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MANAGED CARE September 2002. ©MediMedia USA
Pharmacy benefit managers are under fire from many corners. What will the push for transparency mean for the industry?
David Halbert arrived in New York with a good story to tell: Business was great. And he had the perfect audience to tell it to. Assembled in the opulent St. Regis Hotel on Fifth Avenue was a crowd of investors and analysts. For Halbert, CEO of Irving, Texas-based AdvancePCS, it was an opportunity to show off numbers that would make most investors drool.
At a time when companies were grabbing headlines as they restated revenue and confessed to past sins, AdvancePCS, he told the assembled stock pickers, had a winning business model. By offering health care clients lower drug costs and healthier members, the company had posted 61 consecutive quarters of record revenue — 138 percent compounded annual growth spread over 14 years. And the bottom line was mushrooming in a way that could only cheer stockholders.
"We think we'll be able to continue that growth rate for the next couple of years," Halbert said bullishly.
But hours before they turned out for the event, many had clearly already gone through their daily ritual of reading that day's edition of the Wall Street Journal, their bible for tracking the nitty-gritty events that drive company profits. And on the front page was a big story about pharmacy benefit managers. Halbert and AdvancePCS were prominently featured — as was a stinging lineup of criticisms aimed at PBMs.
For anyone in the industry, the accusations are now familiar reading: As PBMs are forced to cut pricing for handling prescriptions in order to compete for customers, they've turned aggressively to hammering out deals with drug manufacturers over rebates and discounts. And while that has long been a bread-and-butter issue for the PBMs, critics charge that they've moved far too close to the pharmaceutical industry, pushing more expensive branded medications as they fall ever deeper in bed with a variety of marketing and business partnerships that deliver a big return.
A hard-charging U.S. attorney in Philadelphia, James Sheehan, has been probing "secret payments" between the PBMs and pharmaceutical companies. Lawsuits have multiplied, some claiming that rebates have been used to club weaker competitors out of the market or that drug companies dictate formularies.
A growing chorus of critics says that PBMs are actually being manipulated by pricing schemes and sweetheart promotional deals to push the most expensive drugs on the market — an explosive political issue for companies at a time when Congress is anxiously hunting for ways to legislate caps on the skyrocketing cost of drugs.
The big three
To top it off, the big three — AdvancePCS, Medco Health Solutions, and Express Scripts, which collectively cover 180 million people — have maintained an uncomfortable public silence on just how much money they get from drug companies. The lack of transparency at a time when phony numbers were triggering a stock market meltdown was a red flag for some of those present.
Halbert — who has been more willing than many of his competitors to field questions on the rebate issue — got grilled on the controversy. And he gamely responded to each query.
Drug formularies are independently selected by panels of experts, he told the crowd. Not only that, he added, but both drug companies and his clients want the same thing: "maximum utilization" of the drugs on the formulary. The closer doctors patterned their prescribing on formularies, he said, the lower the cost to health plans. In fact, AdvancePCS had to structure deals with health plans in mind. They account for half of its business, and without their endorsement of rebate practices, those practices couldn't go on.
Yes, he acknowledged, the company does send out its own representatives to urge physicians to comply with formularies and advocate use of certain drugs — including branded medications. And there are fees earned for advocating drugs for manufacturers. But all the literature used in the promotions note drug company support. And the company retains absolute control over everything it says and does.
Every bit of it, he insisted, was free of taint.
"We think we're the most transparent business in the industry," he said. "In some ways we would like to get this behind us and be acknowledged for the good things we do." Added Halbert: "We feel we are part of the solution."
Critics insist he's a big part of the problem.
"It is never a good idea to have a conflict of interest perpetuated," says Ron Pollack, president of Families USA and a frequent fly in the ointment of drug companies.
The way the PBMs and drug companies operate, he says, leaves everyone in the dark over how prices are determined. With drug companies bargaining over prices with each of the entities that buy or pay for drugs — from hospitals to health plans and major employers — there is always a "concern that one or more entities are playing fast and loose. You never really know what the true costs are and who's getting a lousy deal."
Pollack reserves his most scathing remarks for Medco Health Solutions, a subsidiary of the giant Merck. Medco's subordinate corporate role, says Pollack, leaves it wide open to charges — echoed in at least one lawsuit — that the PBM includes pricey parent medications on formularies.
Medco — which had to pull an effort to go public recently because, as it put it at the time, "market conditions were not appropriate" — says through a spokesman that it has constructed a fire wall to keep Medco's formularies free of any undue influence by Merck.
"I think you'll find few people that believe that doesn't allow for slippage," counters Pollack. "There's no such thing as transparency in the pricing of drugs."
Just how trustworthy and cost effective PBMs are is a critical issue for health plans and physicians working in an era of double-digit annual price hikes. PBMs sell their services to MCOs across the country, and the plans rely on the PBMs to deliver formularies that combine the best outcomes with the lowest prices.
Two types of rebate
Rebates are a basic tool in controlling the price of health care. And if they don't work to limit costs, everyone's at risk of runaway expenses.
Industry insiders concur that there are two typical types of rebates offered to PBMs: an access rebate that gets a drug on a formulary and a market-share rebate. While most access rebates are generally standard, the magic number for PBMs and their clients is market share. With pharmaceutical companies scrambling for the biggest slice of market share in any category — a figure that swells bottom lines and pushes stock prices — many see PBMs as a primary vehicle in the highly competitive free-for-all to command a market.
The more market share the PBMs deliver, say Halbert and others, the bigger the rebates. If Drug A has a market share of 70 percent and AdvancePCS can move that to 72 percent, the edge can translate into big rebates: The bigger the shift in share, the bigger the rebate.
PBMs receive other payments from manufacturers that are not rebates and which are paid separately. These include administrative fees for services rendered in connection with rebate agreements, such as aggregating members, performing market share analysis used to calculate rebates, and consolidating billing for clients.
Halbert told analysts that administrative fees don't exceed 3 percent of the amount spent for the branded drugs covered by the fees, and if you group all drugs together, the administrative fees don't add up to more than 1 percent.
Keeping the secrets
PBMs aren't shy about asking drug companies for deep discounts. "I ask for their best price and then say I want them to do better," says Halbert. With the prescriptions of 75 million lives on the line, Halbert can be a persuasive negotiator.
The bulk of those rebates and discounts gets passed on to clients, says Halbert. The company retains some of that money, along with the administrative fees paid by drug makers.
Each PBM negotiates its own price and rebate structure. And the final set of figures is a jealously guarded trade secret. Clients say audits are generally restricted to the big accounting firms, to ensure nondisclosure. In an audit conducted for the California Public Employees Retirement System, says a Calpers spokesman, portions of the contract were obscured to preserve proprietary information.
For many of the PBMs' best clients, it's just that kind of secrecy that creates a deep sense of unease. PBMs know the full score, but clients operate in the dark. "Nobody really knows how the money flows," says Ron Lyon, vice president for pharmacy at Trigon Healthcare in Virginia.
At one point, says Lyon, a veteran of a small California PBM, all the money coming from drug companies was called a rebate. Now there are rebates and administrative fees, not to mention educational fees, that flow from drug companies to PBMs. And he can't track a lot of it.
Critics claim that the big money that PBMs collect from drug companies is tied to the most expensive branded drugs on the market. There are times that PBMs push higher-priced branded medications, and they're very open about it.
The PBMs and manufacturers typically haggle over the prices for a lineup of drugs. The final price list will include discounts and rebates on all the pharmaceuticals, says Ann Smith, a spokeswoman for Medco. And while one of those brand-name drugs may be priced higher than competitors', the collectively discounted bill — which the PBMs call aggregate pricing — will deliver an overall lower net cost for their clients.
But some PBM clients have a different way to describe aggregate pricing; they call it bundling. Some manufacturers, zealously pushing to gain market share, say that the pharmacy director of one Fortune 100 company frequently hammers out group deals that include pricey name brands.
"Bundling makes it very difficult to pick out the most cost-effective drugs," says the pharmacy director on condition of anonymity. And some companies are so focused on promoting one drug that they adopt a take-it-or-leave-it attitude to their entire lineup at the bargaining table.
For their part, PBMs like AdvancePCS say that none of their clients are bound to a drug maker's complete list of drugs. Each is allowed to tailor its formulary. But that's easier said than done.
After studying the whole field of PBMs for two years, the University of Michigan decided to do just that. And it hasn't been easy.
"There is nothing more complex than the negotiation to try to figure out what you're purchasing," says Keith Bruhnsen, assistant director of benefits at the University of Michigan and who manages the university's pharmacy plan. "It's the most ambiguous and convoluted part of my job."
Every PBM had its own rebate model in its bid proposals, says Bruhnsen, but most would offer the university a choice between a flat rebate for a set dollar amount or a percentage rebate based on shifting market share. The university recommended the percentage arrangement, advocating a deal that offered a bigger potential reward.
Bundling drugs and then tying rebates to market share, Bruhnsen explains, would leave the university in the awkward position of agreeing to include pricey branded drugs on its preferred list — a formulary that covers 70,000 lives — and promote their use. "Why would we want to steer our people to more expensive products?" he asks.
Catch 22
The university was stuck: To get rebates on the whole list, it had to include the branded drug when several generic equivalents were available for far less.
After two years of study, the university picked one consolidated drug manager — AdvancePCS — last May and moved to take control of its own fate by dictating its own preferred drug list. If a bundled list made sense, university officials would go with the rebates offered. But one branded drug could run up costs by hundreds of thousands of dollars, and they had to decide when they wanted to gamble and break from the rebate list.
To do that, they had to weigh the gains that could be made by placing the true low cost drug on the formulary against the rebates lost by going it alone. Rather than include Prozac and the rebates connected to it and other drugs in a bundle, for example, the university chose the generic fluoxetine and shifted Eli Lilly's Prozac to a third tier on the copayment schedule.
Until the utilization data starts rolling in this January, says Bruhnsen, the university won't know how successful it has been. But owning that data, maintains Bruhnsen, is crucial for anyone wanting to break from the pack.
"It's a gamble," says Bruhnsen. Can you educate physicians in your system to move patients to the lower cost drugs? Is the $200,000 in rebates you leave on the manufacturer's table going to be offset by the lower cost of choosing a lower cost equivalent?
He's hoping that total control translates into a positive answer on net cost.
Control is the issue
For his part, Trigon's Lyon says that controlling the formulary is absolutely essential to control costs, and that health plans are often in a much better bargaining position than they understand.
While he contracts with Medco to come up with a formulary, he retains the full right of refusal for any drug or list of drugs. In some cases, that means rejecting a drug. But while some manufacturers may insist on an all-or-nothing approach to their PBM rebate schedules ("That absolutely happens," says Lyon), they often think twice when the health plan just says no.
Then you have to dig in.
"Our negotiations with GlaxoSmithKline took a year and a half," says Lyon. "We refused to accept any deal until it was beneficial to our clients."
With 2 million lives under the plan, Lyon controls a large market share for drugs in Virginia. And every time the drug company came back with a sweetened offer on its price list, Lyon kept saying no until the net cost on all its drugs dropped to an acceptable level, he reports.
Most health plans won't do that, he concedes. Once a plan or anyone else decides to maintain control, it means creating a department, having a negotiator who understands all the subtleties of the game, and launching into a complex round of talks with multiple suppliers. The good news, he adds, is that most of the negotiations over rebates are focused on the top 25 branded drugs. Once you deal with them, it's much easier to complete the formulary.
"We actually have Medco Health do the direct negotiations and administer the program, but we maintain control over the formulary and participate in Trigon-specific contracting," he says. But any other tactic leaves them far too vulnerable to higher and higher drug costs.
Wrong way, Corrigan!
The whole rebate program itself may push drug prices in the exact opposite of the direction that PBMs say they're going. If you drive up the average wholesale price that rebates are based on, says Lyon, you can increase the discounts. But the underlying net cost goes up.
The freedom to shift drugs and tailor formularies is at the heart of a lawsuit scheduled to go to trial in February. Wyeth was sued by Duramed Pharmaceuticals, which contends that Wyeth used bundling methods to block Duramed from a dozen different formularies. Wyeth inked deals with the PBMs that specifically "excluded any competition to their products," says Steve Susman, a partner in the law firm of Susman Godfrey in Houston. For the makers of the new hormone replacement therapy Cenestin, that meant being frozen out of formularies by Wyeth's Premarin at a time its price was rising.
Cenestin's market share remained under 2 percent at a time when the manufacturer was predicting that it should have hit at least 6 percent, if for no other reason than that women would prefer a synthesized estrogen made from plants.
Not that the company was opposed to rebates.
"We gave rebates," notes Susman, speaking on behalf of his client. "It just got to the point we couldn't compete because of the way Wyeth bundled its products." Wyeth tied all the rebates together, claims Susman, so that if a PBM rejected one of the drugs, it lost all the rebates. And his client couldn't match the collective rebates Wyeth had to offer if it gave its product away.
Without getting Cenestin on the formularies, says Susman, the company's drug was eclipsed by the market leader. "We did surveys of doctors," says Susman. "The majority feel it is important for a drug to be on multiple formularies."
Natalie deVane, a spokeswoman for Wyeth, says the company is aware of the suit but won't comment on it. And she has little more to add regarding the company's approach to bundling. "We do have operating principles," she says, which are considered proprietary information.
Susman says he's got a long line of contracts that include an exclusivity clause. Many spell out, in black and white, how bundling works, including, says Susman, one with Express Scripts.
Sealed bids
Company officials, though, wash their hands of anything that resembles bundling or aggregate pricing by any name. "There are no secret negotiations," says Jim Hill, vice president of pharmaceutical contracting at Express Scripts.
At least not with clients. Under the company's Preferred Savings Grid plan, he says, drug companies provide sealed bids on each of the drugs they want included on a formulary. Prices are arranged according to a matrix of offerings, with rebates tied up front to the way the product is positioned by the client. If a drug is included as the sole offering in a particular therapeutic class, then it carries a higher rebate than if it is included in a broader group of drugs. Rebates also are influenced by the kind of copayment program a client has. The more the contract favors use of a drug, the higher the rebate offer. That's how the contract influences market share.
"Each contract is reviewed clinically and financially, and receives a formulary/nonformulary recommendation based on its individual merits," he says. The clinical review, he adds, is performed by the PBM's pharmacists, though final review and approval is by an independent group of physicians. The financial review is done by internal contracting staff. If a managed care company wants to switch a drug in a particular therapeutic class, it can select an alternate and know, based on a model Express Scripts provides, the resulting financial impact.
Express Scripts contracts for each product individually, so clients can replace branded drugs with generics when they become available, says Linda Logsdon, executive vice president for health management services. Express Scripts does earn money from pharmaceutical companies that promote branded medicines, she says, but only in support of the formulary and with the client's permission. Currently, that means promoting Nexium, AstraZeneca's GERD product, for clients that choose to do so, even as a lower-cost generic is getting closer to market. Today's promotional program for branded medications may be quickly overtaken by a generic replacement that could save clients money.
Halbert rejected the notion that just because a pricey branded drug makes the formulary it implies some sort of problem. AstraZeneca, for example, offers PBMs discounts to get Nexium on formularies at a time when the drug maker is hurrying to convert users of Prilosec, which it also markets.
Prilosec is still a branded drug, but is set to go generic in a few months. While AdvancePCS is engaged in a variety of promotional campaigns to push physicians to prescribe Nexium, it's still cheaper than Prilosec after you factor in the manufacturer's discount. Once the generic equivalent hits the market in a few months, said Halbert, there's nothing to stop AdvancePCS from making the switch on its formularies.
But Halbert also says that the company can't spell out how each deal is struck. "It's important for us to preserve proprietary information."
Proprietary info
For its part, AstraZeneca doesn't have much to say about the rebates or the way they're negotiated. As for bundling? "That's proprietary," says spokeswoman Janet Caldwell. Caldwell did confirm that the company subsidizes PBM educational programs for physicians. "We think they do a good job." But don't ask for numbers: "We don't want to go into details."
It appears, Halbert said at the St. Regis, that the ongoing investigation into the PBM-drug company connection by Sheehan, the U.S. attorney in Philadelphia, is after not only more disclosure, but new regulatory controls. AdvancePCS, he said, was in favor of greater openness and wasn't necessarily opposed to new laws governing the business. But, he said, "once you start down that path, it's a slippery slope."
Sheehan himself is staying mum about his motives and everything else regarding the investigation. But members of Congress are already volunteering for the job of slope designer.
Health plans and other PBM clients may well weigh into the discussion.
"Customers understand that we're in the penalty box for now," Halbert said in New York. "They understand what we disclose and what we don't."
Halbert and others in the business hope that's transparent enough to keep the rest of the world out of the private sections of their contracts. Critics say they won't be quiet until they get it all out.
Paul Lendner ist ein praktizierender Experte im Bereich Gesundheit, Medizin und Fitness. Er schreibt bereits seit über 5 Jahren für das Managed Care Mag. Mit seinen Artikeln, die einen einzigartigen Expertenstatus nachweisen, liefert er unseren Lesern nicht nur Mehrwert, sondern auch Hilfestellung bei ihren Problemen.


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The Embodied Cognition Bonanza!
Posted by Adam Benforado on February 4, 2010
I am excited to be back after a two-month stint guest blogging at Concurring Opinions and I thought I'd jump right in on the matter of "embodied cognition."
Tuesday morning, I opened up the New York Times to find yet another popular article taking up the topic. While I continue to be happy to see "embodied cognition fever" catching among the nation's journalists, I worry ever-so-slightly that the rush to bring the fascinating research to the public may ultimately have negative consequences.
I have been interested in embodied cognition for a while and have had students in my Law and Mind Science course read some of the work in the field the last two years I taught the seminar. That led me to present some of my thoughts about the implications of the work for law last year at the Childress Lecture at St. Louis University Law School. The associated article, The Body of the Mind: Embodied Cognition, Law, and Justice is set to be published in the near future and, in the interests of trying to be a better user of SSRN, I've finally got around to posting a draft here.
The abstract appears below:
Recent research from embodied cognition strongly contests the dualist notion of the mind as distinct and apart from the biological machine of the body—a conception that has powerfully shaped our laws, legal practices, theories, and institutions for centuries. According to the embodied (or grounded) cognition perspective, the body is involved in the constitution of the mind. Thus, beyond our conscious awareness, an abstract concept, like trustworthiness, may be primed by sensorimotor experience, like feeling physical warmth. This Article introduces recent insights from this budding field, discusses some of the potential implications of experiments in embodied cognition for courtroom interactions, and addresses the significant challenges to using this research as a means to reform.
* * *
To read a sample of related Situationist posts, see "The Embodied Situation of Metaphors," "Our Metaphorical Situation," "The Situation of Metaphors," "Bargh and Baumeister and the Free Will Debate — Part I & Part II" "The Situation of Body Temperature," "Social Psychology and the Unconscious: The Automaticity of Higher Processes," "Unclean Hands," "The Body Has a Mind of its Own," "Ideology Shaping Situation, or Vice Versa?," "The Situation of Snacking," "The Situation of Imitation and Mimickry," and "The (Unconscious) Situation of our Consciousness – Part I, Part II, Part III, & Part IV."
3 Responses to "The Embodied Cognition Bonanza!"
February 5, 2010 at 1:00 am
I teach my psychotherapy clients a set of skills that I call Affect Management Skills Training. As the clients acquire the skills–which are grounded in behavior, affect, sensation, image, and cognition–their self-concept changes significantly by clinical report. These tools for emotion regulation seem to embody the principle of "embodied cognition" in a theoretical and clinical psychotherapeutic framework. If interested in these skills, they're described in my book, "Psychotherapeutic interventions for emotion regulation" W.W. Norton, 2004.
John Omaha, Ph.D.
Santa Rosa, CA
February 8, 2010 at 4:17 pm
Here is something that may be related. If you cannot frown, you may have some difficulty understanding or processing sad emotions:
February 12, 2010 at 12:03 am
[…] The Embodied Cognition Bonanza! […]

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Legal fallout begins for 'Jesus Christ Superstar'
NEW YORK (AP) — The abrupt cancellation of this summer's North American arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar is apparently not being forgiven.
The Really Useful Group, the London-based production company of Superstar composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, said Tuesday that it was taking legal action against music and theatrical producer Michael Cohl for the "unilateral decision" to scuttle the tour, which was to star punk legend John "Johnny Rotten" Lydon and Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child.
In a statement, The Really Useful Group said it "has no option but to proceed with legal action to recover its costs associated with the project and in turn, satisfy outstanding payments to suppliers and contractors."
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It was to star Lydon as King Herod, Williams as Mary Magdalene, Brandon Boyd of Incubus as Judas and JC Chasez of 'N Sync as Pontius Pilate. Ben Forster, the winner of the U.K.'s prime-time contest show Superstar, was to play the son of God.
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Vishesh Wadhwani, student of Choitram School Manik Bagh, Indore participated in our 3rd International Sindhi Nursery Rhymes Competition 2018. Sindhi Nursery Rhymes competition is for children to learn Sindhi speaking. This was organised by Asha Chand for Sindhi Sangat. Prize Distribution for the 3rd International Nursery Rhymes Competition was held in Mumbai at Sita Sindhu Bhavan on 16th December 2018. Event Organised by Asha Chand. Share with others & subscribe We promote Sindhi speaking among children through internet and media ie Television. We hold competitions every year for sindhi children. Pls watch our 'Sindhi Sangat' channel on youtube and Subscribe. https://www.youtube.com/SindhiSangatKids Enjoy and stay connected with us!! Subscribe to Sindhi Sangat channel for Sindhi Programmes http://www.youtube.com/WeSindhi You can also visit us at http://www.youtube.com/Sindhi Sangat Like us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/SindhiSangatW... Follow us on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/SindhiSangat Download for Free 'LEARN SINDHI' app on Mobile- and Learn Sindhi Website of the most illustrious Sindhi short story writer http://www.sundriuttam.com
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This challenge involves eight three-cube models made from interlocking cubes. Investigate different ways of putting the models together then compare your constructions.
This project challenges you to work out the number of cubes hidden under a cloth. What questions would you like to ask?
This activity is best done with a whole class or in a large group. Can you match the cards? What happens when you add pairs of the numbers together?
I've made some cubes and some cubes with holes in. This challenge invites you to explore the difference in the number of small cubes I've used. Can you see any patterns?
Ahmed is making rods using different numbers of cubes. Which rod is twice the length of his first rod?
How can you arrange the 5 cubes so that you need the smallest number of Brush Loads of paint to cover them? Try with other numbers of cubes as well.
Make a chair and table out of interlocking cubes, making sure that the chair fits under the table!
Here are some pictures of 3D shapes made from cubes. Can you make these shapes yourself?
We start with one yellow cube and build around it to make a 3x3x3 cube with red cubes. Then we build around that red cube with blue cubes and so on. How many cubes of each colour have we used?
Here are four cubes joined together. How many other arrangements of four cubes can you find? Can you draw them on dotty paper?
Kimie and Sebastian were making sticks from interlocking cubes and lining them up. Can they make their lines the same length? Can they make any other lines?
In this article we outline how cubes can support children in working mathematically and draw attention to tasks which exemplify this.
This feature brings together activities which all use cubes to support your thinking.
The activities in this feature all use interlocking cubes to help you think mathematically.
This feature brings together tasks which make use of interlocking cubes.
This short article outlines a few activities which make use of interlocking cubes.
Can you create more models that follow these rules?
How many models can you find which obey these rules?
How many shapes can you build from three red and two green cubes? Can you use what you've found out to predict the number for four red and two green?
Here are more buildings to picture in your mind's eye. Watch out - they become quite complicated!
Try to picture these buildings of cubes in your head. Can you make them to check whether you had imagined them correctly?
Use cubes to continue making the numbers from 7 to 20. Are they sticks, rectangles or squares?
This article takes a closer look at some of the toys and games that can enhance a child's mathematical learning.
Take 5 cubes of one colour and 2 of another colour. How many different ways can you join them if the 5 must touch the table and the 2 must not touch the table?
Kate has eight multilink cubes. She has two red ones, two yellow, two green and two blue. She wants to fit them together to make a cube so that each colour shows on each face just once.
Arrange 9 red cubes, 9 blue cubes and 9 yellow cubes into a large 3 by 3 cube. No row or column of cubes must contain two cubes of the same colour.
When intergalactic Wag Worms are born they look just like a cube. Each year they grow another cube in any direction. Find all the shapes that five-year-old Wag Worms can be.
How can you paint the faces of these eight cubes so they can be put together to make a 2 x 2 x 2 cube that is green all over AND a 2 x 2 x 2 cube that is yellow all over?
Explore the different snakes that can be made using 5 cubes.
Take three differently coloured blocks - maybe red, yellow and blue. Make a tower using one of each colour. How many different towers can you make?
Penta people, the Pentominoes, always build their houses from five square rooms. I wonder how many different Penta homes you can create?
Investigate the area of 'slices' cut off this cube of cheese. What would happen if you had different-sized block of cheese to start with?
Suppose there is a train with 24 carriages which are going to be put together to make up some new trains. Can you find all the ways that this can be done?
Arrange your fences to make the largest rectangular space you can. Try with four fences, then five, then six etc.
A thoughtful shepherd used bales of straw to protect the area around his lambs. Explore how you can arrange the bales.
In this investigation, you must try to make houses using cubes. If the base must not spill over 4 squares and you have 7 cubes which stand for 7 rooms, what different designs can you come up with?
We need to wrap up this cube-shaped present, remembering that we can have no overlaps. What shapes can you find to use?
This challenge is to design different step arrangements, which must go along a distance of 6 on the steps and must end up at 6 high.
These two group activities use mathematical reasoning - one is numerical, one geometric.
If you had 36 cubes, what different cuboids could you make?


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2005-06 Mass Scorecard for State Representative Joseph DriscollPLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A DRAFT WEBSITE WITH INCOMPLETE VOTING RECORDS
|Democrat representing Fifth Norfolk
|Office: 443
|Phone: (617) 722-2460
|E-mail: [email protected]
|Website: http://www.state.ma.us/legis/member/jrd1.htm
Vote selection and interpretation by representatives of Mass Scorecard without approval or participation from the Massachusetts Democratic Party.
|Fundamental Issue in MassDems' Party Platform
(Click for full text of platform section)
|Summary of related issue put to vote
(Click for House Journal references)
|This Rep's vote on this issue
|Party platform on this issue
Part I: CIVIL RIGHTS
Clause 9: Same-sex marriage
|Sep 14, 2005:Affirming marriage for heterosexuals only
|Driscoll: YES
|Platform: NO
|Clause 7: Church & State
|Sep 20, 2005:Reaffirming 'one nation under God' in pledge of allegiance
|Driscoll: YES
|Platform: NO
Part II: HEALTH CARE
Clause 14: Stem cell research
|May 31, 2005:Overriding veto on Stem Cell Research Bill
|Driscoll: NO
|Platform: YES
|Clause 16 & 17: Mental health
|Jul 14, 2005:Maintaining two state psychiatric hospitals
|Driscoll: YES
|Platform: YES
|Clause 3 & 4 universal coverage
|Nov 3, 2005:Employer assessment for uninsured employees
|Driscoll: NO
|Platform: NO
|Clause 11 & 12 MassHealth
|Nov 3, 2005:Increasing benefits under MassHealth
|Driscoll: YES
|Platform: YES
|Part III: EDUCATION
|(No votes on which to base response)
|Part IV: ECONOMIC GROWTH
|(No votes on which to base response)
Part V: LABOR
Clause 13, immigrant rights
|Jan 11, 2006:Allowing in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants
|Driscoll: NO
|Platform: YES
Part VI: HOUSING
Clause 1 & 3: Homelessness
|Jul 14, 2005:Veto override for $220K for homelessness
|Driscoll: YES
|Platform: YES
|Clause 5, housing subsidy
|Nov 3, 2005:$2 million for Mass Rental Voucher Program
|Driscoll: YES
|Platform: YES
Part VII: SOCIAL SECURITY
Clause 3: Safety net
|Jul 14, 2005:Studying how MA can overcome federal workfare rules
|Driscoll: YES
|Platform: YES
|Clause 2 and 3, safety net
|Sep 22, 2005:Restricting welfare benefits to 5 years
|Driscoll: NO
|Platform: NO
|Part VIII: ENVIRONMENT
|(No votes on which to base response)
|Part IX: CONSUMER PROTECTION
|(No votes on which to base response)
Part X: SAFETY AND CRIME
Clause 3: Death penalty
|Nov 15, 2005:Reinstating capital punishment
|Driscoll: NO
|Platform: NO
|Part XI: VOTING PROCEDURES
|(No votes on which to base response)
Part XII: TAXES AND SERVICES
Clause 4: Local aid
|Apr 29, 2005:Replacing restrictions on local aid allocations
|Driscoll: YES
|Platform: YES
|Clause 1: Condemn tax cuts
|Oct 18, 2005:Postponing reduction of income tax to 5%
|Driscoll: YES
|Platform: YES
|Number of votes in 2005-06 in accord with Democratic Party Platform:
|10 out of 14 votes.
|Summary letter grade:
A=90% or better; B=80%; C=70%; D=60%; F=below 60%
Accord with the Democratic Party Platform is determined by representatives of Mass Scorecard and has no approval by nor association with the Massachusetts Democratic Party.
|Other Mass Reps from Norfolk County:
|Joseph Driscoll voting record:
|Bruce Ayers
Robert Coughlin
William Galvin
Lida Harkins
Louis Kafka
Ronald Mariano
James Murphy
|Alice Peisch
John Rogers
Richard Ross
Frank Smizik
Walter Timilty
Stephen Tobin
James Vallee
Part I: CIVIL RIGHTS
Part II: HEALTH CARE
Part III: EDUCATION
Part IV: ECONOMIC GROWTH
Part V: LABOR
Part VI: HOUSING
Part VII: SOCIAL SECURITY
Part VIII: ENVIRONMENT
Part IX: CONSUMER PROTECTION
Part X: SAFETY AND CRIME
Part XI: VOTING PROCEDURES
Part XII: TAXES AND SERVICES
Mass Scorecard Home Page
2003-2004 House Index
2005-2006 House Index
2003-2004 Senate Index
2005-2006 Senate Index


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But Some Related Hope Nevertheless Lays Down Deep Inside, Thanks To ABSOLUTE WORTH ENERGY (AWE).
Shall I start with the evil part, or the demented part? Bitcoin is not just a bit con. Bitcoin is obviously a Ponzi scheme. It's always a pleasure to infuriate geeks and tiny crabs. "Harriet" from Oakland (a Silicon Valley suburb) contradicted me, with typical techie arrogance: "Please learn what a Ponzi scheme is. Wikipedia will help you."
Wikipedia is to geeks what the bible is to pedophile priests. A Ponzi, or pyramid, scheme is a financial scheme where early investors make money from later investors. That's surely the case of Bitcoin. In 2011 the value of one Bitcoin rapidly rose from about $0.30 to $32, before falling back down to $2. Those who bought $30,000 of Bitcoins at $30 soon found their so called "investment", or "saving", to be worth $2,000. Now in Japan, a Bitcoin bank disappeared. Real money was exchanged for sheer bamboozling.
Geeks tend to be extremely mentally undeveloped outside, while being very smug about their small pathetic idiosyncratic view of the world (in particular all that they do not understand, they turn into a two cent joke; that's also a characteristic of mathematicians; being one of them, I know the syndrome well).
Geeks believe that there are no empires, and they believe that, if there were some empires, they would be evil, thus irrelevant. They also believe, that they, the Geeks, are not evil, that Wikipedia (in English) is never wrong, and that links are all the truth you need.
Why to step in that mental swamp? Because Bitcoin is a delicious counterexample to the naïve concept of currency.
What's a currency? It's a space where an empire allows rewards and promises to be exchanged, backed-up by the empire military might. Fundamentally, a currency is the token system the empire's soldiers are paid with. Emperor Septimus Severus pointed out to his sons, while dying in Britannia in 211 CE, that was the basis of all.
This is the hard version. This is reality.
To feed the state, the population needs to works, partly, for the state. That's why taxation was invented. When there is not enough taxation, the state collapses. The best example of that collapse is the Late Roman empire, when there was not enough taxation of the rich to pay for defense (thus the cheap trick to use the Franks to insure defense).
Compare with the only back-up of bitcoin: not an army of soldiers, but an army of con men on Wall Street and other well organized crime. (Organized crime used Bitcoin for money laundering.)
Here is a related example: why is betting so popular in Asia? Because those who bet actually win. Why? So that they will be encouraged to bet some more, throw more money in the system. For which purpose? Because Organized Crime needs to launder money, and betting is how it does it. Losing 20% or so, is the cost of the laundering service to Organized Crime (such as Drug Trafficking).
Is a currency always created by an empire? At first sight two objections come to mind: the Thaler, and the Euro. For both it looks as if no empire was connected to them. However, that's an illusion. (As anti-European fanatics are finding out, to their horror.)
The Thaler (or Taler or Czech Tolar… hence Dollar) was a silver coin used throughout Europe by many states for four hundred years. ( Etymologically, "Thaler" comes from German for "valley", same as Neanderthal.) The Thaler was backed by states with serious armies: Austria, the Holy Roman German empire, Prussia, the Netherlands, etc.
A loose coalition of states can just be articulated around the army of just one state. That's what happened with Prussia, which totally dominated the German speaking world from 1815 (partial dismemberment of Revolutionary France) until 1945 (eradication and annihilation of Prussia).
Similarly, the Euro is (mostly) backed by Franco-German might at this point. (Franco-Germania plus its immediate satellites makes a super-power, albeit one different in nature from the territory-rich USA.)
The naïve fundamental idea of Bitcoin was to create a currency without guns to back it up. Bitcoin one of the most famous Ponzi schemes in history? Some naive "techies" furiously object.
They are the same ones who firmly believe that Yahoo, Google, Facebook, are not, repeat: not, government spies agencies. (Hey, did not their chiefs "protest" to the "commander in chief"?)
If you think the usual suspects, the pirate speculators of the Wall Street type have nothing to do with Bitcoin, please learn about Wall Street. But Wikipedia won't help you (Wall Street guys have enough money to make sure Wikipedia says exactly what they want it to say).
On 19 November 2013, the value of Bitcoin on the Japan-based Mt.Gox exchange soared to a peak of US$900 following a United States Senate committee hearing, at which the committee was informed, by the FBI, no less, that virtual currencies were a legitimate financial service. On the same day, bitcoins traded for over RMB¥6780 (US$1100) in China.
How could the FBI be that corrupt? Some will whine. Well, what's the FBI? An instrument of the state, just like the Dollar. It's all about a tribe, or its leaders, exerting power.
Now visualize this: the true leaders of the USA are the plutocrats. They devised a tax code so that they don't pay enough taxes to prevent them to become ever richer (why would they? They are in power, and the rabble does not know it!).
How did the plutocrats acquire so much power in century? Mostly by doing exactly what president Jackson was afraid the Rothschild would do to the USA (and what the Rothschilds claimed they were doing in Europe… not that their fellow big time bankers were not doing it too). In the present fractional reserve system, the state has farmed out the making of money to some private, unelected individuals, the bankers. The Bitcoinists thought they had found a scheme to do the same. That was naïve. They drunk Ronald Reagan's idiotic propaganda, and come to believe that We The People could do without a state.
For more than 2,000 years in the West, the government created money (with a face value often much higher than its real value), but tax collecting was farmed out to private enterprises. Now it's the other way around: tax collecting is public, money creation, private. That's a big mistake. We have, unsurprisingly, a system in which the money creators, the bankers, create money, that is, power, at will. That abundance of money has allowed them to buy the "democratically elected" representatives.
Thus now, as Rotschild said, the bankers control the government. Plutocracy found that money creation to be its best trick in a long time.
Can we enjoy a loftier perspective? Sure. Money is power, and power is measured by energy. Not all energy is good: blowing up the Earth won't be good. A way to do that? One could set fire to 20 trillion tons of coal underground, and get plenty of energy, until the biosphere is destroyed. (Some plan to do that.)
So energy expenditure has to be controlled by long term ethics. This is what I call AWE (Absolute Worth Energy). With the enormous computing power we now have, it's practical. AWE, accounting in useful energy units, is unavoidable, as it's the only accounting system that will save civilization. AWE would make a perfect Bitcoin (AWEC: Absolute Worth Energy Coin). But of course it would need the support of the government, and that only if We The People pass laws to force it to do so.
Patrice Aymé
Note 1: A big deal is made by Bitcoin crooks that computers are computing the scheme. In the geeks' minds, computers are superior souls, above the fray. However, it doesn't matter that computers compute in the background of Bitcoin. Pyramid schemes are always about guys making computations in the background.
Note 2: Those who believe in bitcoin don't believe in history, or sovereignty. That the wealthiest use a parallel currency with artworks, reinforces my point: only the sovereign, wealth, can create a currency durably! The wealthiest can use artwork as a currency in all impunity, precisely because they rule the world (and only the wealthiest are wealthy enough to use that currency). Average bitcoin users don't rule the world (although governments let organized crime use bitcoin for quite a bit…)… thus their currency will not rule the world, either…
Tags: Absolute Worth Energy, AWE, Bitcoin, FBI, Fractional Reserve, Geeks, Ponzi, President Jackson, Pyramidal Scheme, Rothschild


text: P80 PFC9 9MM COMPACT FDE For Sale from AnacortesGunShop | Positive feedback: 100% View | Verified Seller | 293 Completed Sales View Sellers Items /UserImages/172852/970771411 15243765.jpg P80 PFC9 9MM COMPACT FDE 970771411 HK-P80 PFC9CMPFDE 819925022543 Guns > Pistols > L Misc Pistols instock Description: Model Series: CompactCaliber: 9MMAction: Safe ActionMagazine Capacity: 15+1Finish: Black Matte Read More Condition: New In Box UPC: 819925022543 Location: WA Trades Accepted: No Read More OWNER BIO Anacortes Gun Shop is a licensed FFL and Class III Dealer. The gun and telescope shop is located in the beautiful Pacific Northwest in the small town of Colville. We specialize in high quality optics, telescopes, and high quality firearms. Our "mom and pop" shop is managed by the owners Herb and Paula, and with less than 10 employees, our shop definitely has a small family atmosphere. Customers can expect the same care, and attention a family member would provide. PAYMENT OPTIONS We accept all major credit cards, at no extra charge except AMEX. We accept certified bank checks, postal money orders, and wire transfers. We do NOT accept pay pal. Please call our shop to Shipping Notes: Shipping Notice Long Guns (rifles, shotguns) are shipped UPS Ground, and cost typically ranges between $25 - $45. Handguns by law are shipped 2nd-day-air, and ships for a flat rate of $39.99 in the continental US. Read More Qty: 3 Available Share Item Item #: 970771411 SKU: HK-P80 PFC9CMPFDE Stock No.: HK-P80 PFC9CMPFDE AnacortesGunShop Seller Since: May. 2014 Identity Verified ( COLVILLE, WA ) Trusted Seller This seller is an FFL City: Colville State: WA Phone: 800-850-2001 Price: $359.99 Buy It Now Add To Cart Please Login/Register to Order Login or Register to buy This Seller Accepts Online Payment Shipping: $39.99 (or FREE in-store pick up!) Accepted Payment Methods: Returns: Send Message to AnacortesGunShop You must login or register to send a message to this seller. Contact Seller as Guest Message To Seller Email * That Email Address is already in use. If you typed your email correctly, you are already registered and you should login or click here for the password recovery system. First Name * Last Name * Phone * Address 1 * Address 2 City * State * -State- AK AL AR AZ CA CO CT DC DE FL GA GU HI IA ID IL IN KS KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MS MT NC ND NE NH NJ NM NV NY OH OK OR PA PR RI SC SD TN TX UT VA VI VT WA WI WV WY Zip * Already have an account? Login Your Recently Viewed Items


text:
Canton top cop asks nation to understand
The city's police department has a "black eye," admits Chief Dan
McKimm. But he hopes the community -- and nation -- won't assess the
department and police officers based on one man's actions.
McKimm expressed his concerns at a news conference held to announce the
arrest of officer Bobby L. Cutts Jr. in the death of his girlfriend, Jessie
Marie Davis and her unborn child. Cutts will be formally charged Monday with
two counts on murder in their deaths.
Despite the turn of events, McKimm said he hopes the community and nation
aren't quick to judge any law enforcement agency "by the isolated acts of a
rogue officer.
"Doing so denigrates all of the many, selfless acts of law enforcement
personnel who daily put their lives on the line to protect and serve the
citizens in their communities," McKimm said.
Cutts has been a Canton police officer since 2001, but his career couldn't
be called stellar.
In 2003, after a cousin ended up with Cutts' service weapon, he was fired
and tried on felony charges. A jury cleared Cutts and an arbitrator
determined that firing was too severe of a punishment for Cutts. He ordered
Cutts be returned to work with back pay.
Last week, after sheriff's deputies began investigating Davis'
disappearance, Cutts was placed on administrative leave.
During the investigation, McKimm said his department maintained a
professional distance, but has helped and will continue to help. "We mostly
provided records," McKimm said Saturday night.
Results of the investigation, McKimm said, show "that regardless of who you
are or what position you hold in Stark County, law enforcement will pursue
justice and hold guilty parties responsible as the facts dictate."
McKimm said he hopes for a quick resolution to this crime, but that it will
take time. "In the end I believe justice will be served and members of this
community will reap the benefits of another professional, cooperative effort
by their local and national law enforcement agencies."
Reach Canton Repository writer Edd Pritchard at (330) 580-8484 or e-mail:


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What's Up, Doc? How can I avoid shingles?
Q: My 75-year-old friend has been suffering with a terrible case of shingles for a few weeks now. I am 79 and really do not want to go through what she has had to go through. Is there anything I can do to prevent getting shingles?
A: For those of you who have read my column before, you know I strongly believe that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Although there is no way I know of to 100 percent prevent getting shingles, there is a vaccine that can significantly reduce the risk of getting it.
Shingles (herpes zoster, in medical jargon) is due to a reactivation of the chickenpox virus (Varicella). Although many children today are getting the chickenpox vaccine -- and are not getting chickenpox -- most adults had chickenpox when they were kids. Varicella may not leave our bodies completely but instead may lie dormant ("sleep") in the sensory nerve roots (ganglia), and for reasons we do not entirely understand can become active again. When this happens, it causes a reaction in the skin innervated by the nerve root the virus was sleeping in, and this characteristic of the rash (being in a section of skin corresponding to a single nerve root) is one of the things that can help your doctor diagnose this condition.
The rash from shingles starts as a vesicular/blister rash and evolves into pustules (or sometimes hemorrhagic lesions) over several days. The lesions usually crust over within a week or two. The reactivation of the virus affects the skin's sensory nerves and can cause pain, burning, numbness, tingling or other symptoms. In fact, the sensory symptoms often precede the eruption of the rash by a few days and can be quite severe in some patients.
Shingles is very common. It is estimated that between 10 and 20 percent of the population will get shingles in their lifetime. Of the 300,000 to 500,000 cases that occur annually in the U.S., a disproportionate amount of these affect the elderly. This is thought to be because of waning immunity against the virus as we age. More than 80 percent of cases of shingles are in adults, and about a third of all cases are in people older than 55. Shingles is more common in people with weakened immune symptoms (including people with HIV or those on immune suppressive medications such as people who have had organ transplants, as well as people with other diseases that suppress the immune system), and will cause complications more frequently in these patients.
There many possible complications of shingles, including eye involvement (if the nerve root the virus laid dormant in involved the eye), systemic complications (including meningitis or encephalitis, although these are thankfully rare) and others, but the most common complication of shingles is post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), and this is what I will focus my discussion on today.
PHN is persistent symptoms for more than 30 days after getting shingles. The symptoms are the sensory symptoms similar to the acute phase of shingles, including pain, numbness, tingling, burning or other sensory symptoms; in simple terms, it means the terrible symptoms from shingles become a chronic problem. PHN develops in 10 to 15 percent of people who get shingles, again disproportionately affecting the elderly, and can severely affect the quality of the patient's life.
From this discussion, it should be clear that shingles and its possible sequelae, specifically PHN, are conditions that would be nice to avoid.
Staying active, getting regular and adequate sleep and eating well can help keep your immune system strong and hence may minimize the chances of getting shingles. One article I found noted that practicing Tai Chi might also minimize the risk of getting shingles. These things are generally good for your health, and so are good ideas anyway.
The idea behind giving a vaccine to reduce the risk of getting shingles is that waning immunity may be a key factor as to why the Varicella virus reactivates in the first place. I found several studies discussing the efficacy of the zoster vaccine, the largest from a New England Journal of Medicine article in 2005.
This study looked at more than 38,000 people older than 60 who were randomized to either the zoster vaccine or a placebo shot. The only bad affects significantly noted from the vaccine were local reactions at the site of the injection (including rashes), and these were, in general, mild. The vaccine proved to be very useful to decrease the incidence of shingles. The rate of 11 cases per 1,000 person-years in the placebo group was decreased by more than 50 percent to 5.4 cases per 1,000 person-years in the treatment group. For those who did get shingles, the duration of illness was slightly shorter and milder. Overall, PHN was decreased by 66 percent!
Based at least partly on these results, in October 2006, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommended that all adults older than 60 who are eligible, whether or not they have had shingles or even the chicken pox before, get the zoster vaccination.
From the data I have seen, I believe the CDC's recommendation to be a solid one, and I would recommend consideration of the zoster vaccine to all people older than 60. The vaccine is a live attenuated vaccine (it is made from real virus that has been modified so as not to cause disease), and therefore may not be appropriate for patients with certain medical conditions. So check with your doctor to see if this vaccine is appropriate for you. If you do get shingles, there are medications that can help reduce the chances of your getting PHN. These medications should be started as soon as possible, so you should see your doctor immediately to be evaluated for this treatment.
Contact Jeff Hersh at email@example.com.


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NFL 2012 Season — Week 10 Recap
Turnovers and injuries to starting quarterbacks factored heavily in the outcome of several contests on Sunday. Here's a recap of all of this week's games:
Houston 13 — Chicago 6
Matt Schaub threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Arian Foster, and the Houston Texans beat the Chicago Bears, 13-6, in driving rain in Chicago on Sunday night. Foster ran for 102 yards on 29 carries for Houston (8-1), but his touchdown reception in the second quarter was the difference in the game. Schaub finished with just 95 yards passing and two interceptions.
Backup quarterback Jason Campbell threw for 94 yards in relief of injured starter Jay Cutler for Chicago (7-2). Cutler suffered a concussion in the second quarter. He completed 7 of 14 passes for 40 yards and two interceptions before leaving. Brandon Marshall caught eight passes for 107 yards for the Bears. Chicago committed four turnovers in the game.
New Orleans 31 — Atlanta 27
Drew Brees threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns, and the New Orleans Saints beat the Atlanta Falcons, 31-27 in New Orleans on Sunday. Tight end Jimmy Graham caught seven passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns for New Orleans (4-5), which handed Atlanta (8-1) its first loss. Tony Gonzalez had 11 catches for 122 yards and two scores for the Falcons, while teammate Matt Ryan completed 34 of 52 passes for 411 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Roddy White caught seven passes for 114 yards for Atlanta.
St. Louis 24 — San Francisco 24 (OT)
The San Francisco 49ers and St. Louis Rams played to the NFL's first tie in four years on Sunday, 24-24, as kickers from both teams missed field goals in overtime. Greg Zuerlein kicked a 53-yard field goal in overtime for St. Louis (3-5-1), but a delay-of-game penalty nullified the kick, and Zuerlein missed a subsequent 58-yard attempt. David Akers missed a 41-yard kick in overtime that could have won the game for San Francisco (6-2-1).
Akers' 33-yard kick with 3 seconds left in regulation sent the game to overtime. The 49ers rallied behind backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick after losing starter Alex Smith to a concussion in the first half. Frank Gore ran for 97 yards and a score for San Francisco.
Sam Bradford threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns for the Rams. Danny Amendola caught 11 passes for 102 yards for St. Louis, while teammate Steven Jackson ran for 101 yards and a score on 29 carries.
Dallas 38 — Philadelphia 23
Tony Romo threw for 209 yards and two touchdowns, and the Dallas Cowboys beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-23, in Philadelphia on Sunday. Dwayne Harris had a 78-yard punt return for a score, and Brandon Carr returned an interception 47 yards for another touchdown to lead Dallas (4-5) over Philadelphia (3-6). The Eagles lost quarterback Michael Vick to a concussion in the first half. Rookie quarterback Nick Foles passed for 219 yards and a touchdown in place of Vick, but his two turnovers both led to Cowboys' touchdowns.
New England 37 — Buffalo 31
Tom Brady passed for 237 yards and two touchdowns, and the New England Patriots beat the Buffalo Bills, 37-31, in Foxborough on Sunday. Devin McCourty's interception in the end zone ended a rally by Buffalo (3-6) late in the game. Stevan Ridley ran for 98 yards on 22 carries for New England (6-3).
Cincinnati 31 — N.Y. Giants 13
Andy Dalton threw for 199 yards and four touchdowns, and the Cincinnati Bengals beat the New York Giants, 31-13, in Cincinnati on Sunday. Cincinnati (4-5) capitalized on two interceptions thrown by Eli Manning while dominating the Giants (6-4). Manning finished with 215 passing yards. A.J. Green caught seven passes for 85 yards and a score for the Bengals.
Tennessee 37 — Miami 3
Four takeaways, including Colin McCarthy's 49-yard interception return for a touchdown, led the Tennessee Titans to a 37-3 win over the Miami Dolphins in Miami on Sunday. Chris Johnson carried 23 times for 126 yards and a touchdown for Tennessee (4-6). Ryan Tannehill threw for 217 yards, but he was intercepted three times for Miami (4-5).
Minnesota 34 — Detroit 24
Adrian Peterson ran for 171 yards on 27 carries, including a 61-yard touchdown, and the Minnesota Vikings beat the Detroit Lions, 34-24, in Minnesota on Sunday. Christian Ponder added 221 passing yards and two touchdowns for Minnesota (6-4). Calvin Johnson caught 12 passes for 207 yards, including a touchdown, for Detroit (4-5). Lions' quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 329 yards, three scores and an interception.
Tampa Bay 34 — San Diego 24
Josh Freeman passed for 210 yards and two touchdowns, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the San Diego Chargers, 34-24, in Tampa on Sunday. A blocked punt and an interception return for a touchdown helped Tampa Bay (5-4) win its third straight game. Philip Rivers threw for 337 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions for San Diego (4-5). Danario Alexander had five receptions for 134 yards and a score for the Chargers.
Denver 36 — Carolina 14
Peyton Manning threw for 301 yards and a touchdown, and the Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers, 36-14, in Charlotte on Sunday. The Broncos' defense sacked Panthers' quarterback Cam Newton seven times. Denver (6-3) scored on a punt and an interception return for a touchdown. Demaryius Thomas caught nine passes for 135 yards for the Broncos. Greg Olsen led Carolina (2-7) with nine catches for 102 yards and two scores. Newton finished with 241 passing yards, two TD passes and two interceptions.
Seattle 28 — N.Y. Jets 7
Russell Wilson threw for 188 yards and two touchdowns, and the Seattle Seahawks beat the New York Jets, 28-7, in Seattle on Sunday. Marshawn Lynch added 124 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries for Seattle (6-4). Shonn Greene led New York (3-6) with 58 rushing yards on 15 carries. Jets' quarterback Mark Sanchez had two turnovers and threw for just 124 yards.
Baltimore 55 — Oakland 20
Joe Flacco passed for 341 yards and three touchdowns, and the Baltimore Ravens beat the Oakland Raiders, 55-20, in Baltimore on Sunday. After leading 27-10 at halftime, Baltimore (7-2) notched three touchdowns in the third quarter to turn the game into a rout. Carson Palmer threw for 368 yards, two touchdowns and an interception for Oakland (3-6).
Bye Week:
Cleveland Browns, Washington Redskins, Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals


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Magic Johnson rips Jim Buss for 'two critical mistakes'
"My mother always taught me that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all," Hall of Famer and Lakers legend Magic Johnson tweeted Tuesday morning.
Apparently, that rule didn't apply to Los Angeles Lakers owner Jim Buss, who has been heavily criticized for the Lakers' decision to hire ring-less Mike D'Antoni instead of 11-time NBA champion Phil Jackson as team's new coach after firing Mike Brown last week.
Johnson sounded off on Wednesday night during ESPN's NBA Countdown, saying he doesn't believe in Jim Buss like he did with Dr. Jerry Buss and saying the organization has made "two critical mistakes."
When Dwight Howard and Steve Nash arrived in Los Angeles, Johnson could barely contain his excitement, saying the superstar alignment made the Lakers "the team to beat, right there with the Heat."
"I think we're going to finally see the Final we've always wanted to see: LeBron vs. Kobe," he gushed.
As it turns out, Johnson didn't think Brown was the right man to lead the Lakers back to the Finals. That was critical mistake No. 1.
Naturally, when the Lakers organization abruptly fired Brown after a 1-4 start and turned its focus to finding a championship-caliber coach, Johnson was pleased with the Lakers' direction.
"Feel bad for Coach Mike Brown, who's a great guy, but don't think he was the right guy for the job in the first place," Johnson tweeted.
Critical mistake No. 2 is more than obvious for Lakers fans. Mike D'Antoni, a top candidate for the job after Brown was fired, was chosen as the next Lakers coach. The problem was 11-time NBA champion Phil Jackson was also a candidate who was interested.
"I don't feel Mike D'Antoni is the right coach for the Lakers," Johnson said. "Especially when you have Phil Jackson sitting out there, who wanted to be the Laker coach. Jim Buss decided he didn't want Phil Jackson, he wanted Mike D'Antoni. And that's OK, but why didn't you just say that? But the fans were cheering for Phil Jackson two nights in a row."
Johnson, who is part of a group that owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, believes Jim Buss is mismanaging the team.
Early Tuesday, Johnson said the reason he wasn't on Twitter for two days was because he was "mourning Phil Jackson not being hired as the Lakers head coach."
Meanwhile Kobe Bryant, the face of the team, said he "loved both" Jackson and D'Antoni as candidates and has openly been pleased with the decision despite the backlash from bypassing Jackson.
Is it right for Magic to only point blame to Jim Buss? Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said Monday that hiring D'Antoni was a unanimous decision amongst himself, Jerry Buss and Jim Buss.
During the NBA Countdown broadcast, which also featured Michael Wilbon, Jalen Rose and Bill Simmons, Johnson said D'Antoni called him and wants to meet with him.
On Thursday, Johnson backpedaled a bit, dishing out a series of supportive tweets for D'Antoni.
"@LakerNation let's hope & pray that D'Antoni leads the @Lakers to a championship."
"The decision's been made that D'Antoni is the coach so we must support him. I appreciate him reaching out to me & look forward to speaking."
"We also have to remember that not everything is up to the coach, the players also must do their part."
H/T: ESPNLosAngeles.com


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Wheel & Tire Package
Fuel Krank Black with Machined Accents 18x9 -12 $1504.00
Nitto Trail Grappler LT275/70R18 (Load E)
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Wheel SpecsBrand: Fuel
Model: Krank
Model Other: D517
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Bolt Pattern: 8x6.5
Offset: -12mm
Wheel Diameter: 18
Wheel Width: 9
Hub Bore: 125.20
Load Rating: 3500
Wheel Exposed Lugs: No
Wheel Material: Alloy
Wheel Structure: One Piece
Wheel Spoke Number: 8
Tire SpecsBrand: Nitto
Model: Trail Grappler
Size: LT275/70R18
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Inflated Diameter: 33.62
Inflated Width: 11.1
Load Index: 125
Load Range: E
Max Load Pressure: 3640@80
Ply: 10
Revs Per Mile: 733
Section Width: 275
Service Description: 125Q
Sidewall: Black
Speed Index: Q
Tire Rim Diameter: 18
Tire Type: Mud Terrain
Tread Depth: 19.1
Weight: 66.14 lbs
Warranty: Manufacturer mileage warranty
If you would like the optional "less aggressive" sidewall, please shoot us an email at email@example.com, and we can get your order updated!
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About The Fuel Krank
These Fuel Krank wheels feature a Black finish and are sure to make your ride stand out! This particular wheel setup is in 18x9 with a -12 offset. The Fuel Krank is a One Piece Alloy wheel that features hidden lugs. These beautiful 8 spoke wheels are available in a 8x6.5 configuration and will be sure to elevate the look of your vehicle build!
About The Nitto Trail Grappler
Drive with confidence with these Nitto Trail Grappler Mud Terrain tires. This specific set of tires comes in a LT275/70R18 configuration with a Q speed index and a load rating of 125. Tires are the only thing that connect your vehicle to the ground and keep you safe while you're on the road. Make sure your next set is one you can trust. The Nitto Trail Grappler are built to ensure you get where you need to go; safely. Hosting a Manufacturer warranty, these Nitto Trail Grappler tires are built to handle your lifestyle.
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Product Reviews (5)
4.8 out of 5 Stars Overall 5
Good tire
Reviewed on 06-02-2021
2017 Ram 1500 4WD
By Mason
They lasted me about 56k miles without any issues. If you like to live life on the edge you could probably push it to about 61k miles. They also do well in the snow.
Expect roughly 50k mile life
Reviewed on 12-08-2021
2018 Ford F-150 4WD
By Alex
Used and driven in Wisconsin. Put roughly 52k miles on these tires (average 20k per year on my vehicle). I put these tires on in the fall of 2019. They have been outstanding the first fall. However, they have been degrading in rubber quality more than wearing on tread life. I currently have about 8/32 left. The rubber has hardened up so much that I spin out in wet weather and the slightest snow. As for mud/off-road they are still outstanding. I will be retiring these early due to the hardness of the rubber and winter coming.
New shoes on the ride
Reviewed on 02-17-2022
2021 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon
By Mark
It looks mean and ride sooo smooth on the road. Haven't had a chance to take it off-roading but I'm pretty sure it'll get the job done
Worth the price
Reviewed on 05-20-2022
2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 4WD
By Tsali
Have had these tires for about 15k miles now, and have zero complaints about them. They work awesome in mud, their not super loud on the road, and so far they still have tons of tread left. Would definitely buy these again
Nitto Trail Grapplers
Reviewed on 07-26-2022
2013 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport
By Mike Shaw
Love the Nitto Trail Grapplers so far. Ride is pretty smooth and quiet for a mud tire and love the aggressive look!
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ALL WHEEL AND TIRE PACKAGE PRICES INCLUDE MOUNTING, BALANCING AND SHIPPING IN THE LOWER 48 STATES. TIRE PRESSURE MONITOR SENSORS (TPMS -$179 ALL 4) AND LUG NUTS ($49 W LOCKING LUGS ALL 4 SETS) CAN BE ADDED AS YOU CHECK OUT. Wheels, tires, shipping and warranty are provided by an authorized distributor to sell hundreds of brands at the best prices available! So check out our thousands of wheels or ask about a custom order just for you! Our goal is to provide our customers with outstanding customer service at unbeatable prices!
We ship to the Lower 48 states for the advertised price. With the size and complexity of shipping wheels and tires, always allow 2-3 weeks for our normal packaging and shipping process. We can ship world-wide for an additional charge. Please contact us for international shipping rates, Custom Offsets is not responsible for any customs fees, buyer is responsible for all fees and paperwork above and beyond standard freight charges. Simply choose the "Fitment Assistance" link at the top of any screen.
1. Please make sure to inspect every piece BEFORE signing any documents. If your items are shipped via UPS/FedEx ground, a signature is not required, but please be sure to inspect the products as quickly as possible and follow up with us if there are any issues so we can assist!
2. If damaged, please make sure to make full notes on documents before signing.
3. If the damage is discovered after signing the documents, please make sure we are notified within 5 business days of receiving the order.
All wheels and tires carry a full manufacturer's warranty, please ask for additional information. The buyer is responsible for return shipping and a restocking fee (at the manufacturer's discretion) if returning without a warranty claim or a defect/quality issue.
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Please reach out to us for any order changes or cancellation requests and we will work with you to adjust your shipment. Our processes have been optimized to have your order completed and shipped as quickly as possible which means your order may be further along in the pulling and packing process than you might expect. All cancellations may be subject to a restocking fee, unless the mistake is ours.
Any cancellation may carry a restocking fee that is dependent on the items ordered as well as the stage the order is in at the time of cancellation. If the cancellation request is received within 24 hours from the time of purchase, these fees may be waived. The restocking fee is typically around 10-25% but, due to vendor contracts as well as shipping and handling expenses, some products can carry a higher restocking fee once processing has begun.
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Reach out to us with any issues or return questions as we always work with our customers to ensure that they are satisfied with their purchase. However, understand that most of our items require a substantial amount of work to get them to you and we must recover these costs, unless the mistake is ours.
All returns will carry a restocking fee that is dependent on the items ordered as well as the manufacturer of the items. The restocking fee is typically around 10-25% but, due to vendor contracts as well as shipping and handling expenses, some products can carry a higher restocking fee.
All returned items must have prior approval before sending them back, please contact us to set up a return authorization. Returns must be requested within 30 days of original receipt of merchandise. Once approved, all items must be returned within 14 days. When needed, we can provide return packaging that includes instructions on how to securely package all items for shipping. If an item is improperly packaged for shipping and damaged during the return process, the customer may be responsible for the cost of the damaged product.
WARNING: This product can expose you to Black Carbon Extracts, which is known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm. For more information, go to p65warnings.ca.gov.
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Morning Discussion
We must save this fabulous mural from being destroyed.
Everything becomes more pleasant with a burst of noise. Not that rubbish 'white' noise all the squares are listening to, no, proper noise, like pink or red/brown noise.
Why does modern literature favour the tragic over the comic? It's certainly not what the Ancient Greeks, those idolised originators of our culture, thought. Sure, you could apply this thinking to video games, if you fancy. And why not!
Lastly, you positively must read Duncan Fyfe's cripplingly wonderful Bad Dreams, a short story from the perspective of a video games PR person.
From The Chatty


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YPD welcomes new dispatcher
YREKA – Yreka Police Department (YPD) Chief Brian Bowles said "It takes a special person to work as a dispatcher," and he is proudly introducing his new full-time dispatcher Seth Fortna-Hanson to the community.
"I feel a strong bond with this community. I appreciate the city of Yreka. I feel this is where I am supposed to be and I like the idea of providing a service to this community," said Fortna-Hanson. "I love the interaction with the public. I feel blessed that this job has opened up for me and this is the most rewarding opportunity I have ever had."
During his 12-hour shifts, Fortna-Hanson will handle 9-1-1 calls, track officers in the field, assist citizens at the department's front counter, enter calls into a log, enter arrest warrants into the department's system, determine citizens' needs within a short period of time and be the voice of reason during all crisis situations, explained Bowles.
Fortna-Hanson grew up in Gazelle before moving to Yreka and he is pursuing an associate's degree in criminal justice in his spare time. He previously worked at Mattole Charter School at the front desk and as a teacher's aide. There, he multi-tasked, resolved problems and maintained his calm during high-stress situations – all of which he said has helped to prepare him for the challenges of working as a dispatcher.
He began working as a part-time dispatcher for the YPD in July, and Bowles said he was impressed by Fortna-Hanson's dedication to public service. He was doing so well that when a full-time position came open, he was offered the job.
Fortna-Hanson underwent a rigorous four and a half month training, and he passed the difficult state testing and the stringent background investigation, said Bowles. Within the next year, Fortna-Hanson will undergo a three-week post training for dispatchers.
"He shines at the department and I believe he will continue to shine for the citizens of Yreka for years to come," said Bowles.


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We are a trusted Cisco Partner and bring their brand loyalty to your doorways in the shape of their products and networking solutions that ease your IT work. We help you get the benefit of their excellence and innovation without any inconvenience.
Sanso Networks is a dedicated company engaged in providing a wide range of IT products that help businesses in different ways. Our efforts of providing products to the maximum audience have earned us the credibility among the best Cisco Products Suppliers in Kondagaon. Our products are reliable, user-friendly, compact and easy to operate and available at competitive market prices.
We have a team to provide Cisco Switch, Cisco UCS, Cisco Room Kit, Cisco WIFI, Cisco Servers, Cisco Ironport, & Cisco IP Phones in Kondagaon without disappointing our clients in any manner. We are trusted by people for our experience, expertise and dedicated customer support that stands us apart from the crowd. Our solutions and services are customized to your requirements, so feel free to discuss your requirements with us.
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The innovator, the trendsetter, the Maverick truck. With a do-it-yourself customizable pickup bed, roomy interior and the latest technology, it's the only standard full hybrid pickup in America.
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Online Reservation FAQs
What is a reservation?
A reservation lets you select your vehicle and be among the first to order a new Maverick truck from Ford. It is not an actual order and does not guarantee delivery.
What steps are required to complete my reservation?
Go online and select "Reserve Now," fill out the reservation form and submit your request to join the list for a new Maverick truck. A confirmation will display after the form is submitted and an email with be sent to the address in the reservation form.
When can I order my vehicle?
We will help you select and build your Maverick truck. We will also help you agree on pricing and finalize your order for production. The Maverick truck ordering window opens at the beginning of June 2021.
When will my vehicle be delivered?
Maverick truck production and deliveries to Ford Dealers will begin fall 2021. Actual delivery times may vary based on configuration selected, residency and demand. Once your vehicle is scheduled for production, you will receive further notification from us about its status.
Am I buying this vehicle directly from Ford?
No. The purchase agreement will be between you and Fowlerville Ford, not you and Ford Motor Company. A deposit is not required from Ford to submit a reservation.
By completing the reservation process, you are not ordering or purchasing a vehicle. Participation in the program does not guarantee you vehicle delivery. Your reservation does not guarantee a set price for the vehicle.
*2.5L hybrid powertrain. Actual mileage will vary. Final EPA estimated ratings available later in the 2021 calendar year.
** Max payload varies and is based on accessories and vehicle configuration. See label on door jamb for carrying capacity of a specific vehicle.
† Max towing with available 2.0L EcoBoost and 4K Tow Package. Max towing varies based on cargo, vehicle configuration, accessories and number of passengers. EPA-estimated fuel economy, payload and towing are independent attributes and may not be achieved simultaneously.
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