Uncategorized

Baugur Group among others buy Illum Warehouse Denmark

Friday, August 5, 2005

I-Holding ehf, a Icelandic investment company owned by Baugur Group, Straumur investment bank, B2B Holdings and Birgis Bieltvedts, has bought 80% in Illum warehouse in Denmark from Merrill Lynch International Global Principal Investment. The same group recently bought Wessel & Vett A/S and Magasin du Nord, so it already owned 20% in Illum.

Illum will be run separately from Magasin du Nord.

Illum reported a profit and 11% gain in sales the first three months of 2005.

Skarphéðni Berg Steinarssyni from Nordic Investment at Baugur Group said the Danish retail market is increasing and they believe in Illum because it’s a well known brand in Denmark.

Icelanders invest in Denmark and UK

Icelandic companies have been investing heavily in Denmark for the last few years. Recently the Fons Investment ehf. bought the Danish airlines Sterling Air and Mearsk Air. Eimskip, a shipping company in Iceland, recently bought the shipping division of Mearsk. I-Holdings have been investing heavily in the Denish retailer market.

Baugur Group, as well as FL Group, have been investing in the UK market. FL Group has bought 11% in easyJet.com and has shown an interest in buying more. Baugur Group has been investing in the retailer market and has bought among other things Iceland supermarket chain as well as Hamleys, a well known toy store.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Baugur_Group_among_others_buy_Illum_Warehouse_Denmark&oldid=715606”
Uncategorized

Eastern Conference wins 2008 NBA All-Star Game

Monday, February 18, 2008

Eastern Conference 134 128 Western Conference

The Eastern Conference defeated their Western Conference counterparts at the 2008 National Basketball Association All-Star Game held at New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana on Sunday. The final score was 134-128.

The East took an early 11 point lead in the first 5 minutes, due to an injured Kobe Bryant only playing 2 minutes before sitting on the bench for the rest of the game. “There’s one player we really, really missed, and that was Kobe,” said West coach Byron Scott. The West later reduced the lead to 2 points, but at halftime, the East led 74-65.

The West trailed by 13 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but rallied behind New Orleans point guard Chris Paul, who had seven assists in the final period. With 2:48 remaining, Brandon Roy scored a layup on an assist from Paul, giving the West a 122-119 lead, their biggest lead of the game.

The East then answered back with two three-pointers from Ray Allen, before Chris Paul tied the game with a three-pointer of his own. However, the East would then take the lead and the game with layups from Dwyane Wade and Allen, as well as a driving dunk from LeBron James. A Brandon Roy three-pointer put the game within three points with 8.7 seconds left, but 3 free throws from Ray Allen sealed the win for the East.

“The fourth quarter was crazy,” said Chris Paul. “We were down 13. We picked up the intensity. We took the lead a few times but Ray Allen was unbelievable the way he shot the ball. And that last dunk by LeBron, we had two people on him but that still wasn’t enough.”

With 27 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists, James was named the All-Star Game’s Most Valuable Player for the second time in his career. Some television commentators also considered Ray Allen a likely choice for the award, with 14 of his 28 points coming in the final 3 minutes of the game. “I think Ray Allen had a heck of a shooting night,” James said after being presented the award.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Eastern_Conference_wins_2008_NBA_All-Star_Game&oldid=620389”
Uncategorized

Ingrid Newkirk, co-founder of PETA, on animal rights and the film about her life

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Last night HBO premiered I Am An Animal: The Story of Ingrid Newkirk and PETA. Since its inception, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has made headlines and raised eyebrows. They are almost single-handedly responsible for the movement against animal testing and their efforts have raised the suffering animals experience in a broad spectrum of consumer goods production and food processing into a cause célèbre.

PETA first made headlines in the Silver Spring monkeys case, when Alex Pacheco, then a student at George Washington University, volunteered at a lab run by Edward Taub, who was testing neuroplasticity on live monkeys. Taub had cut sensory ganglia that supplied nerves to the monkeys’ fingers, hands, arms, legs; with some of the monkeys, he had severed the entire spinal column. He then tried to force the monkeys to use their limbs by exposing them to persistent electric shock, prolonged physical restraint of an intact arm or leg, and by withholding food. With footage obtained by Pacheco, Taub was convicted of six counts of animal cruelty—largely as a result of the monkeys’ reported living conditions—making them “the most famous lab animals in history,” according to psychiatrist Norman Doidge. Taub’s conviction was later overturned on appeal and the monkeys were eventually euthanized.

PETA was born.

In the subsequent decades they ran the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty against Europe’s largest animal-testing facility (footage showed staff punching beagle puppies in the face, shouting at them, and simulating sex acts while taking blood samples); against Covance, the United State’s largest importer of primates for laboratory research (evidence was found that they were dissecting monkeys at its Vienna, Virginia laboratory while the animals were still alive); against General Motors for using live animals in crash tests; against L’Oreal for testing cosmetics on animals; against the use of fur for fashion and fur farms; against Smithfield Foods for torturing Butterball turkeys; and against fast food chains, most recently against KFC through the launch of their website kentuckyfriedcruelty.com.

They have launched campaigns and engaged in stunts that are designed for media attention. In 1996, PETA activists famously threw a dead raccoon onto the table of Anna Wintour, the fur supporting editor-in-chief of Vogue, while she was dining at the Four Seasons in New York, and left bloody paw prints and the words “Fur Hag” on the steps of her home. They ran a campaign entitled Holocaust on your Plate that consisted of eight 60-square-foot panels, each juxtaposing images of the Holocaust with images of factory farming. Photographs of concentration camp inmates in wooden bunks were shown next to photographs of caged chickens, and piled bodies of Holocaust victims next to a pile of pig carcasses. In 2003 in Jerusalem, after a donkey was loaded with explosives and blown up in a terrorist attack, Newkirk sent a letter to then-PLO leader Yasser Arafat to keep animals out of the conflict. As the film shows, they also took over Jean-Paul Gaultier‘s Paris boutique and smeared blood on the windows to protest his use of fur in his clothing.

The group’s tactics have been criticized. Co-founder Pacheco, who is no longer with PETA, called them “stupid human tricks.” Some feminists criticize their campaigns featuring the Lettuce Ladies and “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” ads as objectifying women. Of their Holocaust on a Plate campaign, Anti-Defamation League Chairman Abraham Foxman said “The effort by PETA to compare the deliberate systematic murder of millions of Jews to the issue of animal rights is abhorrent.” (Newkirk later issued an apology for any hurt it caused). Perhaps most controversial amongst politicians, the public and even other animal rights organizations is PETA’s refusal to condemn the actions of the Animal Liberation Front, which in January 2005 was named as a terrorist threat by the United States Department of Homeland Security.

David Shankbone attended the pre-release screening of I Am An Animal at HBO’s offices in New York City on November 12, and the following day he sat down with Ingrid Newkirk to discuss her perspectives on PETA, animal rights, her responses to criticism lodged against her and to discuss her on-going life’s work to raise human awareness of animal suffering. Below is her interview.

This exclusive interview features first-hand journalism by a Wikinews reporter. See the collaboration page for more details.
Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Ingrid_Newkirk,_co-founder_of_PETA,_on_animal_rights_and_the_film_about_her_life&oldid=4381126”
Jewelry

Plan Your Jewelry For The Kitty Parties

Plan your jewelry for the Kitty Parties

by

swati A

Kitty Party – an urban trend which enthralls women from all walks of life whether housewives, entrepreneurs or working professionals. It is a kitchen where innovative ideas, themes, gossip and discussions are cooked up. It is a normal get-together or a social hub for ladies to bond over various things ranging from emotional ups and downs to fashion and more. Kitty parties are the perfect occasions to flaunt ones style statement and love for fashion. Complementing the vibes of excitement at the kitty party, women represent their own taste for fashion with their gorgeous dresses accompanied by matching footwear and fantastic jewelry pieces.

You have so much to experiment with kitty party jewelry in the chilling winters. Bright coloured pendants, big drop earrings and chunky cocktail rings will surely complement the foggy and dull winters. Multicolored gemstones beautifully set in layered bracelets, long necklaces or some artistically fashionable irregular earrings are sure to rock your simple saree. Such lively jewelry generally carries a glimpse of high fashion mixed with street style chic. Whereas, if you re looking for something for your western attires, turn to the beaten gold jewelry inspired by the Egyptian style of jewelry or Cleopatra s broad bracelets which go perfectly well with glam hair and makeup. Wear a vivacious statement piece to complement your trench coats will grab all eyes without overdoing it. For your kitty parties, take a leap from the usual and turn to fashion trends – milky white, translucent gemstone jewelry is like the last minute dash of style to make your outfit POP!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEbgsuAR-s0[/youtube]

Kitty party jewellery has always been the talk of town because of their reasonable price and playful silver designs, opening gates of imagination for experimentation and giving birth to new fashion trends. You can shop for kitty party jewelry at the online jewelry stores. Online collections like The Cocktail Collection and Candy collection are the favorites for kitty party jewelry. Here products are segregated according to the occasion, price, gemstone, style, category, brand, stone, metal and price. One can simply select the product of their choice and voila! You have your perfect piece. The range of glamorous, ornamental, delicate and romantic fashion jewelry available online and under one jewelry site gives you numerous options to choose from at affordable prices, thereby saving you time and money. Apart from the exquisite collections, some attractive features of online jewelry shopping are the lifetime buyback and exchange policies. So, if you are bored of your jewelry, just go back and exchange your old piece for a new one.

Online jewellery websites

are always directed to make you shine with their stunning collections, loyal customer service, genuine (BIS hallmark and IGI certified) products and features like free shipping, 30-day replacement and much more.

When wearing Jewelry for kitty parties, remember it defines your outlook towards fashion and style. Fashion jewellery has so many options to match all your attires and their vibrant colours. Kitty parties are based on themes, so the jewelry worn on this day should be in sync with the pre-decided theme. This is the time to experiment and create a special look. So go ahead, think outside the box. Make it special.

21Diamonds.in

is the leading online jewellery shopping website catering to all your fashion jewellery related needs. Swati is a freelance writer and has written many articles on

latest diamond jewellery

trends, latest jewellery launches, styling tips. She has also studied and written articles on the online market trends.

Article Source:

ArticleRich.com

Uncategorized

Netta wins Eurovision Song Contest for Israel

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

On Saturday, Israel won its fourth victory, first since 1998, at the Eurovision Song Contest, held at Lisbon’s Altice Arena in Portugal. Netta Barzilai’s song Toy won 529 points from public and professional judges. Cyprus and Austria finished second and third respectively with 436 and 342 points.

Out of 43 countries participating this time, 26 countries including hosts Portugal and the Big Five — France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom — competed in the finals. The competition began on May 8. Spain and United Kingdom finished in the bottom five while the hosts and last year’s winners, Portugal, ended up at the bottom of the vote ranking; collecting respectively 61, 48, and 39 points.

Israel won the first semi-final round with 283 points. The 25-year-old Netta won the HaKokhav HaBa competition earlier this year to represent the country in this contest. Netta performed Toy, written by Doron Medalie and Stav Beger, with a Chicken Dance and chicken noises. With a lot of scat singing involved, the song lyrics included, “I’m not your toy; you stupid boy”. Her performance included 112 Maneki-nekos, Japanese beckoning cats used as lucky charms, which were placed in two shelves.

Apart from the Japanese Maneki-neko dolls, Netta wore a kimono; a Japanese dress, styled her hair in two buns as well as referenced Pokémon, a Japanese anime and video game, in her song, which led to some people including Portuguese writer Joana Ramiro to point out cultural appropriations in her performance. “Can I, however, ask if anyone here has already commented on the quite shocking Japanese cultural bastardisation-appropriation going on in Netta’s song?”, Ramiro tweeted.

Shortly after the contest began, last year’s winner Salvador Sobral called Toy “a horrible song”. In an interview with Wiwibloggs, Sobral said, “YouTube thought I would like the Israeli song. I opened it and a horrible song came out of it.” After winning the contest in Ukraine last year, Sobral had said, “We live in a world of disposable music; fast food music without any content. I think this could be a victory for music with people who make music that actually means something […] Music is not fireworks; music is feeling. So let’s try to change this and bring music back.” Toy’s performance used strobe lighting and quirky noises.

After Netta was declared the winner, she said, “Thank you so much for choosing different. Thank you so much for accepting differences between us. Thank you for celebrating diversity. Thank you. I love my country. Next year in Jerusalem.” Previously, Israel won the contest in 1978 and 1979, and 1998.

UK’s artist SuRie, who performed Storm, was interrupted in her performance when a stage invader snatched her microphone. UK was given another chance to perform, but SuRie declined after discussing with her team. SuRie said, “We had that conversation, but I was really proud of that performance.” “You don’t get to do the 100m sprint at the Olympics again because your shoelace is untied or something. You had that one shot and that was my moment, and we didn’t need to repeat that […] We had those conversations backstage, I saw the reaction and faces of my team, who were very proud of the recovery and the power of that, and we didn’t need to go again”, the British singer added.

As the winner of this edition of the competition, Israel is to host next year’s competition. Last year, then 27-year-old Salvador Sobral won the competition, receiving 758 points for the song Amar Pelos Dois, a ballad written by his sister.

For the preparations of next year’s contest, Israeli Deputy Health Minister Ya’akov Litzman wrote a letter to Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev asking shabbat, the Jewish holy day to rest, not to be violated. In the letter, he wrote, “In the name of hundreds of thousands of Jewish citizens from all the populations and communities for whom Shabbat observance is close to their hearts, I appeal to you, already at this early stage, before production and all the other details of the event has begun, to be strict [in ensuring] that this matter does not harm the holiness of Shabbat and to work in every way to prevent the desecration of Shabbat, God forbid, as the law and the status quo requires”. Last year, he submitted resignation after Jewish workers were made to undertake railway work on shabbat. That time, both Israeli welfare minister Haim Katz and Israeli transportation minister Yisrael Katz expressed potential threat to passengers if the railway work was postponed.

Order Country Artist(s) Song Music & lyrics Total points Ranking
01 ?? Ukraine Mélovin Under the Ladder Mélovin & Mike Ryals 130 17
02 ?? Spain Amaia & Alfred Tu canción Raul Gomez Garcia, Sylvia Ruth Santoro Lopez 61 23
03 ?? Slovenia Lea Sirk Hvala, ne! Lea Sirk, Tomy DeClerque & Lea Sirk 64 22
04 ?? Lithuania Ieva Zasimauskait? When We’re Old Vytautas Bikus 181 12
05 ?? Austria Cesár Sampson Nobody but You Sebastian Arman, Cesár Sampson, Joacim Persson, Johan Alkenäs, Borislav Milanov 342 3
06 ?? Estonia Elina Nechayeva La forza Mihkel Mattinsen, Timo Vendt & Elina Nechayeva, Ksenia Kuchukova 245 8
07 ?? Norway Alexander Rybak That’s How You Write a Song Alexander Rybak 144 15
08 ?? Portugal Cláudia Pascoal O Jardim Isaura 39 26
09 ?? United Kingdom SuRie Storm Nicole Blair, Gill Lewis, Sean Hergreaves 48 24
10 ?? Serbia Sanja Ili? & Balkanika Nova deca Aleksandar Sanja Ili?, Tatjana Karajanov Ili? & Danica Krstaji? 113 19
11 ?? Germany Michael Schulte You Let Me Walk Alone Michael Schulte, Thomas Stengaard, Katharina Müller, Nisse Ingwersen 340 4
12 ?? Albania Eugent Bushpepa Mall Eugent Bushpepa 184 11
13 ?? France Madame Monsieur Mercy Emilie Satt, Jean-Karl Lucas 173 13
14 ?? Czech Republic Mikoláš Josef Lie to Me Mikoláš Josef 281 6
15 ?? Denmark Rasmussen Higher Ground Niclas Arn, Karl Eurén 226 9
16 ?? Australia Jessica Mauboy We Got Love Anthony Egizii, David Musumeci & Anthony Egizii, David Musumeci, Jessica Mauboy 99 20
17 ?? Finland Saara Aalto Monsters Saara Alto, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb, Ki Fitzgerald 46 25
18 ?? Bulgaria Equinox Bones Borislav Milanov, Joacim Persson, Brandon Treyshun Campbell, Dag Lundberg 166 14
19 ?? Moldova DoReDoS My Lucky Day Philipp Kirkorov & John Ballard 209 10
20 ?? Sweden Benjamin Ingrosso Dance You Off MAG, Louis Schoorl & K Nita, Benjamin Ingrosso 274 7
21 ?? Hungary AWS Viszlát nyár Dániel Kökényes, Bence Brucker, Áron Veress, Soma Schiszler & Örs Siklósi 93 21
22 ?? Israel Netta Barzilai Toy Doron Medalie, Stav Beger 529 1
23 ?? Netherlands, The Waylon Outlaw in ‘Em Waylon, Ilya Toshinskiy, Jim Beavers 121 18
24 ?? Ireland Ryan O’Shaughnessy Together Ryan O’Shaughnessy, Mark Caplice, Laura Elizabeth Hughes 136 16
25 ?? Cyprus Eleni Foureira Fuego Alex Papaconstantinou, Geraldo Sandell, Anderz Wrethov, Viktor Svensson, Didrick 436 2
26 ?? Italy Ermal Meta and Fabrizio Moro Non mi avete fatto niente Ermal Meta, Fabrizio Moro, Andrea Febo 308 5

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Netta_wins_Eurovision_Song_Contest_for_Israel&oldid=4557022”
Uncategorized

Ford Motor Company cutting 30,000 jobs by 2012

Monday, January 23, 2006

The Ford Motor Company, the second-largest car manufacturer in America, will cut 30,000 jobs and 14 plants as part of a restructuring plan to relieve Ford after a US$1.6 billion loss last year in North American sales.

The plan, called “Way Forward”, the brainchild of Ford’s Chief Executive Officer, William Clay Ford Jr., is to end Ford’s North American losses by 2008. To accomplish this 30,000 jobs which make up 20 to 25 percent of Ford’s North American workforce of 122,000 people will be cut and 14 plants will be closed in order to bring Ford’s production capacity in line with demand.

By the end of this year, the Atlanta and St. Louis plants will be closed. Atlanta makes the Ford Taurus sedan, which is being phased out. The St. Louis plant is one of two plants that manufactures the Ford Explorer, whose sales had a 29% decline in 2005. It will also close its Wixom, Michigan plant, Batavia Transmission in Ohio the Windsor Casting plant in Ontario which was previously announced by Ford that it was to be closed after contract negotiations with the Canadian Auto Workers union.

The plant in St. Thomas, Ontario plant will have one shift cut from it. The plant makes the Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis cars. On this cut of the one shift, Whitey MacDonald, chairperson of Local 1520, Canadian Auto Workers union said “There is a lot of anger here today, there is no doubt about it. Any time a plant goes to one shift, it puts them in limbo. This car has made the company millions of dollars over the years they have invested in other products and locations – we are entitled to some new investment given our track record.”

Positive news for the plant is that Ford is still committed to invest $200 million into the plant to upgrade the appearance of the two cars manufactured there. On the contrary, according to Automotive analyst Dennis DesRosier believes that the factory is still “likely” to close. DesRoiser said, “The St. Thomas plant is old, the product is old, it make sense it is on that list. This may be just a short-term reprieve, it may be look at permanent closure in two to three years.”

Two more plants will close in 2008, another two in 2012. Two more plants to be closed are to be announced later this year. Also, Ford will fire 12% of its 53 executive officers.

Due to the company’s current contract with the United Auto Workers union, workers at the idled plants will still be receiving their pay and benefits until Ford negotiates a new contract with the union. However, the workers may not earn what they earn today because they will not be eligible for overtime.

The UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and Vice President Gerald Bantom called say the plan is “extremely disappointing.” The UAW issued statement saying “The impacted hourly and salaried workers find themselves facing uncertain futures because of senior management’s failure to halt Ford’s sliding market share. The announcement has further left a cloud hanging over the entire work force because of pending future announcements of additional facilities to be closed at some point in the future.”

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Ford_Motor_Company_cutting_30,000_jobs_by_2012&oldid=4462716”
Uncategorized

Wikinews investigates: Advertisements disguised as news articles trick unknowing users out of money, credit card information

 Notice — May 19, 2010 This article has been judged, by consensus of the Wikinews community, not to meet Wikinews standards of style and neutrality. Please see the relevant discussion for details. 

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

The Internet has already brought great things to the world, but has also brought spam, phishing, scamming, etc. We all have seen them across the Internet. They promise money, weight loss, or other things a person may strive for, but they usually amount to only a lighter pocket. Online advertising has become something that the increasingly Internet-reliant society has become used to, as well as more aware of. As this is true, online ads have become more intricate and deceptive in recent years.

However, a certain type of advertisement has arisen recently, and has become more deceptive than any other Internet ad, and has tricked many users into credit card charges. These sites claim to be news websites that preach a “miracle product”, and they offer a free trial, and then charge the user’s credit card a large amount of money without informing them after the trial ends. These sites appear to be operating under one venture and have caught ad pages of high-traffic websites by storm. In this report, Wikinews’ Tjc6 investigates news advertisement sites.

These Internet ads work in different ways:

Hypothetically speaking, a reader is browsing the web, and then happens to come across something that they believe is too good to be true. A link on one of these high-traffic pages promises white teeth, weight loss, or huge profits from working at home part-time. Out of curiosity, they click on the link.

This is the way that people are attracted to these fake news sites on the internet. The domain owners draw in customers by purchasing advertising on some of the World Wide Web’s most visited pages. Curious users click and are led to what they believe is a news article. From anti-aging to shedding weight, these “articles” from non-existant newspapers and television stations depict a skeptical news reporter trying a product because they were instructed to by a superior.

As the user reads on, they find that the “reporter” miraculously achieves significant weight loss, teeth whitening, or other general health and beauty improvement. The reporter states that the reader can get the same results as they did by using a “free trial” of the product.

Next, the user looks to the bottom of the page, where there seems to be a set of user comments, all of them praising the product or products that are advertised — this is where we first see something suspicious. Across several of these false articles, the comments appear to show the exact same text, sometimes with even the same usernames as other sites.

There is obviously some kind of correlation. Although this appears to be true, most users who purchase these products do not look at multiple versions of these similar pages of what appears to be a fast-growing network of interconnected fake news sites.

Once customers have convinced themselves into buying the product, they are led to a product (or products) website which promises a free trial for a very low price. What they do not know about this, however, is that they are giving their credit card data to a company that will charge it automatically after the trial ends. In about 14 days, the user receives a charge on their credit card for an excessive amount of money, usually from about $80 to $100 (USD). All attempts to contact these companies and cancel their shipments usually prove to be futile.

What these sites have is a large amount of legal copy located at the bottom of each site, stating their right to charge the user. This site, a fake news article claiming to offer teeth-whitening benefits, has several paragraphs of fine print, including this: “…Upon signing up for the 10 day trial membership you will be charged up to $4.97 depending on various shipping and initial offer promotions at that time but not more than $4.97 upon signing. If not cancelled, you will be charged $89.97 upon completion of the 10 day trial period. Monthly thereafter or 30 days from the original order date, the charge will reoccur monthly at a total of $89.97 until cancelled…,” the site says.

Practices like this have alerted the Better Business Bureau, an American organization that studies and reports on the reliability and practices of US businesses. In a press release, a spokesman from the BBB spoke out against sites like this. “Many businesses across the country are using the same selling model for their products: They lure customers in with claimed celebrity endorsements and free trial offers, and then lock them in by making it extremely difficult to cancel the automatic delivery of more products every month…,” said the report that denounced the websites.

When a user looks at several of these sites, they notice that all of them have the same exact structure. Because of this, Wikinews decided to look into where some of the domains were owned, and if they were all in fact part of one company.

However, the results that Wikinews found were ones that were not expected. Out of the three random websites that were found in Internet ads, all using similar designs and methods to attract the customers, came from three different locations in three countries and two separate continents. The first came from Scottsdale, in the United States, while the next two came from Vancouver and Hamburg. There is no location correlation, but surely, there has to be something that connected these sites together. We had to look even further to try to find a connection.

HAVE YOUR SAY
What do you think of these sites? Have you ever fallen for an advertisement similar to this one?
Add or view comments

There is some correlation within the product’s contact information. A large amount of the teeth-whitening products analyzed actually shared the same phone number, which lead to a distribution center located in St. Petersburg, Florida, and several other similar distribution centers located across the Southern United States. But, that explains only one of the categories of products that these websites cover, teeth whitening.

What about the other products? The other products such as weight loss and work-at-home kits all trace back to similar distribution centers in similar places. So, what do we make of all of this?

There is obviously some company that promotes these products through the fake news advertisements, but that company is nowhere to be found on the websites. All contact information is given on the product pages, and websites are copyrighted under the name of the domain, not a company. Whatever company has been the setup for these pages has been very good at hiding themselves from the Internet, as there is no information across the web about that mysterious large advertiser.

As a result of customers buying the products and having unauthorized charges on their credit cards, a large volume of complaints are currently present on awareness sites, complaint sites, and even the Better Business Bureau. Several customers point out that they were not informed of the steep charges and the company made it extremely difficult to cancel their subscription, usually resulting in the loss of several hundred dollars.

  • The trial offer was to pay for $3.95 for the cost of the shipping for one bottle. I noticed shortly after placing the order I had a charge on my credit card for $149.95. Unknown to myself the company charges for a membership if you don’t cancel within 14 days, I cancelled within 18 days…When I called the customer service number they told me the decision has been made and my refund request was denied. When I questioned the person on the other line about what I was getting for my $149.95 she told me I was not getting anything because I cancelled the membership.
?“Tamara”, in a post to the Ripoff Report
  • This is a “free sample” scam: Pay only postage and handling and get a free sample of a tooth whitening system, they say. I looked for the “catch,” something that would indicate that there’d be hidden or recurring charges, but didn’t see anything, and ordered. Sure enough, a couple of weeks later, I see a charge for $88.97 on my bank statement…When I called, the guy answering the phone had obviously answered the same angry question many, many times: “Why has your company charged $88.97 to my card?” “Because you didn’t cancel your subscription in time,” he said tiredly.
?“Elenor”, in a post to the Ripoff Report

One notable lawsuit has occurred as a result of these articles. Some of the articles about work at home kits specifically advertise things like “work for Google”, or “job openings at Google”. However, Google asserts these claims as false and has taken the case to court, as it is a copyright violation. “Thousands of people have been tricked into sending payment information and being charged hidden fees by questionable operations,” said Google in a statement.

The BBB has received over 3,000 complaints about products such as the ones that Google took offense to. The lawsuit has yet to begin in court, and no date has been set.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Wikinews_investigates:_Advertisements_disguised_as_news_articles_trick_unknowing_users_out_of_money,_credit_card_information&oldid=4510983”
Uncategorized

Big Brown victorious in Kentucky Derby, runner-up Eight Belles breaks down

Saturday, May 3, 2008

In a dominating performance, Big Brown triumphed in the 2008 Kentucky Derby. Jockey Kent Desormeaux gave Big Brown a stalking ride, even as he was 4-wide along the backstretch. Once they reached the top of the stretch, Big Brown grabbed the lead and won going away, 4 3/4 lengths away from filly Eight Belles. Desormeaux wins his third Kentucky Derby, while trainer Richard Dutrow savored his victory after having bragged about how well his horse is for the Derby.

There was no possible way Eight Belles could be saved… that’s an injury that’s very painful.

Shortly after the race finished, Eight Belles collapsed on the backstretch, shattering her two front ankles. She was euthanized minutes later. Veterinarian Larry Bramlage conceded that “there was no possible way Eight Belles could be saved… that’s an injury that’s very painful.” The moment was bittersweet for trainer Larry Jones, who sent Eight Belle’s stablemate Proud Spell to victory in the Kentucky Oaks.

Sent off 2-1 as the post-time favorite, Big Brown paid $6.80 to win. The $2 exacta (20-5) paid $141.60. The $1 trifecta (20-5-16) paid a healthy $1,722.80 with 13-1 shot Denis of Cork, and the $1 superfecta (20-5-16-2) paid a very respectable $29,368.90 with 37-1 shot Tale of Ekati.

Big Brown is being pointed to run in the Preakness Stakes on May 17. However, few horses from this year’s Kentucky Derby are looking to follow, opting instead to run in the Belmont Stakes on June 7.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Big_Brown_victorious_in_Kentucky_Derby,_runner-up_Eight_Belles_breaks_down&oldid=3289770”
Uncategorized

Former ‘Top Model’ contestant Whitney Cunningham defends plus size models, celebrates the “regular woman”

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Once you get a chance to talk to West Palm Beach, Florida native Whitney Cunningham, who placed seventh on the eighth cycle of the popular reality TV series America’s Next Top Model, you begin to understand what host Tyra Banks meant when she described her as the “full package.”

First of all, she is confident and headstrong, which is a must on these kinds of shows, almost as much as it is to take a beautiful modelesque picture. Second, she turns that confidence into drive. She has been receiving steady work as a model since leaving the show, and still believes that her goal of being the first woman to wear a size ten dress on the cover of Vogue is in reach. Third, and probably most important to television viewers, she obliterates the age-old model stereotype that to be pretty and photograph well, one must also be vapid and without a thought. A graduate of Dartmouth College, Cunningham also dreams of becoming a writer, and is working toward dual goals: a model who can express herself like no other model before her.

Cunningham recently sat down with Wikinews reporter Mike Halterman in an impassioned interview, taking hours to field questions from the reporter as well as from fans of America’s Next Top Model. Always in high spirits, Cunningham shows that she is a distinct personality who has carved her own niche in the Top Model history books. At the same time, she exhibits a joie de vivre that is oddly reminiscent of earlier Top Model fan favorite Toccara Jones, who showed America just how to be “big, black, beautiful and loving it.” However, Cunningham is quick to remind everyone that she isn’t big at all; she is simply a regular woman.

This is the first in a series of interviews with America’s Next Top Model contestants. Interviews will be published sporadically.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Former_%27Top_Model%27_contestant_Whitney_Cunningham_defends_plus_size_models,_celebrates_the_%22regular_woman%22&oldid=1531562”
Music Chart

Searching For The Very Best Moving Company In Chicago

byAlma Abell

Moving into a new home or office can be quite stressful because it is such a huge undertaking. Many people rent a truck and try and do everything on their own. This takes a lot of time and effort, and only adds to the stress. It is much better to work with a professional who will handle all of the hard work for you. When searching for the very Best Moving Company in Chicago, it is a good idea to choose a provider who is experienced in both commercial and residential moves. They should also offer a wide variety of service options and affordable prices.

It is very helpful to work with a company that provides packing supplies that are needed, such as bubble wrap, mattress covers, tape, various sizes of boxes, labels, shrink wrap and much more. These items will help you to pack your items much more efficiently, and there will be a smaller chance that they will get broken. They should also blanket-wrap all of your furniture, as well as pack and crate all of your fragile items. This is why it is important to choose an experienced company. You will want to ensure that all of your fragile items, such as a piano or a mirror, will get safely to your destination.

Affordable pricing is something else that is important when selecting a mover. It is always a good idea to contact the company in order to request a free estimate for their service. This will help you to make a great choice. You should also Visit the website of the provider whom you are interested in working with. You can learn more about the company and the type of experience they have to offer. You can also learn more about the services they provide.

Working with the Best Moving Company in Chicago will ensure your move is stress-free and successful. It is much more affordable to hire a professional than one might imagine. It is worth every penny because it will take all of the stress off of your shoulders and allow you to concentrate on other matters.