Author: Serkadis

A new state law has raised income eligibility, so more people qualify for benefits

The Illinois Department on Aging (IDoA) Director Charles D. Johnson announced this year’s online application is available starting January 13 for older adults and people with disabilities to apply for Circuit Breaker and Illinois Cares Rx.

A new state law that became effective on Jan. 1 raised the annual income limits, making it possible for more people to qualify for the state benefits.

“We are encouraging individuals to use the online application at cbrx.il.gov because it is the fastest way to get approved for these benefits to help seniors and people with disabilities,” said Director Johnson.

“Starting Jan. 13, apply online for the state’s prescription drug assistance program Illinois Cares Rx, Circuit Breaker property tax grants and a license plate discount.”

As of Jan. 1, a new law makes it easier for some to get into the program.  The new law raised the income eligibility.  By allowing higher incomes, more seniors and persons with disabilities will be eligible to receive the state’s prescription drug assistance, the property tax grant, license plate discount and People with Disabilities Ride Free transit card.

To qualify, your total income in 2009 must be less than:

• $27,610 for a household size of one
• $36,635 for a household size of two
• $45,657 for a household size of three or more

More medications are also available for Illinois Cares Rx enrollees.

In 2009, 255,640 applied online compared to 2008 when 235,000 applied online.

In 2007 there were 190,976 online applications and 75,288 applied online in 2006, which was the first year the Illinois Department on Aging (IDoA) had made the IL Cares Rx application available online.

The state’s pharmaceutical assistance program, Illinois Cares Rx, provides wrap-around prescription drug coverage to fill in the gaps created by Medicare Part D and offers drug coverage for people who do not have Medicare.

Individuals eligible for the Illinois Cares Rx program may also be eligible for additional benefits from the state’s Circuit Breaker program.

The Circuit Breaker program provides a property tax relief grant for individuals who pay property tax on their residence or rent or nursing home charges on a residence that is subject to property tax.

In addition, the program provides a discount on the license plate fee for one vehicle.  These benefits, including Illinois Cares Rx, can be accessed by applying on one application.

To assist those who may need extra help to apply, the Department on Aging staff is holding training sessions in coordination with the Illinois Department of Insurance’s (DOI) Senior Health Insurance Program (SHIP).

Training is to explain the application to providers in the Aging Network.  SHIP, which provides free individual counseling services at more than 150 local sites throughout Illinois, is dedicated to educating Medicare beneficiaries and their caregivers about Medicare insurance options.

Seniors who don’t have access to a computer are encouraged to visit a local senior center, public library, community center, Area Agency on Aging or Senior Health Assistance Program site to access the web based application, or call SHIP at 1-800- 548-9034.

For more information visit cbrx.il.gov, for assistance call Circuit Breaker at 1-800-624-2459 or call the Senior HelpLine at 1-800-252-8966 (888-206-1327 TTY).

We’ve mentioned a bunch of times that while we support the concept of net neutrality (and think any ISP that goes away from it is making a big, big mistake) we’re quite worried about the unintended consequences of having it put into law. As a perfect example of why we should be worried, the EFF is putting together a petition to protest the “copyright loophole” that’s already in the proposed FCC rules:

Buried in the FCC’s rules is a deeply problematic loophole. Open Internet principles, the FCC writes, “do not… apply to activities such as the unlawful distribution of copyrighted works.”

For years, the entertainment industry has used that innocent-sounding phrase — “unlawful distribution of copyrighted works” — to pressure Internet service providers around the world to act as copyright cops — to surveil the Internet for supposed copyright violations, and then censor or punish the accused users.

From the beginning, a central goal of the Net Neutrality movement has been to prevent corporations from interfering with the Internet in this way — so why does the FCC’s version of Net Neutrality specifically allow them to do so?

This is what we worry about. It’s great that the EFF is catching this particular loophole, but as more lobbyists get their hands on net neutrality regulations, they’re going to slip in more and more loopholes like this that will turn what may have great intentions into something else entirely.

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Pundits and analysts have recently celebrated yet another reduction in U.S. consumer debt as a sign that we’re in full-on recovery mode and the worst is behind us. Last week the Federal Reserve released data on consumer credit through November 2009. I checked out the data myself and found that all that consumer deleveraging we’re hearing about is a big fat myth.

The above chart (Click it! It gets bigger!) shows both the total amount and monthly percent
change in both revolving and non-revolving consumer credit from 2000
through 2009, the most recently available datapoint. Let’s look at revolving and non-revolving credit:

–Revolving credit peaked in August 2008. It’s down 10% in the last year, but up a whopping 42% over the last decade.

–Non-revolving credit (student, boat,
and other loans not secured by real estate) peaked in January, 2009,
and has only decreased 1% since. Since January 2000, non-revolving debt increased a whopping 72%. On a
per-capita basis, from the end of 2001 through 2009, outstanding household revolving credit increased
almost 18%, while non-revolving credit outstanding increased almost
42%.

Contrary to the claims of several notable pundits, there was no
“Great Consumer Deleveraging” in 2009, nor was there one in 2008. After peaking in mid-2008, mortgage debt decreased only 1.8%
through the third quarter of this year. With unemployment sticking around 10 percent and benefits ending for many recipients, I see delinquencies and
defaults continuing to rise throughout the year, which I believe is
corroborated by historical FDIC data.

We often hear the statistic that “consumer spending makes up 70% of GDP.” But we don’t often hear the logical follow-up question, “Why is that a good thing?” When growth in consumer spending is funded with debt rather than rising increased incomes, collapse is inevitable.

Chris Brogan, Dan Schawbel to Keynote March 4-5, 2010 Loyola University

Combating the “stadium” setting of huge, impersonal conferences in labrynthian venues, Soho Seminars put together a high-impact social media conference designed to actually connect attendees with speakers.

Loyola University will host the two day conference beginning March 4, 2010.

Attendance is limited, and the “Town Hall” format will frame open discussion and free exchange of ideas around the ever-swirling topics of brand management.

Cd Vann, founder of Soho Publishing and Soho Seminars, has found that, “Over the past six years, the focus has been more on personal profiles and personal branding.

However, when we go to a BNI, Chamber or any other face to face business networking event, people ask us what we do. We have less than 60 seconds to communicate our brand.

At sohobiztube.com, Magazine Soho and Soho Seminars, the focus is on how to effectively incorporate social media strategies and tactics, using new media to enhance your marketing, PR and Customer Service actives, while also understanding the importance of recruiting the right personal brand (brand ambassadors) who will deliver your brand’s message and promise to your client or customer.”

Day one will feature a Town Hall Meeting with Chris Brogan of New Marketing Labs. The meeting will be focused on “The Co-alignment of the Corporate and Personal Brand – How It Affects Team & Leadership.”

Chris Brogan is the President of New Marketing Labs, a new media marketing agency which also hosts the Inbound Marketing Summit.

His blog, “ChrisBrogan.com” is listed as one of the top ten in the Advertising Age Power150 as well as in the top 100 of Technorati.

Day two will feature a Town Hall Meeting with Dan Schawbel. Dan is a leading Gen-Y personal branding expert. He is the author of the best-selling career-book Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success (Kaplan, April 2009) and the founder of Personal Branding Blog®.

At 25 years old, Dan is BusinessWeek’s youngest columnist. He is also a featured contributor to Mashable, LifeHack, and MediaPost and he has written articles for BrandWeek Magazine and Advertising Age.

Dan is “The champion of personal branding” according to Alan Webber, co-founder, Fast Company Magazine.

Other topics include:

• Using Personal Profiles to Recruit Brand Ambassadors (moderated by Brett Farmiloe of Jobing.com, Phoenix, AZ)
• Web 3.0: PDAs, Personal Profiles, Facebook Fans, Twitter Followers and the Corporate Brand.
• Who Owns? Who Manages? Who Decides? (moderated by Steve Glynn of Spreenkler, Milwaukee, WI), and
• Blasphemy, Defamation of Character, When to Discipline, How to Discipline (moderated by Attorney Diana Matigian, Chicago, IL).

And that’s just day one.

On organizing the event, Vann is frank: “Let’s face it, businesses (brands) are what we consume every day. We advertise, market and promote our brands (products and services). And this is my passion, assisting businesses with communicating what they are passionate about, their brand to the clients and customers they want brand loyalty from.”

“It’s the former military in me,” she continues. “It’s all about message, commitment and promise. Once you communicate these effectively to your internal team, only then can they live and breathe this promise via a well developed external marketing, PR and recruiting campaign.”

Registration for the 2-day conference is $699, and includes ‘The Draft; your own social media communications policy’ customized with the professional expertise of AskHRS consultants.

For details and registration visit sohobiztube.com (early bird and Social Media Club Chicago discount rates available).

About Soho Seminars

Soho Publishing, LLC (sohobiztube.com) started in May of 2005. The main product was Magazine Soho, Entrepreneurial Profiles, Social Media and Business.

In March of 2009, they officially completed sohobiztube.com, a multimedia delivery platform for marketing, promoting and position businesses.

How is it different then Linkedin? The focus and profile is on the brand, products, services and employees and not the personal brand. Companies need to focus on why they are in business and what they are promising to their clients and customers.

May of 2009, Soho Publishing,LLC had Milwaukee’s first, one day social media seminar featuring Zappos VP. Soho Seminars presents “Aligning Your Personal and Corporate Brands” March 4-5, 2010.

This afternoon we tracked down Doug Van Sandt, an attorney and self-described amateur economist with a peculiarly prescient claim to fame.

In the letters pages of The Atlantic magazine he made a wager with James Glassman and Kevin Hassett, the authors of a book titled “Dow 36,000,” that after a decade the Dow would be closer to 11,000 than 36,000.

That was 10 years ago. The Dow is now below 11,000. Van Sandt won the bet.

“I haven’t heard from them,” Van Sandt told us. “I was preparing to send them each emails. I assume they’ll pay up.”

In the letter, Van Sandt wrote: “I would be willing to bet Glassman and Hassett that even ten years from now, when earnings and dividends should have nearly doubled, the Dow Jones Industrial Average will still be closer to its current level of 11,000 than to their hyperbolic projection of 36,000.”

Glassman and Hasset replied: “To J. Douglas Van Sant we say, if the Dow is closer to 10,000 than to 36,000 ten years from now, we will each give $1,000 to the charity of your choice.”

Van Sandt said he hadn’t decided which charity the money should go to.

How did Van Sandt know the Dow 36,000 thesis was wrong?

“Their thesis was that because stocks had out performed bonds over the long run, there should be no risk premium. There’s an obvious fallacy here,” he told us. “Government bonds have a certainty to them that stocks don’t have. We were in an enormous stock market bubble. Their book was a product of the times.”

Van Sandt says he reads a lot of economics, especially on market pricing, and attends academic economic conference. His favorite economist is John Maynard Keynes.

“He described the stock market as a casino. I think there’s a lot to that notion,” Van Sandt said.

Of course we had to ask the guy who correctly called this market where he thought we were going in the next ten years.

“We’re in really disturbed times right now. I’m looking at Japan and their experience and wondering if we’re the next Japan,” he said.

But he was optimistic enough to think that we’re not necessarily facing another lost decade on the stock market. 

“I have a pretty optimistic view of things, and a faith in the ability of America to recover,” he said. “The market will grow with the country, around two to three percent a year. In ten years we’ll be between Dow 15,000 and 20,000.”

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See Also:

• The Authors Of Dow 36,000 Just Lost A Ten Year Old $1,000 Bet

Rumors about the Fiat Uno’s comeback to some emerging markets seem to be true, as we can see in the pictures posted by Novidades Automobiles, which have apparently been obtained from the Brazilian Trademark Office.

The images show a pre-production model so you shouldn’t worry and plan to hide your children on the car’s reveal day as it is a known fact that this kind of prototypes aren’t the prettiest automotive creations in the world. You shouldn’t be to happy either, because such a low cost… (read more)

A recent survey conducted by Activision and The Harrison Group seeks to show that the video game industry is doing a good enough job of self-policing. Their findings? More than 80% of parents are familiar with ESRB

Building on Existing Philanthropic Partnerships in Haiti, Abbott Pharmaceutical and Nutritional Products Already on the Ground as Part of Relief Efforts

Abbott (NYSE: ABT) and its philanthropic foundation the Abbott Fund have committed to provide $1 million in initial humanitarian aid in response to the earthquake in Haiti.

This support includes grant funding and donations of critical pharmaceutical and nutritional products to strengthen the ability of humanitarian aid organizations to respond to immediate health needs in Haiti.

This includes an initial quantity of pharmaceutical and nutritional products that are already in use in a hospital in Haiti.

These relief efforts in Haiti build on Abbott’s existing philanthropic partnerships to expand access to health care in the country.

Since 2007, Abbott and the Abbott Fund have provided more than $34 million in grants and product donations to help address health needs in Haiti, including maternal and child health, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and malnutrition.

“The recent earthquake has had a devastating impact on Haiti’s limited health care system, which was already facing significant challenges,” said Catherine V. Babington, president, the Abbott Fund.

“Building on our existing partnerships with humanitarian organizations in Haiti, we are providing funding and product donations to help address the immense and immediate health needs.”

Initial support from the Abbott Fund for earthquake recovery efforts includes $100,000 in grants to three of Abbott’s trusted humanitarian aid partners: American Red Cross, Partners In Health and Catholic Medical Mission Board.

All of these organizations have an established presence in Haiti, and are already mobilizing relief efforts in the country.

Abbott also is actively working with AmeriCares, Direct Relief International and additional organizations to identify and distribute critical nutritional and pharmaceutical products, such as antibiotics and rehydration fluids, that will provide immediate relief for people affected by the earthquake in Haiti.

Abbott will continue to work with key humanitarian aid partners to assess ongoing needs and the state of the transportation infrastructure to move forward with relief efforts.

In addition, Abbott volunteers in the Dallas area will be supporting the efforts of the American Red Cross to respond to the disaster in Haiti.

Through the American Red Cross program, “Ready When the Time Comes,” 35 Abbott volunteers have received training over the past year, and are already assisting with fundraising and other efforts in Dallas to support American Red Cross relief programs on the ground in Haiti.

About Abbott and Abbott Fund

Abbott is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics.

The company employs more than 72,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries. Abbott’s news releases and other information are available on the company’s Web site at abbott.com.

The Abbott Fund is a philanthropic foundation established by Abbott in 1951.  The Abbott Fund’s mission is to create healthier global communities by investing in creative ideas that promote science, expand access to health care and strengthen communities worldwide.

For more information on the Abbott Fund, please visit abbottfund.org.

During his speech at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, Cadillac General Manager Bryan Nesbitt confirmed that all Cadillac models in the future will feature a V or Platinum Series model.

“In luxury segments where overwhelming luxury performance is the primary desire we will apply our V Series design and technical capabilities to create a dominating presence,” said Nesbitt. “And when gracious comfort, elegance and an extra measure of hand crafted materials are expected, Platinum will be our offering.”

At the 2010 NAIAS, Cadillac showed its new CTS-V Coupe and the XTS Platinum Concept. Of course, we’re hoping that the production XTS gets a V series variant very soon.

2010 Cadillac XTS Platinum Concept:

– By: Omar Rana

Um vídeo divulgado pela CBS News mostra a forma violenta como a terra tremeu no terramoto de Haiti.

WebTuga – [Video] Terramoto em Haiti

By Eric Savitz, Blogger and Columnist, Barron’s, Tech Trader Daily

Netflix (NFLX) shares are taking a hit today from negative comments by Lazard Capital analyst Barton Crockett, who lowered his rating on the stock to Sell from Hold, with a $41 price target. The stock closed yesterday at $53.96.

Crockett writes that he sees “noise potential” in the company’s Q4 results, and says there are “reasons to question Netflix’s ability to meet expectations for continued torrid growth.”

Crockett notes that in an appearance on CNBC yesterday, CEO Reed Hastings hinted that the company at least hit the low-end of its subscriber guidance for Q4 of 12 million to 12.3 million. But the analyst also notes that new ComScore (SCOR) data “argues for performance at the low end of sub guidance.”

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Emboldened by the settlement it won from Samsung in a recent digital camera patent dispute, Kodak is seeking similar arrangements from Apple (AAPL) and Research in Motion (RIMM). In a handful of lawsuits filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, the Kodak accuses both companies of illegally leveraging its digital imaging patents in the iPhone and BlackBerry.

Specifically at issue here, are Kodak’s technology for previewing photos and processing images of different resolutions. A separate action brought against Apple alone, claims the company has infringed on patents that allow a computer to “ask for help” from another application to complete certain functions.

In a statement Kodak said that it tries to avoid lawsuits “whenever possible,” but it had no other choice but to pursue legal action after years of failed attempts at negotiating agreements with both Apple and RIM,.

“Kodak has a long history of digital imaging innovation and we have invested hundreds of millions of dollars creating our industry-leading patent portfolio,” Kodak chief intellectual property officer Laura Quatela explained. “In the case of Apple and RIM, we’ve had discussions for years with both companies in an attempt to resolve this issue amicably, and we have not been able to reach a satisfactory agreement. In light of that, we are taking this action to ensure that we protect the interests of our shareholders and the existing licensees of our technology.”

And the company company is deadly serious about that; Not only has it filed suit against Apple and RIM, it’s filed complaints with the US International Trade Commission that, if successful, would ban the two companies from shipping iPhones and BlackBerries to the US.

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Filed under: Nissan, Toys/Games

The GT Academy, the partnership between Sony’s Gran Turismo game and Nissan, released a time trial demo last month to begin searching for a racer good enough to jump from high-def screen to high-speed chicane. Last year Lucas Ordoñez was the first to go from gamer to racer, scoring a podium in his first race with the GT Academy team. You need to get on it if you want to follow in his footsteps, because you’ve already got a million competitors – that’s how many folks have downloaded the time trial in the first three weeks.

If that isn’t convincing enough, there is another less appealing reason to download the demo: GT5’s release has been delayed indefinitely. Sony didn’t indicate on its web site what caused the delay, saying only, “We apologize for any inconvenience.” It was not, however, the previously attributed marketing issues. Some reports point to “production issues” with the $60 million game. London’s Times newspaper, however, said analysts think this could be a deliberate Sony strategy. They suggest that Final Fantasy XIII did so well that Sony wants to release GT5 in the next financial year, after March, to lengthen the sales boost.

We’ll lean toward production issues as opposed to a deliberate strategy. Heck, we’d believe werewolves caused the delay before we’d believe this was planned. The game does look phenomenal but it’s already three years overdue, meanwhile Forza 3 eats into market share. On top of that, we have never heard of a successful business strategy that involved telling your biggest fans, repeatedly, “We don’t have it yet,” then switching to, “We don’t know when we’re gonna have it… um, we’ll call you.”

Will GT5 do well whenever it shows? Of course. But we will wonder how well it could have done. For now there’s always the GT Academy demo, and among those million downloaders you’ll want to look out for the one who goes by the name Duke Nukem Forever (whose initials are, coincidentally, DNF). There’s a press release on the time trial after the jump, and a pretty bunch of high-res screenshots below. Thanks to everyone who sent tips!

[Source: Reuters]

Continue reading Gran Turismo 5 demo hits 1M downloads in three weeks, but game delayed indefinitely

Gran Turismo 5 demo hits 1M downloads in three weeks, but game delayed indefinitely originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Europe, Government/Legal, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Plants/Manufacturing

Despite the fact that the Detroit Auto Show put the focus back on General Motors‘ new products and pulled the spotlight away from the will-they/won’t-they saga that is the Saab sale/wind-down, there are no shortage of developments to report in the ongoing story.

Yesterday, Genii Capital and Bernie Ecclestone submitted a freshly revised bit for Saab, and Spyker Cars reportedly also did so, with CEO Victor Muller going so far as to say that, “We have shown Mr. Whitacre the money.” For its part, Merbanco has also apparently been asked to tweak its bid by General Motors, and it has done so as well.

Swedish-language outlet Svenska Dagbladet has reported that Genii and Spyker may team up to present an even stronger bid, and Dagens Industri has gone so far as to speculate that Genii and Spyker might try to pull Renault into a three-way deal (as you may remember, Genii purchased Renault’s Formula One team recently), but Saabs United indicates that there’s not much to this rumor.

In what critics are suggesting as a less-than-good-faith move, GM may also schedule transportation of the 2010 Saab 9-5’s tooling to China as early as tomorrow, January 15, where the model would likely be built wearing Buick badges. The General appointed Steven Taylor and Peter Torngren to oversee the liquidation of Saab on Monday, and as part of that move, they replaced both Saab’s CEO and board effective immediately.

Despite all of this, GM’s new president of North America, Mark Reuss, has been quoted suggesting that the protracted bidding struggle may continue until early February, all while GM continues to the process of shuttering the brand. It’s enough to make us long for the simpler days of last November, when Saab was nearly sold to Koenigsegg for the symbolic sum of one krona (about .14 cents).

While all of this has been happening, Saab enthusiasts have apparently been gearing up for dozens of rallies around the globe to show support for the sale of the battered marque, with organizers in Yekatarinburg, Russia going so far as to create a commercial and running it on local television. On Tuesday, workers at Saab’s Trollhätten plant rallied, calling for the newly-appointed liquidators at AlixPartners to “go home.” This, as the very first Saab 9-3 convertible came off the line in Sweden – previous droptops had been assembled by Valmet in Findland and Magna Steyr in Austria.

Given how painfully drawn-out this process has become, we have to wonder… will there be anything left to save when all the chips fall? A final, they-really-mean-it-this-time decision on Saab’s fate could happen as early as tomorrow, but sources close to the negotiations seem to think that the proceedings are likely to drag out into next week.

[Sources: Saabs United, Saab History, Swedish Wire, Earth Times, Business Week; Contract Hire and Leasing]

Saab Saga Update: Genii and Spyker pondering joint bid? Workers rally in Trollhätten, etc. originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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