrality and permission to display an official logo on all its packaging.
New photovoltaic plant
We inaugurate a new photovoltaic plant at our Popoli factory. The new plant has 17,000 m2 of photovoltaic modules, which will permit a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. We now produce the Easy format using 50% RPET.
Guidelines for the Product Environmental Footprint
The Ministry of the Environment appoints San Benedetto to draw up guidelines for the Product Environmental Footprint for the mineral water sector, and to indicate objective criteria for the evaluation of environmental performance.


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Raw Feta Plant With "Reoccurring Presence" of Listeria Sparks Warning Letter
The raw milk Feta cheese manufacturing facility known as the Osage Lane Creamery, LTD was subjected to an inspection last spring by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In inspections on May 21 and 22, 2015 and June 16, 2015 and in a follow-up on July 16-19, 2015, FDA found reoccurring presence of Listeria monocytogenes in the facility located at 168 Refugee Rd. SW in Pataskala, Ohio. Out of concern for the Listeria contamination and "observed serious violations" of the Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP), FDA on Dec. 3, 2015 follow up by sending Osage Lane Creamery a formal warning letter because the agency was not satisfied with the company's response to its inspection findings. "Appropriate control of L. monocytogenes in a food processing environment requires expert knowledge of the unique characteristics of the organism," wrote Steven B. Barber, FDA's Cincinnati District director. "It is essential to identify the areas of the food processing plant where this organism is able to grow and survive and to take such corrective actions as necessary to eradicate the organism by rendering these areas unable to support the growth and survival of the organism." The warning letter also cites concerns about handling the goat milk and insanitary conditions, including the presence of spiders on walls and processing floor and dirt buildup in the room used for cheese processing. Brookshire Brother Inc. in Lufkin, TX was the target of a Dec. 8, 2015 warning letter over violations of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulations. Numerous violations are outlined in the letter, including failure to conduct a hazard analysis for each kind of fish or fish product that it offers for sale. As a result, its HACCP plan is inadequate and its corrective action plan for ready-to-eat Tuna Salad falls short for controlling bacteria and toxin formation growth. The agency also has concerns about the company's temperature logs and lack of on-going verification activities. FDA found similar problems at the Alligator Bay Marina in the Bahamas, which was subject to a Dec. 10, 2015 warning letter. It was cited for failure to "have or implement a HACCP" plan The company produces Fresh Stone Crab Claws. The Sunrise Noodle Corporation was warned on Dec. 11, 2015 about violations of the Current Good Manufacturing Practices where FDA believes food is being prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions. Located in Chesapeake, VA, FDA's Sept. 22-25, 2015 inspection found "excreta pellets (REPs) to number stop count were observed in your cutting room." Inspectors found a 3 to 4 inch hole in the storage warehouse. The inspectors also found utensils and equipment that were not cleaned and covered with everything from mildew to grease, oil, and dirt. They also said buildings were not maintained and there was a build up of litter and waste. A company known as Harmless Harvest Thailand, located in Thailand, which produces raw coconut water products, received a warning letter dated Nov. 13,2015. FDA said based on review of documents provided by the company, it's products offered for entry to the Untied States do not comply with juice HACCP regulations. Harmless Harvest needs to complete an HACCP with control measures and implement sanitation standard operating procedure (SSOP) for processing. FDA said the company needs to validate a critical limit to control microorganisms, like botulism.
Tags: Alligator Bay Marina, Brookshire Brother Inc., FDA, Harmless Harvest Thailand, Ltd., Osage Lane Creamery, Sunrise Noodle Corporation, warning letters


At 72 years of age, and with five children of his own, it's not altogether surprising that President Donald Trump has more than a handful of grandchildren. But while Trump's nine grandchildren vastly outnumber those of his most recent predecessors, they fall just short of former President George H.W. Bush's 14 grandkids. Photos of Trump and Bush Sr. with their grandkids show the presidency can sometimes be a kid-friendly zone.
At the moment, President Trump has nine grandkids. There's 11-year-old Kai, 9-year-old Donald III, 7-year-old Tristan, 5-year-old Spencer, and 4-year-old Chloe, all born to Vanessa and Donald Trump Jr. They're joined by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner's children, 7-year-old Arabella, 5-year-old Joseph, and 2-year-old Theodore, as well as Lara and Eric Trump's 1-year-old son Luke.
While Trump has enough grandkids to staff his own baseball team, Bush Sr. had enough to staff his own soccer team and then some. According to Town and Country magazine, the late president had 14 grandchildren. They include Barbara and Jenna, former President George W. Bush's fraternal twins, as well as Jeb Bush's three children, John Ellis, Noelle, and George Prescott. They're joined by Neill Bush's three children, Lauren, Pierce, and Ashley, as well as Marshall Lloyd and Charles Walker, the two children Marvin Bush adopted. The gang is rounded out by Dorothy Bush's four children, Sam, Nancy Ellis, Robert, and Georgia Grace.
But Trump and Bush's families aren't the largest number of grandchildren to be born to a president, sitting or otherwise. While there's no definitive database regarding presidential grandchildren, an analysis of what available data does exist by FiveThirtyEight found that former President William Henry Harrison had 25 grandchildren. Former President Franklin D. Roosevelt is also believed to have had a bevy of grandchildren. According to information provided by the Elenor Roosevelt Papers Project, Roosevelt had at least 21 grandchildren by blood with another four adopted grandchildren.
Trump's Grandkids Love "Rolling Around With Him On Golf Carts"
In 2016, Ivanka Trump told Yahoo! Parenting that her kids loved palling around with her father on weekends in the summer. "They spend a lot of time rolling around with him on golf carts," she said of their summer visits at his New Jersey golf club. "They adore him."
George H.W. Bush once tweeted that he "couldn't be happier" seeing the ways that each of his grandchildren have found to help others. Talk about a proud granddad.
Trump's grandkids walked beside their parents — and behind the president and First Lady Melania Trump — during Trump's inauguration day parade in January 2017.
For Bush It was Kids & Grandkids & Great Grandkids, Oh My!
In June, Laura Bush posted a photo of Bush Sr. posing with two of his granddaughters — Barbara Pierce Bush and Jenna Bush Hager — as well as two of his great grandchildren.
It's not uncommon to spot Trump's grandkids visiting him at the White House.
In 2017, Bush Sr. acknowledged his birthday by tipping his hat to a granddaughter-in-law who helped him read birthday email greetings while on a boat.
Donald Trump Jr. shared a picture on Instagram of President Trump keeping a special eye on his son, Spencer, during a White House event.
In a photo shared by the George H.W. Bush Library, the former president can be seen greeting Santa Claus with granddaughter Lauren Bush in 1990.
According to Ivanka Trump, granddaughter Arabella accompanied her grandfather to the voting booth on Election Day in 2016. "In the car on the way to cast our vote for Grandpa!" Ivanka wrote in an Instagram post featuring a picture of Arabella and Trump.
In 1997, four years after Bush's presidential tenure had ended, he said he considered his three most rewarding titles to be husband, father, and granddad, according to the Bush Library.
In 2017, Trump played a video of his granddaughter, Arabella, singing a traditional Chinese song in Mandarin for Chinese President Xi Jinping during a state dinner hosted at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
In a photo shared by the Bush Library, the former president can be seen welcoming not one, but six grandchildren into bed.


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Breaking, Business, Education, Event, GPU Technology Conference, News, Nvidia, startups, VR World
NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute Aims to Train 100,000 Developers this Year
May 10, 2017 May 10, 2017 Kresimir Zelenika
NVIDIA announced the company plans to train as many as 100,000 developers through the Deep Learning institute over the course of this year (2017). According to NVIDIA, the surging demand for deep learning developers will require the company to train ten times as many developers as they did in 2016. IDC estimates that 80% of all applications will feature an AI component by 2020 and NVIDIA aims to be at the head of this push in the industry. The Deep Learning institute has trained developers around the world at sold-out public events, at onsite training with companies such as Adobe, Alibaba and SAP, at government research
Breaking, Business, Enterprise, Event, GPU Technology Conference, Hardware, News, Nvidia, press releases, startups, VR World
SkyScale Announces the World's Fastest Cloud Computing Service
At the GPU Technology Conference, SkyScale announced the launch of its world-class, ultra-fast multi-GPU hardware platforms in the cloud, available for lease to customers desiring the fastest performance available as a service anywhere on the globe. But for the beggining, who is SkyScale? Just a week ago, One Stop Systems spun off SkyScale as their wholly-owned subsidiary, with the target being to create a world-class environment for their customers. This way, OSS and SkyScale have a production environment with a functional data center on-site, and when they develop the next generation of GPU compute, or flash storage systems, they can compare it with a production
Breaking, Business, Event, GPU Technology Conference, Nvidia, VR World
New NVIDIA DesignWorks Features Put the World of VR and 360 Video in Developer's Hands
May 9, 2017 May 9, 2017 Kresimir Zelenika
Have you ever wanted to have 360 videos on the palm of your hand? Have you wanted to wanted to watch anything from game-plays, TV Shows, documentaries and even some other random videos? You can with Littlstar, a content distribution network that's using immersive VR and 360-degree video powered by the NVIDIA DesignWorks, Video Codec SDK. This week at the GPU Technology Conference, NVIDIA launched new updates to DesignWorks, helping developers take advantage of an entire suite of tools and technologies designed for cutting-edge 360-degree video and VR. With DesignWorks, Littlstar streams video from major brands like Sony Music, The Economist, CNN and Showtime. Individuals can
Audio/Video, Augmented Reality (AR), Breaking, Event, GPU Technology Conference, News, Nvidia, press releases, Software Programs, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World
NVIDIA Announces Bigger, Better Toolkit for VR Developers
GPU Technology Conference 2017 is premier, NVIDIA just announced first set of VR news coming from the conference. Maybe the highlight of today is that the company is releasing VRWorks Audio and 360 Video software development kits. With this move NVIDIA is making VR more immersive, and VR development easier. So lets recap all that came to our knowledge today: VRWorks is a comprehensive suite of APIs, libraries, and engines that enable application and headset developers to create amazing virtual reality experiences. It enables a new level of presence by bringing physically realistic visuals, sound, touch interactions, and simulated environments to virtual reality. Key components of VRWorks are being
Augmented Reality (AR), Business, Companies, Exclusive, GPU Technology Conference, News, Nvidia, startups, Virtual Reality (VR)
Finalists Announced for NVIDIA VR Content Showcase 2017
May 2, 2017 May 3, 2017 Alexander Kreedman
With a record number of applicants, NVIDIA just announced the finalists for its VR Showcase at the upcoming festival of GTC 2017. From over 120 startups, 10 companies have been chosen to compete for a chance to win up to $30,000.00 in cash and prices. These companies have created new and novel ways to use VR/AR content to better the world. The finalists will have the opportunity to pitch their ideas and concepts on stage for 5 minutes with 3 minutes allotted for questions. All the finalists will have exclusive exposure for marketing, public relations, and venture capital. GTC 2017 will offer multiple sessions on
Business, Event, GPU Technology Conference, News, Nvidia, startups
NVIDIA GPU Technology Conference Officially Announced
April 5, 2017 April 5, 2017 Theo Valich
With the conference being over a month away, NVIDIA sent out a press release announcing the conference. The conference starts on Monday, May 8th, and lasts until Thursday, May 11th. This year, NVIDIA reshuffled the conference format in a bid to ensure continuous coverage of the conference. What used to be opening keynote with Jensen Huang, co-founder and the CEO is now being shifted to the penultimate day. The expectations for the conference are quite big, with the focus on A.I. and deep learning, virtual reality and self driving vehicles. We will cover the conference extensively. NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA), a world leader in AI computing technology, will
Augmented Reality (AR), Breaking, Business, Event, GPU Technology Conference, News, Nvidia, startups, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World
NVIDIA GTC 2017 Opens VR Showcase Contest
February 23, 2017 Kresimir Zelenika
2016 will remain known as the year of the GPU. By looking into technology stocks, we can see that the growth of visualization, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning drove GPU to the new heights. Central conference for GPU technologies remains the one organized by NVIDIA, entering its ninth year. From May 8-11, 2017, NVIDIA is getting ready to unveil vast number of news and features coming from the company and its ecosystem. GTC 2017 brings a very interesting opportunity for a few companies or teams that are working on creating new products for Virtual Reality or Augmented Reality. Conference organizers announced a contest where
Auto, Breaking, Business, GPU Technology Conference, News, startups, Virtual Reality (VR)
How ZeroLight VR Tech Changes Car Buying Experience
April 26, 2016 April 29, 2016 Theo Valich
Personalized buying experience is something every brand wants to offer to its customers. For example, Italian hypercar manufacturer Pagani Automobili S.p.A. produces approximately 40-50 cars a year, and the manufacturer has about 20 showrooms around the globe with further plans of expansion. Given the manufacturing volume, not all stores can have a car all the time. Procedure of buying a Pagani is something special, an in-depth experience that takes several stages – first, a customer will configure the car using an online configurator, then visit a store and get the feel for marvelous materials used and see the car in 4K resolution, pay a deposit and receive the line number. Once the
Breaking, Business, GPU Technology Conference, Hardware, News, startups, Virtual Reality (VR)
Camera Maker Lucid VR Receives $2 million Seed Round
Raising capital is never easy, even if the idea you have might be a revolutionary one. If your idea is a piece of hardware, raising capital in a software-driven industry is extremely hard, but not impossible. Case in point is Lucid VR, a tiny startup launched by a Berkeley and Stanford graduates. During the GPU Technology Conference, we met with Han Jin and Joe Hill from Lucid VR. Han is a co-founder and CEO of Lucid VR while Joe is a chief hustler, i.e. company evangelist. Described as "world's only 3D 180-degree Virtual Reality camera", LucidCam is a combination of innovative hardware design and software that enables instant watching of
Breaking, Enterprise, GPU Technology Conference, Graphics, Hardware, News, Nvidia
Can Supermicro's Pascal Beat Nvidia's Own DGX-1?
At the GPU Technology Conference, Nvidia introduced its DGX-1 supercomputer. Based on combining the two 20-core Xeon E5 v4 processors with eight Tesla P100 cards, DGX-1 is a 3U server that promises to deliver 85.2 TFLOPS of compute performance (FP32). For a price of $129,000, you can order the DGX-1 system today and get the ultimate performance out of a single rack. Yet during that same event, there might be a product that already upstaged the performance delivered by a single DGX-1 server. On the second day of the show, we encountered Supermicro's 1U 'Super GPU' server. While Supermicro is known as a manufacturer of ultra-dense computers, and is
Auto, Breaking, GPU Technology Conference, News, Nvidia
NVIDIA Shows Fully Pascal-based DRIVE PX 2
Back on CES 2016, Jen-Hsun Huang unveiled the Nvidia DRIVE PX 2, a mobile supercomputer which now serves as a base for development of self-driving vehicles from the likes of Volvo, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, General Motors and many others. DRIVE PX 2 comes with an impressive set of specifications, which are delivering no less than 24 TOPS and 8 TFLOPS SP performance. The first DRIVE PX 2 system delivered to the customers actually used Maxwell-based MXM modules, i.e. it used a combination of first generation Pascal-based Tegra silicon with a known value, the GM206 graphics processor. Fast forward to three months later, Jen-Hsun was back on the stage
Breaking, Cloud Computing, Enterprise, GPU Technology Conference, Graphics, News, Nvidia, VR World
OTOY's New Model Brings 20,000 GPUs into Cloud
From its early days, the main focus for OTOY was disruption of the visual effects industry (FX). Split between quick-but-unreliable rasterizing and slow-but-correct ray-tracing, both computer games and movies suffer from the same fate when it comes to rendering physically and perspective-correct worlds. OTOY is working on changing that through their Octane Renderer and Brigade, mixed RT/ROP engine. However, OTOY did not want to stop at creating a physically correct graphics engine. During our visit at the company's HQ in 2013, OTOY was working on initial deployment of Kepler-based graphics cards, with an initial target of deploying 3,000 GPUs for their cloud rendering business. Under the
Auto, Breaking, Entertainment, GPU Technology Conference, News, Nvidia
First Roborace Race Car Detailed
Roborace, organization behind the world's first autonomous racing championship released the very first specifications for a vehicle that will start racing alongside Formula E championship, either during 2016/2017 or 2017/2018 season. The vehicle will use modified Formula E drive train from Season 1, and weighing in approximately 20% more than a Formula E car (898 kg with the driver): More details about the robocar: Weight: 1000 kg (2200 lbs) Length: 4.8 m (15'9") Width: 2.0 m (6'7")#Roboracepic.twitter.com/T6mqKvrJ8u — Roborace (@roboracing) April 8, 2016 Roborace car is 20cm shorter (8″) than an Formula E car, 20cm (8″) narrower, yet should deliver the same power (details are still unannounced) as Spark
Breaking, Enterprise, GPU Technology Conference, Hardware, News, Nvidia
Nvidia Mezzanine NVLink Connector, Tesla P100 Pictured
In a way, the 2016 GPU Technology Conference represented a 'coming of age' for Nvidia, where the company finally established their first proprietary standard that gained immediate industry traction with none other than IBM. The NVLink interconnect, and the Mezzanine connector represent the first custom interfaces (outside of BGA packaging for their silicon) Nvidia designed. Given that IBM's OpenPOWER conference is taking place at the same time as GTC, we searched for more details about the Mezzanine connector and the NVLink itself, and stumbled on quite an interesting amount of details. First and foremost, ever Pascal (Tesla P100) and Volta (Tesla V100) product that utilizes the NVLink
Breaking, GPU Technology Conference, Nvidia, VR World
Nvidia Launches VR Ready for Professionals
Over the last couple of weeks we've seen a number of companies pronouncing that their 'Mobile First' strategies are dead, and they're shifting their focus to develop a 'VR First' mindset. Good examples are Samsung, and CryTek approaches, which should lead to an ubiquitous adoption of VR experiences such as Six Flags roller-coaster experiences or movie-becomes-a-VR-experience. With the early success of HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and many other 3rd party vendors looking to find their their place under the (virtual) Sun, content creators are turning their focus on producing content for Virtual and Mixed Reality. Almost all of the content creation is done on a PC, most notably high-end (workstation) systems. Both AMD and Nvidia developed their VR middleware geared