Hasta La Gadget!

Pictured: Tribune Publishing chairman Michael Ferro

If nothing else, Gannett’s $864 million takeover bid has exposed Tribune’s farcical operations under chairman Michael Ferro. But instead of Titanic hitting the iceberg by accident, Ferro is aiming for it.

Gannett’s $15 offer represented a 99% premium to Tribune’s shareholders at a time when the newspaper industry is in chaos and Ferro angrily spurned it in favor of his own highly speculative vision. To fend off Gannett, Tribune pulled a fast one on shareholders by issuing 4.7 million shares to Ferro-friendly Patrick Soon-Shiong’s Nant Capital and diluting shares. Ego’s folly takes few prisoners.

Four years ago, Soon-Shiong pulled an almost identical stunt in his biotech company’s failed deal with toymaker Jakks Pacific. Shares have tumbled 54% since the NantWorks deal was announced.

Two of Tribune’s major shareholders, Oaktree Capital and Towle & Co, have called this financial gymnastics out for what it is: brazen self-interest.

According to the LA Times, Gannett reported that, during a May 12 meeting, Ferro said he wanted a “significant role” in the company post-closing and he was unwilling to engage in the process unless he got “a piece of the action.”

Note to Tribune shareholders: you have been warned.

As a Chicagoan, I was forced to watch Ferro sink what was left of the Chicago Sun-Times. In 2014, Ferro pressured the paper’s editorial board to reverse its three-year-old no-endorsement policy and support one lone candidate for public office: now Governor Bruce Rauner. Rauner, a former Chicago Sun-Times owner, invested millions in Ferro’s then ailing Merge Healthcare.

Ferro’s ethical conflicts were on display again when longtime Sun-Times political reporter Dave McKinney was demoted for co-authoring a piece about Rauner’s nasty intimidation tactics against a former employee.

Consider the Sun-Times as an encapsulation in miniature of Ferro’s poor media and business stewardship: blatant conflicts of interests, censorship, a pathetic audience-draining news website, a tabloidy failure called Splash, and mass layoffs of reporters, editorial board members, and photo staff.

With this track record, how could Tribune’s shareholders think that Ferro could ever guide this company into the future? His “publishing” experiment left the company in shambles. He couldn’t even build a Sun-Times website!

Just in the first few months of Ferro’s tenure at Tribune, history again repeated itself. Three weeks after Ferro became Tribune’s largest shareholder, Justin Dearborn, the head of Ferro’s Merge Healthcare, became CEO.

Yes, that Merge Healthcare.

In April, Tribune purchased Splash from Sun-Times and made its ethically challenged editor, Susana Homan, the new publisher and editor of Chicago Magazine. Homan was questioned for accepting pricey gifts from Tiffany’s in return for infomercial-style reports on Chicago’s local FOX affiliate.

Is this the kind of ‘public trust’ Soon-Shiong claims he is preserving with his $70.5 million investment? How could the public possibly trust any of this?

And why should the public or any shareholder entrust three these healthcare tech investors with Tribune’s future? What credibility do they have in the world of publishing? Ferro’s abysmal track record at the Chicago Sun-Times?

Ferro’s Tribune has already hit the iceberg. I’m just waiting for it to sink.

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A Historic Agreement Signed and Soon to be Ratified
In November 2015 at the COP21, after a long period of behind-the-curtain negotiations, the historic Paris agreement was signed. We hear that it has been a success. The agreement, however, should not be seen as the completion of a process but rather, the beginning. What the Paris agreement represents is a long awaited collective commitment to achieve common goals. While this is significant, it is not enough.

On the 22nd April 2016, heads of state came together at the United Nations headquarters to sign the agreement that was negotiated 5 months prior. 175 countries signed that day, including the largest emitters of CO2. This was a new record in the history of international agreements, which Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the UN, did not hesitate to underscore.

But now what? Each signatory needs to ratify the agreement into their domestic legislation and turn the environmental objectives outlined into political decisions. This step is key: to come into force, the Paris agreement needs to be ratified by at least 55 countries that represent 55% of global CO2 emissions. According to the NGO World Resources Institute, the US and China alone account for 38% of these emissions. Add the European Union, Russia or India (3 of the other largest polluters) and the 55% threshold is easily reached.

Financing the Transition to Renewable Energy
By signing the agreements, countries committed themselves to limiting their green house gas emissions (in order to avoid a rise in global temperature of more than 2°C, or even 1.5°C as recommended by the ICPP) but also to pooling together funding to assist the transition to renewables in the least developed countries. This is the famous 100 billion USD objective that needs to be reached by 2020.

Over the last few years, investments in renewables have increased significantly. According to the UNEP, despite a reduction in 2012, investments have grown since 2013 and reached 286 billion USD in 2015. Furthermore, for the first time, investments in renewables from emerging and developing countries surpassed those of developed countries. China is notably the leading investor in wind power and solar energy, with its investment representing a third of global spending on renewables (102 Billion USD).

Subsequently, each country is developing innovative financing programs. In France, for example, ADEME, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency, is piloting what it calls PIA, (The Investment Program for the Future) in order to finance the transition towards a more sustainable future. The program, with funds of up to 3.3 billion Euros, will finance the transition to renewables, ecological improvement and sustainable transport. This is an important initiative, as the need for funding is a very real concern for the numerous actors who are testing, prototyping and developing innovative solutions to climate change.

The Emergence of Solutions
Innovative solutions for tackling climate issues are emerging rapidly. Entrepreneurs, municipalities, businesses, civil society groups and universities are among those coming up with solutions in the fields of energy, water, circular economy, mobility, agriculture, etc. These solutions should be developed and supported but they also need to prove that their impact is sustainable in the long term. The issue is scale. Expectations are so high that it is important not to give false hopes with ideas that are not as promising as they seem at first, or by building enthusiasm for anecdotal solutions that will never see the light of day. But it is through supporting the greatest number of initiatives that we will be able to identify and amplify the most promising. It is inevitable that some fail so that others may succeed in their place.

Many actors, such as Climate KIC, Echoing Green, Sustainia, State of Green, and the Rockefeller Foundation, which launched the 100 Resilient Cities campaign, or even the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, which has a focus on the circular economy, are contributing to the emergence of solutions. Today, through its Solutions&Co media operation, Sparknews and its twenty media partners, all of which are quality business newspapers, are searching for the best business solutions to climate change and ideas for more sustainable cities. Together, they have launched an international call for projects to identify the innovative solutions that could shape our future. On November 4th, in the lead up to COP22, these newspapers will publish supplements that highlight the selected projects and make them known to important political and economic players. Do you have a business solution that deserves international recognition? Apply here!

Clémentine Sassolas
Corporate Development Manager
@ClemSasso @Sparknews

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This weekend things are about to heat up — and it’s not just the weather. The time is almost near where summer days are full of sizzling sounds from the grill and it better be from a burger. If there’s one guy who knows how it’s done it’s the 6-time NY Wine & Food Festival Burger Bash Winner, Chef Josh Capon of Lure Fishbar, Burger & Barrel, El Toro Blanco, and Bowery Meat Company. His signature Bash Burger recipe is even in Chrissy Teigen’s new cookbook, Cravings. We got to hear his advice on America’s favorite pastime from buns to beer.

What was your first memory of eating a burger?

It was at my local burger joint called Our Gang Inn when the waitress asked me if I wanted Fries OR Onion Rings?!?! I was lost. As a “husky” kid growing that was the toughest question I ever had to answer which is why at Burger & Barrel we serve each burger with fries AND onion rings! I later worked there and it was my first line cook job.

So the Lure Burger has been a huge winner of Burger Bash during Food & Wine Festival, how the heck did you come up with it?

It was my interpretation of a Bacon Cheeseburger and that was always my favorite growing up. That’s where I came up with the Caramelized onion and Bacon jam. It also came from a few visits to In N Out on the west coast that my partner John was a big fan of. After it won the Burger Bash we named it the BASH Burger.

Besides your burgers, where is your favorite spot to grab one?

The Burger Joint

Which burger trend are you sick of seeing?

Piling just about anything on top of the burger, especially mac & cheese…

What’s the biggest mistake people make when creating a burger?

Overdoing it with condiments and toppings

The meat is obviously a huge component when creating this work of art, what’s your preference?

I like a blend of Chuck, Short Rib and Brisket from my boys over at Pat La Frieda – 70/30 ratio.

Say you can only pick 3 toppings for a burger (condiments included), what are they?

American cheese, ketchup and grilled red onion

Ketchup or mustard?

KETCHUP!!!

Your go-to burger bun is….

Martin’s potato roll

What is key to making the classic at home?

Freshly ground meat, nice hot charcoal grill or a cast iron pan and a fresh slice of tomato and some grilled red onion with a slice of American cheese. Then let the burger cook and get great caramelization and don’t play with your meat!

I’ve noticed Chrissy Teigen is a huge fan, what do you usually cook for her?

Teigan loves the BASH burger and she even included the recipe in her cookbook Cravings.

You’re hosting a BBQ, what sides do you need to have?

I am a big coleslaw guy, great pickles, some kettle chips, fresh corn on the cob off the grill and watermelon.

Let’s talk drinks, what are we pairing the hunk of meat with?

Ice Cold Beer! Nothing better than an ice cold can of Budweiser.

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Ned Rorem is one of our most distinguished composers. In his long life of ninety-three years he has won most of the awards to be won, including a Pulitzer Prize. He has written many songs and states that everything he writes is, at its essence, vocal. His life has been in the public eye with his tell-all diaries, and in the music battles of long ago he came out against the ‘complexity boys’, as Virgil Thompson designated the American followers of Schoenberg’s twelve-tone compositional style. His approach has always been as a Francophile: an interest in suaveness and directness, a lightheartedness and even casual- but never dumb- air. His music does not partake of the heightened seriousness and self-possession of the German tradition.

Rorem’s music is not academic and is tonal. It is evocative and straightforward, clear in structure, and tantalizing in its colors. Its craft is never in doubt. Sometimes the music may be a little dry or brittle, perhaps a bit on the surface, but it is always direct and immediate. Whereas Messiaen aims for a direct encounter with the Ineffable, and to revel in the presentness of the mystical encounter with God, Rorem is about finding beauty and meaning in the ordinary rhythm of our lives. One might consider much of his music as musical diary entries, a glimpse of the moment and passing sensation raised to a sacred Now.

Primarily a song composer, it is natural that Rorem should excel in short forms. His Piano Album I, written over the years 1978 to 2001, is comprised of twenty-seven pieces, only one of which is longer than two minutes. They were mostly written as gifts to friends, the majority having been written for his long-term partner Jim.

Most of these works come off as well-thought out studies, and often employ lean two-point counterpoint or simple left hand accompaniment to a tune in the right hand, and are spare or lean. They are gentle in spirit and thus rarely exceed a very moderate loudness, and are frequently in a waltz meter (or ¾), and given their brevity, stick mostly to one idea. Their traversal through musical space and time is just right. Nothing is ever forced, and as Alice might say, all is as it should be, with just the right number of notes and not a note out of place. Sometimes the counterpoint seems to be a textbook display of Fux’s Gradus ad Parnassum- 1st, 2nd or 3rd species- but with an American twist, as the rhythms have an easy lopping quality. A hint of early jazz is found in the harmonic language, with sevenths and ninths abundant, and endings have an easy settling quality. Unlike the music of the complexity boys he loathes, every movement has a clear beginning, middle, and end. Each is a little jewel held up for close inspection.

One might consider these wordless love songs, a genre that seems to have been taken over by the pop world. I can’t think of many examples in the classical world over the last couple of generations. Perhaps in our world of swagger, overthinking, politics, academicism, and the highfalutin’, the immediacy of the love song has been lost to serious music. Rorem recovers it in, of all places, these piano pieces.

Piano Album I may be found on the Naxo label performed by pianist Carolyn Enger. She displays lovely control of these delicate sonorities, with careful attention to balance and registration. Her touch is gentle but penetrating, reaching down into the sound, and her rhythmic sense is spot on for this delicate music, as she is often behind the beat- a little lazy and droll, with rubato just right. This music doesn’t tell how virtuosic she is-as it rarely requires that kind of kinetic demonstration-but it does show that she has a huge heart and exquisite taste.

All of the short gem-like movements are separated by a lengthy setting of silence, so that each is allowed its own space and time, to breath, and to refine the listening experience.

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Did you ever make a purchase from eBay? If answered yes, you would most likely use PayPal to complete your transaction. Irrespective of professional or personal use, PayPal is always the most popular form of online payment service which is used by millions of people to receive and send money. But that doesn’t mean that this company doesn’t have competitors. With the increase in the number people who transact online, the online payment options are also gaining momentum like never before. It has been predicted by experts that the entire market for mobile payments will reach up to $240 billion by the end of 2017. This is the reason behind the ace companies like Apple and Facebook testing their stand with their personal mobile payment services. If you’ve never come across the other online payment companies apart from PayPal, here are some that you may consider.

1. Google Wallet: Once upon a time, Google Checkout was Google Wallet. Although there is a change in the name, the features have all remained the same. It is simple, safe and can allow some rapid transfer of money to a bank and from a bank. This online payment option also shares some similar features to PayPal as its ability to process cards and send out invoices.
2. WooCommerce: WooCommerce even allows the WordPress users to create their own e-commerce shop and they have a number of neat features which make the payment processor worth its time. WooCommerce is extremely customer-friendly and vendor-friendly, you can even manage the daily activities of the store, run coupon campaigns and also learn about tax and shipping rules and also view the overall performance of the store.
3. WePay: Apart from offering fraud protection and extremely good customer care service, WePay is one of the strongest alternatives as users can buy without leaving the site through a virtual terminal. This doesn’t only make your website extremely professional but it makes the services more focused on the interests of the individuals and not only on their credit card numbers.
4. Authorize.Net: This online payment option called Authorize.Net has been around in the market for 1996 and is the most widely used payment gateway of the internet. A study reveals that Authorize.Net has more than 400,000 merchants and they have even won the Achievement in Customer Excellence (ACE) for 5 years now.
5. PayPal: This list wouldn’t have been complete without PayPal and this is undoubtedly the most widely accepted payment acquiring systems which processes more than 8 million payments regularly. PayPal boasts of having 138 million active accounts in about 195 markets and 30 currencies throughout the world. Moreover, there are new upgrades to the PayPal New Here card reader where apart from only handling payments from chip-and PIN credit and debit cards, the new version of the HERE card reader will also support NFC. There are online PayPal perks like accepting checks through the camera of the smartphone, allowing clients to buy without leaving the site and a card swiper.
6. MoneyBookers: MoneyBookers is presently known as Skrill and it allows the users to receive and send money to other users. It works with different online banking services in specific countries and for all the other countries, it is possible to send and receive cash either with a debit or a credit card. However each country is charged differently while transacting cash through MoneyBookers.
7. Payza: This is formally known as AlertPay and Payza allows you to receive and send money from more than 190 countries and across 21 currencies. This particular service is based in Canada and US but also supports some particular banks and debit cards from their recognized countries. You can add funds to your Payza account through bank transfer and you can send money to other users as well. You can create an account for free but there’s a small fee for transferring money between users.
8. Amazon payments: There is good amount of functionality and a very simple process of checkout. As far as online payments are concerned, Amazon payments are high up in the list. You don’t need to worry about fees to a certain level and you can see fast transactions. With Amazon payments you can send and receive up to 1000 monthly without having to pay any fees. The security and protection of this online payment solution is also decent enough.

In a nutshell, there are quite a large number of online payment options which can give the ace company, PayPal a run for its money. Nevertheless, PayPal is still deemed to be the number one online payment solution which helps millions of companies carry on safe and sound monetary transactions online everyday. You can stay informed about the other alternatives but it’s your discretion about which one you should use.

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