FIFA 14 review: Plateau

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/">http://www.joystiq.com</a><br /><div class="post-head" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 8px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><h1 class="headline" style="border: 0px; color: #2c2c2c; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 35px; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 550px;"><span id="ppt20727510" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 14 review: Plateau</span></h1><div class="byline" style="border: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.7em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 500px;">by <a class="byline-author" href="http://www.joystiq.com/editor/mike-suszek" style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mike Suszek</a> <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/editor/mike-suszek/rss.xml" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="Writer RSS" height="16" src="data:image/png;base64,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" style="border: none !important; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; height: 11px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 11px;" width="16" /></a> on Sep 24th 2013 3:00AM</div><div class="comment-count" style="background-image: url(data:image/png; background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: 23px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 7px; position: absolute; right: 0px; text-align: center; top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="livefyre-commentcount" data-lf-article-id="20727510" data-lf-site-id="301101" href="http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/24/fifa-14-review-plateau/#" style="background-color: #3d3d3f; border: 0px; color: white; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0.2em 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0.4em 0.7em; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">33</a><span class="tail" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div></div><div class="post-body" style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/24/fifa-14-review-plateau/" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="FIFA 14 review Plateau" data-src-height="298" data-src-width="530" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2013/09/fifarev1.jpg" style="border: none !important; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px 0px 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline;" /></a></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-7c829f6e-4b2e-a5ea-5bb9-b60d64c4703a" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Apparently following an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" methodology, the FIFA team hasn't introduced any large, game-changing features this year. Heading into the next console generation, this is very much a "tune-up" year in regards to <a href="http://joystiq.com/game/fifa-14" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 14</em></a>, and for good reason: It's pretty hard to top EA Canada's efforts with the FIFA series in recent years. Each iteration of the soccer sim has gradually tapered off its impactful improvements, with the introduction of physics in <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/game/fifa-12" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 12</em></a> and then First Touch Control in <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/game/fifa-13" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 13</em></a>.</span><br /><br /><span id="docs-internal-guid-7c829f6e-4b2e-a5ea-5bb9-b60d64c4703a" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Continuing the trend, the biggest on-field changes in <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 14</em> revolve around one of the first things players will notice: The game feels a bit slower. The fact is, the game's actual speed may not be any slower than before, but the continual tweaking of passing and dribbling mechanics has lead to <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 14</em> becoming a much more methodical game than before. Your team's progressions seem to take a little longer since the defense plays your attackers tighter, resulting in passing lanes that are a tad harder to find. The dribbling mechanics added in <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 13</em> have been altered – no longer requiring players to hold the left trigger – and effectively performing some of the fun combinations from last year is more difficult and confusing now.</span><div class="postgallery" style="border: 8px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 1em 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 7px 0px 7px 9px; vertical-align: baseline;"><h3 class="clearfix" style="border: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 9px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/screenshots/fifa-14-6-6-13/" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 14 (6/6/13)</a></h3><ul style="border: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><li style="border: 0px; display: block; float: left; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0px 9px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/screenshots/fifa-14-6-6-13/720326/#!slide=720326" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2013/06/fifa14ps3geprecisionmovement1wm.jpg" style="background-color: #eeeeee; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px !important; padding: 2px 2px 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline; width: 70px;" title="" /></a></li><li style="border: 0px; display: block; float: left; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0px 9px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/screenshots/fifa-14-6-6-13/720327/#!slide=720327" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2013/06/fifa14ps3geprecisionmovement2wm.jpg" style="background-color: #eeeeee; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px !important; padding: 2px 2px 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline; width: 70px;" title="" /></a></li><li style="border: 0px; display: block; float: left; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0px 9px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/screenshots/fifa-14-6-6-13/720328/#!slide=720328" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2013/06/fifa14ps3itpureshotwm.jpg" style="background-color: #eeeeee; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px !important; padding: 2px 2px 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline; width: 70px;" title="" /></a></li><li style="border: 0px; display: block; float: left; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0px 9px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/screenshots/fifa-14-6-6-13/720329/#!slide=720329" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2013/06/fifa14ps3ukpureshotflickwm.jpg" style="background-color: #eeeeee; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px !important; padding: 2px 2px 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline; width: 70px;" title="" /></a></li><li style="border: 0px; display: block; float: left; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0px 9px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/screenshots/fifa-14-6-6-13/720330/#!slide=720330" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2013/06/fifa14x360frpureshot2wm.jpg" style="background-color: #eeeeee; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px !important; padding: 2px 2px 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline; width: 70px;" title="" /></a></li><li style="border: 0px; display: block; float: left; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0px 9px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/screenshots/fifa-14-6-6-13/720331/#!slide=720331" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2013/06/fifa14x360naphysicalplaywm.jpg" style="background-color: #eeeeee; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px !important; padding: 2px 2px 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline; width: 70px;" title="" /></a></li></ul></div><a href="" id="continued" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></a>The left trigger is now used mostly for protecting the ball from defenders. Holding the trigger causes your player to shield the ball, a strategy that seems especially effective along the wings, yet otherwise ineffective against even a mediocre defense. Still, it causes your player to slow down and wait for teammates to better position themselves to receive a pass, which also happened much slower than I would like. When sprinting, the ball gets knocked a little further away than it did a year ago, lending more vulnerability to faster styles of play, especially when considering tweaks made to First Touch Control.<br /><br />Introduced last year, First Touch Control causes more unpredictability in the ball's movements, and this year it's more sensitive to less skillful athletes. This causes a much clearer differentiation in how teams play and how players effectively move the ball around the pitch. While I can't necessarily say that Lionel Messi or Christiano Ronaldo feel different from one another, they certainly perform better than a no-name player from some two-star Chilean club. The former two superstars might be able to get away with sprinting around the field a little and still avoid confrontation, but with the majority of teams you'll need to employ a slower, more tactical strategy, as less skilled athletes are more likely to lose control of the ball.<br /><br />If EA Canada's goal is to eradicate the arguably cheap "sprint and through pass" tactic employed by some in the past, they've done an admirable job in doing so with the game's AI alone. In the mid-to-high difficulty levels, the opposition snuffs out passes and makes tackles with ease, and then knocks the ball around your challenges when on the attack. It seemed as if opponents, regardless of their supposed skill level, navigated the field and the openings in my defense much easier than my team could. Additionally, don't bother trying to tackle a CPU-controlled player that is sprinting along the sideline while shielding the ball; it seems downright impossible to get the ball away from them until they're already in the box and approaching the net. The saving grace here is that slide tackling is more viable this year and no longer a guaranteed penalty, thanks in part to a slightly cleaned-up physics engine that doesn't have players falling over one other as much.<br /><br /><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="FIFA 14 review Plateau" data-src-height="337" data-src-width="599" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2013/09/fifarev3.jpg" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px 0px 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline;" /></div><div class="review-diary" style="border: 0px; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 200px;"><h3 style="border: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.5em; font-style: inherit; font-weight: normal; line-height: 12px; margin-bottom: -5px !important; margin-left: 15px !important; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />Recent reviews</h3><ul style="border: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; list-style-type: circle; margin: 15px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px; vertical-align: baseline;"><li style="background-color: orange; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 2px !important; padding: 6px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/23/etrian-odyssey-untold-review/" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Etrian Odyssey Untold</a></li><li style="background-color: orange; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 2px !important; padding: 6px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/17/foul-play-review/" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Foul Play</a></li><li style="background-color: orange; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 2px !important; padding: 6px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/16/grand-theft-auto-5-review/" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Grand Theft Auto 5</a></li><li style="background-color: orange; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 2px !important; padding: 6px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/10/the-wonderful-101-review/" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Wonderful 101</a></li><li style="background-color: orange; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 2px !important; padding: 6px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/10/puppeteer-review/" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Puppeteer</a></li><li style="background-color: orange; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 2px !important; padding: 6px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/09/pokemon-rumble-u-review/" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Pokemon Rumble U</a></li><li style="background-color: orange; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 2px !important; padding: 6px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/09/amnesia-a-machine-for-pigs-review/" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Amnesia</a></li><li style="background-color: orange; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 2px !important; padding: 6px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/06/hatsune-miku-project-diva-f-review/" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Hatsune Miku</a></li><li style="background-color: orange; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 2px !important; padding: 6px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/06/nhl-14-review/" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">NHL 14</a></li><li style="background-color: orange; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 2px !important; padding: 6px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/04/outlast-review/" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Outlast</a></li><li style="background-color: orange; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 2px !important; padding: 6px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/04/killzone-mercenary-review/" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Killzone Mercenary</a></li></ul></div>Still, I frequently caught myself pondering whether I'd inherited a team full of lobotomized players. If the ball fell dead in open space, my team would show almost no effort, merely jogging in the ball's direction and allowing a CPU opponent to regain possession first. If an attacker approached my CPU-controlled defenders, they would offer a nice cushion of space with lots of room to pass the ball. When I locked to an individual player on the field in career mode and timed a run to get past the defense, my teammates were almost always off by a beat, performing late passes often enough that we'd rack up double-digit offsides penalties in every game. My best bet for success was to carefully control every player on my team and trap attackers myself, which certainly slows things down.<br /><br /><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 14</em>'s AI is polarizing. The game's smarter defense offers a new challenge and forces players to think more tactically. Your CPU teammates, however, are frustrating and practically useless roughly 75 percent of the time, creating more offsides penalties than scoring chances. Yet shaky AI is just one slice of the game's on-field play, the majority of which remains as rewarding and fun as ever, and ultimately doesn't feel too far removed from <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 13</em>. For instance, the sheer unpredictability of the ball's movements in last year's game and the excitement it brought is still there in <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 14</em>, so it's worth putting up with a few brain-dead teammates.<br /><br />The manager side of career mode, meanwhile, receives a nice addition in the form of the Global Transfer Network. Players now have more control in managing a team of scouts, giving instructions on what types of players to search for in their assigned countries. Using the Global Transfer Network, I was able to discover a 19-year-old striker with plenty of speed stuck on a Brazilian club, and all the while the system was intuitive as can be. That's a credit to <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 14</em>'s overhauled user interface, which is nearly identical to the excellent system in <a href="http://joystiq.com/game/madden-nfl-25" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Madden 25</em></a>. The majority of the game's menus are now large tiles that have more pop, and even with the occasional stutter, navigation is exactly as easy as it should be. It's especially nice to have that in a mode with as much nuance as career mode or FIFA Ultimate Team.<br /><br /><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="FIFA 14 review Plateau" data-src-height="337" data-src-width="599" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2013/09/fifarev2.jpg" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px 0px 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline;" /></div>As for EA's favorite money-making and card-collecting mode, Ultimate Team has its share of improvements, including changes to team chemistry. <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 13</em>'s version of Ultimate Team brought chemistry into the mix, in which players would perform better if their given club, nationality or league matched with those near them on the team. <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 14</em> takes team chemistry a step further by introducing loyalty and player style bonuses, the latter offering a variety of player skill boosts for your team. Cards that are fresh from an opened pack start out with a "basic" chemistry style, and can be upgraded to others like "sniper," which markedly improves a player's shooting and dribbling abilities. By requiring you to take more specifics into account when building your team, Ultimate Team becomes much more enjoyable and challenging.<br /><br />While online play in various modes went off without a hitch, the game froze twice within the career mode menus, and my system locked up once when booting up the game. Those instances, in addition to the clear balance issues with opposition and teammate AI will likely warrant some attention from EA in future updates.<br /><br />That aside, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 14</em> carries on the tradition of being one of the cleanest experiences in the publisher's sports lineup. It mixes up the formula a touch by slowing the pace of the game down and forcing players to think more tactically by using adjusted dribbling mechanics. The result is a more deliberate, challenging game with less forgiveness, though it still mostly resembles the FIFA we're used to. It's better in some ways, especially with the fresh menu system and added strategic depth in both manager career mode and Ultimate Team.<br /><br /><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 13</em> took larger strides than this year's offering, but even with only minor improvements and changes, <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 14</em> remains an excellent soccer sim.<br /><br /><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2010/06/review-four-stars.jpg" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px 0px 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline;" /></div><hr /><span style="font-size: xx-small;">This review is based on a retail copy of the Xbox 360 version of <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FIFA 14</em>, provided by Electronic Arts.<br /><br />Joystiq's review scores are based on a scale of whether the game in question is worth your time -- a five-star being a definitive "yes," and a one-star being a definitive "no." <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2010/06/11/welcome-to-the-latest-joystiq-we-call-it-futurestiq/#4" style="border: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Read here for more information</a> on our ratings guidelines.</span></div></div>

FIFA 14 review: Plateau FIFA 14 review: Plateau

http://www.joystiq.com FIFA 14 review: Plateau by  Mike Suszek    on Sep 24th 2013 3:00AM 33 Apparently following an "if it ain't b...

Read more »

Hay season

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzVLCCslik1w_C0ZHre-i4OWsnbvhsunQVuW62_liNkqlBnBkyu6ziYfrv7kyvMZur4hM55ULJOtFT7LETk5nLpRgkUFYVymI8DLrVKI3hDPKtcqkmdYb7bPSxe1sq5hm293EnpSPDOuq-/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzVLCCslik1w_C0ZHre-i4OWsnbvhsunQVuW62_liNkqlBnBkyu6ziYfrv7kyvMZur4hM55ULJOtFT7LETk5nLpRgkUFYVymI8DLrVKI3hDPKtcqkmdYb7bPSxe1sq5hm293EnpSPDOuq-/s400/11.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><br />Photo by Lynn R. Mitchell

Hay season

  Photo by Lynn R. Mitchell

Read more »

Blue Ridge Parkway: Lunch at Peaks of Otter

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGZqZzZQIh21xowW1GzA7AN8Em0pMmMVodW_47AMGDJdYeGCq0IKcFUIfW5jR9KK_PeBRKE2kHAHGHYkgNnJvEnwVt0B0uqFnsceS85geP6YftETfzkSUlXwaIKiEBOw8aAbVfikXj0xoo/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGZqZzZQIh21xowW1GzA7AN8Em0pMmMVodW_47AMGDJdYeGCq0IKcFUIfW5jR9KK_PeBRKE2kHAHGHYkgNnJvEnwVt0B0uqFnsceS85geP6YftETfzkSUlXwaIKiEBOw8aAbVfikXj0xoo/s400/5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.peaksofotter.com/">Peaks of Otter</a> at MP 86 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. You can get <a href="http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/sero/appalachian/sec3.htm">lost in the history</a> of this scenic area of Virginia. The dining room is nice place to meet friends and enjoy the beauty outside the ceiling-to-floor windows overlooking Sharp Top and the lake.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-7nTlaelTB2Gtn5JjJKkHNYJ-fQul3OTouTBTvi__HbjBfMGM2MbWOUAkPKpaCb4jvc5pAYmlX5CNFXl8K-KX3lo395I895O0kM4jNYOo8ScnBhLQPUKdVBBQyyYckQl73kQkQoy0QLZv/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-7nTlaelTB2Gtn5JjJKkHNYJ-fQul3OTouTBTvi__HbjBfMGM2MbWOUAkPKpaCb4jvc5pAYmlX5CNFXl8K-KX3lo395I895O0kM4jNYOo8ScnBhLQPUKdVBBQyyYckQl73kQkQoy0QLZv/s400/6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> I tried the Peaks Quesadilla with cheddar jack cheese, onions, peppers, cilantro, and served with fresh salsa ... one of the best I've had.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhCXa8WeWyff-uZlkwIume16eBeDzuEOu7cOnyZtW2QvJVJ-v4lKE3aOYpIshqdCSZLa2SnZ2u1DaYXTncxGlttaeWkpNkPc7TioKZ2RlrZH5sIimIUqzSS03Zn1ti8GbDgMSMsjx8gVOC/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhCXa8WeWyff-uZlkwIume16eBeDzuEOu7cOnyZtW2QvJVJ-v4lKE3aOYpIshqdCSZLa2SnZ2u1DaYXTncxGlttaeWkpNkPc7TioKZ2RlrZH5sIimIUqzSS03Zn1ti8GbDgMSMsjx8gVOC/s400/7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Classic BLT on toasted white bread with steak fries.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_S_SzW1hvgMcL7ZTikAS3Cj5YSSwo4rsiI6p4hRSlGJwOb9pINzCWai6JtaHR_A9MjSw06kp0UQM3bfvQhDMqoVyOZ4j5xjpMb-HtvvHGLOFvhPrlgSHzvF3gsGWRBUQnigAQ18ri-o4d/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_S_SzW1hvgMcL7ZTikAS3Cj5YSSwo4rsiI6p4hRSlGJwOb9pINzCWai6JtaHR_A9MjSw06kp0UQM3bfvQhDMqoVyOZ4j5xjpMb-HtvvHGLOFvhPrlgSHzvF3gsGWRBUQnigAQ18ri-o4d/s400/8.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The meal was very reasonable. The view of Sharp Top was priceless.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell<br /><br />

Bedford Blue Ridge Mountains Blue Ridge Parkway Peaks of Otter tourism Virginia Is For Lovers western Virginia Blue Ridge Parkway: Lunch at Peaks of Otter

  Peaks of Otter at MP 86 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. You can get lost in the history of this scenic area of Virginia. The dining room is n...

Read more »

Nature's Gate Review!

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SLOknX4kORU/UkTTqGUUb3I/AAAAAAAAJ3w/5RCsPcNF1KI/s1600/13+-+1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SLOknX4kORU/UkTTqGUUb3I/AAAAAAAAJ3w/5RCsPcNF1KI/s320/13+-+1" width="320" /></i></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I couldn't wait to try out these products that I've received from <a href="http://natures-gate.com/">Nature's Gate</a> for review!</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Some times all you need is to pamper yourself after a long day.</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>These all natural products are fantastic for that and sure do make you feel less stressed and radiant!</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I've heard of their products before and was just dying to try them out!</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Natural toothpaste cool mint gel :</i></span></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Br4IQSxYXXI/UkTi_AOnJyI/AAAAAAAAJ5Y/9Qsx3v_eGtI/s1600/13+-+2" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Br4IQSxYXXI/UkTi_AOnJyI/AAAAAAAAJ5Y/9Qsx3v_eGtI/s320/13+-+2" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Cool and refreshing mint flavor making my teeth shine and kissably clean!</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Papaya moisturizing lotion:</i></span></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HwObx06B5ZY/UkTi_D9MX8I/AAAAAAAAJ5U/r4Z4K3znSGM/s1600/13+-+3" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HwObx06B5ZY/UkTi_D9MX8I/AAAAAAAAJ5U/r4Z4K3znSGM/s320/13+-+3" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Nice gentle fruity scent that doesn't leave my skin oily at all like some lotions do. Works great after a nice hot shower to put the moisture right back into your skin!</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Chamomile and lemon verbena deodorant: </i></span></u><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LjpMQ26POr8/UkTi_Lm2qwI/AAAAAAAAJ5Q/lelJWbEPm7g/s1600/13+-+1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LjpMQ26POr8/UkTi_Lm2qwI/AAAAAAAAJ5Q/lelJWbEPm7g/s320/13+-+1" width="320" /></a></div><u><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>In order for me to trust a deodorant brand it has to be able to last during my workouts plus all day, I have tried it on tonight since I received the review package earlier and so far so good!</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I do have to say though smells really good and went on smoothly too.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Lemon verbena face cleansing gel and moisturizer:</i></span></u><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PBXp0J8HSxo/UkTi_BshhWI/AAAAAAAAJ5M/Zm6N45JBRNE/s1600/13+-+4" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PBXp0J8HSxo/UkTi_BshhWI/AAAAAAAAJ5M/Zm6N45JBRNE/s320/13+-+4" width="320" /></a></div><u><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>What I love about the cleansing gel was that it smells good and doesn't have a tight dragging feeling upon applying it, for the moisturizer I love how it's not oily and it doesn't make my face feel like it's on fire where some moisturizers can do that.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Links:</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Website:</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://natures-gate.com/"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>http://natures-gate.com</i></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Facebook:</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Natures-Gate/123975724320085?ref=ts&fref=ts"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>https://www.facebook.com/pages/Natures-Gate/123975724320085?ref=ts&fref=ts</i></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>

Nature's Gate Review!

I couldn't wait to try out these products that I've received from  Nature's Gate  for review! Some times all you need is to pamp...

Read more »

Foggy fall morning at my house

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3OlUmlpQj4PHY5BZLIJyt4EIrNYIyJfBX4Tqh7VNPn6BSRvdl2u4HfAaw0DuOwXgqS3n9u9eL41y2DorqAcwbDh5WkSME6xTN0qhJLXXbiy4VcU0MVvwc-j56YtaVP0v5VF31d488WjY-/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3OlUmlpQj4PHY5BZLIJyt4EIrNYIyJfBX4Tqh7VNPn6BSRvdl2u4HfAaw0DuOwXgqS3n9u9eL41y2DorqAcwbDh5WkSME6xTN0qhJLXXbiy4VcU0MVvwc-j56YtaVP0v5VF31d488WjY-/s400/10.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Early morning fog moved through the Shenandoah Valley Thursday morning but burned off and turned into a beautiful day. Looking toward the mountains that are obscured....</div><br />Photo by Lynn R. Mitchell<br />September 26, 2013

Foggy fall morning at my house

Early morning fog moved through the Shenandoah Valley Thursday morning but burned off and turned into a beautiful day. Looking toward the mo...

Read more »

T'Paper (Musical Tribute)

Here's what we now know about monetary tapering policy:<br /><br />1. The paper must be tapered. T'Paper!<br />2. The last attempt was a one hit wonder.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/SwrYMWoqg5w" width="420"></iframe><br /><br />Give a little bit of heart and soul<br /><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2013/08/long-term-real-gdp-growth-prediction.html">Give a little bit of love to grow</a><br />Give a little bit of heart and soul<br /><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-taperworm-hungers.html">And don't you make me beg for more</a><br /><br />Give a sign, I need to know<br />A little bit of heart and soul<br /><br /><a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=mNH">Walking on the water, walking on the air</a><br />That was the heart of the love we shared<br />Do you keep secret left untold<br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/26/us-usa-fed-stein-idUSBRE98P0OA20130926">Can't give love, heart or soul</a><br /><br />I used to have a lover with a Midas touch<br /><a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=mNG">I turned to gold</a> but he turned to dust<br />Left me for another, <a href="http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-08-31/surat/41641569_1_small-and-medium-diamantaires-rough-diamonds-surat-diamond-association">I turned to stone</a><br />Now give me love, heart and soul<br /><br /><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2013/09/household-net-worth-vs-total-credit.html">Living in a fantasy</a><br />There's never any room to breathe<br />Hoping every waking hour<br /><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2013/09/chicago-fed-national-activity-index.html">You'll turn around and say that we can start</a>

T'Paper (Musical Tribute)

Here's what we now know about monetary tapering policy: 1. The paper must be tapered. T'Paper! 2. The last attempt was a one hit won...

Read more »

Our Flubbered Economy

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjX0zYXO7jcM30P6jURUDDAjDrssMvE7G_rg9vjN8H9Xpnt17Autw-8cFxE48zNw-nLQLSAMu1ICEWBlBP6yGh1k9Ohefjfx87pXFmpzHVFeRfnqMkXLBtHE-hlA7Z1WgLg9YP4XytGMs/s1600/Real+Department+Store+Sales+per+Employee.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjX0zYXO7jcM30P6jURUDDAjDrssMvE7G_rg9vjN8H9Xpnt17Autw-8cFxE48zNw-nLQLSAMu1ICEWBlBP6yGh1k9Ohefjfx87pXFmpzHVFeRfnqMkXLBtHE-hlA7Z1WgLg9YP4XytGMs/s320/Real+Department+Store+Sales+per+Employee.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click to enlarge.</span><br /><br />Department store sales per employee and adjusted for inflation are going parabolic! Yay.<br /><br /><b>September 26, 2013</b><br /><a href="http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2013/09/26/jcp-shares-fall-on-holiday-cash-reserve-concerns/">Fox Business News: JCP Shares Rebound; Retailer Pleased with Progress</a><br /><br /><div style="color: #666666;"><i>Retailer J.C. Penney Co Inc (JCP) said it was pleased with the progress of its turnaround efforts and still expected positive comparable-store sales trends coming out of the third quarter and throughout the fourth.</i></div><br />The headline actually makes sense! Way to go Fox Business News!<br /><br /><div style="color: #666666;"><i>The cost to insure $10 million of J.C. Penney bonds against a default for five years now requires an upfront payment of about $2.2 million plus quarterly payments of about $300,000 for the duration of the contract. The contract's pricing reflects a default probability of nearly 65 percent.</i></div><br />The retailer must be very pleased indeed! Let's look closely at the rebound in shares too while we are at it. Shares fell a whopping 15% yesterday and are currently bouncing back up 3% today. Yes, indeed! Very pleasing!<br /><br /><b>September 24, 2013</b><br /><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/sears-canada-ceo-to-leave-amid-clash-over-revamp/article14487696/">Sears Canada CEO to leave amid clash over revamp</a><br /><br /><div style="color: #666666;"><i>In a surprise move, Sears Canada Inc. chief executive officer Calvin McDonald is leaving more than two years after having spearheaded a transformation of the struggling retailer, raising questions about its revival in the industry’s increasingly tough landscape.</i></div><br />Boo! Hiss!<br /><br /><div style="color: #666666;"><i>Sources familiar with the situation said the departure was sparked over differing views with parent Sears Holdings Corp., whose controlling shareholder is Edward Lampert. The disagreement was tied to “the pace at which capital was being deployed to keep the momentum of the transformation going,” according to a source.</i></div><br />Boo! Hiss!<br /><br />What about Macy's? No need to worry! That stock's been on fire lately! Just like it was in 1999 and 2007! What's the worst that could happen?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRrEtJtLsc0XTVnR8aBK0YzJDWs89Wn2Q0IIP_dNaNP7a9kJ1I0mNW4FV60M0KWPyumV5eub3xcxzwEPzGLE7ozHBvp9INFHuF1gTIh2Gu1pb_da0BC8IqH90_XPw28ASxkKDJRWURliE/s1600/Macy's+v.2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRrEtJtLsc0XTVnR8aBK0YzJDWs89Wn2Q0IIP_dNaNP7a9kJ1I0mNW4FV60M0KWPyumV5eub3xcxzwEPzGLE7ozHBvp9INFHuF1gTIh2Gu1pb_da0BC8IqH90_XPw28ASxkKDJRWURliE/s320/Macy's+v.2.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click to enlarge.</span><br /><br />Macy's stock has been <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flubber_%28material%29">flubbered</a>! To infinity and beyond!<br /><br /><div style="color: #666666;"><i>Flubber is a non-Newtonian fluid that flows under low stress, but breaks under higher stresses and pressures.</i></div><br />No more stress! No more pressure! From here on out, it's nothing but exponentially increasing corporate profits! Thanks to this new and improved Fed, recessions will never be tolerated again! Hurray!<br /><br />Flubber trends were first discovered by Rob Dawg in the comments found <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2013/09/10-year-treasury-fed-story.html">here</a>. Genius!<br /><br /><b>Source Data:</b><br /><a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=mNg">St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart</a><br /><a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=M+Historical+Prices">Yahoo Finance: Macy's Historical Prices</a><br /><a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/CPIAUCSL">St. Louis Fed: CPI</a>

Our Flubbered Economy

Click to enlarge. Department store sales per employee and adjusted for inflation are going parabolic! Yay. September 26, 2013 Fox Business N...

Read more »

Children’s Librarian - Licia & Mason Beekley Community Library, New Hartford

<strong>Children’s Librarian -</strong> <strong><strong><span style="color: #48286d;">Licia & Mason Beekley Community Library</span></strong></strong>, a small, award-winning public library in Northwestern Connecticut, is seeking a friendly, energetic, creative, and resourceful children’s librarian for 21+ hours/week, including some evenings and Saturdays. Salary range: $16 - $19/hr. Education degree or library experience preferred. Responsible for juvenile and young adult collection development and children’s programming, including pre-school story times. Submit a cover letter and resume with contact information for three references by <span style="color: red;">October 4, 201</span><span style="color: red;">3</span>, to: Andrea Gaedeke, Library Director, The Licia & Mason Beekley Community Library, P.O. Box 247, New Hartford, CT 06057, or <a _fcksavedurl="mailto:staff@beekleylibrary.org" href="mailto:staff@beekleylibrary.org">staff@beekleylibrary.org</a>.

Children’s Librarian - Licia & Mason Beekley Community Library, New Hartford

Children’s Librarian - Licia & Mason Beekley Community Library , a small, award-winning public library in Northwestern Connecticut, is...

Read more »

Library Assistant Computer Services: Social Media - Easton Public Library

<strong>Library Assistant Computer Services: Social Media - </strong><strong><strong><span style="color: #48286d;">Easton Public Library</span></strong></strong> is offering a challenging and rewarding position. The library assistant will provide expertise in the implementation and maintenance of the library’s social media program, website and public relations in order to emphasize library services that are available to our patrons using both traditional and virtual communication outlets. Duties include: social media programs and website implementation and maintenance; create original content for social media, website, press releases, online newsletters, brochures, flyers, etc., train/instruct patrons (one-on-one or as a group) and staff in the use of emerging technologies, (including downloading e-books, audiobooks, online databases, and use of electronic devices such as tablets and e-readers) and computer equipment and software including OPAC and internet searching, work at circulation desk. Minimum qualifications include: Demonstrated knowledge and proficiency in current and emerging technologies; strong writing and good editorial judgment; adept at identifying and crafting content; ability to learn new technologies quickly and autonomously; ability to acquire and keep current skill with new virtual trends and technologies in libraries; instructional skills and experience; ability to give clear presentations; team player who is innovative and adaptable; ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with supervisors, associates, subordinates and the general public. Bachelor’s Degree in computer studies, marketing or a related field and two years experience working in libraries or any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides a demonstrated potential for performing the duties of the position. This is a full-time position and includes benefits. Hourly rate is $19.33 for a 36 hour work week. Send cover letter, resume and three professional references to Lisa Forman, Assistant Director, Easton Public Library, PO Box 2, Easton, CT 06612 or by email to <a _fcksavedurl="mailto:lbforman@eastonlibrary.org" href="mailto:lbforman@eastonlibrary.org">lbforman@eastonlibrary.org</a> by <span style="color: red;">October 4, 2013</span>.

Library Assistant Computer Services: Social Media - Easton Public Library

Library Assistant Computer Services: Social Media - Easton Public Library is offering a challenging and rewarding position. The library ass...

Read more »

Director - Danbury Library

<b>Director - </b><b><b><span style="color: #48286d;">Danbury Library</span></b></b>. The City of Danbury will not discriminate against any applicant on the basis of sex, race, color, sexual orientation, genetic information, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related conditions, national origin, ancestry, age, veteran status, or disability, except where it is a bona fide occupational qualification. We encourage African Americans, women, Hispanics, and other minorities who meet the minimum qualifications to apply. General Statement Of Duties:The Library Director’s primary responsibility is to develop and maintain an outstanding public library and to encourage as many community residents as possible to take full advantage of its resources. This must be done in accordance with the best principles of modern professional librarianship. The Library Director is ultimately responsible for every phase of library operations. Duties And Responsibilities: Works with the Board of Directors, creates library policy, which includes present aims and long-range goals; implements policy by devising effective procedures. Suggests policy revisions of policy statement to Board of Directors when advisable. Responsible for fiscal management of library. Prepares annual budget request; is alert to possible outside grants; prepares application for annual State Library grant; submits interim fiscal reports and recommendations. Responsible for development of library staff. Assesses personnel needs, establishes adequate job descriptions; in cooperation with Civil Service, recruits, interviews and recommends new personnel. Plans orientation and in-service training sessions as needed to develop an efficient, service-oriented staff. Reviews employee evaluation reports of principal librarians in accordance with City procedures. Responsible for seeing that the library and its services are adequately publicized, and for encouraging development of meaningful, appropriate programs for citizens of all ages. Supervises development of the library’s research and recreational materials, including books, films, magazines, phonograph records, which reflect the needs and interests of the community. Final authority for addition or deletion of materials from the library’s collection. Responsible for the performance of all service departments and technical departments of the library. Serves as the library’s liaison and representative at national, state and local levels. Attends professional library conventions; participates actively in state and regional library planning; attends local functions and meetings, such as civic and service groups, and seeks ways for the library to cooperate with responsible organizations. Responsible for maintenance of an attractive, functional library facility. Supervises physical arrangement of furniture, layout of offices, distribution of supplies, custodial building maintenance and lawn. Responsible for building security. Continually reviews national and state standards for public libraries and familiarizes the Board and the City administration with the library’s progress toward meeting them. Devises a realistic timetable for meeting standards which includes those applying to staff, book collection, collections of other materials, hours of opening, physical facilities, financial support and public services. Minimum Qualifications And Requirements: Knowledge/Abilities/Skills: Thorough knowledge of the principles and practices of modern public library administration; ability to plan, develop and coordinate an effective library staff; ability to anticipate and plan financial needs; must have at least 3 years experience with establishing budgets and grant process; ability to prepare written and oral reports of library plans and services; experience with computerized circulation and reference systems required; must be intelligent, well-read and well-informed; must have sufficient personal poise and skill to represent the library effectively at all levels; must have sufficient knowledge to be able to supervise, assess, and, if necessary, perform every professional task assigned to others. Education and Training: Graduation from an accredited college or university, plus one year of training in an accredited graduate library school, Master’s Degree in Library Science. At least six year’s successful experience in the library profession, at least four of which shall have been as chief administrator in a public library serving not less than 10,000 people or an assistant chief administrator in a public library serving not less than 40,000 people. Application Submission: Applications are available at the Human Resources Dept., 155 Deer Hill Ave., Danbury, CT 06810 or at <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.danbury-ct.gov" href="http://www.danbury-ct.gov/" target="_blank">www.danbury-ct.gov</a>. The application must be completed in its entirety. Omissions, false, misleading or inaccurate information will result in rejection of the application. Please contact the Human Resources/Civil Service Department at (203) 797-4598 or <a _fcksavedurl="mailto:humanresources@ci.danbury.ct.us" href="mailto:humanresources@ci.danbury.ct.us">humanresources@ci.danbury.ct.us</a> if you need assistance or if you have any general questions.

Director - Danbury Library

Director - Danbury Library . The City of Danbury will not discriminate against any applicant on the basis of sex, race, color, sexual orie...

Read more »

Doctors Brace for Health Law’s Surge of Ailing Patients - Bloomberg

<base href="data:"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://www.holycrosshealth.org/aspen-hill-location" title="Open Web Site" rel="external" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Holy Cross Hospital's</a> health center in Aspen Hill, <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/maryland/" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Maryland</a>, is bracing for more business.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">The center treats the uninsured, and has been busy since it opened in 2012 with a waiting list of more than 400 people at its clinic. Now, as a result of the U.S. Affordable Care Act, it's mulling adding staff and hours in anticipation of next year's rush of newly-insured patients, many with chronic medical conditions that have gone untreated for years.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Poorly controlled diabetes can cause stroke, <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/kidney-failure/" density="sparse" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">kidney failure</a> and blindness. Undiagnosed cancer can translate into complex end-of-life care, and untreated high <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/blood-pressure/" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">blood pressure</a> can lead to heart attacks. In effect, the 2010 <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/the-prognosis-for-obamacare/" title="Open Web Site" rel="external" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">health law</a>'s biggest promise becomes its most formidable challenge: unprecedented access to care for a needy population when the nation is already grappling with overtaxed emergency rooms and a shortage of physicians.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">"When you're getting people that haven't had insurance, they have significant health issues," said Kevin Sexton, president and chief executive officer of Holy Cross Health, in a telephone interview. "A lot of people need these services."</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">About 25 million Americans are expected to gain coverage under the health law, commonly known as Obamacare. Starting Oct. 1, as many as 7 million uninsured Americans will begin shopping for private plans through government-run exchanges, with many people eligible to have their premiums subsidized by taxpayers. On Jan. 1, Medicaid programs for low-income people will be expanded in about half the U.S. states.</p><h2 style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Strained System</h2><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">The increase in newly insured patients arrives at a time when the nation has 15,230 fewer primary-care doctors than it needs, according to an Aug. 28 assessment by the <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/u.s.-department-of-health/" density="sparse" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">U.S. Department of Health</a> and Human Services. And emergency rooms report being strained with visits that have risen at twice the rate of <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/population-growth/" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">population growth</a>.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">"It's like we're handing out bus tickets and the bus is already full," said Perry Pugno, vice president for medical education at the <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/0678068D:US" class="web_ticker" title="Get Quote" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">American Academy of Family Physicians</a>, by telephone. "The shortfall of primary-care access is not an insignificant problem, and it's going to get worse."</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Almost half of all uninsured, non-elderly adults had a chronic condition, based on a 2005 <a href="http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/411161_uninsured_americans.pdf" title="Open Web Site" rel="external" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">report</a> by the <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/urban-institute/" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Urban Institute</a> and the <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/university-of-maryland/" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">University of Maryland</a>. One in six with hypertension reported no visits to health professionals in a year.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Most who come to Holy Cross's health center now lack insurance, and have lived for years with serious ailments, according to Elise Riley, the center's medical director. "It's frustrating to see diseases that could have been prevented," she said in an interview in her office.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">More demand may lead to months-long waits to see doctors, delays in finding specialists, and strains on hospitals and outpatient clinics, others said.</p><h2 style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Patient Access</h2><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Ensuring patient access is critical to the Affordable Care Act's success: if the newly insured swamp the medical system, it could hand critics pushing to derail the law another argument to fray public support. Sara Rosenbaum, a health-law professor at George <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/washington/" density="sparse" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Washington</a> University in Washington, said she doesn't believe it's going to happen.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">"It's going to be a slow ramp up," Rosenbaum said in a telephone interview. "It's not like seven million people will get insurance at once. They're not going to all come racing in the door."</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">While that number of new patients can be debated, the status of those who do come in the door is not.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Patients who have had gaps in health insurance were more likely to have not gone to a doctor when sick or to have skipped getting prescriptions, according to an April 2013 report by the Commonwealth Fund, a New York-based foundation that works for health-care access. The uninsured were less likely to be up-to-date on recommended cholesterol, blood pressure, colon cancer screenings and mammograms.</p><h2 style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Massachusetts Overhaul</h2><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Massachusetts pioneered health reform in 2006 when it enacted near universal coverage under then governor <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/mitt-romney/" density="sparse" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Mitt Romney</a>. Community health centers and hospitals that care for a larger share of lower-income residents saw a 12 percent jump in patient volume from 2009 to 2010, with almost 100,000 more visits to safety net hospitals during that time, according to a 2012 <a href="http://kaiserfamilyfoundation.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/8311.pdf" title="Open Web Site" rel="external" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">report</a> by the <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/kaiser-family-foundation/" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Kaiser Family Foundation</a>.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">David Longworth, chairman of the Medicine Institute at <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/ohio/" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Ohio</a>'s <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/cleveland-clinic/" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Cleveland Clinic</a>, was working in Massachusetts when the state passed near universal health coverage.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">"Practices closed and patients would wait for eight to nine months to get in," Longworth said by telephone. "We overwhelmed the primary care health system."</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">In cities such as Lawrence, Massachusetts, a former textile city that has long been home to a large immigrant community, doctors have coped with rising volume.</p><h2 style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Patient Surplus</h2><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">The <a href="http://lawrencefmr.org/site/" title="Open Web Site" rel="external" density="full" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Lawrence Family Medicine Residency</a>, which provides primary care and other medical services to a largely low-income patient population, saw an uptick in patients, said Joseph Gravel, chief medical officer and residency program director.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">"When you look at the experience in <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/massachusetts/" density="sparse" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Massachusetts</a>, it's going to be bumpy" when Obamacare rolls out, Gravel said in a telephone interview.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">The percentage of family doctors in the state accepting new patients has dropped 19 percent in the past seven years and the percentage of internists accepting new patients has fallen 21 percent over nine years, according to a July report by the Massachusetts Medical Society, an advocacy group for patients and physicians. Only about half of family doctors were accepting new patients this year.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">The Cleveland Clinic predicts as many as 90,000 new patients in northeast Ohio if everyone signs up for coverage. The health system is working to ramp up its primary care practices in anticipation.</p><h2 style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">Exciting Challenge</h2><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">At Grady Health System in Atlanta, more patients are expected, especially at its six outpatient centers. San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center in <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/california/" density="sparse" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-decoration: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">California</a> has some expanded hours its 19 primary care centers. The centers are located in the hospital and out in the community.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">"We anticipate an increase in primary care and specialty," Chief Executive Officer Sue Currin said.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">On a recent Friday morning at the Holy Cross clinic in Aspen Hill, Riley donned a white coat and prepared to see patients. While there may be more patients under reform, Riley said an increase in business will be welcome.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 17px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; position: static; z-index: auto; ">"I've very excited," Riley said. "I've been dealing with uninsured patients for a long time. If they get coverage, we can prevent a lot of problems."</p></div><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2013-09-23/doctors-brace-for-health-law-s-surge-of-ailing-patients.html">http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2013-09-23/doctors-brace-for-health-law-s-surge-of-ailing-patients.html</a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

Doctors Brace for Health Law’s Surge of Ailing Patients - Bloomberg

Holy Cross Hospital's  health center in Aspen Hill,  Maryland , is bracing for more business. The center treats the uninsured, and has b...

Read more »

Belviq representing at the AAFP Medical Convension

My friend, and fellow belviq patient, Mark Benjamin is working the AAFP Medical Convension and took some pictures of the booth representing Belviq.  He said as of 10:00 am checkin, the Belviq booth had 12 visitors, and Qysmia had 1.  Now THAT's representing!!!!<br /><br />Great job reporting in Mark.  <br /><br />Here are some pictures.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP7tJzwDIVfGXn8Sac_abq_c-fwKtTCbcsgTkgSPCZ11xSaM2avouPiE7tW2s4lR8JjEftgXXsviHToEaftYdgWuOh3h0-1hOR_-cTmCARST5yhtNm8hjZVley1-_zSB2p4JZH1KOdjeU/s1600/belviq+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP7tJzwDIVfGXn8Sac_abq_c-fwKtTCbcsgTkgSPCZ11xSaM2avouPiE7tW2s4lR8JjEftgXXsviHToEaftYdgWuOh3h0-1hOR_-cTmCARST5yhtNm8hjZVley1-_zSB2p4JZH1KOdjeU/s320/belviq+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLXDjU-TSquuY768QI6jzu-UXisnHEqMZNr8c3hB7FoCPrVbLxOxFcbjhPdi4bn6jRFXqLSQ0yyOtpmehr51X7HfM5zg5abRnrmOwrz_Ylo8MxDyotiATbpaaIj0wpb-X6MEbJzw6_U3E/s1600/belviq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLXDjU-TSquuY768QI6jzu-UXisnHEqMZNr8c3hB7FoCPrVbLxOxFcbjhPdi4bn6jRFXqLSQ0yyOtpmehr51X7HfM5zg5abRnrmOwrz_Ylo8MxDyotiATbpaaIj0wpb-X6MEbJzw6_U3E/s320/belviq.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIVuhzv4ta0M62fAXVh5duC0-14_9ACTUJ3kPt9tf192ZSdPdTt_uDPnvwdOPAQGE7IWY7TP9o4JZM8T-N01Pv5nfStknidcYcMULbq1NQYoWK2hv3ITcDARANugxQCQafCyc37IUjBQc/s1600/belviq2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIVuhzv4ta0M62fAXVh5duC0-14_9ACTUJ3kPt9tf192ZSdPdTt_uDPnvwdOPAQGE7IWY7TP9o4JZM8T-N01Pv5nfStknidcYcMULbq1NQYoWK2hv3ITcDARANugxQCQafCyc37IUjBQc/s320/belviq2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>

Belviq representing at the AAFP Medical Convension

My friend, and fellow belviq patient, Mark Benjamin is working the AAFP Medical Convension and took some pictures of the booth representing ...

Read more »

Another Teamster organizing victory in Georgia!

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaLnCTua0ctBeA4E4AFOjkm-ObYcXFGHOq5IPGtXbgYX2fh5o_I4qOBeMFxQ7tDNvYtojZuzOTwsMiXAheox9uEUBfYnC2w3Bb-ipsQ0CNpJmQoT8bYugzCwvJMoeZ9pWfe8LMw4nZ60mi/s1600/victory.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaLnCTua0ctBeA4E4AFOjkm-ObYcXFGHOq5IPGtXbgYX2fh5o_I4qOBeMFxQ7tDNvYtojZuzOTwsMiXAheox9uEUBfYnC2w3Bb-ipsQ0CNpJmQoT8bYugzCwvJMoeZ9pWfe8LMw4nZ60mi/s200/victory.jpeg" width="132" /></a></div>Please give a warm welcome to our 50 new brothers and sisters who work as warehouse workers for Americold in McDonough, Ga. They recently voted overwhelmingly to join Teamsters Local 528 in Atlanta.<br /><br />Though there are about 50 workers in the bargaining unit, many temporary workers will become full time, so the bargaining unit is expected to grow to 80 to 90 workers.<br /><br />Don Toney, president of Teamsters Local 528 in Atlanta, explained why they joined our union:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">We represent Americold workers at four other locations, so the McDonough workers saw the great job we do for their co-workers in other areas.</blockquote>The McDonough workers are also seeking fair pay. Johnny Edwards, a Teamsters Local 528 business agent, said Americald workers already represented receive much higher wages:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">They are also seeking a seniority system, protection of rights, improved benefits and respect and dignity in the workplace.</blockquote>Americold is the largest provider of temperature-controlled warehousing and distribution services in the United States. The company has more than 6,000 associates in 100 warehouse locations. Teamsters represent more than 1,000 Americold workers nationwide.<br /><br /><br />

organizing victory warehouse workers Another Teamster organizing victory in Georgia!

Please give a warm welcome to our 50 new brothers and sisters who work as warehouse workers for Americold in McDonough, Ga. They recently vo...

Read more »

Private prison rap sheet: Violence, abuse, death

Teamsters are fighting private prison companies that try to take over the government's job of punishing inmates -- and do it for obscene profit. In Florida, for example, <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2012/02/make-or-break-fl-prison-privatization.html" rel="nofollow">Teamsters from Local 2011 persuaded lawmakers</a> that it was a very bad idea to turn a third of the state's prisons over to Boca Raton-based GEO Group. Yesterday, <a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/teamsters-private-prison-quotas-rob-taxpayers" rel="nofollow">Teamsters denounced private prison companies</a> that negotiate contracts linking inmate population to profit. The union represents 30,000 correctional officers.<br /><br />Our friends at the <a href="http://prwatch.org/" rel="nofollow">Center for Media and Democracy</a> -- the ones who exposed <a href="http://alecexposed.org/" rel="nofollow">ALEC</a>, the corporate dating service for lawmakers -- are now exposing the predatory corporations that are trying to take over our government. They're doing a 12-part series at "<a href="http://outsourcingamericaexposed.org/">OutsourcingAmericaExposed.org</a>" in which they're outing the worst corporate outsources. Today CMD reveals the horrors of prisons run by GEO Group.<br /><br />Among their findings:<br /><ul><li>CEO George C. Zoley's compensation was an eye-popping $22,315,704 from 2008-2012, almost all paid for by U.S. taxpayers;</li><li><a href="http://www.privateci.org/private_pics/GEO_suit2.pdf">Hundreds of lawsuits</a> have been filed against GEO Group, many of which were settled before trial. The suits range from allegation of inmate death and abuse, excessive force, medical neglect as well as allegations of employment discrimination;</li><li>An audit by the state of Texas found in 1999 that GEO Group (then known as Wackenhut) barely kept the minimum number of guards required in its contract to run a jail in Travis County. The company was fined $625,000 for chronic staffing shortages; </li><li>GEO Group was sued by inmates at East Mississippi Correctional Facility for "barbaric and horrific conditions." The facility, designated for special needs and psychiatric problems, denies patients the most rudimentary mental health services and many committed suicide; </li><li>GEO Group settled a <a href="http://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/downloads/case/cb_v_walnut_grove_complaint.pdf" rel="nofollow">lawsuit</a> that charged its Walnut Grove Correctional Facility (WGYCF) juvenile prison in Mississippi perpetuated violence and corruption. A <a href="http://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/downloads/case/walnutgroveDOJ.pdf" rel="nofollow">U.S. Department of Justice investigation</a> found 'deliberate indifference’ in failing to protect youths from harm in seven major areas, including sexual misconduct between guards and inmates and use of excessive force by guards;</li></ul><br />Horrified yet? If not, read the whole thing <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/09/12255/violence-abuse-and-death-profit-prisons-geo-group-rap-sheet" rel="nofollow">here</a>.

ALEC exposed private prisons Private prison rap sheet: Violence, abuse, death

Teamsters are fighting private prison companies that try to take over the government's job of punishing inmates -- and do it for obscene...

Read more »

The Best Way To Quickly And Effortlessly Cut A Hundred Calories From Your Diet

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By Albert Gorman</div><br /><br /> <div class='uawarticle'>Chances are you are probably very sick of having to check out the calorie content on every individual food that you think about consuming and every single drink you are thinking of drinking. Don't worry: we totally get the feeling. Monitoring calories is certainly no fun. You will be happy to learn, though, that it does not have to be the big problem that it might have started to be for you. Here's the real truth: there are all kinds of ways that you can cut out 100's of calories from your diet devoid of having to do all sorts of calculations to get there. Keep reading to figure out exactly how to do it.<br /> <br /> One of the least difficult ways to cut out a hundred unhealthy calories is to stop drinking everything but water. Water features zero calories and keeps you hydrated. There are all types of calories in soda pops and juices and coffee and having them can often make you feel much more thirsty. Espresso and soda especially are genuinely bad for packing on 100's of calories in just a few minutes. Carefully consider that shot of flavoring you add to your morning coffee cup. Actually one ounce can add quite a few calories to the coffee. Perhaps you should skip the coffee altogether and drink water instead to help your calorie count drop an insane amount.<br /> <br /> Don't use butter to season your vegetables; implement herbs, seasonings and lemon juice. The flavour will be out of this world and you will not have the calories associated with the butter you are familiar with. Furthermore - this helps you lower your risk of developing high bad cholesterol levels and having those calories accumulated as fat for later on.<br /> <br /> Tacos might well be your very favorite food ever but they are often chock full of calories that are dreadful for you. Fortunately, though, you will not have to stop enjoying them. Just create them in healthy ways. Use corn tortillas rather than flour and you can easily remove a hundred calories. You can drop even more calories by using just the leanest cuts of meat or consuming only vegan or all-vegetable tacos.<br /> <br /> Are you presently still ingesting the skin on your roasted chicken? Never do that! Sure it tastes good but it is packed to the brim with calories. It is okay to leave the skin upon the meat while it is grilling as this can help you season and spice the meat properly as well as ensure that the flavor really may get sealed in but after the cooking activity is complete you should certainly take the skin off. This can make your eating routine all the much better.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> The sincere and easy truth is that with just some basic changes to your food prep, you can chop hundreds of calories from your eating routine every single day. Only using light whole wheat bread instead of regular white bread can decrease a hundred calories from a person's diet. Water as an alternative for soda, coffee or juices drops hundreds of calories each day. Perhaps the very best thing concerning these tips is that they will not require the sacrifice of personal taste to help you attain superior health.<br /> <br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawresource'><br /> <div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawabout'><br /> About the Author:<br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawlinks'>If you are looking to strengthen your calorie burning, products like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aufzgwJMnL4">Garcinia Extra</a> are becoming popular these days.</div><br /> </div><br />

The Best Way To Quickly And Effortlessly Cut A Hundred Calories From Your Diet

By Albert Gorman Chances are you are probably very sick of having to check out the calorie content on every individual food that you thi...

Read more »