Shark Finds Launches DRTV Campaign for the FlipStir® Puzzle

May 3, 2016, 12:06 am

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Shark Finds Product Managers are pleased to announce the DRTV campaign launch for the FlipStir® Puzzle.

St. Petersburg, FL (PRWEB) May 03, 2016

Shark Finds and Kevin Harrington, one of the original Sharks from hit reality series Shark Tank, are pleased to announce the launch of a new DRTV campaign for the FlipStir® puzzle.

The FlipStir® puzzle is a new twist on 3D puzzles and games. Intended for ages seven and up, the FlipStir® puzzle is a self-contained, 10-piece three-dimensional puzzle that reveals educational artwork when solved. The award-winning design not only helps relieve stress and get the creative juices flowing, it also helps improve fine motor skills and dexterity, as well as hand-eye coordination and spatial relations skills. Among its many awards, the FlipStir® puzzle has won Dr. Toy’s Top 100 of 2015, the National Parenting Center Seal of Approval, and Creative Child Magazine’s 2015 Puzzle of the Year Award.

Most of all, the patented FlipStir® puzzle is fun, especially when turned into a game with friends—or against them—making it perfect for playing at home, school, or the office, and even better for travelling. As a self-contained, 3D puzzle powered by the brain and hands, the FlipStir® puzzle has no batteries, no lost pieces, and no rules. Just shake, stir, solve—it's that simple.

“It is a pleasure to collaborate with a visionary entrepreneur like Kevin Harrington and the AsSeenOnTV.pro team to help us bring the fun of the FlipStir® puzzle to more families across the United States through new media,” said Suchi Sairam, Owner and Chief Catalyst of Enlivenze LLC, makers of the FlipStir® puzzle.

As part of its DRTV campaign with AsSeenOnTV.pro, the FlipStir® puzzle will be appearing in 30 and 60 second spots set to air nationwide and feature the original Shark himself, Kevin Harrington. AsSeenOnTV.pro is comprised of an award-winning team of producers, writers, videographers, and editors as well as industry veterans dedicated to finding the latest, most innovative products and ideas, and putting them on the DRTV map. For more information on the FlipStir® puzzle, please visit http://www.flipstirpuzzle.com.

About Kevin Harrington
As the inventor of the infomercial, founder of As Seen on TV, and one of the original Sharks on Shark Tank, Kevin Harrington has worked with some of the world’s biggest celebrities and launched some of the best-selling DRTV campaigns in history, in his latest venture with AsSeenOnTV.pro, Harrington is on the hunt for the best new products and ideas, bringing them to homes everywhere through personalized DRTV campaigns featuring the Shark.

About AsSeenOnTV.pro
Headquartered in Florida, AsSeenOnTV.pro is a full-service production, branding, and marketing company specializing in highly visible campaigns in direct response television.

About Shark Finds
The Shark Finds creative team guides these spots from script phase to screen-ready stage to final airing. The Shark Finds team has produced millions of dollars worth of broadcast placements in just over two decades, with the help of their regional and national relationships. Reported by PRWeb 10 hours ago.

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David Obrand Joins Propel Board of Directors

May 3, 2016, 12:01 am

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Radius COO and Former Salesforce Executive Brings Sales and Operational Expertise to Scale Propel’s Growth in the Cloud Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Market

San Jose, CA (PRWEB) May 03, 2016

Propel, http://www.propelPLM.com, a modern Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) provider built 100% on the Salesforce platform, today announced that David Obrand, Chief Operating Officer at Radius Intelligence, will join the company’s board of directors. Obrand’s 20 years of executive, sales and industry experience will help Propel scale its sales and marketing efforts.

Obrand has been the Chief Operating Officer at Radius since January 2015. Prior to Radius, he served in a number of executive roles including Chief Executive Officer at Fuze, and Chief Customer Officer and Vice President of Global Sales at Yammer, where he helped grow the business from a small team to what eventually resulted in a $1.2B acquisition by Microsoft. He also served in a number of senior sales leadership roles at Salesforce, including Vice President of Vertical Sales. Obrand is an advisor at Eight Partners, and he has a Bachelor's Degree in Economics and Political Science from Claremont McKenna College.

Obrand joins Matt Holleran, General Partner at Cloud Apps Capital Partners, and Ray Hein, CEO of Propel, on the company’s board of directors.

Comments on the News·     "David is a proven executive in helping companies grow, and we are excited to welcome him to Propel’s board of directors,” explained Ray Hein, Propel’s CEO. "We believe his strong experience with sales leadership, business operations and industry strategy at Salesforce, Yammer and Radius, will be extremely valuable as Propel continues to expand our team, customer base and partners.”
·     “Propel is a breath of fresh air in the PLM and cloud market, and I’m honored to be joining their board,” said Obrand. “Propel has shown that global enterprises are looking for a new way to unify customer, product and service information, and I’m excited to work with the company to scale their revenue.”
·     "David has been in at the forefront of enterprise cloud companies since 2002. His leadership experience at Radius, Yammer, and Salesforce.com will be extremely valuable as Propel scales its sales, marketing, and service efforts as a leading cloud based Product Lifecycle Management Platform," said Matt Holleran, General Partner, Cloud Apps Capital Partners. "We are excited to welcome David to the board, we believe his experience thoughtfully complements the manufacturing, PLM, and cloud expertise of the Propel executive team."

About Propel
At Propel, we make PLM that’s made for everyone. Created by Product Lifecycle Management and cloud veterans, Propel helps everyone connect with your customers, products and services, so you can propel innovation and propel your business. With Propel, you can easily manage all the hardware, software, services, and customer information that help customers embrace your products. Based in the heart of Silicon Valley, Propel is a modern PLM solution built 100% on the Salesforce App Cloud. For more information, visit http://www.propelPLM.com. Reported by PRWeb 10 hours ago.

Carmarthen Mayor's Race: 5km results

May 3, 2016, 5:50 am

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FROM toddlers to seasoned veterans, they all turned out for the annual Carmarthen Mayor's Fun Run races staged in the town centre on Bank Holiday Monday.Runners of all shapes and sizes took to the streets of Carmarthen, helping to raise cash for many different charities."It was a great, fun occasion, with the accent firmly on everyone having fun," said Carmarthen Mayor Barry Williams."This is the 35th year for the races to be held in Carmarthen and each year it is a delight to see... Reported by Carmarthen Journal 4 hours ago.

World T.E.A.M. Sports' Face of America Honors Veterans in Bicycle Ride to Gettysburg

May 3, 2016, 1:22 am

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Annual Ride Attracts Nearly 600 Riders Reported by Marketwired 8 hours ago.

How Steel From The World Trade Center May Help To Cut Vets' Suicide Rates

May 3, 2016, 4:27 am

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Veterans groups are trying to get vets to take a pledge not to commit suicide. They're using a powerful symbol to invoke the pledge — a sword forged from steel from the World Trade Center. Reported by NPR 5 hours ago.

PROSPER Show 2017 for Amazon Sellers in Las Vegas, March 22-23, 2017

May 3, 2016, 3:02 am

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PROSPER Show 2017 for Amazon Sellers announced for Las Vegas, March 22-23, 2017, co-located with the ASD Market Week and SourceDirect tradeshows

Seattle, Washington (PRWEB) May 03, 2016

The PROSPER Show is pleased to announce its continuing education conference for Amazon Sellers, March 22-23, 2017, at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas. Aimed to support online sellers seeking to improve their business on Amazon, this conference features several ex-Amazon leaders and uses a workshop and seminar approach to help Amazon sellers learn how to sell more online.

PROSPER Show President, James Thomson, former Business Head of “Selling on Amazon” and Amazon Services leader, remarks on the 2017 conference. “I'm thrilled to see so many industry experts, ex-Amazon business heads, and leading solution providers joining forces to offer this learning experience to online sellers. PROSPER leads with education first, and offer attendees the opportunity to learn from industry experts and experienced sellers that have built their way to positions of strength by implementing data-driven, operational-sound processes to stay ahead of the competition.”

This convention about Amazon is ideal for intermediate and advanced Amazon online sellers seeking to learn from industry veterans, to network with one another, and to dig into advanced topics through workshops. The exhibitors and sponsors of this event include many of the leading solution providers supporting marketplace sellers today.

The 2017 keynote speaker of the PROSPER Show will be Rick Cesari, the marketing mastermind behind The GoPro Camera, OxiClean, The George Foreman Grill, Sonicare, Juiceman, Rug Doctor, and Clarisonic. He will talk about what it takes to build a successful brand from end to end. Additional highlights of the 2017 e-commerce event are extensive:· Over 25 sessions covering timely topics relevant to resellers and brands selling on Amazon today
· “Stump the Expert” session to answer your toughest questions about Amazon
· Two evening networking events

Pre-conference workshops March 21, 2017 include:· Ecommerce Accounting
· Generating Outside Traffic To Your Amazon Listings
· Amazon Sponsored Products
· Best practices for Private Label & Supply Chain Management in China

The 2017 PROSPER Show will be co-located with the SourceDirect and ASD Market Week shows (March 19-22, 2017) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. PROSPER Show attendees will be extended free access to these two shows, where they can meet with over 2,600 vendors, including more than 400 overseas factories. For more information on the full agenda and list of PROSPER Show speakers, see http://www.ProsperShow.com.

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This show is not sponsored by or affiliated with Amazon.com LLC or any of its business subsidiaries. Reported by PRWeb 7 hours ago.

Heart to Heart Hospice Recognized as We Honor Veterans Partner

May 3, 2016, 4:07 am

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FLINT, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Heart to Heart Hospice is proud to be a continued partner of We Honor Veterans (“WHV”), a pioneering program created by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (“NHPCO”), in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs, to meet the needs of Veterans facing a life-limiting illness. Heart to Heart Hospice of Flint has achieved the highest level of recognition as a WHV hospice provider and has made a commitment to enhance the quality of care fo Reported by Business Wire 6 hours ago.

Countdown begins to Falmouth charity's round Britain challenge

May 3, 2016, 7:17 am

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There are only six weeks left until a crew of veterans from a Falmouth charity attempts to sail around Britain.The Turn to Starboard Round Britain Challenge will start on June 1 and the 38 veterans will attempt to complete the 2,000 mile journey around the British Isles.The challenge will begin in Falmouth and will go anti-clockwise around Britain on a 92-foot replica tall ship, The Spirit of Falmouth.Turn to Starboard is a military charity that works with veterans to re-engage, reintegrate and... Reported by West Briton 3 hours ago.

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Highlights from the federal auditor general's spring report released Tuesday

May 3, 2016, 7:42 am

≫ Next: Pot problem: Auditor urges Veterans Affairs to rein in medical pot use, costs

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*By The Canadian Press*

OTTAWA — Key findings from the spring report of the federal auditor general, released Tuesday:

— Veterans Affairs Canada lacks adequate limits on the soaring cost and usage levels of marijuana among ex-soldiers who are using it for medical purposes, authorizing in some 340 cases the consumption of 10 grams a day — twice Health Canada's recommended threshold. 

—  The number of veterans receiving medical marijuana jumped from 112 in 2013-14 to 1,320 in 2015, and the cost rose... // Read Full Article Reported by CJME 2 hours ago.

Pot problem: Auditor urges Veterans Affairs to rein in medical pot use, costs

May 3, 2016, 7:42 am

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*By The Canadian Press*

OTTAWA — The latest report from the federal auditor general urges Veterans Affairs to get a grip on its medical marijuana program for injured ex-soldiers, which is expected to cost taxpayers a startling $25 million this year.

Michael Ferguson says it's just one of the programs where the federal government has critical data available to it that's either not usable, not used or not acted upon at all.

The report tabled Tuesday in the House of Commons also looked at the dire... // Read Full Article Reported by CJME 2 hours ago.

AG finds gaps in veterans' drug coverage, efforts to combat citizenhip fraud

May 3, 2016, 8:23 am

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Canada's auditor general is warning of serious consequences from the way data is collected and used by the government, which he says is having a direct impact on the ability of the public service to serve and protect Canadians. Reported by CBC.ca 1 hour ago.

How Hip Are you? Working Wardrobes Moves to Beautiful New Location with Exciting Fundraising Campaign

May 3, 2016, 8:01 am

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Donors can help clients find employment and achieve self-sufficiency by owning square feet of the new Working Wardrobes office building.

Costa Mesa, California (PRWEB) May 03, 2016

Well into their 26th year, the team at Orange County nonprofit Working Wardrobes (http://www.workingwardrobes.org) gears up to move from their Costa Mesa location into a new 22,500 square ft. Irvine office. The nonprofit, which provides a full suite of career development services to help make the power of a paycheck a reality for those in need, has launched an exciting fundraising campaign called “Hip to be Square” (http://www.workingwardrobes.org/square) so that donors can ‘own’ square footage of the new office space. The fundraising campaign supports the move and allows Working Wardrobes to expand its life changing services to reach hundreds of additional clients each year.

Jerri Rosen, founder and CEO of Working Wardrobes, says the move – while unexpected – comes at a critical time as her organization has outgrown its current space and continues to expand its services for men, women, and young adults to include innovative programs for veterans, their spouses, and caregivers.

“Hip to be Square is a wonderful way for donors to be a part of our new journey as we head into the next 25 years," said Rosen. “We were lucky to find the perfect space to expand our operations, but it requires a lot of updates to become an inviting and welcoming career center for our clients, donors, and volunteers. We need support from donors who want to invest in our building so they can make the power of a paycheck a reality for thousands of additional clients.”

For a tax deductible donation of $10, $50, $100, $500, $1000 (or more), donors can own square footage of the new Working Wardrobes building located in the beautiful Irvine Business Complex. Donors can also turn up the volume on their contributions by owning an entire office, board room, dressing room, or other key areas of the new office space. And because this new location comes with a long-term 12 year lease, donors can set aside monthly donations throughout 2016 and beyond to own their piece of the building on an ongoing basis, and to help Working Wardrobes serve thousands of additional clients in need.

All donors will receive special recognition with their names prominently displayed on “squares” on the Working Wardrobes Hall of Fame, in the main hallway of the new office space.

“Transition is always challenging, whether we’re helping our clients move to a new phase of their lives or whether we’re moving to a new location,” said Derek Benson, Working Wardrobes Board Chair and VP of Operations at Union Bank. “That’s why the love and support of generous donors is so instrumental to our organization’s success. We need serious fundraising right now, but most importantly, we want ongoing support from the community and from businesses in our area to help transform the lives of our clients – today, and for the next 25 years.”

The new Working Wardrobes facility is 6,000 square feet larger than the nonprofit’s current office space, and will feature twice as many career training rooms and nearly double the number of computer lab stations; a much larger community room for client meetings, events, and educational workshops; and additional warehouse space to process increased clothing donations. This is critical as the organization serves more clients and continues to open more resale shops throughout Orange County. For Working Wardrobes, an increase in finding equates to the nonprofit’s ability to serve more clients.

In addition to monetary donations, Working Wardrobes also needs in-kind donations such as furniture and office supplies for its move.

To find out how you can support the Working Wardrobes Hip to be Square campaign, visit http://www.workingwardrobes.org/square or call (714) 210-2460.

About Working Wardrobes
Working Wardrobes does everything in its power to help men, women, young adults, and veterans overcome difficult challenges so they can achieve the dignity of work. The organization provides career training, job placement assistance, and professional wardrobe services in an environment of dignity and respect. Since its inception in1990, Working Wardrobes has served over 85,000 clients, including hundreds of veterans. Reported by PRWeb 2 hours ago.

Kevin Dinino Speaks to Military Veterans about PR and Communications Jobs in Cybersecurity

May 3, 2016, 8:01 am

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KCD PR President joined other industry leaders on panel discussion at San Diego Military Community Transition Summit

San Diego (PRWEB) May 03, 2016

Kevin Dinino, President of KCD PR, recently participated in a panel discussion on cybersecurity at the San Diego Military Community Transition Summit. Part of the two-day hiring fair at the Naval Base San Diego, the discussion was designed to educate service members, veterans and military spouses on career opportunities in the cybersecurity field.

The discussion was presented by Link2Cyber and moderated by Rear Admiral (Ret) Ken Slaght, co-chair and president of the San Diego Cyber Center of Excellence (CCOE), a non-profit that supplies the leadership and fosters collaboration in effort to establish San Diego as a worldwide center for cybersecurity products and services.

Dinino, who spoke about communications and PR jobs that cater to cyber, was joined on the panel by Tom Caldwell, Co-Founder and EVP of Products at CyberFlow Analytics; Jon Dien, CEO and President of Ausgar Technologies and Pat Sullivan, Executive Director, SPAWAR.

“It was an absolute honor to speak alongside some of the brightest minds in the industry and educate our military heroes on cybersecurity opportunities in San Diego,” Dinino said. “Cybersecurity is the single largest threat to the government and private sectors today and the reality is, from banking to smartphones, cyber threats impact us all. The demand for professionals in the cyber sector far outweighs the supply and, for those without a technical background, there is a tremendous opportunity in the communications field.”

The cybersecurity industry has a $1.5 billion economic impact and provides more than 13,000 jobs in the San Diego region, making it an attractive employment option for service members and veterans. The Link2Cyber panel helped connect veterans with local organizations such as SPAWAR, which hires more than 500 people per year in cyber.

In addition to the panel on cybersecurity, the Transition Summit featured key federal and state agencies, influential military leaders, innovators in the business and employer community and local community leaders. Speakers included representatives from Naval Base San Diego, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Department of Labor Veterans’ Employment and Training Services, U.S. Army’s Installation Management Command and Soldier for Life Program, the U.S. Department of Defense’s Transition to Veterans Program Office, the U.S. Small Business Administration, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes, and local chambers of commerce.

Dinino represents KCD PR’s position on the CCOE Board, serving as co-chair of the Outreach Committee. The firm also leads various the public relations and marketing efforts for CCOE educational and job-related programs tailored to the academic community to attract and nurture talent within the San Diego region.

About KCD PR

KCD Public Relations Inc. (KCD PR) is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing agency that delivers award-winning strategic public relations, marketing communications and social media campaigns and counsel to the financial services, fintech and B2B leaders nationwide. KCD PR’s mission is to create and communicate a brand’s vision through highly targeted campaigns focused on messaging development, media relations, outsourced marketing such as marketing content creation, media training and analysis, press kit development and more. For more information on our services, client results and case studies, please visit http://www.kcdpr.com/public-relations-experts/. Reported by PRWeb 2 hours ago.

Hillary Clinton Says It's About 'Hard Choices' But Admits Many of Her Choices Were Wrong

May 3, 2016, 9:34 am

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Hillary Clinton has stated many times that being president isn't about grand ideas but about making "hard choices." She even titled her book Hard Choices, and she has used this phrase regularly on the campaign trail.

She's right: making difficult decisions is an essential part of leadership. But making the right choice is what great leadership requires, and even by her own admission many of her choices have been wrong.

Let's review:

(Yes, you're owed an apology in advance that the list is so long.)
· For years Hillary Clinton promoted fracking while she was Secretary of State, but now she regrets her support.· She was, and still is, personally invested in the Keystone XL Pipeline, but now she says she wants to review this project.· For decades she was adamantly opposed to gay marriage and LGBT rights, but now she supports them.· She believed the intelligence George Bush and Dick Cheney provided about the supposed "weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq, but now she regrets her credulity.· She supported the Iraq War itself and spoke out repeatedly in support, but now she says this too was "a huge mistake." Bernie Sanders looked at the same intelligence, listened to the same pro-war speeches, and yet came out strongly against the war, led the opposition to it in Congress, and repeatedly called out Bush and Cheney for deliberate misinformation.· She set up a private server in her home and sent official email through this server, possibly to conceal (from oversight) or to divulge (to private individuals) official business. The FBI is investigating. She has cautiously acknowledged an error in judgment.· She pushed for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and referred to it as the "gold standard" of international business agreements many times. Now she says she needs to "take another look" at this job-crushing deal.· She supported the "free trade" deal with Panama, although now she says the deal was a mistake. Bernie opposed this deal from the beginning, saying it was a ruse to enable billionaires and giant corporations to move their profits overseas and avoid paying taxes. He was ridiculed for this view then, but he was proven right with the leak of the Panama Papers in March.· Hillary called some African Americans "super-predators" when attempting to drum up support for a harsh crime bill, but she now says she regrets her words and the bill.· She is for the death penalty, and she still supports for-profit prisons, even though the privatization of prisons has resulted in mass incarceration and vast, documented racial injustice.· She came out against a15 minimum wage, saying it was unfeasible and "too high," but her opinion shifted once the15 wage became a reality in two states in April. Bernie Sanders has been supporting the Fight for Fifteen all along, has maintained that a15 wage is the minimum "living wage," and has made it one of his top goals.· Hillary has accepted millions from Wall Street, although she regrets some of her decisions on banking deregulation. Her top contributors include Citigroup,891,501; Morgan Stanley,765,242; Lehman Brothers,362,853; JP Morgan Chase,801,380; Goldman Sachs,831,740; and Credit Suisse,318,120. Bernie's top donors are rank-and-file labor unions, teacher unions, and nursing unions, and the vast majority of his funding has come for over six million individual contributions from ordinary Americans throughout the country, averaging27.· Hillary opposes restoring the Glass-Steagall Act, which for decades prevented regular banks from making risky investments with people's savings deposits. Bernie wants to bring back Glass-Steagall and break up any banks that are "too big to fail" so that we never again have to provide7 trillion in taxpayer funds to the banks as a bailout.· Hillary participated in Republican campaigns as an enthusiastic young conservative. Bernie has always been an independent and has always caucused with Democrats.· Hillary campaigned for Republican Barry Goldwater, who opposed school integration, voted in the Senate against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and campaigned actively to repeal integration. Bernie Sanders marched with Martin Luther King and was arrested for repeatedly protesting segregation.· The Clintons celebrated "Confederate Flag Day" every year when Bill was governor of Arkansas. Bernie led a "progressive revolution" in city politics as Mayor of Burlington, VT, and set aside a Gay Pride Day every year.· Hillary says she'll consider "loosening" Marijuana penalties, but she maintains that it's a "hard choice." Bernie wants to completely abolish the federal prohibition of Marijuana.· Bernie has over 30 years of experience fighting for working Americans, and even Republicans call him an honest person. Hillary has concealed countless official emails, personal servers, transcripts of speeches, sources of PAC money, and much more, and is considered one of the more secretive politicians.
*How does Bernie Sanders Approach the "Hard Choices" Facing America?*

· Bernie calls healthcare a right, not a privilege. His single-payer universal healthcare plan will save each American family1,200-5,000 a year in insurance premiums and pharmaceutical drugs costs. Hillary opposes single-payer universal healthcare, saying it "will never ever happen." She has received millions of dollars in contributions from pharmaceutical and health insurance corporations.· Bernie has opposed most recent wars, and he has received the highest VFW award for his fight for veterans' rights and services. Bernie opposed both Iraq Wars and has stated that he will, absolutely, defend the United States of America, but that war should be the last option. Hillary has a long record as a hawk, and has hinted that as president she would attack Iran, use our military to enforce a "no-fly zone" in Syria, and continue to support the failed policy of endless war in Israel and Palestine.· Bernie has opposed the neoliberal international business agreements called "free trade deals" -- TPP, NAFTA, MFN with China, etc. -- since they were first introduced. These agreements ship jobs overseas and set up a worldwide "race to the bottom" for global wages and working conditions while enriching large corporations. Hillary has supported all of these deals, and emails recently leaked reveal she even secretly supported the Columbia free trade deal while publicly stating her opposition.· Bernie says it's time for free public higher education. The debt that students bear when emerging from college cripples the economy and severely hampers "the pursuit of happiness" by dooming young people to decades of repayment. Hillary supports additional low-interest loans to students, although this is essentially the current policy.· Bernie opposed and voted against "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and the Defense of Marriage Act. Hillary strongly supported DOMA, although she has since admitted her choice was wrong.· Bernie sees immediate action on climate change as not just a political but a moral emergency. He opposes fracking and calls for all new energy generation facilities to be renewable. Hillary worked to spread the use of fracking in several countries around the world, and still supports fracking in some instances in the United States. She'll probably 'regret' this later, but millions of people might not have time for her to come around.
*The First Time Matters*

When you are President, you often don't get a second chance. Fatal decisions send young Americans to war and often disastrously change the course of world events.

As American voters, our choice is between a corporate-sponsored candidate who apparently will say nearly anything to get elected, and a candidate who speaks with forthright conviction and who has fought his entire career for the middle class, for labor, for women, for gay people, for civil rights and for veterans.

Bernie Sanders is a man of integrity who has demonstrated a profound, consistent moral conviction to do what is right by everyday people. Even Bernie's opponents call him honest, fair, and authentic. There are no Super PACs lurking behind him, no secret donors writing checks for hundreds of thousands of dollars, no free rides in corporate jets to private fundraisers. He brings a simple and sincere commitment to do what is right for the American people and for the planet.

Our choice is not a hard choice at all. In Bernie Sanders we have a leader who has not only made hard decisions throughout his career, but who has made the right decisions.
With thanks to Dan Grossnickle for the original idea for this piece.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 15 minutes ago.

Frontrunning: May 4

May 4, 2016, 4:54 am

≫ Next: Plum Alley Investments Closes Equity Syndicate In Tinkergarten, an Early Education Technology Company

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· Donald Trump’s Win Just Latest Tremor Shaking GOP (WSJ)
· Trump Becomes Presumptive Republican Nominee as Cruz Exits Race (BBG)
· How 'Stop Trump' failed to halt the Republican front-runner (Reuters)
· Islamic State seeks news blackout in Mosul as Iraqi army nears (Reuters)
· U.S. gathers allies on next steps in Islamic State fight (Reuters)
· BHP, Vale Face $44 Billion Lawsuit Over Brazil Dam Disaster (WSJ)
· Euro-Area Economy Starts Quarter in a ‘Low Gear,’ Markit Says (BBG)
· Oil steadies near $45 after slide, Canada wildfire supports (Reuters)
· Despite Shale Glut, U.S. Imports More Foreign Oil (WSJ)
· ECB Urges Rigorous Debt-Reduction Rules as Low Rates Ease Burden (BBG)
· Oil Price Upheaval Finally Hits Refiners (WSJ)
· Tanker leaves east Libyan port without loading, amid stand-off with Tripoli (Reuters)
· Apple to Revamp Streaming Music Service After Mixed Reviews, Departures (BBG)
· Target gets tough with vendors to speed up supply chain (Reuters)
· Brazil's Crusading Corruption Investigation Is Winding Down (BBG)
· Malaysia dissolves 1MDB advisory board headed by PM Najib (Reuters)
· Portugal Says No to Pessimism When It Comes to Economic Forecasts (BBG)
· Hollande Plots Return From the Dead as French Economy Heals (BBG)
· Billions Are Being Invested in a Robot That Americans Don't Want (BBG)

 

*Overnight Media Digest*

WSJ

- Republican front-runner Donald Trump almost certainly snared the Republican Party's presidential nomination by winning a sweeping victory in Indiana's primary Tuesday and forcing his chief rival, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, from the race. (http://on.wsj.com/1NjCqu4)

- Takata Corp is preparing to recall at least another 35 million rupture-prone airbag inflators that U.S. regulators have deemed a safety risk, said people familiar with the matter, further escalating a crisis at the Japanese supplier linked to numerous deaths and injuries. (http://on.wsj.com/1rjUBpl)

- MetLife Inc, one of the best-known brands in life insurance, misled tens of thousands of customers about a product that retirees seek out for safety, according to regulators, who levied a near-record $25 million fine against the company. (http://on.wsj.com/1X7JMTL)

- CBS Corp said its first-quarter earnings rose 20 percent as the broadcast of Super Bowl 50 boosted the media giant's advertising sales. (http://on.wsj.com/21vlJhP)

 

FT

* Commerzbank earnings more than halved in the first quarter on Tuesday, hit by volatile capital markets and the drag on earnings from low interest rates.

* Commodities group Liberty House, confirmed on Tuesday that it had sent a letter of intent covering Tata Steel UK assets. The group will compete with Excalibur, a management-led buyout team that wants to bring employees on board as investors and which also sent a letter of intent.

* UBS reported weaker earnings and capital on Tuesday, following which its shares closed down 7.5 percent. The Swiss bank also warned that global financial market turmoil had paralysed client activity across its wealth management-dominated businesses.

* Barclays has launched a 100 percent mortgage which will allow some buyers to take out a entire mortgage value without needing to pay a deposit, a first by a high street bank since the financial crisis.

 

NYT

- Regulators are expected to announce as early as Wednesday that at least 35 million additional airbags made by Takata will need to be fixed, according to a person briefed on the matter. (http://nyti.ms/1rT2l2d)

- Google on Tuesday said it would expand its testing of autonomous vehicles by installing its technology in a fleet of minivans made by Fiat Chrysler. (http://nyti.ms/1Njt2qx)

- The head of development for Porsche, Wolfgang Hatz, has left the automaker seven months after he was suspended for possible involvement in Volkswagen's emissions cheating scandal, Porsche said Tuesday. (http://nyti.ms/1QRROIG)

- Judge Ricardo Múcio Santana de Abreu Lima overturned a lower court order and lifted the nationwide suspension of WhatsApp in Brazil on Tuesday, allowing the popular messaging service owned by Facebook to get up and running again. (http://nyti.ms/26RHMmQ)

 

Canada

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

** Canada's Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr says members of the military with mental-health issues should not fear they will be automatically discharged when they step forward for treatment. (http://bit.ly/21w1oc4)

** Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay promised on Tuesday to consult with farmers and processors in the coming weeks to deal with the problem of so-called diafiltered milk, triggering a potential trade showdown with the United States. (http://bit.ly/21w1uR1)

** The entire 80,000-strong population of Fort McMurray was ordered to leave everything behind and evacuate quickly as an out-of-control wildfire veered into the city on Tuesday with little warning, creating the largest fire evacuation in Alberta's history. (http://bit.ly/21w1RLk)

NATIONAL POST

** Gregory Wiebe, a senior partner in the global accounting giant KPMG, who has been accused of being behind a tax avoidance scheme in the Isle of Man, says a lot of international tax rules "are broken" - and they need to be fixed. (http://bit.ly/21w2g0p)

** Bombardier Inc's decision to curtail production of its largest business jets one year ago appears to be paying off, with the aircraft holding significantly more of their value than the competition. (http://bit.ly/21w2wfM)

** A dramatic increase in expected energy-related loan losses at Canadian Western Bank has reignited concerns that the effects of the energy downturn are just beginning to be felt by the country's biggest lenders. In a pre-announcement before second quarter financial results are released later this month, the Edmonton-based bank said it will record C$33 million ($26 million) of provisions for credit losses on its oil and gas production portfolio. (http://bit.ly/21w2TqH)

 

Britain

The Times

- Manufacturing is in a period of "deep unease" and suffered its worst month in more than three years in April, as uncertainty grows over the European Union referendum result and demand at home and abroad continues to slow. (http://bit.ly/1TksFbj)

- HSBC Holdings Plc has blamed turmoil in global markets for a drop of nearly a fifth in its profits for the first three months of the year. Despite the fall in profits, HSBC said that there would be no cut to its payouts to shareholders. (http://bit.ly/1TksLQ1)

The Guardian

- The British government has ordered the insolvency watchdog to launch an immediate investigation into the circumstances surrounding BHS's slump into administration. (http://bit.ly/1TktnW3)

- Asda has been ordered by the advertising watchdog to ensure future sales promotions do not mislead consumers about how much they could save, just days after the supermarket chain agreed to change potentially confusing pricing after public criticism by the government's competition regulator. (http://bit.ly/1VJdsXT)

The Telegraph

- UK factory output contracted for the first time in three years in April as concerns about the global economy and troubles on the high street exerted a drag on activity. (http://bit.ly/1VJdzT8)

Sky News

- Britain's biggest payday lender Wonga saw losses double last year as a price cap imposed by regulators, triggered a sharp fall in revenues. Wonga Group recorded a pre-tax loss of approximately 70 million pounds in 2015, compared to 37 million pounds a year earlier. (http://bit.ly/1VJdK0N)

The Independent

- A federal judge in New Orleans Monday allowed BP to drop its bid to avoid paying the second half of $2.3 billion in compensation promised to seafood interests harmed by the blown-out well. (http://ind.pn/1VJdX4b)

  Reported by Zero Hedge 6 hours ago.

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Plum Alley Investments Closes Equity Syndicate In Tinkergarten, an Early Education Technology Company

May 4, 2016, 5:02 am

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Private investment firm dedicated to mobilizing women investors and funding women entrepreneurs closes its second syndicate in three months.

New York, NY (PRWEB) May 04, 2016

Today, Plum Alley Investments announces the closing of its syndicate in Tinkergarten, an early education technology company. Founded by Wall Street veterans Deborah Jackson and Andrea Turner Moffitt, Plum Alley Investments is a private, membership-based investment platform committed to investing in transformative companies with women entrepreneurs and gender-diverse teams.

“Tinkergarten exemplifies the type of investment opportunity we want to offer to our members,” says Jackson, co-founder and CEO of Plum Alley Investments, “Not only do they have a scalable, innovative business model, but they are highly committed to advancing social change through shaping educational enrichment.”

As profiled in the Wall Street Journal, Tinkergarten has built a fast-growing outdoor play-based education network that is making high-quality early childhood education more accessible by running classes in local parks. Tinkergarten, founded by Meghan and Brian Fitzgerald, utilizes a skillfully designed proprietary technology platform that vets, trains and equips a distributed workforce of exceptional leaders to run classes. Classes are offered for children ages 18 months to 8 years by leaders selected from within each community.

Tinkergarten’s technology enables them to build a nationally scalable business in a highly fragmented market. Still in the early stages, they have spread to over 100 locations across the country. This success caught the attention of the Omidyar Network, an impact investment firm started by Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay. Plum Alley’s syndicate was part of a more than $1.6 million seed round led by the Omidyar Network alongside other notable investors including City Light Capital, 500 Startups, Blue Seed Collective and Outbound Ventures, and Brooklyn Bridge Ventures.

“We could not feel more aligned with the mission or more supported by the quality of the Plum Alley team and investment community. We’re thrilled to partner with them to fuel the growth of our network of empowered, entrepreneurial women bringing high-quality education into their communities,” said Meghan Fitzgerald, Tinkergarten founder.

The Tinkergarten investment marks Plum Alley’s second closed syndicate in the last three months--the first being a Series A investment in Unitive, a company building software to counter unconscious bias in corporations.

As part of their dedication to building a more inclusive ecosystem of investors, Plum Alley sources opportunities and screens them to fit member interests and values. Companies that accelerate positive change, embrace innovation and have strong business models are important to the growing base of Plum Alley members, which spans members with experience across Wall Street, technology, education, philanthropy, Fortune 500 companies, and a variety of industries. Members of Plum Alley have much to contribute given their expertise and capital.

“Having been an active real estate investor for many years, I choose to invest in the Plum Alley Syndicate for Tinkergarten as a way to diversify my broader portfolio and complement my philanthropic commitments and personal passion to accelerate the impact early childhood enrichment programs can have in our communities across the country,” shared Plum Alley member Shannon Bauer, principle of Iliad Realty Group and board member of Children’s Museum of Manhattan.

To learn more about Tinkergarten visit tinkergarten.com/about-us.

About Plum Alley:

Plum Alley Investments is a paid member-only investment platform committed to offering new and seasoned investors highly curated investment opportunities and a different investing experience both off-line and on-line. Plum Alley Investments is part of Plum Alley, a company that has championed women entrepreneurs and women creators since 2011.

The members of Plum Alley Investments look for financial returns, access to opportunities that are not commonly available, companies that have gender balanced teams or women founders, and companies on the forefront of innovation. Members have access to private company investment syndicates, inspiring entrepreneurs, insights from seasoned investors, opportunities to collaborate with other members, and execute equity and debt investments.

For more information visit plumalley.co Reported by PRWeb 5 hours ago.

Wayin Acquires UK-Based Interactive Marketing Platform EngageSciences

May 4, 2016, 5:12 am

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Joined Campaign Experience Platform brings together Wayin real-time capabilities and EngageSciences integrated campaigns to redefine the way marketers attract and connect with consumers

DENVER, May 04, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Real-time digital marketing software company  Wayin  has acquired the leading UK-based interactive marketing platform  EngageSciences . As a part of the deal, Wayin will bring on EngageSciences' complete executive team of marketing technology veterans and welcome Richard Jones to step into the role of CEO.

The combination of the two companies and platforms will align Wayin's leading real-time social data search and visualization capabilities with EngageSciences' digital campaign delivery and first-party data collection capabilities. Together they will create a full-service digital marketing technology tool that integrates into CRM and marketing automation platforms. With complementary business models, clear product and strategy synergy, and a broad international footprint, the two companies have come together to provide modern-day marketers all the tools they need to deliver authentic campaign experiences across all digital properties.

Wayin was co-founded in 2011 by current CEO Scott McNealy, who will remain active as Executive Chairman of the Board, helping to guide the vision and growth of the company moving forward. The company integrates with public Twitter, Instagram and Facebook content to give marketers and media organizations a tool to more accurately discover, understand and act upon real-time data from social media insights. As a recognized leader in real-time digital capabilities, Wayin has helped big-name brands such as the Denver Broncos, The Weather Channel and Walgreens use social data to drive customer engagement and persuade action.

"While Wayin provides strong real-time capabilities, the combined solution will go much deeper by offering marketers the ability to gather data through polls, product feedback and reviews and other campaigns to further understand customers and drive results," McNealy said. "With more than 500 million campaign entries on the combined platform, we are looking at approximately one in 14 of the world's population having already participated in a brand campaign run on the combined company's platform. By next year that number will be one in seven."

The EngageSciences platform launched in 2011 with the mission to provide consumer brands with better marketing solutions. Today, the company has global offices in London, Oxford, Sydney, Dubai and New York, with clients in 76 countries including some of the biggest and most respected publishers and brands such as Bauer Media, Microsoft, Vodafone, AOL, Discovery and Rogers Communications.

"Marketing strategies have relied too heavily on interruptive paid media advertising for far too long. Marketers must now create relevant and participatory brand experiences to earn trust and influence the path to purchase," said Jones, EngageSciences CEO and incoming Wayin CEO. "The combined capabilities that Wayin and EngageSciences bring creates a category leader in this emerging space."

This announcement comes on the heels of a $15.4 million investment round for Wayin in September 2015. Together, the joint company now services more than 300 brands across 80 countries and 10 industries. The company headquarters will be located in Denver, Colorado, but with respective leaders in U.S. and UK markets and existing presences in Asia and the Middle East.

For more information on the acquisition, visit  www.wayin.com/wayin-and-engagesciences

*About Wayin*

Wayin provides real-time digital marketing technology and services to surface the best social trends and content to engage, persuade and drive marketing results. Wayin gives brands control over their social data to create real-time experiences for consumers across paid, owned and earned media that foster trust and drive action. Leading brands, media companies and sports teams have partnered with Wayin to persuade consumer action by leveraging authentic user-generated content including the Denver Broncos, Dunkin Donuts, The Weather Channel, MLB, Logitech and Walgreens.

*About EngageSciences*

The EngageSciences interactive marketing platform enables brands to engage consumers, collect data and repurpose UGC across every digital channel.

A revolutionary platform for creating interactive marketing experiences, infused with authentic social advocacy. Combining the Advocacy and Campaign modules from EngageSciences, brands and agencies get a single solution that is highly configurable, providing a multitude of ways to engage the digital consumer, collect marketing opt-ins and customer data.

With its headquarters in the UK, and offices across the globe, EngageSciences operates across 72 countries, working with a mixture of well-known brands, including: Microsoft, Vodafone, Yahoo!, Etihad Airways, Air New Zealand, AOL, Discovery and Universal. Jordan Slabaugh
Jordan@wayin.com
409-782-3908
Rachel Gulden
312-267-0530
rachel.gulden@walkersands.com

--------------------This announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Wayin Inc. via GlobeNewswire

HUG#2009879 Reported by GlobeNewswire 5 hours ago.

3 founders spent a year building a Slackbot that makes sales jobs easier, and they raised $2.6 million from a who's who list of investors

May 4, 2016, 6:35 am

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Chat bots have become hotly debated in tech: they’re the future, they’re dumb, they’re convenient, they’re annoying, and so on.

Everyone has an opinion, including prominently Facebook and Microsoft, who have declared them a big part of the future, in one way or another. The idea behind chat bots is simple: instead of maneuvering complicated menus and interfaces, you text message a “bot” like you would a customer service rep, and that bot gets stuff done for you.

Many early consumer bots for platforms like Facebook Messenger have proved a bit of a disappointment. But one place that bots have already been a success is in hot work-chat program Slack, where they mainly serve to let people easily recall bits of information without opening a new program.

**Your AI work assistant **

Dan Reich and Scott Britton saw the work potential of bots a year ago, when they began building Troops, a startup they envision as eventually becoming your artificial intelligence assistant for work. Troops’ first product is a Slack bot that pulls CRM data from Salesforce when you give it commands. Salespeople, accounts people, and customer success people can get the information they need without logging into the Salesforce database and filling out fields. All they have to do is type commands into Slack, which many organizations are already using all day every day to communicate. 

Reich, Britton, and third co-founder Greg Ratner, are veterans of the New York tech industry with multiple $100+ million exits between them. Reich formerly co-founded Spinback, which was acquired by Buddy Media, where he stayed until Buddy Media was acquired for about $800 million by Salesforce. Britton was formerly part of SinglePlatform, a startup that was acquired by Constant Contact for $100 million. Ratner was previously Director of Technology at Deep Focus. Despite their varying backgrounds, all of them are true believers in the ability of chat bots to change the industry.

“The next app stores, so to speak, will be messaging platforms,” Britton says. But he says so far the enterprise value of bots has been undersold. That’s where Troops comes in.

And Britton and Reich are already looking for ways to expand Troops' functionality beyond Slack.

“We’ve integrated with Google and email, and we have customer information from your CRM,” Britton says. “Imagine a world where you have an assistant helping you do your job. ‘I see you had four meetings yesterday, with Nike and Coca-Cola. It’s been 48 hours and you haven’t emailed them or followed up … And a manager could set those parameters too.”

This will help both managers and sales reps, the founders say. “Managers spend half their time playing zoo keeper and babysitter, and the rep feels like an idiot for [forgetting something and] not doing their job.” With Troops, the manager just has to put in the parameters once, and the bot does the rest.

*The Business*

Troops, which has been in stealth mode until now, has raised $2.6 million in a seed round of financing led by First Round Capital, including angels like Square’s Gokul Rajaram, Nat Turner and Zach Weinberg of Flatiron Health, and Seamless co-founder Jason Finger.

But what's to stop Salesforce or Slack from boxing out the young startup with its own bot?

The founders say big companies have a thousand priorities, and that there’s always something an engineer at Salesforce could be doing that would more immediately affect revenue. They also think both Slack and Salesforce will appreciate the product.

“The more people use Troops, the more they’re using Slack and Salesforce,” Britton says. “We’re happy to build on the back of giants and just keep going.”

In the pilot, Troops tested their bot with 70-80 companies, and they are now opening it up to the public (though there is still an application process). The plan is to give the product away to consumers first, and then add a premium paid tier later.

And Slack is just the beginning for Troops. The founders say porting Troops to other work-chat programs like HipChat or Facebook’s new work product is part of the grand plan.

*SEE ALSO: A startup that just raised $25 million is like a college newspaper on steroids*

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: JOHN MCAFEE: Why downloading free apps is dangerous Reported by Business Insider 4 hours ago.

Dow is Official Supporter of Invictus Games Orlando 2016

May 4, 2016, 6:06 am

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MIDLAND, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Dow Chemical Company’s (NYSE: DOW) commitment to honor and support veterans is being highlighted at the Invictus Games Orlando 2016 where the Company is an Official Supporter of the only international sporting event for wounded, ill, and injured service men and women. Military veterans bring great skills to Dow, and the Company has a long history of working with veterans through employment opportunities and community engagement initiatives. “We believe that Reported by Business Wire 4 hours ago.

Montco CC Partners With Library of Congress To Remember Veterans

May 4, 2016, 7:33 am

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Patch Abington, PA -- Long after their time in the military, the stories of Montco Community College veterans will live on, inspiring future generations. Reported by Patch 3 hours ago.