Daily Archives: April 3, 2017

Probiotics Dietary Supplements Market Analysis By Application … – Yahoo Finance

Posted: April 3, 2017 at 8:20 pm

NEW YORK, March 30, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The global probiotics dietary supplements market is expected to reach USD 7.0 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Rising preference towards preventive healthcare coupled with inherent health benefits of probiotics is anticipated to benefit the market growth over the forecast period.

Probiotics are a healthy microorganism that benefits the body when taken in sufficient amount. Probiotics dietary supplements are supplements manufactured by incorporating various strains of probiotics to treat or prevent the occurrence of diseases. Companies have developed customized products to suit diverse customer needs.

Recent advancements in R&D have led to the development of efficient probiotic strains that can sustain different environments and can be used in combination with other ingredients. Furthermore, improvements in delivery systems such as capsules, and sticks have led to the development of more efficient products. Such trends are expected to favor the overall market growth from 2016 to 2025.

In terms of application, nutritional supplements led the market in 2015 closely followed by specialty nutrients. The broad product offering of probiotics nutritional supplements, easy availability and effectiveness in maintaining proper body health has benefitted the demand from application segment in the past, and this trend is anticipated to continue over the forecast period.

Further Key Findings from the Study Suggest:

The global probiotics dietary supplements demand was USD 3.3 billion in 2015 and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 7.6% from 2016 to 2025

Probiotic dietary supplements are used for maintaining a stronger immune system, proper digestion, better work energy, healthy skin and prevention of oral diseases. These supplements are found out to have little or no side effect on human body.

Nutritional supplement segment is expected to witness the highest CAGR of 7.7% over the next nine years. The effectiveness of nutritional supplements, their easy availability and novel product offerings is expected to benefit segment demand.

Specialty Nutrient segment worth is expected to reach USD 2.8 billion by 2025. Development of superior probiotics strains intended for a specific purpose and focus on R&D is aiding the segment growth.

Europe dominated the global market with 39% share. Strong awareness regarding probiotics usage, easy availability, and presence of major industry participants is aiding the regional growth.

Major industry participants include Chr.Hansen, Nebraska Cultures, Premium, Vitakem, and NutraScience Labs. Nebraska Cultures, manufactures its products with their proprietary stabilizer technology to improve overall product efficiency.

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04785462-summary/view-report.html

About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

http://www.reportlinker.com

__________________________ Contact Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/probiotics-dietary-supplements-market-analysis-by-application-food-supplements-nutritional-supplements-specialty-nutrients-infant-formula-by-regions-north-america-europe-asia-pacific-middle-east--africa-csa-and-segme-300432238.html

Read the original post:

Probiotics Dietary Supplements Market Analysis By Application ... - Yahoo Finance

Posted in Food Supplements | Comments Off on Probiotics Dietary Supplements Market Analysis By Application … – Yahoo Finance

Vancouver food bank potentially risked clients’ health through lax alternative-health program – CBC.ca

Posted: at 8:20 pm

British Columbia public health officials effectively forced the Vancouver food bank to shut down a privately funded alternative-health program offered by a wealthy Alberta oilman's non-profit foundation because it posed a potential health risk to thousands of unwitting Lower Mainland food bank clients.

Internal B.C. government documents show that from February 2014 until late January 2015, the Pure North S'Energy Foundation, funded by Calgary-based businessman Allan Markin, distributed packets of high-dose supplements to thousands of food bank clients with the permission of the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society.

Vancouver food bank CEO Aart Schuurman Hess said he was never told in writing about any potential health risks related to the Pure North program. (CBC)

The decisive actions of the B.C. civil servants contrast sharply with Alberta, where Pure North for years has been allowed to operate similar high-dose programs, focusing mostly on "vulnerable populations" at such places as homeless shelters.

A CBC News investigation found the Alberta government gave Pure North a $10-million grant in 2013 to offer its program to more than 7,000 seniors, despite the fact officials believed the promised health outcomes were not adequately supported by scientific evidence and the program could cause adverse health effects.

Internal B.C government documents obtained by CBC News through freedom of information show public health officials determined that more than 3,400 food-bank clients may have received unlabelled, improperly packaged supplements, including vitamin D at a dose higher than the safe tolerable upper intake level recommended by Health Canada without properly informed consent, counselling or medical supervision.

Dr. Reka Gustafson, medical health officer with Vancouver Coastal Health, told Pure North she had the authority to shut down the supplement distribution program at the food bank. (CBC )

"This program is a population health intervention that is provided without individual assessments, counselling and monitoring as would be offered in a primary health care setting," states a Jan. 19, 2015 report prepared by public health dietitians for Dr. Reka Gustafson, a medical health officer for the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority.

Two days later, Aart Schuurman Hess, the food bank's chief executive officer and a personal acquaintance of Markin's, suspended the supplement distribution program until a laundry list of health safety concerns could be resolved. But in March 2015, the program was cancelled.

"One of the things that was of real concern to me is this idea that you can bypass the checks and balances that keep people safe," Gustafson told CBC News in an interview. "And you can't.

Pure North spokesperson Stephen Carter acknowledges the foundation made mistakes with its food-bank supplement program. (Sam Martin/CBC)

"The same checks and balances that apply to the person who shops at Safeway should apply to the food bank," she said. "And certainly I would think that most people would expect it to."

Stephen Carter, Pure North's vice-president of communications, said he "strongly rejected" the health officials' contention that the foundation had created a health risk. But he acknowledged Pure North had, in some cases, made mistakes.

"We should have done a better job of making sure that we had followed the rules, and we are doing a better job of making sure that we're following the rules," Carter said. "But in terms of the health of these individuals, we are doing the best work that we possibly can to ensure that these people remain healthy and are healthy for a long time."

Schuurman Hess told CBC News he had never been informed, in writing, by health officials about the program's potential health risks they had identified and, as far as he knows, none of the food bank's clients who participated in the voluntary program suffered any adverse effects.

He said he personally invited Pure North to offer its supplement program at the food banks because he believed it was working well in Alberta and even had been financially supported by that province's government.

Pure North is a privately run, non-profit foundation that offers alternative, preventive health programs, with a primary focus on preventing chronic disease through high doses of vitamins and supplements, including vitamin D. Pure North claims its program, if broadly implemented, would save governments hundreds of millions of dollars each year in health care spending.

B.C. public health officials found several health risks associated with Pure Norths distribution of high-dose supplements at Vancouver food banks. (CBC)

The foundation focuses on vulnerable populations such as the homeless, addicted and elderly. It claims that since 2007 more than 50,000 people have participated in its program in Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan.

Obtained through freedom of information, the internal documents detail a concerted effort by B.C. public health officials spearheaded by a group of dietitians and medical health officers to methodically identify potential health risks to the food-bank clients and to formulate an "action plan" to address them.

The documents also reveal health officials weren't afraid to confront Markin, the former chairman of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd, the giant Alberta oil and gas company. In 2015, Canadian Business magazine estimated the personal fortune of Markin, who is also part owner of the Calgary Flames, was more than $600 million.

In a Feb. 5, 2015 internal email, Gustafson describes a meeting with the "fantastically rich Alberta 'oil man' " and several Pure North staff.

"We spent a fair amount of time explaining the authority required to practise public health and make recommendations for a population. I am not entirely sure if this sunk in," Gustafson wrote, adding later that health officials had the power to shut down the program if it wasn't done voluntarily.

"We said that we didn't want to mandate them, but that we had the authority under the Public Health Act to do so. (That was kind of fun.)," Gustafson wrote, telling CBC later she was prepared to exercise that authority if the food bank didn't voluntarily stop Pure North from distributing the supplements.

The internal B.C. documents detail a troubling list of issues identified by the public health officials, including that:

Health officials were also concerned food-bank clients may not be able to understand the consent form they had to sign before receiving the packet of Pure North supplements, or understand the type of supplements they were given.

Pure North spokesperson Stephen Carter said clients weren't seen by a doctor, and their medical histories weren't taken, because the foundation mistakenly believed it was distributing vitamin D within Health Canada's 4,000 IU safe upper level. Health Canada's recommended dietary allowances for vitamin D are 400 IU for infants, 600 IU for those aged one to 70, and 800 IU for adults over 70.

A graphic shows the difference between the levels of vitamin D Health Canada recommends, and the levels Pure North recommended in a March 2015 advertising campaign. (CBC)

Carter said Pure North rectified every issue identified by health authorities. Every participant in a Pure North program in B.C. is now seen by a naturopathic doctor. The foundation stopped distributing the supplement that wasn't Health Canada approved. And documents show the foundation also corrected the labelling and packaging issues.

Before Pure North rectified the safety issues, public health officials, including Gustafson, conveyed several of their concerns in sometimes tense meetings with Pure North representatives and also with food-bank management.

Following one such meeting in January 2015, Schuurman Hess announced the food bank was suspending the program.

On March 5, 2015, Schuurman Hess told public health officials the food bank and Pure North had mutually decided to end the controversial supplement distribution program.

"Both parties thought it better to go their own way," Schuurman Hess wrote in a follow-up email, in which he sought to distance the food banks he oversaw from a wellness program that for nearly a year he had allowed to operate, unfettered, within their walls.

"That way it doesn't affect our services and (standing) in the community. Although we only facilitated (Pure North), the community may consider this to be a food bank program, which it is not."

If you have any information about this story, or for another potential story, please contact us in confidence at cbcinvestigates@cbc.ca

@charlesrusnell

@jennierussell_

Go here to see the original:

Vancouver food bank potentially risked clients' health through lax alternative-health program - CBC.ca

Posted in Food Supplements | Comments Off on Vancouver food bank potentially risked clients’ health through lax alternative-health program – CBC.ca

Z-DAY (Zeitgeist Day) 2017 – Scoop.co.nz (press release)

Posted: at 8:19 pm

Z-DAY (Zeitgeist Day) 2017

NEW ZEALAND EVENT

________________________________________

Event - https://www.facebook.com/events/1654894774813489/

The Zeitgeist Movement Presents

Z-Day 2017

9TH ANNUAL EDUCATIONAL SYMPOSIUM TOWARDS GLOBAL UNITY AND ABUNDANCE

On Sunday the 9th of April The Zeitgeist Movement in association with RBENZ present Z-Day, the 9th annual educational symposium towards global unity and abundance.

Z-Day (short for Zeitgeist Day) occurs annually with hundreds of parallel events across 60 countries. Z-Day aims to bring a focus to our current social and economic problems by advocating a new economic paradigm called Resource Based Economics.

This year the New Zealand event will take place on:

Sunday April 9th, 2017, Grey Lynn Community Hall, 510 Richmond Road, Auckland.

Doors open 2pm to 6pm. Koha or free entry.

We stand at the edge of a new era, in the last year we have seen major shifts in the collective social atmosphere, from Brexit to Trump to increased terrorism. What is going on? How do we prepare for the future and what can be done now?

Join us as we discuss these structural issues, ways to self organize and prepare New Zealand for the new paradigms taking place.

Z-day 2017 will host exciting presentations by the thought-leaders and change-makers from around Australasia.

Our speakers will look at solutions towards a sustainable and equitable future, whilst questioning the roles of politics, social organization, science & technology.

This year's Educational Symposium will host the following speakers:

Michael Kubler - The Price of Zero Transition (TZM Australia)

South Australian TZM chapter founder, Michael, describes himself as 'an innovative geek' who wants to change the world of education, energy and economics. An avid ZM member and renewable energy activist, Michael will share some interesting thoughts on the transition to a Resource-Based Economy.

Geoff Simmons (The Opportunities Party)

Right hand man to Gareth Morgan, The Opportunities Party (TOP) has had somewhat of a controversial debut onto the political floor in New Zealand. Suggestions of stopping the tax loophole cowboys of the land have put them on the front line of the media. Now TOP are saying a Universal Basic Income is needed to help bridge our growing poverty gap.

Hear Geof Simmons speak about their solutions.

Marina Bloom (Moving Stuff / In-Joy)

Marina Bloom is a mother, singer-songwriter, activist, analyst and a lawyer. An advocate for equality she is passionate about the Venus Project and bringing balance into the world. She will speak on the topic of evolution of humanity and what could a life be in the future of the Resource Based Economy.

Richard Osmaston (Money Free Party)

Richard has gone down the political trail with an unprecedented about of success, based in the Nelson region, Osmaston not only advocates RBE hes pushing it into parliament through the Money Free Party.

Wiri Te Moni (TZM New Zealand)

Wiri Te Moni Co-founder of the TZM Movement NZ, Organiser of the Venus Project tour in NZ in 2009, independent alternative news documentor, researcher, vlogger, and activist for a better society and planet. He will be speaking about his experience on advocating a Resource Based Economy while also giving us a brief overview on what it actually is.

Sam Mentink (RBENZ)

Industrial designer, musician, activist and co-founder of RBENZ.

Sam Mentink will be hosting the event, speaking in between our other guests and sparking discussion during question time.

The Farmers Market will be running prior to Z-Day

Light refreshments will be available during the event

We look forward to meeting you on our journey towards global unity and abundance.

Tickets & Info

Entry Is Koha (Donation), https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/z-day-annual-educational-symposium-towards-global-unity-abundance-tickets-32788200390

https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2017/z-day-2017/auckland/grey-lynn

Links

Zeitgeist movement world HQ - http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/

RBENZ - rbe.org.nz

WE MUST BECOME THE CHANGE WE WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD ~ GANDHI

Resource Based Economics What is it?

It is a socio-economic system in which all goods and services are available without the use of money, credits, barter or any other system of debt or servitude.

RBE utilizes technology to its fullest to provide the most efficient, ecologically safe solution. From products to distribution of resource to transport and housing.

Further Info:

What is the Zeitgeist Movement: http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/faq#faq1

Scoop Media

See the rest here:

Z-DAY (Zeitgeist Day) 2017 - Scoop.co.nz (press release)

Posted in Zeitgeist Movement | Comments Off on Z-DAY (Zeitgeist Day) 2017 – Scoop.co.nz (press release)

2017 MLB Preview: Baseball’s Youth Movement Takes Center Stage – RollingStone.com

Posted: at 8:19 pm

Dansby Swanson opened his Major League Baseball debut with a bang last August. In a game against the Minnesota Twins, the Atlanta Braves shortstop swatted two singles, going 2-for-4 at the plate. He would later finish out 2016 on fire too, grinding out 39 hits in his rst 37 career games, while batting .302 for the season.

Selected in the 2015 draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks, a trade eventually sent the Georgia-born player back home.

"What I remember as a kid growing up, was the culture of winning", Swanson says by phone to Rolling Stone. "When you put on an Atlanta Braves cap or the uniform it meant that you were going to win the division every year."

Going into his what will be his first full season as a starter with the Braves, Swanson is no less adamant about playing his part to build the club back to its success in the 1990s when Greg Maddux andTom Glavine were at the top of the rotation.

"I have an extreme passion for this place, Atlanta and everything it stands for," Swanson says. He mentions that even though he was a year and a half old when the Braves won the 1995 World Series, "watching Braves baseball was a family ritual almost every single night."

With that big, big moment of Opening Day here, Swanson is one marquee name in an impressive bumper crop of exciting twenty-something players. He's also one of nine young players featured in a commercial for an initiative called #CapsOn, in which Major League Baseball and its 30 clubs are partnering with New Era, to get fans to wear their team's cap as proudly as Swanson wears his own Braves lid. Regarding 2017, Swanson says he hopes to make his contributions early to Atlanta's momentum.

"People don't realize how hard of a mental sport it is," Swanson says. "But when you've got a locker room full of guys who want to win, anything is possible. Being part of that motivates me."

After placing last in the NL East in 2016, the Braves are in the midst of a new beginning. They kick off their season in New York, returning April 14th to their home opener in new digs at Atlanta's new 41,500-seat SunTrust Park. Swanson is the youngest buck in a Braves' starting lineup made up mostly of journeyed thirty-something players that also just added old stallions Bartolo Coln and knuckleballer R. A. Dickey, who are both in their 40s, to their pitching rotation.

"The most telling stat in my mind is consistency night in, night out," Swanson adds. "We have a bunch of guys up and down the lineup who can do that on the mound, or out in the field. It's extremely cool to be able to witness guys who can take care of that business, to get ready for this season."

The Braves' situation probably doesn't constitute a hard rebuild as much as that of the Chicago White Sox, who cleaned house, trading star lefty pitcher Chris Sale and outfielder Adam Eaton for Yoan Moncada and six other young players this winter. To their advantage, Atlanta does currently have the best pool of new prospects in their farm system, according to Baseball America. Elsewhere across baseball, 2017 features a new order of talent that the Braves and others will have to wrestle with.

Since the retirement of legends like Yankee Derek Jeter and more recently Red Sox hit machine David Ortiz, baseball's new youth movement hasn't hesitated to fill in and make an impact. Chicago Cubs MVP Kris Bryant, 25, and Cleveland Indians shortstop wunderkind Francisco Lindor, 23, lit up the boards all season in 2016. And in 2015, young Mets arms Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom together pitched the Mets to their first Series since 2000.

Another place where the future of the game can be seen is in Houston. The Astros have made the postseason just once since they lost World Series in 2005, but in the last two seasons their younger stars have changed infield play into an artform. Shortstop and 2015 AL Rookie of the Year Carlos Correa couples well with the power arms of pint-sized second baseman Jos Altuve and third baseman Alex Bregman. The three are crafting Houston to be a huge part baseball's resurgence and point to the AL West being all Astros for now.

Over in Washington, D.C., the new President may not be throwing out the season's first pitch, but baseball still looks tremendous in the nation's turbulent capital. The Nationals have placed first in the NL East and made playoffs three times in the last five seasons, principally on the strength of world class pitching that includes 2016 Cy Young winner Max Scherzer. Plus their field looks impressive with Eaton joining four-time All-Star Bryce Harper and 23 year old Trea Turner. Last season Turner slugged .567 while stealing 33 bases in just 73 games. If 2017 isn't the year for this 48 year old franchise to win its first Series, who knows when.

AL East-bound and downJust outside the Nats' domain, the Baltimore Orioles have found themselves in a similar circling pattern, with solid season performances, and yet an inability to get deeper into October. With third base ace Manny Machado and their underrated second baseman Jonathan Schoop, the O's future looks bright. But it will be interesting to see if and when Baltimore can wrest away second place from rivals in the AL East anytime soon.

Meanwhile, the New York Yankees, like Atlanta, are also retooling with younger players. Catcher Gary Sanchez and first baseman Greg Bird, both great hitters, are one centerpiece of the Yankees' reboot. Yet both AL East teams have their work cut out with 2017's Boston Red Sox.

A popular favorite for the World Series, Boston is as stacked as the Cubs were last season. Like Swanson, left fielder Andrew Benintendi, 22, stands out as another potential superstar of baseball's newest generation. He'll play across the park from Mookie Betts in right, another future perennial MVP candidate who demonstrated power and consistency with 31 homers, 113 RBIs, and .534 slugging in his first full season. Betts also has speed and finesse enough to bag 26 stolen bases in 2016 and provides a spark in a lineup rounded out by shortstop Xander Bogaerts, second baseman Dustin Pedroia, and centerfielder Jackie Bradley. On top of position players, the Red Sox have an enviable pitching rotation, with Sale joining CY Young winner Rick Porcello, fellow left-hander David Price, as well as Drew Pomeranz and Steven Wright.

Sure, the Red Sox might bleed excitement. But last year their postseason fire was quickly extinguished in by an injury-wracked Cleveland Indians team. A bonus for Cleveland is that two of their best starters, Carlos Currasco and Danny Salazar, seem fit and ready for the mound again, alongside Corey Kluber, who was excellent from April deep into November, not to mention Andrew Miller, arguably the best middle reliever in the game.

Cleveland's elder players, like Jason Kipnis (2B) and Carlos Santana (1B), outperformed at-bat last season in the absence of Michael Brantley, and could do so again for 2017, should Kipnis shake off a reported preseason shoulder injury. Even better, Jose Ramrez and Lindor provide more reliable bats for a city savoring one more championship to match the Cavs' first NBA title.

Can the Cubs repeat, Dodgers rematch?Certainly the defending world champion Chicago Cubs remain strong in their batting lineup and at every field position. Their infield especially boasts much more of that young, exciting stuff that makes for sports dynasties. Bryant, along with Addison Russell, Javy Baez, and Willson Contreras excel as a unit with Anthony Rizzo at first. It's likely that sometime catcher and outfielder Kyle Schwarber will figure in at both positions, depending how manager Joe Maddon chooses to deploy him and 36 year old utility man Ben Zobrist each game. Zobrist, the World Series MVP, is listed for Opening Day at 2B, yet spent much of the postseason comfortably in left field.

Chicago's depth doesn't mean, however, that the Cubs are done churning out top-caliber new talent. Anyone who's kept a close eye on 22 year old Albert Almora this preseason especially last Sunday when he blasted two homers and a double in a 22-4 win over the Reds sees another game changer developing.

Addison Russell tellsRolling Stone that his team's combination of raw talent, postseason experience, and chemistry under Maddon is a great starting point, but the Cubs won't be resting on their shiny new rings.

"Experiencing it all, (the World Series) was good for us moving into the future," Russell says. "We're all good, but only with more hard work are we going to get better at the end of the day."

Aiming to topple the Cubs' long-term imperial aspirations, the Los Angeles Dodgers are also another team to get excited about. During winter they re-upped maestro closer Kenley Jansen with a five year, $80 million contract, a no-brainer move. L.A. also brings back rotation man Rich Hill, along with 31 year old third baseman Justin Turner and Adrin Gonzlez at first, who will be 35 in May. Few baseball pundits have talked about whether age equals depreciation at Dodger Stadium, or how much that creates a sense of urgency to win a World Seriesnow.

But the Dodgers' arsenal also looks dangerous with last the '16 NL Rookie of the Year Corey Seager, and 20-year-old left hander Julio Uras in the same rotation as three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw. Each season Kershaw's speed seems to capture baseball's new zeitgeist in his every single pitch.

If 2017 is indeed the Dodgers' year to bring back the Commissioner's Trophy for the first time since 1988, all roads run through the Dodgers' pitching rotation, with the 29 year old Kershaw as the perfect lynchpin.

Sign up for our newsletter to receive breaking news directly in your inbox.

See the rest here:

2017 MLB Preview: Baseball's Youth Movement Takes Center Stage - RollingStone.com

Posted in Zeitgeist Movement | Comments Off on 2017 MLB Preview: Baseball’s Youth Movement Takes Center Stage – RollingStone.com

BMW Lifestyle presents five new Sport Collections – BMWBLOG (blog)

Posted: at 8:19 pm

With five new collection lines ranging from MotorsportHeritage, MotorsportBMW, Golfsport and Yachtsport to Active, BMWLifestyle has unveiled the perfect accompaniments for a sporty, active lifestyle brimming with energy and action in keeping with the arrival of spring 2017.

Urban athleisure with BMW Active.

No longer will the head-turning impact of the camouflage worn by BMW pre-production vehicles be confined to the road. Their distinctive camo pattern brings a special design highlight to all of the items in the sporty and urban BMWActive. Blue and Olive shades, plus yellow design elements and reflectors, bring a modern flavour to the colour palette.

As well as an urban athleisure look, the Active collection also stands out with its lightweight, quick-drying and breathable materials ideal for sporting excursions and outdoor activities. Handy features, including the jersey-lined drawstring hood and raised scarf collar of the BMWActiveSweatshirt, ensure the wearer enjoys unbeatable comfort and maximum freedom of movement.

In another neat twist, the collection contains not only useful outdoor accessories like theBMWActiveFunctionalTowel and a hard-wearing luggage range, but also well-chosen canine accessories such as the BMWActiveDogLeash. So our four-legged friends can also embark on new adventures equipped with the right kit for the job at hand.

From history books to present day the BMWMotorsportHeritage and BMWMotorsportCollection.

Inspired by the zeitgeist of the 1970s, the BMWMotorsportHeritageCollectionstylishly reflects BMWs long tradition in motor sport. TheBMWMotorsportLeatherJacket in high-quality lambs leather is a genuine cult item and channels the spirit of the racing original.

The other items in the HeritageCollection likewise boast the original seventies BMWMotorsport logo, striking graphic lines and an eye-catching colour scheme. And they, too, exude a must-have appeal both for BMWMotorsport fans who have been there since the beginning and those with a soft spot for seventies culture and BMWclassics.

Motor sport enthusiasts of the present day will be keen to explore the newly released BMWMotorsportCollection, which offers numerous styles think striking BMWMotorsport stripes, dynamic styles and high-quality materials designed to recreate that time-honoured BMW race feeling. A highlight of the collection is theBMWMotorsportPaperJacket. Made from innovative, paper-like Tyvek material, this jacket can be written on with waterproof markers. Which makes it an essential wardrobe addition for trackside autograph hunters.

BMW Golfsport Collection on the green in Navy and Fire.

For those who prefer to wind down by hitting a golf ball or two, theBMWGolfsportCollection offers an exclusive selection of sporty, elegant outfits such as the BMWGolfsportPoloShirt or the BMWGolfFunctionalJacket and functionally adept equipment replete with clever features.

For example, the ultra-lightweight BMWGolfsportCarryBag doesnt just impress with its intelligently structured outer and inner pockets and seven club compartments, it also has lightweight aluminium legs (with a manual activator mechanism) that provide optimal ground contact. Aqua technology from OGIO, a removable, shape-retaining rain cover and waterproof zips and stitching team up to keep all of your golf gear dry, whatever the weather.

The smart Navy/Fire colour scheme of the collection will bring extra stylistic potency to any players swing, regardless of handicap.

The BMWGolfsportGiftSet will be equally well received by golf pros and fledgling members of the handicap ranks alike. Flip open the large, golf-ball-style gift box and you will find two high-qualify Pro V1 golf balls from expert partner Titleist, a pitch fork and a BMW Golfsport Cap. The cap has a handy magnet holder on its peak so you can keep the two ball markers with BMW logo (also included in the set) within easy reach at all times.

BMW Yachtsport Collection

BMW Lifestyle continues to blow a refreshing breeze into the world of yachting as well. The successful BMWYachtsportCollection contains items of baggage, accessories and apparel which impress with a sporty, elegant design and high quality. While wind- and water-repellent materials respond to the specific demands of yachting, casual styles and sophisticated details provide unbeatable comfort. The collections accessories also combine expertly functional materials and chic maritime design elements.

The BMW Sport Collections are available from April 2017 atshop.bmw.com as well as from selected BMW Centres and dealers.

Manufacturers recommended retail prices:

BMW Active Sweatshirts, woman and men: EUR 89.00

BMW Active Functional Towel: EUR 24.90

BMW Active Dog Leash: EUR 39.90

BMW Motorsport Heritage Leather Jacket, men: EUR 590.00

BMW Motorsport Paper Jacket. men: EUR 49.00

BMW Golfsport Polo Shirt, woman and men: EUR 65.00

BMW Golfsport Functional Jacket, woman and men: EUR 130.00

BMW Golfsport Carry Bag: EUR 280.00

BMW Golfsport Gift Set: EUR 55.00

Excerpt from:

BMW Lifestyle presents five new Sport Collections - BMWBLOG (blog)

Posted in Zeitgeist Movement | Comments Off on BMW Lifestyle presents five new Sport Collections – BMWBLOG (blog)

Transforming Organizations with Sustainability Management – Huffington Post

Posted: at 8:18 pm

More and more companies and nonprofits have a chief sustainability officer and are beginning to incorporate sustainability concerns into routine management. The world is slowly starting the transition from todays economy based on fossil fuels, destruction of ecosystems, and the one time use and disposal of finite resources, to an economy based on renewable resources and the least possible damage of natural systems by human activities. I believe that we can develop a sustainable economy and generate sufficient wealth to end poverty and maintain the type of lifestyle many of us enjoy today. I am counting on our values, human ingenuity and technology to accomplish this goal. But to deliver on our potential, we must develop the organizational capacity to make our vision a reality. Dreams, vision and policy are necessary, but not sufficient, to achieve sustainability. To achieve sustainability we must define, measure, staff, and learn the new organizational behaviors that preserve rather than destroy our natural world.

The organizational capacity we must develop will not be built by government fiat, nor will it be built quickly. But over time, with the hard work and brain power of many we can transform the old-fashioned, industrial-style organizations of yesterday into the agile, fast learning, sustainable organizations of tomorrow. These organizations will pay close attention to what we have come to call the physical dimensions of sustainability: the careful use of energy, water and other material resources; the construction of green buildings and sustainable physical settings for work; the reduction and reuse of waste streams; and the reduction of the environmental impacts of an organizations production processes and outputs. Our goal is to maximize our use of renewable resources, recycle resources as much as possible, and minimize our impact on our planetto grow our economy while preserving the planet.

This requires a change in the nature of consumption but also a change in the definition of competent management. A competent manager must be able to read financial statements, and understand finance, human resources, strategy, information, technology and marketing, as well as understand and manage their organizations physical sustainability. Last week I had the pleasure of moderating a discussion of the key elements of sustainability management with a panel of sustainability professionals who all graduated from masters programs built and managed as partnerships between the Earth Institute and Columbias School of International and Public Affairs and School of Professional Studies. I started and direct these programs: the Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy and the Master of Science in Sustainability Management. Together, they have together graduated over 1,000 sustainability professionals. The panelists included:

We had a thoughtful discussion of sustainable supply chains, recycling, green building, and concern for ecological and climate impacts. We also explored the kind of internal governance structures that help sustainability take root in contemporary organizations. We examined the ways in which sustainability is being factored into corporate finance. We discussed energy efficiency and renewable energy and learned how organizations communicate their sustainability practices to investors, customers, funders and stakeholders.

Many discussions of sustainability focus on macro issues of goals, policies and strategy, but our discussion focused on the nitty gritty of day to day work that takes sustainability management from talk to action. From the classroom and text book, these concepts need to be translated into standard operating procedures and organizational routines. If we are to build a sustainable economy it will take hundreds of millions of small steps by many, many dedicated change agents. No matter what happens in Americas national capital, this work is going on every day in communities all over this country and all over the world.

The reason this work continues in the face of a backwards-facing federal government was discussed by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a superb New York Times column this past week. According to the mayor:

The movement toward sustainability is driven by ideals and self-interest. It is a powerful combination. My graduates and Mayor Bloomberg represent the future and the reality of the evolving world economy. That reality is being shaped everyday as companies, cities, communities and individuals decide on how to shape their work and lives. Its an unstoppable force.

As a political scientist, Ive always been fascinated by the forces that shape the public policy agenda and political competition. Politics, society, the physical world, culture and economics interact and influence each other. Social preferences create an irrefutable reality. Feminism, civil rights, gay rights, globalism, the move toward wellness, sustainability, individual freedom and expression are grassroots, social phenomena. They will persist and find voice. The web, smartphones, security cameras, satellite communication and drones assure that whatever happens can be observed, and despite the rhetoric, news cant be faked. Powerful images and stories go viral and if they are not real, they are typically exposed. Climate change, toxics, marine debris, invasive species, destroyed mountains and landscapes can all be observed and cant be denied. They create a reality that policy and politics either acknowledges or is consumed by. Some environmental policy and regulation may no longer be needed, but most is needed and changing technology brings about new threats requiring new rules. We live on a more crowded and resource stressed planet. Deep down, everyone knows that that, even if they choose to pretend its a hoax or fabrication. They all know that hill they used to hike on is now a strip mall, and the ride that once took 15 minutes now takes 45 due to traffic. Reality, not ideology, fuels the drive for sustainability.

More:

Transforming Organizations with Sustainability Management - Huffington Post

Posted in Resource Based Economy | Comments Off on Transforming Organizations with Sustainability Management – Huffington Post

Iran And Her Economy of Resistance – Center for Research on Globalization

Posted: at 8:18 pm

Iran is a bright and shining light for other countries to follow, like Venezuela, Brazil, North Korea even Europe, those in Europe who are tired of the Washington dictate, but so far havent dared taking the actions needed to gain back their national sovereignty.

Peter Koenig is an economist and geopolitical analyst. He is also a former World Bank staff and worked extensively around the world in the fields of environment and water resources.In an exclusive interview with Khamenei.ir, Mr. Koenig answers questions on Iran economy of resistance, its economic progress, US sanctions against Iran and more. The following is the full text of the interview:

Q: How do you think the United States uses economic leverage to harm Iran?

PK:The only way Washington can sanction anyone in the world, including Iran, is through the fraudulent US dollar monetary system, which has been designed totally privately and for the benefit of the Zionist banking cabal. The Federal Reserve Act in itself a fraud, prepared by a few Wall Street bankers and presented under false pretenses to the then President Woodrow Wilson. When President Wilson signed it in December 1913, the Act converted into the Federal Reserve Bank, acting as the US Central Bank, a totally privately owned institution.

Mr. Wilson has been quoted as saying (1919): I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is now controlled by its system of credit. We are no longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men.

Ever since the dollar has wreaked havoc around the world, especially as it became de facto the worlds reserve currency. Once the IMF by orders of the US Treasury abandoned the gold standard in 1971, countries around the world converted large portions of their reserves into dollar denominated securities, amounting to more than 90% some 20 years ago.

Today this proportion has diminished drastically, hovering between 50% and 60% and sliding further, especially since the Chinese Yuan was admitted officially into the IMFs basket of now five reserve currencies US$, British Pound, Euro, Japanese Yen and the Chinese Yuan which make up the Special Drawing Rights (SDR), a virtual currency, often also used as reserve currency.

The two Breton Woods international financial institutions, the World Bank and the IMF, created by impulse of the United States in 1944, just after WWII, under the Charter of the United Nations to give them more legitimacy, are indeed also just instruments of Washington to manipulate the US dollar bound economies (which includes also the Euro). Their neoliberal structural adjustment type operations, for which they have invented different euphemisms to disguise the misery that structural adjustments have created and continue to create in poor but resource rich countries, are sanctions or a type of blackmail privatize your public services and natural resources or perish under debt.

An important part of Resistance Economy is, therefore, for a country to detach herself from these two institutions, as well as gradually but steadily also from the dollar based western economy. Look East. Thats where the future is. Iran is already doing this, by adhering to the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization). There is a strong axis of economic development forming Russia-China-Iran promoting the OBOR One Belt-One Road, also called the new Silk Road a massive economic development program, initiated a few years ago by Chinas President XI Jinping. This project purports to link Vladivostok with Lisbon and Shanghai with Hamburg and everything in between, with transportation networks, industrial and agricultural development, as well as universities and research institutes for scientific new developments.

The West is pass by auto-destruction, through greed-driven wars and conflicts and constant terror acts, lies and deceptions.

Q: Ayatollah Khamenei insists on enriching the capacity of domestic production as one of the principles ofeconomy of resistance. Whats your take on that?

PK: The Ayatollah is 100% right. Domestic production (local production for local markets), not only reduces dependence on imports and foreign (dollar-based) currencies, but it is also one of the fastest way of building local capacity, in production, technology and research. Domestic production uses (mostly) local capital, and adds value inside Iran; it helps accelerating distributive power of GDP which is a key factor of bringing more equality into society. A more balanced society is also a more productive society, as it enjoys increased well-being for all. It is an upwards spiral.

China until the mid-eighties had a Resistance Economy the goal of becoming self-sufficient, in nutrition, health care and education before opening the borders to foreign investors. A couple of years ago, after the west imposed its totally illegal and criminal sanctions on Russia, Mr. Putin said this was the best thing that could have happened to Russia. It forced Russia to become again self-sufficient in agriculture and industrial production, self-sufficiency Russia lost after the western bankster vultures under the Washington Consensus raided Russia immediately after the Fall of the Berlin Wall. In 2015 Russia was the worlds largest exporter of wheat. Today, Russias industrial manufacturing arsenal is one of the worlds most modern, efficient and driven by cutting-edge technology, largely developed by Russian universities and research institutes. This is Resistance Economy at its best.

Q: The Islamic establishment seeks all-out progress, independence from global hegemonic powers, full growth of talents, ridding the country of social maladies and [realizing] national dignity and security and might.The quote highlights Ayatollah Khameneis definition of development and progress; comparing it with development theories, whats novel in this definition in your idea?

PK: This statement shows a clear determination to seek independence from the western destructive banking and monetary system, as well as from the neoliberal export and international commerce oriented economy. What drives western economies is globalization which is aiming at making developing and / or resources rich countries dependent on the Washington banking hegemon and its mostly European vassals. It aims at a unipolar world, a One World Order or New World Order (NWO) which would gradually eliminate the variety of the worlds cultures, replacing them by the Zionist-Anglo-Saxon non-culture. Ever since the Washington Consensus (1989) was defined and decided by the three key purveyors of the US-dollar hegemony, the FED (again, totally privately owned, dominated by the Rothschild, Rockefeller et all banking clan), individual countries sovereignty is being rapidly eroded, by imposed monetary policies, indebtedness, WTO imposed trade rules and other Consensus lies and deception about faster growth. WTO was in fact the third of the Bretons Woods Organizations which failed to be approved at the BW Conference, but emerged later as the foster child of the US and the European Union.

Globalization is not equal to internationalism. An internationalist seeks harmony, social justice and equality worldwide and not hegemony, segregation and oppression of the poor and destitute.

According to Jean Ziegler, one of Europes last true internationalists, a socialist, a member of the UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee in Geneva, WWIII against developing countries has started long ago. It has killed 54 million people in 2016 through wars and other armed conflicts, famine every 5 second a child dies from malnutrition contaminated drinking water, lack of hygiene, epidemics that, according to WHO, have been overcome since decades all of which contribute to increased child mortality and all of which would be avoidable, but is largely the result of greed driven globalization. Globalization is a killer. And the world is slowly but surely waking up to this fact.

Q: Considering the long lasting economic sanctions on Iran mostly imposed by US can we say Iran is in an economic deadlock? Or the time of unilateral economic sanctions has come to an end?

PK: Iran is NOT in an economic deadlock. Iran is taking all the necessary and precautionary steps to circumvent US and western vassals imposed criminal sanctions. As I said at the beginning, they can only prevail as long as a country follows the dictate of the western monetary system. Iran is well on her way to get out of that fraudulent system, by association with China and Russia and the SCO countries, plus India and Pakistan. These countries, already largely de-dollarized, have about half of the worlds population and control more than one third of the worlds GDP. Thats a great perspective for independence.

The process is not instantaneous, does not happen overnight but will still take some time. Because the empire is trying hard to delay the process of its disintegration. It is time and again threatening with war or blackmailing countries into continuing following the dollar hegemony. Washington also uses proxies to subdue and aggress nations, i.e. Saudi Arabia to murder women and children in Yemen, and to support and finance ISIS in Syria and the Zionist regime, those who call the shots in the US Congress, the only Middle Eastern nuclear power, they may still pose a real threat for Iran. But Iran is prepared and has strong allies Russia and China, and Netanyahu knows it.

The process of breaking loose from the west, requires perseverance. But with steadfast political will, exit from this decaying system is possible. Iran is well on her way to a new, peaceful and constructive economic system. And best of all, Iran is a bright and shining light for other countries to follow, like Venezuela, Brazil, North Korea even Europe, those in Europe who are tired of the Washington dictate, but so far havent dared taking the actions needed to gain back their national sovereignty. Thats Key. Being aware of what national sovereignty means is a vital part of Resistance Economy.

Peter Koenig is an economist and geopolitical analyst. He is also a former World Bank staff and worked extensively around the world in the fields of environment and water resources. He lectures at universities in the US, Europe and South America. He writes regularly for Global Research, ICH, RT, Sputnik, PressTV, The 4th Media (China), TeleSUR, The Vineyard of The Saker Blog, and other internet sites. He is the author of Implosion An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed fiction based on facts and on 30 years of World Bank experience around the globe. He is also a co-author of The World Order and Revolution! Essays from the Resistance.

Read this article:

Iran And Her Economy of Resistance - Center for Research on Globalization

Posted in Resource Based Economy | Comments Off on Iran And Her Economy of Resistance – Center for Research on Globalization

Automation: The Beat Goes On | National Review – National Review

Posted: at 8:17 pm

The New York Times:

Who is winning the race for jobs between robots and humans? Last year, two leading economists described a future in which humans come out ahead. But now theyve declared a different winner: the robots.

The industry most affected by automation is manufacturing. For every robot per thousand workers, up to six workers lost their jobs and wages fell by as much as three-fourths of a percent, according to a new paper by the economists, Daron Acemoglu of M.I.T. and Pascual Restrepo of Boston University. It appears to be the first study to quantify large, direct, negative effects of robots.

The paper is all the more significant because the researchers, whose work is highly regarded in their field, had been more sanguine about the effect of technology on jobs. In a paper last year, they said it was likely that increased automation would create new, better jobs, so employment and wages would eventually return to their previous levels. Just as cranes replaced dockworkers but created related jobs for engineers and financiers, the theory goes, new technology has created new jobs for software developers and data analysts.

The first half of that last sentence points to one small problem:How many of those dockworkers became financiers and engineers?

The two researchers have now, the Times reports, turned their attention to real-world data and:

The researchers said they were surprised to see very little employment increase in other occupations to offset the job losses in manufacturing. That increase could still happen, they said, but for now there are large numbers of people out of work, with no clear path forward especially blue-collar men without college degrees.

The conclusion is that even if overall employment and wages recover, there will be losers in the process, and its going to take a very long time for these communities to recover, Mr. Acemoglu said.

A very long time.

As a reminder, real wages in Britain stagnated for most of the first half of the 19th Century even as GDP, boosted by new technology, grew rapidly, a pause (dubbed the Engels Pause by the British economist Robert Allen) that was to have very real political consequences. Who was that Engels fellow again?

The Guardian:

As of 2015, a typical production worker in the US earned about 9% less than a comparable worker in 1973. Over the same 42 years, the American economy grew by more than 200%, or a staggering $11tn.

Now think about the implications of self-driving trucks.

And then take a look at the chart here that shows themost common job in each state.

Continued here:

Automation: The Beat Goes On | National Review - National Review

Posted in Automation | Comments Off on Automation: The Beat Goes On | National Review – National Review

Why Cross-Domain Capabilities Matter for Automation: Two Business Scenarios – Network World

Posted: at 8:17 pm

Brocade networking solutions help the worlds leading organizations turn their networks into platforms for business innovation as they transition to todays era of digital business.

sponsored

The digital economy has IT up against the wall. Lines of business are focused on boosting innovation and enhancing the customer experience through digital transformation initiatives, but network complexity can be a significant obstacle for IT. According to one study, 75% of CIOs admit that the network is impacting their organizations ability to achieve business goals, with an estimated 35% of all network downtime attributed to human error.

This problem has understandably led IT to embrace automation in each technology domain, including the network, as a means of accelerating service delivery. But automating service delivery within each domain alone isn't enough. There must be seamless automation across the entire data center, or the ability to perform consistently and efficiently will suffer serious setbacks. Its this growing need for agility and operational efficiency that ultimately validates the business case for introducing open, cross-domain automation capabilities.

Simply automating and orchestrating a single domain within the IT services delivery chain fails to address the desired agility and efficiency goals. After all, even when operating with automated, functional silos (including network, compute, storage, and applications), the execution of tasks spanning multiple domains is unacceptably time-intensive. The innovation velocity and efficiency associated with cross-domain automation is what ultimately enables digital transformation.

Consider a business unit that is launching an ad campaign for a new product and expecting a massive influx of online orders. The ability of the website to meet this demand is critical to the success of the campaign, the product launch, and the business itself. However, at the peak of the campaign, a critical network link to the companys main database server goes downcutting off the ability to deliver dynamic web content and process orders.

While this would be catastrophic for most organizations, its not for an organization equipped with open, cross-domain automation:

The total time to recovery is approximately one to two minutes.

However, in an organization that lacks open, cross-domain automation the same scenario is riddled with latency and delays. Heres the same workflow as before, only executed using a manual workflow common to most organizations:

The total time to recovery in this scenario is approximately 25 to 55 minutes.

Although both scenarios involve cross-domain technologies and platforms, in the first scenario critical website services are down for less than two minutes. In contrast, manually re-establishing the same critical services could take nearly an hour. In a time-sensitive campaign like this, each minute of downtime represents significant potential revenue loss. Even worse is the incalculable negative impact to the reputation of the business.

Open, cross-domain automation works by combining workflow actions with sensors installed as inbound integration points designed to watch for specific events from cross-domain technologies and platforms. With this configuration events will trigger the corresponding workflow based upon predefined rules and If This, Then That (IFTTT) logic.

Actions are outbound integration points that execute commands on external systems such as the network device or ticketing system in the previous scenarios. When executed via workflows, cross-domain execution is nearly instantaneous with support staff being made aware and required to act only if the workflow automation is unable to rectify the problem.

With this unique, open, and customizable approach, workflows can respond to events and execute actions in a programmatic way on any network device, cross-domain platform, or application. As a result, IT organizations can respond to requests faster and operate more efficiently to help the business thrive.

For more guidance on modern automation strategies, visit our Network World blog page.

To learn more about Brocades advanced automation solutions, visit us here.

Follow everything from Network World

Sponsored Links

Follow this link:

Why Cross-Domain Capabilities Matter for Automation: Two Business Scenarios - Network World

Posted in Automation | Comments Off on Why Cross-Domain Capabilities Matter for Automation: Two Business Scenarios – Network World

Fear of Automation’s Dark Side Leads to Calls for Action – Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Posted: at 8:17 pm

Fear of Automation's Dark Side Leads to Calls for Action
Wall Street Journal (subscription)
But he also expects that leaps forward in related automation technology will put many people out of work, and he's one of several Silicon Valley investors who think it's unfair to expect society to adapt without offering help to people who are at risk ...

Read the rest here:

Fear of Automation's Dark Side Leads to Calls for Action - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Posted in Automation | Comments Off on Fear of Automation’s Dark Side Leads to Calls for Action – Wall Street Journal (subscription)