How McDonald's Is Ripping Off Consumers in Europe

How McDonald's Is Ripping Off Consumers in Europe

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When it comes to McDonald's, Americans tend to think of the "dollar menu" and bargain deals on burgers and fries. But on the other side of the Atlantic, the Golden Arches are fast becoming a poster child for mistreating consumers and jacking up prices.

This week, a coalition of European consumer rights organizations filed a complaint with the European Commission calling for an investigation into the widely-overlooked ways in which McDonald's abuses its power to squash competition and unfairly squeeze its franchisees and customers throughout Europe.

Some may ask: How could the fast-food giant famous for its "Happy Meals" be responsible for serious consumer harm? The explanation starts with the fact that, despite its reputation, selling burgers and fries is not the primary focus of McDonald's business model. The company's real business is selling real estate. 

McDonald's forces its franchisees to lease property directly from the company - a stipulation that no other fast-food chain in Europe requires. And with this stranglehold on its franchisees' real estate options, the company charges rents up to 10 times above market rates, according to our analysis.

Indeed, most of McDonald's revenue in Europe from franchisees comes from collecting rent: two-thirds of its total revenue from franchisees comes from rents.

In addition to charging excessive rents, McDonald's forces franchisees to comply with a series of other restrictive conditions, including long contract terms, one-to-two year non-compete clauses, high royalty fees, and overly broad termination provisions.

What allows McDonald's to get away with this scheme is the fact that it is, by several orders of magnitude, the dominant fast-food company in Europe, with some 8,000 stores across the Continent serving 15.7 million customers. These stores generated $19 billion in sales in 2014, nearly twice the sales of its nearest competitor. In other words, McDonald's is big enough to write its own rules.

With such a lucrative set up, it's no wonder that McDonald's founder Ray Kroc once boasted, "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm not in the hamburger business. My business is real estate."

And while this business has generated billions in profits for McDonald's, it's McDonald's customers that end up absorbing the costs: Faced with such onerous rents and other fees, McDonald's franchisees ultimately pass off the costs to consumers in the form of higher prices.

Recent research shows higher prices for a vast majority of menu items in franchise stores than in corporate-owned ones in Europe. In Italy, the numbers are stark: In Bologna, for example, the survey shows that 97% of menu items had higher prices in franchised outlets than in corporate-owned ones; in Rome, 68% of items had higher prices in franchise stores.

The same pattern could be found in France. In Marseille, 79% of menu items had higher prices in franchise stores than in corporate-owned stores. In Paris, 71% had higher prices.

And these price differentials are significant: An order of small fries, for example, is 72% more expensive at franchised stores than corporate stores in Marseille, 64% more expensive in Paris, and 25% more expensive in Lyon.

McDonald's may be accustomed to throwing around its weight in America, but in Europe, this abuse of power is illegal. And unfortunately, it is part of a pattern: Late last year, the European Commission announced an investigation into McDonald's aggressive tax avoidance strategies in Europe, following allegations that the company has dodged more than one billion euros in taxes since 2009.

The practices we outlined in our complaint are serious violations of antitrust law, and come with a hefty penalty - under European Union laws, McDonald's could be fined up to 10% of its global revenue, or roughly $9 billion.

The potential consequences for the company are significant, and rightfully so. McDonald's is free to keep exporting its Quarter Pounder and fries if it wants, but it's long past time to take law breaking off its European menu.

Gianluca Di Ascenzo is President of Codacons. Antonio Longo is President of Movimento Difesa del Cittadino. Antonio Gaudioso is Secretary General of Cittadinanzattiva.

source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

8 Secrets From People Who’ve Lost Over 100 Pounds

8 Secrets From People Who’ve Lost Over 100 Pounds 

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Several years ago, I decided that my life had to change.  I was very overweight, completely sedentary, and ashamed of what I had allowed myself to become.  I had been on so many diets throughout my life and had always gained the weight back.  This time it was worse than ever.  100 pounds to lose.  I committed to losing the weight and making this the very last time.  I lost 100 pounds and this year makes 3 years of maintaining the weight loss.
In this Instructable, I plan to give you an inside look at what it takes to lose a significant amount of weight (100+ pounds) without gimmicks or nonsense, no shakes or pills required.  I also plan on telling you what it takes (mentally and physically) to maintain that weight for as long as you are willing to put forth the effort! 
Take heart, friends!  Stop reading diet books!  There is NO secret, only science!

Disclaimer: I do not claim to have lost weight in the very healthiest or best manner possible.  I ate processed food, I partook of sugar substitutes, and I indulged from time to time.  This is the way that I lost weight.  It worked for me and has made me into a very healthy person.  I am at the correct BMI for my height and have a great body fat percentage.  That's not to say that it will be the best way for you or that it can't be done in other ways.  This is the experience of just one woman.  I would also like to stress that you should be consulting your doctor before you begin any kind of new diet or exercise routine.

The Obligatory Conditions For An Islamic Hijab

The Obligatory Conditions For An Islamic Hijab 

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One of the many questions that I have been asked is why does Islam make hijab mandatory for women? Islam has introduced hijab as part of the decency and modesty in interaction between members of the opposite sex. Verse 59 of chapter 33 quoted previously gives a very good reason; it says,

“This is more appropriate so that they may be known [as Muslim women] and thus not be harassed [or molested].”

Men, whether they confess it or not, are slaves of lust and desire.

• Hijab protects women from such men; it symbolizes that she has been sanctified to one man only and is off-limit to all others.

• Hijab contributes to the stability and preservation of marriage and family by eliminating the chances of extramarital affairs.

• Finally, it compels men to focus on the real personality of the woman and de-emphasizes her physical beauty. It puts the woman in control of strangers’ reaction to her.

Commenting on the attire of women in North Africa and South East Asia, Germaine Greer, one of the pioneers of the women’s liberation movement, wrote:

“Women who wear cortes or huipiles or saris or jellabas or salwar kameez or any other ample garments can swell and diminish inside them without embarrassment or discomfort. Women with shawls and veils can breastfeed anywhere without calling attention to themselves, while baby is protected from dust and flies. In most non-Western societies, the dress and ornaments of women celebrate the mothering function. Ours deny it.”1

Note that she also specifically mentions the salwar, kameez and jellabas that are used by Muslim women in the East.

Feminists and the Western media often portray the hijab as a symbol of oppression and slavery of women. This sexist angle of viewing the hijab reflects the influence of Western feminists who are subconsciously reacting to the Judea-Christian concept of veil –– “the symbol of woman’s subjection to her husband”.2

To look at one’s own religious or cultural history and then to pass a judgment against another religion is, on the milder side, an intellectual miscalculation, and, on the harsher side, outright cultural imperialism! My father made an interesting observation in an article that when the Europeans penetrated the interior of Africa a century ago, they found some tribes who went about naked. They forced the tribes to wear clothes as mark of civilization. “Now those advocates of ‘civilization’ are themselves discarding their clothes. One often wonders if the ‘primitive tribes’ of the last century were not more civilized than the rest of the world. After all, it is rest of the world which is now imitating the ways of the so-called primitive society.” 3

I am surprised at the society which shows tolerance towards those who would like to go around topless but finds it difficult to tolerate a lady who by her own choice wants to observe hijab! According to Naheed Mustafa, a Canadian Muslim, “In the Western world, the hijab has come to symbolize either forced silence or radical, unconscionable militancy. Actually, it’s neither. It is simply a woman’s assertion that judgment of her physical person is to play no role whatsoever in social interaction. Wearing the hijab has given me the freedom from constant attention to my physical self. Because my appearance is not subjected to scrutiny, my beauty, or perhaps lack of it, has been removed from the realm of what can legitimately be discussed.”4

Hijab is not a symbol of oppression. Women are oppressed because of socio-economic reasons even in countries where women have never heard about hijab. On the contrary, the practice of displaying pictures of almost naked women in the commercials, billboards, and in the entertainment industry in the west is a true symbol of oppression.

Neither does the hijab prevent a woman from acquiring knowledge or from contributing to the betterment of human society. Historically women have also greatly contributed to Islam. Lady Khadijah, the first wife of the Prophet, played a significant role in the early history of Islam. A successful businesswoman in her own right, she was the first person to accept the message of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.). Her acceptance and faith were a great source of emotional support for the Prophet. She stood by her husband in the difficult days of early Islam, and spent her wealth for the promotion of the new religion.

The first Muslim person to be martyred in Muslim history was a woman by the name of Sumayya, the wife of Yasir and the mother of ‘Ammar. She was killed along with her husband for refusing to renounce Islam.

Lady Falimatu ’z-Zahra’, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad, was a beacon of light and a source of guidance for the women of her time. She faithfully stood by her husband, Imam ‘Ali, in his struggle for his right of caliphate, and strongly protested against the first violation of the right of inheritance for daughters in Islam.

One of the most important events in the early history of Islam was the event of Karbala, which was a protest led by Imam Husayn against the tyranny of Yazid. In that protest, the soldiers of Yazid massacred Husayn and about seventy-two of his supporters. It was Husayn’s sister, Zaynab, who continued the social protest and was very influential in bringing about the awakening among the people to stand up against the tyranny of the rulers. Zaynab greatly contributed to the factors that eventually brought about the downfall of the Umayyads.

source : http://www.al-islam.org/

30 Weight Loss Tips From Women Who Have Lost 100 Pounds

30 Weight Loss Tips From Women Who Have Lost 100 Pounds 

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Weight loss tips for women usually consist of boring and common sense things like eat more fruits and vegetables, jog, walk, and blah blah blah. Here are some unique weight loss tactics that can yield almost immediate results.

Weight Loss Tips For Women

1. Spin Around

Yeah, get crazy, spin around in a circle. Do what kids do naturally. Why does this work?

Well, spinning has the uncanny ability to balance out your hormones because of the affect they have on your Endocrine System. Know this... your Endocrine System controls your hormones and most adults in the Western World don't have balanced hormones.

This makes gaining weight easy and losing weight almost impossible over the long run.

Enter spinning. Just spin around clockwise with your arms out and get slightly dizzy. There's a little more to it than that, but that's the gist of it. Now tell me that's a boring tip! Try it out right now... most people get an instant energy surge from doing spins.

2. Walk on a 10-15 degree inclined treadmill

Whoa... didn't I just say walking was a boring tip. Well, walking on a flat surface is... and it's not really that effective for immediate weight loss. But walking on an incline is. Big time! It creates a massive oxygen deficit within your body which instigates your body to burn off fat for immediate energy.

Just walk for 15-20 minutes a day on an incline. It's simple, but not necessarily easy. You'll feel the difference the next day. It's actually quite exciting when you make slight changes to things and see incredible results.

So try these 2 weight loss tips for women and reap immediate weight loss rewards beyond what you thought was possible.

If you're sick and tired of getting the same old boring and tired weight loss tips for women... you know, like "Eat more fruits and vegetables, drink 8 glasses of water, exercise more, and blah blah blah"... then you found the right person. I'll make weight loss easy and enjoyable for you... AND NOT BORING!

First, click http://www.weightlossguide4women.com to get your free 19-page report "How Spinning Around in a Circle Like a 4-year old Child will Skyrocket your Weight Loss Success". This will give you a jumpstart on how to lose 10 pounds fast.

Second... after you get the free report, you'll be sent inside my website for even more unique and little known weight loss tips, tricks, techniques, and tactics. These unconventional tricks are a "shortcut" way on how to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks... no mention of eating carrots or celery. I promise.

Third, with my advice, you won't starve, have to go to the gym ever, or basically do anything that is a hassle for your busy life. Listen, I understand you don't want the usual weight loss tips for women that you're use to. You want to lose weight without changing much in your diet or exercise plans... I get it. I have this completely covered. I've worked with over 3,700 clients. I know a 1-size fits all plan doesn't work. So I've come up with lots of "tricks" to personalize weight loss specifically for you and your lifestyle.

Fourth... there is no fourth. Just enjoy the free report and my website. If you don't lose 10 pounds with just my free information... I'd be amazingly surprised!

Women's Top 5 Health Concerns

Women's Top 5 Health Concerns

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Diabetes is a prime health concern today because it has become one of the most common diseases that people are dealing with. Diabetes is a disease that is distinguished by having high blood sugar. While diabetes is one specific disease, there are three different types of diabetes that people can develop, which includes gestational diabetes, Type 1 diabetes, and Type 2 diabetes. Each one of these types of diabetes has different causes and can be resolved in different ways.

Who is at Risk?

While gestational diabetes is of course found in only women, the other types of diabetes can affect either sex. As a general rule, women seem to have a higher risk of developing diabetes than do men. However, a great number of men are developing this disease as well. Interestingly enough, those who are Latin American or African American have a higher risk of getting diabetes. Age also can affect your risk of developing diabetes, although diabetes can affect people of all ages, both young and old. Once you are over the age of 40, the risk gets higher, with people over the age of 60 having the highest risk of developing diabetes. Other risks that may affect your chances of developing diabetes is your diet, weight, and even your family history.

Early Warning Signs

While there is no cure for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, it can be effectively treated, especially when you catch the warning signs early. One of the first early signs that may be pointing towards diabetes is excessive thirst. Along with the excessive thirst comes the frequent need to urinate, since the kidneys are working extra hard to get rid of the extra sugar that is present in your body. Other warning signs can include blurry vision, fatigue, numbness in extremities, weight loss, or frequent hunger.

Lowering Your Risk

While you cannot totally prevent diabetes, there are a variety of ways that you can lower your risk of getting the disease. One way that you can drastically lower your risk of developing diabetes is to work on lowering your weight if you are overweight. Just losing 5% of your current body weight can make a significant difference and drastically lower your risk. Increasing the amount of exercising that you do is a great way to lower your risk for diabetes as well. If you combine weight loss and exercise together you can lower your risk of developing diabetes by more than fifty percent. Other ways that you can lower your risk are to stop smoking, eat more whole grains, and to limit the amount of processed carbohydrates that you eat each day.

Diabetes truly is a disease that is affecting many people today, from the old to the young. Thankfully there are ways that you can work to lower your risk, and even if you catch the early warning signs, sometimes a change in lifestyle can accomplish a lot. No matter what age or gender you may be, you can start today and work towards lowering your risk of developing this disease.

Health, life & Love is a motivational website offering articles on health, life and love. We are dedicated to the happenings of life and how to better anyone's day to day living.

20 Best Hijab Styles for Short Height Girls to Look Tall

20 Best Hijab Styles for Short Height Girls to Look Tall

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There are many different ways to wear a Hijab properly. When it comes to Islamic clothing, though, a lot of modernization has taken place; there are essentially five styles to wear the Hijab and these are underlined below.

First style

In this technique of wearing the hijab, a pashmina shawl is placed over the head with one side shorter than the other side. Then, using a safety pin, the two edges are folded back behind the neck and pinned together. When pinning, the scarf front should look smooth and neat. Then, take the longer scarf edge and bring it around under the chin and take the scarf all the way to the other end. The hijab should fall evenly around your shoulders and there must be no creases on the front portion of the scarf. Once the placement is satisfactory, you should pin the other edge of the hijab to the portion around under the neck.

Second style

In this technique, the method of wearing the hijab is the same as the first style. However the difference is that in here, the finish is smoother and neater in appearance. The hijab front portion is pinned onto the back of the person's head instead of in the front as in the first method.

Third style

This is a very popular and smart style of wearing the hijab. These days there is a wide range of oblong hijabs available at various stores selling wholesale Islamic clothing. You can use such hijabs or a scarf in this third style. In this method, place the Pashmina shawl on the head with one side long and other short. Fold the scarf behind the head and pin the two edges at the nape of your neck behind the head. As in the earlier methods, ensure the hijab front is smooth with no creases. Take the longer scarf edge and bring it around under the chin all the way to the other side. You can now pin the hijab under your ear or on the head side as per your individual preference. You can also pin the hijab at the back of the head for a cleaner and smarter appearance.

Mona Hijab

This is a new kind of hijab style, which is only available online. Thus, the best place to get such hijabs would be in online shops which specialize in wholesale Islamic clothing. This is a single-piece hijab comprising of underscarf with stretch material and a scarf attached to it. Once you place the underscarf on the head, the attached hijab will fall smoothly and naturally around the head so you only have to wrap it once and pin it on the front or back of the head.

Turban styled

This is a very new design when it comes to wearing hijabs. In these exclusive designs, the Kuwaiti Amira is a good choice. In such a style of wearing hijab, the person has to tie the hijab ends on the back of the head and bring the edges again to the front, fold the sides and swing all around the head. All excess parts of the scarf have to be tied underneath or the other end can be tucked at the side. You can also add another scarf to the turban as per individual preference.

Top Best Hijab Styles for 2015 2016 Style & Fashion

Top Best Hijab Styles for 2015 2016 Style & Fashion

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Hijab plays an important role in Islam. In Islam, Women are more secured in a society. Islam gives  respect and honorable life for women. Hijab gives you an identification of Islam. Muslim women’s are different from other region women and should protect them from others by Hijab. With Hijab Women should feel safe and sound and easy. Hijab means covered the women body that wear on head. Firstly women wear shawls then after sometimes women wear gown but now a day’s most female’s wear Hijab and abaya’s according to fashion trends. Hijab protect women from men .In Pakistan, Most girls of college, universities, educated women and working women liked wear hijab and obeyed God. In Hijab, women are more comfort and feels freedom. Hijab wears girl’s looks more beautiful and show natural personality. In Modern Life, Hijab used as a Fashion, many girls wears as a fashion style