Gregory Markel, the founder, CEO and President of digital marketing agency Infuse Creative, was interviewed by music industry veteran Bobby Owsinski about how up-and-coming musicians, artists, bands, and musical acts can use SEO and social media strategies to their advantage in promoting themselves and their music online in the new music business guidebook, "Music 3.0: A Survival Guide for Making Music in the Internet Age," on sale at Amazon.com.

A former recording artist signed to Warner Brothers with two albums and a hit at rock radio under his belt and now a digital marketer serving global brands, Gregory Markel has a unique perspective on the entertainment industry, particularly the music business. Markel and Infuse Creative have provided services to major entertainment clients such as New Line Cinema, CBS's CSI, Warner Bros., the BBC, the National Geographic Channel, Led Zeppelin, FOX's hit television show "24," Gibson guitars, and many more.

In the interview, Markel explains how musicians can utilize free tools and techniques on the web to promote themselves and their music. "If your music's good there are so many opportunities with social media, free technologies and methodologies available that you can definitely get a large number of people to find you," said Markel. "You want to utilize the rest of the web that doesn't cost you anything, meaning all of Web 2.0 and social media."

When asked for advice to give aspiring musicians for optimizing their website, Markel suggested researching the websites of artists in the same genre of music, and learning about the workings of social media. "You have to figure out how to put down some kind of footprint online for people to find you," said Markel. "You want to build community. If you're a serious, artsy kind of artist, that might dictate a specific online and mobile approach appropriate for such, while if you're pop oriented then that would denote another kind of approach appropriate to that type of audience, etc."

"Music 3.0: A Survival Guide for Making Music in the Internet Age," which will be available this October, is a guidebook for musicians to help understand how the music business has changed over the past decade, and why it is essential for musicians to adopt innovative ways to market and distribute their music on the web. To read an excerpt of Gregory Markel's interview, go to http://bobbyowsinski.com/Music_3.0-_Gregory_Markel_Interview_Excerpt.html.

About Gregory Markel

Gregory has been involved in search, social, and video marketing and technology for 13 years and is a popular and perennial speaker at key industry events and media outlets including; Search Engine Strategies, Pubcon, SMX, CalTech, USC Annenberg School of Communications, FOX business news, Advertising Age and many others. Gregory also advises financial analysts on search, social and video technology companies.

About Infuse Creative:

Infuse Creative, founded by Gregory Markel, has provided search engine optimization, social media, and digital marketing services and technology to a diverse range of clients, including Mazda, Gibson Musical Instruments, New Line Cinema, Warner Bros., Pacificare, The BBC, Ed Hardy, Led Zeppelin, CBS, FOX, The National Geographic Channel, Reality Executives International, Sony, Universal, Vivendi, and many more. Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/infusecreative.

About Bobby Owsinski:

Bestselling author and music industry veteran Bobby Owsinski has worked as a music producer, arranger, and engineer with numerous recording artists and musical acts such as Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Ramones, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and Chicago, and many others, as well as on a variety of commercials, television shows, and feature films. One of the first to use surround sound music mixing, Owsinski is currently a principle in audio production house Surround Associates and broadcast content creator 2B Media. He has also authored hundreds of audio-related articles in industry trade publications, in addition to several books that are now integral parts of media programs, including "The Audio Mastering Handbook," "The Mixing Engineer's Handbook," and "The Recording Engineer's Handbook."

    
    
    Contact:
    Melissa Klotz
    Infuse Creative 
    (323) 960-7790
    

SOURCE Infuse Creative

RELATED LINKS
http://www.infusecreative.com

The Open Book Alliance today formally filed Amicus Curiae in opposition to the proposed settlement between the Authors Guild, Inc., Association of American Publishers, Inc. and Google, Inc.

The OBA filing states,  "The torrent of criticism to the settlement may have produced amendments to the class definition, but it has not affected Google's conduct one iota... All in all, little has been accomplished, save from Google's perspective as it continues to build its lead over competitors. ...The Court's procedures are ill-suited for resolution of what is now at stake in this matter -- rewriting the copyright law, restructuring the publishing industry, and maintaining a competitive search market."

The proposed Google book settlement is not a philanthropic effort to bring literature into the 21st century and bridge a literary divide.  In reality, Google is focused on becoming the sole owner of an immense digital library that will improve the company's advertising-based search business.  This de facto exclusive license will provide Google with an enormous advantage over its search competitors.

The brief explores the market importance of so-called "tail queries" -- rare or obscure search requests that are hard to fulfill accurately.  The brief explains how "[d]igital rights to virtually all out-of-print books provide Google with a decisive advantage in responding to tail queries."  The brief continues, "[i]f Google can deny its search rivals the ability to integrate the same corpus of books, Google's lead in search will become insurmountable."

The brief also uncovers "carefully crafted exceptions" inside the settlement regarding the Google Partner Program.  Google has signed "Partner" agreements with thousands of publishers.  Doubtless, many -- if not all -- of the named publishers in the settlement have their own agreements with Google that will govern the payments they receive from Google, in lieu of the provisions that were negotiated in the settlement for other class members.  The brief states, "...[this] permits the parties to negotiate secret side deals to govern the economic terms of books licensed to Google under the Settlement at any time, even after a court review of the Amended Agreement, effectively evading judicial and public scrutiny..."

The OBA believes that the proposed settlement threatens to bottleneck the access to and distribution and pricing of the largest, private digital database of books in the world. It would do so by using the class action mechanism to not only redress past harm, but to prospectively shape the future of digital book distribution, display and search.

In the Amicus, the OBA highlights five key reasons why the amended settlement is a "paltry proposal":

• "Control of the Search Market is Google's True Goal."  Google Books Director Daniel Clancy has stated that Google did not undertake the book-scanning project in order to make money through digital book sales or library subscriptions.  The court should prevent Google from using the judicial system to bolster its search monopoly.
• "Secret Side Deals Among the Parties Actually Control The Settlement Terms."  Google has signed "Partner" agreements with thousands of publishers.  Doubtless, many -- if not all -- of the named publishers in the settlement have their own agreements with Google that will govern the payments they receive from Google, in lieu of the provisions that were negotiated in the settlement for other class members.   The terms of partner agreements remain secret.  In addition, publishers can withdraw display rights of books they register.  As a result, notwithstanding the millions and millions of books Google claims it has digitized, the Registry's corpus may well end up with only a few million volumes.
• "Google's Anticompetitive Bundling Undermines Competition in Digital Book Distribution."  Google has already undermined competition by giving preference to brands such as Google Maps over competitors like MapQuest.  Concerns abound about the consequences to competition in digital book distribution by augmenting Google's market power through a judicial grant of access to books that no other competitor can secure.
• "The Amendments Fail to Resolve Antitrust Objections."  The settlement bestows upon Google a de facto exclusive license to millions of books and continues to set a price floor for out-of-print books.  The big publishers continue to look to the settlement to dampen price competition and stabilize prices.
• "The Settlement Fails Even a Rule of Reason Evaluation."  The per se rule, rather than the rule of reason, governs horizontal price fixing schemes embedded into joint ventures. A rule of reason evaluation does not turn solely on increasing output; if it did, every joint venture for the creation of product would pass antitrust scrutiny.

About The Open Book Alliance

The mass digitization of books promises to bring tremendous value to consumers, libraries, scholars, and students. The Open Book Alliance works to advance and protect this promise. And, by protecting it, the Open Book Alliance asserts that any mass book digitization and publishing effort be open and competitive.  The process of achieving this promise must be undertaken in the open, grounded in sound public policy and mindful of the need to promote long-term benefits for consumers rather than isolated commercial interests.

The Open Book Alliance counters Google, the Association of American Publishers and the Authors' Guild's scheme to monopolize the access, distribution and pricing of the largest digital database of books in the world.  To this end, the Open Book Alliance promotes fair and flexible solutions aimed at achieving a more robust and open system.

Members of the Open Book Alliance are Amazon.com, American Society of Journalists and Authors, Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, Internet Archive, Microsoft, National Writers Union, New York Library Association, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Small Press Distribution, Special Libraries Association and Yahoo!.

SOURCE Open Book Alliance

RELATED LINKS
http://www.openbookalliance.org

Santillana Publishing USA, Inc., the number one Spanish-language publishing house in the country, and Hispanic Communications Network (HCN), the largest informational media content network reaching Latinos in the US, are teaming up to give Hispanics free access to exclusive, entertaining book content and information to better their lives.

The new partnership provides for HCN to distribute exclusive excerpts from Santillana's bestselling titles through their print network column, "La Columna Vertebral," reaching millions of readers across nearly a hundred newspapers and publications, most of them free to the public.

Silvia Matute, Director of Santillana's General Books Division, said that, "the critical piece of this strategic alliance is our content; the best of bestselling authors like Maria Marin, Xavier Serbia, and Dr. Ana Maria Polo, now made accessible to all through HCN's wide-reaching media networks."

HCN President & CEO, Carlos Alcazar concurred. "This agreement is key to fulfilling our commitment to making sure all Hispanics have access to the best content out there. As media continues to change, HCN understands that first, it has to be entertaining, and then we reach more people with information to make their lives better in this country."

Readers of "La Columna Vertebral" will have access to the new content beginning in February 1st, 2010.

SANTILLANA USA, based in Miami, Florida, is one of 22 subsidiaries of Grupo Santillana, the largest educational publisher in the Spanish-speaking world.

Our mission is to publish the work of the most prestigious Spanish-language authors and of the creative new voices emerging from the U.S. and Latin America. This mission is fulfilled through our world-renowned imprints Alfaguara, Punto de Lectura, Aguilar, Suma, and Taurus, and their authors Mario Vargas Llosa, Jose Saramago, Julio Cortazar, Jaime Bayly, Stephenie Meyer, Edmundo Paz Soldan, Xavier Serbia, and Maria Antonieta Collins, among others.

Grupo Santillana, is part of PRISA, the leading Spanish- and Portuguese- language group in education, communication, and entertainment, with presence in 22 countries in Europe and America. PRISA owns or has controlling interest in prominent brands of television, radio, and print media.

For additional information, please visit: www.santillanausa.com/TRADE_BOOKS/

HISPANIC COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK (HCN) is the largest provider of Spanish-language informational and educational media in the United States. HCN uses Spanish based media platforms like the radio, print publications, television, web and mobile phones to conduct social marketing integrated campaigns to inform and inspire the Hispanic population in the United States. HCN radio programs reach a weekly aggregate audience of almost 5 million listeners through over 240 radio stations, thus reaching 90% of the Hispanic population. Its weekly newspaper column "La Columna Vertebral" (The Backbone), which offers readers advice on various topics, is distributed to nearly 100 Hispanic newspapers with a total weekly publication of over 3,500,000 copies throughout the country. HCN is headquartered in Washington DC.

For additional information, please visit: www.hcnmedia.com  

SOURCE Santillana USA Publishing

RELATED LINKS
http://www.santillanausa.com/TRADE_BOOKS

In what is known as one of the largest contests of its kind in the world, finalists for the 4th Quarter of the 26th year of the L. Ron Hubbard Illustrators of the Future Contest were announced today by Joni Labaqui, contest Director.

The semi-finalists and finalists for this quarter are from the United States and Kenya, Africa.

Semi-finalists receive a critique from the coordinating judge of the contest, Ron Lindahn.

The 9 finalists art is sent to 4 of the contest judges. Of the 9 finalists, 3 will be chosen as winners of the quarter. The 3 winners of each quarter are awarded cash prizes, a week long intensive workshop, an awards ceremony and are also published in the annual L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future. The judging process, once the finalists are determined by the coordinating judge, takes a little over a month.

A Grand Prize winner is announced at the annual awards ceremony and is selected from another panel of judges. All winners from each of the quarters are eligible for the Grand Prize of $5,000.00.

"The Illustrators of the Future Contest is an effective means for aspiring illustrators to make their break in the publishing industry. That's because our winners are judged by professionals," Labaqui said. Well-known contest judges include multiple award winning artists Frank Frazetta, Bob Eggleton, Vincent DiFate, Ron Lindahn, Val Lakey Lindahn, Stephen Hickman, Cliff Nielsen, Stephan Martiniere and Laura Brodian Freas.

For more information about the contest, go to www.writersofthefuture.com. Or call the contest at 323-466-3310.

SOURCE Illustrators of the Future

RELATED LINKS
http://www.writersofthefuture.com/
http://www.galaxypress.com

The College Publishing Group of CQ Press, which publishes authoritative textbooks on political science and journalism, today announced an extended partnership with Soomo Publishing, publisher of web-based ancillaries for the college market. This continuing partnership between two independent publishers provides instructors and students in Comparative Government courses with a low cost instructional package jam-packed with top-notch content and engaging new media.

With the new agreement, Soomo will incorporate an e-book version of CQ Press's "Introducing Comparative Politics, Concepts and Cases in Context" by Carol Ann Drogus and Stephen Orvis into their web-based product, Comparing Governments (www.comparinggovernments.com).

Through an analysis of new scholarship and by providing an "ideal middle ground" between traditional and current approaches, Introducing Comparative Politics offers a thematic introduction to the field, bolstered with country-based case studies. This new web collection includes the "who, what, where, and why" of comparative politics in Comparing Governments, Soomo's online resource drawing from documentaries, essays, primary documents, interviews, magazines and journals to present a collection of interactions that leave students wanting to know more. 

"Comparing Governments provides ready-to-use, interactive assignments that engage students and incite classroom discussion, utilizing the best of the web resources available today for comparative politics courses," said David Lindrum, founder and CEO of Soomo Publishing.

"We're pleased to incorporate Introducing Comparative Politics into the well-received Comparing Governments suite," commented Brenda Carter, Executive Director of the CQ Press College Publishing Group. "Soomo's online resources engage students, challenge the status quo, and do so at a reasonable price - something we've also continuously worked toward here at CQ Press. And this latest version of Comparing Governments, with the new CQ Press content, will be available for instructors to use as soon as the spring 2010 semester."

CQ Press is a leading publisher of college books and reference materials focusing on political science and journalism. Based in Washington, D.C., CQ Press is a division of SAGE, the world's leading independent academic and professional publisher (www.sagepublications.com), and is known in classrooms, libraries and professional markets for its objectivity, depth of coverage, and editorial excellence. www.cqpress.com

Soomo Publishing (www.soomopublishing.com), an independent publisher of web-based resources for college students, works with teaching professionals to create web-based collections of insightful, thought-provoking content designed to guide student thinking, encourage reflection, and spark classroom discussion. Soomo Publishing's Comparing Governments, offers assignments in either country-based or theme-based formats. In either format, the digital reader offers extensive comparative data and real world stories that exemplify fundamental and common themes among the world's nations.  www.comparinggovernments.com

SOURCE Soomo Publishing

RELATED LINKS
http://www.comparinggovernments.com

Many business charts have sophisticated and intelligent underlying information, but the presentation fails to convey the intended message.  That's the underlying premise of a new book, The Wall Street Journal Guide to Information Graphics, authored by Dona M. Wong, strategy director of information design for global strategic branding firm and simplified communications pioneer Siegel+Gale.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100120/NY40758 )

"In our increasingly data-driven world, we have to convey our message clearly and visually. Whether through PowerPoint, charts and graphs, reporting graphics, or budget illustrations, we must enhance our audiences' understanding – in five seconds or less," says Wong.  "Professionals from marketing to finance to medicine need to understand how to analyze the data, use colors to their advantage and choose the right chart form."

Wong is the strategy director for information design at Siegel+Gale, the renowned branding firm whose signature mission for the past 40 years has been promoting clarity through simplification in all aspects of business communication.  Now, she shares the insights from her twenty-year career – including eight years as graphics director at The Wall Street Journal – in The Wall Street Journal Guide to Information Graphics: The Dos and Don'ts of Presenting Data, Facts, and Figures (W.W. Norton & Company, 2010, $29.95).

Wong was also graphics editor for The New York Times business sections, and earlier, developed financial graphics for international tax clients at Deloitte & Touche. At Yale, she studied information design with renowned professor and author Edward Tufte.

"Presentation software makes it possible to create charts easily, but not necessarily well," says Alan Siegel, founder and chairman of Siegel+Gale and a pioneer of the plain language movement. "Executives who value clarity, simplicity, and transparency in the language of their customer communications can also use the best principles of information graphics to their strategic advantage."

The best charting practice is to follow four essential steps: research, edit, plot and review. "Always assess data with a critical eye," says Wong. "If there is something wrong with one number, it is important to get to the bottom of it. DO sweat the small stuff. One wrong data point can destroy the credibility of the whole chart."  

In this book, Wong shows how to:

• Choose the right chart form to convey our intended message;
• Use colors to our advantage;
• Communicate with decision makers when we have five minutes of their time.

About Siegel+Gale

Siegel+Gale (www.siegelgale.com) is one of the world's premier strategic branding companies and a pioneer in simplifying complex customer communications. Since it was founded by Alan Siegel in 1969, the firm has applied the art and science of simplicity to create branding programs that have helped many of the world's best-known organizations excel. Driven by its philosophy of "Simple is Smart," Siegel+Gale has led the way in bringing innovation to the corporate branding field, including transforming complex, incomprehensible customer communications into plain English; helping clients create distinctive brand voices across all their communications; transporting brands onto the Internet; and aligning the brand experience with the brand promise.

The firm's clients include AARP, Aetna, American Express, Bank of America, Dell, The Four Seasons Hotel Group, The Internal Revenue Service, Lexus, Merrill Lynch, 3M, Microsoft, Motorola, the National Basketball Association, Pfizer, and Sony PlayStation. Siegel+Gale has offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, and Dubai, and strategic partnerships around the world.

Siegel+Gale is part of the Omnicom Group Inc. (www.omnicomgroup.com), a leading global marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom's branded networks and numerous specialty firms serve over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.

SOURCE Siegel+Gale

RELATED LINKS
http://www.siegelgale.com

Religion has long been the cause of many wars in countries around the world. In his new book, "Religions Of Man" (published by AuthorHouse), author Doug Greer examines myriad world religions, offering in-depth explorations of their belief systems, history and followers.

In January 1999, Doug's pancreas burst. Normally a fatal malady, somehow he survived. As he recuperated he found himself wondering why he was one of the very few to live to tell the tale of recovery after a burst pancreas. He also wondered about the religions of the world and how they all fit into the grander scheme of things.

Greer's wonderment quickly blossomed into outright curiosity, turning into research that developed into an obsession he could not contain. There were so many different faiths, beliefs, customs and people who all wanted the same thing: a "God" that was invincible and existed without question. Greer wrote "Religions Of Man" once he found his obsession so intriguing.

As it chronicles world religions in alphabetical order, "Religions Of Man" offers a wealth of information. The reader will discover information such as:

ASATRU

A growing religion in Canada and the United States, unassociated with any other faith. Based on legends of old Norse Gods and Goddesses.

Discover the origins of religion in "Religions Of Man."

About the Author

Doug Greer was born in Ottawa, Canada, in 1921. His family moved to California in 1924, and settled in Glendale. In 1929, he became a member of the Screen Actor Guild. He worked in many of the "Our Gang" comedies with Jackie Cooper. After working in the industry for 12 years, Greer decided school was more important and his career was interfering with his education.

When WWII began he volunteered and joined the "Ski Troops" in 1943. Just before his unit was to go overseas he was transferred to inactive duty, so he went back to Lockheed for a specific job. When this job was completed in June of 1944, he was reactivated and sent to be with the 1267th Combat Engineers. When the war in Germany was over he was sent to the South Pacific, where he contracted malaria and was honorably discharged in 1946. He now resides in Scotts Valley, Calif.

AuthorHouse is the premier book publisher for emerging, self-published authors. For more information, please visit http://www.authorhouse.com.

This release was issued through eReleases(TM).  For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.  

SOURCE AuthorHouse

RELATED LINKS
http://www.authorhouse.com

One in every two marriages in the United States ends in divorce, and fifty percent of children from those divorces face difficulties later in life. In an effort to reveal the truths and help his son cope with the aftermath of his parents' ugly divorce, author Tony Rassini has just released his debut book, "Dad, It's Time to Tell the Truth!" (published by AuthorHouse). Discover what happens when two parents hate each other more than they love their kids; this is a memoir unlike any other.

"Dad, It's Time to Tell the Truth!" is the story of one man's struggle to be a father to four children in the midst of constant turmoil. Rassini writes a memoir that is candid, thorough and at times shocking. He confronts the consequences of abuse, frivolous spending habits and neglect. His family's seemingly extravagant, normal life to all on the outside had devastating consequences to those living on the inside. He documents his experience with lawyers, doctors and the courts while examining the effects his life choices had on his children. Rassini says:

        I have not written this book as a victim. I did not write it to place
        blame. My goal in writing my story is to share my truths, choices,
        consequences, and rewards. If one person, family, or child can learn
        one thing that improves their lives and/or prevents any of the
        hardships I placed upon myself, my children, and my family and
        friends, then I have given unconditional love.

In order to help his son heal from a nasty divorce and understand why his father couldn't be closer to him, Rassini gave his son the only thing he had left -- the truth. This bold move exposed Rassini's vulnerable past, starting with the sexual abuse he endured at an early age by a family member, drug and alcohol abuse, his road to sobriety, losing his multi-million dollar family business and becoming nearly homeless, details of his marriage and divorce from his son's mother and much more. He writes:

        I was failing in protecting my son. Since I began to write this
        truth, I have peeled away another layer to uncover the fact that I
        was beginning to feel like a POW. Camille was in charge; she won, and
        that meant Nick and Sara lost. To me it had become apparent that she
        hated me more than she loved the kids. From her perspective, being an
        involved father doing what was in the best interest of the children
        meant money -- money and more money.

After a 12 year recovery from his addictions, Rassini slipped into a relapse for 11 years as a result of his marriage to his second wife. As readers continue on a journey with him, they see him lose God, himself, his family and children. Readers will experience what the loss meant to him and how he found his way back to sobriety and the core values of God, Self, Family and Child. Rassini does not believe his trials have been in vain; he hopes readers will learn from his mistakes and realize the importance of God, Self, Family and Child to improve their quality of life and avoid a shallow existence.

About the Author

Tony Rassini currently resides in Hartland, Michigan where he works as a weatherization salesman. He attended Harvard Business College for the Owner/President Management program and was previously the owner of his family-owned business, MRM Inc. He is a first-time author and proud father of four children. For more information visit: http://www.4familyandchild.com

AuthorHouse is the premier book publisher for emerging, self-published authors. For more information, please visit http://www.authorhouse.com.

This release was issued through eReleases(TM).  For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.  

SOURCE AuthorHouse

RELATED LINKS
http://www.authorhouse.com

BNA Books, a division of specialized news and information publisher BNA, announced today the publication of the 2009 Cumulative Supplement to Tortious Interference in the Employment Context: A State-by-State Survey, Second Edition. The treatise and its supplement are published by BNA Books in cooperation with the American Bar Association's Section of Labor and Employment Law.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090529/DC24463LOGO)

Tortious Interference in the Employment Context: A State-by-State Survey, Second Edition is a companion volume to the BNA Books state-by-state survey titles Covenants Not to Compete, Trade Secrets, and Employee Duty of Loyalty. Whereas the other three treatises examine suits by employers or former employers against employees or former employees, this treatise also examines business-versus-business suits, as well as suits brought by former employees against their former employers. Together, this series on employment-related business torts and covenants provides comprehensive coverage of the issues that arise regarding competition in the employment context on a state-by-state basis in an easy to use, question-and-answer format.

The two main types of actions analyzed in this definitive treatise are:

• Where there is a contract, tortious interference with that contract
• Where there is no contract or the contract is unenforceable, tortious interference with commercial relationships or with prospective economic advantage/expectancies

Using the uniform outline reproduced in its "List of General Questions," Tortious Interference in the Employment Context examines—for each state—the elements of these two causes of action, the defenses that may be successfully raised, and the types of relief available. In addition, the survey examines special rules for at-will employment, the effect of indemnification agreements, and the personal liability of employees.

Each State Chapter in the main volume of Tortious Interference in the Employment Context addresses:

• Elements of a Former Employer's Claim Regarding Recruiting or Hiring an Employee with a Restrictive Covenant
• Interference with the Covenant
• Interference with Commercial Relationships or Prospective Economic Advantage/Expectancies
• Claims for Interference Involving the Restrictive Covenant Itself
• Claims Against the New Employer Where the Employment Was at Will
• Claims Where the Employment Was for a Definite Term
• Defenses to Claim
• Relief Available to Former Employer
• Similar Claims Recognized by States
• Hiring Measures by a New Employer for Screening Applicants with Restrictive Covenants
• Practical Advice to a Company Considering Hiring Such an Applicant
• Indemnification
• Personal Liability of Individual Officers or Employees
• Liability of Former Employer for Interference with New Employment Relationship

The 2009 Cumulative Supplement to Tortious Interference in the Employment Context: A State-by-State Survey, Second Edition contains expanded discussions of the elements required to establish intentional interference with contracts and business relationships, the relief available to plaintiffs in such actions, and defenses for avoiding liability.

Brian M. Malsberger is the author of Tortious Interference in the Employment Context. A BNA Books senior editor, Mr. Malsberger is also the author of Covenants Not to Compete, Trade Secrets, and Employee Duty of Loyalty, all state-by-state surveys. The 2009 Cumulative Supplement to Tortious Interference in the Employment Context: A State-by-State Survey, Second Edition is published in cooperation with the Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee of the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Labor and Employment Law. Section publications provide a balanced forum for the views and professional development of practitioners in labor and employment law. For more information on Section participation, please call the Section at (312) 988-5813 or visit www.abanet.org/labor/home.html.

BNA is a leading private publisher of news and information products for professionals in law and business. In addition to the 2009 Cumulative Supplement to Tortious Interference in the Employment Context: A State-by-State Survey, Second Edition, BNA's Book Division publishes Covenants Not to Compete: A State-by-State Survey; Employee Duty of Loyalty: A State-by-State Survey; Employment Discrimination Law; How ADR Works; International Labor and Employment Laws, Volumes I and II; Occupational Safety and Health Law; Tortious Interference in the Employment Context: A State-by-State Survey; Trade Secrets: A State-by-State Survey; Drafting and Enforcing Covenants Not to Compete; The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act; and other titles in legal specialties. For a free BNA Books catalog, call 1-800-960-1220 or send an e-mail request to books@bna.com. The BNA Books website, including an online catalog, can be found at bnabooks.com.

The 2009 Cumulative Supplement to Tortious Interference in the Employment Context: A State-by-State Survey, Second Edition (500 pp. Softcover/Order #1790-PRY9/$195.00 plus tax, shipping, and handling) may be purchased alone, or with the main volume (1,330 pp. Hardcover/Order #9790-PRY9/$395.00 plus tax, shipping, and handling) from BNA Books, P.O. Box 7814, Edison, N.J. 08818-7814. Telephone orders: 1-800-960-1220. Fax orders: 1-732-346-1624. A 10% discount is available on print copies of books when ordering from the website at bnabooks.com. Please note that discounts cannot be combined.

SOURCE BNA Books

RELATED LINKS
http://www.bna.com/
http://www.bnabooks.com/

"Only committed activists can stand up to special interests that favor Wall Street over Main Street," says lifelong learning advocate Charles D. Hayes, "and baby boomers will want to leave a lasting legacy in the 21st century." One year from now, the leading edge of the boomer generation will reach 65. In 2029, the last will turn 65. Seventy-plus million strong, the age group that once transformed civil rights clearly has the intelligence and the demographic muscle to redirect society again. Real political reform won't happen without passion and strong public support.  

In his new book, September University: Summoning Passion for an Unfinished Life, published by Autodidactic Press, Hayes predicts that, armed with the power of today's technology, motivated boomers who choose activism in their senior years can set off another revolutionary change, just as they did in the 1960s. A tsunami-like shift will occur when boomers confront their own mortality and commit to inspiring and guiding the next generation. The tide is already turning, and tough economic times will only amplify the effect. Or, as author Daniel H. Pink puts it, "When the cold front of demographics meets the warm front of unrealized dreams, the result will be a thunderstorm of purpose the likes of which the world has never seen."

Hayes poses a challenge: "If inspiration and some kind of mindful accomplishment for the sake of posterity do not precede our death, we must ask ourselves why, then, did we live?"

September University lays out a blueprint for finding perspective, purpose, and intellectual fulfillment in the fall and winter of life. In its pages you'll find compelling reasons to pursue wisdom, thoughtful ways to achieve peace of mind, and ideas for instigating change. Here's a sample of the exploration:

• Rise to the Occasion
• Triumph Over Your Existential Fears
• Rekindle the Flames of Curiosity
• Rejuvenate Your Social Literacy
• Get Beyond Us and Them  
• Build New Grounds for Communication
• Conquer the Bias Sphere
• Grow and Mature to Wisdom
• Speak Up and Reach Out  
• Restore Social Justice
• Revitalize Meaning and Potential
• Renew a Personal Vision for Posterity

September University is a call to action for anyone who spent their "earning" years living on borrowed opinion. Now it's time to give back. It's time for those who've always expressed strong opinions about subjects they've never really investigated to actually do the research or keep quiet. Better yet, look it up and speak up.

Says Hayes, "The baby-boom generation has it in their hands to change the way we think about aging."

Review copies, high-resolution cover photography, and interviews available upon request. Blogger inquiries welcome. Contact:  Charles D. Hayes, autpress@alaska.net

Autodidactic Press, +1-907-376-2932

September University is available online from Amazon, Borders, and B&N. For more information visit www.autodidactic.com or www.septemberuniversity.org

SOURCE Autodidactic Press

RELATED LINKS
http://www.autodidactic.com
http://www.septemberuniversity.org

Concordia University has received a $300,000 gift pledge from Mr. & Mrs. Richard Paul Roe of Pasadena, Calif.  The capital gift will support the University's Shakespeare Authorship Research Centre which will be named the Richard Paul and Jane Roe Shakespeare Authorship Research Centre.

The Centre is housed on Concordia University's Northeast Portland campus in the recently completed George R. White Library & Learning Center. Richard Roe is an enthusiastic Shakespeare scholar, and the origin of the Shakespeare texts has long been a passion for Mr. and Mrs. Roe.

"This generous gift reaffirms Concordia's ongoing commitment to academic rigor, leadership and engagement of both the local and global communities it serves.  And, it further distinguishes the authorship issue as a topic important for academic inquiry," said Gary Withers, Concordia's Executive Vice President for External Affairs.

In honor of the Roe gift, the Centre's dedication and naming ceremony will be held April 9, 2010, during the 14th annual international Shakespeare Authorship Studies Conference.  This gift follows an earlier one by the Roe family, also in support of the Centre.

Roe was a bomber pilot who flew missions over Italy during the Allied campaign in WWII. His postwar interests in Italy piqued his interest in studying the many Italian settings and characters reflected in Shakespeare's plays.  A successful lawyer and real estate developer, he, over the decades, also became an accomplished Shakespeare scholar and has spoken frequently at Concordia University since the 1990s at the Shakespeare Authorship Studies Conference.

The Shakespeare Authorship Research Centre is directed by Shakespeare scholar and Concordia professor Daniel Wright and was established for the scholarly pursuit of the Shakespeare authorship question.  The Centre hosts Concordia University's international Shakespeare Authorship Studies Conference, which also bestows an annual Excellence in Scholarship Award on an acclaimed Shakespeare scholar.

This year's 14th annual Shakespeare Authorship Studies Conference will be held from April 8-11 at Concordia University, 2811 NE Holman Street, in Northeast Portland.  Internationally-renowned Shakespeare scholar and author Charles Beauclerk will keynote the conference and kick off the U.S. release and book tour of his latest work, Shakespeare's Lost Kingdom: The True History of Shakespeare and Elizabeth.

The Centre's home, Concordia's George R. White Library & Learning Center, is a prominent new resource serving the Portland metro area and is open to the community at large.  Within the past year, the Library & Learning Center has received grants from three of Oregon's most well-respected organizations – the Meyer Memorial Trust, the Oregon Community Foundation, and the Juan Young Trust.  The Library includes classrooms, a community meeting space, a coffee shop, important centers of learning and more.

ABOUT CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY

Concordia University is a private, Lutheran, liberal arts university founded in 1905 and located in Northeast Portland with a mission of preparing leaders for the transformation of society.  The University serves 1,900 students through its College of Education, College of Health & Human Services, College of Theology Arts & Sciences and School of Management.

SOURCE Concordia University

BNA Books, a division of specialized news and information publisher BNA, announced today the publication of the 2009 Cumulative Supplement to Tortious Interference in the Employment Context: A State-by-State Survey, Second Edition. The treatise and its supplement are published by BNA Books in cooperation with the American Bar Association's Section of Labor and Employment Law.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090529/DC24463LOGO)

Tortious Interference in the Employment Context: A State-by-State Survey, Second Edition is a companion volume to the BNA Books state-by-state survey titles Covenants Not to Compete, Trade Secrets, and Employee Duty of Loyalty. Whereas the other three treatises examine suits by employers or former employers against employees or former employees, this treatise also examines business-versus-business suits, as well as suits brought by former employees against their former employers. Together, this series on employment-related business torts and covenants provides comprehensive coverage of the issues that arise regarding competition in the employment context on a state-by-state basis in an easy to use, question-and-answer format.

The two main types of actions analyzed in this definitive treatise are:

• Where there is a contract, tortious interference with that contract
• Where there is no contract or the contract is unenforceable, tortious interference with commercial relationships or with prospective economic advantage/expectancies

Using the uniform outline reproduced in its "List of General Questions," Tortious Interference in the Employment Context examines—for each state—the elements of these two causes of action, the defenses that may be successfully raised, and the types of relief available. In addition, the survey examines special rules for at-will employment, the effect of indemnification agreements, and the personal liability of employees.

Each State Chapter in the main volume of Tortious Interference in the Employment Context addresses:

• Elements of a Former Employer's Claim Regarding Recruiting or Hiring an Employee with a Restrictive Covenant
• Interference with the Covenant
• Interference with Commercial Relationships or Prospective Economic Advantage/Expectancies
• Claims for Interference Involving the Restrictive Covenant Itself
• Claims Against the New Employer Where the Employment Was at Will
• Claims Where the Employment Was for a Definite Term
• Defenses to Claim
• Relief Available to Former Employer
• Similar Claims Recognized by States
• Hiring Measures by a New Employer for Screening Applicants with Restrictive Covenants
• Practical Advice to a Company Considering Hiring Such an Applicant
• Indemnification
• Personal Liability of Individual Officers or Employees
• Liability of Former Employer for Interference with New Employment Relationship

The 2009 Cumulative Supplement to Tortious Interference in the Employment Context: A State-by-State Survey, Second Edition contains expanded discussions of the elements required to establish intentional interference with contracts and business relationships, the relief available to plaintiffs in such actions, and defenses for avoiding liability.

Brian M. Malsberger is the author of Tortious Interference in the Employment Context. A BNA Books senior editor, Mr. Malsberger is also the author of Covenants Not to Compete, Trade Secrets, and Employee Duty of Loyalty, all state-by-state surveys. The 2009 Cumulative Supplement to Tortious Interference in the Employment Context: A State-by-State Survey, Second Edition is published in cooperation with the Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee of the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Labor and Employment Law. Section publications provide a balanced forum for the views and professional development of practitioners in labor and employment law. For more information on Section participation, please call the Section at (312) 988-5813 or visit www.abanet.org/labor/home.html.

BNA is a leading private publisher of news and information products for professionals in law and business. In addition to the 2009 Cumulative Supplement to Tortious Interference in the Employment Context: A State-by-State Survey, Second Edition, BNA's Book Division publishes Covenants Not to Compete: A State-by-State Survey; Employee Duty of Loyalty: A State-by-State Survey; Employment Discrimination Law; How ADR Works; International Labor and Employment Laws, Volumes I and II; Occupational Safety and Health Law; Tortious Interference in the Employment Context: A State-by-State Survey; Trade Secrets: A State-by-State Survey; Drafting and Enforcing Covenants Not to Compete; The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act; and other titles in legal specialties. For a free BNA Books catalog, call 1-800-960-1220 or send an e-mail request to books@bna.com. The BNA Books website, including an online catalog, can be found at bnabooks.com.

The 2009 Cumulative Supplement to Tortious Interference in the Employment Context: A State-by-State Survey, Second Edition (500 pp. Softcover/Order #1790-PRY9/$195.00 plus tax, shipping, and handling) may be purchased alone, or with the main volume (1,330 pp. Hardcover/Order #9790-PRY9/$395.00 plus tax, shipping, and handling) from BNA Books, P.O. Box 7814, Edison, N.J. 08818-7814. Telephone orders: 1-800-960-1220. Fax orders: 1-732-346-1624. A 10% discount is available on print copies of books when ordering from the website at bnabooks.com. Please note that discounts cannot be combined.

SOURCE BNA Books

RELATED LINKS
http://www.bna.com/
http://www.bnabooks.com/

Follett Higher Education Group today announced a new program to address the rising costs of education by offering thousands of digital college textbook titles to students and faculty on a free-trial basis.  

The Try Now, Buy Later 2010 program is available exclusively through Follett's new CafeScribe® eBook platform, which is an online social networking site that makes it easy to evaluate, download and use digital textbooks. By visiting www.cafescribe.com, students and professors can download and use, for seven days, more than 5,000 titles for free.

Once downloaded, CafeScribe provides students the ability to read, search, highlight, bookmark and annotate the e-textbooks, as well as share notes and discuss topics with peers in their classroom and with students around the world.

After the trial period, the student (or professor) can purchase the title at a 30 to 50 percent savings over the cost of a traditional textbook. All of the annotations made in the digital textbook during the trial period remain intact, and unlike other e-textbook sources, the digital textbook is the user's to keep.

"Almost all of my students are using the e-textbook option," says Brigham Young University Sports Psychology Professor Ron Chamberlain. "CafeScribe makes so much sense in so many ways – economically, environmentally, and logistically – it is a user-friendly format and convenient for the students to use."

The Try Now, Buy Later program also helps students start the semester on the right foot when a textbook they need is temporarily out of stock. With digital, textbooks are always in stock.

Follett tested the CafeScribe Try Now, Buy Later program during the fall 2009 semester and found high levels of interest and adoption of digital textbooks. Because of enthusiastic word of mouth, the company is preparing for much heavier adoption during its official launch in the January 2010 semester. It takes just one click to Try Now, Buy Later.  

Students and professors can find digital textbooks to try at www.cafescribe.com and www.efollett.com, or at point of sale displays at participating college and university bookstores.

About CafeScribe

The CafeScribe eBook platform is an e-textbook and social networking platform for students and educators. The platform is the latest addition to Follett's broad portfolio of course material options for students, available online and at more than 850 college bookstores operated by Follett in the United States and Canada. For more information, visit www.cafescribe.com.

About Follett

Follett Corporation is a $2.7 billion, privately held company that provides products, services and solutions to the educational marketplace.

www.follett.com

www.beaupre.com

SOURCE Follett Higher Education Group

RELATED LINKS
http://www.follett.com

Author Kevin Daum and former Super Bowl champ Alan "Shlomo" Veingrad have teamed up to achieve literary success. They are working to land Kevin Daum's newest parable book, ROAR! Get Heard in the Sales and Marketing Jungle (Wiley, April, 2010) on the New York Times Best Seller list. Daum says that landing on the Best Seller list is a victory that is the Jewish version of winning the Super Bowl Ring.  

Daum is so committed to his goal that he has tattooed the words, "New York Times Best Seller" on his chest backwards so he can see them in the mirror every morning. Daum transparently chronicles on his blog every book-marketing step he takes so others can learn from his efforts.

"Not a lot of Jews play pro-football. My research in Wikipedia shows that only six Jewish players in NFL history have won the Super Bowl," says Daum.  

What Daum believes is more achievable and is prevalent throughout Jewish history is a literary victory and that has led him on his quest to land on the prestigious New York Times Best Seller list and to coin the phrase, the "Jewish Super Bowl Ring."

To coach him to success, Daum has tapped into the expertise of Alan "Shlomo" Veingrad who played pro ball for the Dallas Cowboys in 1992 and was one of the six Jews to win a Super Bowl. Ironically, Shlomo, like the central character in ROAR! is now Hasidic and makes a living as a motivational speaker. Shlomo is driving Daum to high performance achievement. Their fates are intertwined as Shlomo is being inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame the same week Daum's book ROAR! hits the shelves.

"I love ROAR! because it's a great story. I helped the Dallas Cowboys get Super Bowl rings and I'll help Kevin too," says Veingrad.

ABOUT KEVIN DAUM

Kevin Daum is the Author of ROAR! Get heard in the Sales and Marketing Jungle (Wiley) and the founder of TAE International, which teaches companies to pursue The Awesome Experience for their customers by mastering Compelling Messaging, Intentional Marketing and Memorable Delivery. He blogs about his quest for the Jewish Super Bowl Ring at http://www.AwesomeRoar.com

SOURCE awesomeroar.com

RELATED LINKS
http://www.awesomeroar.com

Elsevier announced today that the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) has agreed to acquire the complete ScienceDirect eBooks collections for 2008, 2009, and 2010. As a result, libraries and patrons in CIC member institutions will be able to access over 1,300 titles across 18 science, technical and medical subject areas.

CIC member institutions include Indiana University, Michigan State University, Northwestern University, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University, University of Illinois, University of Iowa, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

By providing access to the ScienceDirect eBooks collection, member patrons will have access in the library or remotely, any time, as well as a powerful search and browse capability. Users will also be able to access instant links to relevant journal articles and innovative knowledge discovery features such as the NextBio Ontology-based semantic search tool.

Member libraries will have a cost-effective alternative to acquiring and owning printed books. They will also be able to maximize book collection discoverability and support multi-user access to the ebook titles.

Wendy Shelburne, Electronic Resources Librarian at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, member institution of the CIC, commented on the significance of this ebooks collection investment: "We are finding that these publisher collections are used heavily at research universities, and we're seeing user demand across disciplines to make major publisher works available."

CIC chose to acquire the eBooks collections based on evidence gathered from increasing patron adoption of retrospective content from the HathiTrust Digital Archive as well as robust uptake of current publisher content from a variety of sources. A careful analysis of current ebook usage among consortium member institutions was conducted last year, and participating schools found "that when they worked together to make a critical mass of content accessible, it was immediately noticed and used by faculty and students," said Kim Armstrong, Assistant Director, CIC Center for Library Initiatives.

Elsevier's Vice President of Online Sales, Science & Technology Books, Jonathan Bunkell commented, "We are excited by CIC's acquisition of this significant collection of Scientific, Technical & Medical eBooks on ScienceDirect. We believe that the groundwork now exists for future transactions of this type for the benefit of the CIC member institutions, as well as other academic institutions who are realizing efficiency gains and increased patron satisfaction through actively migrating from print to electronic delivery of books."

Later this year, ScienceDirect will partner with selected libraries from CIC to conduct joint usage studies to better understand the value of these ebooks in driving world-class research, teaching and learning. Findings from this study will be shared with the global library and research community.

About The Committee on Institutional Cooperation

Headquartered in the Midwest in the United States, the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) is a consortium of the Big Ten universities plus the University of Chicago. For half a century, these 12 world-class research institutions have advanced their academic missions, generated unique opportunities for students and faculty, and served the common good by sharing expertise, leveraging campus resources, and collaborating on innovative programs. Governed and funded by the Provosts of the member universities, CIC mandates are coordinated by a staff from its Champaign, Illinois headquarters.

About ScienceDirect

Over a quarter of the world\'s full text scientific, technical and medical (STM) peer-reviewed articles - managed by renowned editors, written by respected authors and read by researchers from around the globe - are available in one place: ScienceDirect.

Elsevier's extensive and unique full-text collection covers authoritative titles from the core scientific literature including high impact factor titles such as THE LANCET, Cell and Tetrahedron. Over nine million articles are available online, including Articles in Press which offer online access to recently accepted manuscripts. The critical mass of trusted information available on ScienceDirect is unsurpassed. Coverage includes over 2,500 journals published by Elsevier and dynamic linking to journals from approximately 2,000 STM publishers through CrossRef. An expanding program of online major reference works, handbooks, book series and over 4,400 eBooks in all fields of science seamlessly interlinks with primary research referenced in journal articles.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet (http://www.thelancet.com) and Cell (http://www.cell.com), and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect (http://www.sciencedirect.com), Scopus (http://www.scopus.com), Reaxys (http://www.reaxys.com), MD Consult (http://www.mdconsult.com) and Nursing Consult (http://www.nursingconsult.com), which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite (http://www.scival.com) and MEDai's Pinpoint Review (http://www.medai.com), which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier ( http://www.elsevier.com) employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC (http://www.reedelsevier.com), a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

    Contact:

    Deanna Decker/Jessica Disch
    Padilla Speer Beardsley
    +1-212-752-8338
    mbernheim@psbpr.com/jdisch@psbpr.com

SOURCE Elsevier

FastPencil today announced a promotion offering the first 1,000 people to register at https://www.fastpencil.com/offer/consumerpromo a free paperback and eBook copy of their work. FastPencil gives these authors an end-to-end authoring and publishing platform where they can maintain control of the content creation, price, distribution and sales activity every step of the way.

FastPencil blends social media, marketing, production and distribution while offering total flexibility in choosing when and where they distribute to hardcover, paperback and eBook. The authoring service strips out the cost and complexity of publishing and distributes books to over 32,000 book and eBook retailers accessing the broadest possible audience.

"FastPencil has put this promotion together to start the year with an incentive for authors to finish their book projects," said Steve Wilson, FastPencil Co-Founder and CEO. "There are hundreds of thousands of new authors every year and our goal is to make it as easy as possible for aspiring authors to write, publish and distribute their books in whatever format they prefer."

FastPencil gives authors the opportunity to take advantage of new distribution opportunities instantly and the write-once, publish anywhere approach ensures an author's book can be read anywhere today and in the future.

Promotion Details:

• What – A free* printed book, a free eBook and free shipping & handling
• When – This offer is valid through Feb. 27th
• Who – The first 1,000 FastPencil users to sign up
• How – Visit https://www.fastpencil.com/offer/consumerpromo

FastPencil Features:

• Select from a variety of free book templates
• Flexibly publish original works, blog to book or import existing stories
• Connect and share through Twitter, Facebook, Gmail, AOL, Yahoo and MSN
• Print on Demand or to eBook formats
• Distribution at over 32,000 online retailers including Amazon and Barnes & Noble
• Capture inspiration from anywhere with an iPhone or iPod touch
• Author concierge services including consulting, design services and formatting
• Collaborate with your book creation team, personal network of friends or industry professionals
• Integrated self-publishing wizard for step-by-step assistance
• Access to many royalty-free FastPencil Classics including Tarzan of the Apes and Cinderella

Pricing and Availability

The FastPencil promotion is available https://www.fastpencil.com/offer/consumerpromo.

About FastPencil

FastPencil is leveraging the disruptive trends of self-publishing, social media, print-on-demand and eBook distribution to deliver a new unified online service that streamlines the book publishing process offering more control and higher margins for authors. The FastPencil writing and publishing service enables authors to create books online, collaborate, publish and distribute from one engaging, simple, cost-effective solution. For more information please visit FastPencil.com.

For regular FastPencil updates follow us at www.Twitter.com/FastPencil

Become a Fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/FastPencil

*When published through FastPencil.

FastPencil is a registered trademark of FastPencil, Inc. All other registered or unregistered trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners.

SOURCE FastPencil

RELATED LINKS
http://www.fastpencil.com

To stabilize Afghanistan, President Barack Obama has called for a surge of American and NATO troops. His counternarcotics strategy, a major departure from previous ineffective and counterproductive policies, is also crucial to the war effort. In Shooting Up: Counterinsurgency and the War on Drugs, Brookings fellow Vanda Felbab-Brown, shows that although success in suppressing illicit economies cannot be achieved without first addressing the security situation in a country, neither can counterinsurgency and state-building strategies succeed without effectively dealing with the illicit economy, such as the opium trade in Afghanistan.

Warlords, terrorists and insurgents throughout the world use financial resources gained from the illicit drug trade to fuel their operations. U.S. counterinsurgency policy has been based on the premise that suppressing drug production will starve an insurgency of needed funds, and the movement would wither away as a result. Shooting Up rebuts this "conventional wisdom" and shows how U.S. anti-narcotics and counterinsurgency policies have too frequently been at odds. Counternarcotics campaigns, particularly those focused on eradication, typically fail to bankrupt belligerent groups that rely on the drug trade for financing. Worse, they actually strengthen insurgents by increasing their legitimacy and popular support.

Felbab-Brown draws on interviews and fieldwork in some of the world's most dangerous regions to illustrate how belligerent groups have taken to illicit activities such as kidnapping, extortion and smuggling. She shows vividly how powerful guerrilla and terrorist organizations—such as Peru's Shining Path, the FARC and paramilitaries in Colombia and, of course, the Taliban in Afghanistan—have learned to exploit unlawful markets. Felbab-Brown explores the interaction between insurgent groups and illicit economies in frequently overlooked settings as well, including Turkey, Burma and Northern Ireland.

Shooting Up provides coldly realistic recommendations for reformulating this dimension of U.S. national security policy, giving policymakers a better chance of winning both the war on terror and the war on drugs.

The Author

Vanda Felbab-Brown is a Brookings fellow with the Foreign Policy program and 21st Century Defense Initiative. She is an adjunct professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. An expert on international and internal conflict issues, including counterinsurgency, she has published widely on the interaction between illicit economies and military conflict and has testified before Congress about her work.

The Brookings Institution is a private nonprofit organization devoted to independent research and innovative policy solutions. For more than 90 years, Brookings has analyzed current and emerging issues and produced new ideas that matter—for the nation and the world.

Shooting Up: Counterinsurgency and the War on Drugs

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Brookings Institution Press

Publication date: January 25, 2010

6 x 9 / 273 pages

cloth / ISBN 978-0-8157-0328-0 / $28.95/20.99 pounds Sterling

SOURCE Brookings Institution

RELATED LINKS
http://www.brookings.edu/

Schools and nonprofit organizations throughout Pennsylvania have received more than 6,200 children's books that were donated through the Verizon Foundation's recent Season's Readings campaign.

Each year, Verizon employees at hundreds of company locations, including 41 across Pennsylvania, participate in the Season's Readings campaign by donating new or gently used children's books.

This past year, the public was invited to take part in the campaign by making an online donation to First Book, a nonprofit organization  providing new books to children in need through schools, libraries and other community organizations across the country.  Random House Children's Books also participated by matching contributions made online, adding more than 15,000 books to the campaign total.

Among the organizations receiving books in Pennsylvania are the Salvation Army in Philadelphia, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Harrisburg YWCA After School Program, the Dr. Gertrude A. Barber National Institute in Erie and the York City School District.

"Studies have shown that one of the most successful methods to improving reading achievement is to ensure that children have easy access to age-appropriate reading material," said Gale Y. Given, president of Verizon Pennsylvania. "I am tremendously proud of the efforts of our employees, our partners and everyone who participated in the Season's Readings campaign to help get books into the hands of children and help them become lifelong learners."

Season's Readings began in 2001 as a Verizon employees' campaign to advance the cause of children's literacy. Since then, more than 2 million children's books have been donated to children across the country.

"We applaud the employees of Verizon for their commitment to literacy," said Kyle Zimmer, First Book president and CEO.  "Thanks to their generous support, First Book is bringing close to 33,000 new books to children and families who need them most.  Together, Verizon and First Book are helping children in need open the doors to exploration, adventure and learning through new books." 

The Verizon Foundation supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education through its free educational Web site, Thinkfinity.org, and fosters awareness and prevention of domestic violence.  In 2009, the Verizon Foundation awarded more than $67.5 million in grants to nonprofit agencies in the U.S. and abroad.  It also matched the charitable donations of Verizon employees and retirees, resulting in an additional $24.4 million in combined contributions to nonprofits.  Through Verizon Volunteers, one of the nation's largest employee volunteer programs, Verizon employees and retirees have volunteered more than 5 million hours of community service since 2000. For more information on the foundation, visit www.verizonfoundation.org.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 89 million customers nationwide.  Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 230,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $97 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

First Book provides new books to children in need addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy – access to books. An innovative leader in social enterprise, First Book has distributed more than 65 million free and low cost books in thousands of communities. First Book now has offices in the U.S. and Canada. For more information about the nonprofit First Book please visit www.firstbook.org.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high-quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news.  To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

SOURCE Verizon

RELATED LINKS
http://www.verizon.com

To stabilize Afghanistan, President Barack Obama has called for a surge of American and NATO troops. His counternarcotics strategy, a major departure from previous ineffective and counterproductive policies, is also crucial to the war effort. In Shooting Up: Counterinsurgency and the War on Drugs, Brookings fellow Vanda Felbab-Brown, shows that although success in suppressing illicit economies cannot be achieved without first addressing the security situation in a country, neither can counterinsurgency and state-building strategies succeed without effectively dealing with the illicit economy, such as the opium trade in Afghanistan.

Warlords, terrorists and insurgents throughout the world use financial resources gained from the illicit drug trade to fuel their operations. U.S. counterinsurgency policy has been based on the premise that suppressing drug production will starve an insurgency of needed funds, and the movement would wither away as a result. Shooting Up rebuts this "conventional wisdom" and shows how U.S. anti-narcotics and counterinsurgency policies have too frequently been at odds. Counternarcotics campaigns, particularly those focused on eradication, typically fail to bankrupt belligerent groups that rely on the drug trade for financing. Worse, they actually strengthen insurgents by increasing their legitimacy and popular support.

Felbab-Brown draws on interviews and fieldwork in some of the world's most dangerous regions to illustrate how belligerent groups have taken to illicit activities such as kidnapping, extortion and smuggling. She shows vividly how powerful guerrilla and terrorist organizations—such as Peru's Shining Path, the FARC and paramilitaries in Colombia and, of course, the Taliban in Afghanistan—have learned to exploit unlawful markets. Felbab-Brown explores the interaction between insurgent groups and illicit economies in frequently overlooked settings as well, including Turkey, Burma and Northern Ireland.

Shooting Up provides coldly realistic recommendations for reformulating this dimension of U.S. national security policy, giving policymakers a better chance of winning both the war on terror and the war on drugs.

The Author

Vanda Felbab-Brown is a Brookings fellow with the Foreign Policy program and 21st Century Defense Initiative. She is an adjunct professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. An expert on international and internal conflict issues, including counterinsurgency, she has published widely on the interaction between illicit economies and military conflict and has testified before Congress about her work.

The Brookings Institution is a private nonprofit organization devoted to independent research and innovative policy solutions. For more than 90 years, Brookings has analyzed current and emerging issues and produced new ideas that matter—for the nation and the world.

Shooting Up: Counterinsurgency and the War on Drugs

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Brookings Institution Press

Publication date: January 25, 2010

6 x 9 / 273 pages

cloth / ISBN 978-0-8157-0328-0 / $28.95/20.99 pounds Sterling

SOURCE Brookings Institution

RELATED LINKS
http://www.brookings.edu/

President Obama's plan to regulate the banks is "not enough," says author and Wall Street insider Zubi Diamond. "If you do not understand the root cause of the problem you will never come up with a permanent solution."

Diamond, a rags to riches investment entrepreneur is author of Wizards of Wall Street: & Washington Lap Dogs (ISBN 9781448650040, Create Space Publishers, 2009, 110 pgs., $15.99 available on Amazon or http://www.zubidiamond.com )

Diamond reveals how hedge fund short sellers lobbied the SEC to remove safeguard regulations in place since 1938 to prevent the stock market from crashing and then engineered the economic downfall.

"The fundamental simple solution to the economic crisis is to reverse every change that Christopher Cox implemented during his tenure as SEC chairman," says Diamond. "Put everything back the way it was in 2006 before Christopher Cox started 'fixing things' that were not broken."

"Our representative government has ceded the power of policy writing and regulation of our banking and financial markets to a lobbying company for the hedge fund short sellers whose greed for power and profit led them to subvert our capitalist system economy," says Diamond.

Diamond shared what he discovered in research with congressional leaders before publishing his book. As a result of Diamond's efforts, the SEC was asked to restore previous regulations but did so in a way to make the changes meaningless. At that point, Diamond decided to publish his recommendations.

• Reinstate the uptick rule.
• Remove mark-to-market accounting and replace it with historic cost accounting.
• Dismantle and discontinue trading on all the short Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), also called leveraged inverse ETFs.
• Reinstate the circuit breakers and the trading curb to kick in whenever the Dow Jones drops 150 points.
• Regulate the Hedge Funds just like mutual funds and pension funds are regulated.
• Regulate speculation on crude oil futures by banning margin and leveraging except for the airline industry or any other end user.

Zubi Diamond is a living example of Horatio Alger's legendary rise from rags to riches immigrating to America from Africa. He is an entrepreneur, author, investor and a successful stock trader with his own investment firm. Diamond has 14 years financial market experience and 21 years as an entrepreneur.

Media Contact: Scott Lorenz of Westwind Communications Book Marketing, scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or 734-667-2090

SOURCE Zubi Diamond

RELATED LINKS
http://www.zubidiamond.com

Gifts In Kind International (www.giftsinkind.org), a leading charitable organization in the product giving field, is pleased to announce a new agreement with Borders Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries ( BGP). Borders selected Gifts In Kind to help the company donate—rather than dispose of—items that have not sold in its Borders and Waldenbooks stores nationwide and cannot be returned by the retailer to its suppliers.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100121/DE41553 )

The relationship between the two organizations kicks off later this month with a major product donation—including more than 50,000 individual items that Borders and Waldenbooks stores have amassed—to jump-start the alliance with Gifts In Kind. These items will be donated to hundreds of local organizations within the Gifts In Kind national network of charities, which now numbers more than 2,000 organizations. Beyond the kick-off donation, Borders and Waldenbooks stores throughout the country intend to soon begin a long-term alliance with Gifts In Kind, directly donating items from their individual stores on an ongoing basis to local charities that are part of Gifts In Kind's national network. Charities wishing to be involved in this effort should contact Gifts In Kind's Melissa Trumpower (mltrumpower@giftsinkind.org).

"Borders is taking an industry leading position by working with us to get products that cannot be returned or sold to people in need," said Gifts In Kind International President and CEO Cindy Hallberlin "We applaud their community commitment and are thrilled to have Borders join our other retail partners in giving back to the communities where their employees live and work. These are challenging times and people need retailers like Borders to step up and get involved in supporting their communities."

"Our stores across the country are regarded as community centers where people come to meet, explore and share their passion for books. It is a natural extension of our strong community focus to give our stores a way to help their local neighbors at a time when so many need help," said Mike Edwards, Executive Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer. "This new alliance with Gifts In Kind supplements what we are already doing through existing book drives, which have resulted in thousands of new books going to local charities across the U.S. Now, we have a way to donate non-returnable and unsold items as well, rounding out our giving efforts to the fullest."

About Gifts In Kind International:

Ranked by Forbes Magazine as one of the nation's best-managed charities in America, Gifts In Kind International (www.giftsinkind.org) is dedicated to helping people and communities by distributing new corporate product donations—including books, toys, personal care products and clothing, building supplies, computers and other technology products, and much more—to qualified nonprofit organizations. The charitable organization works with more than half of the Fortune 100 consumer, retail and technology companies. Last year, Gifts In Kind distributed product donations valued at more than $400 million.

About Borders Group:

Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) is a leading specialty retailer of books as well as other educational and entertainment items. Through its subsidiaries, the company employs approximately 25,000 throughout the United States, primarily in its Borders(R) and Waldenbooks(R) stores. Online shopping is offered through borders.com. Find author interviews and vibrant discussions of the products we and our customers are passionate about online at facebook.com/borders, twitter.com/borders and youtube.com/bordersmedia. For more information about the company, visit borders.com/media.

SOURCE Gifts In Kind International

RELATED LINKS
http://www.giftsinkind.org

To stabilize Afghanistan, President Barack Obama has called for a surge of American and NATO troops. His counternarcotics strategy, a major departure from previous ineffective and counterproductive policies, is also crucial to the war effort. In Shooting Up: Counterinsurgency and the War on Drugs, Brookings fellow Vanda Felbab-Brown, shows that although success in suppressing illicit economies cannot be achieved without first addressing the security situation in a country, neither can counterinsurgency and state-building strategies succeed without effectively dealing with the illicit economy, such as the opium trade in Afghanistan.

Warlords, terrorists and insurgents throughout the world use financial resources gained from the illicit drug trade to fuel their operations. U.S. counterinsurgency policy has been based on the premise that suppressing drug production will starve an insurgency of needed funds, and the movement would wither away as a result. Shooting Up rebuts this "conventional wisdom" and shows how U.S. anti-narcotics and counterinsurgency policies have too frequently been at odds. Counternarcotics campaigns, particularly those focused on eradication, typically fail to bankrupt belligerent groups that rely on the drug trade for financing. Worse, they actually strengthen insurgents by increasing their legitimacy and popular support.

Felbab-Brown draws on interviews and fieldwork in some of the world's most dangerous regions to illustrate how belligerent groups have taken to illicit activities such as kidnapping, extortion and smuggling. She shows vividly how powerful guerrilla and terrorist organizations—such as Peru's Shining Path, the FARC and paramilitaries in Colombia and, of course, the Taliban in Afghanistan—have learned to exploit unlawful markets. Felbab-Brown explores the interaction between insurgent groups and illicit economies in frequently overlooked settings as well, including Turkey, Burma and Northern Ireland.

Shooting Up provides coldly realistic recommendations for reformulating this dimension of U.S. national security policy, giving policymakers a better chance of winning both the war on terror and the war on drugs.

The Author

Vanda Felbab-Brown is a Brookings fellow with the Foreign Policy program and 21st Century Defense Initiative. She is an adjunct professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. An expert on international and internal conflict issues, including counterinsurgency, she has published widely on the interaction between illicit economies and military conflict and has testified before Congress about her work.

The Brookings Institution is a private nonprofit organization devoted to independent research and innovative policy solutions. For more than 90 years, Brookings has analyzed current and emerging issues and produced new ideas that matter—for the nation and the world.

Shooting Up: Counterinsurgency and the War on Drugs

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Brookings Institution Press

Publication date: January 25, 2010

6 x 9 / 273 pages

cloth / ISBN 978-0-8157-0328-0 / $28.95/20.99 pounds Sterling

SOURCE Brookings Institution

RELATED LINKS
http://www.brookings.edu/

The book publishing world is experiencing the most seismic shift in business models and new technology since widespread access to the printing press or the advent of the paperback book. The recent and upcoming releases of digital reading devices from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Apple promise to change how books are designed, delivered, and consumed by readers.

Digital Book World, presented by F+W Media and Publishers Lunch, is the only conference on publishing and digital change that will address these topics and more, on January 26-27, 2010 at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in New York City. Visit www.digitalbookworld.com for more information or follow on Twitter @digibookworld.

Event details include:

* More than 35 sessions with leaders from across the industry offering information, insight and strategies to enable publishers to adapt to, and embrace, digital change

* Speakers and attendees from across the book publishing spectrum include the "Big Six" -- HarperCollins, Macmillan, Hachette, Random House, and Penguin -- niche publishers National Geographic Society, Harlequin, Tor, Chelsea Green, Bloomsbury, Perseus Books Group, Sesame Workshop, and Oxford University Press -- major distribution partners -- Ingram, Baker & Taylor -- and technology solutions -- Above the Treeline, LLC, Applied Information Group, BookDaily.com, Content Data Solutions, Librios, ORCA (Open Real-Time Currency Application), ScrollMotion, Virtusales and Zinio

* More than 500+ attendees representing multiple disciplines within the industry including senior management, strategists, editors, agents, marketers, production, eMedia, and digital change professionals

* Exclusive to the event: The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) and RR Bowker will reveal the results from the BISG Consumer Attitudes toward eBook Reading study. The study evaluated readers' interest in and preferences for digital content, and factors that influence their reading habits and purchasing decisions. Verso Digital will offer a look at consumer behaviors as they debut the results of its 2009 Survey of Book-Buying Behavior

* Technology services providers Aequor, Aptara, Baker and Taylor, iPublishCentral, North Plains, ORCA and SBS Worldwide will be making presentations and showcasing their products in the event's exhibit hall

* Wednesday at 1pm EST during the event, Digital Book World will stream live coverage of the announcement of Apple's "latest creation"

SOURCE F+W Media

RELATED LINKS
http://www.digitalbookworld.com

BNA Books, a division of specialized news and information publisher BNA, announced today the publication of the 2009 Cumulative Supplement to Patent Litigation Strategies Handbook, Second Edition. The reference is written by experienced litigators from the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Intellectual Property Law.

(Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090529/DC24463LOGO )

Patent Litigation Strategies Handbook, Second Edition gives both the "how-to" and the "why-to" of patent litigation, with specific, proven tactics for protecting clients' interests. Expert litigators provide practical, winning answers to questions such as, "Why sue in the first place?" "Should you consider ADR instead?" "What are your burdens of proof?" "What types of damages should you seek?" and more. This treatise provides discussion, analysis, and strategic reasoning behind every phase of patent infringement litigation, from initial client counseling through the filing of the notice of appeal.

Patent Litigation Strategies Handbook, Second Edition contains updated and expanded discussions and analyses of the most recent trends in patent litigation. For example, pharmaceutical patent cases are among the most litigious areas -- but only about 3 percent of all patent cases go to trial, while the number of ANDA cases being tried are significantly higher. This treatise also supplies winning strategies from some of the country's leading attorneys, from both a patent owner's and a challenger's point of view, and clarifies the confusion and controversy over claim construction that has followed the Federal Circuit's 1995 Markman decision by discussing procedural developments and pronouncements on claim construction and how to address them.

The 2009 Cumulative Supplement tracks the rapid pace of change in patent law being brought about by decisions of the courts and developments in the rules of patentable subject matter. Key topics include: ways to limit the scope of electronic discovery by setting reasonable limits on the scope of electronically stored information that will be incorporated into the court's scheduling order; invalidity issues of claim construction considered in a Markman hearing as discussed in Exxon Research & Eng'g Co. v. United States; and the substantive difference between the more stringent Seagate recklessness standard for willfulness and the old duty-of-care standard according to the Federal Circuit in Voda v. Cordis Corp.

The editors-in-chief of this treatise are Barry L. Grossman, of counsel at Foley & Lardner, Milwaukee, WI and Gary M. Hoffman, a partner in Dickstein Shapiro LLP, Washington, DC. The chapter authors represent a cross-section of the most skilled patent litigators in the U.S.

BNA is a leading private publisher of news and information products for professionals in law and business. In addition to the 2009 Cumulative Supplement to Patent Litigation Strategies Handbook, Second Edition, BNA's Book Division publishes Anatomy of a Patent Case; Biotechnology and the Federal Circuit; Copyright Law Deskbook; Drafting Patent License Agreements; Electronic and Software Patents; Intellectual Property Taxation: Transaction and Litigation Issues; International Patent Litigation: A Country-by-Country Analysis; Patents and the Federal Circuit; Patent Infringement Remedies; Patent Law and Practice; Patent Prosecution: Law, Practice, and Procedure; Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Laws; Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Regulations; Pharmaceutical Patent Law; Trademark Dilution: Federal, State, and International Law; Trademark Infringement Remedies; and other titles in legal specialties. For a free BNA Books catalog, call 1-800-960-1220 or send an e-mail request to books@bna.com. The BNA Books website, including an online catalog, can be found at bnabooks.com.

The 2009 Cumulative Supplement to Patent Litigation Strategies Handbook, Second Edition (612 pp. Softcover/Order #1825-PRY9/$190.00 plus tax, shipping, and handling) may be purchased alone, or with the main volume (2005/1,548 pp. Hardcover with 2009 Cumulative Supplement/Order #9825-PRY9/$385.00 plus tax, shipping, and handling) from BNA Books, PO Box 7814, Edison, NJ 08818-7814. Telephone orders: 1-800-960-1220. Fax orders: 1-732-346-1624. A 10% discount is available on print copies of books when ordering from the website at bnabooks.com. Please note that discounts cannot be combined.

SOURCE BNA Books

RELATED LINKS
http://www.bnabooks.com
http://bna.com/about

The Democrat's bitter election loss in Massachusetts underscores just how far liberals have fallen in the last year. But a new book, Answering Back: Liberal Responses to Conservative Arguments, provides the tools they need to regain lost ground. "This book is a must-read for everyone who supports Obama and the liberal agenda," says author David Coates. "Never before have we been called on to be more effective communicators in representing our side. There's so much at stake."

Answering Back presents both conservative and liberal arguments on eight key policy issues now in contention between the parties: trickledown economics and the role of public spending, the desirability of welfare reform, the future of social security, the establishment of health care for all, the possibility of comprehensive immigration control, religious issues and the social agenda, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the causes of the financial meltdown.

"I wanted to give liberals a guide to counter conservative rhetoric," Coates says. "To save them having to spend hours listening to conservative pundits like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, or pouring over Republican Party policy statements, I have done that, listening and reading for them. Because I believe that the only way our side can win is if we understand our opponents' arguments - both the strong ones and the weak ones - and can counter both."

Each chapter of the book begins with a brief introduction, followed by conservative views and a point-by-point progressive response. Each stage of each argument is labeled for easy memorization, and the language used is deliberately jargon free, to make the material as accessible as possible. The sources of both conservative and progressive arguments (and their supporting evidence) are cited to open the door to further research. This is an essential tool for anyone interested in policy reform, party politics, and American politics.

Giving the rapidly changing political landscape, Answering Back also takes publishing to a new level by offering readers an online living book where key issues are regularly updated. Updates are already being posted at www.answeringbackdavidcoates.blogspot.com.  "The book and the blog site together turn Answering Back into a living source for everyone keen to defuse the distortions of the tea-party activists currently commanding the Republican base," Coates says.

David Coates holds the Worrell Chair of Anglo-American Studies, Department of Political Science at Wake Forest University (NC). He previously held personal chairs at the universities of Leeds and Manchester in the UK. He has written extensively on labor politics, contemporary political economy, and US public policy. He is the author of several books, including The Labour Party and the Struggle for Socialism and Models of Capitalism: Growth and Stagnation in the World Economy (translated into Chinese and South Korean).

January 2010

ISBN: 9781441126931 / paperback $21.95 / 296 Pages

Politics

This news release was issued on behalf of Newswise(TM). For more information, visit http://www.newswise.com.

SOURCE Wake Forest University

RELATED LINKS
http://www.wfu.edu

Kids building the biggest book in the world, whose topic is peace, have launched a dynamic new website www.pagesforpeace.org. The website is expected to help the students reach more people around the world, while simplifying the process for receiving letters to include in their giant anthology. The students, from Groton-Dunstable Regional School District, are hoping the new website will help them finish the book in time for the International Day of Peace on September 21.

The lively, interactive website features video providing details of the Big Book: Pages for Peace Project. A brief history highlights the students' trips to the UN where they were invited to address the International Day of Peace Student Conference. The site also allows visitors to send in their letters and accompanying waivers, directly to the students via the web. Upon completion, the massive book will be 10 ft. wide by 12 ft. high and weigh a ton.

Visitors to www.pagesforpeace.org can also view samples of letters that have already been received from Nobel Laureate former President Jimmy Carter, author Helen Caldecott and Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, as well as notables such as the late Senator Ted Kennedy, skateboarder Tony Hawk and former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General (Ret.) Peter Pace. To date, correspondence from over 1000 people around the globe has been received but the students would still like to include more letters, notes, songs, poetry and art in their book.

"We're thrilled with the response we've had to date but the students want to hear from as many people as possible within the next 30 days for inclusion in the biggest book in the world," said teacher/advisor Betsy Sawyer. Also follow the kids on Facebook @Big Book: Pages for Peace Foundation.

About Pages for Peace Foundation

Pages for Peace Foundation is a 501(c)3 non profit organization and is the fundraising arm of the Big Book: Pages for Peace Project.  Founded in 2004, the goal is to build the biggest book in the world, whose topic is peace. The book is an anthology of the many letters, notes, poetry, songs and art sent to the Groton-Dunstable Regional School District students who are members of the Bookmakers and Dreamers after school club.

SOURCE Pages for Peace Foundation

RELATED LINKS
http://www.pagesforpeace.org

BNA Books, a division of specialized news and information publisher BNA, announced today the publication of the 2009 Cumulative Supplement to Whistleblowing: The Law of Retaliatory Discharge, Second Edition.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090529/DC24463LOGO)

Following passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which introduced criminal as well as civil liability for retaliating against certain types of whistleblowers in the private sector, retaliation claims are being filed with increasing frequency. Attorneys filing or defending these claims will want to stay on top of expanded whistleblower protections and related procedural developments in both the private and public sectors. Whistleblowing: The Law of Retaliatory Discharge, Second Edition presents the nuts and bolts of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other applicable federal and state laws, tracking litigation and new legislation in detail, providing up-to-date information on the latest issues, procedural problems, and tactics and strategies.

The 2009 Cumulative Supplement discusses new cases and updated topics including:

• The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville expanding protection under Title VII against retaliation for employees who are interviewed during the course of internal corporate investigations of sexual harassment allegations, but who have not themselves filed charges of discrimination or harassment. It is likely that this decision will be applied outside of the Title VII context and will influence the interpretation of whistleblower protection statutes in a manner that expands whistleblower protection.
• The Ninth Circuit's opinion in Van Asdale v. International Game Technology reversing a summary judgment in favor of a company in a SOX whistleblower case, with reasoning that is favorable to whistleblowers on the issue of the employee's reasonable good faith belief as to the existence of shareholder fraud.
• Whistleblower provisions under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which contain expansive new protections for whistleblowers employed in the private and public sectors, and which are designed to encourage reporting of waste of funds under this economic recovery statute.
• New cases in 30 states regarding the common law doctrine of wrongful termination in violation of public policy.

The 2009 Cumulative Supplement provides all the new developments practitioners need to be aware of to effectively litigate and advise on whistleblower cases in this contentious area of employment law.        

Daniel P. Westman and Nancy M. Modesitt are the authors of the main volume and supplement. Daniel P. Westman is a litigation partner at Morrison & Foerster LLP in McLean, VA. He has represented clients in whistleblower cases since 1982, and has tried numerous whistleblower cases in the courts and before the U.S. Department of Labor. Nancy M. Modesitt is an Assistant Professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law, where she teaches Employment Law, Torts and Legal Writing. Ms. Modesitt has represented the U.S. Department of Justice with regard to claims brought under the Civil Service Reform Act.

BNA is a leading private publisher of news and information products for professionals in law and business. In addition to the 2009 Cumulative Supplement to Whistleblowing: The Law of Retaliatory Discharge, Second Edition, BNA's Book Division publishes The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act; International Labor and Employment Laws, Volumes I and II; The Fair Labor Standards Act; Employment Discrimination Law; Sexual Harassment in Employment Law; Age Discrimination in Employment Law; Privacy in Employment Law; Employment Termination: Rights and Remedies; Reductions in Force in Employment Law; and other titles in legal specialties. Download a free BNA Books catalog, call 1-800-960-1220, or send an e-mail request to books@bna.com. The BNA Books website, including an online catalog, can be found at bnabooks.com.

The 2009 Cumulative Supplement to Whistleblowing: The Law of Retaliatory Discharge, Second Edition (358 pp. Softcover/Order #1848-PRY9/$175.00 plus tax, shipping, and handling) may be purchased alone, or with the main volume (456 pp. Hardcover /Order #9848-PRY9/$255.00 plus tax, shipping, and handling) from BNA Books, PO Box 7814, Edison, NJ 08818-7814. Telephone orders: 1-800-960-1220. Fax orders: 1-732-346-1624. A 10% discount is available on print copies of books when ordering from the website at bnabooks.com. Please note that discounts cannot be combined.

SOURCE BNA Books

RELATED LINKS
http://www.bnabooks.com

Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) today reported results for the 11-week holiday period ended Jan. 16, 2010. Total consolidated sales were $846.8 million, a 13.7% decrease compared to the same period last year. 

(Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060208/BORDERSGRPLOGO )

Within the Borders superstore segment, total sales for the period were $649.2 million, a 14.7% decrease from a year ago. Comparable store sales at Borders superstores declined 14.6%. Factoring out multimedia, comparable store sales at Borders superstores declined 10.9%. The company reduced promotional spending in December, and as a result, gross margins for the month improved 130 basis points compared to a year ago.

Within the Waldenbooks Specialty Retail segment, total sales for the holiday period were $153.2 million, a 14.6% decrease year over year. Comparable store sales for Waldenbooks stores that will remain open beyond the end of this month declined 9.4%.

Excluding currency impact, total International segment sales were $44.4 million for the period, an 8.7% increase.  Comparable stores sales at Paperchase stores outside the U.S. increased by 10.1% for the period.

"We are disappointed with holiday results and must intensify our focus on creating and delivering a shopping experience that drives profitable sales," said Borders Group Chief Executive Officer Ron Marshall. "Given the sales challenge, we have continued to manage cash flow and have taken several important steps in line with our strategic priorities, including moving away from underperforming, low margin categories such as music and video in favor of better performing categories such as children's. The decision to exit multimedia is right long-term, but impacted comp store sales by 3.7%.  In addition, as previously announced, we are right-sizing the mall business with the closure of 182 Waldenbooks Specialty Retail stores. We have continued to expand our Borders Rewards loyalty program and recently announced digital book partnerships with Kobo and Spring Design that position Borders to be a high quality content provider of eBooks. We will continue to focus on reducing expenses and improving working capital to drive improved cash flow and debt reduction as we address the clear priority to drive profitable sales."

About Borders Group

Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) is a leading specialty retailer of books as well as other educational and entertainment items. The company employs approximately 25,000 throughout the U.S., primarily in its Borders(R) and Waldenbooks(R) stores. Online shopping is offered through borders.com. Find author interviews and vibrant discussions of the products we and our customers are passionate about online at facebook.com/borders, twitter.com/borders and youtube.com/bordersmedia. For more information about the company, visit borders.com/media.

Safe Harbor Statement

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. One can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "expect," "planning," "possibility," "opportunity," "goal," "will," "may," "intend," "anticipates" and other words of similar meaning. One can also identify them by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements are likely to address matters such as the company's future financial condition and performance (including earnings per share, the profitability of Waldenbooks, liquidity, cash flows, debt levels, sales, inventory levels and capital expenditures), its cost reduction initiatives and plans for store closings and the expansion of product categories. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and plans to differ materially from those included in the company's forward-looking statements.

These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, consumer demand for the company's products, particularly during the holiday season, which is believed to be related to general economic and geopolitical conditions, competition and other factors; the availability of adequate capital--including vendor credit--to fund the company's operations and to carry out its strategic plans; adverse litigation results or other claims and the performance of the company's information technology systems.

The company's periodic reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission contain more detailed discussions of these and other risk factors that could cause actual results and plans to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements, and those discussions are incorporated herein by reference. The company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Borders Group

RELATED LINKS
http:/www.borders.com/investors

Gifts In Kind International (www.giftsinkind.org), a leading charitable organization in the product giving field, is pleased to announce a new agreement with Borders Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries ( BGP). Borders selected Gifts In Kind to help the company donate—rather than dispose of—items that have not sold in its Borders and Waldenbooks stores nationwide and cannot be returned by the retailer to its suppliers.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100121/DE41553 )

The relationship between the two organizations kicks off later this month with a major product donation—including more than 50,000 individual items that Borders and Waldenbooks stores have amassed—to jump-start the alliance with Gifts In Kind. These items will be donated to hundreds of local organizations within the Gifts In Kind national network of charities, which now numbers more than 2,000 organizations. Beyond the kick-off donation, Borders and Waldenbooks stores throughout the country intend to soon begin a long-term alliance with Gifts In Kind, directly donating items from their individual stores on an ongoing basis to local charities that are part of Gifts In Kind's national network. Charities wishing to be involved in this effort should contact Gifts In Kind's Melissa Trumpower (mltrumpower@giftsinkind.org).

"Borders is taking an industry leading position by working with us to get products that cannot be returned or sold to people in need," said Gifts In Kind International President and CEO Cindy Hallberlin "We applaud their community commitment and are thrilled to have Borders join our other retail partners in giving back to the communities where their employees live and work. These are challenging times and people need retailers like Borders to step up and get involved in supporting their communities."

"Our stores across the country are regarded as community centers where people come to meet, explore and share their passion for books. It is a natural extension of our strong community focus to give our stores a way to help their local neighbors at a time when so many need help," said Mike Edwards, Executive Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer. "This new alliance with Gifts In Kind supplements what we are already doing through existing book drives, which have resulted in thousands of new books going to local charities across the U.S. Now, we have a way to donate non-returnable and unsold items as well, rounding out our giving efforts to the fullest."

About Gifts In Kind International:

Ranked by Forbes Magazine as one of the nation's best-managed charities in America, Gifts In Kind International (www.giftsinkind.org) is dedicated to helping people and communities by distributing new corporate product donations—including books, toys, personal care products and clothing, building supplies, computers and other technology products, and much more—to qualified nonprofit organizations. The charitable organization works with more than half of the Fortune 100 consumer, retail and technology companies. Last year, Gifts In Kind distributed product donations valued at more than $400 million.

About Borders Group:

Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) is a leading specialty retailer of books as well as other educational and entertainment items. Through its subsidiaries, the company employs approximately 25,000 throughout the United States, primarily in its Borders(R) and Waldenbooks(R) stores. Online shopping is offered through borders.com. Find author interviews and vibrant discussions of the products we and our customers are passionate about online at facebook.com/borders, twitter.com/borders and youtube.com/bordersmedia. For more information about the company, visit borders.com/media.

SOURCE Gifts In Kind International

RELATED LINKS
http://www.giftsinkind.org

Powerful and enthralling, "The Lonely Sky" (published by iUniverse) shares the story of Bill Bridgeman, who daily entered that lonely region beyond the speed of sound. A narrative of needle-nosed rocket-powered ships flying at blistering speeds, it's also the moving testament of a man risking his life to push back the frontiers of scientific knowledge that is sure to be enjoyed by aviation enthusiasts and young people with dreams of conquest and pioneering adventures.

The original version of this reprint edition of the highly successful book drew amazing reviews from across the country, including:

"The excitement is magnificently conveyed...one reads with breathless attention..." -- Orville Prescott of the New York Times

"The drama, color and sheer readability of an exciting novel" -- Henry Ladd Smith of the Los Angeles Times

"One of the year's most fascinating adventure stories" -- TIME Magazine

"The most vivid account on test-piloting ever written" -- D.S. Dodson of the Saturday Review Literature

"This is one of the finest books on test flying the reviewer has seen" -- B.K. Thorne of the New York Times

"A philosophical and curiously prophetic book" -- Joseph Henry Jackson of the San Francisco Chronicle

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

The co-author of "The Lonely Sky," Jacqueline Hazard Bridgeman, who married the pilot after their book was published, lives in Malibu, California. She is an experienced reporter and although she had never flown, she had an extraordinary penchant for describing the technical aspects, and the sensations, of test flights in smooth, compelling prose. She is the editor of "Huxley and God," a book of essays published by HarperCollins. Until recently, she was the president of Malibu Stage Co., a renowned 99-seat theatre, established with Charles Marowitz 19 years ago.  

After the war, Bridgeman left the Navy a restless man. Seeking action, he joined Douglas Aircraft as an engineering test pilot. Soon he was asked to take over the final stages of the Skyrocket testing program. The Skyrocket, a javelin-shaped experimental rocket-powered ship, was a challenge to Bridgeman. The story of his day-by-day life with the plane is the substance of "The Lonely Sky." Bill Bridgeman died in an airplane accident in 1968.

"The Lonely Sky"

Available from: http://www.iUniverse.com, http://www.bn.com, and http://www.amazon.com

iUniverse is the premier book publisher for emerging, self-published authors. For more information, please visit http://www.iuniverse.com.

This release was issued through eReleases(TM).  For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE iUniverse

RELATED LINKS
http://www.iuniverse.com

In light of the recent tragedies in Haiti, Haitian born Life Empowerment Coach and author Dr. Judi Cineas is finding her own ways to help.  "I have been blessed that my family is safe, and our hometown suffered little damage, but I cannot help feeling personally troubled when I see the devastation and suffering."  Now a South Florida resident, Judi Cineas was born in St. Marc, a small town on the NW side of the island which was severely affected by the floods and hurricanes in recent years, but was spared by the tragic quakes.  As everyone is looking to see what else can be done Cineas has recently decided to donate a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of her new book, Six Months To Dr. to help with the relief efforts.

Cineas is working with local organizations and elected officials as they organize relief efforts for the coming weeks.  Dr. Judi Cineas is a Clinical Social worker with several years of experience in counseling and crisis intervention.  She is making herself available to work on the ground providing counseling when the time arises, but for now the need is for resources to help meet the victims' basic needs.  This is one of those times when no matter how much people are doing they feel like they need to be doing more.

Six Months To Dr.:  How I Completed My Dissertation In Six Months shows students working on their dissertations and theses how to save time, energy and money by using simple and readily available resources that are overlooked by other students.  "My goal in writing this book is to show students that while completing a dissertation is difficult, help is available to make the process more manageable" says Cineas.

Six Months To Dr. is currently available for presale at http://Books.DrJudiC.com.  

SOURCE Cineas Publishing

RELATED LINKS
http://Books.DrJudiC.com

In what is known as the largest contest of its kind in the world, finalists for the 4th Quarter of the 26th year of the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest were announced.

The semi-finalists and finalists for the 4th quarter of the 2009 contest are:

All semi-finalists will receive a critique from the contest Coordinating Judge, author and educator, K.D. Wentworth.

The 8 finalists stories are sent to 4 of the contest judges. Of those 8 stories, the 3 with the highest points are the 3 winners of the quarter. There is a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner every quarter. The 3 winners of each quarter are awarded cash prizes, a week long intensive workshop, an awards ceremony and are also published in the annual L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future. The judging process, once the finalists are determined by the coordinating judge, takes a little over a month.

Well-known contest judges include multiple Nebula and Hugo Award winners and finalists such as Kevin J. Anderson, Orson Scott Card, Anne McCaffrey, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Tim Powers, Robert J. Sawyer, Robert Silverberg, Dave Wolverton, Sean Williams and K.D. Wentworth.

A Grand Prize winner is announced at the annual awards ceremony and is selected from another panel of judges. The 4 first place winners from each of the quarters are eligible for the Grand Prize of $5,000.00.

For more information about the contest, go to www.writersofthefuture.com.

SOURCE Writers of the Future Contest

RELATED LINKS
http://www.writersofthefuture.com

BNA Books, a division of specialized news and information publisher BNA, announced today the publication of the Fourth Edition of Employee Duty of Loyalty: A State-by-State Survey. This two-volume treatise is published by BNA Books, in cooperation with the American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090529/DC24463LOGO)

Reflecting the rapid expansion of litigation concerning the application of the employee duty of loyalty, the Fourth Edition of Employee Duty of Loyalty: A State-by-State Survey serves as an excellent, easy-to-scan, question-and-answer reference on each state's recognition and understanding of the duty of loyalty; prohibited and permitted conduct; and litigation issues, including the availability of injunctive relief, damages, and defenses. Unique among titles on the subject, this two-volume treatise contains extensive discussions, broken out by category of employee — from "mere employees" to "officers and directors" — showing the reader how the duty of loyalty is applied depending on the level of responsibility the employee has within an organization.

The treatise contains incisive discussions of various other critical issues, and addresses a number of questions of first impression, including:

• Has a cause of action for breach of the employee duty of loyalty been recognized?
• What damages are available for breach of the employee duty of loyalty?
• Is a claim for breach of the employee duty of loyalty preempted by the Uniform Trade Secrets Act?
• Whether all employees — including lower-level employees — owe a duty of loyalty to their employers under California law (Hanger Prosthetics & Orthotics, Inc. v. Capstone Orthopedic, Inc., 556 F. Supp. 2d 1122 (E.D. Cal. 2008))
• Whether unemployment benefits are available under Minnesota law to an employee who breaches the duty of loyalty by interfering with his employer's contracts with customers (Marn v. Fairview Pharmacy Services LLC, 756 N.W.2d 117 (Minn. Ct. App. 2008))
• Whether a claim for breach of the employee duty of loyalty under Virginia law is preempted by the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (Combined Ins. Co. of Am. v. Wiest, 578 F. Supp. 2d 822 (W.D. Va. 2008))
• Whether there is a cause of action under Utah law for inducing a breach of fiduciary duty and/or duty of loyalty. (Farm Bureau Life Ins. Co. v. American Nat'l Ins. Co., 505 F. Supp. 2d 1178 (D. Utah 2007))

The Fourth Edition also includes finding lists and detailed chapter contents, appendices of Restatement material, extensive quotations from court cases, and cross references to other titles in the State-by-State Survey series.

The author of the Fourth Edition of Employee Duty of Loyalty: A State-by-State Survey, Brian M. Malsberger, is a BNA Books senior editor and also the author of Covenants Not to Compete: A State-by-State Survey; Trade Secrets: A State-by-State Survey; and Tortious Interference in the Employment Context: A State-by-State Survey. The book's board of review associate editors are Stacey A. Campbell, David J. Carr, and Arnold H. Pedowitz. All are attorneys and members of the ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law's Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee.

BNA is a leading private publisher of news and information products for professionals in law and business. In addition to the Fourth Edition of Employee Duty of Loyalty: A State-by-State Survey, BNA's Book Division publishes Covenants Not to Compete: A State-by-State Survey; Trade Secrets: A State-by-State Survey; and Tortious Interference in the Employment Context: A State-by-State Survey. BNA's Book Division also publishes Employment Termination: Rights and Remedies; Mental and Emotional Injuries in Employment Law; Drafting and Enforcing Covenants Not to Compete; Privacy in Employment Law; and other titles in legal specialties. For a free BNA Books catalog, call 1-800-960-1220 or send an e-mail request to books@bna.com. The BNA Books website, including an online catalog, can be found at bnabooks.com.

The Fourth Edition of Employee Duty of Loyalty: A State-by-State Survey may be purchased (Order #1787/$485.00 plus tax, shipping, and handling) from BNA Books, PO Box 7814, Edison, NJ 08818-7814. Telephone orders: 1-800-960-1220. Fax orders: 1-732-346-1624. A 10% discount is available on print copies of books when ordering from the website at bnabooks.com. Please note that discounts cannot be combined.

SOURCE BNA Books

RELATED LINKS
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090529/DC24463LOGO
http://www.bnabooks.com
http://www.bna.com

Watching the poor people suffering in Haiti points out our all-too-human vulnerability when disaster strikes, things fall apart, nothing is working, and the few facilities and rescue workers that are functioning are hopelessly overloaded.

Matthew Stein, America's leading authority on disaster preparedness for individuals and families, is available to show your audience the most important things that every family should have on hand to help cope with earthquakes and other disasters. This is the stuff most people don't think about except when a disaster strikes somewhere in the world.

Most Americans are in the danger zone for some kind of disaster, whether it be terrorism, hurricane, firestorm, flood, or earthquake, yet few of us have developed any type of survival plan. According to Stein, "We need to be prepared for a scenario involving multiple challenges."

He offers guidance on the following topics:

• What to include in a 72-Hour "Grab and Run" Survival Kit
• What are the most important supplies to have on hand
• What are the most important skills to learn
• How to prepare the family car/SUV/truck for an escape trip
• How to prepare for an escape trip without a car
• What to include in a comprehensive disaster First-Aid kit
• How to cope with psychological pressures during a disaster

Stein's popular web site whentechfails.com offers valuable "how-to" disaster preparedness articles, tips, and checklists, at no charge!

Matthew Stein is the author of the highly praised book "When Technology Fails" (Chelsea Green 2008), a comprehensive manual on emergency planning and sustainable living skills.

When Technology Fails: http://www.ereleases.com/pr/WhenTechnologyFails.jpg

As an engineer, Stein specializes in product design and development. As a contractor, he has built hurricane-resistant, energy-efficient homes.

In recognition of his expertise, Stein has appeared on numerous radio and television programs and has been a repeat guest on the Thom Hartmann Show, Lionel, Fox News, MSNBC and Coast-to-Coast AM.  He has also written several articles on the subject of sustainable living and is a guest columnist for the Huffington Post.

Stein is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he majored in Mechanical Engineering.

An active outdoorsman since he was a small child, Stein also serves as a guide and instructor for blind skiers with the Ski for Light cross-country program and currently resides with his wife, Josie, in the High Sierra Mountains near Lake Tahoe, California.

Praise for When Technology Fails

"When the grid goes down having this book with you could be the difference between life and death."

--Matt Savinar, author of "Life After the Oil Crash"

"...A fascinating collection of concepts and skills that will satisfy everyone from the casual do-it-yourself enthusiast to someone who wants to attempt self-reliance and the ultimate emergency preparedness."

--Howard Backer, MD, author of "Wilderness First Aid: Emergency Care for Wilderness Locations" and past president of the Wilderness Medical Society

This release was issued through eReleases(TM).  For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE Matthew Stein

RELATED LINKS
http://www.whentechfails.com

In light of the recent tragedies in Haiti, Haitian born Life Empowerment Coach and author Dr. Judi Cineas is finding her own ways to help.  "I have been blessed that my family is safe, and our hometown suffered little damage, but I cannot help feeling personally troubled when I see the devastation and suffering."  Now a South Florida resident, Judi Cineas was born in St. Marc, a small town on the NW side of the island which was severely affected by the floods and hurricanes in recent years, but was spared by the tragic quakes.  As everyone is looking to see what else can be done Cineas has recently decided to donate a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of her new book, Six Months To Dr. to help with the relief efforts.

Cineas is working with local organizations and elected officials as they organize relief efforts for the coming weeks.  Dr. Judi Cineas is a Clinical Social worker with several years of experience in counseling and crisis intervention.  She is making herself available to work on the ground providing counseling when the time arises, but for now the need is for resources to help meet the victims' basic needs.  This is one of those times when no matter how much people are doing they feel like they need to be doing more.

Six Months To Dr.:  How I Completed My Dissertation In Six Months shows students working on their dissertations and theses how to save time, energy and money by using simple and readily available resources that are overlooked by other students.  "My goal in writing this book is to show students that while completing a dissertation is difficult, help is available to make the process more manageable" says Cineas.

Six Months To Dr. is currently available for presale at http://Books.DrJudiC.com.  

SOURCE Cineas Publishing

RELATED LINKS
http://Books.DrJudiC.com

BNA Books, a division of specialized news and information publisher BNA, announced today the publication of the Fourth Edition of Employee Duty of Loyalty: A State-by-State Survey. This two-volume treatise is published by BNA Books, in cooperation with the American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090529/DC24463LOGO)

Reflecting the rapid expansion of litigation concerning the application of the employee duty of loyalty, the Fourth Edition of Employee Duty of Loyalty: A State-by-State Survey serves as an excellent, easy-to-scan, question-and-answer reference on each state's recognition and understanding of the duty of loyalty; prohibited and permitted conduct; and litigation issues, including the availability of injunctive relief, damages, and defenses. Unique among titles on the subject, this two-volume treatise contains extensive discussions, broken out by category of employee — from "mere employees" to "officers and directors" — showing the reader how the duty of loyalty is applied depending on the level of responsibility the employee has within an organization.

The treatise contains incisive discussions of various other critical issues, and addresses a number of questions of first impression, including:

• Has a cause of action for breach of the employee duty of loyalty been recognized?
• What damages are available for breach of the employee duty of loyalty?
• Is a claim for breach of the employee duty of loyalty preempted by the Uniform Trade Secrets Act?
• Whether all employees — including lower-level employees — owe a duty of loyalty to their employers under California law (Hanger Prosthetics & Orthotics, Inc. v. Capstone Orthopedic, Inc., 556 F. Supp. 2d 1122 (E.D. Cal. 2008))
• Whether unemployment benefits are available under Minnesota law to an employee who breaches the duty of loyalty by interfering with his employer's contracts with customers (Marn v. Fairview Pharmacy Services LLC, 756 N.W.2d 117 (Minn. Ct. App. 2008))
• Whether a claim for breach of the employee duty of loyalty under Virginia law is preempted by the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (Combined Ins. Co. of Am. v. Wiest, 578 F. Supp. 2d 822 (W.D. Va. 2008))
• Whether there is a cause of action under Utah law for inducing a breach of fiduciary duty and/or duty of loyalty. (Farm Bureau Life Ins. Co. v. American Nat'l Ins. Co., 505 F. Supp. 2d 1178 (D. Utah 2007))

The Fourth Edition also includes finding lists and detailed chapter contents, appendices of Restatement material, extensive quotations from court cases, and cross references to other titles in the State-by-State Survey series.

The author of the Fourth Edition of Employee Duty of Loyalty: A State-by-State Survey, Brian M. Malsberger, is a BNA Books senior editor and also the author of Covenants Not to Compete: A State-by-State Survey; Trade Secrets: A State-by-State Survey; and Tortious Interference in the Employment Context: A State-by-State Survey. The book's board of review associate editors are Stacey A. Campbell, David J. Carr, and Arnold H. Pedowitz. All are attorneys and members of the ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law's Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee.

BNA is a leading private publisher of news and information products for professionals in law and business. In addition to the Fourth Edition of Employee Duty of Loyalty: A State-by-State Survey, BNA's Book Division publishes Covenants Not to Compete: A State-by-State Survey; Trade Secrets: A State-by-State Survey; and Tortious Interference in the Employment Context: A State-by-State Survey. BNA's Book Division also publishes Employment Termination: Rights and Remedies; Mental and Emotional Injuries in Employment Law; Drafting and Enforcing Covenants Not to Compete; Privacy in Employment Law; and other titles in legal specialties. For a free BNA Books catalog, call 1-800-960-1220 or send an e-mail request to books@bna.com. The BNA Books website, including an online catalog, can be found at bnabooks.com.

The Fourth Edition of Employee Duty of Loyalty: A State-by-State Survey may be purchased (Order #1787/$485.00 plus tax, shipping, and handling) from BNA Books, PO Box 7814, Edison, NJ 08818-7814. Telephone orders: 1-800-960-1220. Fax orders: 1-732-346-1624. A 10% discount is available on print copies of books when ordering from the website at bnabooks.com. Please note that discounts cannot be combined.

SOURCE BNA Books

RELATED LINKS
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090529/DC24463LOGO
http://www.bnabooks.com
http://www.bna.com

In his detailed preparation guide, "The Winning Delegate: An Insider's Guide to Model United Nations" (2nd edition, published by iUniverse), author Kerem Turunc educates novice delegates about Model United Nations and provides countless hints and practical tips to help more experienced delegates improve their skills.

Comprehensive and easy to use, Turunc's book covers numerous topics, including basic information about the United Nations system, researching topics, writing topic papers, rules of procedure of Model UN conferences and their usage, conference expectations, debating, delivering speeches, working with other delegates, writing resolutions, among others. In fact, because of its keen insight and applicable knowledge, "The Winning Delegate" has received praise from around the world:

"Something to offer to all MUNers from the beginner to the expert level."

-Irish United Nations Association (IUNA)

"Whoever takes the advice of the Insider's Guide to heart has a good chance of actually becoming a winning delegate."

-Vereinte Nationen (German Review on the United Nations)

Whether you're a university student, a high-schooler, a college professor in the fields of international relations and political science, a high school teacher, a researcher in a think tank or anyone interested in studying the United Nations system and international organizations, you'll find all the information you'll need about Model United Nations in "The Winning Delegate." Discover achievable goals and successfully manage your preparation for Model United Nations with Turunc's new book.

About the Author

Turunc is a graduate of Yale University, where he was Secretary-General of the Yale Model United Nations, the largest on-campus Model UN conference for high school students in North America. He also co-founded and headed his high school Model United Nations team at the American Collegiate Institute in Izmir, Turkey. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and currently practices law in London, focusing on various aspects of corporate law. In addition to "The Winning Delegate," Turunc has also published another book titled "Abbreviations in Aviation." Visit http://www.keremturunc.com for more information about the author and his publications.

"The Winning Delegate"

Available from: http://www.iUniverse.com, http://www.bn.com, and http://www.amazon.com

iUniverse is the premier book publisher for emerging, self-published authors. For more information, please visit http://www.iuniverse.com.

    EDITORS: For review copies or interview requests, contact:

    Promotional Services Department
    Tel: 1-800-AUTHORS
    Fax: 812-355-4078
    Email: promotions@iuniverse.com
    (When requesting a review copy, please provide a street address.)

This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE iUniverse

RELATED LINKS
http://www.iuniverse.com

Domtar Corporation 2010 quarterly earnings release schedule

    TICKER SYMBOL
    UFS (NYSE, TSX)

MONTREAL, Jan. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Domtar Corporation (NYSE/TSX: UFS) today announced the following tentative 2010 quarterly earnings release schedule:

    - First Quarter 2010: Friday, April 30, 2010
    - Second Quarter 2010: Friday, July 30, 2010
    - Third Quarter 2010: Friday, October 29, 2010
    - Fourth Quarter 2010: Friday, February 4, 2011

Consistent with past practice, each quarterly earnings release with accompanying financial tables will be issued before markets open, followed by a 10:00 a.m. (ET) conference call to discuss results. The above-mentioned dates are tentative and will be confirmed approximately three weeks prior to the official earnings release date.

About Domtar

Domtar Corporation (NYSE/TSX:UFS) is the largest integrated manufacturer and marketer of uncoated freesheet paper in North America and the second largest in the world based on production capacity, and is also a manufacturer of papergrade, fluff and specialty pulp. The Company designs, manufactures, markets and distributes a wide range of business, commercial printing and publishing as well as converting and specialty papers including recognized brands such as Cougar(R), Lynx(R) Opaque, Husky(R) Offset, First Choice(R) and Domtar EarthChoice(R) Office Paper, part of a family of environmentally and socially responsible papers. Domtar owns and operates Domtar Distribution Group, an extensive network of strategically located paper distribution facilities. Domtar also produces lumber and other specialty and industrial wood products. The Company employs nearly 10,000 people. To learn more, visit www.domtar.com.

SOURCE DOMTAR CORPORATION

Now that the New Year's celebrations are behind us, many American families are entering 2010 with a financial hangover. But a new book from Morningstar's personal finance expert Christine Benz aims to help people put their financial houses in order--without sacrificing all of their valuable free time.

30-Minute Money Solutions: A Step-by-Step Guide to Managing Your Finances, published by Wiley and written by Benz, director of personal finance for Morningstar, Inc., provides readers with the tools for tackling household money challenges. Benz breaks down the process into short, manageable steps, perfect for time-squeezed everyday investors. She also shows users how to put together simple, streamlined portfolios harnessing Morningstar's mutual fund research. The book serves as an indispensable resource by helping readers attack three dozen separate financial planning tasks in 30 minutes or less, including:

• Laying out the tools to get organized, including setting up a system to track their money and important financial documents, setting financial goals, and developing a budget and financial plan.
• Showing readers how to match the right investments to their goals using time-tested strategies and Morningstar insights, whether they are making their first investment or if they already have an established portfolio of securities.
• Coaching readers on taking care of other important financial tasks, such as estate planning, managing taxes, and more.

"Crafting a powerful financial plan should be extraordinarily simple and needn't take scads of time and attention--in fact, cutting through the clutter is half the battle," Benz said. "Over the years my friends and family members have asked me for advice, and I thought I would write a book to help people just like them--busy people who don't necessarily have time to wade through all of the ins and outs of money and finance, but still could use a clear, concise financial road map."

In her friendly and conversational style, Benz helps readers meet the demands of their financial goals--housing, college savings, retirement, etc.--without spending all of their spare time on them. The book can be read in its entirety for a comprehensive money plan, or can be implemented chapter-by-chapter to address individual challenges, such as managing debt, deciding when to convert an IRA, or determining strategy for a 401(k). Readers can track their progress, download worksheets, and access financial calculators through a special, exclusive section of Morningstar.com, the popular investment Web site.

Benz's book is now available nationwide in bookstores and through major online retailers. For more information about 30-Minute Money Solutions, (ISBN: 9780470481578; $24.95; Hardcover), please visit: http://www.morningstar.com/goto/30MinuteSolutions. Additional information is also available on Benz's Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/christine_benz) and the book's Facebook page.

About Morningstar, Inc.

Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of Internet, software, and print-based products and services for individuals, financial advisors, and institutions. Morningstar provides data on more than 325,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 4 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. The company has operations in 20 countries and minority ownership positions in companies based in two other countries.

©2010 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.

MORN - P

    Media Contact:
    Shawn Malayter, 312.696.6050, shawn.malayter@morningstar.com

SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.

RELATED LINKS
http://www.morningstar.com

Please join us at the National Press Club of Friday, January 22nd at 6:30 p.m. to celebrate the launch of preeminent Indian American poet Reetika Vazirani's Radha Says. This title is the first in Drunken Boat's international online journal of the arts new list of books and includes poems that have been published in such journals as Prairie Schooner, The Kenyon Review and Callaloo.  One of the most influential poets of her generation, Vazirani won the Barnard Women Poets Prize, a Discovery/The Nation Award, a Pushcart Prize, the Poets & Writers Exchange Program Award, fellowships from Bread Loaf and Sewanee, the Glenna Luschei/Prairie Schooner Award for her essay "The Art of Breathing" and she had a poem anthologized in The Best American Poetry 2000.

The author of two poetry collections, White Elephants and World Hotel (Copper Canyon Press, 2002), Vazirani was a contributing and advisory editor for Shenandoah, a book review editor for Callaloo, a Henry Hoyns fellow at the University of Virginia where she got her MFA and a senior poetry editor for Catamaran, a journal of South Asian literature. She translated poetry from Urdu and some of her poems were translated into Italian.  As Jane Alberdeston Corlain writes about her work, "For weeks, White Elephants became my ritual; I was immersed, drugged, hypnotized by the arcs of beauty in her text, the wonderfully enigmatic ways she structured a line, a breath."  This new collection is unprecedented and raw, some of the poems written weeks and days before she passed away.  This launch will celebrate her life and work as well as testify to the love of a mother for her daughter.

As Reetika wrote, "I have no end of gratitude for my lucky circumstances, having studied with poets so squarely rooted in the English tradition, and who brought to it influences which are changing the language from their own old and varied traditions."  In Radha Says, the speaker of the poems casts herself in the role of mythic Indian heroine and consort of Krishna, Radha, the epitome of the Indian female.  Yet she explodes the constricting image by modernizing her and giving her all the vestments of a contemporary psychological and aesthetic personality.  These poems sear the mind and offer powerful testimony to the lasting power of myth and the limiting notions of race and gender propagated in this culture.

SOURCE The Editors of Drunken Boat

A fully updated and rewritten third edition of the bestselling original Machiavelli in Brussels, enriched with new facts and figures, lobby cases and findings, and also takes into account the new Treaty of Lisbon.

More Machiavelli in Brussels. The Art of Lobbying the EU

Rinus van Schendelen

More Machiavelli in Brussels is about winning, or at least not losing, one's interest - particu­larly within the EU where countless interest groups from government and civil society try to get the 'honey and money' of desired legislation, subsidies and more. Drawing on research and evidence, Van Schendelen describes how these groups lobby the EU every day and how they can enhance their success by the expertise of 'public affairs management'. Invoking Machiavelli, he emphasizes his three catchwords of success: ambition, study and prudence. Enriched with new facts and figures, lobby cases and findings, the book also takes into account the new Treaty of Lisbon. Inspired by study and many years of practice, this invaluable book cites many new real cases, smart practices and issues of EU lobbying, raising questions about limits of lobbying and contributions to EU democracy.

Rinus van Schendelen is a professor of political science at Erasmus University, Rotterdam in the Netherlands. He trains and advises lobby groups in dealing with the EU.

                    - Fully revised and updated third edition

                       - Translated into several languages

"An accurate description of the engine room... A manual for those who want to exert influence." Former EU Commissioner Frits Bolkestein

"A benchmark not only for lobbying in the EU but around the world as well." Rita Roosevelt, George Washington University

"This original book combines rigorous analysis with an always stimulating perspec­tive... a citation classic." Conor McGrath, Academic Editor of the Journal of Public Affairs

"Actually the best book on the subject in Europe... methodically and academically ex­cellent." Paolo Raffone, Secretary-General of CIPI Foundation in Brussels

"Read this book for success in public affairs." Tom Spencer, founder and director of the European Centre for Public Affairs

                     Published by Amsterdam University Press

         ISBN 978 90 8964 147 2 - Paperback, 384 pages - 7 January 2010
                       EUR 39.90 | $ 49.95 | GBP 29.95

SOURCE Amsterdam University Press

Bestselling author James Patterson's website dedicated to making kids readers for life, ReadKiddoRead.com, is teaming up with EarlyWord.com and Asset-Based Thinking for Teens (ABT) to offer a contest to reward the library that best works to get kids excited about books and reading. The site is offering $2,500 to the librarian with the best idea for a new and inspired reading program plan.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091105/NY05752 )

"Librarians are not a luxury," says Patterson. "They are a necessity. This contest will do a little bit of good, but for the long run, we've got to recognize that our children won't be given any real education without a librarian in their lives."

Many budget cuts across the country's schools have downsized or even completely eliminated school libraries. This contest aims to initiate awareness and ultimately begin to counter the disconcerting trend.

To enter the contest, email your name, address, the name of your library and your job title, and the name of your desired program to info@earlyword.com. Include an outline of your plans for a program to instill a passion for reading in the young people in your community, to run any time between February 1 and May 30, 2010. Be as specific as possible about your plans. Include the number of kids you expect to reach and which other community organizations, if any, you plan to work with. (Note: this can be a program you are already planning.)

Submit your plan by Friday, January 15th, 2010, and a panel of judges will select the top ten best ideas, based on creativity and feasibility. Each of the top ten will receive a Kodak Vid Camera to document their plans and submit them by May 30, 2010.

One grand winner will be selected from the top ten to win $2,500 for their library, as well as a free ABT Teen Seminar. The winner will be announced on June 15, 2010.

Patterson encourages everyone to pass along the contest to their local librarian.

For more information, visit http://www.earlyword.com/mighty-causeread-kiddo-read-teen-program/ or send an email to info@earlyword.com.

About James Patterson

Since his first novel, The Thomas Berryman Number, won the Edgar Award in 1976, James Patterson's books have sold more than 170 million copies worldwide. His Alex Cross series, including Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider, is the most popular detective series of the past twenty-five years. He began writing books for all ages when his son, Jack, didn't exactly love reading, and he took it upon himself to fix the situation if he could. The Maximum Ride and Daniel X series for younger readers have spent more than 200 weeks on national bestseller lists, and a new series entitled Witch & Wizard will be released in December of this year. All three series are in Hollywood development. He writes full-time and lives in Florida with his family.

About ReadKiddoRead.com

James Patterson's ReadKiddoRead.com is a web site designed to help parents, teachers, and librarians ignite the next generation's passion for reading by recommended books carefully chosen for their ability to get kids excited about reading. Complete with age designations, thoughtful book descriptions, author and celebrity interviews (Jeff Kinney, Rick Riordan, Julie Andrews, Lemony Snicket, and more), links to online retailers and more, ReadKiddoRead.com helps make finding a book for a young person easy and, ultimately, rewarding.

About ABT for Teens

ABT for Teens encourages and helps enable youth to find their "Mighty Cause," their passionate beliefs and values that are important to them and to the wider world. Change The Way You See Everything Through Asset-Based Thinking - For TEENS, an interactive book by and for teens, was published in March of 2009. Parenthood.com calls it "an inspiring and motivating book that can help many visual learning adolescents, and even audio adolescents, live an all around happier life."

SOURCE James Patterson's ReadKiddoRead.com

RELATED LINKS
http://www.ReadKiddoRead.com

InterLingua Educational Publishing is pleased to learn that its EngLits iPhone/iPod Touch app has been named a "Best iPhone App" by nine popular technology and education websites in 2009.

EngLits are detailed audio/text summaries of high school and college required reading, such as Hamlet, Macbeth, Pride and Prejudice, and Great Expectations, that can be listened to and/or read on an iPhone/iPod Touch.

Written by university professors and recorded by professional actors, EngLits tells the full story of the book or drama, including all characters and events that are important. By formatting the summaries for iPhone/iPod Touch, listeners can "study" while riding on the bus, jogging, biking, lounging, and even walking the dog.

There are almost 100 titles in the collection, which were selected to cover the gamut of required reading, so students will find EngLits helpful with term papers and exams.

The nine websites that acknowledged the EngLits content include:

• One of 100 Awesome iPhone Apps to Work and Study from the Beach (Online College Reviews)
• One of the Top 20 iPhone Apps for Overwhelmed Students (Phlebotomy Technician Schools)
• A Best iPhone App (Best Iphone Apps Review)
• A Best App (App Beacon)
• One of the Best 100 iPhone/iPod Apps for Educators (iPhonelk)
• One of the Top 50 iPhone Apps for Educators (Online Education Database)
• One of the 100 Apps for Tech–Savvy Teachers (Rasmussen College)
• One of the 100 Best iPhone Apps for Educators (Online Colleges)
• One of the 100 Best iPhone Apps for Personal Development (Job Profiles)

"Obviously, we're quite pleased," says Jack Bernstein, Publisher. "With over a hundred thousand apps out there, it's nice to be recognized, especially by so many popular websites. We put a lot of time and effort into the EngLits app and I'm glad that so many people noticed."

InterLingua Educational Publishing is an online, mobile and hardcopy publisher of kindergarten through college study aids. The company's ENGLITS summaries of required reading are study supplements to high school and college English literature texts.

SOURCE InterLingua Educational Publishing

In his new nonfiction book, "Coping Successfully with Changing Tides and Winds: A Neurosurgeon's Compass" (published by iUniverse), author Dr. Jack Kushner recounts his impressive autobiography as a doctor and financial expert while also recommending some time-proven counsel for surviving as well as succeeding in this rapidly changing economy.

From college as a student of history in Tulane University to a summer in Panama studying tropical medicine at the Gorgas Laboratory to his medical education at George Washington and Michigan and then his volunteer services as a combat surgeon in Vietnam, Dr. Kushner maps out his life story and explains how his principles - preparation, reinvention, adaptability, attitude and motivation - can help readers avoid economic downturn and financial crisis.

With a current administration that is proposing new bills on climate control, healthcare reform and increased taxation, not to mention investments in real estate, stocks and bonds losing their value, Dr. Kushner offers people sound principles in a time when nobody knows where to turn for expert advice. By preparing yourself and adhering to the philosophy outlined in "Coping Successfully with Changing Tides and Winds," you can now learn how to prepare and adapt to an uncertain future.

In short, modern Americans want to feel safe and secure, especially during such a turbulent time in our nation's economy, and with his wealth of experience in founding lucrative businesses and education in finance, Dr. Kushner provides the insight necessary to revaluate your assets and recontextualize change as opportunity. As Dr. Kushner has said, "Most of these ideas came about as the world changed and science improved. And so I tell people, prepare yourself as change occurs and change presents opportunities, which you can take advantage of if you are prepared."

Whether you have to return to work from retirement, have to relocate to an area where there is some type of employment or even modify your career choice in order to get ahead, using Dr. Kushner's practical tips included in "Coping Successfully with Changing Tides and Winds," you'll not only survive job losses and lifestyle changes but thrive during these hard fiscal conditions.

About the Author

Dr. Kushner practiced medicine and neurosurgery for many years. He later returned to the University of Maryland and earned a master's degree in finance and business. He has also taught at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Maryland. He was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame at Oxford University in England last summer. He had practiced neurosurgery in Annapolis and Washington, D.C., for more than 25 years as well. He currently lives in Annapolis, Md., with his wife, Annetta. In addition to "Coping Successfully with Changing Tides and Winds," Dr. Kushner is also the author of "Preparing to Tack: When Physicians Change Careers" and roughly 20 articles in medical journals. He is currently writing a book about the recovery of two universities.

"Coping Successfully with Changing Tides and Winds"

Available from: http://www.iUniverse.com, http://www.bn.com, and http://www.amazon.com

iUniverse is the premier book publisher for emerging, self-published authors. For more information, please visit http://www.iuniverse.com.

    EDITORS: For review copies or interview requests, contact:

    Promotional Services Department
    Tel: 1-800-AUTHORS
    Fax: 812-355-4078
    Email: promotions@iuniverse.com
    (When requesting a review copy, please provide a street address.)

This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE iUniverse

RELATED LINKS
http://www.iuniverse.com

KIEFER SUTHERLAND: Living Dangerously (Transit Publishing; $25.00; January 11, 2010) by celebrity biographer CHRISTOPHER HEARD is an in-depth portrait of Kiefer Sutherland, the man and the actor. The book details how Sutherland's personality and life experiences have added up to make him the perfect Jack Bauer, a man of extremes, on the long-running action-drama-espionage TV series 24.

This brand-new biography follows Sutherland from the highs of his major early successes in The Lost Boys, Young Guns, and Flatliners in the 1980s to the lows of being virtually typecast as a psychotic killer in low-budget direct-to-video films in the late 1990s.

For the first time readers learn the true story of how Sutherland took a break from Hollywood to rope steers on the rodeo circuit and how this actor, who has played so many celluloid cowboys, finally met the real thing -- and how he stacked up.

Author Christopher Heard shows how Sutherland took the raw material of his own life to make Jack Bauer an iconic hero for a post-9/11 world, where fear of terrorism remains widespread -- a world of danger, anxiety, insecurity and uncertainty.

Although 24 has made Sutherland a very rich man, he has continued to behave erratically off-set, engaging in ever more serious exploits which culminated in his having to serve 6 weeks in jail in 2007. With 24 now in its last season, Sutherland is facing a future without Jack Bauer. How will he handle it? Will he build on his success, or will his inner demons bring him down again?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Toronto-based CHRISTOPHER HEARD built his career out of a lifetime passion for the history and culture of film and TV. He had his first screenplay optioned by a major Hollywood studio at age 21. Christopher had a long, Gemini Award-winning stint as a film critic on the CBC program On The Arts. He also served as co-host of the popular syndicated Canadian TV show Reel to Real for nine years. Christopher has written four books on a number of well-known actors and filmmakers, including: Johnny Depp Photo Album (2009), Mickey Rourke: High and Low (2006).

SOURCE Christopher Heard

The L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future contests received an entry this week from Azerbaijan, marking the 150th country from which submissions have been received. Azerbaijan is on the western shore of the Caspian Sea.

The winners of the contest are published yearly in the largest selling anthology in the world, L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, which is published in English.

"The Internet changed everything," Labaqui said, "we've seen the contests expand to dozens of non-English speaking countries in the past 15 years as the Internet grew. This particularly makes our illustrator contest open to any artist on the planet, as you don't have to know English to illustrate."

The yearly winners of the contest not only receive cash prizes, but are also published in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future.

The Writers and Illustrators of the Future contests were created by L. Ron Hubbard 26 years ago as a means of providing the newcomer a chance to have their works seen.  The program has provided that starting point for many careers. 300 writers have seen their name in print over the 26 years of the contests' history.  At last count, there have been over 500 novels, including 7 New York Times bestsellers, and over 3,000 short stories that have been published by contest winners.  In addition to continuing on in the field of speculative fiction, several have gone on to publish in genres such as mystery and romance, to write for TV and motion pictures and to become editors and critics.

If you want to become a writer or illustrator, no matter what genre you wish to become a professional in, this is the contest to enter, no matter where you live.

For more information on the Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests, go to www.writersofthefuture.com.

SOURCE Writers and Illustrators of the Future

RELATED LINKS
http://www.writersofthefuture.com

Brain Drain (ISBN: 0984196307; 978-0984196302) authored by Charles F. Glassman, M.D., FACP, is a powerful new book that teaches people how to break free of their brains' automatic responses through understanding and controlling their mind/body connections.

Brain Drain was patient driven. Five years ago, Dr. Glassman founded the New York Center for Longevity and Wellness – its goal to take a comprehensive approach to medicine and to balance mind/body concepts with conventional medicine. Two years later, he began distributing a weekly, motivational e-mail message to patients and friends; its popularity quickly grew. As a result, he was prompted to turn his practical advice into a book.

The book offers a groundbreaking revelation that provides readers with the necessary tools to stop personal brain drain while helping them to find the things in life that are right for them. It explores many areas that include: how to get out of an unhappy relationship; how to improve overall physical health; how to increase energy; how to break free of bad habits; and much more.

Broken down into 19 chapters and three parts: The Automatic Brain; The Power of Our Mind; and Seven Days to Belief, Brain Drain connects the dots between mind, body, spirit and wellness.

Brain Drain recently won honorable mention at the prestigious New England Book Festival in the non-fiction category. It's 240 pages and available in hard cover for $29.95 on Amazon.com and at: www.CharlesGlassmanMD.com.  

About the Author:

Dr. Charles Glassman's internal medicine practice in Pomona, NY emphasizes wellness and prevention. He is patient focused rather than problem focused; and driven to provide health care rather than sick care.

A Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a member of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, and the Life Extension Foundation, his approach to medicine is integrative – using traditionally-approved methods while recognizing the power of unconventional therapies. He is consistently voted a "Top Doctor" in Hudson Valley Magazine and New York Metro.

Dr. Glassman has appeared on ABC News, Bloomberg Radio, National Public Radio and The Wall Street Journal Radio. He has had numerous health care articles appear in The New York Times and other publications, and is quickly becoming a leading medical community expert on mind/body/spirit concerning the physician-patient relationship.

He lives in Rockland County, New York with his wife Melanie and their four children (and dog, Ginger).

To sign up for a free weekly message newsletter, and for a free sample chapter, visit: www.CharlesGlassmanMD.com .

*(PHOTO 72dpi: Send2Press.com/mediaboom/10-0112-BrainDrain_72dpi.jpg)

*(Photo Caption: Cover, "Brain Drain.")

This release was issued on behalf of the above organization by Send2Press(R), a unit of Neotrope(R). http://www.Send2Press.com

SOURCE Charles F. Glassman, MD

RELATED LINKS
http://www.CharlesGlassmanMD.com

NewsRx, a 25-year-old publisher and international news organization headquartered in Atlanta, has published a new encyclopedia on breast cancer -- Encyclopedia of Breast Cancer, 2009:  An encyK Resource for Patients & Professionals. More information is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8DY6j_kjA0 or at http://www.youtube.com/NewsRxTV

Encyclopedia of Breast Cancer, 2009:  An encyK Resource for Patients & Professionals is a comprehensive compendium of reports on the epidemiology, treatment, and research of breast cancer. It contains up-to-date information on drug developments and clinical trials.  Articles from leading breast cancer researchers at Harvard University, Yale University, the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, the National Institutes of Health and other leading laboratories provide information on the latest discoveries in the field.

encyK is a new kind of encyclopedia, developed for patients, physicians and parents who need comprehensive health and medical information.  A full listing of encyK products can be found at www.encyk.com  together with sample chapters, tables of content, and explanatory video.  encyK encyclopedias are sold through Amazon.com, assuring users of a speedy delivery and guaranteed quality. Find the encyK breast cancer encyclopedia at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0982285973?ie=UTF8&tag=newmednew-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0982285973

Surveys of internet use show that almost one-third of all users online each day gather information about their health. Patients want to educate themselves and explore treatment options. Physicians want to stay current on drug research and clinical trials. Parents want to make sure they're making the right choices for their children.

But no one, least of all busy physicians and working parents, or patients in the day-to-day struggle against disease, has the time or the expertise to gather all or even most of the right information that will increase their understanding.

That's where encyK comes in. encyK stands for encyclopedic knowledge, the kind of comprehensive help that will put patients in charge of their health, keep physicians updated, and let parents guide the course of their children's treatments with confidence. Our editors have done the research for you, filtering the available data for importance, then presenting it in relevant chapters.

encyK arms users with the who, what, when and where, so it's easy to find and contact research centers, universities, hospitals, drug companies and other organizations doing clinical trials and treatment.

Now with a portfolio of 194 titles, NewsRx is one of the largest content companies in the world.  Popular brands and successful franchises extend to internet and online services, streaming video, mobile devices, and branded products.

Each month, over three million readers globally view and download NewsRx articles and publications online. NewsRx was named 2009 Best e-Business Site by eHealthcare Leadership Awards, and Google ranked www.NewsRx.com as No. 2 Among Top Health News and Media Publications for 2009.

This release was issued through WebWire(R). For more information visit http://www.webwire.com.

SOURCE NewsRx

RELATED LINKS
http://www.NewsRx.com

The offices of billionaire real estate developers, media moguls, Democratic Presidential hopefuls, Fortune 500 CEO's are just a few of the people that Entrepreneur Anthony Von Mickle has made direct contact with because of the effectiveness of the High Impact Presentation DVD.    When you need time and attention from the nation's most successful people, this tool will show you how to make it happen.

(Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100112/PH36751 )

Entrepreneur, investor  and award winning author Anthony "Von" Mickle has spent many years networking with highly effective and successful people and has come to understand that many more people can live a life filled with substantially more success than they currently have.  When sharp minded people present their plans to average minded people, the results are minimized but when presented to powerful business leaders those same ideas can reach record breaking success.  Why?  Highly successful people don't confine their thinking to a box.  The world's most successful people are generally not much smarter than you are but they are stellar at knowing who can make their ideas thrive.

Here are just a few of my results:

"You have to continue to impress people like you did me." - Billionaire Media Mogul

"We've never seen anything like this." - Presidential Candidate's staff

"How can we work together?" – National Sports League Front Office

The High Impact Presentation DVD is a revolutionary way for you to use the same tools that you find on your average desktop and turn them into powerful keys to unlock the doors of the world's richest and most successful as Anthony Von Mickle have done.  

If you think Big, you act Big, if you act Big, you look Big, if you look Big, you feel Big, If you feel Big, you are Big!  Don't let another year of success escape because you didn't have the right connections.  Discover what millions know, thousands think about but only a few execute when it comes to implementing a winning strategy that will get you in front of the people you need to do business with. Let this $39, one hour DVD show you the way.  Call (703) 593-6424 or log on to www.vonzforum.com/hip.html and get your DVD today!  Your success is waiting.  

The High Impact Presentation Tool DVD will be presented by The Investment Forum at the Western Business Education Conference (WBEA) in the Circus Circus hotel in Reno, NV on February 12-15th.  For information on the presentation times, please check the WBEA website at www.wbea.com or visit The Investment Forum's website at www.vonzforum.com.  

About The Investment Forum

Anthony Von Mickle created The Investment Forum to be a leader in providing forums for unbiased real estate and equity investments in Washington, DC.  He is an expert on various investments and authored Real Estate for Real People, a book that illustrates how he turned an $8 an hour part-time job into a $3 million dollar real estate portfolio.  

SOURCE The Investment Forum

RELATED LINKS
http://www.vonzforum.com

Headsprout®, a Seattle-based education technology company whose mission is to be a major force in eliminating illiteracy, today announces the launch of the first of its kind critical thinking program, Headsprout Reading Comprehension. The online program was offered to school districts nationwide starting October 5, 2009 and beginning January 11, 2010, parents can purchase the program at www.headsprout.com, for their kids to use right in the comfort of their own homes. Headsprout Reading Comprehension, an adaptive, online reading comprehension program, teaches children ages 7+ how to comprehend what they read and master critical thinking skills in only 25 hours of online instruction.

"Headsprout has found the most effective way to teach reading comprehension to children and we are excited to offer the Headsprout Reading Comprehension for home use to parents and their children for the first time beginning today," says Dave Anderson, CEO of Headsprout. "Headsprout's research-based new program does more than just provide practice answering reading comprehension questions; it also provides explicit instruction in reading comprehension strategies that students can apply to read for meaning across all subject areas in school. Headsprout Reading Comprehension will help children learn the skills and strategies necessary to be successful in high-stakes state reading comprehension exams while developing higher order thinking skills that will last a lifetime. Our program accomplishes all of this while still being a fun, engaging experience for your child!"

Headsprout Reading Comprehension includes:

• 50, 30-minute online lessons teach children strategies to master the four main components of comprehension:
  • Finding facts
  • Making inferences
  • Identifying themes and the "main idea"
  • Learning vocabulary in context
• A proprietary vocabulary acquisition system that makes learning new vocabulary fast and easy.
• Individualized, adaptive instruction, not just practice answering questions, as children are actually taught how to comprehend and the reason for learning comprehension.
• Increasing passage complexity as the program progresses to include more complex sentences and longer passages, more answer choices and more variation in questions. Passages and vocabulary teach a variety of subjects and include: tables of contents, headings, maps, and measurement: scales, rulers and charts.
• Automated progress reports that show what your child is learning.

Headsprout launched its award-winning first program, Headsprout® Early Reading, in 2001 and it is currently used in school districts in every state. The scientific development process undertaken in designing Headsprout Early Reading tested the program with hundreds of beginning readers, one at a time. If the children did not meet the established learning objectives, the program was revised and re-tested until each student met the objectives. Headsprout Reading Comprehension was similarly scientifically developed and tested with a wide range of learners, from high performing to struggling children.

About Headsprout

Headsprout was founded in 1999 by a team who has spent the last 30 years improving education for young children. Headsprout's mission is to be a major force in helping eliminate illiteracy in young children in this country, by making its patented instructional technology, the Sprout Learning Technology, available for children everywhere via Internet-delivered instruction. Headsprout is a privately held company based in Seattle, WA. For more information about Headsprout, please visit www.headsprout.com.

www.facebook.com/headsprout

www.twitter.com/headsprout

SOURCE Headsprout

RELATED LINKS
http://www.headsprout.com

A.N. Group, LLC has announced the acquisition of the intellectual property rights to The Rook, the popular graphic story series created by W.B. DuBay and Budd Lewis.

A.N. Group, LLC, a Native American-owned firm and a recent entry in the exploding field of media property rights acquisitions, is pleased to announce its intent to bring this classic time-traveling hero from the pages of comics and print to television, film and gaming.

The Rook, also known as Restin Dane, is a descendant of the time traveling scientist from H.G. Wells' classic novella, "The Time Machine."

The Master of Time finds himself alongside iconic figures of history and legend when his exploits take him from the eras of long-lost lore to the fantastic and infinite possibilities of futures yet to unfold.

Time traveler, chess master and a man of science, romance and courage, The Rook fights to right history's wrongs while exploring his own fascinating historical roots and saving those he loves from the ravages of time.

"Every man, woman and child has wondered, and even desired, to travel through time to change certain courses of events in their life," explains David Steinberg, A.N. Group Vice-President in charge of development. "The Rook is a compelling figure to whom everyone can relate through imaginative tales of fantasy, love and loss."

The Rook may find himself seeking audience with Alexander the Great one moment and working alongside Sherlock Holmes to catch Jack the Ripper the next. The series contains all the ingredients for great film, TV and gaming.

"This is an inexhaustible cache of classic, yet still fresh material for expansion and downloadable content," claims Steinberg. "It makes The Rook an ideal platform for virtually all media, both new and emerging."

For more information on The Rook or licensing information, Mr. Steinberg can be reached at 866-686-7254.

This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE A.N. Group, LLC

In her new book, "I Never Had a Golden Spoon" (published by iUniverse), Veda Pickett Neal, the daughter of legendary R&B singer Wilson Pickett ("In the Midnight Hour," "Mustang Sally"), shares her story of creating harmony out of the discord in her life.

"Despite my connections with fame, as the daughter of one of the greatest soul singers of all time, this is not a book about the high life and fortune," explains the author. "It is instead a story of survival."

Even as her father was recording chart-topping hits, Pickett Neal says she often struggled to survive. In the book, she recounts how her father drifted in and out of her and her mother's lives, and how later she found her way through an abusive marriage and poverty, among other hardships.

"It doesn't matter your background - you can be rich or poor... (yet) you are going to make some bad choices in life," she says. "But you can learn from them or fail from them. The choice is yours to become successful."

She continues, "This is the story of how I made it, on my own, with the love of my children, Kentica and Kyra, and my husband, William Dernell Neal. This is a story of faith, because it is my enduring faith in Jesus Christ that gave me the strength, the courage, and the guidance to survive and to find my way - to Him, and to peace, and even back to my father." Wilson Pickett died of a heart attack January 19, 2006.

About the Author

Veda Pickett Neal is a graduate of Cambridge Business College, although the author says that working with children is her true passion. She has worked as a preschool teacher's assistant and also as children's minister at Word of Faith International Christian Center of Southfield, Mich., where she attended Layman's Bible School. Pickett Neal continued her education at Grand Rapids Community College, specializing in youth services, before she moved to Colorado to help start Copeland's Gym, a program for at-risk youth. She currently continues her service efforts by fighting child pornography on the Internet. This is her first book.

"I Never Had a Golden Spoon"

Available from: http://www.iUniverse.com, http://www.bn.com, and http://www.amazon.com

iUniverse is the premier book publisher for emerging, self-published authors. For more information, please visit http://www.iuniverse.com.

This release was issued through eReleases(TM).  For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE iUniverse

RELATED LINKS
http://www.iuniverse.com

Does your "honey" prefer a candlelit dinner to watching the Big Game? Does she suggest a night at the movies instead of your favorite scrimmage? And do you come up short every time she asks you why?

Finally, help can be found at SportsOrRomance.com, a go-to site created by devoted football fan Pete Walters. A happily married guy, who also has a passion for football, Pete feels your pain. His mind went blank every time his football widow asked why he preferred football to romance.

"At one point," says Walters, "she actually asked me what's better about going to a cold football stadium rather than a warm restaurant. I was speechless. Since my only answer was 'Duh...,' I was trapped into a romantic (and expensive) evening -- and NO football. I knew I had to do something."

So he put 50 logical reasons in an eBook that shows why football is his  #1 draft pick of the season. Available as a download, Pete's reasons will convince even the most skeptical spouse. AND his cartoons are "dead-on!"

Here are a few of Pete's reasons why a guy might pick football over romance (as shown on the YouTube video on SportsOrRomance.com).

• If you don't shave before the game, no one complains.
• On each play in football, everyone agrees on what to do. (Real important, don't ya think?)
• If there are decisions to be made, football decisions are much easier to make. (Definitely!)
• If you're the quarterback, you get to call the plays.

Super Bowl Special

For more ammunition, arm yourself with Pete's eBook, containing 50 perfectly logical reasons why it makes sense to watch the upcoming football game ...and have that romantic dinner later. Football fans who download Pete's eBook before the 2010 Super Bowl can get it at the discounted price of $3.95 (including the self-installing eReader).

About Sports Or Romance

Founded in Dec. 2009, SportsOrRomance.com offers football loving Americans a humor-laced eBook with 50 reasons why football is better than romance -- at least during football season!

This release was issued through eReleases(TM).  For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE Sports Or Romance

RELATED LINKS
http://www.sportsorromance.com

She called the recession in January of 2008, saving countless nest eggs. Her hit rate of featuring winning stocks in 2008 and 2009 was 84%. Winning calls include gold, clean energy, biotechnology and to jettison housing, auto manufacturing and Las Vegas (beginning as early as 2005). Wall Street's rock star is an outsider who has been kicking assets on the grey suits for more than a decade now. And her new paperback, You vs. Wall Street (Vanguard Press, a member of The Perseus Books Group, $15.95, Trade Paperback), outlines her strategies for success, which have earned the endorsements of University of Chicago/Nobel Prize winning economist Dr. Gary Becker and TD AMERITRADE Chairman Joe Moglia.

Pace started out calling the DOT COM bust and has been outperforming the street ever since with her ezine at NataliePace.com. But her goal isn't to make Americans day traders. According to author N.W. Pace, "Buy and Hold doesn't work anymore. It hasn't worked for the last decade. Diversification and annual rebalancing are easy as a pie chart and work in bull and bear markets. You must limit your exposure to the bailouts and profit from hot, new industries, like search and iPhones, instead of blindly checking off boxes in your 401(k)."

You vs. Wall Street (Vanguard Press, a member of The Perseus Books Group, $15.95, Trade Paperback) teaches individuals and money managers, Pace's trademarked Thrive Budget, easy as a pie chart nest eggs and "Stocks on Steroids" strategies, featuring her 3-ingredient Recipe for Cooking up profits, Four Easy Questions for Picking Winning Stocks, Top 10 Signs the CEO is Rolling in Your Dough and more. So who is Pace and why is she challenging the iconic investment strategy of Warren Buffett?

• Her most important 911 Alerts include warning investors to avoid Fannie Mae in 2003, trim GM out of the nest egg in 2004, housing was poised to fall in 2005 and to avoid Lehman Bros. in 2006, though the company was still receiving top ratings
• As a #1 ranked stock picker, she picked Google at the IPO, Taser International before it went on to earn 9000% gains, Opsware (15X gains), U.S. Gold (over 580% gains) and much more!

Endorsements

Readers say You vs. Wall Street is a "must-read financial bible" and over half give the book a 5-star ranking. Success Magazine writes, "Provides almost foolproof methods for growing wealth."

"Nobody cares more about your money than you do. Natalie does a terrific job of explaining how and why you should be taking more responsibility for your own financial well being."

--Joe Moglia, Chairman, TD AMERITRADE.

"Many people, including educated men and women, often get into trouble when they neglect to follow simple and fundamental rules of the type provided in this book. This is why I recommend it with enthusiasm."

--Dr. Gary S. Becker, 1992 Nobel Prize in Economics, Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, Professor, Graduate School of Business, The University of Chicago

About Natalie Pace

Natalie Pace is the author of You vs. Wall Street, and the founder of Women's Investment Network, LLC. She hosted her own CEO Q&A series on the Forbes.com Video Network and has appeared on CNBC, Fox News, Good Morning America, CNN, Time Magazine, More Magazine, USA Today, NPR and national radio shows. A strong believer in charity, Natalie has helped to raise and distribute over two million dollars for education, the arts and financial literacy. For more information, please visit NataliePace.com. You can also catch Natalie's past On-Air and Live appearances on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/NataliePaceDOTCOM

You vs. Wall Street by Natalie Pace

Vanguard Press, a member of The Perseus Books Group, $15.95, Trade Paperback

To schedule an interview or on-air appearance, contact: (866) 476-7442

SOURCE Vanguard Press, a member of The Perseus Books Group

RELATED LINKS
http://www.NataliePace.com

The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the American Council of the Blind (ACB), and Arizona State University (ASU), today announced a settlement agreement resolving litigation filed by NFB and ACB against the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) and ASU. The lawsuit arose from the university's participation in a pilot program using the Kindle DX, a dedicated device for reading electronic books, or e-books, developed by Amazon.com, Inc. The NFB and ACB alleged that the Kindle DX was inaccessible to blind students and thus violated federal law. ABOR and ASU denied and continue to deny any violations of the law.

The settlement agreement among the parties was reached in light of several factors, including: (1) ASU's commitment to providing access to all programs and facilities for students with disabilities, including students who are blind or have low vision; (2) the fact that the pilot program will end in the Spring of 2010; (3) Amazon and others are making improvements to and progress in the accessibility of e-book readers; and (4) the university's agreement that should ASU deploy e-book readers in future classes over the next two years, it will strive to use devices that are accessible to the blind.

The United States Department of Justice is also a party to the agreement, which does not involve the payment of any damages or attorney's fees or costs.

Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: "The National Federation of the Blind is pleased with this settlement, which we believe will help to ensure that new technologies create new opportunities for blind students rather than new barriers."

Mitch Pomerantz, President of the American Council of the Blind, expressed support by commenting: "I believe this settlement between Arizona State University and the two major national consumer-advocacy organizations of blind and visually impaired persons will encourage the industry to develop fully accessible e-book readers in the near future."

SOURCE National Federation of the Blind

RELATED LINKS
http://www.nfb.org

Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) and Twentieth Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising (Fox Licensing), announced today the February 9, 2010 release of Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief for the Nintendo DS(TM). Based on the first title in Rick Riordan's best-selling book series and the highly anticipated film from 20th Century Fox, the tactical role-playing game puts players in command of Percy Jackson and his fellow demigods as they battle for survival in a contemporary world ruled by powerful Greek gods. Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief arrives in theaters everywhere February 12, 2010.

"The Percy Jackson book series has been on the New York Times Best Seller list for more than 125 weeks and the Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief film adaptation is one of the most buzzed about movies for 2010," said David Oxford, Activision Publishing. "We're honored to work on such a hot property, building on the elements that fans love, to create a fantastic video game that can be played on the go."

"Chris Columbus has made a great film that is very true to the fantastic stories in the book series," said Gary Rosenfeld, Senior Vice President of New Media Licensing for Fox Licensing. "We needed a partner that could take this vision and translate it into a great and most importantly - fun - game for all the fans. Activision has certainly delivered."

"The film is so action-packed that a video game is a natural extension," added director Chris Columbus. "Activision has been the ideal partner to bring the movie to life in yet another thrilling way."

Players in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief will adventure across America in search of Zeus' master lightning bolt while assembling their best fighting team to go head-to-head against ruthless enemies. Joining Percy are his friends Annabeth and Grover, and plenty more allies each with "godly" abilities and battle advantages. Planning which team member to take into battle is key to survival - certain combinations of characters boost their effectiveness.

Based upon the first novel in author Rick Riordan's best-selling book series, Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief is set in a modern world where the twelve gods of Mount Olympus are alive, Percy Jackson, the teenage son of Poseidon, is suspected by Zeus of stealing his lightning bolt, the universe's most powerful weapon. Percy must prove his innocence, save his mother, and avoid a devastating war among the gods.

For more information please visit www.activision.com.

About 20th Century Fox

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation is a unit of Fox Filmed Entertainment (FFE) - both subsidiaries of News Corporation. As one of the world's largest producers and distributors of motion pictures, Fox Filmed Entertainment produces, acquires and distributes motion pictures throughout the world. These motion pictures are produced or acquired by the following units of FFE: Twentieth Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox International and Twentieth Century Fox Animation.

About Fox Licensing & Merchandising

A recognized industry leader, Twentieth Century Fox Licensing and Merchandising licenses and markets properties worldwide on behalf of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Twentieth Television and Fox Broadcasting Company, as well as third-party lines. The division is aligned with Twentieth Century Fox Television, one of the top suppliers of primetime entertainment programming to the broadcast networks.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan and South Korea. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activision.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Activision Publishing generally uses words such as "outlook", "will," "could," "would," "might," "remains," "to be," "plans," "believes", "may", "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "estimate," future," "plan," "positioned," "potential," "project," "remain," "scheduled," "set to," "subject to," "upcoming" and similar expressions to help identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales of Activision Publishing's titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, Activision Publishing's ability to predict consumer preferences among competing hardware platforms (including next-generation hardware), declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Activision Publishing's products, adoption rate and availability of new hardware and related software, industry competition, rapid changes in technology and industry standards, protection of proprietary rights, litigation against Activision Publishing, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, vendors and third-party developers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates, integration of recent acquisitions and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities, Activision Blizzard's success in integrating the operations of Activision Publishing and Vivendi Games in a timely manner, or at all, and the combined company's ability to realize the anticipated benefits and synergies of the transaction to the extent, or in the timeframe, anticipated. Other such factors include additional risk factors identified in Activision Blizzard's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

©2009 Activision Publishing, Inc. Activision is a registered trademark of Activision Publishing, Inc. Nintendo DS is a trademark of Nintendo. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

    CONTACT
    Amanda Young
    212 213 2451 ext 227
    Amanda@sandboxstrat.com

SOURCE Activision Publishing, Inc.

RELATED LINKS
http://www.activision.com

Spring Design and Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) today announced an agreement in principle to feature the upcoming Borders eBook store powered by Kobo on the new dual display Alex(TM) eReader later this year. The agreement in principle follows a recent announcement that Borders will launch a new eBook store on Borders.com as well as Borders-branded mobile eBook applications, powered by Kobo. The new Borders-branded eBook store will offer more than two million titles.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060208/BORDERSGRPLOGO )

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100107/DE33869LOGO)

"The combination of Borders' leadership in the book industry and Spring Design's innovation and experience in consumer electronics will create a world class service for eBook readers," said Dr. Priscilla Lu, chief executive officer of Spring Design. "This partnership delivers one of the critical foundations of our business growth going forward," Lu added.

"Our agreement with Spring Design represents another step in our digital strategy, which continues to focus on offering book lovers - including our more than 35 million Borders Rewards loyalty program members - high quality content on the device of their choosing," said Borders Group Chief Executive Officer Ron Marshall. "We look forward to bringing a world class eBook experience to Alex users."

About Spring Design:

Spring Design Inc., founded in 2006, designs and delivers eReader products to the e-book market. Alex is the first eBook with full function browser capabilities on Android with dual screen, interactive multi-media eReader. It offers a hyper link publishing tool, "Link Notes" that links eBook text to related video, audio, notes or web addresses. Spring Design Inc. is located in Fremont, Calif. with engineering offices in Taiwan and China. Spring Design's innovative patented technologies incorporate the seamless interaction of dual display and multi-online access in a single device, benefiting and leveraging the technology and resources of the Web to enhance the reading experience. For more information please see www.springdesign.com .

About Borders Group:

Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) is a leading specialty retailer of books as well as other educational and entertainment items. The company employs approximately 25,000 throughout the U.S., primarily in its Borders® and Waldenbooks® stores. Online shopping is offered through borders.com. Find author interviews and vibrant discussions of the products we and our customers are passionate about online at facebook.com/borders, twitter.com/borders and youtube.com/bordersmedia. For more information about the company, visit borders.com/media.

About Kobo, Inc.:

Kobo is a global eReading service backed by majority shareholder Indigo Books & Music, Borders Group, REDgroup Retail, and Cheung Kong Holdings. Kobo believes consumers should be able to read any book on any device. With a catalog of over two million eBooks, and an open platform, Kobo enables retailers, device manufacturers and mobile operators to bring the joy of eReading to customers everywhere. For more information, visit www.kobobooks.com.

Borders Group Safe Harbor Statement:

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. One can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "expect," "plan," "look forward," "possibility," "opportunity," "goal," "will," "may," "intend," "anticipates" and other words of similar meaning. One can also identify them by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements are likely to address matters such as the company's future financial condition and performance (including earnings per share, the profitability of Waldenbooks, liquidity, sales, inventory levels and capital expenditures), its cost reduction initiatives and plans for store closings and the expansion of product categories, as well as the timing of the launch of the Borders-branded eBook store and mobile application and the completion of the contemplated transactions with Spring Design and the benefits thereof. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and plans to differ materially from those included in the company's forward-looking statements.

These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, consumer demand for the company's products, particularly during the holiday season, which is believed to be related to general economic and geopolitical conditions, competition and other factors; the availability of adequate capital--including vendor credit--to fund the company's operations and to carry out its strategic plans; adverse litigation results or other claims and the performance of the company's information technology systems.

The company's periodic reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission contain more detailed discussions of these and other risk factors that could cause actual results and plans to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements, and those discussions are incorporated herein by reference. The company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Borders Group; Spring Design

RELATED LINKS
http://www.borders.com/media

Bestselling author James Patterson's website dedicated to making kids readers for life, ReadKiddoRead.com, is teaming up with EarlyWord.com and Asset-Based Thinking for Teens (ABT) to offer a contest to reward the library that best works to get kids excited about books and reading. The site is offering $2,500 to the librarian with the best idea for a new and inspired reading program plan.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091105/NY05752 )

"Librarians are not a luxury," says Patterson. "They are a necessity. This contest will do a little bit of good, but for the long run, we've got to recognize that our children won't be given any real education without a librarian in their lives."

Many budget cuts across the country's schools have downsized or even completely eliminated school libraries. This contest aims to initiate awareness and ultimately begin to counter the disconcerting trend.

To enter the contest, email your name, address, the name of your library and your job title, and the name of your desired program to info@earlyword.com. Include an outline of your plans for a program to instill a passion for reading in the young people in your community, to run any time between February 1 and May 30, 2010. Be as specific as possible about your plans. Include the number of kids you expect to reach and which other community organizations, if any, you plan to work with. (Note: this can be a program you are already planning.)

Submit your plan by Friday, January 15th, 2010, and a panel of judges will select the top ten best ideas, based on creativity and feasibility. Each of the top ten will receive a Kodak Vid Camera to document their plans and submit them by May 30, 2010.

One grand winner will be selected from the top ten to win $2,500 for their library, as well as a free ABT Teen Seminar. The winner will be announced on June 15, 2010.

Patterson encourages everyone to pass along the contest to their local librarian.

For more information, visit http://www.earlyword.com/mighty-causeread-kiddo-read-teen-program/ or send an email to info@earlyword.com.

About James Patterson

Since his first novel, The Thomas Berryman Number, won the Edgar Award in 1976, James Patterson's books have sold more than 170 million copies worldwide. His Alex Cross series, including Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider, is the most popular detective series of the past twenty-five years. He began writing books for all ages when his son, Jack, didn't exactly love reading, and he took it upon himself to fix the situation if he could. The Maximum Ride and Daniel X series for younger readers have spent more than 200 weeks on national bestseller lists, and a new series entitled Witch & Wizard will be released in December of this year. All three series are in Hollywood development. He writes full-time and lives in Florida with his family.

About ReadKiddoRead.com

James Patterson's ReadKiddoRead.com is a web site designed to help parents, teachers, and librarians ignite the next generation's passion for reading by recommended books carefully chosen for their ability to get kids excited about reading. Complete with age designations, thoughtful book descriptions, author and celebrity interviews (Jeff Kinney, Rick Riordan, Julie Andrews, Lemony Snicket, and more), links to online retailers and more, ReadKiddoRead.com helps make finding a book for a young person easy and, ultimately, rewarding.

About ABT for Teens

ABT for Teens encourages and helps enable youth to find their "Mighty Cause," their passionate beliefs and values that are important to them and to the wider world. Change The Way You See Everything Through Asset-Based Thinking - For TEENS, an interactive book by and for teens, was published in March of 2009. Parenthood.com calls it "an inspiring and motivating book that can help many visual learning adolescents, and even audio adolescents, live an all around happier life."

SOURCE James Patterson's ReadKiddoRead.com

RELATED LINKS
http://www.ReadKiddoRead.com

Whitman Publishing, LLC, publishers of the popular College Football Vault series, will release "The University of Alabama National Championship Football Vault," the company announced today. The book will retail for $49.95 and is available for pre-order today -- while quantities last -- at book retailers, WhitmanBooks.com and CollegeVaultBooks.com.

The Vault chronicles the complete story of the Crimson Tide's 13th National Championship including the exciting victory over The University of Texas in the stadium where Alabama won its first national title 84 years ago.

The 144-page keepsake edition takes you through each of the games in the 2008 and 2009 season that together represent 'Bama's return to national prominence under head coach Nick Saban.

It will also be available at Books-A-Million, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, and Barnes & Noble, as well as other book outlets.

Produced in collaboration with the University of Alabama Athletic Department, the National Championship Vault includes full-color action photographs, recaps, statistics and memorabilia from the school's archives. Tucked away in sleeves and pockets throughout the book are amazing replicas waiting to be discovered by Tide fans everywhere, including game tickets and program covers from each game.

All of this and more await you in The University of Alabama National Championship Football Vault.

Atlanta-based Whitman Publishing are innovative publishers of antique, collectible and sports publications -- on the Web at WhitmanBooks.com.

SOURCE Whitman Publishing, LLC

RELATED LINKS
http://www.WhitmanBooks.com

Whitman Publishing, LLC, publishers of the popular College Football Vault series, will release "The University of Alabama National Championship Football Vault," the company announced today. The book will retail for $49.95 and is available for pre-order today -- while quantities last -- at book retailers, WhitmanBooks.com and CollegeVaultBooks.com.

The Vault chronicles the complete story of the Crimson Tide's 13th National Championship including the exciting victory over The University of Texas in the stadium where Alabama won its first national title 84 years ago.

The 144-page keepsake edition takes you through each of the games in the 2008 and 2009 season that together represent 'Bama's return to national prominence under head coach Nick Saban.

It will also be available at Books-A-Million, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, and Barnes & Noble, as well as other book outlets.

Produced in collaboration with the University of Alabama Athletic Department, the National Championship Vault includes full-color action photographs, recaps, statistics and memorabilia from the school's archives. Tucked away in sleeves and pockets throughout the book are amazing replicas waiting to be discovered by Tide fans everywhere, including game tickets and program covers from each game.

All of this and more await you in The University of Alabama National Championship Football Vault.

Atlanta-based Whitman Publishing are innovative publishers of antique, collectible and sports publications -- on the Web at WhitmanBooks.com.

SOURCE Whitman Publishing, LLC

RELATED LINKS
http://www.WhitmanBooks.com

In his new nonfiction book, "Coping Successfully with Changing Tides and Winds: A Neurosurgeon's Compass" (published by iUniverse), author Dr. Jack Kushner recounts his impressive autobiography as a doctor and financial expert while also recommending some time-proven counsel for surviving as well as succeeding in this rapidly changing economy.

From college as a student of history in Tulane University to a summer in Panama studying tropical medicine at the Gorgas Laboratory to his medical education at George Washington and Michigan and then his volunteer services as a combat surgeon in Vietnam, Dr. Kushner maps out his life story and explains how his principles - preparation, reinvention, adaptability, attitude and motivation - can help readers avoid economic downturn and financial crisis.

With a current administration that is proposing new bills on climate control, healthcare reform and increased taxation, not to mention investments in real estate, stocks and bonds losing their value, Dr. Kushner offers people sound principles in a time when nobody knows where to turn for expert advice. By preparing yourself and adhering to the philosophy outlined in "Coping Successfully with Changing Tides and Winds," you can now learn how to prepare and adapt to an uncertain future.

In short, modern Americans want to feel safe and secure, especially during such a turbulent time in our nation's economy, and with his wealth of experience in founding lucrative businesses and education in finance, Dr. Kushner provides the insight necessary to revaluate your assets and recontextualize change as opportunity. As Dr. Kushner has said, "Most of these ideas came about as the world changed and science improved. And so I tell people, prepare yourself as change occurs and change presents opportunities, which you can take advantage of if you are prepared."

Whether you have to return to work from retirement, have to relocate to an area where there is some type of employment or even modify your career choice in order to get ahead, using Dr. Kushner's practical tips included in "Coping Successfully with Changing Tides and Winds," you'll not only survive job losses and lifestyle changes but thrive during these hard fiscal conditions.

About the Author

Dr. Kushner practiced medicine and neurosurgery for many years. He later returned to the University of Maryland and earned a master's degree in finance and business. He has also taught at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Maryland. He was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame at Oxford University in England last summer. He had practiced neurosurgery in Annapolis and Washington, D.C., for more than 25 years as well. He currently lives in Annapolis, Md., with his wife, Annetta. In addition to "Coping Successfully with Changing Tides and Winds," Dr. Kushner is also the author of "Preparing to Tack: When Physicians Change Careers" and roughly 20 articles in medical journals. He is currently writing a book about the recovery of two universities.

"Coping Successfully with Changing Tides and Winds"

Available from: http://www.iUniverse.com, http://www.bn.com, and http://www.amazon.com

iUniverse is the premier book publisher for emerging, self-published authors. For more information, please visit http://www.iuniverse.com.

    EDITORS: For review copies or interview requests, contact:

    Promotional Services Department
    Tel: 1-800-AUTHORS
    Fax: 812-355-4078
    Email: promotions@iuniverse.com
    (When requesting a review copy, please provide a street address.)

This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE iUniverse

RELATED LINKS
http://www.iuniverse.com

In her new nonfiction biography, "True North: A Flickering Soul in No Man's Land; Knut Utstein Kloster, Father of the $20-Billion-a-Year Modern Cruise Industry" (published by iUniverse), author Stephanie Gallagher finally reveals the astounding accomplishments and the revolutionary principles of entrepreneur, humanitarian and environmentalist Knut Utstein Kloster -- no-nonsense lessons that have changed business today.

Now readers can follow the inspiring career of Kloster and learn about the present implications of the modern cruise industry he himself built. Indeed, Kloster has always been an extraordinary man, one far ahead of his time, evidenced by his groundbreaking business strategies and his lifelong commitment to the global concerns of our generation. Creative capitalism, global poverty, world health, energy shortage, climate crisis, sustainable development and peace agendas may now appear in the news and get mentioned in board meetings, but Kloster has been actively involved and supportive of these initiatives since the early 1960s.

For example, in support of the earliest initiatives aimed at improving the environment and promoting the concepts of sustainable development, Kloster launched a Green Clean Global Village(C) Initiative in order to explore just a few ways of reversing the enormous damage caused by marine pollution while also offering safe and sound solutions to the global energy crisis, endeavoring to create a zero-emission, wholly energy efficient, environmentally benign vessel at sea and village ashore.

Endorsed by former President Finnbogadottir of Iceland (1980 to 1996), the first elected female president in the world, Stephan Schmidheiny, founder and honorary chairman of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, and Helen Delich Bentley, former chairman of the United States Federal Maritime Commission and former 5-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives, "True North" not only educates readers about socially responsible enterprises that value all stakeholders through the life of Kloster, but it also restores our connection with and faith in civilization.

About the Author

As a director and officer of World City Foundation, Inc., Gallagher has collaborated with Knut Utstein Kloster and the late chairman and CEO John S. Rogers at World City America, Inc., in order to write "True North," her first official publication. Gallagher was also involved in the Phoenix project (outlined in chapter four, Come, Let Us Build Us a City) and the American Flagship project (outlined in chapter five, Hands across the Sea). Furthermore, she worked with Kloster and Rogers on the GAIA to Rio project (outlined in chapter six, Listening to Gaia). Gallagher has been married to Charles Gallagher for more than 40 years, and they currently live with their Lhasa Apso, Treasure, in Pelham Manor, N.Y., a short commute to Manhattan, where the World City Foundation's offices are located. She also has three grown stepchildren named Blake, Megan and Peter.

"True North -- A Flickering Soul in No Man's Land"

Available from: http://www.iUniverse.com, http://www.bn.com, and http://www.amazon.com.

iUniverse is the premier book publisher for emerging, self-published authors. For more information, please visit http://www.iuniverse.com.

    EDITORS: For review copies or interview requests, contact:
    Promotional Services Department
    Tel: 1-800-AUTHORS
    Fax: 812-355-4078
    Email: promotions@iuniverse.com
    (When requesting a review copy, please provide a street address.)

This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE iUniverse

RELATED LINKS
http://www.iuniverse.com

Economists are looking to 2010 to be a better year financially, but just because Wall Street is improving, that doesn't mean things are better on Main Street. Most Americans are still looking for ways to live more on less money.

Author Leah Ingram's new book, Suddenly Frugal: How to Live Happier and Healthier for Less offers 10 ways consumers can save $10,000 or more in 2010.

1. Change your thinking about buying a car. In the market for a new car? Buy used instead of buying new or even leasing. Sure, Cash for Clunkers incentives are long gone, but consider this: according to Edmunds.com, the first-year cost of owning a used car is nearly $5,000 cheaper than owning a new car -- and this isn't even taking sticker price into consideration. Keep that used car for five years or more, and savings jump to a whopping $14,000.

2. Find cheaper ways to be beautiful. A recent New York Times articles said that home hair-coloring kit sales were up 20 percent in 2009 -- no surprise since more people are pampering at home. But consumers who like using a salon for their hair services might not have considered visiting a local beauty school instead. There, consumers can get their hair cut, colored and styled for less than $20. While students are doing all the work, their supervisors are always standing nearby to inspect.

3. Rethink your phone plan. Many people pay their monthly phone bill without giving much thought to how much they're spending. Ingram used to, until she discovered that if her family bundled their phone with their cable and Internet service, they would save $600 a year.

4. Look for "found" money. According to Coinstar the average American home has $90 of spare change in it. That's enough to buy a decent amount of groceries, if shoppers take the time to collect it and cash it in. Speaking of groceries, many supermarkets offer a bag credit when consumers take a reusable bag. That savings may only add up to five cents a bag, but like the old saying goes, you have to count your pennies before you can count your dollars.

5. Create a gift card wallet. The National Retail Federation says Americans spent almost $24 billion on gift cards this past holiday season, and chances are consumers received quite a few as gifts themselves. But will they actually get around to spending them? That's why Ingram suggests creating a gift card wallet that consumers can bring with them whenever they go shopping.

6. Rethink how you do laundry. The average family spends up to $600 annually just to heat their water. By switching to cold-water only washes, consumers can save on their energy bills big time. Here's another money saver: consumers can make their own laundry detergent. Don't worry -- it doesn't require a degree in chemistry! With just three ingredients found in the supermarket laundry aisle, this DIY laundry soap lets the cost of doing laundry drop to pennies, and considering most moms do about 400 loads of laundry a year, that can add up to big-time savings.

7. Get cash for your old electronics. While it's great to recycle electronics and keep them out of landfills, it's even better to recycle them and get cash back. When consumers need a new printer, computer or even a TV, they should wait for when stores will give $20 cash back or even $200 towards the purchase of a new piece of equipment. Additionally, consumers can send their old cell phones, PDAs and MP3 players to Gazelle.com to earn free store gift cards.

8. Grow a garden. Consumers don't need a huge tract of land to start a vegetable garden. Even tomatoes can grow on a terrace. Some surveys suggest that growing vegetables at home can save a family $2,000 a year in grocery spending.

9. Start drinking tap water. Believe it or not, Americans spends between $500 and $3,000 a year on bottled water -- water that they could get for free from the tap. With a couple of stainless-steel or BPA-free plastic water bottles, consumers can quench their thirst for years to come without spending a dime.

10. Work backwards when you shop for groceries. It's one thing for shoppers to say, "I won't spend more than $100 on groceries this week," only to discover at the checkout counter that they've spent way more than that. That's why Ingram grocery shops with a calculator. She starts at the number she wants to spend, and then subtracts backwards as she places things in her shopping cart. When she reaches zero, she's done. This saves Ingram from being embarrassed in the checkout line when she needs to put things back to stay on budget, but more importantly it saves her money.

For more ideas on how to save money, check out Leah Ingram's new book Suddenly Frugal: How to Live Happier and Healthier for Less (Adams Media, 2010).

SOURCE Adams Media

RELATED LINKS
http://www.adamsmedia.com

Whitman Publishing, LLC, publishers of the popular College Football Vault series, will release "The University of Alabama National Championship Football Vault," the company announced today. The book will retail for $49.95 and is available for pre-order today -- while quantities last -- at book retailers, WhitmanBooks.com and CollegeVaultBooks.com.

The Vault chronicles the complete story of the Crimson Tide's 13th National Championship including the exciting victory over The University of Texas in the stadium where Alabama won its first national title 84 years ago.

The 144-page keepsake edition takes you through each of the games in the 2008 and 2009 season that together represent 'Bama's return to national prominence under head coach Nick Saban.

It will also be available at Books-A-Million, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, and Barnes & Noble, as well as other book outlets.

Produced in collaboration with the University of Alabama Athletic Department, the National Championship Vault includes full-color action photographs, recaps, statistics and memorabilia from the school's archives. Tucked away in sleeves and pockets throughout the book are amazing replicas waiting to be discovered by Tide fans everywhere, including game tickets and program covers from each game.

All of this and more await you in The University of Alabama National Championship Football Vault.

Atlanta-based Whitman Publishing are innovative publishers of antique, collectible and sports publications -- on the Web at WhitmanBooks.com.

SOURCE Whitman Publishing, LLC

RELATED LINKS
http://www.WhitmanBooks.com

With 2009 recognized as a watershed year in the evolution of the eBook market, manufacturers and developers are racing to meet consumer demands in this emerging segment. Answering the call for differentiated devices, Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN) today unveiled an OMAP(TM) 3 processor-based eBook development platform to help manufacturers and developers rapidly deploy their endless ideas to launch new, innovative eBook readers into consumers' hands. Touting a sleek electrophoretic display, TI's comprehensive platform includes the new OMAP3621 applications processor, WiLink(TM) 6.0 WiFi/Bluetooth®/FM "combo" connectivity solution, the new TPS6518x electronic paper display (EPD) power management IC, along with other TI analog solutions, and 3G modem connectivity support. See www.ti.com/ebookplatformpr for more details.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100107/DA33237)

Driving new eBook experiences with TI's OMAP processor technology

The eBook development platform leverages TI's proven high-performance, low-power, 45nm OMAP 3 processor family which provides a robust, multitasking environment to simultaneously support applications which exercise the CPU, multimedia and graphics engines. The OMAP3621 processor will allow users to read their favorite eBook on an electrophoretic display, while simultaneously scanning the web on a second display for their next purchase. The processor boasts a high performance ARM® Cortex(TM)-A8 CPU integrated with Imagination POWERVR3D graphics acceleration, and TI's proven C64x+DSP technology for multimedia acceleration. The OMAP3621 processor delivers an optimized peripheral set in a 12mmx12mm, 0.5mm ball pitch package with low power DDR memory support. The solution's smaller footprint enables sleek consumer designs while also delivering power and performance metrics that will change how consumers use eBooks in the future. The processor also provides added flexibility with its programmable architecture design. Leveraging the programmability of the OMAP platform enables customers to further differentiate their devices and stand out in the marketplace, giving their devices a unique look and feel.

Unique software-based display controller reduces footprint and cost

TI has employed a DSP-based software display controller, which drives E Ink's Vizplex® electrophoretic display on the eBook development platform to further streamline eBook product development. By implementing the display controller on the DSP, the Cortex-A8 can be used to its full potential, delivering an outstanding user experience. This software controller approach reduces the total silicon footprint by more than 200mm2 as well as provides savings on overall hardware cost. TI's overall system solution eliminates the need for:

• Typical hardware EPD controller;
• Dedicated external flash memory to store waveforms;
• Dedicated SDRAM memory for the frame buffer; and
• External temperature sensor by embedding it into TI's TPS6518x display power management IC

Optimized power management extends usability of eBook platform

TI's highly-optimized solutions are designed to fully address the needs of power-sensitive consumer device markets -- from eBooks to smartphones -- where battery life is just as critical as high performance. For example, TI's eBook development platform will allow more than 14,800 page turns on a six-inch E Ink screen using a slim 600mAh battery, representing a 50 percent improvement over similar solutions in the market today. With this in mind, consumers could read a 500-page book approximately 20 times on a single battery charge. Additionally, TI has optimized its connectivity solutions to run in a power conscious environment. The WiLink 6.0 solution uses an innovative low-power scanning architecture that continuously scans for available WLAN access points without impacting battery life. TI's system-level power optimization also extends idle times, allowing an eBook device to last nearly four weeks without needing to recharge.

"We are excited about the potential of the eBook market and how TI's technologies simplify eBook product design and enhance the overall user experience," said Elie Belmand, General Manager of TI's mobile consumer business. "Today, we are working with more than ten leading eBook OEM and ODMs to bring compelling, new eBook devices to store shelves in 2010. Our eBook platform provides a comprehensive and solid foundation to allow these manufacturers to shorten their product development cycle times while delivering innovative devices that will 'wow' consumers and help propel the eBook market forward."

Key features and benefits of TI's eBook development platform

            Features                               Benefits
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Proven digital and        -- ARM Cortex-A8-based 45nm OMAP3621 processor
    analog technology            with optimized peripheral set and small
    from TI inside               footprint enables sleek consumer designs
                                 and delivers unmatched performance with
                                 minimal power consumption
                              -- Flexible, programmable architecture design
                                 enabling differentiation
                              -- WiLink 6.0 solution integrates Bluetooth(R),
                                 FM and WLAN technologies in a single-chip,
                                 reducing costs and size; advanced coexistence
                                 algorithms enables simultaneous Bluetooth(R)
                                 audio and WLAN data downloading; mobile
                                 industry's first to support 802.11n
                              -- New single-chip TPS6518x electronic paper
                                 display power management IC, with integrated
                                 display panel temperature sensor and unique
                                 ability to automate the setting of the VCOM
                                 voltage via I2C interface
                              -- Comprehensive hardware offering also includes
                                 full reference schematics and design layout
                                 files that reduces customer integration
                                 efforts and speeds up time-to-market
                              -- 3G modem support, 3 axis accelerometers, and
                                 other key TI power management and analog
                                 components included
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Support for various       -- Addresses multiple electronic display
    display screens and          technologies, including electrophoretic,
    technologies, several        electromechanical, electrowetting and thin
    dual-screen eBook            film transistor liquid crystal displays
    configurations, and       -- Supports dual screen designs, allowing
    range of eBook file          readers to view primary text in one screen
    formats                      and supplementary text, like footnotes,
                                 in the second
                              -- Enables a strong multitasking environment, as
                                 well as enhanced, innovative and smooth user
                                 interface support through 3D graphics
                                 acceleration
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Delivers complete         -- Supports Linux and Android operating systems
    software foundation       -- Hardware device drivers
                              -- Optimized power management
                              -- Software display controller
                              -- WLAN, Bluetooth and FM drivers
                              -- "Out of the box" connectivity through
                                 pre-validated use-cases and drivers optimized
                                 for power and throughput
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Portable form factor      -- Battery powered platform replicates a
                                 real-world eBook reader environment
                              -- Portable design supports all typical eBook
                                 display sizes
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Supports new and          -- OMAP platform delivers support for advanced
    unique use cases             multimedia features including EPD and
                                 color screens, as well as high quality video
                                 as future eBook designs advance
                              -- Feature rich, text-to-speech (TTS) capability
                              -- FM transmit allows user to stream audio eBook
                                 or TTS to car radio while driving
                              -- FM receive allows user to listen to radio
                                 while reading
                              -- Bluetooth enables user to stream audio eBook
                                 or radio to Bluetooth headset or car radio
                                 while driving

Availability

The OMAP3621 processor, designed for high-volume consumer electronics OEMs and ODMs, is currently sampling. The eBook development platform is available today for high-volume eBook manufacturers. These solutions are not available through distributors. Samples of the TPS6518x can be ordered via www.ti.com/tps65180-pr. Volume production is expected in the first quarter.

Find out more about the eBook Development Platform by visiting the links below:

• eBook Development Platform: www.ti.com/ebookplatformpr
• eBook Block Diagram: www.ti.com/ebookblockdiagram
• TPS6518x: www.ti.com/tps65180-pr
• Images: www.ti.com/ebookimages
• Videos of eBook Development Platform: www.ti.com/ebookvideo

TI's eBook development platform drives partner successes

"We have been impressed by the speed and commitment of TI's team in the development of their disruptive eBook solution. On top of a deep understanding of the specific aspects and requirements of an eBook reading device, TI with its development platform would allow us to build an eBook device in only few months," said Michael Dahan, co-founder, BooKeen

"Texas Instruments has been a longstanding strategic partner for us. We have benefitted from TI's technology leadership and partnership program in building the next-generation content experience on our eReader devices," said Gopal Krishnan, Chairman, Ninestars Information Technologies Limited

"We are excited by the promise of TI's technology and the innovation it will drive in the ePaper market," said Sriram Peruvemba, Vice President of Marketing at E Ink. "Our mutual customers in the eBook market will benefit from enhanced features, greater flexibility, reduced component count and lower system costs."

"By working closely with TI we are able to deliver a compact and robust platform," said Dr. CT Liu, AUO's Senior Vice President and General Manager of Consumer Product Display Business Group, who is also the Chairman of SiPix Imaging Inc. "This reference design will enable our customers to deliver highly integrated system boards with competitive prices."

"As we embark on new advancements in the display technology market, the LiquaVista team is thrilled to work with TI to bring bright, colorful full video images to eReaders and other mobile devices," said Guy Demuynck, CEO, LiquaVista. "TI's unique eBook development platform and OMAP 3 processors, combined with our innovative display capabilities, will introduce a whole new level of functional freedom for consumers across the world."

"Through collaboration with TI, Loquendo fully optimized its renowned Embedded TTS and ASR technologies for TI's eBook development platform," said Silvio Nasi, Embedded Sales Director, Loquendo. "This platform provides the perfect framework for advanced multimedia features that our multilingual TTS and ASR technologies bring powerfully to life on eBook devices, by means of expressive voices and large-vocabulary speech recognition."

"Sensitive Object is excited by the opportunity to collaborate with TI to bring our acoustic innovative touch technology to new markets. Working together allows us to leverage TI's market expertise and position to further extend our disruptive acoustic touch technology into various end equipments, ranging from mobile to consumer products," Philippe Gounine, chief sales officer, Sensitive Object.

About Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) helps customers solve problems and develop new electronics that make the world smarter, healthier, safer, greener and more fun. A global semiconductor company, TI innovates through manufacturing, design and sales operations in more than 30 countries. For more information, go to www.ti.com.

Trademarks

OMAP and WiLink are trademarks of Texas Instruments Inc. All other registered trademarks and trademarks belong to their respective owners.

TXN-P

SOURCE Texas Instruments Incorporated

RELATED LINKS
http://www.ti.com

Spring Design and Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) today announced an agreement in principle to feature the upcoming Borders eBook store powered by Kobo on the new dual display Alex(TM) eReader later this year. The agreement in principle follows a recent announcement that Borders will launch a new eBook store on Borders.com as well as Borders-branded mobile eBook applications, powered by Kobo. The new Borders-branded eBook store will offer more than two million titles.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060208/BORDERSGRPLOGO )

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100107/DE33869LOGO)

"The combination of Borders' leadership in the book industry and Spring Design's innovation and experience in consumer electronics will create a world class service for eBook readers," said Dr. Priscilla Lu, chief executive officer of Spring Design. "This partnership delivers one of the critical foundations of our business growth going forward," Lu added.

"Our agreement with Spring Design represents another step in our digital strategy, which continues to focus on offering book lovers - including our more than 35 million Borders Rewards loyalty program members - high quality content on the device of their choosing," said Borders Group Chief Executive Officer Ron Marshall. "We look forward to bringing a world class eBook experience to Alex users."

About Spring Design:

Spring Design Inc., founded in 2006, designs and delivers eReader products to the e-book market. Alex is the first eBook with full function browser capabilities on Android with dual screen, interactive multi-media eReader. It offers a hyper link publishing tool, "Link Notes" that links eBook text to related video, audio, notes or web addresses. Spring Design Inc. is located in Fremont, Calif. with engineering offices in Taiwan and China. Spring Design's innovative patented technologies incorporate the seamless interaction of dual display and multi-online access in a single device, benefiting and leveraging the technology and resources of the Web to enhance the reading experience. For more information please see www.springdesign.com .

About Borders Group:

Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) is a leading specialty retailer of books as well as other educational and entertainment items. The company employs approximately 25,000 throughout the U.S., primarily in its Borders® and Waldenbooks® stores. Online shopping is offered through borders.com. Find author interviews and vibrant discussions of the products we and our customers are passionate about online at facebook.com/borders, twitter.com/borders and youtube.com/bordersmedia. For more information about the company, visit borders.com/media.

About Kobo, Inc.:

Kobo is a global eReading service backed by majority shareholder Indigo Books & Music, Borders Group, REDgroup Retail, and Cheung Kong Holdings. Kobo believes consumers should be able to read any book on any device. With a catalog of over two million eBooks, and an open platform, Kobo enables retailers, device manufacturers and mobile operators to bring the joy of eReading to customers everywhere. For more information, visit www.kobobooks.com.

Borders Group Safe Harbor Statement:

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. One can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "expect," "plan," "look forward," "possibility," "opportunity," "goal," "will," "may," "intend," "anticipates" and other words of similar meaning. One can also identify them by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements are likely to address matters such as the company's future financial condition and performance (including earnings per share, the profitability of Waldenbooks, liquidity, sales, inventory levels and capital expenditures), its cost reduction initiatives and plans for store closings and the expansion of product categories, as well as the timing of the launch of the Borders-branded eBook store and mobile application and the completion of the contemplated transactions with Spring Design and the benefits thereof. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and plans to differ materially from those included in the company's forward-looking statements.

These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, consumer demand for the company's products, particularly during the holiday season, which is believed to be related to general economic and geopolitical conditions, competition and other factors; the availability of adequate capital--including vendor credit--to fund the company's operations and to carry out its strategic plans; adverse litigation results or other claims and the performance of the company's information technology systems.

The company's periodic reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission contain more detailed discussions of these and other risk factors that could cause actual results and plans to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements, and those discussions are incorporated herein by reference. The company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Borders Group; Spring Design

RELATED LINKS
http://www.borders.com/media

The LOS ANGELES COMIC BOOK AND SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION features the DIRECTORS and STARS of two new supernatural themed movies, "LEGION" and "THE GRAVES" at the SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2010 event. Appearing in Person for Sony Pictures "LEGION" will be Director SCOTT STEWART and Stars TYRESE GIBSON (Transformers), ADRIANNE PALICKI (Friday Night Lights), and DOUG JONES (Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Abe Sapien in the Hellboy Movies). The LEGION Presentation starts at 12:00 P.M. and will feature film clips, question and answer session, and free LEGION give-aways courtesy of Sony Pictures.

BRIAN PULIDO, the Creator of CHAOS! Comics characters Lady Death, Evil Ernie, and Purgatori, writes, directs, and produces his first full length horror film "THE GRAVES." BRIAN will appear on stage at 2:00 P.M. with Stars TONY TODD (Candyman), BILL MOSELEY (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Army of Darkness), and CLARE GRANT and JILLIAN MURRAY (starring as THE GRAVES sisters) to preview scenes from THE GRAVES courtesy of After Dark Films.

The LOS ANGELES COMIC BOOK AND SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION also features over 100 exhibitor tables full of Old and New Comic Books, Toys, Graphic Novels, Movie Memorabilia, Trading Cards, and much more available for purchase. The event will be held at the Shrine Auditorium Expo Center, 700 West 32nd Street, in Los Angeles, across from USC College. Show hours are 10:00 A.M.-5:00 P.M. Regular Admission is $8.00, five years and under are free. Premium Admission is $20.00. Check the website at www.comicbookscifi.com for more information on the program, give-aways, and exclusive items, or call (818) 954-8432.

SOURCE LOS ANGELES COMIC BOOK AND SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION

RELATED LINKS
http://www.comicbookscifi.com

Dr. Siegal's Direct Nutritionals, LLC, the global distributor of Dr. Siegal's COOKIE DIET® brand products, today announced that, beginning Friday, Walgreens.com will begin offering all five flavors of Dr. Sanford Siegal's hunger-controlling beverage shake mixes, and Dr. Siegal's Cookie Diet Book: How a Doctor and His Cookie Helped 500,000 People Lose Weight Fast (2009, Hyde Park Publishing Ltd., 320 pages, ISBN 978-0-9822728-3-19999). Walgreens.com already carries all five flavors of Dr. Siegal's COOKIE DIET® brand cookies.

"Walgreens.com is now the only web site besides CookieDiet.com to carry all flavors of Dr. Siegal's Cookie Diet cookies and shake mixes, and Dr. Siegal's latest book," said Matthew Siegal, president and CEO of Dr. Siegal's Direct Nutritionals, LLC. "Now, whether dieters prefer to keep their hunger in check with a food or beverage that contains no drugs, Walgreens.com and CookieDiet.com are the places to look online."

Physician, author, and weight-loss expert Sanford Siegal, D.O., M.D., developed the concept of a diet based on a hunger-controlling food in the early 1970s while writing a book about substances in food that are particularly satisfying of hunger. Based on his research, he engineered a formula to curb hunger and enable his patients to stick to the low-calorie diet that he advocates. After a few years of experimentation in his family's kitchen, Dr. Siegal developed a particular mixture of amino acids that resulted from the combination of certain food substances. He baked his formula into a cookie and gave it to a few patients. Dr. Siegal's COOKIE DIET® was an overnight success. Shortly thereafter, he created his shake mixes which, when added to water and ice in a blender, produce a cool, hunger-controlling beverage. By the mid-1980s, his Miami-based medical practice had grown to include 14 clinics and he was supplying his cookies and shakes to hundreds of other physicians throughout North America.

"Of course, the concept of a beverage to satisfy hunger and help someone stick to their diet isn't new. I created my shakes, for example, several decades ago," said Dr. Siegal. "But having my shakes, cookies, and latest book all available at Walgreens.com, one of the most popular shopping web sites, makes them more accessible than ever."

In 2007, Dr. Siegal began offering his cookies, shake beverage mixes, and other products through web site www.CookieDiet.com (which has more than 116,000 members) and retail stores.

Dr. Siegal's Cookie Diet Book was published in June 2009. In addition to Walgreens.com, the book is available at Amazon.com, BN.com, Barnes & Noble stores, and independent booksellers.

ABOUT DR. SIEGAL'S COOKIE DIET®

Dr. Siegal's COOKIE DIET® is a 35 year old, profitable, 100% debt-free, family-owned business comprising several companies with corporate locations in the Miami, Florida, and Washington, DC, metro areas. Under license from Dr. Siegal's SM Licensing Corporation, Dr. Siegal's Direct Nutritionals, LLC operates the web site CookieDiet.com (116,000 members) and distributes products directly to consumers and resellers including GNC, Walgreens, and Samsclub.com.

    Media Relations:

     Dr. Siegal's COOKIE DIET (CookieDiet.com)
     877-377-4342 (North America)
     703-677-8068 (Elsewhere)

SOURCE Dr. Siegal's COOKIE DIET (CookieDiet.com)

RELATED LINKS
http://www.CookieDiet.com

Victims of cheaters have a new tool to help them move on from their damaged relationships. A new website, Superrevenge.com (http://www.superrevenge.com/), offers unique, affordable counseling opportunities for scorned women and men who were the casualties of cheating partners.

Superrevenge.com was founded by George Lemieux, author of the soon-to-be-released book Why Men Cheat. By divulging relationship secrets on how to teach cheaters a lesson, Superrevenge.com helps clients stop hurting and start being normal again.

Lemieux's idea for this service came about when a friend went through a crushing divorce and was having a hard time getting back on her feet.

"I was shocked to see how hard my friend took the event, and I wanted to help other women overcome this difficult time in their lives," says Lemieux.

Superrevenge.com offers telephone counseling services to women and men who have been cheated on by boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives, and domestic partners, giving them the tools they need to get the "ultimate revenge." The initial fee for Superrevenge.com is much cheaper than most marriage counseling services or psychologist's therapy sessions.

After the 30-minute phone call session, clients will feel healthier, more beautiful, have a clearer mind, and start feeling normal again, says Lemieux. By helping customers feel less worried, Superrevenge.com information services may also help alleviate health and well-being issues that can be brought on by severe emotional trauma and stress.

While Superrevenge.com does offer a discounted rate for repeat phone calls, many customers do not return after their initial session because they received such useful information on how to get the ultimate revenge and move on with their lives.

The company prides itself on speedy services: Clients will be contacted within 24 hours of paying the fee for a 30-minute session. If the phone call goes longer than 30 minutes, the client will not be charged more than the initial fee.

Privacy is very important to Superrevenge.com, so Lemieux does not share clients' personal success stories of how they got revenge on the website.

About Superrevenge.com

The innovative advice information company Superrevenge.com (http://www.superrevenge.com/) was founded by George Lemieux, author of Why Men Cheat. The book will be available January 22, 2010 on Amazon.com. Superrevenge.com helps victims of infidelity get stronger, smarter, and move on from their heartache by finding out how to get the "ultimate revenge."

    Contact:

    George Lemieux
    630-812-8889
    questions@superrevenge.com

This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE Superrevenge.com

RELATED LINKS
http://www.superrevenge.com

Hardly a week goes by without some sort of unethical behavior making national headlines. Whether it is a media hoax about a boy in a balloon or a Ponzi scheme of the highest caliber, unethical behavior has -- sadly -- become expected? Dr. Robert Hoyk, is a Clinical Psychologist and primary author of "THE ETHICAL EXECUTIVE: Becoming Aware of the Root Causes of Unethical Behavior: 45 Psychological Traps that Every One of Us Falls Prey To" (Stanford University Press). Hoyk analyzes treacherous situations from Enron to Jonestown and personal scenarios throughout THE ETHICAL EXECUTIVE. "He is a remarkable source to help us understand the 'Why' of these dilemmas and any new ones that are likely to present themselves." Hoyk's analysis of the recent indictment of Raj Rajaratnam for insider trading explains this further:

Rajaratnam founded the Galleon Group in 1997. Galleon became a success when its analysts were privy to early, selective market information such as corporate earnings. With the new Regulation Fair Disclosure rules of 2000, Galleon could no longer obtain selective market information legally. But getting the banned information remained a prime tactic of Galleon. And pressure was severe on traders to get it. Traders who didn't make the grade were rebuked or fired.

It's likely that Galleon was caught in five psychological traps:

Trap 13: "Don't Make Waves": Galleon became a success by obtaining early, selective market information. This strategy became a norm of the company and like an automatic pilot led Galleon down the path of corruption.

Trap 11: Conformity: Traders who were against the insider trading or newly hired traders were likely to follow what the group was doing.

Trap 12: Conformity Pressure: Traders who didn't follow the norm or what the group was doing were rebuked or fired.

Trap 24: Desensitization: The more Rajaratnam and his traders committed insider trading the more their guilt decreased. Over time, with repeated exposure, people emotionally habituate to any type of distress--including guilt. You commit a transgression once, it engenders guilt; you commit the transgression again and again, your guilt is deadened.

Trap 37: Doing Is Believing: Frequently, we observe our own behavior. In so doing, we influence our attitudes about our actions. If we choose to act unethically, the act itself will shape our beliefs

and attitudes about our transgression. To some degree we will begin to see the transgression as more acceptable. As Rajaratnam and his traders committed insider trading they automatically began to view their transgressions in a less negative way.

More information: www.theethicalexecutive.com .

*(PHOTO 72dpi: Send2Press.com/mediaboom/10-0104-Ethical_72dpi.jpg)

*(Caption: Cover of book, "THE ETHICAL EXECUTIVE.")

This release was issued on behalf of the above organization by Send2Press(R), a unit of Neotrope(R). http://www.Send2Press.com

SOURCE Robert Hoyk, PhD

RELATED LINKS
http://www.theethicalexecutive.com

David M. Walker, president and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, will speak about his new book, "Comeback America: Turning the Country Around and Restoring Fiscal Responsibility," at a National Press Club Newsmakers press conference at 10 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 11, in the Zenger Room, 13th floor, National Press Building, 529 14th St., N.W., Washington, DC .

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080917/NPCLOGO)

Walker, who served as U.S. comptroller general and head of the Government Accountability Office from 1998 to 2008, will discuss the long-term risks to the U.S. economy from the burgeoning federal deficits and dependence on foreign lenders. He will then offer his own solutions, proposing reforms of Social Security, health care spending, defense spending, taxation, international trade policy and election law. The publication of "Comeback America" comes just ahead of President Obama's State of the Union address and his budget submission for Fiscal Year 2011.

Copies of Walker's book will be available for purchase and signing for $26. Proceeds benefit the Eric Friedheim National Journalism Library, and no outside books are permitted.

SOURCE National Press Club

Victims of cheaters have a new tool to help them move on from their damaged relationships. A new website, Superrevenge.com (http://www.superrevenge.com/), offers unique, affordable counseling opportunities for scorned women and men who were the casualties of cheating partners.

Superrevenge.com was founded by George Lemieux, author of the soon-to-be-released book Why Men Cheat. By divulging relationship secrets on how to teach cheaters a lesson, Superrevenge.com helps clients stop hurting and start being normal again.

Lemieux's idea for this service came about when a friend went through a crushing divorce and was having a hard time getting back on her feet.

"I was shocked to see how hard my friend took the event, and I wanted to help other women overcome this difficult time in their lives," says Lemieux.

Superrevenge.com offers telephone counseling services to women and men who have been cheated on by boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives, and domestic partners, giving them the tools they need to get the "ultimate revenge." The initial fee for Superrevenge.com is much cheaper than most marriage counseling services or psychologist's therapy sessions.

After the 30-minute phone call session, clients will feel healthier, more beautiful, have a clearer mind, and start feeling normal again, says Lemieux. By helping customers feel less worried, Superrevenge.com information services may also help alleviate health and well-being issues that can be brought on by severe emotional trauma and stress.

While Superrevenge.com does offer a discounted rate for repeat phone calls, many customers do not return after their initial session because they received such useful information on how to get the ultimate revenge and move on with their lives.

The company prides itself on speedy services: Clients will be contacted within 24 hours of paying the fee for a 30-minute session. If the phone call goes longer than 30 minutes, the client will not be charged more than the initial fee.

Privacy is very important to Superrevenge.com, so Lemieux does not share clients' personal success stories of how they got revenge on the website.

About Superrevenge.com

The innovative advice information company Superrevenge.com (http://www.superrevenge.com/) was founded by George Lemieux, author of Why Men Cheat. The book will be available January 22, 2010 on Amazon.com. Superrevenge.com helps victims of infidelity get stronger, smarter, and move on from their heartache by finding out how to get the "ultimate revenge."

    Contact:

    George Lemieux
    630-812-8889
    questions@superrevenge.com

This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE Superrevenge.com

RELATED LINKS
http://www.superrevenge.com

Shoe-obsessed Chloe Rose has just landed her dream job. But can this sweet and innocent Jersey Girl survive in the cut-throat New York fashion magazine industry? "She's Got Issues" (published by iUniverse), by Stephanie Lessing, will remind readers that sometimes dreams do come true.

As Chloe prepares to join the ranks of fashion editors at an uptown magazine, her decidedly downtown sister Zoe tries to warn her of the snake pit she is about to enter. Chloe is undeterred, however, and spurred on by her passion for her work, manages to bumble her way to the top.

Chloe's fairy tale advancement reads a bit like a modern-day Cinderella story, complete with her very own prince/Editor-in-Chief, Daniel Princely, the owner of the magazine. He is the quintessential New York man: rich, elegant and powerful. The breath of fresh air Chloe brings has him completely mesmerized.

Of course, every fairy tale must have a wicked character, and in this story her name is Ruth Davis, Chloe's boss. Selfish, mean, insecure and unhappy with the way her own career has turned out, Ruth does everything she can to sabotage Chloe. Ruth is also comically insane, spending most of her days nibbling on her lipstick and trying to sue the company without losing her buzz.

"She's Got Issues" is smart and empowering but above all, funny. Women will appreciate Chloe's kindness, passion to succeed and ability to reach the top without selling her soul. For women everywhere, she represents the girl who wants it all: a job she loves, the ideal man, and of course, the perfect pair of shoes.

About the Author

Stephanie Lessing is the former Promotion Copy Chief to Mademoiselle magazine and freelance promotion writer for Vogue, Glamour, Vanity Fair and Self. She is also the author of "Miss Understanding" and is currently at work on a Young Adult novel. She lives in New Jersey and Boca Raton, Fla., with her husband and two children. For more information, please visit http://www.stephanielessing.com.

"She's Got Issues"

Available from: http://www.iUniverse.com, http://www.bn.com, and http://www.amazon.com

iUniverse is the premier book publisher for emerging, self-published authors. For more information, please visit http://www.iuniverse.com.

    EDITORS: For review copies or interview requests, contact:

    Promotional Services Department
    Tel: 1-800-AUTHORS
    Fax: 812-355-4078
    Email: promotions@iuniverse.com
    (When requesting a review copy, please provide a street address.)

This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE iUniverse

RELATED LINKS
http://www.iuniverse.com

The globally-recognized authority on record breaking achievements Guinness World Records, today announced the availability of the best resource for video game records, facts, trivia and new developments, with the Guinness World Records 2010 Gamer's Edition. Gamer's Edition 2010 will be sold and distributed globally by BradyGames providing a larger breadth of distribution to both traditional book retailers and specialist gaming stores from January 4th for $14.99 in the U.S. and 21st of January for 15.00 pounds Sterling in the UK.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100104/NY31409 )

The third book in the series Gamer's Edition 2010 provides a comprehensive guide to record-breaking video games on all consoles and features the Most Popular Video Game Series of All Time as voted by 13,000 visitors to the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition website. Gamer's Edition 2010 describes the attributes that likely influenced gamers to select Bungie's first person shooter Halo over second placed Legend of Zelda as "great video game design: an iconic character, excellent level design, perfect controls and unparalleled multiplayer options." Modern video game series Call of Duty and Guitar Hero also appear on the list ahead of many classics including Super Mario Brothers and World of Warcraft.

Described by critics as the "Video Game Bible," Gamer's Edition 2010 features interviews with key figures in the industry (including Shigero Miyamoto, creator of Donkey Kong and Nintendo Wii) and a broad range of content from classic arcade games to new developments in technology that will shape the future of gaming. Unique to this year's book are spreads on many of the best selling games of 2009 including Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, The Beatles: Rock Band, Assassin's Creed II, Halo 3 ODST, New Super Mario Bros. and Madden NFL 10. Popular features in every edition include the Twin Galaxies high scores charts that allows gamers to see how they compare with the best in the gaming world and a guide on How to become a Guinness World Record-Breaker.

Compiled and edited by the renowned Guinness World Records editorial team, 2010 Gamer's Edition features more than 600 updated video game world records. New Guinness World Record highlights include the Best Selling Video Game Series of All Time (Super Mario Bros series sold more than 201 million copies across all genres); The Highest Grossing Video Arcade of All Time (NBA Jam which earned over $1 billion in its first year of release) and the Longest Time Spent Playing an MMORPG (Sara Lhadi spent 16,799 hours playing Runescape between November 2004 and October 2009 - this averages out at 9 hours 20 minutes of play every day!)

The book's new layout and design presents the book's contents more clearly so the vast amount of information is even easier to enjoy. Departing from the game-by-game structure of the last two books, the new approach covers the world of gaming by genre and sub-genre, enabling the book editors to pick only the strongest and most relevant records in each topic area.

Guinness World Records Gaming Editor, Gaz Deaves, says: "With huge game releases, big announcements and long-standing records broken, this year has been great for gaming. The Gamer's Edition 2010 is all about what's great in videogames right now, and gamers of all ages and abilities will find something amazing in the new book, from the casual to the ultra-hardcore."

To celebrate the US release of the book, New York City will play host to Guinness World Record holder for the youngest professional gamer, Lil' Poison (11- year - old Victor De Leon), as he embarks on a two-day media tour and challenges other gaming gurus to 1-on-1 games during the week of January 18th.

About Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records is the universally recognized authority on record-breaking achievement. First published in 1955, the annual Guinness World Records book is published in more than 100 countries and 25 languages and is one of the highest-selling books under copyright of all time with more than 3 million copies sold annually across the globe. Guinness World Records celebrated its 50th anniversary edition in 2004, a year after the sale of its 100 millionth copy. Guinness World Records also annually publishes the Gamer's Edition; a records book devoted solely to the world of computer gaming and high score record achievements. The Guinness World Records website (www.guinnessworldrecords.com) receives more than 11 million visitors a year. Guinness World Records is part of the Jim Pattison Group, one of Canada's largest privately owned companies which is a conglomerate of interests, including advertising, broadcasting, grocery stores and automotive retailing.

About BradyGames:

Headquartered in Indianapolis, BradyGames develops high quality video game strategy guides. The company also produces high-end exclusive Signature Series and Limited Edition guides for leading PC and video game titles. The ultimate online source for video game strategy, BradyGames.com, features BradyGames news, strategy guide updates, video strategy, Strategy E-Guides, walkthroughs and more. BradyGames is an imprint of Dorling Kindersley (DK) within the Penguin division of Pearson plc ( PSO).

SOURCE Guinness World Records

RELATED LINKS
www.guinnessworldrecords.com

With the UK phenom Susan Boyle, from the Britain's Got Talent show, first album topping the charts this holiday season for three weeks running, articles and interviews still abound on what makes us root for the newcomer. And while perhaps there is no one correct answer, it is a fact that people love to see talented "unknowns" become successful "knowns" as has also been observed in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests (now in their 26th year), noted Joni Labaqui, the Contests' director.

"In recent difficult times, there has been a marked increase in submissions from around the world for both the writing contest and illustrating contest," stated Labaqui. "It seems everyone has at least a story in them, and many aspire to one day become published."

More than 600 talented writers and illustrators have been given their opportunity to lead successful professional careers as winners of the L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests over the past quarter century. And these rookies-turned-pro writers have gone on to publish over 550 novels and 3,000 short stories -- accounting for some 31 million books sold -- with several winners becoming New York Times best-selling authors, including Jo Beverly, Nancy Farmer, Karen Joy Fowler, Sean Williams, Dave Farland, Kevin J. Anderson and Patrick Rothfuss.

And during these troubled times, or perhaps because of these times, it's contests such as Britain's Got Talent and L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future that make it possible for aspiring artists to realize their dreams.

The Writers and Illustrators Contests were initiated by L. Ron Hubbard in 1983 shortly after returning to the field of science fiction with his bestselling novel, Battlefield Earth. Every quarter, three writers and three illustrators are selected by a panel of leading authors and artists of science fiction and fantasy. With no entry fee and judging done on an anonymous basis, the criterion is strictly merit.

Beside first time publication, benefits include over $30,000 in cash prizes and royalties, a week-long workshop with top professionals of the genre as well as book signings, radio and TV interviews organized by the contest administrators to assist the winners to launch their careers.

Writers of the Future Volume 25 is in bookstores now. For more information on the Contests go to www.writersofthefuture.com.

SOURCE Writers of the Future

RELATED LINKS
http://www.writersofthefuture.com

For the past 30 years, while the rest of the country heads to the mall on the day after Thanksgiving, the Droz Family rises at dawn and hits the road to observe their own annual tradition -- taking a New Years picture in front of a road sign, one with a route number that corresponds to the coming New Year. This year, they've compiled the entire collection in a new book, Fellow Travelers, chronicling this three decade project. Originally intended only for friends and family, it's now available as a free download for anyone who wishes to share their experience without having to get up at 6 AM, complete with postcards, maps, stories and dozens of additional photographs documenting many touching and entertaining moments.

The project began in 1980, when Dan Droz, then a single father, posed with his 3 year old daughter at the intersection of Interstate Routes 79 and 80, north of Pittsburgh, PA. The following year, he found the intersection of Interstates 80 and 81, near Reading, PA. That 1981 New Years postcard eventually led to his marriage to Cathy and the beginning of their family together. Through humorous and tender reflections about their New Years card project, Fellow Travelers tells the story of each New Years postcard, tracing the 30-year growth and development of one of America's least known families and bringing into focus the role and value of family ritual, tradition and road trips.

Each postcard in Fellow Travelers is accompanied by a map describing the location of the road sign where the photograph was taken and a brief story about that year's picture. In addition, there are dozens of photographs that provide a glimpse into the process of making the postcards. Although the book is certainly not destined to be a best seller, in no small part because it's free, the family hopes that their story will be an inspiration to others to think twice about going shopping on the day after Thanksgiving when you can, instead, stand at major intersections and wave to your friends. As Cathy reflects, "When it comes to family rituals, our New Years postcard tops the list. It says, 'here we are, growing and changing together, sharing our adventure with those we care about.'"

Free downloads of the book and background of the Droz Family are available at: www.drozfamily.com .

SOURCE Droz and Associates

RELATED LINKS
http://www.drozfamily.com