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Reader says Mr Mayor We are not so gullible as to fall for your rhetoric. Nor are we so meek as to be cowed into silence by threats of being deemed outside your “new normal”.

Rules_for_Radicals

Reader says Mr Mayor We are not so gullible as to fall for your rhetoric. Nor are we so meek as to be cowed into silence by threats of being deemed outside your “new normal”.

“The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam.”

Get over yourself, Mr. Mayor. The playbook is Saul Alinsky’s, and the major practitioner of Alinsky’s techniques is the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The above is from his speech given at the United Nations in NYC while he was still trying to blame the murder of four Americans in Benghazi on a two-bit director and his crummy movie. Sure, he set up and knocked down other straw men to whom ownership of the future should ostensibly be denied, but everyone knew the passage quoted above was his “money” quote…the real message.

Every trick you’re trying to pull, Mr. Mayor, has long since been attempted (and revealed as a naked political tactic) on the national stage in full view of your Ridgewood neighbors. We are not so gullible as to fall for your rhetoric. Nor are we so meek as to be cowed into silence by threats of being deemed outside your “new normal”.

It won’t be long now before we’re treated to a reprise of Charlie (nicknamed ‘Charlianna’) whose sole purpose in life was seemingly to troll this blog and accuse people with whom he disagreed of occupying “the lunatic fringe”. See the similarity? Freeze your opponent, isolate them, then freely pour on their head all the ridicule, scorn, and disdain you can generate.

Get a new schtick, mayor Aronsohn. We’ve had it with your self-righteous nonsense and wish that you and your two amigos would simply cut out the condescension and do the jobs you were elected to do. Show some humility and leave the moralizing to people who still have at least a shred of credibility on the topic. And stop basing your political life on tactics from a book dedicated by Alinsky to the father of all lies.

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As Medicaid Rolls Swell, Cuts in Payments to Doctors Threaten Access to Care

obamacare

As Medicaid Rolls Swell, Cuts in Payments to Doctors Threaten Access to Care

WASHINGTON — Just as millions of people are gaining insurance through Medicaid, the program is poised to make deep cuts in payments to many doctors, prompting some physicians and consumer advocates to warn that the reductions could make it more difficult for Medicaid patients to obtain care.

The Affordable Care Act provided a big increase in Medicaid payments for primary care in 2013 and 2014. But the increase expires on Thursday — just weeks after the Obama administration told the Supreme Court that doctors and other providers had no legal right to challenge the adequacy of payments they received from Medicaid.

The impact will vary by state, but a study by the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan research organization, estimates that doctors who have been receiving the enhanced payments will see their fees for primary care cut by 43 percent, on average.

Stephen Zuckerman, a health economist at the Urban Institute and co-author of the report, said Medicaid payments for primary care services could drop by 50 percent or more in California, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania, among other states.

In his budget request in March, President Obama proposed a one-year extension of the higher Medicaid payments. Several Democratic members of Congress backed the idea, but the proposals languished, and such legislation would appear to face long odds in the new Congress, with Republicans controlling both houses.

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/28/us/obamacare-medicaid-fee-increases-expiring.html?_r=0

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More calls for reform of Port Authority; N.J. legislators criticize heavy overtime

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More calls for reform of Port Authority; N.J. legislators criticize heavy overtime

December 26, 2014, 11:18 PM Last updated: Saturday, December 27, 2014, 10:13 AM
By JOHN REITMEYER, DUSTIN RACIOPPI and ABBOTT KOLOFF
staff writers |
The Record

Staggering amounts of overtime at the Port Authority, especially in the police ranks, underscore widespread mismanagement and the need for greater oversight of the bi-state agency, which has come under critical scrutiny since the George Washington Bridge lane-closings scandal last year, state lawmakers said Friday.

The reactions followed a report by The Record that 131 agency employees, most of them police officers, earned so much overtime pay through September that they more than doubled their salaries. Thirteen officers earned more than the executive director, whose annual salary is $289,000, with the top 10 overtime earners, all police, averaging an estimated 46 hours of overtime per week.

“It just points out another example of the lack of management that has gone on there over the last number of years,” said state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, the Teaneck Democrat who is co-chairwoman of the joint legislative committee investigating the 2013 bridge lane closures. She said that “people just don’t function if they’ve worked too many hours straight.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/more-calls-for-reform-of-port-authority-n-j-legislators-criticize-heavy-overtime-1.1181973

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Hundreds Turn Their Back on de Blasio at NYPD Officer’s Funeral

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Hundreds Turn Their Back on de Blasio at NYPD Officer’s Funeral

Dec 27, 2014, 11:36 AM ET
By DEAN SCHABNER

Hundreds of police officers turned their backs on a screen showing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio as he spoke at the funeral of one of two officers killed last week in what has been called an “assassination.”

The funeral at the Christ Tabernacle Church, in the Glendale neighborhood of Queens, was broadcast to thousands of police who gathered outside.

The killing of Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu came amid heightened tensions between the police and the mayor over what some police saw as a lack of support for the force.

The atmosphere was mostly respectful, but there were scattered signs of protest even before the police officers action when the mayor spoke.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/nypd-officers-turn-back-de-blasio-cops-funeral/story?id=27851746

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Online scare keeps many out of school in Westwood

Web threat

Online scare keeps many out of school in Westwood

December 27, 2014    Last updated: Saturday, December 27, 2014, 1:21 AM
By HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER |
The Record

A security scare at Westwood Regional Jr./Sr. High School prompted many families to keep their kids home on Tuesday, despite assurances from school officials that there was no actual threat, officials said.

More than 200 students were absent, or about 20 percent of all students, which was an unusually high number even for the day before Christmas vacation, said district Superintendent Raymond Gonzalez on Friday. Some stayed home because of rumors about a threat that was linked to an online book written by a student, officials said.

Gonzalez declined to say what the student wrote or what prompted the scare, but the school did investigate and found “no credible information to support the claims,” he said.

“No specific threats were directed at any of our schools or personnel,” Gonzalez said. “However, local, national and world events have heightened our collective sensitivity to matters of safety in our school.

“As such, the school district takes all matters seriously and works cooperatively with law enforcement to investigate public concerns when they arise to ensure that our schools are safe places for all students.”

Officials declined to identify the student and said that there was no need to discipline the teen.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/online-scare-keeps-many-out-of-school-1.1182051

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SiliconValley.com : The 5 biggest tech fails of 2014

u2

At top: Apple CEO Tim Cook and U2′s Bono weren’t smiling for long after launching U2′s new album on everyone’s iTunes accounts in September.  (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

The 5 biggest tech fails of 2014

In the tech world, we can’t all be winners all the time. 2014 saw some rather spectacular failures. Here are our top (bottom?) five:

5. Google’s Barge

4. U2 and iTunes

3. Amazon Fire smartphone

2. Uber

1. Online security

https://www.siliconbeat.com/2014/12/26/the-5-biggest-tech-fails-of-2014/

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The Rotary Club of Ridgewood A.M., is seeking Funds to restore Gaetano Federici sculpture

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The Rotary Club of Ridgewood A.M., is seeking Funds to restore Gaetano Federici sculpture

To the Editor:

The “rediscovery” of the Gaetano Federici sculpture is a blessing for the village (The Ridgewood News, Dec. 19). It needs to be properly restored and relocated. The Rotary Club of Ridgewood A.M., with support of Rotary District 7490, is undertaking fundraising specifically for this purpose.

Anyone interested in donating to the restoration can send a check payable to the Ridgewood Rotary Foundation, with “Federici” in the memo line, at P.O. Box 1152, Ridgewood, NJ 07451-1152. Donations to Rotary are tax deductible to the limit of the law.

Chris Stout

President ’13-’14

Rotary Club of Ridgewood A.M.

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North Jersey electricity bills going up?

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North Jersey electricity bills going up?

December 25, 2014    Last updated: Thursday, December 25, 2014, 1:21 AM
By DAVE SHEINGOLD
STAFF WRITER |
The Record

North Jerseyans could face another round of electricity rate hikes under a disputed multibillion-dollar proposal by the manager of the nation’s largest electric grid that is aimed at making sure power plants across a 13-state region continue to operate, no matter how hot or cold it gets.

The plan was proposed by PJM Interconnection LLC, and it comes as regulators and the energy industry are struggling to improve the regional power grid while containing costs. It would require power plants serving New Jersey and 12 other states to assure that they can provide electricity on demand, especially during heat waves and cold snaps. The impetus for the proposal stems largely from a run of frigid weather last winter when some generators failed to produce electricity, increasing the risk of power outages.

However, the proposal would raise energy production costs, with the increase passed on to consumers, by requiring plant operators to improve maintenance on backup generators and guarantee that they will have fuel to fire them up when needed. Fines for failure could skyrocket, further raising costs.

The plan was filed this month with federal regulators by PJM Interconnection, which runs a section of the national power grid from New Jersey to Illinois. It comes after rate hikes approved this year by New Jersey regulators to fund $1.2 billion worth of other projects aimed at improving the power distribution system in the northern and central areas of the state.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/north-jersey-electricity-bills-going-up-1.1179836

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Critics hate ‘The Interview’

The-Interview-Franco

Critics hate ‘The Interview’

As we had long speculated  , the Interview is a bad movie with great PR , in now looks like Sony concocted the whole North Korea nonsense to deflect form the second serious Hacker breach in as many years , PJ Blogger

Movie critics say the controversy surrounding “The Interview” is much more interesting than the movie itself

The movie is scoring just a 50 percent positive review from critics on the Rotten Tomatoes website.

It’s fairing even more poorly with top critics, who give it a measly 32 percent positive rating.

The film is doing better with regular fans, however. It gets a 73 percent “liked it” audience score from Rotten Tomatoes.

Critics say the satire about a television host and producer asked by the CIA to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jung-un doesn’t deliver the goods.

“Characterizing it as satire elevates the creative execution of the film’s very silly faux assassination of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un far beyond what it merits,” writes Betsy Sharkey in the Lost Angeles Times.

https://thehill.com/homenews/news/228085-critics-hate-the-interview

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Fooled Again : No, North Korea Didn’t Hack Sony

team-america
Fooled Again : No, North Korea Didn’t Hack Sony
12.24.14

The FBI and the President may claim that the Hermit Kingdom is to blame for the most high-profile network breach in forever. But almost all signs point in another direction.

So, “The Interview” is to be released after all.

The news that the satirical movie—which revolves around a plot to murder Kim Jong-Un—will have a Christmas Day release as planned, will prompt renewed scrutiny of whether, as the US authorities have officially claimed, the cyber attack on Sony really was the work of an elite group of North Korean government hackers.

All the evidence leads me to believe that the great Sony Pictures hack of 2014 is far more likely to be the work of one disgruntled employee facing a pink slip.

I may be biased, but, as the director of security operations for DEF CON, the world’s largest hacker conference, and the principal security researcher for the world’s leading mobile security company, Cloudflare, I think I am worth hearing out.

The FBI was very clear in its press release about who it believed was responsible for the attack: “The FBI now has enough information to conclude that the North Korean government is responsible for these actions,” they said in their December 19 statement, before adding, “the need to protect sensitive sources and methods precludes us from sharing all of this information”.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/24/no-north-korea-didn-t-hack-sony.html

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Saudi women drivers sent to ‘terrorism’ court: activists

distraction

Saudi women drivers sent to ‘terrorism’ court: activists

Riyadh (AFP) – Two women’s rights campaigners detained in Saudi Arabia have been transferred to a special tribunal for “terrorism”, activists said on Thursday after the women appeared in court.

The ruling came at a hearing in Al-Ahsa, in the kingdom’s Eastern Province, according to the activists who declined to be named.

Loujain Hathloul has been detained since December 1 after she tried to drive into the kingdom from neighbouring United Arab Emirates in defiance of a ban.

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world which does not allow women to drive.

https://news.yahoo.com/saudi-women-drivers-sent-terrorism-court-activists-111609165.html;_ylt=AwrBJR_EJ5xUOTgA4hLQtDMD

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CDC reports potential Ebola exposure in Atlanta lab

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CDC reports potential Ebola exposure in Atlanta lab

Researchers studying Ebola in a highly secure laboratory mistakenly allowed potentially lethal samples of the virus to be handled in a much less secure laboratory at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, agency officials said Wednesday.

One technician in the second laboratory may have been exposed to the virus and about a dozen other people have been assessed after entering the facility unaware that potentially hazardous samples of Ebola had been handled there.

The technician has no symptoms of illness and is being monitored for 21 days. Agency officials said it is unlikely that any of the others who entered the lab face potential exposure. Some entered the lab after it had been decontaminated. Officials said there is no possible exposure outside the secure laboratory at CDC and no exposure or risk to the public.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/cdc-reports-potential-ebola-exposure-in-atlanta-lab/2014/12/24/f1a9f26c-8b8e-11e4-8ff4-fb93129c9c8b_story.html

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Friends, family celebrate life of former Ridgewood High School principal Jack Lorenz

jack_Lorenz

Friends, family celebrate life of former Ridgewood High School principal Jack Lorenz

DECEMBER 24, 2014    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014, 2:58 PM
BY JODI WEINBERGER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Jack Lorenz’s family – his wife, Karen, and sons Jake and Matthew – drove 1,000 miles this week to be in the village as residents honored the former Ridgewood High School (RHS) principal.

Monday, Dec. 22, was proclaimed John “Jack” Lorenz Day by Mayor Paul Aronsohn following an emotional two-hour event in the Ridgewood Library to celebrate the educator’s life.

Lorenz, who served at the helm of RHS from 2006 to 2011, died on Nov. 29 in his home in Alabama.

“It’s very comforting,” said Karen Lorenz as she greeted the steady stream of residents filling up the library’s auditorium.

Jake and Matthew Lorenz each wore one of Lorenz’s ties from the nonprofit organization Save the Children for the occasion; Matthew’s had a smiling cartoon sun on its front, Jake’s was covered in lopsided musical notes and dancing stick figures.

The family had not been back to Ridgewood since Lorenz resigned from RHS in 2011.

“It’s cool to see everything he’s done and although it’s on bad terms, we’re very proud to be here,” Jake Lorenz said.

RHS Assistant Principal Basil Pizzuto opened the ceremony.

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/family-friends-celebrate-life-of-former-ridgewood-high-school-principal-1.1176266