#5: Driving Test Success Hazard Perception Test (PC) | Education ...

Find Out Various Best Sellers in Software... Business and Office Software, Children's Fun and Learning Software, Digital Imaging Software, Education and Reference Software, Hobbies and Pastimes Software, Home Computing Software, Languages Software, Operating Systems Software, Programming and Web Development Software,Security and Antivirus Software, Student Licences Software, System Builder (OEM) Software, Video and Music Software

Source: http://educationsoftwarezone.blogspot.com/2012/11/5-driving-test-success-hazard.html

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Don't Fall for a Debt Settlement Scam: Connie Solidad's Personal ...

"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give." - Sir Winston Churchill

November 30th, 2012 at 11:53 AM by Creditcardfree

Today I made another principal payment towards our truck loan! I sent in a total of $291.40, with $61.35 being the amount I would expect our payroll tax to increase in January. Might as well not throw it away this last month. January 1 it is going back to the government. In our case this will first show on our January 15 paycheck. Our new truck loan balance is $6,227.64. Hooray!! We are waiting for $539 rewards check from Chase which as I've mentioned will go straight to...

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November 30th, 2012 at 09:08 AM by Rena November 30th, 2012 at 07:42 AM by Paulette

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Source: http://conniesolidad.savingadvice.com/2012/11/28/dont-fall-for-a-debt-settlement-scam_99186/

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Health First, Space Coast Health Foundation Combine To Serve ...

HEALTHCARE NEWS

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA ? After unanimous votes by both Boards of Directors, Health First and Space Coast Health Foundation (SCHF) have announced an agreement to settle the long-standing antitrust lawsuit and work together to enhance healthcare access and services in Brevard County.

Instead of spending time and money on court costs and legal fees, Health First and Space Coast Health Foundation (formerly Wuesthoff Health System), have put the anti-trust case behind them and entered into a confidential agreement that will create a new health program for Brevard County.

The program is in development and will enhance benefits for the underinsured in Brevard County.

Jim Shaw

?We are extremely pleased to have agreed on an arrangement that will end a series of legal actions and filings that has transpired over the past seven years,? said Jim Shaw, Board Chair of the Health First Board of Trustees.

?Both Health First and the Space Coast Health Foundation understand the tough economic challenges that are facing the communities that we serve and have agreed to work together, focusing our resources and efforts toward aggressively tackling the healthcare needs of the underinsured.?

Although the details of the agreement are not being disclosed, both Health First and the SCHF will dedicate resources to a new initiative to advance access and care for the underinsured of Brevard County.

Agreement Will Enhance Resources of Existing Health Agencies

This initiative will be overseen by representatives from both Health First and the SCHF, and will enhance the resources of existing health agencies that support and augment care for Brevard?s underinsured.

?We recognize that through collaboration, we can multiply the effects of our time and assets,? said Fran Pickett, Board Chair for the Space Coast Health Foundation. ?We want every resident of Brevard to know they have access to health and wellness resources.?

Steve Johnson

?The ending of this long-standing dispute between Health First and the Space Coast Health Foundation should signal to Brevard County residents our commitment to the importance of focusing our combined efforts on the community?s health,? said Steve Johnson, President/Chief Executive Officer of Health First.

?By eliminating all of the distractions and costly legal fees associated with this type of litigation, we are able to use more resources to provide better care to the community.?

?Our missions are in unison,? said Johnette Gindling, Executive Director of the Space Coast Health Foundation.

?Through our organizations? work, we both seek to enhance health and wellness in Brevard County for our residents.? Working together strengthens our efforts.?

Putting Aside Differences To Help Those In Need

In a demonstration of collaboration, transparency, and trust, Health First has also invited two individuals who serve on the SCHF Board of Directors to join the Health First Board of Trustees. Fran Pickett and James Dwight will join the Health First Board of Trustees in January 2013.

?The key component of the agreement is that by working together, Health First and the Space Coast Health Foundation are addressing a critical issue facing many in our community,? said Johnson.

?More than 20 percent of the residents of Brevard County are without health insurance or considered underinsured. ?Through this agreement, we are pleased to put aside differences and help those in need.?

---

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Source: http://spacecoastdaily.com/2012/11/health-first-space-coast-health-foundation-combine-to-serve-needy/

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White House: Obama, Romney discussion focused on US leadership; 2 men pledged to stay in touch (Star Tribune)

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Mo. Powerball winner verified; Ariz.'s a mystery

An unidentified customer walks out of the Trex Mart convenience store, right, while manager Chris Nauerz, left, and son of the owner Baron Hartell stand outside, in Dearborn, Mo., Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. Lottery officials confirmed Thursday that one of two winning Powerball tickets sold before Wednesday's drawing was bought at a Trex Mart convenience store in Dearborn. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

An unidentified customer walks out of the Trex Mart convenience store, right, while manager Chris Nauerz, left, and son of the owner Baron Hartell stand outside, in Dearborn, Mo., Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. Lottery officials confirmed Thursday that one of two winning Powerball tickets sold before Wednesday's drawing was bought at a Trex Mart convenience store in Dearborn. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

Powerball numbers are chosen in the drawing at the Florida Lottery on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012, in Tallahassee, Fla. The numbers drawn in the $579.9-million game were: 5, 16, 22, 23, 29 and Powerball of 6. (AP Photo/Phil Sears)

Powerball on-air talent Sam Arlen, right, is given a countdown before the start of the drawing at the Florida Lottery on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012, in Tallahassee, Fla. The numbers drawn in the $579.9-million game were: 5, 16, 22, 23, 29 and Powerball of 6. (AP Photo/Phil Sears)

Una mujer identificada como Donna Fields paga su boleto de Powerball en la ciudad estadounidense de Detroit el mi?rcoles 28 de noviembre de 2012 con la esperanza de llevarse el premio r?cord de 579,9 millones de d?lares. Las autoridades de Powerball anunciaron en la madrugada del jueves 29 que la bolsa es repartida en dos boletos vendidos en Arizona y Misur?. (Foto AP/Paul Sancya)

DEARBORN, Mo. (AP) ? Missouri Lottery officials on Thursday verified one of two tickets that matched all six numbers to split a record $588 million Powerball jackpot, but that ticket holder ? and another in Arizona ? remained a mystery, even as neighbors and co-workers lamented their losses and gossiped about who may have won.

The tickets were sold at a convenience store in suburban Phoenix and a gas station in Dearborn, Mo., just off Interstate 29, the highway linking Kansas City to the Canadian border.

Missouri lottery officials said they verified a ticket that was presented to them Thursday and set a news conference for 11 a.m. CST Friday at North Platte High School, near where the ticket was bought.

Lottery Chief Operations Officer Gary Gonder couldn't provide any details, including whether the ticket was bought by someone from Missouri.

Speculation had many of Dearborn's 500 residents buzzing about who had won.

Cashiers Kristi Williams and Kelly Blount greeted customers with big smiles and questions about whether they had bought the winning ticket. No one had come forward to claim the prize by late Thursday morning, Missouri Lottery officials said.

"It's just awesome," Williams said. "It's so exciting. We can't even work."

Karen Meyers, a server at the Cook's Corner Cafe, where the daily special was roast beef and potatoes, said she didn't believe it at first when she heard the winning ticket had been sold nearby.

"I think it's wonderful! I hope someone local won it, not someone just passing through," she said. "It's a small town where everyone is really nice."

Kevin Bryan bought his ticket at the Trex Mart and made an extra trip to his mother's home in Dearborn to verify that the ticket he left on her counter wasn't, in fact, the winner.

"When I heard it was sold here in Dearborn I about fell over," Bryan said, as he hung Christmas lights outside his mother's home.

He said the only other local lottery win he could remember was when an area farmer won about $100,000 in scratch-off game years ago "and bought himself a combine."

The winning ticket sold in Arizona was purchased at a 4 Sons Food Store in Fountain Hills near Phoenix, state lottery officials said. Customers poured into the store, to check their tickets and share in the big moment.

"I think it's crazy, and I also think it's great," said Bob Chebat, who manages the 4 Sons. "I'm glad that all that work yesterday wasn't for nothing."

The store was swept up in a nationwide ticket-buying spree preceding Wednesday's drawing, with the big money enticing many people who rarely, if ever, play the lottery to buy a shot at the payout.

Clerks at 4 Sons sold 986 Powerball tickets Wednesday, which Chebat said was well above average.

Baron Hartell, son of the owner of the Missouri store, said if the winner isn't a local resident it might have been a truck driver. Interstate 29 connects Kansas City to the Canadian border, so it's a busy thoroughfare in both directions.

"Even the truck drivers who come around, we see them every day, so they all feel like all locals to us," he said.

Store manager Chris Naurez said business had been "crazy" for Powerball tickets lately and that the store had sold about $27,000 worth of tickets in the last few days.

"This really puts Dearborn on the map," he said.

Kenny Gilbert, the general manager of Trex Mart, suggested his staff would be sharing in the $50,000 bounty that the store will be awarded for selling one of the winning tickets.

"The response from the owner was, 'I guess we'll be able to give out Christmas bonuses,'" Gilbert said. "That's nice, especially at this time of year."

Winners in both states have 180 days to claim their share of the prize money.

The numbers drawn Wednesday night were 5, 16, 22, 23, 29. The Powerball was 6. The $587.5 million payout represents the second-largest jackpot in U.S. history.

Tickets sold at a rate of 130,000 a minute nationwide ? about six times the volume from a week ago. That pushed the jackpot even higher, said Chuck Strutt, executive director of the Multi-State Lottery Association. The jackpot rolled over 16 consecutive times without a winner.

Bob Kangas realized Wednesday night that one of two winning Powerball jackpot tickets had been bought in Arizona, but he didn't immediately check his numbers.

"I didn't want to look because I just wanted to dream about being rich," Kangas said Thursday while checking his tickets at the 4 Sons store where he bought his tickets ? and where the winning ticket was sold.

"I just wanted to dream all night," he said, breathing a heavy sigh as he realized his tickets were not winners.

In a Mega Millions drawing in March, three ticket buyers shared a $656 million jackpot. This remains the largest lottery payout of all time.

___

Skoloff reported from Fountain Hills, Ariz.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-11-29-Powerball-Jackpot/id-53046c22bd484b8a96e85a09256ecd28

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Divisions persist as climate talks open in Doha

By The Associated Press

DOHA, Qatar -- U.N. talks on a new climate pact resumed Monday in oil and gas-rich Qatar, where negotiators from nearly 200 countries will discuss fighting global warming and helping poor nations adapt to it.

The two-decade-old talks have not fulfilled their main purpose: reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that scientists say are warming the planet.

Attempts to create a new climate treaty failed in Copenhagen three years ago but countries agreed last year to try again, giving themselves a deadline of 2015 to adopt a new treaty.

A host of issues need to be resolved by then, including how to spread the burden of emissions cuts between rich and poor countries.

Focus on Kyoto Protocol, raising money
That is unlikely to be decided in the two-week talks in the Qatari capital of Doha, where negotiators will focus on extending the Kyoto Protocol, an emissions deal for industrialized countries, and trying to raise billions of dollars to help developing countries adapt to a shifting climate.

EPA

South African Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana Mashabane speaks during the opening of the climate talks in Doha, Qatar, on Monday.

Activists hope storm-struck US will deliver at Doha climate talks

"We all realize why we are here, why we keep coming back year and after year," said South Africa Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, who led last year's talks in Durban, South Africa. "We owe it to our people, the global citizenry. We owe it to our children to give them a safer future than what they are currently facing."

The U.N. process is often criticized, even ridiculed, both by climate activists who say the talks are too slow, and by those who challenge the scientific near-consensus that the global temperature rise is at least partly caused by human activity, primarily the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil.

The concentration of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide has jumped 20 percent since 2000, according to a U.N. report released last week. The report also showed that there is a growing gap between what governments are doing to curb emissions and what needs to be done to protect the world from potentially dangerous levels of warming.

The goal of the U.N. talks is to keep the global temperature rise under 3.6 F, compared to pre-industrial times.

The Maldives, the lowest-lying nation on Earth, is at risk of disappearing from the world map, scientists say.

Obama: 'I won't go' for climate action that hurts jobs, growth

The threat 'today'
But efforts taken so far to rein in emissions, reduce deforestation and promote clean technology are not getting the job done. A recent projection by the World Bank showed temperatures are expected to increase by up to 7.2 F by 2100.

"Climate change is no longer some distant threat for the future, but is with us today," said Greenpeace climate campaigner Martin Kaiser, who was also at the Doha talks. "At the end of a year that has seen the impacts of climate change devastate homes and families around the world, the need for action is obvious and urgent."

Dangerous warming effects could include flooding of coastal cities and island nations, disruptions to agriculture and drinking water, the spread of diseases and the extinction of species.

Many scientists also say that extreme weather events, such as Hurricane Sandy's onslaught on the U.S. East Coast, will become more frequent as the Earth warms, although it is impossible to attribute any individual event to climate change.

The Kyoto Protocol, adopted in 1997, is the most important climate agreement reached in the U.N. process so far. It expires this year, so negotiators in Doha will try to extend it as a stopgap measure until a wider deal can be reached.

Ex-climate change skeptic: Humans cause global warming

For thousands of years, permafrost has trapped Siberia's carbon-rich soil, a compost of Ice Age plant and animal remains. But global warming is melting the permafrost and exposing the soil, causing highly flammable methane to seep out. NBC's Jim Maceda reports.

Divisions
The problem is that only the European Union and a handful of other countries -- that together are behind less than 15 percent of global emissions -- are willing to put down emissions targets for a second commitment period of Kyoto.

The United States rejected Kyoto because it did not impose any binding commitments on major developing countries such as India and China, which is now the world's No. 1 carbon emitter.

Climate-changing methane 'rapidly destabilizing' off East Coast, study finds

The United States and other Western countries insist that the firewall in the climate talks between developing and developed countries must be removed so that the new treaty can apply to all nations.

China and other developing countries want to maintain a clear division, saying climate change is mainly a legacy of Western industrialization and that their own emissions must be allowed to grow as their economies expand, lifting millions of people out of poverty.

The Inuit, who survived for centuries by hunting seals and whales, are watching their way of life disappear.

Complete Environment coverage on NBCNews.com

That discord scuttled attempts to forge a climate deal in Copenhagen in 2009 and risks a relapse in Doha as talks begin on a new global deal that is supposed to be adopted in 2015 and implemented in 2020.

The rich-poor divide is also deepened by arguments over climate aid meant to help developing countries convert to cleaner energy sources and adapt their infrastructure to rising sea levels and other effects of global warming.

More world stories from NBC News:

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? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/26/15448838-splits-between-rich-poor-nations-persist-as-climate-talks-open-in-doha?lite

mark hurd

Factbox: Key elements of the Greek debt deal with the euro zone and IMF

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund agreed on steps late on Monday to reduce Greece's public debt and help the country regain market access next decade.

Below are the main elements of the agreement.

- Greece will reach a primary surplus target of 4.55 percent of gross domestic product only in 2016, rather than 2014, to give the economy a better chance to start growing again.

- Greece will organize a debt buy-back of its bonds held by private investors. The buy-back will take place by Dec 12.

No amount or price was announced, except that the price offered is to be no higher than the closing prices for Greek debt on Nov 23. A source familiar with the ministers' discussions said the price under consideration was around 35 cents a euro.

- once the buy-back yields a positive outcome, the IMF will join the program and the euro zone will consider the following:

- a cut by 100 basis points in the interest rate on bilateral loans to Greece under the first bailout, reducing the rate to 50 basis points above financing costs or Euribor. Ireland and Portugal do not have to cut the interest because they themselves receive aid.

- the euro zone's temporary bailout fund, the EFSF, will cut its fees charged on loans to Greece by 10 basis points.

- maturities of loans to Greece, both bilateral and from the EFSF, will be extended by 15 years.

- Greece will not have to pay interest on loans received from the EFSF for 10 years.

- Profits from the European Central Bank's Greek bond portfolio, acquired during the bank's Securities Market Programme (SMP) will be handed over to Greece for debt servicing from the budget year 2013 onwards. No amount was given in the statement of the Eurogroup, but a euro zone source said this amounted to 11 billion euros.

- euro zone countries will consider further measures and assistance, including a further interest rate reduction on bilateral loans to Greece to help Athens reach debt sustainability when Greece reaches a primary surplus and meets all the conditions in the reform program.

- Greece's debt-to-GDP ratio is to fall to 175 percent in 2016, to 124 percent in 2020 and substantially below 110 percent in 2022.

- Euro zone countries will continue to finance Greece until it regains market access, if Greece sticks to the agreed reform program.

- Greece will get a tranche of aid of 34.4 billion euros in December, of which 10.6 billion will be for budget financing and 23.8 billion for the recapitalization of banks. A further 9.3 billion euros will be disbursed to Greece in three sub-tranches in the first quarter of 2013 if Athens meets reform milestones set by the lenders.

A formal decision on the disbursement of the money will be taken on Dec 13, if national procedures in euro zone countries are completed and following the review of the results of the debt buy-back operation.

(Reporting By Jan Strupczewski)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/key-elements-greek-debt-deal-euro-zone-imf-014057003--business.html

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Transplant doc, Nobel winner Murray dies in Boston

FILE - This July 28, 2004 file photo shows Dr. Joseph E. Murray, who performed the world's first successful kidney transplant and won a Nobel Prize for his pioneering work, has died at age 93. Murray's death in Boston was confirmed Monday by Brigham and Women's Hospital spokesman Tom Langford. Murray shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1990 with Dr. E. Donnall Thomas, who won for his work in bone marrow transplants. (AP Photo/Eric Miller, File)

FILE - This July 28, 2004 file photo shows Dr. Joseph E. Murray, who performed the world's first successful kidney transplant and won a Nobel Prize for his pioneering work, has died at age 93. Murray's death in Boston was confirmed Monday by Brigham and Women's Hospital spokesman Tom Langford. Murray shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1990 with Dr. E. Donnall Thomas, who won for his work in bone marrow transplants. (AP Photo/Eric Miller, File)

BOSTON (AP) ? Dr. Joseph E. Murray, who performed the world's first successful kidney transplant and won a Nobel Prize for his pioneering work, has died at age 93.

Murray suffered a stroke at his suburban Boston home on Thanksgiving and died at Brigham and Women's Hospital on Monday, hospital spokesman Tom Langford said.

Since the first kidney transplants on identical twins, hundreds of thousands of transplants on a variety of organs have been performed worldwide. Murray shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1990 with Dr. E. Donnall Thomas, who won for his work in bone marrow transplants.

"Kidney transplants seem so routine now," Murray told The New York Times after he won the Nobel. "But the first one was like Lindbergh's flight across the ocean."

Murray's breakthroughs did not come without criticism, from ethicists and religious leaders. Some people "felt that we were playing God and that we shouldn't be doing all of these, quote, experiments on human beings," he told The Associated Press in a 2004 interview in which he also spoke out in favor of stem cell research.

In the early 1950s, there had never been a successful human organ transplant. Murray and his associates at Boston's Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, now Brigham and Women's Hospital, developed new surgical techniques, gaining knowledge by successfully transplanting kidneys in dogs. In December 1954, they found the right human patients, 23-year-old Richard Herrick, who had end-stage kidney failure, and his identical twin, Ronald Herrick.

Because of their identical genetic background, they did not face the biggest problem with transplant patients, the immune system's rejection of foreign tissue.

After the operation, Richard had a functioning kidney transplanted from Ronald. Richard lived another eight years, marrying a nurse he met at the hospital and having two children.

Murray performed more transplants on identical twins over the next few years and tried kidney transplants on other relatives, including fraternal twins, learning more about how to suppress the immune system's rejection of foreign tissue. One patient who received a kidney transplant from a fraternal twin in 1959, plus radiation and a bone marrow transplant to suppress his immune response, lived for 29 more years.

But it was the development of drugs to suppress the body's immune response, a less radical approach than radiation, that made real breakthroughs in transplants possible. In 1962, Murray and his team successfully completed the first organ transplant from an unrelated donor. The 23-year-old patient, Mel Doucette, received a kidney from a man who had died.

Murray continued a long career in plastic surgery, his original specialty, and transplants. He was guided by his own deep religious convictions.

"Work is a prayer," he told the Harvard University Gazette in 2001. "And I start off every morning dedicating it to our Creator."

Murray told the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2004 that he continued to get letters from patients he helped years earlier and from relatives of those who died during the early efforts.

"They often say ... that they are happy to have played some small part in the eventual success of organ transplants," he said, praising the courage of his patients and their families.

Murray was honored at the 2004 Transplant Games, for athletes who have received organ transplants, along with Ronald Herrick, the man who had donated a kidney to his twin brother a half-century earlier.

Murray continued to support and mentor others at Brigham and Women's Hospital after his retirement, hospital president Dr. Elizabeth Nabel said. An exhibit in the hospital's library housing his Nobel Prize, she said, is framed by his own words: "Service to society is the rent we pay for living on this planet."

Murray's interest in transplants developed during his time in the Army during World War II when he was assigned to Valley Forge General Hospital in Pennsylvania while awaiting overseas duty. The hospital performed reconstructive surgery on troops who had been injured in battle.

The burn patients, who often were treated with skin grafts from other people, intrigued Murray.

"The slow rejection of the foreign skin grafts fascinated me," Murray wrote in autobiography for the Nobel Prize ceremony. "How could the host distinguish another person's skin from his own?"

The hospital's chief of plastic surgery had performed skin grafts on civilians and noticed that the closer the donor and recipient were related, the slower the tissue was rejected. A skin graft between identical twins had taken permanently.

Murray said that was "the impetus" of his study of organ transplantation.

Murray was ever the optimist and kept on his desk a quotation, "Difficulties are opportunities," his son Rick Murray said.

"It reflects the unwavering optimism of a great man who was generous, curious, and always humble," Rick Murray said in a statement released by the hospital.

___

Associated Press writer Sylvia Lee Wingfield contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-11-26-Obit-Murray/id-7fe0e0abc13d42c08b37146684388b08

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Portland political consulting firm draws national attention in recent ...

PORTLAND, Maine ? It?s not only the recently elected politicians and successful advocacy groups who are celebrating big wins in the wake of election season.

A small political consulting firm in Portland has emerged with a winning record and a national reputation for producing compelling, authentic political advertisements for television and Web.

The company, CD2 Consulting, produced some of the most memorable ads from Maine?s recent election cycle. Remember Harlan Gardner, the 90-year-old WWII veteran and Machias resident who, while sitting at the dinner table with four generations of his family, including his gay granddaughter, said ?marriage is too precious not to share?? That ad was one of CD2?s creations. Remember the York firefighters who appeared in an ad with their gay colleague? That was a CD2 ad. There were several others produced throughout the campaign, which was successful and made Maine the first state to legalize same sex marriage by popular vote.

David Farmer, communications director for Mainers United for Marriage, gives CD2 a big share of the credit for the power and recognition their ads brought to the campaign.

?They were able to turn real Maine people into household names,? said Farmer, who also served as deputy chief of staff and communications director for former Gov. John Baldacci, and writes a political blog and a weekly column for the Bangor Daily News. ?They are storytellers and were able to tell stories in 30 seconds in a way that made a real difference.?

The ads CD2 produced for Mainers United for Marriage were so effective, in fact, they were picked up around the country and used as templates for ads in other states such as Minnesota and Washington state, according to Farmer.

?They (CD2 owners) are on the verge of big, big things,? he said.

Maine?s Yes on 1 campaign had a high profile, and several ?top-notch? political consulting firms wanted to produce those television ads, Farmer said. Yet CD2 got the job. ?They won on the merits of their work, and they delivered,? he said.

Besides the Yes on 1 campaign, CD2 also produced web advertisements for Elizabeth Warren?s successful Senate campaign in Massachusetts, unseating incumbent Scott Brown; online content for Maggie Hassan?s successful gubernatorial campaign in New Hampshire; and a TV ad in support of Rep. Carol Shea-Porter?s successful Congressional race in New Hampshire.

?That?s a winning record right there,? Farmer said. ?The results speak for themselves.?

There was a time when all the big political consulting firms were in Washington, D.C., and New York City, but technology has made that model obsolete, and today consultants can work anywhere. CD2 owners Jim Cole, Aaron Duffey and David Loughran choose to work in Maine, where the three grew up in the Greater Portland area.

?It?s great to be doing what I want to be doing in the place where I want to live,? Duffey said on a recent morning in CD2?s office in Portland?s Old Port.

The company doesn?t have to be in D.C., Loughran said. ?There are probably opportunities we miss by not being there,? he said, ?but there are other opportunities we?ll gain from being here.?

CD2 is actually a conglomeration of smaller, specialty operations that each of the men ran before joining forces to offer a wider range of political consulting services.

Cole and Duffey formed Gum Spirits Productions, a film production company, in Portland in 2008. They produced independent films (Sundowning and Three Priests are two of the more well-known flicks) and TV advertisements for political campaigns, including for VoteVets.org. In 2009, they joined forces with a pair of Bowdoin College alums, Frank Chi and William Donahoe, who live in Washington, D.C., and produce websites for political campaigns. Cole and Duffey joined Chi and Donahoe ? notice the initials? ? to form CD2 in 2009.

Loughran had worked on political campaigns all over the country before returning to Maine in 2008 to form his own political communications consultancy called Mach3Media. Loughran reconnected with Duffey, who he grew up with in Gorham, upon his return to the Portland area. In 2010, he officially joined CD2.

The crew first gained national attention in February 2011 for an ad it produced about the battle in Wisconsin over Gov. Scott Walker?s attack on the collective bargaining rights of unions.

Instead of writing a 30-second script, the CD2 crew spent the entire day in snowy, 16-degree weather interviewing protesters in Madison, Wisc., as snow piled on their shoulders. ?That?s why we?re able to capture authentic moments and are able to turn what would be a good ad into a great ad,? Loughran said.

Cole, who Duffey called the ?creative genius? behind CD2, then spent the evening cutting more than three hours of raw interview footage into a 30-second ad spot, which was extremely successful and helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in small donations in the following weeks.

The ad, which was produced for the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, got national attention. Rachel Maddow called it ?the most pointed, stand-with-the-people-who-work-for-a-living ad that we have seen for a very long time.? Lawrence O?Donnell called the ad ?beautiful film making,? and said ?I?m really quite struck by it.?

?You don?t usually get people on D.C. television talking in such effusive ways about a TV ad, but that speaks to the power of this particular one,? said Adam Green, the D.C.-based co-founder of Progressive Change Campaign Committee.

Duffey said the ad opened doors. Loughran and Duffey expect they?ll be able to leverage the success of its ads during the recent election season to grab more work on other high-profile campaigns.

Judging by the ads it?s produced, CD2?s future looks bright, Green said.

Progressive Change worked with 40 campaigns this past election season, and Green said he?d be looking for CD2 to contribute to more campaigns in the future. ?We definitely hold [CD2] out as a model for the future of ad making as we try to wean candidates off the past ? overly priced D.C. consultants doing lesser quality work,? he said.

Green said the fact CD2 is based outside D.C. is a benefit as they?re not captive to the standard talking points. ?Instead, they?re thinking outside the box,? Green said. ?They?re thinking about persuading the people on Main Street back home.?

Loughran declined to discuss CD2?s revenue except to say it has grown ?tenfold? since 2010. But Loughran and Duffey (Cole was out of the state on a shoot) don?t want CD2 to grow too big too fast.

?We don?t want to take every possible project that comes through the door,? Duffey said, because doing so would force them to not be so hands-on with the various campaigns.

?Our business will grow, and Jim, Aaron and I will continue to be principals in every campaign,? Loughran said. ?That?s how we want it to be.?

Source: http://bangordailynews.com/2012/11/23/business/portland-political-consulting-firm-draws-national-attention-in-recent-campaigns/

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Powerful gas explosion levels Mass. buildings; at least 18 hurt

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) ? A natural gas explosion in one of New England's biggest cities on Friday destroyed two buildings, including one housing a strip club, and damaged others beyond repair but didn't kill anyone, authorities said.

Firefighters, police officers and gas company workers in the area because of an earlier gas leak and odor report were among more than a dozen people injured, authorities said.

"This is a miracle on Worthington Street that no one was killed," Lt. Gov. Tim Murray said at a press conference.

The explosion in a downtown area of Springfield, 90 miles west of Boston, blew out all windows in a three-block radius, leaving three more buildings irreparably damaged and prompting emergency workers to evacuate a six-story apartment building that was buckling.

Police Sgt. John Delaney marveled at the destruction at the blast's epicenter, where a multistory building was leveled.

"It looks like there was a missile strike here," he said.

Officials at two nearby hospitals said at least 18 victims were transported there with injuries but none was critical.

Firefighters responded to the scene at 4:20 p.m. and were investigating the gas leak when the blast happened shortly after 5 p.m. The cause of the explosion hadn't been identified but was under investigation, they said.

Springfield, which has about 150,000 residents, is the largest city in western Massachusetts. It's known as the home of the Basketball Hall of Fame, which is not in the vicinity of the blast.

The explosion, in an area of downtown Springfield with commercial properties and residences, destroyed a building that housed a Scores Gentlemen's Club.

Area resident Wayne Davis said he felt his apartment building shake a block away.

"I was laying down in bed, and I started feeling the building shaking and creaking," he said.

The Navy veteran said the boom from the explosion was louder than anything he'd ever heard, including the sound of a jet landing on an aircraft carrier.

The blast was so loud it was heard for miles around. Video from WWLP-TV showed the moment of the explosion, with smoke billowing into the air above the neighborhood.

Mayor Domenic Sarno said it was through "God's mercy" that nobody had been reported killed in the explosion.

"My thoughts and prayers are with the individuals that have been injured and the people who have been displaced," he said, adding that emergency shelter was being set up for those unable to go home.

___

Associated Press writers Bridget Murphy and Bob Salsberg in Boston contributed to this story.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gas-blast-levels-mass-buildings-least-18-hurt-021618277.html

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China's Wenzhou unveils reform plans as bad loans climb

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's entrepreneurial hub of Wenzhou has unveiled measures to turn grey-market lending into formal credit to support cash- starved small firms while reducing financial risks, state media reported on Saturday.

Under the plans announced by the municipal government, the wealthy coastal city of Wenzhou, aims to channel private money into local businesses through formal institutions - mainly small credit firms, the official Securities Times said, citing officials.

These credit firms will be allowed to issue bonds via private placements while qualified credit firms could be turned into rural banks, the newspaper quoted Zhang Zhenyu, head of the municipal government's finance office, as saying.

Wenzhou, in eastern Zhejiang province, is known throughout China as a Mecca for private entrepreneurship and grey-market lending.

A string of bankruptcies last year - which spawned suicides and disappearances by entrepreneurs unable to repay high-interest loans - prompted a visit by Premier Wen Jiabao and a decision to bring underground financing out of the shadows.

In March, China's cabinet approved the launch of a financial reform pilot project in the city, which it hoped to replicate across the country later to tame the underground lending market where interest rates can reach 100 percent.

Several Wenzhou-based companies have submitted applications to national regulators to set up rural banks, trusts as well as insurance and securities firms, the Securities Times said.

The city will also develop specialized asset management companies and provide support for major projects through asset securitization and bill issuance.

"(But) regulator departments will be very strict in approving new financial institutions. The financial reform won't be done overnight," the newspaper quoted Zhang as saying.

The city will publish an index to track changes in local borrowing costs as early as this month, Zhang said.

Some 30 small loan firms have already registered with the government since March, with total registered capital of more than 8 billion yuan ($1.28 billion), according to state media.

A surge in bad loans in Wenzhou has highlighted difficulties facing the free wheeling city, as private firms cannot get enough loans from state-owned banks while exporters are struggling to cope with weak demand and soaring wages.

The average non-performing loan ratio at banks in Wenzhou reached 3 percent by the end of August - the highest level in at least a decade, according to local media.

Wenzhou is awaiting cabinet approval to allow the city's residents to make direct overseas investments in yuan, the newspaper quoted Wu Guolian, head of the local branch of the People's Bank of China, as saying. Such a move would be a big step towards liberalizing capital account transactions.

China's premier-in-waiting Li Keqiang said this week that the country must embrace market-based reforms to help sustain economic growth.

($1 = 6.2285 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Kevin Yao; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chinas-wenzhou-unveils-reform-plans-bad-loans-climb-071740122--business.html

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Analysts cut HP price targets after Autonomy reversal

(Reuters) - At least two brokerages cut their ratings on Hewlett-Packard Co and several lowered their share price targets, blaming HP management for botching the 2011 buyout of British software company Autonomy.

HP stunned Wall Street on Tuesday when it announced an $8.8 billion writedown on the $11 billion buyout, claiming that "a wilful effort by Autonomy to mislead shareholders" had overvalued the company.

Investors may now demand more changes to management at HP, claiming insufficient due diligence on the deal, said J.P. Morgan Securities analyst Mark Moskowitz, who cut his price target on the company's stock to $15 from $19.

Leo Apotheker, who engineered the Autonomy deal, was fired as CEO after less than a year on the job after criticism that he had paid too much for the British company.

HP shares, which fell 12 percent to close at a 10-year low of $11.71 on Tuesday, were trading at $11.80 before the bell.

Credit Suisse's Kulbinder Garcha said that while the blame game would likely go on for a while, it was evident that there were missteps in the due diligence process.

Garcha cut his price target on the stock to $12 from $15.

Mizhuho Securities downgraded HP to "underperform" from "neutral" and slashed its price outlook by almost half to $8, saying it believed there may be more bad news ahead.

"In our view, the company should have uncovered such fraudulent practices earlier in the review process," analyst Abhey Lamda said in a note.

RBC Capital Markets downgraded the shares to "sector perform" from "outperform" and cut its share-price target to $14 from $18. Jefferies & Co cut its price target to $10 from $12, while BMO Capital Markets reduced its target to $14 from $18.

(Reporting by Himank Sharma in Bangalore; Editing by Maju Samuel and Ted Kerr)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysts-cut-hp-price-targets-autonomy-reversal-130424135--finance.html

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Search Engine Optimization Tips To Improve Your Online Business

Search engine optimization, although confusing, is essential for being profitable on the internet. If you have the knowledge and the tools, you can craft your website so it gets far more traffic and has higher PageRank than an unoptimized site would. That is why we want to provide you with some appropriate tips about Best blog network, and hopefully they will help you in the long term.

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The most important thing that you can do for your site is to make sure that you always keep the content on the site fresh and unique. Old and out-of-date content will discourage visitors from returning to your site.

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Joining organizations like the BBB and your city?s Chamber of Commerce can improve your site?s search engine rankings. Because they usually automatically link to you, this helps with local searches. You also get the added benefit of trust and legitimacy by maintaining a good rating with the Better Business Bureau.

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SEO can help your customers find you. Some businesses do not know that if your ranking is poor, it may be difficult for customers to find their site, even if they know the company name.

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Search engine results can be improved in a number of ways. Tweaking the search capabilities of your site returns faster, more relevant results. Increased performance means happier users. While this is all relevant to your discovery, a few items about Market Samurai review carry more weight than others. Do take a close look at what you need, and then make a determination regarding how much different things apply to you.

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Make sure to have proper analytics software before you start your SEO campaign. You will need to invest in the analytics software and have them in place so you will be able to track what tactics are working and which ones are not. This way, you can make changes as needed.

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Focus on mastering one SEO strategy at a time. There just isn?t enough time in the day for you to learn every technique, so select one which you think will be the most valuable to you and make the most of its capabilities.

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You can establish criteria for your search engine to use that will allow you to customize its capabilities. To perfect those results, try using definite commands that can help the users find you in the relevant results.

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Research any SEO company you consider for hire, prior to signing contracts. There are many fly-by-night companies that claim to do internet marketing and SEO consulting, but they do sloppy work for way too much money. Research and read testimonials about what other people have to say about their services. You will be thankful you did.

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Make sure the proxy server that hosts your site is not also used by less reputable sites. If you do share your proxy with a site that is banned for spamming or other fraudulent activities, your rankings could be lowered, thereby decreasing the traffic to your site.

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Your page rank will be higher if visitors spend more time on your website. You want to keep people on your site as long as possible, and great content will keep them there and bring them back again!

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Setting up pay-per-clicks is a very effective and efficient affiliate marketing strategy. This service makes it easier for the affiliates even though the pay isn?t as great, but in time will build up.

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It isn?t necessary to assign key words to your comment tags. Spend your effort on improving your website?s content instead.

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Make sure to use language meta tags if your site?s content is written in something other than English. You will raise your search engine rankings for that language by using this feature.

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As previously discussed, search engine optimization creates opportunities for profit on the internet. Use the great advice in this article, and you will be armed with some of the best techniques to direct legitimate traffic to your site. A well thought out and user friendly website will attract more potential customers and earn more money.?We know you want to discover more about Tweet Adder, and coming up next is one thing we believe will help you in ways you do not know, yet.

Source: http://www.sixpackandadonut.com/uncategorized/search-engine-optimization-tips-to-improve-your-online-business/

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Research Assistant, Centre for Health Research ... - PsychXchange

????????? Campbelltown Campus

????????? Part time, fixed term appointment

Position Reference:? 987/12

The Centre for Health Research is part of the School of Medicine and is located on the Campbelltown campus of the University of Western Sydney. It has a specific focus on large-scale, multidisciplinary research to tackle major health challenges for Western Sydney, and similar communities nationally and globally. The Centre has unique expertise in using large, linked health datasets and applying innovative analytic techniques (including multilevel modeling, methods for spatial and geographic analysis, data mining, microsimulation and mixed methods) in conducting randomised controlled trials to assess self-management and preventive interventions and in qualitative research examining the construction and experience of health.

The Centre for Health Research has been successful in securing funding to conduct research into the support for chronically homeless men in the Parramatta area (MISHA Project). Therefore we are seeking to appoint an energetic, highly motivated research assistant to provide research support and project evaluation, including data collection, data management, data analysis and the writing up of research findings.

This is a part time (0.6 FTE) 3 day per week fixed term appointment until December 2013.

For further information please refer to the position description.

Remuneration Package: Higher Education Worker Level 5 (pro rata) $39,083 to $44,265 p.a., (comprising pro rata salary $35,420 to $40,117 p.a., plus 9% superannuation and Leave Loading).

Position Enquiries: Dr Elizabeth Conroy, Research Fellow on 02 4620 3931 to discuss your application prior to submission or email e.conroy@uws.edu.au

Applications Close: 9 December 2012

Source: http://www.psychxchange.com.au/JobDetail.aspx?JobID=11796

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Aussie fake-bomb plotter sentenced to 13-year term

SYDNEY (AP) ? An Australian investment banker who admitted chaining a fake bomb to a teenager in a bizarre extortion attempt has been sentenced to 13 years and six months jail.

New South Wales state District Court judge Peter Zahra handed down the sentence against Paul Douglas Peters on Tuesday.

Peters admitted tethering the bomb-like device and a ransom note to the neck of then-18-year-old Madeleine Pulver in August 2011 while she was alone in her family's Sydney mansion. He pleaded guilty in March to aggravated break and enter and committing a serious indictable offense.

Peters' lawyer had argued his client deserved leniency because he was depressed and delusional at the time of the crime. Prosecutors said the attack was calculated and premeditated and said there was no evidence Peters was delusional.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/aussie-fake-bomb-plotter-sentenced-13-term-010304949.html

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50 Cent takes swing at promoting boxing in Nevada

LAS VEGAS (AP) ? Rapper and entrepreneur 50 Cent is taking a swing at promoting boxing in Nevada.

Nevada Athletic Commission executive Keith Kizer said Monday the entertainer and businessman whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III won approval last week for a promoter's license.

The company is called SMS Promotions. It's handling a Dec. 8 bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas between Cuban-born Miami-based boxer Yuriorkis Gamboa and an opponent yet to be named.

Messages left Monday with the company in New York City weren't returned.

Kizer says 50 Cent and boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. had been talking about forming a promotions company called TMT Promotions.

But the rapper told the commission those plans fell through, and the fledgling business was being absorbed by SMS Promotions.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/50-cent-takes-swing-promoting-boxing-nevada-010409668--spt.html

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Indonesian Performers Jogja Hip Hop Foundation Bring Cultural ...

Indonesian Performers Jogja Hip Hop Foundation Bring Cultural Diplomacy to Main Street America

WASHINGTON, D.C. /Music Industry Newswire/ ? The U.S. Department of State announced today that Indonesian performers Jogja Hip Hop Foundation is traveling from Yogyakarta, Indonesia to communities across America as part of a cultural diplomacy initiative, Center Stage, from November 15 to December 8.

Center StageSM brings performing artists from Haiti, Indonesia, and Pakistan to the United States to interact with American audiences in 60 medium and small-sized towns and cities, using the performing arts to create opportunities for greater understanding builds on Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton?s vision of ?smart power.?

Jogja Hip Hop Foundation will perform on Tuesday, November 20 at 6 p.m. at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The performance is free and open to the public. It will also be broadcasted live here: http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/millennium/ .

The Jogja Hip Hop Foundation is the last touring group of the 2012 Center Stage season, and will perform in New York, NY; Bronx, NY; Washington, D.C.; Scottsdale, AZ; Davis, CA; Santa Barbara, CA; and San Francisco, CA. For a full list of performance dates, click here: http://www.nefa.org/grants_services/touring_activi? .

Center Stage(SM) is a public diplomacy initiative of the U.S. Department of State?s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. It is administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts in cooperation with the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations, with support from the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, the Asian Cultural Council, and the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art. General management is provided by Lisa Booth Management, Inc.

About Christopher Laird Simmons

Christopher Simmons has been writing about music since 1984 when he sold his first feature to Polyphony (now Electronic Musician) magazine. He has composed music for two TV cable shows, is a member of ASCAP and PRSA, and is the managing editor for Music Industry Newswire(TM), as well as the CEO of Neotrope(R) Entertainment. His 80s music can be found on iTunes, Amazon, and CDBaby, among others. He played in several electronica bands in the '80s, and currently tries to find time to play with his studio gear. He is also an award winning graphic designer, photographer, author of one book "Fractopia," and has created digital art for numerous national magazines. ? Christopher Laird Simmons. More at: ChristopherSimmons.com .

Similar & Related Content

Related Topics: Artists and Bands, Concerts, Industry Headlines, Story Index.

Tags: Center Stage, Jogja Hip Hop Foundation, New England Foundation for the Arts

IMPORTANT NOTICE: for questions or clarification about any information in the above news item or article, contact the company(s) mentioned in the story and NOT this website. This online publication, Music Industry Newswire?, cannot assist you with information regarding any person, product, company or opinion expressed or mentioned in the above story. Some content is based on press releases issued by the "news source" when noted. All content on this site is covered by U.S. and international copyright laws, and is Copr. ? 2012 Neotrope?. Reproduction in whole or in part without express permission and/or for commercial purposes is a violation of our rights and the DMCA. ?|? 13 views

IMPORTANT NOTE: All feedback and comments are moderated and will not appear automatically. Any self-promotional or inappropriate remarks, and/or advertising URLs, will be removed and your entry will be submitted to Akismet for spam abuse tracking.

Source: http://musicindustrynewswire.com/indonesian-performers-jogja-hip-hop-foundation-bring-cultural-diplomacy-to-main-street-america/

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Status of State Health Insurance Exchanges | Obamacare Watcher

Governors and other state officials, across the states, are deciding whether their state will establish a Health Insurance Exchange. The Department of Health and Human Services has given States until Friday, November 16, 2012 to decide. We have been following this issue closely and here's the status of the states as best as we can tell.

States NOT establishing a State Exchange (17):

ALABAMA
ALASKA
FLORIDA
INDIANA
IOWA
KANSAS
LOUISIANA
MAINE
MISSOURI
NEW HAMPSHIRE
NORTH DAKOTA
OHIO
SOUTH CAROLINA
SOUTH DAKOTA
TEXAS
VIRGINA
WYOMING

Undecided States (15):

ARIZONA
ARKANSAS
GEORGIA
IDAHO
MICHIGAN
MONTANA
NEBRASKA
NEW JERSEY
NEW MEXICO
NORTH CAROLINA
OKLAHOMA
PENNSYLVANIA
TENNESSEE
WEST VIRGINA
WISCONSIN

States plan to establish a State Exchange (18):

CALIFORNIA
COLORADO
CONNECTICUT
DELAWARE
HAWAII
ILLINOIS
KENTUCKY
MARYLAND
MASSACHUSETTS
MINNESOTA
MISSISSIPPI
NEVADA
NEW YORK
OREGON
RHODE ISLAND
UTAH
VERMONT
WASHINGTON

Notes:
AL: Gov. Bentley says Alabama won't set up exchange, expand Medicaid , AL.com (11/14/2012)

AZ: Brewer picks essential benefits under federal health law, Arizona Daily Star (10/28/2012)

FL: We have not removed Florida yet despite comments made by Gov. Scott that seem to indicate he may change his mind. PoliticoPro reports that the CATO Institute and Freedom Works received multiple assurances that Gov. Scott hasn?t changed his position ?one iota.?)

GA: Georgia Unlikely to Run Health Insurance Exchange: Gov. Deal, Insurance Journal (11/9/2012)

IL: Illinois moves ahead on health insurance exchange, BloombergBusinessWeek (11/6/2012)

IA: Branstad: Not enough info for Iowa exchange choice, KWQC.com (11/14/2012)

IN: Pence not ruling out health partnership with feds, WSBT.com (11/14/2012)

ME: Maine may give warmer embrace to Obama health law, The Boston Globe (11/10/2012)

MI: Deadline extended for setting up state insurance exchange, The Detroit News (11/10/2012)

MN: Election clears path for health exchange, Winona Daily News (11/9/2012)

MO: Missourians passed a referendum this month that prohibits its governor [who supports a state exchange] from acting unilaterally

ND: ND direction on health care exchange to emerge next year, Prarie Business Magazine (11/15/2012)

NH: New Hampshire's new governor may attempt to move towards establishing an exchange but we have left it in the "No state Exchange" category based on past legislation signed by the governor that blocked the Exchange. See http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/new-hampshires-democratic-governor-signs-gop-bill-blocking-obamacare-exchange/ .

OH: Ohio to let federal government run insurance exchange required by health care law, The Plain Dealer (11/13/2012)

PA: PA: State still shaky on exchange, Medicaid expansion, Watchdog.org (11/14/2012)

SD: Press Release from the Office of Gov. Dennis Daugaard: South Dakota Will Not Build Health Insurance Exchange, (9/26/2012)

TN: Tenn.-run health exchange faces GOP roadblock, CBS News (11/14/2012)

VA: Post-election, McDonnell says Virginia will default to federal health insurance exchange, The Washington Post (11/8/2012)

WI: Walker OK on health exchange was inevitable, The Business Journal (Milwaukee) (11/9/2012)

WV: West Virginia is expected to announce 11/15/2012 that it will NOT establish a state exchange: Tomblin's office mum on insurance exchange, The Charleston Gazette (11/14/2012)

WY: See , WyomingTribuneEagle (11/14/2012)

---

Updated 11/15/2012 12:08 to add notes.

Source: http://obamacarewatcher.org/articles/status-of-state-health-insurance-exchanges

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Verizon & Comcast Team Up - Zacks.com

Verizon Wireless ? a subsidiary of? Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ - Analyst Report) ? and Comcast Corporation (CMCSA - Analyst Report) have entered into an alliance to exchange wireless services in markets like Santa Cruz, Capitola, and Watsonville. These services would include a variety of offers and incentive packages pertaining to video, phone, Internet and wireless services.

These offers include Visa prepaid cards valued up to $300, Comcast HD DVR for six months and complimentary 12-month upgrade to Blast!, an Xfinity Internet service provided by Comcast.

The addition of Comcast services in Verizon markets is expected to boost the LTE services of Verizon. In turn, Compacts will benefit from the broad market base of Verizon, which would translate into more business for the former. Beyond the initial launch, both the companies expect to expand their combined services in other key markets including New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia.

With respect to Wireline business, Verizon is committed to improving long-term profitability through product streamlining and process simplification initiatives as well as cost management actions. Verizon expects the enterprise business to contribute more to wireline revenues and profits.

Additionally, Verizon is seeking new ways such as new pricing actions, FiOS Quantum, copper-to-fiber migration and cost-cutting measures to drive FiOS revenue growth and maximize profitability. The new FiOS pricing plans (set-top boxes and planned bundled changes) would accelerate consumer revenue growth for the next several quarters.

Further, Verizon entered into mobile video streaming market with the introduction of ?Viewdini? in May this year. The Viewdini allows searching for a particular title, topic, artist or keyword from a variety of the Web's leading content providers ? such as Netflix, Hulu Plus, mSpot, broadcaster and movie-studio websites, Verizon?s FiOS, Comcast Xfinity TV and other cable providers.

Apart from the agreement with Comcast, the company will also launch nationwide video rental and online streaming services in collaboration with Coinstar, Inc. (CSTR - Snapshot Report) in August this year. We believe the entrance into mobile video streaming is highly beneficial to Verizon, as it will attract new subscribers and add a new line of business, thereby drawing additional revenues.

We have a long-term Neutral recommendation on Verizon. The stock retains a Zacks #3 Rank, implying a short-term (1-3 months) Hold rating.

Read the full analyst report on CSTR

Read the full analyst report on VZ

Read the full analyst report on CMCSA

Source: http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/86918/verizon-comcast-team-up

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Metairie stepfather booked with aggravated incest, rape | NOLA.com

Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office investigators have arrested a Metairie man accused of raping his stepdaughter. NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune is not identifying the suspect to protect the identity of the victim.

The victim in the case is 13 years old, according Glen T. Boyd, spokesman for the Sheriff's Office. The suspect, 41, is accused of repeatedly raping the girl over an undisclosed period of time ending in October.

The girl's mother learned of the abuse and contacted the Sheriff's Office on Oct. 24, Boyd said. The suspect was taken into custody following an investigation.

He was booked Friday at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna with aggravated incest, aggravated rape and sexual battery. He was still being held there Tuesday on a $1.3 million bond.

Source: http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/11/metairie_stepfather_booked_wit.html

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PSY Takes Over EMA 2012 With Army Of 'Gangnam Style' Clones

David Hasselhoff even joins in on the fun in Frankfurt, Germany.
By Carly Wolkoff

Psy performs at the MTV EMA 2012
Photo: Jeff Kravitz/ FilmMagic

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1697152/psy-mtv-ema-2012-performance.jhtml

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PERHAPS Volume One music review by Einsetumadur

13/15P. This group accomplishes something which nowadays is totally unusual in that genre: they feed fractured, riff-laden high-speed alternative rock with genuine emotion. All of the riffs and crude time signatures are performed with a cathartic rawness which is amazing in its recklessness. Highly recommendable!

I'm pretty amazed how democratic and liberal the music scene has become thanks to institutions such as the ProgArchives. Perhaps, a pretty unknown band project from somewhere in the United States, posted the link to their debut record in the forum, sent some private messages around to advert to their music - and the opinions of many fascinated reviewers came around most rapidly.

Frankly I'm not really interested in recent music if it calls itself 'progressive rock'. Too often this simply means a lukewarm extraction of ideas which were authentic and inventive long time ago. And too often you have to sit through big accumulations of riffs which are perfectly exerted, but which leave you asking why you actually listen to this kind of music if nothing really grabs your mind.

This album cannot be defined by any genre name. The concept, i.e. throwing the listener into an extended spacy trip while rattling his head with some edgy stoner riffs from time to time, could be compared to what Amon D??l once intended to do with Phallus Dei and Yeti. But don't understand any comparison which I mention in this review as a concrete point of similarity, but rather as an indefinite and vague speculation about which musicians these guys might have listened to in their youth.

The beginning of Volume One is pretty inconspicuous, consisting of some low-key ambient textures. But the rumbling (3+3+2)/8 part which comes afterwards, approximately after two minutes or so, is a perfect signpost in which directions the whole matter is not going to go: mushy prog metal, Genesis-like retro prog and ambient music. You don't know what is going to happen during the course of the 38 minutes, but the perfectly balanced and energetic analog sound - loud, boosty and with an estimated constant tape recording level of ~+0-5dB - and the crunchy guitars are big fun to listen to.

From this point the band navigates through lots of different sections which are interrupted again and again, but the whole piece is firmly kept together by a consistent feeling. Concerning the guitars you might feel reminded of Steve Howe and Syd Barrett from time to time (I sometimes also feel reminded of Conrad Keely of Trail of Dead live in concert), but basically guitarist Sean McDernott just does what he likes. This includes competent finger picking, distorted octaved solo lines, controlled fiddling with the tuning mechanics and lots of wild shredding. I especially appreciate the weird frequency modulations which most of the participating instruments are sent through. At every corner you find some noisy bits or a breakdown with shrieking oscillator sounds - and then the whole motor starts turning again, just like a checkered little machine which is busy rotating and firing in every possible direction all of the time. And this strange little machine is mainly propelled by the joint forces of Don Taylor (drums) and Jim Haney (bass). They don't catch the listener's ears by solo parts, but rather work as a unit with a reliable timing and exact interplay throughout the big multitude of signature changes. Those two guys definitely deserve to be listened to concentratedly as well!

A further perfectly working ingredient in this colorful melange are the brass instruments. They don't dominate the music at any time, but rather appear as solists with a defined solo part at one place or another. A part which already appealed to me at the first listen was the saxophone solo at 8:01; and while the saxophone improvisation is really good by itself, I'm even a bit more amazed about the sustained jazzy guitar shredding McDernott adds about two minutes later. It's savage and rough, but its frame is melodic, and this type of fiddling and string bending is what makes improvisations like these successful. This passage gives me the same kind of feeling I get when I listen to Matching Mole's Part of the Dance - also a piece which profits from three soloists jamming at the same time. Of course, the brass instruments on this album are also processed through various filters and contribute to the surreal and gurgling atmosphere of the piece. And I may not forget to mention the brief parts which show up repeatedly for some seconds and sound like marches of a village brass band, arranged for bass, drums and guitar. I never heard something like this in that context!

If there is one section in Volume One which allows a split of the piece, it's the cesura around the 30 minutes mark. The last 8 minutes which follow afterwards are performed in a slow 6/8 metre and are the closest the band comes to post rock. Starting from a peaceful double-tracked guitar part the band adds layer on layer until an uplifting string arrangement (yes, a real arrangement, scored by Ben Talmy) prepares the listener for a grandiose soaring guitar solo which affords a worthy finale to this utterly great album.

Of course, assigning a 'masterpiece' label to a debut album (which too was released some mere weeks ago) isn't really justifiable. As soon as new albums follow one will see where this band project is heading to. Whilst the music works out perfectly well without vocals, I could imagine it could work out a little bit better if its frame was more concise at some places. But I'm really not sure - repeated listens might reveal new details about this piece, maybe things which could have been better, maybe parts whose great purpose I cannot even guess at the moment. A preliminary 4-star rating (actually a 4.5-rating), anyway, seems absolutely legitimate - connected with the strong recommendation to listen to this piece (it's available via streaming, donation-funded download and (!) MC cassette).

Einsetumadur | 4/5 | 2012-11-11

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