Starbucks Starbucks, along with its partner Delek Group of Israel, closed all six of its locations in Israel, citing "on-going operational challenges" and a "difficult business environment." The Starbucks location in the former imperial palace in Beijing closed in July 2007. The coffee shop had been a source of ongoing controversy since its opening in 2000 with protesters objecting that the presence of the American chain in this location "was trampling on Chinese culture." In July 2008, the company announced it was closing 600 underperforming company-owned stores and cutting U.S. expansion plans amid growing economic uncertainty. On July 29, 2008, Starbucks
Rigid chain actuator Eldridge E. Long, who was awarded a US patent for his “Lifting Jack” in 1933, which he believed was “particularly adapted for use upon automobiles”. It used a double chain configuration, each chain linking solid bearing blocks that were stacked to resist compressive loads. In 1951, Yaichi Hayakawa was awarded a US patent for his “Interlocking Chain Stanchion” which eliminated bearing blocks by integrating the compressive path of force into the interlocking links of two roller-like chains. The zipper action of back-to-back interlocking chains provided guideless chain travel regardless of orientation and path of travel. It should be noted that