KWANZAA: HOLIDAY BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE FBI

Is it just me, or does Kwanzaa seem to come earlier and earlier each year? And let's face it, Kwanzaa's gotten way too commercialized.A few years ago, I suspended my annual Kwanzaa column because my triumph over this fake holiday seemed complete. The only people still celebrating Kwanzaa were presidential-statement writers and white female public school teachers.But it seems to be creeping back. A...

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Connecticut Job Shops and Contract Manufacturers Join the MFG.com Manufacturing Marketplace

Connecticut manufacturers prove to be uniquely qualified for entrance into the largest global manufacturing ecosystem.Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) December 18, 2012MFG.com, the world’s largest online manufacturing marketplace for made-to-order parts, announced that prominent Connecticut-based manufacturers have joined the MFG.com marketplace.A few of the recent additions include:Perfection Screw & Rivet...

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Vint Cerf, Award-Winning Computer Scientist and Chief Internet Evangelist for Google, Joins TruthMarket™ Board of Advisors

Dr. Vint Cerf, one of the true “Fathers of the Internet,” an international authority on digital communications and outspoken advocate for a free and open Internet adds global perspective to TruthMarket’s Platform for Crowd-funding Public Challenges to False Political, Commercial and Science Claims.Atherton, California (PRWEB) December 18, 2012Today Truth Seal Corp. announced that Vinton G. Cerf, Ph.D....

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Alibaba Becomes Largest e-Commerce Company - Impact for Retail Brands

Simon Jackson, chief commercial officer at brand protection company NetNames, comments on the news that Alibaba has become the largest ecommerce company in the world.(PRWEB UK) 18 December 2012“The news that Chinese online marketplace Alibaba has become the largest ecommerce company in the world has important implications for brand owners in the retail and consumer goods industries. The fact that...

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Jaffe PR Restructures with Management Team to Lead Agency Following CEO’s Death

Jaffe PR (http://www.jaffepr.com), a public reputation agency devoted primarily to service law firms, legal associations and vendors to the legal marketplace, will carry on with a new executive management team as they to continue to provide high quality PR and legal marketing services.Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) December 17, 2012Jaffe PR announces a restructuring of the legal public reputation agency...

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James Cameron Relives Voyage to Ocean's Deepest Spot

The first thing James Cameron saw 7 miles below the sea was man-made: tracks from a remotely operated vehicle."When I got to the bottom, I saw skid marks from the ROV," Cameron said yesterday (Dec. 4) here at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union, referring to a 2009 survey by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Scientific results of the film director's expedition to the Mariana...

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Are Online Degrees as Valuable as Traditional College Diplomas?

Millennials are the first generation to grow up with constant technology and personal computers. That might explain why they see such a value in online education.A recent poll by Northeastern University showed that 18 to 29 year olds had a more negative view about attending college because of the high cost, and a more positive opinion about online classes than their older counterparts. The survey...

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Red Hat divulgará los resultados del tercer trimestre del año fiscal 2013 a través de un webcast

Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT), proveedor líder mundial de soluciones de código abierto, analizará los resultados del tercer trimestre del año fiscal 2013 el jueves, 20 de diciembre de 2012, a partir de las 5:00 p. m., hora del Este.Se puede acceder a un webcast en vivo en la página de Relaciones con los Inversores de Red Hat en http://investors.redhat.com y la reproducción se encontrará disponible a partir...

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Big-data analytics company Cloudera raises $65 million

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Cloudera, a distributor of software that helps companies analyze big data, said it has raised $65 million in new funding.The company is part of a growing group of businesses that help dig into the vast trove of data created by digital sources such as sensors, posts to the Internet, pictures and videos.The field caught investor attention when Splunk, another data analytics...

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T-Mobile to Offer Cheapest iPhone 5 in 2013

T-Mobile, the smallest of the "big four" wireless carries in the United States, already offers the country's cheapest iPhone service -- if you have an unlocked iPhone. And according to Engadget's Brad Molen, more than a million unlocked iPhones are on T-Mobile's network already. Now, T-Mobile has announced that it will "add Apple products to its portfolio in the coming year,"according...

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Facebook predicted to overtake Google in mobile display ad revenue this year

Shares of Facebook (FB) have begun to rebound since the company’s disastrous initial public offering this past May. After opening at $38 per share the company’s stock plummeted into the mid-20s over the summer months and eventually fell to a low of $17.55 in early September. Since then, however, Facebook shares have begun to bounce back after the company posted better-than-expected results in the...

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New Online Privacy Loophole Lets Facebook Advertise to Kids

Mark Zuckerberg's been eager to find a way to get more kids on Facebook for years, and on Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission handed it to him on a platter. That might be overstating it a little bit. It's more like the FTC served it to him on a platter covered in plastic wrap with a note attached that says "Do not open." Nevertheless, should Facebook decided to see what's inside, experts in online...

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Cory Booker Is Exploring a Senate Run, Announces Cory Booker on Social Media

Guess he's going to need that Senate web domain after all. After privately conceding that Chris Christie's surge in popularity made a run for governor impossible, Newark Mayor Cory Booker very publicly announced Thursday morning that he is exploring a run for a New Jersey Senate seat in 2014, if — and it's a big "if" — Sen. Frank Lautenberg retires. Speculation had been brewing for weeks, and a report...

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New Democrat MP Pat Martin erupts with another angry, abusive Twitter exchange

OTTAWA - Firebrand New Democrat MP Pat Martin is at it again on Twitter.Martin is making headlines for an abusive series of tweets prompted, apparently, by the Conservative government's failure to invite him to an announcement in his Winnipeg Centre riding.The tweets include some particularly scathing and personal insults aimed at Public Safety Minister Vic Toews and the Conservative party.Martin...

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Facebook considers letting users pay money to message people they don’t know

Watch out, Facebook (FB): Your reputation for shadiness could soon approach MySpace levels. The Verge reports that Facebook is now testing out a new system in which “people will pay to get in touch with those they aren’t Facebook friends with.” In other words, the creepy guy that keeps trying to “friend” you on Facebook could soon be able to pay an as-yet-undetermined amount of money and get to send...

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Pakistan says 29 nationals beaten by Afghans

Afghan officials say they are investigating allegations by neighboring Pakistan that Afghan forces severely beat Pakistani nationals. The Saturday protest note from Islamabad's Foreign Office provided no details other than to say that all 29 had valid travel documents. Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai says he has no information about the allegations, but Kabul will try to investigate...

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Bombing at political rally kills 8 in Pakistan

 Pakistani police say a suicide bomber attacked a political rally in the country's northwest, killing eight people. Police officer Arfan Khan says the bombing Saturday in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, also wounded more than 20 people. Khan says the rally was being held by the Awami National Party, whose members have been repeatedly targeted by the Taliban. A provincial...

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Bombing at political rally kills 9 in Pakistan

A suicide bomber in Pakistan killed nine people including a provincial government official at a political rally held Saturday by a party that has opposed the Taliban, officials said. The rally in Peshawar, the capital of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was held by the Awami National Party, whose members have been repeatedly targeted by the Taliban. Among the dead was Bashir Bilour, the...

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Gang rape protesters clash with Indian police

Police in India's capital used tear gas and water cannons for a second day Sunday in a high-security zone to break up protests by thousands of people demonstrating against the gang rape and beating of a 23-year-old student on a bus. Police chased angry protesters with batons some of whom fought pitched battles with steel rods and rocks as they tried to get past steel barricades and a wall created...

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In Afghan Taliban birthplace, US troops step back

President Barak Obama will decide in the coming weeks how many American troops to send home from Afghanistan next year. A major factor in his decision will be the question of how successful U.S. troops have been in preparing the Afghans to secure their country at bases like this one, located in one of the country's most violent areas — the birthplace of the Taliban. There have been calls in Congress...

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Italy dissolves parliament, Monti mulls future

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's head of state dissolved parliament on Saturday and opened the way to a February election, with doubts growing over whether outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti will participate in what promises to be a bitter campaign.Monti resigned on Friday a couple of months ahead of the end of his term of office, after his technocrat government lost the support of Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right...

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Analysis: Stop-gap fix most likely outcome of "fiscal cliff" talks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The "fiscal cliff" deadline is days away and the U.S. Congress and President Barack Obama have left town for Christmas.But even if they were still here, it wouldn't have mattered, according to Steny Hoyer, the second-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives. He says they were going nowhere to resolving the disagreement over how to fix the nation's fiscal problems.Last...

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Effect of looming 'fiscal cliff' tax increases

A big package of tax cuts first enacted a decade ago are set to expire at the end the year, unless Congress and the White House reach a deal to extend them. How the looming tax increases would affect households at different income levels.___Annual income: $20,000 to $30,000.Average tax increase: $1,064.___Annual income: $30,000 to $40,000.Average tax increase: $1,417.___Annual income: $40,000 to $50,000.Average...

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Florida governor asks Obama to block possible ports strike

 Florida's Republican governor wants President Barack Obama to invoke federal law and order a cooling-off period if nearly 15,000 longshoremen walk off the job in a looming strike that would be a big blow to the state's economy, according to a letter he sent the president this week.The International Longshoremen's Association union and the U.S. Maritime Alliance grouping of shippers and ports...

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Egypt president appoints upper house of parliament members

 Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi announced names of 90 new members he appointed to the upper house of parliament, state media reported, and a presidential official said the list was mainly liberals and other non-Islamists.Two thirds of the 270-member upper house were elected in a vote early this year, with one third appointed by the president. Mursi, elected in June, had not named them till...

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News Summary: US 30-yr mortgage rate at record low

RATES AT RECORD LOW: Average U.S. mortgage rates fell to fresh record lows this week, a trend that is boosting home sales.THE NUMBERS: Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said the average 30-year loan rate dipped to 3.31 percent, the lowest on records dating back to 1971. The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage dropped to 2.63 percent, also a record.HOUSING RECOVERY: Home sales and construction are rising,...

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Retirement Savings Plan Reality: Save More

There's a buzz building in California over a state move to create a retirement savings plan for private employees with no workplace 401k. It might seem that everyone has plenty of access to a retirement savings plan, but at least a third of U.S. households get to retirement with just Social Security to back them up, reports MarketWatch.The "pioneering" part of such a retirement savings plan would...

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US pending home sales jump to nearly a 6-year high

WASHINGTON (AP) — An index measuring the number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes in October jumped to nearly its highest level in almost six years. Steady job gains and record-low mortgage rates have made home buying more attractive.The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index rose 5.2 percent to 104.8 in October. Excluding...

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US home sales jump to highest level in 3 years

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. sales of previously occupied homes jumped to their highest level in three years last month, bolstered by steady job gains and record-low mortgage rates.The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that sales rose 5.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million in November. That's up from 4.76 million in October.Previously occupied home sales are on track...

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US home sales surge to highest level in 3 years

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. sales of previously occupied homes jumped to their highest level in three years last month, bolstered by steady job gains and record-low mortgage rates. The report was the latest sign of a sustained recovery in the housing market.The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that sales rose 5.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million in November. That's...

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Chicago Teen Birth Rate Declines In Past Decade

CHICAGO (CBS) — The past decade saw a decline in the teen birth rate in Chicago, although the number of teen pregnancies is still much higher than the national average, according to new statistics released by the city on Tuesday. RELATED: Read The Full Report Between 1999 and 2009, the rate of teenagers having children declined 33 percent, according to a new report “Births in Chicago, 1999-2009.”...

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Marin's New Public Health Officer to Tackle the County's Health Disparities

Even though Marin is ranked as the healthiest county in California, that doesn?t mean Dr. Matthew Willis, the county?s new public health officer, has an easy job ahead of him. ?Marin has consistently had some of the highest health rankings of any county in the state and that?s certainly something to be proud of,? said Willis in a recent interview in his new San Rafael office in the...

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New Book Aims To Take ‘Mask Off’ HIV’s Misconceptions

COTTAGE GROVE, Minn. (WCCO) – The face of HIV in Minnesota is getting frighteningly younger. New research shows youth make up about 20 percent of new infections. A new project in the works aims to re-educate Minnesotans about HIV, especially in communities typically thought of as safe. The name of the book is “Face Off HIV.” And the author has worked in HIV prevention for years, saying the misconception...

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