Press Releases

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., Dec. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- "Saving America" by Adel N. Shenouda, M.D. with Frank Sanello.

If you fancy yourself as an ultra conservative American, with both feet firmly planted in the religious right's destructive dogma, then "Saving America" won't be your cup of tea (even though the book's bitter taste of truth may be the elixir you so desperately need). That said, the rest of us will view the contents of this step-by-step "field guide" for change and collective prosperity as nourishing and necessary in the fight to save America!

From the human and financial costs of the "sinking ship of war" in the Mideast to the politically charged battlefield of debate on universal health care for all Americans; the Evangelical and Ultra Right Wing movement's brainwashing tour de force of middle America to the failed educational policy of No Child Left Behind and standardized testing; gun control and the power-hungry NRA to greed and special interests greasing the gears of our political machinery; "Saving America" (published by iUniverse) sounds out solid transformational solutions to the problems that face our nation. Six-year term and "room to breathe and catch up" for our president? Just do it! Term limits for our congressmen/women and senators? Promoting 3rd party candidates to block any filibuster? Novel idea and simple solution to voter burnout and cynicism. Hold teachers and schools partially accountable for the academic success of their students? No brainer. All this and more with insightful dialogue and action-based counsel to help move the reader forward in the cause of saving America.

About the Authors

Born in Egypt, Adel Shenouda, M.D. received his medical degree from the Cairo University Medical College with residential posts in internal medicine at Cairo's Coptic Hospital and Dorking, Redhill, and Peppard Hospitals in England. He was a resident and fellow with the University of Tennessee, 1971-1975. Associate Professor, The Association Emeritus of Nephrology at the University of Tennessee Medical School, 1975-2006. Dr. Shenouda moved to the US in the early 1970's to pursue private practice. He began his literary career after taking a "medical leave of absence" (a.k.a. retirement) following 32 years of practice. A Coptic Orthodox Christian, his exposure to Muslim culture gives him a unique first-hand perspective on Islamic customs, theology and politics. "Saving America" is Shedouda's first book. He and his wife make their home in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Former film critic for the Los Angeles Daily News, Frank Sanello has written for virtually every magazine in the US, including the Washington Post, L.A. Times, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, NY Times, and USA Today. This nationally known author possesses an unquenchable thirst for observation and expose. Author of over 21 books including "Tweakers: How Crystal Meth Is Ravaging Gay America," Sanello graduated cum laude from the University of Chicago and holds an M.A. from U.C.L.A. film school.

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

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

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

SOURCE iUniverse

MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Fred's Inc. (NASDAQ: FRED) today reported sales for the four-week fiscal month and 10-month year-to-date period ended November 28, 2009.

Fred's total sales for the month declined 2% to $138.3 million from $141.8 million in November 2008. Comparable store sales for the month were down 3.3% versus a decline of 1.8% in the same period last year.

Fred's total sales for the year-to-date period decreased 1% to $1.453 billion compared with $1.471 billion for the same period last year. Excluding closed stores, total sales from ongoing stores increased 1% in the first 10 months of 2009 versus the year-earlier period. On a comparable store basis, year-to-date sales increased 0.5% compared with 2.4% in the same period last year.

Commenting on the announcement, Bruce A. Efird, Chief Executive Officer, said, "During November, we saw a continuation of trends, both positive and negative, that have shaped our sales results for several months. Our pharmacy department turned in another solid performance based on strong script growth and member gains in our Prescription Plus Program. Countering this, consumers remained very cautious in their spending because of economic and employment concerns, and utilized layaways to a much greater extent than last year, deferring recognition of those sales until December. Also, the competitive environment continues to be intense, and we were disappointed to see that our promotional efforts did not drive November sales to the extent we expected. The net effect of these mixed trends was ongoing pressure on our comparable store sales for the month.

"More than in past years, consumers seem to be delaying purchase decisions until later into the season," Efird continued. "As Christmas nears, our stores are well stocked and shoppers will find great values and selection to complete their holiday gift lists and meet their needs for affordable everyday purchases."

During November, Fred's opened one store and two pharmacies.

Fred's Inc. operates 667 discount general merchandise stores, including 24 franchised Fred's stores in the southeastern United States. For more information about the Company, visit Fred's Website at www.fredsinc.com.

Comments in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, general economic trends, changes in consumer demand or purchase patterns, delays or interruptions in the flow of merchandise between the Company's distribution centers and its stores or between the Company's suppliers and same, a disruption in the Company's data processing services, costs and delays in acquiring or developing new store sites, and other contingencies discussed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Fred's undertakes no obligation to release revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unforeseen events, except as required to be reported under the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    Source: Fred's Inc.

ANN ARBOR, MI -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 12/03/09 -- Cielo MedSolutions today announced a new partnership with DrFirst to provide comprehensive e-prescribing functionality to practices using the company's Cielo Clinic clinical quality management system. The fully integrated e-prescribing solution will enable customers to improve prescribing safety and medical practice efficiency.

With the integration of Rcopia, DrFirst's Gold certified e-prescribing solution, Cielo Clinic users will now be able to easily and securely submit electronic prescriptions from the point of care to any retail or mail-order pharmacy while accessing comprehensive clinical information for each patient and completing Cielo Clinic's care reminders. Accessible patient information includes drug and allergy interactions, complete prescribing histories and formulary information. Doctors and their staff members can easily access this SureScriptsCertified functionality from within Cielo Clinic and all resulting prescribing data is instantly captured within the application.

"In partnering with an established e-prescribing leader such as DrFirst, Cielo continues its dedication to providing the technology that primary care practices need in a simple-to-use package," said Dave Morin, president and CEO of Cielo MedSolutions. "Our practices use Cielo Clinic for patient-centered medical homes, quality improvement and pay-for-performance programs and they need this sophisticated level of integration."

"This is more than a simple one-way interface -- this is true integration of e-prescribing within a clinical quality management system. Blending Cielo Clinic's all-problem, all-patient registry, clinical decision support and population management with state of the art e-prescribing brings together the functionality needed by a primary care practice to deliver a high-performing patient-centered medical home," said Chris King, Senior Vice President of Product and Operations of Cielo MedSolutions.

"We are pleased to work with Cielo MedSolutions to bring industry-leading electronic prescribing technology to its physician customers," said G. Cameron Deemer, President of DrFirst. "Through this integration, Cielo Clinic users will participate in the benefits of e-prescribing while being fully compliant with the growing body of state and federal regulations."

The joint e-prescribing solution will comply with the 2009 regulatory requirements issued by The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS). Additionally, customers using the solution will eliminate illegible prescriptions, issue faster prescriptions, and experience dramatic reductions in calls and faxes between the medical office and the pharmacy.

About DrFirst

DrFirst is a national provider of physician connectivity services through its award-winning Rcopia electronic prescription management system. Founded in 2000, DrFirst creates innovative services targeted to physicians in both ambulatory and acute care environments. With a strong emphasis on products that link physicians, patients, pharmacies, and payers, DrFirst works to lower healthcare costs while improving clinical outcomes. DrFirst solutions are widely integrated with practice management and electronic medical records software through its "Open Borders" program, and the company counts among its client base physician practices, major health plans, health systems, and EMR vendors. More information about DrFirst can be found at www.drfirst.com.

About Cielo MedSolutions

Cielo MedSolutions of Ann Arbor, Michigan is a rapidly-growing provider of healthcare software and Web applications focused on clinical quality management. The company's flagship product, Cielo Clinic(TM), is a web-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) application that uniquely integrates a patient registry, clinical decision support, population management and care management functionality to let ambulatory care providers proactively improve, document and report on clinical care. Cielo Clinic is used by care providers across the country to support initiatives such as patient-centered medical homes, pay-for-performance programs, clinical integration, quality improvement and clinical scorecarding. www.cielomedsolutions.com

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Media Contact
Christine Slocumb
(734) 864-4094 x2
Email Contact

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- There is a growing baseball undercurrent surrounding a man who may be forcing the next great changes to developing winning MLB organizations. Some supporters call it a "Nostradamus-like" intangible prophetic intuition and detractors call it just luck, but after two recent books that correctly called out the winning formula for winning teams and also-rans in 2008 (The Official Book on the Business of Baseball General Management) and 2009 (Street Smart Sports Management), eyebrows are raised in the world of baseball.

Just a few of many eerily correct Paul Martino observations detailed in his books and blogs:

Before the 2008 season Martino specifically called out one team ownership and management to raise payroll by $10 million, add an ace relief pitcher, and reinforce the bench and relief in order to go from 2 players short to World Champions; the team he called out was the Phillies.

Before the 2009 season Martino observed that:

    --  While the Phillies' conservative fiscal approach to the game had become
        a strength in the worst economic crisis since the Depression, the
        Phillies still needed to find midseason starting pitching if they were
        to return to the World Series.

    --  Detailed how the Rangers issue is and always has been pitching, not
        payroll.

    --  Defended the Yankees' spending but pointed out how weak the outfield and
        bench were; Martino accurately pinpointed the Yankees' success was not
        in their spending spree but limited injuries and the OF improvements
        during the year. Without the Yankees outfield changes the Phillies would
        be two-time World Champions.

    --  Asked why the Red Sox had been relatively clean throughout "Steroid
        Era." Martino published his observations before Ramirez and Ortiz became
        spotlight center-stage.

    --  Provided the state of the games in terms of victory-maximizers vs.
        profit-maximizers that proved to be prophetic in terms of winners and
        losers in this economic climate.

Not since Bill James and Moneyball has the game been so close to being radically improved. As the man Paul Martino describes it, "Respectfully, I raise the bar to include street smarts balanced with a disciplined business model, economics, finance, strategy, sabermetrics and baseball subject matter experts. Your opponents grow strong from the crumbs you leave behind; I scope down into all sides of the game including ones too hot to touch, like performance enhancements."

When pointed out that his assertions may be challenged by baseball insiders, Martino knowingly nodded and acknowledged the naysayer, "My abbreviated response is that I understand veterans of the game's concerns. That said, I've played and been a student of the game all my life; like Bill James, current MLB GMs and many others, I have proven leadership skills that build winning organizations. Baseball is a critical culture where even some Hall of Fame players are criticized. At the end of the day my long-term multi-million-dollar wins, and success at getting it right in my two books, is the proof I stand on ... and I'm just warming up."

About Paul Martino

Paul Martino is baseball's future all-star in regards to his theories on sports team management. Martino has spent 26 years as a leader working with Global 500 corporations around the world and leading multi-million-dollar, multi-national corporate negotiations, mergers, and acquisitions. Martino's in-depth knowledge comes from his MBA and spending his nights as a game-day statistician and reporter for ESPN Sports Ticker for 16 years covering the Yankees, Mets and Texas Rangers. Martino was also recognized as the "Raider of the Lost Parks" by USA Today for the summer he watched a game in every MLB stadium.

Contact:

Poppy Montgomery
Spoke Norton Homer Dome Press
spokenorton@yahoo.com
http://spokenorton.com

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

SOURCE Spoke Norton Homer Dome Press

New Eee PC(TM) T91MT Multi-Touch Netbook Uses SanDisk pSSD Drive's Compact Form Factor and Innovative Flash Technology to Help Deliver Enhanced User Experience and Maximum Portability

MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK), the global leader in flash memory cards, today announced that the 32-gigabyte (GB)1 SanDisk(R) pSSDTM Gen2 drive was selected by ASUS as the SSD of choice for its new Eee PCTM multi-touch netbook computer.

The SanDisk pSSD drive helps enable the small form factor and low power consumption of ASUS's latest addition to the popular Eee PCTM Touch series convertible touchscreen netbook line, the T91MT. Solid State Drives (SSD) use no moving parts, offering improved durability that helps prevent data loss resulting from drive failure. Computers with an SSD run quieter, cooler and consume less power than conventional hard disk drives (HDD).

The new ASUS Eee PC T91MT netbook offers a broad array of features that contribute to an improved user experience.

    --  Running Microsoft Windows 7 home premium edition OS, the netbook's
        rotating display supports multi-touch gestures such as pinching,
        rotating and swiping, and can function as a tablet PC.
    --  Using a 256-level pressure sensor, the Eee PC(TM) T91MT's crisp and
        responsive 8.9" multi-touch screen reproduces handwriting beautifully
        and accurately whether written using a finger or the bundled
        ergonomically-designed stylus.
    --  With its 8.9-inch display, compact size (8.86 x 6.46 x 0.99 inches) and
        a total weight of less than 1kg (2.12lbs.), the ASUS T91MT is ideal for
        on-the-go consumers who need an advanced netbook that can easily be
        taken anywhere.

"SanDisk is pleased to contribute to the stylish design of the Eee PCTM T91MT netbook from ASUS," said Yoram Cedar, executive vice president, OEM business unit and corporate engineering, SanDisk. "ASUS's selection of SanDisk is also an indication that the market is ready to progress beyond traditional mechanical storage provided by hard disk drives and enter a new era of computing that uses highly durable and power-saving SSDs. As a supplier of modular SSDs for the PC OEM industry, we see increased interest for the SanDisk pSSD drive from companies that bring to the market portable computing solutions that are smaller, lighter and faster."

The SanDisk pSSD drive includes an industry-standard PATA interface and a Mini PCIe form factor, delivering a variety of features that complement the ultra-thin ASUS T91MT netbook. The 32GB SanDisk pSSD drive's compact size (weighing only 6.4 grams and measuring 32.2mm x 50.95mm x3.6mm) and low power consumption (average power of 0.15W2) are well-suited to the ASUS netbook's particular form factor and extended battery life requirements.

"SanDisk pSSD's small form factor and low power consumption contributes to the stylish design and light weight of the Eee PCTM T91MT multi-touch netbook," said Jerry Shen, CEO, ASUSTeK Computer Inc. "With greater portability and longer battery life, our customers gain the freedom and flexibility to use their laptops anytime, anywhere."

SanDisk's modular solid state drive, pSSD, also allows ASUS to deliver greater performance to its users. pSSD offers 9,000 vRPM3 of performance and has the added benefit of employing nCache(TM) technology4, a large non-volatile write cache technology that boosts burst random write performance. nCache(TM) technology improves user responsiveness and helps prevent incidence of drive "stalling."

SanDisk pSSD Gen2 drive supports Windows 7, Windows XP and Linux. The drive comes in a variety of PATA and SATA interfaces and is available to OEMs in capacities ranging from 8GB to 64GB. More information about SanDisk's pSSD drives is available at: www.sandisk.com/pssd

About SanDisk

SanDisk Corporation is the global leader in flash memory cards, from research, manufacturing and product design to consumer branding and retail distribution. SanDisk's product portfolio includes flash memory cards for mobile phones, digital cameras and camcorders; digital audio/video players; USB flash drives for consumers and the enterprise; embedded memory for mobile devices; and solid state drives for computers. SanDisk is a Silicon Valley-based S&P 500 company, with more than half its sales outside the United States.

1 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes.

2 While running MobileMark and average (typical) power.

3 vRPM (virtual Revolutions Per Minute) - a metric to compare SSD performance in client PCs with theHDD and with other SSDs. vRPM answers the question how fast would a HDD have to spin in order to deliver the same performance as a SSD in a client PC. vRPM = 50 / ((0.5 / 4kB random read IOPS) + 0.5 / 4kB random write IOPS)).

4 nCache(TM) acceleration technology is a large Non Volatile Write Cache, a unique feature in SanDisk pSSD-P2 and SanDisk pSSD-S2 that improves random write performance and ensures an improved user experience. Studies show that modern operating systems mostly access the storage device using 4k access blocks. The cache is filled during these small write commands and emptied during idle time when the host is not accessing the drive, with no risk of data loss. For a typical everyday use, the write performance that the users see is the nCache technology (burst) high performance, and not steady state (sustained) SanDisk pSSD performance. Based on IOmeter 4K random write test.

SanDisk's product and executive images can be downloaded from: http://www.sandisk.com/corporate/media.asp

SanDisk's web site/home page address: http://www.sandisk.com

(C) 2009 SanDisk Corporation. All rights reserved. SanDisk and the SanDisk logo are trademarks of SanDisk Corporation, registered in the United States and other countries. SanDisk pSSD is a trademark of SanDisk Corporation. Other brand names mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and may be the trademarks of their respective holder (s).

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including expectations for new product introductions, specifications, applications, markets, and customers that are based on our current expectations and involve numerous risks and uncertainties that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate. Risks that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate include among others: market demand for our products may grow more slowly than our expectations or there may be a slower adoption rate for these products in new markets that we are targeting, our products may not perform as expected and the other risks detailed from time-to-time in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, our most recent annual report on Form 10-K/A and our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. We do not intend to update the information contained in this press release.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6112659&lang=en

    Source: SanDisk Corporation