October 21, 2021

TrueCommerce Recognized as a Leader in IDC Worldwide Multi-Enterprise Supply Chain Commerce Network 2021 Vendor Assessment Report

“TrueCommerce offers a broad set of supply chain applications that extend far beyond a traditional data transportation network that are categorically focused on digitizing, integrating, and automating commerce enablement, procurement, and fulfillment operations,” says the report

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TrueCommerce, a global provider of trading partner connectivity, integration, and unified commerce solutions, has announced today it was positioned in the Leaders category of the IDC MarketScape for Worldwide Multi-Enterprise Supply Chain Commerce Network 2021 Vendor Assessment report. The research states that, as an established vendor in the SCCN space, TrueCommerce offers a broad set of supply chain applications that extend far beyond a traditional data transportation network that are categorically focused on digitizing, integrating, and automating commerce enablement, procurement, and fulfillment operations.

“It is exciting to see TrueCommerce placed as a Leader in this very competitive category,” said TrueCommerce President and Chief Operating Officer, Todd Johnson. “The report encourages organizations to consider the vendors that have both the existing necessary functionality as well as the future capabilities they will likely need. Since the previous report, TrueCommerce has launched numerous new product integrations and completed several strategic acquisitions helping our customers address current challenges and prepare for what’s coming next.”

Describing the TrueCommerce strengths, the IDC MarketScape points out that TrueCommerce’s supply chain applications are directly integrated with the SCCN and a broad set of business systems, offering ease of implementation and rapid expansion in applications across the value chain. The research further states that TrueCommerce’s integration gateway offers network participants and their supply chain partners turnkey ERP integrations delivering both more real-time integration of a far broader set of information and a much deeper level of integration with their supply chain. TrueCommerce has built a highly scalable and powerful web-based platform framework that offers users a modern mobile-friendly user experience and a unified experience regardless of supply chain application or user profile.

The IDC MarketScape notes that TrueCommerce also offers a premium level of managed services that extends beyond the typical help desk programs offered by most networks.

“TrueCommerce offers edge-to-edge (network participant to network participant) service including proactive monitoring of transactional activity, assured measure delivery, detail-level validation, proactive error resolution, and multi-enterprise connectivity monitoring,” the report says. “Manufacturing and retail organizations looking for a vendor of both SCCN and SCM applications should consider TrueCommerce. The vendor offers a true partnership for their customers and has become an extension of their internal staff and resources to manage their supply chains. This “releases” resources to explore more strategic avenues for their business.”

You can download a free excerpt copy of the report from TrueCommerce.

SOURCE: IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Multi-Enterprise Supply Chain Commerce Network 2021 Vendor Assessment, by Simon Ellis, Sep 2021, IDC Doc # US48202217

About IDC MarketScape:

IDC MarketScape vendor analysis model is designed to provide an overview of the competitive fitness of ICT (information and communications technology) suppliers in a given market. The research methodology utilizes a rigorous scoring methodology based on both qualitative and quantitative criteria that results in a single graphical illustration of each vendor’s position within a given market. IDC MarketScape provides a clear framework in which the product and service offerings, capabilities and strategies, and current and future market success factors of IT and telecommunications vendors can be meaningfully compared. The framework also provides technology buyers with a 360-degree assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current and prospective vendors.

About TrueCommerce

TrueCommerce is the most complete way to connect your business across the supply chain, integrating everything from EDI, to inventory management, to fulfillment, to digital storefronts and marketplaces. We’ve revolutionized supply chain visibility and collaboration by helping organizations make the most of their omnichannel initiatives via business P2P connectivity, order management, collaborative replenishment, intelligent fulfillment, cross-functional analytics, and product information management.

The TrueCommerce Global Commerce Network can connect businesses to over 130,000 retailers, distributors, and logistics service providers. As a fully managed services provider, we also manage new trading partner onboarding, as well as the ongoing management of partner-specific mapping, labeling changes, and communications monitoring. That’s why thousands of companies—ranging from startups to the global Fortune 100, across various industries—rely on us.

TrueCommerce: Do business in every direction

For more information, visit TrueCommerce

Contact:
Yegor Kuznetsov
1-703-209-0167
yegor.kuznetsov@truecommerce.com

October 21, 2021

China’s claim to practice ‘democracy’ is bid to undermine concept: analysts

Recent claims by Chinese leader Xi Jinping that China has its own brand of “democracy” are a bid to water down the concept, and minimize its ideological power against the authoritarian Chinese Communist Party (CCP), analysts told RFA.

As the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden announced plans for a conference in December to “defend democratic values,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin hit out at the exclusion of authoritarian regimes, saying the U.S. shouldn’t be allowed to claim ownership of the term.

“One should not try to turn democracy into Coca-Cola, which tastes the same across the world with the syrup produced by one country, and deprive countries of the right and freedom to explore their own democratic path, in total disregard of the diversity of history, culture, social system and development stage of countries,” Wang told an Oct. 19 news conference in Beijing.

Wang also accused the U.S. of “inciting division and confrontation in the international arena and pushing the world back to the Cold War” in the name of democracy.

“It will only bring turbulence and chaos to the world and undermine the peace and development of mankind,” he said.

Wang’s diatribe comes after CCP general secretary Xi Jinping claimed democracy as “a key tenet” of his party’s regime, and called for improvements to the nationwide system of People’s Congresses, which run “elections” to choose representatives from a carefully controlled slate of CCP-backed candidates.

Analysts said Xi’s used of the term to describe life under one-party rule by the CCP is deliberate.

“Xi Jinping and the CCP are attempting to essentially pirate the concepts of democracy and human rights in order to lessen their ideological power … the threat that they pose ideologically to power of the CCP,” Anders Corr, who publishes the Journal of Political Risk, told RFA. “China under the CCP is not a democracy. It does not have human rights. It does not have the rule of law.”

“It attempts to portray itself as having all these things; it adopts the ideas and the concepts to try to promote itself and to try to conceal the … genuine will of the Chinese people,” Corr said.

Demonstrators holding yellow umbrellas and a placard with Chinese President Xi Jinping take part in a "Stand With Hong Kong" rally to mark the 2nd anniversary of democracy rallies in the Chinese-controlled city, in Pasadena, California, June 12, 2021. Credit: AFP — Demonstrators holding yellow umbrellas and a placard with Chinese President Xi Jinping take part in a “Stand With Hong Kong” rally to mark the 2nd anniversary of democracy rallies in the Chinese-controlled city, in Pasadena, California, June 12, 2021. Credit: AFP

‘Cold War thinking’

He said Wang Wenbin’s reference to “Cold War thinking” is an attempt to undermine attempts by democracies to defend themselves against the CCP’s efforts to export its model of totalitarian rule and infiltrate the political and intellectual life of other countries.

“We could not have defeated the Nazis without confronting them,” he said. “Confrontation is absolutely necessary when dealing with totalitarians like the CCP. This is what the CCP calls ‘Cold War thinking’.”

Xi claimed at the conference on People’s Congresses that China practices “whole-process” democracy, because its 1.4 billion population takes part in such elections, as well as political consultations and other forms of decision-making.

“Democracy, a shared value of humanity, is a key tenet unswervingly upheld by the CPC and the Chinese people,” Xi told an Oct. 13-14 conference on People’s Congresses in Beijing.

Whether a country is democratic or not should be judged by its own people, not by a handful of people from outside it, he said.

In a 2013 essay analyzing one of Xi’s early speeches as general secretary, former top CCP aide Bao Tong hit out at late supreme leader Mao Zedong for promising democratic governance when the CCP took power, then failing to deliver.

“It’s a shame that that consummate showman Mao Zedong sang his siren song of democracy, but walked the road of fascist dictatorship instead,” Bao wrote. “We, the Chinese people, should watch closely to see whether Xi takes the road to democracy indicated by Mao’s brain, or the path to tyranny he followed with his feet.”

Corr, who welcomed Biden’s democracy summit as a necessity for democracies to defend themselves, said Xi’s plan to “improve” democratic participation via the People’s Congresses was essentially an attempt to confuse people.

“The National People’s Congress (NPC) is a rubber stamp photo op,” he said. “The concept of democracy is clearly very powerful and very popular around the world, so if Xi Jinping and the CCP go directly against [it], they will lose popularity both at home and abroad.”

“If they claim that they are a different form of democracy, a better form of democracy, then they can essentially confuse people,” Corr said. “The CCP is grasping at anything it can, ideologically, to justify its own existence.”

Undermining actual democracies

The U.S. State Department warned in its statement on the summit that while democracies face the loss of public trust and the rise of populist governments internally, “authoritarian leaders are reaching across borders to undermine democracies – from targeting journalists and human rights defenders to meddling in elections all while claiming their model is better at delivering for people.”

“Hostile actors exacerbate these trends by increasingly manipulating digital information and spreading disinformation to weaken democratic cohesion,” it said.

Li Xiaobing, director of the West Pacific Studies Center at University of Oklahoma, said Biden’s summit, slated for Dec. 9-10, represents a change in attitude to China, and to the threat posed by the CCP’s global political and military ambitions.

“Now Biden is saying that … the most important thing is to reaffirm democracy, which is a huge sore point for China, because it’s tantamount to saying that it should engage in political reforms, put an end to one-party rule and set up a multi-party system,” Li said.

“That is anathema to Beijing.”

He said the CCP will never willingly let go of its position in a top-down political structure in which everyone does as they are told.

“Only people who toe the party line are allowed to stand in elections or win promotion; those who don’t are denounced and punished,” Li said.

Bill Bishop, who runs the online news site Sinocism, agreed.

“They have this process [to elect People’s Congress representatives], but again, you’re choosing people who’ve already been picked for you,” he said.

“It’s all about redefining and undermining the existing norms and the existing definitions,” Bishop said. “It’s all about taking control of … the narrative power.”

Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

October 21, 2021

Chinese government targets Uyghur children with ‘pomegranate flower’ policy

The Chinese government is pairing up ethnic majority Han Chinese youths with Uyghur children in the latest phase of a coercive surveillance and assimilation program that Uyghurs say shows Beijing’s genocidal intent toward the Muslim minority in the far-western Xinjiang region.

The “Pomegranate Flower” policy, unveiled by state media last month, comes on the heels of a widely resented program that sent 1.2 million Han civil servants to live with and monitor Uyghur families in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).

Uyghurs condemned the three-year-old “Becoming Family” policy as destructive to family life, with some calling the billeting of Chinese cadres in homes “organized rape” and an act of “genocide” aimed at wiping out the 12 million Uyghurs and their ancient Central Asian culture.

Under the program targeting children, state-assigned Han “relatives” from across China will contact Uyghur youngsters by phone and visits to the XUAR, the report said.

The Pomegranate Flower program reflects the government’s slogan that all ethnic groups in the country must “hug each other tightly like pomegranate seeds” to realize a Chinese nationality that transcends ethnicity.

Ethnic minorities — beginning with Uyghurs and Tibetans, but also including Mongolians and Koreans who have been ordered to reduce or end education in their languages — see it as forced assimilation.

According to a report published on Sept. 11 on Tengritagh (Tianshan), the official website of the XUAR government, toddlers and primary school pupils in one village in Kashgar (in Chinese, Kashi) prefecture voted to “realize the objective of becoming family” with Han youths from all over China.

In just over a week, nearly 40 children in one village, including one-year-old Mahliya Mahmut, were matched up with 36 pairs of Pomegranate Flower “relatives” from some 30 cities across 13 provinces, regions, and municipalities in China, Tengritagh said.

Ayagh Chigetugh village in Kashgar’s Yengisar (Yingjisha) county was once one of the poorest villages in all of China, but has gained hope, Zhu Pingcheng, the village party secretary, said in support of the Pomegranate Flower program.

“In particular, the children in the village hope that, as they grow up, they will receive much warmth and care; that, if possible, they will be able to go and see places all over the country; and that they will more deeply understand the great family of the Chinese nation.”

Many Uyghurs had already spoken by phone with their assigned “families” in other Chinese provinces, who in turn were planning to go to Xinjiang to visit their children, the report said.

But the report did not explain why toddlers or preschool-age children needed to be matched with Han family members or where their own parents were.

“They seem to have given no information about that,” said Ilshat Hassan, a U.S.-based Uyghur analyst and former president of the Uyghur American Association. “Why, if these were children whose parents were around, would they be in need of the ‘care’ and ‘love’ of other people?”

In reality, their parents either have been detained in China’s vast network of internment camps or been transported to other locations to perform forced labor, Ilshat said.

China has held up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and others in internment camps since 2017, while dismissing widely documented evidence of many abuses in the camp system. China says the camps are vocational training facilities where Uyghurs and other Turkic people learn skills in an effort to prevent religious extremism and terrorism in the region, where about 12 million Uyghurs live.

‘The unity of ethnicities’

The Chinese government has previously promoted policies such as “the unity of ethnicities” and the “three inseparables” since the end of 2016 to bring various ethnic groups more closely into the fold of national interest and security.

Canada-based Uyghur activist Memet Tohti, the executive director of the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project, said the forced pairing of Uyghur infants and toddlers with Hans in Chinese provinces is the latest of many real-world examples of China’s genocidal policies.

He also pointed out that this move is further proof of the conditions of genocidal intent against a group, as defined in international law and conventions.

“If the intent of the Chinese government was to care for these children, they would create a healthy environment in which the children could grow up with their own parents,” Memet told RFA.

“To separate children from their parents, or even to kill the parents using all manners of methods, and to send these children into a foreign environment, or off with Han children, in a Han environment — they can call it whatever they want — but to send children into such an environment is precisely a typical example of elimination by genocide,” he said.

As part of the Becoming Family policy, the Chinese government holds “family week” activities in Xinjiang during which Han cadre “relatives” eat, live, work, and study alongside the Uyghurs they have been assigned to monitor.

Zumrat Dawut and Qelbinur Sidiq, two female former detainees in internment camps in the XUAR, have told the international media that Uyghurs have been forced to eat non-halal food and drink wine by their Chinese relatives, and that Uyghurs girls and women have been sexually assaulted in their homes.

Uyghur analyst Ilshat Hassan said that the Pomegranate Flower policy transcends assimilation and escalates genocide.

“These children are still in their own homeland, but [the state is attempting to] assimilate them, to eliminate their language, their culture,” he said. “This is genocide.”

Ilshat called on the international community to take urgent action to end the genocide against the Uyghurs.

Parliaments in Canada, The Netherlands, the U.K., and Lithuania, and the U.S. State Department have described China’s actions in the region as “genocide,” while the New York-based group Human Rights Watch says they constitute crimes against humanity.

“As of now there has been no response from the United Nations,” he said. “As of yet, no action has been taken toward stopping this. This might be politics for the rest of the world, but it’s a matter of life for us. We are crying out and protesting in the name of this genocide. It is a tragedy for all of humanity, not just for us.”

Translated by the Uyghur Service. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

October 21, 2021

Philips brings clarity to every moment of cancer care with new patient-centered innovations at ASTRO 2021

October 21, 2021

Multimodality RT Simulation Workspace provides a single space for multimodality image fusion and contouring
New imaging platforms MR – Ingenia RT XD – and Spectral CT 7500 support precise treatment planning
Deepened cross-portfolio collaboration with Elekta utilizes complementary capabilities to further enhance patient care

Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Chicago, USA – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today announced new innovations that will help improve cancer care across the patient journey at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting (Chicago, USA, 24-27 October). During the event, Philips will debut its Multimodality RT Simulation Workspace, a new precision medicine application that provides a vendor-agnostic single space for simulation, multimodality image fusion and contouring. New MR and CT imaging systems tailored for the needs of radiation therapy will also be showcased, delivering breakthroughs in imaging and treatment planning. Philips will also highlight its deepened strategic partnership with Elekta to support the ambition of providing clear care pathways and predictable outcomes for every cancer patient.

Today, cancer care is a long, complex journey through various stages, settings, and providers, putting a significant burden on both patients and clinicians. The number of new cancer cases is expected to rise by about 70% over the next two decades [1]. At the same time, oncology care is transforming, driven by an increasingly precise diagnosis of each tumor, and a continuously expanding range of therapy options. To fully capitalize on these challenges and opportunities, healthcare providers require integrated solutions throughout the entire cancer care pathway, from diagnosis to treatment and follow-up.

“Enhanced through strategic partnerships, our end-to-end oncology solutions span the patient pathway and the multidisciplinary specialties, integrating data and enabling collaboration, all with the aim of improving patient and staff satisfaction and outcomes,” said Ardie Ermers, General Manager Oncology Solutions at Philips. “At this year’s ASTRO meeting we’re highlighting how we’re connecting clinical and operational teams with the information they need to optimize and personalize cancer care.”

Bringing clarity in therapy planning closer to the point of care with Multimodality RT Simulation Workspace
With images and data often siloed in different systems, the complexity of image fusion and contouring can lengthen patient time to treatment. Integrating seamlessly into the simulation workflow, Multimodality RT Simulation Workspace, a new precision medicine application, is designed to help physicians define tumor volume and surrounding organs-at-risk through a versatile multimodality image platform which connects to both Philips and non-Philips imaging devices or a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) to access image datasets such as CT, MR, PET, Spectral CT and Cone Beam CT. These capabilities provide better access to a task-centered, vendor neutral solution that efficiently utilizes all available images and data in one central location.

Innovations in MR and CT simulation deliver advances in imaging and treatment planning
With the company’s strong track record of bringing continuous innovations to expand the role of MRI in radiation therapy, the next-generation Philips MR – Ingenia RT XD – MR simulation platform has been designed around the needs of radiation oncology, combining ease-of-use, streamlined integration and versatility. The platform can be easily adapted for different procedures, including external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), proton therapy and brachytherapy planning. The new Couch Top RT XD with Unity indexing further extends the compatibility between the Philips MR – Ingenia RT XD – and Elekta Unity, supporting greater consistency in both image quality and imaging and positioning workflows that enhance reproducibility, help accelerate learning curves and drive continuity across the care path.

The recently-introduced Spectral CT 7500 system delivers high quality spectral images for every patient on every scan 100% of the time to help improve disease characterization, and reduce rescans and follow-ups, all at the same dose levels as conventional scans. Unlocking the clinical value of dual-energy CT for radiation oncology applications, Spectral CT allows for optimization of lesions that may represent cancer. By capturing additional information such as electron density and effective atomic number, Spectral CT enables physicians to quantify physiological processes such as perfusion and ventilation, enhancing treatment planning.

Philips is collaborating with MIM Software to integrate its Contour ProtégéAI next-generation deep learning segmentation on its CT – Big Bore RT – platform, providing automatically segmented ‘Organ at Risk’ segmentation immediately after the simulation exam [2].

Further expansion of precision medicine application portfolio
Also being introduced at ASTRO, Multidisciplinary Team Orchestrator virtually connects and securely integrates multi-disciplinary teams and data across the patient cancer journey. Together with Multimodality RT Simulation Workspace, applications already available from Philips that advance precision oncology through integrated care, pathway orchestration, and clinical decision support, include:

Lung Cancer Orchestrator, a proactive patient management system for lung cancer screening and incidental findings and the orchestration of lung cancer care
Oncology Pathways that are created by oncologists for oncologists, covering both medical and the newly-introduced radiation oncology pathways. Customers become collaborators, providing input into the ever-evolving pathways
Genomics Workspace, bringing genomic data alongside disease histology and patient phenotype for a comprehensive biomarker-informed diagnostic and therapeutic picture

Partnering to benefit patients throughout the care pathway
In June, Philips and Elekta announced that the two healthcare leaders would deepen their strategic partnership in precise and individualized oncology care. The strengthened strategic partnership intends to further deliver an excellent experience in diagnosis and adaptive, personalized treatments for clinicians, shorter treatment times and precise therapy for patients, and lowered costs of care for healthcare providers. As part of the partnership, Philips will develop seamless integration between its precision medicine applications and Elekta’s MOSAIQ Plaza integrated radiotherapy software suite, enhancing end-to-end decision making and treatment implementation.

For more information about Philips’ presence at ASTRO 2021 follow @PhilipsLiveFrom for updates throughout the event.

[1] WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer https://gco.iarc.fr/today/data/factsheets/cancers/39-All-cancers-fact-sheet.pdf
[2] Big Bore RT with Contour ProtégéAI is only available in the USA
Multimodality RT Simulation Workspace is a new feature of the TumorLoc module, part of Pinnacle RTPS. Both TumorLoc and Pinnacle are FDA cleared

For further information, please contact:

Kathy O’Reilly
Philips Global Press Office
Tel.: +1 978 221 8919
E-mail: kathy.oreilly@philips.com

Mark Groves
Philips Global Press Office
Tel.: +31 631 639 916
Email: mark.groves@philips.com

About Royal Philips

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people’s health and well-being, and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum – from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Philips generated 2020 sales of EUR 17.3 billion and employs approximately 78,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter.

Attachments

October 21, 2021

Webtel.Mobi’s Global Social Responsibility Initiatives – Promoting Global Equality of Opportunity and Community Support

Global Telephony Provider Webtel.mobi – the company that has created the world’s first globally operational and multicurrency Digital Currency and established a Global Clearing System – details its Global Social Responsibility programs for Global Community Support

Webtel.mobi carries out its Global Social Responsibility initiatives to all countries where its Members are located

ST PETER PORT, Guernsey and NEW YORK, Oct. 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — By virtue of its First-Mover and potential Sector-Influencer position in multiple of the world’s largest value markets, Webtel.mobi (“WM”) has an open gate to one of the highest revenue-generation operations available. This article describes WM’s view on what a market-leading position such as this mandates in terms of Global Social Responsibility.

Providing a Solution for Unbanked People Globally
The markets that WM now provides full access to – to a global client base – are the largest markets in the world in terms of value and volume. The primary markets to which it has access, have volumes in the USD multi-Trillions per day. Its secondary and tertiary markets include virtually every transaction type that exists.

Moreover, WM does this from a base where it has zero debt, an extremely low cost-base and no requirement to establish premises or appoint personnel globally – because this role is carried out by its VSMP Affiliates at zero cost to WM. Consequently, the majority of WM’s revenues are net.

Furthermore, the markets referred to above are all digital. They comprise digital transfers of funds, digital funds clearing, digital FX conversions, etc., all of which are executed by persons or entities with bank accounts. These markets are so large that the total Global Remittances Market is insignificant in comparison.

Moreover, although the global Cash market – a different market to the Unbanked Persons’ market – is the largest market in the world, entry into it brings with it many additional security, KYC, AML, and other Anti Money Laundering requirements – not required if only the Digital Money markets are attended to.

However, WM took the view that as there was an opportunity to create a working and practical solution to bring Unbanked Persons into a 21^st Century Global Economy – and reduce or remove the excessive costs and other negative consequences of their being Unbanked, it would do so. This required many alterations to WM’s Platform 2 to allow for acquisition of its TUV Digital Currency using cash, including:

Structuring process-flows that cut off the cash at WM’s VSMPs and Agents (WM itself only accepts Stored Credit loads by inward transfer from regulated Bank Accounts, eWallets or Cards).
Adding multiple, additional Anti Money Laundering and KYC processes to monitor not just Members who loaded their accounts via cash, but also the VSMPs and Agents accepting the cash payments.
Structuring a “Redemption” process for Unbanked Peoples’ family members to redeem TUVs transferred to them at VSMPs or Agents – with again many additional AML and KYC processes applied.
Build an entirely stand-alone centrally-managed Cash Kiosk system (the “SCRM” system) for withdrawals of TUV funds by family members who had been transferred TUVs.

This required a significant amount of structuring, effort, and time to implement. Moreover, as the volume and value for the entire Annual Global Remittances Market is fractionally smaller than just one day’s volumes and values in one of the 10+ Primary Markets that WM already has a command lead in (in terms of cost + speed + security), this was done for Global Social Responsibility reasons – not for commercial reasons.

This solution to give Unbanked Persons worldwide access to the 21^st Century Digital Economy was, however, completed, and is now fully operational worldwide.

Providing Equality of Opportunity for Self-Motivated People
In the telephony sector, similar structures (but not as sophisticated or wide-ranging as WM’s VSMPs) are called Mobile Virtual Network Operator (“MVNO”) systems. To obtain one is very expensive (up to USD millions or tens-of-millions), and the quarterly or annual running costs and minimum payment to the entity providing it are similarly extremely high. Failure to meet these payment terms results in bankruptcy. These are unavailable to any persons or entities other than those with very significant finance.

In contrast, WM’s Virtual Specialized Mobile Provider (“VSMP”) Affiliate Program and its Independent Agent (“Agent”) program were structured specifically to allow all people – whether in a social or economically weak or strong position – to acquire a fully-functioning and sophisticated business of their own at zero cost. Furthermore, they are able to run it at zero cost, and have zero requirement to pay any fees at all to WM for acquiring or retaining a VSMP.

The VSMP Platforms that WM provides to Eligible Entities that want to acquire one, are very sophisticated. They are full replicas of WM’s own system (although all transactions and management flow through WM to render it a centrally-controlled and Closed-Loop Members-Only System). They have far more capacity than standard MVNOs, and enable commercial operations in literally hundreds of market sub-sectors.

Not only are Eligible Entities and Agents provided with their own sophisticated VSMPs at zero cost, WM carries out all Technical Support itself, and the persons or entities acquiring the VSMP’s only responsibility is to send out WM’s marketing material to their existing members / clients / customers / other when they receive it. Furthermore, they are advised not to incur costs when doing do, and only to include the marketing material in what they already use to communicate with their clients / customer / other base – be it flyers, the back of till receipts, blogs, emails, letters, or anything else. This is why the range of Eligible Entities that have WM VSMPs is very wide. They range between extremely large multinational companies down to one-person businesses – each of which addresses its own market.

Similarly, with WM Agents – whose Primary Role is to make Eligible Entities aware of WM’s VSMP opportunity. The only requirement for them to acquire their own Agent VSMP – and act as an Agent – is the will to do so, and self-motivation. WM’s VSMP and Agent Programs are great levelers. They are total equality of opportunity vehicles for any people to acquire, and, once acquired, their success (or lack thereof) is directly attributable to their own application of personal excellence, energy, focus and the will to succeed. All other artificial impediments based upon financial or socio-economic restraints have been removed.

This way, whether an entity is acquired by a large multinational corporation, a struggling single parent or a person born into poverty but with the personal excellence and will to succeed – if they have the drive and the will to succeed – they will, with no artificial impediment to their progress and all the support they could ever need.

Voluntary Community-Support Donations in Lieu of Tax
WM is located in Guernsey because it is (in WM’s assessment) one of the best “Third Country” jurisdictions in the world. A “Third Country” jurisdiction in one that is not a member of any other political or other unions or agreements between countries. In order to provide a service worldwide at the same costs and term without having to open subsidiaries in other countries, one has to be located in a Third Country jurisdiction. Other than being a Third Country jurisdiction, Guernsey is also a zero-tax jurisdiction.

However, WM considers it a requirement to remit payment in lieu of tax as a measure of correct business practice. As such, WM has taken the mean average of global top-rate corporate tax, and will remit that amount of its profits to a list of charitable and community-support organizations worldwide. Moreover, it will remit these amounts pro-rata to the countries from which it originated – because the current system of companies remitting tax (or payments in lieu of tax such as WM) to one jurisdiction when it is derived from multiple jurisdictions is – in WM’s view – not best or proper practice.

Keeping Costs to Members either Ultra-Low or at Zero
The most important part of WM’s community-support and Global Social Responsibility relates to the costs levied on its members. WM’s running costs – and therefore its costs – are extremely low, and most of its revenues therefore comprise net revenue. It is therefore able to provide its services at low rates that would nevertheless still have astronomical mark-ups in terms of percentages.

However, WM does not, and will not do this. It passes on the benefit of its 21^st Century efficient structuring onto its members, by providing the services that it does charge for at ultra-low rates, and by providing many of its services at zero cost. WM takes the view that the best interests of a (Global) Community trump the best interests of a (corporate or person) individual – and it puts that view into practice.

It does not, and will not, engage in predatory or ruthless actions towards its Members. After all – although some sections of business regard ruthlessness as a sign of business prowess, any predator or scavenger is also able to be ruthless. The choice, therefore, is whether to act as a member of a society, or as a predator upon the society – and WM’s choice is to act as a member of a society. Naturally, WM is very robust in its actions with regard to unfriendly potential competitors, or persons or entities that try to abuse these situations, but those are different situations.

The saving of large amounts of money will represent different things to different people. For large and wealthy entities, it will represent a significant boost to profits. For the most vulnerable in society, it represents the capacity to buy perhaps two bags of rice for the family instead of only one, or having the funds left over to send a child to school where otherwise this would not be possible. It is for the most vulnerable societies and vulnerable people in societies that WM primarily does this for, because it regards this aspects as the most important single aspects of any company’s Global Social Responsibility.

Resources:

Media Contact:
Nick Lambert: wm@thoburns.com

WM’S Global Social Responsibility Page:
https://webtel.mobi/pc/info/global-social-responsibility/

WM’s Impending SCRM Program:
https://webtel.mobi/pc/info/coming-soon/#SCRMs

WM’S VSMP Program:
https://webtel.mobi/pc/info/tmg-global-alliance/
https://webtel.mobi/pc/info/how-to-apply-to-be-a-wm-affiliate/
https://webtel.mobi/media/info/telmobi-group-vsmp-handbook.pdf

Research Reports on the Capacities of the WM System:

Keynes’s Clearing Union is Alive and Well and Living in your Mobile Phone
http://www.levyinstitute.org/pubs/pn_21_1.pdf

Another Bretton Woods Reform Moment: Let us Look Seriously at the Clearing Union
http://www.levyinstitute.org/pubs/ppb_154.pdf

New Dimensions for the TUV in the Webtel.mobi System
https://webtel.mobi/media/info/new-dimensions-for-the-tuv-in-the-webtelmobi-system.pdf

Additional Research Papers on Webtel.mobi’s Global Clearing System and TUV:
https://webtel.mobi/pc/info/research/

Video on the Capacities of the WM System:
https://youtu.be/XYBrCikUhn8

Characteristics of WM’s TUV Digital Currency:
https://webtel.mobi/info/tuv-characteristics

WM’s urls:
https://webtel.mobi/pc (Tablets / Laptops / Desktops)
https://webtel.mobi (Smart Phones)
https://webtel.mobi/wap (Pre-Smart Mobile Phones)

When Making Excess Profit was Immoral:
https://review.chicagobooth.edu/economics/2017/article/when-making-profit-was-immoral

Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations” (See Book 1, Chapter IX, Paragraph 24)
https://web.archive.org/web/20200922120218/https://www.ibiblio.org/ml/libri/s/SmithA_WealthNations_p.pdf

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ffbd9f98-5d9e-4f6e-a904-819250fcc402

The photo is also available at Newscom, www.newscom.com, and via AP PhotoExpress.

October 21, 2021

Algernon Pharmaceuticals Announces Receipt of CAD$2M Cash Refund from Australian Research Program and Files Application to List its Common Shares on Nasdaq Capital Market

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CSE: AGN) (FRANKFURT: AGW) (OTCQB: AGNPF) (the “Company” or “Algernon”), a clinical stage pharmaceutical development company, is pleased to announce that it has recently received a CAD$2M cash payment from a refundable tax credit program from its clinical research work in Australia, which brings Algernon’s current working capital balance to approximately CAD$3.5M.

The Company also wishes to announce that it has submitted an application to have its common shares listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market. The listing of the Company’s common shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market remains subject to Nasdaq approval and the satisfaction of all applicable listing, governance and regulatory requirements. While the Company intends and believes it will be able to satisfy all of the applicable requirements, there is no assurance that it will be successful in satisfying the listing requirements or its application will be approved.

“Algernon has a unique drug development business model and multiple research programs that are currently in both pre-clinical and human trials,” said Christopher J. Moreau, CEO of Algernon Pharmaceuticals. “Moving the Company to a U.S. national stock exchange should help improve our valuation and is expected to provide the Company with access to new investors who specialize in and understand pharmaceutical development.”

About Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Algernon is a drug re-purposing company that investigates safe, already approved drugs, and naturally occurring compounds, for new disease applications, moving them efficiently and safely into new human trials, developing new formulations and seeking new regulatory approvals in global markets. Algernon specifically investigates compounds that have never been approved in the U.S. or Europe to avoid off label prescription writing.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Christopher J. Moreau
CEO
Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc.
604.398.4175 ext 701
info@algernonpharmaceuticals.com
investors@algernonpharmaceuticals.com
www.algernonpharmaceuticals.com.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

CAUTIONARY DISCLAIMER STATEMENT: No Securities Exchange has reviewed nor accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release. This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to product development, licensing, commercialization and regulatory compliance issues and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as “will”, “may”, “should”, “anticipate”, “expects” and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company’s expectations include the failure to satisfy the conditions of the relevant securities exchange(s) and other risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will only update or revise publicly any of the included forward-looking statements as expressly required by applicable law.