Congress Needs to Extend Emergency Unemployment Insurance ...

Chuck Sheketoff

Tens of thousands of unemployed Oregonians need Congress to act now to extend Emergency Unemployment Insurance (see this story and this story).

Emergency unemployment compensation is helping 29,240 Oregonians who, despite looking for over 26 weeks, have not been hired. That is about the number (29,600) of Oregonians OCPP estimates will abruptly lose benefits December 29 if Congress does not act to extend the program, reducing the number receiving unemployment compensation support of any kind by a third.

The disappearance of this safety net, however, will have an even wider impact. Also affected will be those who will exhaust their 26 weeks of state benefits after December 29. OCPP estimates that about 12,100 Oregon workers will be in this situation during just the first three months of 2013.

The end of federal unemployment insurance will also diminish economic activity in our state. Federal unemployment insurance is pumping millions of dollars into the Oregon economy each month, helping struggling families and communities hard-hit by long-term unemployment. Over the course of this year emergency unemployment insurance brought over $600 million into Oregon, helping the economy in every county in the state.

Congress must act without delay to extend the emergency unemployment compensation either in the ?fiscal cliff? legislation or in a separate bill.

Oregon currently has 166,000 unemployed workers, and so far this year, the state economy has added on average about 1,700 jobs per month. At that rate, it will take eight years for all those who want to work to have the opportunity.

I am sure I am not alone in longing for the day when the economy is robust enough that Oregon doesn?t need the extended emergency federal support.

I am also sure that the families, friends and neighbors of the thousands of unemployed workers facing the end of their modest unemployment insurance would agree with me that right now our economy needs a robust extension of the federal uninsurance program. Oregonians, and Oregon?s economy, need federal action right now.

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Chuck Sheketoff is the executive director of the Oregon Center for Public Policy. You can sign up to receive email notification of OCPP materials at www.ocpp.org.

Source: http://www.blueoregon.com/2012/12/congress-needs-extend-emergency-unemployment-insurance/

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Where in the World Are Josh Simpson s Planets?

Volunteers have hidden 1,700 of his glass globes worldwide

By Mark Fischetti

GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL MONUMENT, Colo., Glass planet left there by Jackie Burnett and Karlan Schneider. Image: Jackie Burnett and Karlan Schneider

Glassblowing artist Josh Simpson creates imaginary planets that have landmasses, oceans, mountain ranges, volcanoes, even clouds. His big mega-planets, shown at a variety of museums, are 30 centimeters in diameter and weigh 23 kilograms. But he also makes small orbs a couple of centimeters across, which are being placed surreptitiously around our own Earth.

Simpson?s inspiration for his clandestine Infinity Project came from some marbles he found a long time ago on his property in Shelburne, Mass., which appeared to have been lying there for decades and yet were still as brilliant as ever, thanks to the long-lasting properties of glass. Today, more than 1,700 people have hidden his small planets in all sorts of locations?from the grave sight of John Belushi to a castle in Lithuania to an abandoned British fort in Bundi, India?and Simpson still provides them to applicants who present a novel plan.

Each globe is marked with an infinity symbol. Some are meant to be discovered quickly, others are likely to remain hidden for centuries. ?I hope future archaeologists will be confused about the meaning and purpose of the little spheres, wondering what they are and how they got there,? Simpson says with a smile.

>>View a slide show of people leaving Simpson?s little planets in spots around the world.

The slide show here identifies people who have placed planets, and the locations they chose. All photos have been submitted by the volunteers and were taken by them or anonymous friends. Related photos showing Simpson?s work can be seen here.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=fb3f0ec5b5b3db4ad5357807721a64ed

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Education of Business Online from NCSU Careers ? Page 1 ...

By admin | Published December 25, 2012

There are many different careers in the field of accounting ranging from entry-level bookkeeping to the Chief Financial Officer of a company. To achieve positions with more responsibility and higher salaries, it?s necessary to have a degree in accounting as well as achieve various professional designations.

One of the primary milestones in any accountant?s career is to become a Certified Public Accountant or CPA. To become a CPA you have to go to college with a major in accounting. You also have to pass a national CPA exam. There?s also some employment experience required in a CPA firm. This is generally one to two years, although this varies from state to state. Once you satisfy all those requirements, you get a certificate that designates you as a CPA and you?re allowed to offer your services to the public.

Many CPAs consider this just one stepping stone to their careers. The chief accountant in many offices is called the controller. The controller is in charge of managing the entire accounting system in a business stays on top of accounting and tax laws to keep the company legal and is responsible for preparing the financial statements.

The controller is also in charge of financial planning and budgeting. Some companies have only one accounting professional who?s essentially the chief cook and bottle washer and does everything. As a business grows in size and complexity, then additional layers of personnel are required to handle the volume of work that comes from growth. Other areas in the company are also impacted by growth, and it?s part of the controller?s job to determine just how many more salaries the company can pay for additional people without negatively impacting growth and profits.

The controller also is responsible for preparing tax returns for the business; a much more involved and complex task than completing personal income tax forms! In larger organizations, the controller can report to a vice president of finance who reports to the chief financial officer, who is responsible for the broad objectives for growth and profit and implementing the appropriate strategies to achieve the objectives.

This entry was posted in Financial Aid and Scholarships. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Both comments and trackbacks are currently closed.

Source: http://www.graspncsu.com/2012/12/careers/

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How Mobile Technologies Are Changing 'Traditional Employment ...

In the last ten years, the number of Americans working from home climbed by more than 40%.

According to the most recent Census Bureau data, 13.4 million people currently work from home in the United States, which is four million more than the number of home-based workers documented in 1999.

Thanks to the rampant growth of tablet computers, sophisticated smartphones, and the relative ease with which people can connect and interact from almost anywhere on the planet, companies are beginning to change how they do business and where they station their employees.

Coupled with the ongoing economic troubles of our time, mobile technologies are going to dramatically impact the nature of conventional employment in the coming years. Specifically, says a new report from InformationWeek, ?work is beginning to move away from long-term commitments to more project-based or freelance work.?

Erik Brynjolfsson, the director of the MIT Center for Digital Business, says: ?I think we?ll see a lot more of this as transaction costs and search costs and [as] search costs fall with new technologies, the old jobs disappear.?

By ?old? job, he means the 9-to-5 job, where an employee goes in and has a pretty structured work day. In a NY Times article about fitness trainers, Brynjolfsson said the 9-to-5 secure job is becoming more scarce, and people will need to hustle to make a living.

In other words, mobile technologies will make it easier for individuals to work from home or remotely, yet the demands of their jobs could similarly change for the worse.

Josh Elman, a Principal at Greylock who formerly worked at LinkedIn, added to the report, saying: ?we thought [work] was all networked-based. You would amass connections over your career and then leverage your network for new opportunities, important connections (sales, business development, and investment), advice, and expertise. What I see changing most now it that jobs and careers seem more project-based instead of company-based. The freelance economy is huge ? whether it?s just companies such as Uber, Taskrabbit, Gigwalk or like oDesk, 99 Designs, or marketplaces like Behance or Contently get this to be higher and higher end.?

How has mobile impacted your life and career in recent years? Do you expect further changes in 2013 and beyond? If so, MMW would love to hear from you in a comment below.

Source: http://www.mobilemarketingwatch.com/how-mobile-technologies-are-changing-traditional-employment-27646/

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Analysis: Egypt's Islamists tighten grip on power

An Egyptian man reads a newspaper at a coffee shop in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012. Egypt's opposition called Sunday for an investigation into allegations of vote fraud in the referendum on a deeply divisive Islamist-backed constitution after the Muslim Brotherhood, the main group backing the charter, claimed it passed with a 64 percent "yes" vote. Official results have not been released yet and are expected on Monday. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

An Egyptian man reads a newspaper at a coffee shop in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012. Egypt's opposition called Sunday for an investigation into allegations of vote fraud in the referendum on a deeply divisive Islamist-backed constitution after the Muslim Brotherhood, the main group backing the charter, claimed it passed with a 64 percent "yes" vote. Official results have not been released yet and are expected on Monday. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Egyptian journalists tape their mouths and raise their pens during a demonstration against the draft constitution in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012. Egypt's opposition called Sunday for an investigation into allegations of vote fraud in the referendum on a deeply divisive Islamist-backed constitution after the Muslim Brotherhood, the main group backing the charter, claimed it passed with a 64 percent "yes" vote. Official results have not been released yet and are expected on Monday. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Egyptian election workers count ballots at the end of the second round of a referendum on a disputed constitution drafted by Islamist supporters of president Mohammed Morsi at a polling station in Giza, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012. Egypt's Islamist-backed constitution headed toward likely approval in a final round of voting on Saturday, but the deep divisions it has opened up threaten to fuel continued turmoil. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Egyptian election workers count ballots at the end of the second round of a referendum on a disputed constitution drafted by Islamist supporters of president Mohammed Morsi at a polling station in Giza, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012. Egypt's Islamist-backed constitution headed toward likely approval in a final round of voting on Saturday, but the deep divisions it has opened up threaten to fuel continued turmoil. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Egyptian election workers empty a ballot box for counting at the end of the second round of a referendum on a disputed constitution drafted by Islamist supporters of president Mohammed Morsi at a polling station in Giza, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012. Egypt's Islamist-backed constitution headed toward likely approval in a final round of voting on Saturday, but the deep divisions it has opened up threaten to fuel continued turmoil. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

CAIRO (AP) ? With the passage of a divisive constitution, Egypt's Islamist leadership has secured its tightest grip on power since Hosni Mubarak's ouster nearly two years ago and laid the foundation for legislation to create a more religious state.

The opposition's response ? a vow to keep fighting the charter and the program of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi ? ensured that the turmoil of the past two years will not end as many, especially the tens of millions of poor craving stability, had fervently hoped.

"The referendum is not the end game. It is only a battle in this long struggle for the future of Egypt," the opposition National Salvation Front said in a strongly worded statement on Sunday.

"We will not allow a change to the identity of Egypt or the return of the age of tyranny," added the front, which claims the new constitution seeks to enshrine Islamic rule in Egypt and accuses the Islamists of trying to monopolize power.

Critics say the new constitution does not sufficiently protect the rights of women and minority groups and empowers Muslim clerics by giving them a say over legislation. Some articles were also seen as tailored to get rid of Islamists' enemies and undermine the freedom of labor unions.

Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's most powerful political organization in the post-Mubarak era, claimed early Sunday that the charter it had backed was approved in the two-stage vote with a 64 percent "yes" vote overall. Though official results will not be announced until Monday, there is little doubt they will confirm the passage.

Once the official result is out, Morsi is expected to call for a new election of parliament's lawmaking lower house within two months.

And if all of the elections since Mubarak's February 2011 ouster are any predictor, Islamists will again emerge dominant. In the last parliamentary vote in late 2011, the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies the Salafis ? ultraconservative Islamists ? won about 70 percent of seats.

If Islamists win the overwhelming majority again, there is nothing to stop their lawmakers from legislating in support of their longtime goal of turning Egypt into an Islamic state. The Salafis will likely seek to enlist the support of the less radical Brotherhood for legislation that would nudge Egypt closer to a religious state.

Khalil el-Anani, a British-based expert on Islamic groups, said the Salafis are likely to insist that every piece of legislation conforms with Islamic Shariah law, especially with regard to questions of morality, culture, personal freedoms and the nation's identity.

"The Salafis will want the Brotherhood to reward them for their campaigning for the 'yes' vote," said el-Anani. "The Brotherhood, meanwhile, will want to rebuild their image as a credible democratic group after a period in which it seemed in complete alignment with the Salafis."

The Islamists could also move early to pass laws restricting vibrant and outspoken privately owned media organizations that have flourished since the uprising and reported critically on Morsi and the Brotherhood.

Egypt analyst Michael W. Hanna said, however, that enduring political tensions will make it difficult for the Islamists to push ahead with any major or sensitive legislation.

"There will be a huge domestic backlash to any unpopular legislation, especially when it comes to the economy or the media," said Hanna of New York's Century Foundation.

Until the lower house is elected and seated, parliament's upper chamber, the Shura Council, will temporarily assume legislative powers and may give priority to more pressing issues.

After the opposition brought hundreds of thousands of protesters to the streets in the past four weeks, including tens of thousands outside Morsi's presidential palace in Cairo, the Shura Council is expected to hurriedly debate and vote on a legislation that would place tight restrictions on the right to demonstrate.

More serious challenges to Morsi's leadership may lie ahead. The millions who voted "yes" for the constitution are hoping for stability, jobs and business opportunities that may be slow in coming.

The president will soon have to introduce painful economic reforms to salvage a deal with the International Monetary Fund for a $4.8 billion loan that was delayed at Egypt's request because of the political turmoil of the past month.

A glimpse of what may be in store on that front emerged Sunday after Prime Minister Hesham Knadil met with the Cabinet's economic team.

"The current financial and economic situation is in grave danger," said Cabinet spokesman Alaa el-Hadidy. "Leaving things the way they are is not something we can afford to do," he said, hinting at the necessity of structural reforms. These will include price and tax hikes as well as lifting subsidies on fuel.

Morsi recently rescinded a package of price and tax hikes hours after he decreed them, saying he did not want to burden poor Egyptians with a higher cost of living. But economists say it is only a question of time before the package is re-introduced.

With foreign currency reserves around half of what they were two years ago and tourism revenues hard hit by resurgent political turmoil, the economy has been in a free-fall for months. Deepening the nation's economic plight is the seemingly endless series of strikes and demands for salary increases and better benefits.

Price hikes, warn many analysts, could prove to be the last straw for the nearly half of Egypt's 85 million people who live around the poverty line of surviving on $2 a day.

Many Egyptians want to see Morsi's government moving aggressively to tackle the nation's pressing problems such as security and reviving the vital tourism sector.

"We want factories to work again so we can find jobs here instead of traveling abroad to find work," said Mohammed Sweilam, a metal worker who spent seven years working in oil-rich Saudi Arabia. "When stability prevails, I will consider coming home to stay. Let us give the Brotherhood a chance. We owe them this," he said as he waited in line on Saturday to cast his vote in the town of El-Saf in Cairo's neighboring Giza province.

Another pressing issue for the new legislators may be the anti-Islamist editorial policy of the independent media, particularly privately owned TV networks whose political talk shows are watched nightly by millions and shape public perceptions.

Already, Morsi's allies have been filing numerous complaints against media celebrities who criticize or mock the president and the Brotherhood, including hosts of satirical shows and newspaper columnists. Several of them are on trial or being investigated on charges of "insulting" the president or undermining national security.

Since Morsi took office nearly six months ago, Brotherhood members or sympathizers have been named editors of most of the roughly 50 state-owned publications. The powerful information minister is a prominent Brotherhood leader.

A recent court ruling also shut down a TV network whose owner is a harsh critic of Morsi. Salafis who support Morsi have been staging a sit-in outside a media complex in Cairo for weeks to protest against what they say is the anti-Islamist policies of private TV networks housed there.

The constitutional crisis has re-energized and united the once-fractured opposition, turning it into a force to be reckoned with in the fight over Egypt's future. In a sign of its newly found strength, the National Salvation Front, the main opposition group, on Sunday scornfully rejected a Brotherhood invitation for dialogue.

The opposition has dismissed the constitution as the fruition of an illegitimate process.

The low turnout for the referendum ? 32 percent of the more than 51 million eligible voters, or 20 percent of Egypt's 85 million people, according to unofficial results ? has shown the limitations Islamists face in marketing an Islamic state in a nation still largely loyal to secular traditions.

Morsi could be tainted by allegations of voting violations instigated by Islamists and reported by rights groups. The charges could cast doubt on the democratic credentials of the Islamists and lead to damaging analogies between Morsi's administration and Mubarak's authoritarian regime, which oversaw massive electoral fraud for years.

The opposition is demanding an investigation of alleged wrongdoing in the vote.

The Brotherhood insisted violations were limited and should not affect the referendum's integrity.

But prominent lawyer and rights activist Negad Borai described the violations as systematic.

"What happened in the referendum could lead to violence and bloodshed if repeated in a parliamentary election when the stakes are higher," he warned.

___

Hendawi is the Associated Press chief of bureau in Cairo.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-23-Egypt-What's%20Next-Analysis/id-f964cf36c7ba4849b6561af131491148

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Top 5 gadgets for Christmas 2012 | Business Productivity

Home > Blog > Technology made easy > My wish list to Santa 2012: Gadgets I want for Christmas

Last year I wrote two wish lists to Santa Claus, one with books I wanted for Christmas and one with cool gadgets. This year I?m focusing on the top five gadgets I would be ecstatic if Santa gave me. My wish list this year contains a mix of technical things covering all aspects of life, from entertainment, fun, and exercise to productivity. Here it is:

1. Music anywhere with AQ SmartSpeakers

Today most of us have access to unlimited music on a wide range of devices. Personally I use Spotify, and I can listen to music on my computers, my iPad and mobile. At home I listen to music though our Sonos speakers, but I want to be able to listen to music wherever I am ? in our summer house, the backyard, in the hotel when on vacation ? literally wherever I am. So, to solve this I would be thrilled if Santa got me a set of AQ portable SmartSpeakers.

These speakers are literally wireless ? you don?t need any audio cables or power cables. This means that you can take them with you and place them wherever you are. The rechargeable battery can play for 10 hours before you need to plug it in for a recharge. You can send music to the speakers via a wide range of devices and applications. You can read the full specification here. I?m hoping I?ll be able to play my Christmas playlist on a pair of these when I go home to Sweden for the holiday.

2. Fun for the whole family with Just Dance 4

Christmas is really a time for families to get together and play fun games. When I was a child we used to have Tetris competitions (I had the high score until my cousin hacked in to the high score list). Since you tend to eat a lot during Christmas I prefer games where you can move around and burn some calories. This year I?ve put the video game ?Just Dance 4? on my wish list. No matter if you have a Wii, a PlayStation or Xbox Kinect, you can enjoy this fun family game that?s all about dancing. Just follow the characters on the screen and copy their dance moves. Fun to play and fun to watch!

3. Lazy evenings in the sofa with Netflix

My husband and I both work a lot so we really cherish the moments when we?ve put the kids to bed and we can enjoy an evening in front of the TV. To get the most out of these evenings I would like a one year subscription of Netflix from Santa. This way we can easily browse popular TV shows and movies and watch them whenever we want.

4. A more fun way to get in shape with a Nike+ Fuelband

After enjoying all that great food during the Christmas holiday I will most definitely have to work hard to get back in shape. Being a technology geek, I think it?s much more fun to exercise if I can track my efforts on my computer. That?s why I?ve added a Nike+ Fuelband to my wish list. The wrist band, which also works as a watch, measures your movement during the day ? whether you are walking, jogging, dancing, or running after your children. It calculates the number of calories you?ve consumed, how many steps you have taken and it also indicates with a red, yellow or green light how close you are to reaching the exercise goal you have set up for the day. It also measures ?Nike Fuel,? a unique metric which provides comparable data across different sports. All the stored results are synchronized to your PC or mobile using the built in USB-cable or via Bluetooth. You can then analyze your daily, weekly and monthly performance and if you are very proud of your achievements (or just brave and honest), you can share your results with friends via facebook, Twitter or Path.

5. For lighter productivity in 2013 ? a Microsoft Surface

With the launch of Microsoft Windows 8 there are a lot of new touch-screen enabled, sleek tablets entering the market. To easier be able to work from anywhere ? the coffee shop, the airplane, the bus stop, I want a Microsoft Surface from Santa. I?ve already written an entire blog post about Microsoft Surface so I won?t delve any deeper here. Since the version I want, Microsoft Surface with Windows 8 Pro, won?t be available until early in 2013, I can?t expect this package under the Christmas tree. But if Santa gives out vouchers, I want to add a $899 gift voucher to the Microsoft Store to my wish list so that I can get it online when it ships.

Merry Christmas to all of you!

That sums up my top five gadgets for this Christmas. Whether you get what you wish for or not under the Christmas tree, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas. Remember that the best gifts in life are the ones that don?t put a hole in your pocket, like your children?s laughter and a hug from a loved one! Merry Christmas everyone!

(If you have difficulties reading this article, you can access the full article in pdf?here)

Source: http://www.businessproductivity.com/gadgets-i-want-for-christmas-2012/

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Norquist: Obama, Dems using Newtown for 'political purposes'

National Rifle Association board member and president of Americans for Tax Reform Grover Norquist said on Sunday that President Obama and Democrats are politicizing the Newtown tragedy by pushing for gun control.

"We ought to calm down and not take tragedies like this, crimes like this, and use them for political purposes," Norquist told me on "This Week." "President Obama has been president for four years. If he thought some gun control could solve this problem, he should have been pushing it years ago."

"Democrats had a majority in the House and a supermajority in the House and the Senate for the first two years that they were in office. If they thought that this was really an important issue they might have done something then. They didn't," he added.

Read a full transcript of this week's show HERE.

On Wednesday, Obama announced that Vice President Joe Biden would head a task force of leaders from across the country to evaluate solutions to reduce gun violence.

Norquist endorsed the recommendation made by NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre at a press conference on Friday to place armed guards in schools across the country.

Other members of the political roundtable pushed for what they called "common sense" gun laws.

Like "This Week" on Facebook here. You can also follow the show on Twitter here.

Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker, who is a member of the pro-gun control group Mayors Against Illegal Guns, said that there is more agreement than disagreement on measures to stop the mentally ill and criminals from acquiring weapons.

"I don't think anyone has seen someone shot-I have," Booker said. "I don't know if anybody here has had to put their hand in somebody's chest, and try to stop the bleeding so that person doesn't die-I have. What frustrates me about this debate is that it is a false debate."

"Most of us in America including gun owners agree on things that would stop the kind of carnage that is going on in cities all across America," Booker said, adding that loopholes that allow criminals to buy guns in "secondary markets" should be closed.

Get more pure politics at ABC News.com/Politics and a lighter take on the news at OTUSNews.com.

Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan said that LaPierre's suggestion that the effect of a violent culture on the mentally ill has contributed to increased gun violence, but she believes that Congress should pursue some gun control measures.

"I am for the banning of the extended magazines and extended clips," Noonan said.

Editor and Publisher of The Nation Katrina vanden Heuvel said that focusing on the mentally ill is a distraction from the issue of gun violence.

"The mental illness argument has been used to evade action," vanden Huevel said. "More guns and bullets, more dead children."

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/grover-norquist-obama-democrats-using-newtown-political-purposes-162357033--abc-news-politics.html

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95% The Central Park Five

All Critics (57) | Top Critics (24) | Fresh (54) | Rotten (3)

The doc is rife with smart or wrenching or shameful moments. The fresh interviews with the accused, now men, are invaluable.

As grim a portrait of the criminal justice system as can be imagined.

How could this second crime have occurred? The film asks that question but only partly answers it, and in the process it raises an even more troubling one.

"The Central Park Five" is worth seeing, both for the ways it's timeless and for the ways it encapsulates an era.

What's amazing about listening to them speak now, often through tears, is the absence of bitterness.

You'll notice something odd as you watch and your anger rises at the injustice of it all: The anger of the wrongly convicted does not.

Puts the crime and the times in sharp perspective.

Burns and company conduct a thorough, riveting investigation that does a far better job of assessing the tragedy than the justice system did two decades before. Of course, hindsight is an advantage we all take for granted.

It's a gripping story that comes in a well-crafted package.

A heartbreaking expose' about a rush to judgment which ruined five, innocent young lives.

Exclusive interviews with former heads of Israel's counter terrorism agency reveal insiders' analysis about the country's policies. Fascinating. Frightening.

"The Central Park Five" is a sobering indictment of racism and vigilante justice, yet it is constrained by a PBS-style deference to the very system it critiques.

You can't help but wonder why this film wasn't made 20 years ago, when it could have saved these men some time behind bars.

What keeps the film from being an impossible downer is the guts and spirit and smart words of the Central Park Five, four of whom, now freed, are interviewed at length.

A miscarriage of justice on this scale would have been tragic had it resulted from an honest mistake - but, as this meticulously researched movie makes clear, honesty had little to do with it.

The [documentary] team builds a solid story from the time of the crime through the release from prison those wrongly accused and railroaded into confessing to a crime they did not commit.

The result is both compelling and infuriating.

The Central Park Five provides background drawn from contemporary media images, including crime scene footage accompanied by a detective's grisly description, as well as reflections by those involved.

Not only gripping and heartbreaking, but terrifying.

At times, this is a devastating film, one that acknowledges the desire for but refuses to buy into an easy answer.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_central_park_five_2012/

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Prosperity Series 6: Internet Entrepreneurship - Website Design

Bringing the Law of Attraction to Internet Entrepreneurship

Internet entrepreneurship starts with your computer screen.

Internet entrepreneurship is perhaps the most exciting thing to happen in business since Henry Ford developed the assembly line. The Internet levels the playing field, allowing just about anyone to enter the World Wide Web and to set up shop. You don?t have to have inventory, expensive equipment, payroll (at least for those just starting out), and a lot of expertise. Software and Internet service providers make it easy.

But what?s the difference between those who fail miserably and those who make it big. All other things being equal, the biggest difference is in the attitude. And, as we learned earlier in this series, attitude is based upon beliefs. Attitude in motion is behaviour, and behaviour governs the results we produce.

You can give two people exactly the same instructions and one will not be able to follow through, while the other person will complete the assignment with flying colours. It has everything to do with attitude. One person easily sees failure, while the other person easily sees success.

Google is more important to Internet entrepreneurship than any other search engine.

Google and Internet Entrepreneurship

The masterminds at Google continue to push the envelope on developing algorithms to detect quality and relevance in websites. All the SEO effort in the world won?t mean squat if Google changes the algorithm a certain way, wiping out all of your carefully laid work to take advantage of the last incarnation.

Perhaps the best strategy of all is to head Google off at the pass by delivering what Google is trying to elicit in the first place?quality content and lots of it.

But let?s look at what defines ?quality.? Quality means,

• Well-written.
• Delivering value (something valuable to the reader or visitor).
• Easy-to-read. This could include something as simple as the Flesch rating for readability?a measure of the sentence lengths and lengths of words. It might include the percentage of passive sentences compared to those with active voice. Long sentences and long words make text more difficult to comprehend for a broader audience.
• Having authority. This is where all those back links come in handy. But Google prefers quality back links?links that show relevance. These are links that prove you are an authority.

Internet Entrepreneurship Solutions

Internet entrepreneurship needs skilled labour. oDesk and Elance are two key sources.

Perhaps building authority proves to be the most difficult and time consuming of these. Certainly each of the others contribute to this, but more needs to be done to build your reputation.

Answering questions at forums and making comments on blogs can help, but these take time. Perhaps the biggest block of time is in finding the appropriate places to write these answers and comments. You can delegate this to someone else. Hire someone through a job site, like oDesk.com or Elance.com, to tackle the menial tasks for you. With worldwide resources, you are likely to find someone in your budget. You can?t delegate your authority, because that comes directly from you and only you, but you can certainly delegate repetitive actions that take away from you delivering your core value.

Even the idea of delivering lots of quality content can be delegated. If you choose your team carefully, you can end up having to do very little to maintain your new empire.

Horseshoe Magnet: a symbol for the Law of Attraction and the key to success in Internet Entrepreneurship.

Attracting Solutions

As outrageous as it sounds, you literally attract what you believe or feel. If you feel that success can only be achieved with hard work, then you will always have hard work and long hours.

If you fear hard work and attempt to use the Law of Attraction to escape the drudgery, you will attract only hard work and long hours. Why? The Law of Attraction doesn?t see your desire. It only sees the picture toward which your feeling is aimed. You can fear or desire something, but the Law of Attraction only looks at the picture. If you don?t want slavish hours and hard work, then picture for yourself: easy, effortless productivity that requires very little work. Don?t focus on the work. Focus on the ease of action.

You should never fear hard work. You should always been willing to roll up your sleeves and to slug it out to get something done. But if you keep building a feeling of effortlessness, you will find more and more inspiration and opportunities for effortless productivity coming your way. You will find more tricks to make your job easier.

We will continue to give you tips and techniques that can help you make your websites better and better, but behind all success is one overriding attitude. If your attitude is one of effort and failure, you?ll struggle and perhaps never make it. But if your attitude is one of ease of work and dynamic success, you?ll find every possible way to achieve massive prosperity for all of your websites.

As always, we?d like to hear your comments and feedback. Let us know what you think.

Next: The Biggest Secret

The ancient Law of Attraction was packaged, a few years back, as ?The Secret.? It quickly became a blockbuster video and a bestselling book.

For a majority of people on the planet, it had been a secret. Few people ever knew about it until the video came out. And fewer people still ever put that secret into productive use.

In the next and final article in this series, we touch on another secret which is far bigger than the Law of Attraction?Prosperity Series 7: Secret of the Ages.

Source: http://awebsitedesigner.com.au/prosperity-series/prosperity-series-6-internet-entrepreneurship/

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Bengals clinch playoff spot, edge Steelers 13-10

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel (99) celebrates after making a tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals in the first quarterof an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012. Keisel was penalized for the celebration on the play. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel (99) celebrates after making a tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals in the first quarterof an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012. Keisel was penalized for the celebration on the play. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) is sacked by Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins in the first quarter of their NFL football game on Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Leon Hall, left, trots into the end zone after intercepting a pass from Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the first quarter of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Dec 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green (18) is hit by Pittsburgh Steelers strong safety Troy Polamalu (43) as he tries to catch a pass in the second quarter of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Dec 23, 2012. The pass was incomplete. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) ? A.J. Green doesn't really care about the Cincinnati Bengals' woeful past. The wide receiver wasn't part of it and hasn't really taken the time to study it.

The Bengals were bad. End of story.

And now they're good. Beginning of story.

Andy Dalton hit Green for a 21-yard pass in the final minutes to set up Josh Brown's 43-yard field goal with 4 seconds left to lift the Bengals to a 13-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Cincinnati (9-6) clinched a second straight playoff berth after beating the Steelers (7-8) for the first time since 2009. Pittsburgh (7-8) was eliminated from postseason contention.

The only other time the Bengals made the playoffs in consecutive seasons came in 1981-82, six years before Green was born.

"This has been our goal coming in at the beginning of the season," Green said. "A lot of people talked about we hadn't been in in back to back seasons in 30 years. I don't worry about that stuff. I've been here two years and we made the playoffs all two years. That's all we can control."

Shredding the label as erratic ? and sometimes comical ? losers one improbable victory at a time, the Bengals, their precocious duo of Green and Dalton and their quickly improving defense have Cincinnati in uncharted territory.

The Bengals have been around since 1968. This is the first time they'll make the postseason in two straight non-strike years.

"I know they just think that there's some complex; there's no complex, you've just got to come play and win," coach Marvin Lewis said. "This group in there has very little history of anything."

Maybe that's why Bengals aren't doomed to repeat it.

Brown missed a 56-yarder earlier in the fourth quarter, but earned a second chance when Reggie Nelson picked off Ben Roethlisberger and returned it to the Pittsburgh 46 with 14 seconds remaining. Dalton found Green down the right sideline on the next play, setting up Brown's winner.

"I've had some pretty big kicks, but that was a long time ago," said Brown, who is filling in for injured starter Mike Nugent. "When you have a chance for the playoffs there's nothing bigger. It's a big deal.

Dalton completed 24 of 41 for 278 yards and two interceptions for the Bengals, which snapped a five-game losing streak to Pittsburgh. Green caught 10 passes for 116 yards and Cincinnati's defense next let the Steelers get comfortable.

Roethlisberger completed 14 of 28 passes for 220 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Leon Hall returned the first pick 17 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter and Nelson stepped in front of an overthrown Roethlisberger pass in the fourth.

The Steelers needed to win their final two games to make the playoffs. Instead, the team that was 6-3 in early November will spend January at home after falling for the fifth time in its last six games.

"''We should be (in the playoffs) if it wasn't for me," Roethlisberger said after throwing his second game-deciding interception in eight days.

Roethlisberger tossed a pick ? also intended for Wallace ? on the second play of overtime in Dallas last Sunday, allowing the Cowboys to win it on a field goal. He openly questioned offensive coordinator Todd Haley's play calling after the loss, but apologized later and insisted he and Haley were "on the same page."

Maybe, but the Steelers hardly played like it. The Bengals sacked Roethlisberger four times and allowed Pittsburgh to complete just 2 of 14 third downs.

"Not our day and thus, not our year," Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said. "Just not enough significant plays at the moments. Sounds like a broken record but reality as we sit here."

Pittsburgh did a decent job of keeping Dalton and Green in check, posting season highs with three turnovers and six sacks. The Bengals couldn't run the ball at all, managing just 14 yards against the NFL's top defense. Still, it wasn't enough for the Steelers, turning a season that looked so promising before Election Day into a muddled mess.

Instead of making playoff plans, Pittsburgh needs a victory next week against Cleveland to avoid the first losing season in Tomlin's six-year tenure.

Normally it's the Bengals who are playing out the string. Yet the franchise that served as a punchline for so long is now the one throwing the punches. Cincinnati never trailed in a place it rarely wins and allowed the Steelers to make the critical mistakes.

Well, most of them anyway.

Cincinnati drove into Pittsburgh territory midway through the fourth quarter with the score tied at 10 before things bogged down at the Steelers 38. Rather than try to pin reeling Pittsburgh deep, Lewis sent out Brown to attempt a 56-yard field goal into the tricky Heinz Field winds.

The kick was never close, giving the Steelers premium field position with 3:18 left.

"I make decisions to try to win the game today and they kind of backfired on me a little bit," Lewis said.

Pittsburgh, however, had its own kicking issues. The Steelers moved to the Cincinnati 36, then brought out Shaun Suisham for a 53-yard attempt that was short all the way.

The Bengals went nowhere, giving Pittsburgh one last shot in regulation. Rather than run out the clock and play for overtime with the ball at their own 11 and 44 seconds to go, the Steelers tried to make something happen.

And they did. For the Bengals. Facing second down at the Pittsburgh 29, Roethlisberger rolled to his right and tried to hit Wallace down the sideline. The ball sailed over Wallace's head and into Nelson's arms.

Two plays later Cincinnati was celebrating a playoff berth that signaled another step out of its mediocre past.

NOTES: Cincinnati's 14 yards rushing were the second-fewest in franchise history. The Bengals had 4 yards rushing against Baltimore in 2000 ... Pittsburgh TE Heath Miller left game in the fourth quarter with a right knee injury ... Brown is 8 of 9 since taking over for Nugent three weeks ago ... Five of Pittsburgh's eight losses this season have come by three points ... Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall had 50 yards rushing in his return after serving a one-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team.

___

Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-12-23-Bengals-Steelers/id-1d1af4d860f44dc8af89b0ccfce9aa0d

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Kodak Sued Over Ownership Of 18 Patents

http://www.law360.com/bankruptcy/articles/403213

12/21/2012

Law360, New York (December 20, 2012, 3:21 PM ET) ? Global OLED Technology LLC hit Eastman Kodak Co. with a lawsuit in New York bankruptcy court Wednesday seeking a declaratory judgment that 18 patents Kodak has laid claim to actually belong to GOT, which said it bought the patents in a 2009 deal.

GOT, an owner and licensor of a portfolio of about 2,200 organic light-emitting diode patents and patent applications, said it?s seeking to establish ownership of the patents, which it acquired from Kodak in connection with the purchase of the company?s OLED business?.?

Source: http://www.pmflegal.com/blog/index.php/2012/12/21/kodak-sued-over-ownership-of-18-patents/

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Pain Intensity May Help Differentiate 2 Skin Cancers - Drugs.com ...

FRIDAY Dec. 21, 2012 -- Painful and itchy skin lesions may be a sign of a type of skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma, according to a new study.

Researchers looked at data from nearly 500 patients treated for either basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma, the two most common types of skin cancer.

Itch was the most common symptom reported in both skin cancers -- 43 percent of patients with squamous cell and 33 percent of those with basal cell reported the symptom. Pain was much more common in patients with squamous cell carcinoma (almost 40 percent) than in those with basal cell carcinoma (nearly 18 percent), the investigators found.

A patient's pain score was an important predictor of having squamous cell instead of basal cell carcinoma, said study author Gil Yosipovitch, a professor of dermatology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C.

"We have shown the intensity of pain to be a unique factor to help in differentiating [squamous cell carcinoma] from [basal cell carcinoma]," Yosipovitch said in a medical center news release. "The results of this study suggest that a simple assessment of pain intensity will aid in the clinical diagnosis of [squamous cell carcinoma] and lead to earlier, appropriately aggressive treatment for these cancerous lesions that are more aggressive than [basal cell carcinoma]."

The findings were published in a letter in the Dec. 17 online edition of the journal Archives of Dermatology.

Squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma are non-melanoma skin cancers. About 4 million cases of non-melanoma skin cancers are diagnosed in the United States each year.

More information

The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more about squamous cell carcinoma.

Posted: December 2012

View comments

Source: http://www.drugs.com/news/pain-intensity-may-help-differentiate-2-skin-cancers-42206.html

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Twitter Shifts Top Brass With New COO and CFO Appointments

Joi Ito/Flickr Newly dubbed Twitter COO Ali Rowghani.

In move that shuffles some of the highest ranking members of the microblogging start-up?s executive team, Ali Rowghani has been named chief operating officer of Twitter, according to a change in his Twitter profile, shifting into the role that CEO Dick Costolo once held only a few years ago.

Rowghani, who has been with the company since 2010, came to Twitter to act as chief financial officer after leaving the same role he held at Walt Disney Company?s Pixar animation studios. He was at Pixar for more than nine years, serving as CFO for half that time.

Update 7:00 pm PT: Twitter CEO Dick Costolo just confirmed the news via tweet: ?Congratulations to @rowghani on his new role as COO and to @mgupta on his new role as CFO.?

Rowghani has often been noted as the quiet, behind-the-scenes body man to Twitter CEO Costolo, taking on far more operational responsibilities than that of typical CFOs. Rowghani has had his hand in many important areas of the business, including contributing to ideas around Twitter?s Promoted Suite of ad products, a key component of the company?s monetization efforts.

So effectively, Rowghani as COO is less of a new role than it is a solidification of his current efforts ? a title change, as it were.

Newly dubbed Twitter CFO Mike Gupta.

Former Zynga treasurer Mike Gupta will slide into Rowghani?s CFO slot, according to Gupta?s updated Twitter profile. Gupta spent a little more than a year in the role at Zynga, and was previously a high-ranking exec at Yahoo, where he played an instrumental part in Yahoo?s search and online partnership deals with Microsoft.

Twitter did not immediately respond for a request for comment.

The shuffle also comes on the heels of a major departure for Twitter, as VP of Growth Othman Laraki announced his departure from the company via tweet on Wednesday evening. Laraki was responsible for growing Twitter?s user base over the past year, which the company seems to have achieved; on Wednesday, Twitter announced it had reached the 200 million active user mark. He did not name his next landing point, though I assume he?ll be taking some time off, as he and his wife just had their first child.

The changes in the top ranks have been some time coming, as Twitter has spent the past year reorganizing the company into different teams, headed by high-profile tech hires stolen from other big companies around Silicon Valley (Google perhaps being the prime poaching target).

Earlier in the summer, Twitter snapped up Google sales guy Richard Alfonsi to become VP of global online sales, wrangling in most of the small and medium sized businesses that make of the long tail of Twitter?s ad business. Michael Sippey left SAY Media in January to head up Twitter?s VP of consumer product role, while Chris Fry and Adam Messinger were poached from Salesforce and Oracle, respectively, now holding VP of engineering posts.

Former VP of Growth Othman Laraki.

Part of the question the company must face now, as Twitter has swelled from a few hundred employees to upwards of 1500, is how the company will cultivate and maintain its culture, given that many new hires come from rival tech giants in Silicon Valley.

Another potential pitfall is Twitter?s ability to hold on to key talent, as departures from top figures like Laraki may prefer to leave the company after only a handful of years, opting instead to pursue the entrepreneurial route and build a new start-up. (Facebook, too, has this challenge to deal with.

But it?s also another series of hires on Twitter?s long road in preparation for an IPO ? which could potentially come in the next two years ? solidifying key executive positions and building out the different divisions of the company under them.

Source: http://allthingsd.com/20121219/twitter-shifts-top-brass-with-new-coo-and-cfo-appointments/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=twitter-shifts-top-brass-with-new-coo-and-cfo-appointments

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U.S. Reopens Waters Off New England for Fishing

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Regulators on Thursday voted to reopen about 5,000 square miles of protected waters off the coast of New England to new applications from commercial fishing interests.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/21/us/us-reopens-waters-off-new-england-for-fishing.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Understanding The Pain of Body Piercing | Entertainment & Arts

Many people are concerned about the pain when considering body piercings, but the information below should ease your worries and let you know what to expect.

Body piercing has been carried out worldwide ever since people had the tools to carry it out, its roots often lying in ritual and early religion. However, it has also been a seen as a beautifying process, and even today piercing is carried out in modern society both for personal adornment and as a form of ritual. Although it has always been commonplace, particular with respect to ear piercing in civilized society, piercing the body has recent become even more popular in modern civilizations. One of the issues with body piercing is the level of pain to expect, and how this varies between the different types of piercing.

The pain you feel during the piercing itself is related to the type of tissue involved. A fleshy earlobe is easy to penetrate and is generally less painful that a jab from your doctor or nurse. The pain level is slight ? the same as a rose thorn in fact. However, if you want a tragus piercing or one of any other cartilage tissue such as the top part of your ear, then it will be more painful because the tissue is not so easily penetrated. However, let?s face it: if the pain was significant and unbearable, such body piercings would not be as popular as they are. The same applies to the tongue, nipple and genitals.

Although the pain is brief, you could suffer from the continuous rubbing of the piercing against your clothing or other areas of the skin. This is particularly true of areas such as the genitals and the belly button ? if any jewellery there catches your clothes and the stud or ring pulled is out it could lead to the piercing having to be abandoned (plus excruciating pain!). You should therefore be careful of the adornments you use: studs, for example, will be less likely to catch on clothing than rings.

Infection is another problem you may face that could lead to pain. A tongue piercing, for example, is not as easy to keep as germ-free as one in your ear ? this might seem difficult to believe but it is a fact. Your mouth is generally full of germs. It is important that you have the work carried out professionally and not by an amateur or ?friend of a relative?. Professionals know the dangers of infection and can advise you on how to avoid such infection. It is very important to follow the cleaning advice you are given exactly, because many piercings are carried out in areas of your body prone to bacterial activity.

No body piercings are completely pain free. The pain involved ranges from the slight sting of an earlobe or eyebrow piercing to the more significant hurt caused by piercing tough cartilage tissue and muscles such as your tongue. None of this pain, however, is so bad as to dissuade people from having it done. The pain you feel can easily be predicted according to the feel of the tissue: if it feels soft, such as your ear lobe, then the pain will be slight, but if it feels hard, such as the cartilage of the hard parts of your ears, then it will likely hurt more. It also follows that the more sensitive areas of your body, such as labial or tongue piercings, will be more painful due to the higher concentration of nerves in these particular parts of your body.

Your pain tolerance might be higher or lower, but you can make that choice yourself and avoid piercing the more sensitive parts of your body. Generally, though, the actual pain experienced during the procedure itself is short-lived and believed by most to be worth it. It is the afterward that you must take care of, and ensure that you avoid post-piercing infection. Do that and your piercing will be successful with the minimum of personal pain and stress.

More information on stretching and gauging ear lobes is available from Mark?s website Flesh Tunnel where you will also find a selection of diamond flesh tunnels and some wonderful ear jewellery.

Source: http://www.huntingbynight.com/understanding-the-pain-of-body-piercing/

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3 Ways To Purchase Foreclosed Properties - Real Estate Marbles

Dec

20

December 20, 2012 | Leave a Comment

The process of buying a foreclosed home is slightly different from the process of buying a non-foreclosure home. ?If you want to invest in Santa Rosa foreclosures, therefore, it is important to understand the different ways by which to purchase a foreclosed home.

There are three main ways to buy a foreclosed home.

Buying before the auction
Some delinquent homeowners may want to sell their homes before facing an actual foreclosure.In this instance, the homeowner, in agreement with the lender, agrees to sell the home for less than the amount owed on the mortgage.This is called a short sale. Short sales are ?pre-foreclosures?, of sorts. By broadening your home search to include short sales, you can identify homes that may be sold at a discount.

Buying at the auction
Another way by which you can invest in foreclosure homes is by buying the home at auction. From area to area, the legal requirements for the sale of a foreclosed home at auction may differ. If you plan to buy at auction, you?ll want to be familiar with your area?s customary judicial proceedings.

Buying after the auction
Buying after the auction means buying bank-owned properties. This can be the most lucrative and safest means of investing foreclosure properties. This is because lenders often reduce the sales prices of their home inventory in order to ?sell it quickly?. It can be expensive for banks to own foreclosed homes, and few banks are equipped for managing owned homes. Check with your local real estate agent to see what, if any, bank-owned homes are available for sale in your area.

The process of buying a distressed home is different from the process of buying a ?traditional? one. Therefore, regardless of which path you follow to buy a foreclosed property, have an experienced real estate professional on your team.

Source: http://realestatemarbles.com/emortgagesnews/2012/12/20/tips-to-buy-foreclosed-home/

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'New Mexico True' campaign has 3-to-1 return

Posted at: 12/19/2012 4:00 PM | Updated at: 12/19/2012 10:19 PM
By: Danielle Todesco, KOB Eyewitness News 4

The New Mexico Tourism Department said their latest campaign has tripled its return on their investment.

Back in April, they hired a Texas firm to do the work on the "New Mexico True" campaign. ?It cost around $1.2 million dollars and the Department says they have seen $3.6 million dollars returned in state and local taxes.

KOB Eyewitness News 4 spoke to some people in Old Town who agree that it worked, but others said tourism is still down.

"If we market New Mexico, people will come.? We have a great product," owner of the Bottger Mansion Bed & Breakfast Steve Hiatt said.

"It's pretty slow.? Old Town is pretty slow and I've worked here on and off since 2003 in Old Town and this is the slowest that I've seen it," Cora Romo, who works in Old Town, said.

Monique Jacobson from the Tourism Department is asking the State to double its budget for next year to $5 million dollars.? Jacobson said she hopes to expand their campaign into Chicago and parts of California.

Source: http://www.kob.com/article/stories/s2872756.shtml?cat=500

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2012 Holiday Military Greetings featuring Energy native

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, IL (KFVS) -?KFVS12 and The Heartland's CW are?once again airing holiday military greetings in special public service announcements that are scheduled to run?through New Year's Day.

We think it's important to remember those men and women who are away from their homes so that we can feel safer in ours.?The greetings consist of personal messages from service persons stationed at military locations around the world whose families live in the KFVS12 viewing area.

This is a message from Energy, Ill. native Matthew Summers, Master Sergeant in the Air Force. He is stationed in Osan AFB in South Korea.

To see other military greetings, you can click here.

Copyright 2012?KFVS. All rights reserved.

Source: http://williamson.kfvs12.com/news/news/60373-2012-holiday-military-greetings-featuring-energy-native

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Report: Chatwing Introduces Web Chat Widget with Multiple Functions

Chatwing has released a multi-purpose chat widget. This chat tool is compatible to any website.

Houston, TX (PRWEB) December 19, 2012

Chatwing Dev Team released the new version of its chat widget, complete with new features that can accomplish lots of goals. The Chatwing chat tool was created to improve the online visibility of any website. Apart from that, it can help an online marketer reach groups of people within the least possible time.

Social network expansion is one of the key functions of the Chatwing chat box. The chat tool allows users to log in with their social media accounts such as Twitter and Facebook. With this option, they can now add new friends and discover other online communities. Facebook gamers have recently visited the Chatwing chatroom, intending to find new gaming buddies and neighbors.

Chatwing?s shout box improves a website?s visibility by creating a stream of communication between people. Website owners can rely on this advantage to know the interests and likes of his visitors. In this way, the website owner can learn more about his target market. One of the newest features of the Chatwing chatbox is background image embedding. Chatwing admins can now upload background images to make the widget more interesting.

Chatwing Team will continue to bring more developments to the chat application. With this dedication, many people can enjoy conversations with their friends and loved ones. Also, online marketing processes will now become easier with the help of the Chatwing chat app.

About Chatwing.com

Chatwing.com specializes in the new field of website chat. Over years, the Chatwing team has introduced live chat widget for hundreds and thousands of blogs. The Chatwing application bridges people from many parts of the world, creating global synergy through the Internet. The shout box can be installed in just seconds, and it can be used for varying purposes such as leisure and Internet marketing. It also allows a user to customize the size, color, and name of the widget.

Nigel Hollow
Chatwing.com
(786) 527-5438
Email Information

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/report-chatwing-introduces-chat-widget-multiple-functions-224231015.html

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Viber Gets iPhone 5 Support, Group Conversations

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Source: http://www.iclarified.com/26270/viber-gets-iphone-5-support-group-conversations

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Video: Matthews: Nobody on the right will blame Obama for mass shootings

Ke$ha apologizes for 'Die Young' lyrics

??After reports surfaced that the Ke$ha song "Die Young" was pulled from the airwaves after the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary school, the singer has spoken out about her song, and the tragedy itself. "I'm so so so sorry for anyone who has been (affected) by this tragedy.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/hardball/50241561/

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Cabot Oil & Gas Marcellus Operations Surpass One Bcf of Gross Production/Day

Cabot Oil & Gas (NYSE: COG) today announced that for the first time in its history, the Company's Marcellus operations surpassed one Bcf of gross production per day. The achievement of this milestone resulted in Cabot's total Company net production simultaneously exceeding the one Bcfe per day level, also a new record high.

"The successful collaboration of our employees and members of the Williams' team made this accomplishment possible," said Dan O. Dinges, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Throughout the month of December we have been gaining production momentum and month-to-date our total Company average net production rate is 930 Mmcfe per day, which is above our exit rate expectation expressed in our third quarter call." Dinges added, "Clearly, production will vary day to day due to field logistics, but our new baseline for production has moved significantly higher and we will work to build on this throughout 2013."

This record was primarily the result of new Marcellus wells and additional infrastructure. Specifically, a recent turned-in-line two-well pad illustrates the production potential of the Company's Marcellus assets. This pad has wells with lateral

See full press release

Posted in: News, Guidance, Management, Global

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Source: http://feeds.benzinga.com/~r/benzinga/~3/4ChqL2OrKKE/cabot-oil-amp-gas-marcellus-operations-surpass-one-bcf-of-gross-productionday

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WCIRB recommends no increase in work comp case rates ...

In recent workers' compensation defense news, the organization that advises California's Insurance Commissioner on workers' compensation base rates recently made a very interesting recommendation.

Sources indicate that the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) recommended no increase in the workers' compensation rates that insurance companies charge employers across the Golden State.

In a letter to Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, WCIRB advised against any hike in workers' compensation base rates, and actually recommended a pure premium rate of $2.38 for every $100 of payroll, which is well below the current average pure premium of $2.49 per $100 of payroll.

(Pure premium rates are figures that reflect the actual or anticipated costs to insurers stemming from indemnity payments and other allocated losses; overhead costs and profits are not included in the calculation)

Here, WCIRB's Governing Committee reasoned that while Senate Bill 863 -- the work comp reform measure passed this past summer -- will certainly generate some level of cost savings, it's still?too early to determine just how much.

Under the current system, WCIRB advises the Insurance Commissioner on workers' compensation pure premium rates several times a year, recommending either increases or decreases. The Insurance Commissioner is then free to either accept or reject these recommendations when advising California's licensed workers' comp companies on rate adjustments.

In addition, California's 400 licensed workers' comp companies may also accept or reject WCIRB's recommendations and establish their own rates. (They typically use the Insurance Commissioner's recommendations as their primary benchmark.)

Insurance Commissioner Jones ultimately discounted the recommendations of WCIRB and instead advised work comp insurers to consider raising workers' compensation base rates by 2.8 percent. Specifically, he recommended a pure premium rate increase of $2.56 for every $100 of payroll, a slight jump from the current average pure premium of $2.49 per $100 of payroll.

"Today, companies are paying out 116 percent more in claims than they are collecting in premium. It's a recipe for history to repeat itself with a significant number of insurers becoming insolvent not that long ago," he said. "The actuarial science is clear on this matter, and while I don't have the authority to set the rates, I will advise insurers to use pure premium rates that are sufficient."

Interestingly, he also indicated that while his office determined that SB 863 will result in roughly $1.5 billion in savings, it could not find sufficient actuarial support to include an additional $1.6 billion in savings.

The proposed percent increase would affect all new and renewed policies starting in 2013.

Stay tuned for further developments in the area of workers' compensation defense law ...

Sources:

Sacramento Business Journal, "Insurance commissioner recommends small workers' comp rate hike," Kelly Johnson, Dec. 3, 2102

California Department of Insurance, "Insurance Commissioner Issues Decision Recommending Workers' Comp Pure Premium Advisory Rate," Nov. 30, 2012

Source: http://www.californiaworkerscompensationdefenseattorneys.com/2012/12/wcirb-recommends-no-increase-in-work-comp-case-rates.shtml

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