Exclusive: Huawei partner offered embargoed HP gear to Iran

A major Iranian partner of Huawei Technologies offered to sell at least 1.3 million euros worth of embargoed Hewlett-Packard computer equipment to Iran's largest mobile-phone operator in late 2010, documents show.
China's Huawei, the world's second largest telecommunications equipment maker, says neither it nor its partner, a private company registered in Hong Kong, ultimately provided the HP products to the telecom, Mobile Telecommunication Co of Iran, known as MCI. Nevertheless, the incident provides new evidence of how Chinese companies have been willing to help Iran evade trade sanctions.
The proposed deal also raises new questions about Shenzhen-based Huawei, which recently was criticized by the U.S. House Intelligence Committee for failing to "provide evidence to support its claims that it complies with all international sanctions or U.S. export laws."
At least 13 pages of the proposal to MCI, which involved expanding its subscriber billing system, were marked "Huawei confidential" and carried the company's logo, according to documents seen by Reuters. In a statement to Reuters, Huawei called it a "bidding document" and said one of its "major local partners," Skycom Tech Co Ltd, had submitted it to MCI.
The statement went on to say, "Huawei's business in Iran is in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations including those of the U.N., U.S. and E.U. This commitment has been carried out and followed strictly by our company. Further, we also require our partners to follow the same commitment and strictly abide by the relevant laws and regulations."
In October, Reuters reported that another Iranian partner of Huawei last year tried to sell embargoed American antenna equipment to Iran's second largest mobile operator, MTN Irancell, in a deal the buyer ultimately rejected. The U.S. antenna manufacturer, CommScope Inc, has an agreement with Huawei in which the Chinese firm can use its products in Huawei systems, according to a CommScope spokesman. He added that his company strives to comply fully with all U.S. laws and sanctions.
Huawei has a similar partnership with HP. In a statement, the Palo Alto, Calif., company said, "HP has an extensive control system in place to ensure our partners and resellers comply with all legal and regulatory requirements involving system security, global trade and customer privacy and the company's relationship with Huawei is no different."
The statement added, "HP's distribution contract terms prohibit the sale of HP products into Iran and require compliance with U.S. and other applicable export laws."
Washington has banned the export of computer equipment to Iran for years. The sanctions are designed to deter Iran from developing nuclear weapons; Iran says its nuclear program is aimed purely at producing domestic energy.
CLOSE LINKS
Huawei and its Iranian partner, Skycom, appear to have very close ties.
An Iranian job recruitment site called Irantalent.com describes Skycom as "a leading telecom solution provider" and goes on to list details that are identical to the way Huawei describes itself on its U.S. website: employee-owned, selling "solutions" used by "45 of the world's top 50 telecom operators" and serving "one-third of the world's population."
On LinkedIn.com, several telecom workers list having worked at "Huawei-skycom" on their resumes. A former Skycom employee said the two companies shared the same headquarters in China. And an Iranian telecom manager who has visited Skycom's office in Tehran said, "Everybody carries Huawei badges."
A Hong Kong accountant whose firm is listed in Skycom registration records as its corporate secretary said Friday he would check with the company to see if anyone would answer questions. Reuters did not hear back.
The proposal to MCI, dated October 2010, would have doubled the capacity of MCI's billing system for prepaid customers. The proposal noted that MCI was "growing fast" and that its current system, provided by Huawei, had "exceeded the system capacity" to handle 20 million prepaid subscribers.
"In order to keep serving (MCI) with high quality, we provide this expansion proposal to support 40M subscribers," the proposal states on a page marked "HUAWEI Confidential."
The proposal makes clear that HP computer servers were an integral part of the "Hardware Installation Design" of the expansion project. Tables listing equipment for MCI facilities at a new site in Tehran and in the city of Shiraz repeatedly reference HP servers under the heading, "Minicomputer Model."
The documents seen by Reuters also include a portion of an equipment price list that carries Huawei's logo and are stamped "SKYCOM IRAN OFFICE." The pages list prices for HP servers, disk arrays and switches, including those that already are "existing" and others that need to be added. The total proposed project price came to 19.9 million euros, including a "one time special discount."
The proposed new HP equipment, which totaled 1.3 million euros, included one server, 20 disk arrays, 22 switches and software. The existing HP equipment included 22 servers, 8 disk arrays and 13 switches, with accompanying prices.
Asked who had provided the existing HP equipment to MCI, Vic Guyang, a Huawei spokesman, said it wasn't Huawei. "We would like to add that the existing hardware equipment belongs to the customer. Huawei does not have information on, or the authority to check the source of the customer's equipment."
Officials with MCI did not respond to requests for comment.
In a series of stories this year, Reuters has documented how China has become a backdoor for Iran to obtain embargoed U.S. computer equipment. In March and April, Reuters reported that China's ZTE Corp, a Huawei competitor, had sold or agreed to sell millions of dollars worth of U.S. computer gear, including HP equipment, to Telecommunication Co of Iran, the country's largest telecommunications firm, and a unit of the consortium that controls TCI.
The articles sparked investigations by the U.S. Commerce Department, the Justice Department and some of the U.S. tech companies. ZTE says it is cooperating with the federal probes.
TCI is the parent company of MCI.

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Analysis: Six months on, Monti's labor reform has changed little

ROME (Reuters) - Overhauling Italy's rigid labor rules was supposed to be Mario Monti's flagship reform.
It required drawn out, often heated bargaining with unions, employers and political parties. Yet six months after their approval the measures seem to be having little effect on hiring, firing or the labor market in general.
The technocrat premier's aim was to encourage hiring of permanent rather than temporary workers and to make it easier for firms to shed staff during economic downturns. Businesses and workers' bodies say it is doing neither.
Monti, who resigned as prime minister last month, hoped to boost a chronically low employment rate and end a "dual" labor market made up of over-protected older workers and millions of mostly young people on temporary jobs with no labor rights.
However, he quickly ran into strong opposition, led by the CGIL union which found support from the centre-left Democratic party (PD) that he relied on for his majority and which is now, polls suggest, likely to win February elections.
The unions, which largely represent older, more protected workers, held a series of strikes and protests to defend existing job protection. Labor minister Elsa Fornero, who drew up the reform proposal, became a hate figure for millions of workers.
After being watered down during a lengthy passage through parliament, the final version of the plan, approved in June last year, slightly eased firing restrictions in large and medium sized firms and made temporary hiring more costly.
Unions warned it could lead to a firing spree, while businesses said it would discourage new hires. Six months on, unionists now admit their fears were exaggerated, but employers say their concerns are being confirmed.
"There is no evidence that companies are firing more under the new rules. It just isn't happening," said Pierangelo Albini, responsible for labor issues at employers' lobby Confindustria.
No official data is available on the number of workers who have been dismissed under the new norms but even the unions, which are monitoring the situation closely, estimate the figure is negligible.
They were quick to denounce isolated cases concerning telecoms companies Huawei and Vodafone, which attracted attention in Italian media, yet each one involved no more than a couple of workers.
"The reform doesn't actually change much in terms of firing procedures," said Michele Tamburini, a labor lawyer with a U.S. law firm in Milan. "Potentially, it could make firing easier but it all depends how it is interpreted by judges and hardly anyone wants to test it."
Tamburini said he and his colleagues at other firms had seen no rise in new business in the form of contested dismissals, as some commentators had expected.
PROBLEMS REMAIN
Monti, who says he will seek a second term at the Feb 24-25 election, initially defended the reform as a good compromise but now acknowledges its limits and blames the left-wing CGIL union for blocking more radical changes.
In a new policy platform presented before Christmas he urged a "drastic simplification" of labor market rules to "overcome the dualism between protected and unprotected workers". These were exactly the goals his reform was meant to achieve.
"Monti's intentions on the labor reform were right but the politics of it were all wrong," said Riccardo Barbieri of Mizuho International. "The PD couldn't let him make firing easier in a pre-election period and in the middle of a recession."
Despite criticism of some of his reforms, investors would love to see the former European commissioner stay on after the election, ideally at the head of a more cohesive majority that allows him to push through his new agenda.
Tens of thousands of workers have lost their jobs since the labor reform was passed as companies close or downsize, but they are still shedding staff under the old terms rather than risking difficulties by trying to capitalize on the reform.
"There has been very little recourse to the new rules," said Giorgio Santini, head of labor issues for the CISL trade union, Italy's second largest.
One reason may be that firing procedures are more complicated than ever because the changes have increased the discretionary power of the courts.
The reform made it possible for private firms with more than 15 employees to fire individual workers for business reasons, such as a fall in demand, without necessarily having to re-instate them if a judge ruled the dismissal was unjustified.
In smaller firms, where job protection was much weaker, nothing changed under the reform. The public sector, where protection is strongest of all, was also unaffected.
Companies were always able to shed staff if they were restructuring or closing a product line but it was much harder to fire people for poor performance or other reasons. Paradoxically it was easier to shed 10 or 20 workers than one or two.
The courts can now order firms to offer wrongly dismissed workers financial compensation rather than giving them their job back. However, if the unfair dismissal is for discriminatory or disciplinary reasons, re-instatement is still obligatory.
Judges now have to decide not only whether a dismissal is justified but also whether it is being attempted for business reasons, disciplinary reasons or due to discrimination.
Unions have been ready to fight any cases where they suspected firms were presenting bogus business reasons to shed workers considered difficult or disruptive. Yet even the leftist CGIL union said few had emerged.
"There have been maybe a couple of hundred cases that firms have tried to justify under the new rules, and in many we have seen evidence of discrimination and we've contested them," said the CGIL's head of labor policy Claudio Treves.
Other unions put the figure considerably lower.
APPRENTICESHIP FLOP
Santini of the CISL union said a positive aspect of the new rules was that they oblige firms to co-ordinate more pre-emptively with unions before trying to fire, meaning that shedding staff had not actually become easier at all.
He said that with the unions acting as mediators there are signs that dismissed workers are more willing to come to terms for financial compensation rather than taking their cases through the courts, though he added that this had often happened even before the reform.
Yet if firing has not become easier, hiring has become more difficult, according to both the CISL and Confindustria.
Monti tried to boost the role of apprenticeships, taking Germany as a model, to replace temporary or "precarious" contracts that are seen as the unacceptable face of the dual labor market. These contracts were not scrapped, as some experts urged, but the rules for using them were tightened.
However, both the CISL's Santini and Confindustria's Albini said apprenticeships have failed to take off because of too much bureaucracy and a rule - required by Italy's Constitution - that regional governments must be partly responsible for organizing the apprenticeship courses, something they are failing to do.
"What is happening is confirming some of our worries," said Albini. "It's no easier to fire but it is more expensive and complicated to hire on a temporary basis, which is important flexibility especially at a time of crisis."
When the labor reform was being watered down in parliament last spring two of Italy's leading economists, Alberto Alesina of Harvard in the United States and Francesco Giavazzi of Milan's Bocconi University, warned Monti of the dangers of a weak compromise.
"Making do with marginal adjustments would be worse than not doing anything because it would create the illusion that a problem has been solved when it isn't true," they said in a joint newspaper column. Their fears now seem well grounded.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said in November it remained "fundamental" that Italy reform its labor market to make it less rigid. Yet it is unlikely that unions or leftist parties will consider returning to the issue soon.

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Tras seis meses, poco ha cambiado con la reforma laboral de Monti

ROMA (Reuters) - Reacondicionar las rígidas leyes laborales de Italia se suponía que iba ser la reforma clave de Mario Monti.
Ello requería negociaciones prolongadas y a menudo acaloradas con sindicatos, empleadores y partidos políticos. Pero seis meses después de su aprobación las medidas parecen estar teniendo poco efecto en la contratación, el despido o el mercado laboral en general.
La intención del primer ministro tecnócrata era alentar la contratación permanente en lugar de los trabajos temporales y facilitar los despidos a las empresas durante los malos momentos económicos. Los negocios y sindicatos de trabajadores dicen que no está haciendo nada.
Monti, que dimitió como primer ministro el mes pasado, esperaba impulsar una tasa de empleo crónicamente baja y poner fin a un mercado laboral "dual" compuesto de trabajadores mayores sobreprotegidos y millones de jóvenes con trabajos temporales y sin derechos laborales.
Sin embargo, rápidamente contó con una fuerte oposición, liderada por el sindicato CGIL que encontró apoyo en el Partido Democrático (PD) de centroizquierda en el que confiaba para su mayoría y que ahora, según los sondeos, será el probable ganador de las elecciones de febrero.
Los sindicatos, que en su mayoría representan a los trabajadores mayores y más protegidos, celebraron una serie de huelgas y protestas para defender la actual protección laboral. La ministra de Trabajo, Elsa Fornero, que redactó la propuesta de reforma, se convirtió en una figura odiada por millones de trabajadores.
Después de suavizarse durante su paso por el Parlamento, la versión final del plan, aprobada en junio del año pasado, aliviaba ligeramente las restricciones al despido en las empresas grandes y medianas y hacía más costosa la contratación temporal.
Los sindicatos advirtieron de que esto podría llegar a la extensión del despido, mientras las empresas decían que desalentaría nuevas contrataciones. Seis meses después, los sindicalistas admiten que sus temores eran exagerados, pero los empleadores dicen que sus preocupaciones están siendo confirmadas.
"No hay pruebas de que las compañías estén despidiendo más con las nuevas leyes. Esto simplemente no está pasando", dijo Pierangelo Albini, responsable de asuntos laborales en el grupo de empresarios Confindustria.
No hay datos disponibles sobre el número de trabajadores que han sido despedidos con las nuevas leyes, pero incluso los sindicatos, que estudian la situación de cerca, estiman que la cifra es insignificante.
Fueron rápidos a la hora de denunciar casos aislados que implicaban a las empresas de telecomunicaciones Huawei y Vodafone, que atrajeron la atención de los medios italianos, aunque cada una no implicó a más de un par de trabajadores.
"La reforma en realidad no cambia mucho en términos de procedimientos de despido", dijo Michele Tamburini, abogado laboralista para un bufete estadounidense en Milán. "Potencialmente, podría facilitar el despido pero todo depende de cómo lo interpretan los jueces y casi nadie quiere comprobar eso".
Tamburini dio que él y sus colegas en otras firmas legales no habían visto aumentar las impugnaciones por despidos, como algunos comentaristas habían esperado.
SIGUEN LOS PROBLEMAS
Monti, que dice que se presentará a las elecciones del 24 y 25 de febrero, inicialmente defendió la reforma como un buen compromiso pero ahora reconoce sus límites y culpa al sindicato izquierdista CGIL por bloquear más cambios radicales.
En una nueva plataforma política presentada antes de Navidad instó a una "simplificación drástica" de las leyes del mercado laboral para "superar el dualismo entre los trabajadores protegidos y desprotegidos". Esos eran exactamente los objetivos que su reforma quería conseguir.
"Las intenciones de Monti sobre la reforma laboral eran buenas pero las políticas fueron todas equivocadas", dijo Riccardo Barbieri, de Mizuho International. "El PD no podía permitirle facilitar el despido en período preelectoral y en medio de una recesión".
A pesar de las críticas hacia algunas de sus reformas, a los inversores les encantaría que el ex comisario europeo se quedara después de las elecciones, idealmente a la cabeza de una mayoría más consistente que le permitiera sacar adelante su nuevo programa.
Decenas de miles de trabajadores han perdido sus empleos desde que se aprobó la reforma laboral, mientras las compañías cierran o se reducen, pero aún se deshacen de sus empleados con las antiguas condiciones en lugar de arriesgarse a las dificultades intentando sacar provecho de la reforma.
"Ha habido muy poco recurso a las nuevas normas", dijo Giorgio Santini, jefe de asuntos laborales del sindicato comercial CISL, el segundo mayor de Italia.
Una razón podría ser que los procedimientos para el despido son más complicados que nunca porque los cambios han elevado el poder facultativo de los tribunales.
La reforma hacía posible para las empresas privadas con más de 15 empleados despedir a trabajadores individuales por razones empresariales, como una caída en la demanda, sin tener necesariamente que readmitirlos si un juez fallaba que el despido era injustificado.
En las empresas más pequeñas, donde la protección laboral era mucho más débil, no ha cambiado nada con la reforma. El sector público, donde la protección es la más fuerte de todas, tampoco se ha visto afectado.
Los tribunales ahora pueden ordenar a las empresas que ofrezcan compensaciones financieras a los despedidos de forma improcedente en lugar de devolverles su puesto. Sin embargo, si el despido improcedente es por discriminación o razones disciplinarias, la readmisión todavía es obligatoria.
Los jueces ahora tienen que decidir no sólo si un despido es procedente sino si es debido a razones empresariales, disciplinarias o discriminación.
Santini, del sindicato CISL, dijo que un aspecto positivo de las nuevas leyes es que obligan a las empresas a coordinarse más con los sindicatos antes de intentar algún despido, lo que supone que despedir plantilla en realidad no se ha facilitado en absoluto.
Pero si el despido no se ha facilitado, la contratación se ha vuelto más difícil, según CISL y Confindustria.
Monti trató de impulsar el papel de los aprendices, tomando Alemania como modelo, para reemplazar los contratos temporales o "precarios" que son considerados la cara inaceptable del mercado laboral dual.
Pero estos contratos de aprendizaje no han conseguido despegar debido a la burocracia y a la norma constitucional de que los gobiernos regionales deben ser en parte responsables de organizar los cursos de aprendizaje.
El presidente del Banco Central Europeo, Mario Draghi, dijo en noviembre que seguía siendo fundamental que Italia reformara su mercado laboral para hacerlo menos rígido. Sin embargo es poco probable que sindicatos o partidos de izquierdas consideren volver pronto sobre el asunto.

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ANALISIS-Poco ha cambiado en Italia tras reforma laboral de Monti

ROMA (Reuters) - Reacondicionar las rígidas leyes laborales de Italia se suponía que iba a ser la reforma clave de Mario Monti.
Ello requería negociaciones complejas y prolongadas con sindicatos, empleadores y partidos políticos. Pero seis meses después de su aprobación, las medidas parecen estar teniendo poco efecto en la contratación, el despido o el mercado laboral en general.
La intención del primer ministro saliente era alentar la contratación permanente en lugar de los trabajos temporales y facilitar los despidos a las empresas durante los malos momentos económicos. Sin embargo, las empresas y los sindicatos dicen que no está haciendo nada.
Monti, que dimitió como primer ministro el mes pasado, esperaba impulsar una tasa de empleo crónicamente baja y poner fin a un mercado laboral "dual", compuesto de trabajadores mayores sobreprotegidos y millones de jóvenes con trabajos temporales y sin derechos laborales.
Sin embargo, rápidamente tuvo una fuerte oposición, liderada por el sindicato CGIL, que encontró apoyo en el Partido Democrático (PD) de centroizquierda, en el que confiaba para su mayoría y que ahora, según los sondeos, será el probable ganador de las elecciones de febrero.
Los sindicatos, que en su mayoría representan a los trabajadores mayores y más protegidos, llevaron a cabo una serie de huelgas y protestas para defender la actual protección laboral. La ministra de Trabajo, Elsa Fornero, que redactó la propuesta de reforma, se convirtió en una figura odiada por millones de trabajadores.
Después de suavizarse durante su paso por el Parlamento, la versión final del plan, aprobado en junio del año pasado, aliviaba ligeramente las restricciones al despido en las empresas grandes y medianas y hacía más costosa la contratación temporal.
Los sindicatos advirtieron de que esto podría incrementar los despidos, mientras que las empresas dijeron que desalentaría las nuevas contrataciones. Seis meses después, los sindicalistas admiten que sus temores eran exagerados, pero los empleadores aseguran que sus preocupaciones están siendo confirmadas.
"No hay pruebas de que las compañías estén despidiendo más con las nuevas leyes. Esto simplemente no está pasando", dijo Pierangelo Albini, responsable de asuntos laborales del grupo empresarial Confindustria.
SIN DATOS
No hay datos disponibles sobre el número de trabajadores que han sido despedidos con las nuevas leyes, pero incluso los sindicatos, que estudian la situación de cerca, estiman que la cifra es insignificante.
Los sindicatos rápidamente denunciaron casos aislados que implicaron a las empresas de telecomunicaciones Huawei y Vodafone, que atrajeron la atención de los medios italianos, aunque cada uno no implicó a más de un par de trabajadores.
"La reforma en realidad no cambia mucho en términos de procedimientos de despido", dijo Michele Tamburini, abogado laboral de un bufete estadounidense en Milán.
"Potencialmente podría facilitar el despido, pero todo depende de cómo lo interpretan los jueces y casi nadie quiere comprobar eso", agregó.
Tamburini dijo que él y sus colegas de otras firmas legales no han visto un aumento de las impugnaciones por despidos, como esperaban algunos analistas.
Monti, que dijo que se presentará a las elecciones del 24 y 25 de febrero, inicialmente defendió la reforma pero ahora ha reconocido sus limitaciones, culpando al sindicato izquierdista CGIL por bloquear más cambios radicales.
"Las intenciones de Monti sobre la reforma laboral eran buenas pero las políticas fueron todas equivocadas", dijo Riccardo Barbieri, de Mizuho International.
"El PD no podía permitirle facilitar el despido en período preelectoral y en medio de una recesión", agregó.
A pesar de las críticas hacia algunas de sus reformas, a los inversores les encanta la idea de que el ex comisario europeo se quede en el cargo después de las elecciones, idealmente a la cabeza de una mayoría más consistente que le permita sacar adelante su nuevo programa.

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Nokia predicted to abandon mobile business, sell assets to Microsoft and Huawei in 2013

Nokia (NOK) appears to have finally turned a corner with the Lumia 920, a smartphone that is seemingly selling quite well after a string of early flops from the struggling smartphone maker. According to Keepskor founder and Forbes contributor Tristan Louis, however, Nokia’s recent efforts will ultimately be for naught. 2013 will see a great deal of movement in the mobile industry according to the executive, and Nokia’s departure from the handset market will be among the year’s most notable events.
[More from BGR: Can Samsung survive without Android?]
“The biggest shocker (and what I suspect will be my most controversial prediction), though, will be the the [sic] departure of Nokia from the phone business as the company sells its mobile operation and infrastructure divisions to Huawei in order to focus on software and services,” Louis wrote. ”With the company’s bet on Windows [Phone] 8 having failed in the marketplace, it will see Microsoft (MSFT) and Huawei competing for the mobile device division and will eventually sell its smartphone group to Microsoft and the rest of its telecom interests to Huawei.”
[More from BGR: Next-generation iPhone, iOS 7 discovered in website logs]
Unlike Louis’s other predictions, which are mostly common sense trends or speculation backed by months of rumors (Amazon will launch a phone, Microsoft will launch a phone, etc), the offloading of Nokia’s handset business appears to be a complete shot in the dark. The executive offers nothing to substantiate his theory and the involvement of Microsoft and Huawei also appear to be guesses based on loose logic.
Nokia has reported six straight quarterly losses and though the company’s struggles are expected to continue for some time, it has given no indication that selling its mobile business is even an option being considered at this point in time. Nokia was rumored in early 2011 to be discussing the possibility of selling its phone business to Microsoft, but it immediately denied that such negotiations were taking place.

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Two Free Books to Boost Your 2013 Fitness Resolutions by Heart Rate Watch Company

The Heart Rate Watch Company is giving away two free fitness books to help with New Year's Resolutions related to fitness and weight loss. The books are available on the company's website in the blog/books section.

Bozeman, MT (PRWEB) January 01, 2013
The Heart Rate Watch Company is offering two free e-books to deliver fitness and dietary advice to give those with fitness, as well as weight loss, New Year's resolutions the very best chances for success. The e-books, "How To Successfully Use A Heart Rate Monitor" and "How To Elevate Fitness With Strength and Interval Training" are available as free PDF downloads in the blog/books section of the company's website.
"These books give very time-honored advice that has worked consistently for many years," says Rusty Squire, President of the Heart Rate Watch Company. He adds, "Building a solid fitness foundation, as well as a more active metabolism, takes consistency, patience and the restraint to exercise at a conversational pace for several months."
"The problem with many of today's so called 'exercise gurus' is that they are developing fitness programs for the upper 10% of the entire population, those who already have a substantial fitness foundation," says Squire. He adds, "This type of workout is not right for those looking to develop an aerobic foundation, in fact it is insanity."
WHY THIS WORKS
By exercising in fat burning and aerobic zones the body's metabolism increases around the clock. "It is also easier to want to exercise daily when you build up gradually and are not beating your head against the wall," says Squire, adding that, "An exercise program is only of value if you stick with it."
By using a heart rate monitor to carefully regulate activity levels and recovery it is possible to greatly improve the quality of a workout. "A heart rate monitor is like a tachometer for your body that helps you better regulate pace and output," says Squire.
"While the Heart Rate Watch Company sells Garmin, Suunto, Timex and Polar heart rate monitors, we consider ourselves a fitness advice company first and foremost," says Squire.
WHERE TO GET THE BOOKS
Simply go to the Free Fitness Books page at the Heart Rate Watch Company and you can download the books in an Adobe PDF to save to your own computer.

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U-T San Diego Announces 2012 Person of the Year

U-T San Diego announced today that Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty have been selected as the U-T San Diego 2012 Persons of the Year. The two San Diego residents are being honored for their heroic actions during the terrorist attack on the United States Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11&12. The former Seals turned CIA contractors were killed after hours of fighting heavily armed terrorists having first evacuated and saved as many as 30 people from the U.S. Consulate.
U-T San Diego’s Person of the Year Award honors the outstanding actions of San Diego residents who inspire courage, triumph, and selflessness. “Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods represent the best of San Diego’s heroic Navy Seals Community,” stated Publisher Douglas F. Manchester. “Their heroic acts should be heralded and saluted throughout this land.”
Vice Chairman and CEO John T. Lynch further qualified, “The U-T in selecting Doherty and Woods not only underscores their bravery and sacrifice, but also communicates that they will not be forgotten. The tragedy of Benghazi must be addressed fully by the President, Secretary of State and others involved.”
U-T San Diego has published two editorials, one announcing the award and the other calling for justice. Both editorials can be read on the U-T’s website at: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/dec/31/glen-doherty-and-tyrone-woods-u-ts-2012-persons/

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/dec/31/benghazis-still-unanswered-questions/
For additional information or to schedule an interview with John Lynch, please contact George Bonaros at (619) 293-2916 or via email george.bonaros(at)utsandiego(dot)com
About U-T San Diego:

The San Diego Union-Tribune, LLC, owned by MLIM, LLC, is San Diego’s most dynamic media company and the region’s most trusted and comprehensive source of local news and information. U-T San Diego delivers more people in more places on more platforms than any other media company in San Diego. Every week, U-T San Diego reaches more than 96% of all San Diego County households by leveraging the combined strength of its integrated media portfolio: the Pulitzer Prize-winning    U-T San Diego newspaper, the North County Times, and The Californian serving southwest Riverside County; the region’s leading website, UTSanDiego.com; the Night+Day weekly entertainment guide and DiscoverSD.com; Spanish-language products Enlace and Vida Latina that serve the Latino community; an all-day local television station, U-T TV; and additional home-delivered products. Through its broad coverage of the community and its multiple media platforms serving all audiences across the region, U-T San Diego delivers news, information and ideas that improve the quality of life of San Diegans and help make San Diego a better place.

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Monster Jam Truck Tickets On Sale Today At Ticket Process

TicketProcess.com has built a reputation as being an online hub for tickets to everything from concerts to football games, and the popular site is thrilled to announce that they are offering 2013 Monster Jam Truck tickets available for purchase today.

(PRWEB) January 01, 2013
Ticket Process recently announced that monster truck tickets will be on sale at their online exchange site. Many large and comfortable stadiums will host monster truck shows the upcoming months, including Reliant Stadium in Houston, Cowboys Stadium in Arlington and the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando. A bevy of monster truck shows unfold across North America in any given week, and one of the most popular is the Monster Jam.
Witnessing a monster truck show is an incredible experience that makes hearts race and imaginations soar. Nowhere else on Earth can such an incredible collection of extreme automobiles be found, and the operators of the vehicles push them to their absolute limits over the course of several hours of fun.
Top 5 Selling Events on TP(Dec 22 - Jan 1)

1. NFL Playoffs

2. Monster Jam

3. College Football Bowl Games

4. Justin Bieber

5. George Strait
*TicketProcess is not associated with any of the teams, artists or venues listed. Names used in this release are for descriptive purposes only and do not imply endorsement or partnership.

About Ticket Process
Since 2010, TicketProcess secondary ticket exchange has been offering a large selection of live event inventory to some of the most exclusive sports, concert and theater events nationwide. With 7-day customer service, all backed by a 100% Guarantee, its simple design and ease of use allow anyone to purchase event tickets with confidence.

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Playboy Founder Hugh Hefner's Formal Wear Wedding Attire Designed By L.A. Celebrity Fashion Designer Rick Pallack For The New Years Eve Wedding At The Playboy Mansion

Award winning celebrity fashion designer Rick Pallack designed the formal wear wedding attire for Mr. Hugh Hefner and the wedding party.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (PRWEB) December 31, 2012
Celebrity fashion designer Rick Pallack designed the formal wear wedding attire for Playboy Magazine legendary founder Mr. Hugh Hefner and all of the men in the wedding party held at the Playboy Mansion on December 31st, 2012.
"The formal designs were very elegant and classic" said Pallack.
He has designed all of Mr. Hefner's formal evening wardrobe for the past 20 years. Pallack also designs "Hef's" world famous smoking jackets, elegant silk robes, and many of his trademark silk pajamas.
Pallack has designed the formal wear tuxedos and elegant evening suits for countless historical celebrity weddings including for Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, Jr., and Carolyn Kennedy's wedding.
Rick Pallack World Class Elegant Formal Wear and Evening Wear Designs have been featured on the Academy Awards, the Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies, the Golden Globes, the Emmys, the Grammys, MTV Music Awards, and at the Cannes Film Festival.     

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$14 Billion in HSA & 2013 PPACA Healthcare Reimbursement Laws - PPACA Claim Specialist Programs Announced by ERISAclaim.com

ERISAclaim.com announced its 2013 HSA & PPACA Claim Specialist Programs for healthcare providers on 2013 new federal PPACA SBC (aka “Insurance Verification”) laws, PPACA internal and external appeal laws, overpayment laws, and how to get paid with $14 billion in patient HSA Account.

Hanover Park, IL (PRWEB) January 01, 2013
On Jan 01, 2013, ERISAclaim.com announced its 2013 HSA & PPACA Claim Specialist Programs to train both in-network and out-of-network healthcare providers on: (1) 2013 new federal PPACA SBC (aka “Insurance Verification”) laws, (2) PPACA internal and external appeal laws, (3) the latest health claim overpayment ERISA laws and (4) how to get paid with $14 billion in patient HSA (Health Saving Account) in 2013.
The two-day basic PPACA HSA Claim Specialist Program was designed to get paid even with high deductibles from most High Deductible Health Plans (HDHP), with HSA grown to $14.1 billion by June in 2012. The one-day basic PPACA SBC Claim Specialist program was designed to comply with new federal SBC laws in 2013 for every health plan to disclose health plan coverage information, commonly practiced as “insurance verification” procedure by every provider, as one of the federal health reform law’s milestone changes of standards for all healthcare claims. The eight-day advanced Certified PPACA & ERISA Claim Specialist programs were designed to comply with 2013 full implementation of PPACA Claims regulations for both internal and external appeals for all claims denials, and especially for sky-rocketing payer overpayment claims and newly approved claim withholding or offsetting denials, in accordance with the latest Court rulings and DOL legal guidance on the increasing overpayment or repayment disputes.
“Beginning in January 2013, new federal SBC law will mandate every health plan or insurance company to timely disclose patient insurance coverage information in a federally standardized form with Uniform Glossary of Coverage and Medical Terms, or willful failure to comply with SBC laws will be subject to a fine of $1,000 for each such failure,” said Dr. Jin Zhou, president of ERISAclaim.com, a national expert on PPACA and ERISA appeals and compliance.
“In 2013, most providers will be shocked by the unprecedented high prevalence of the high deductible health plans for both in-network and out-of-network patients, while Health Savings Accounts Grow to $14.1 Billion in June in 2012,” according to Dr. Zhou. http://www.devenir.com/2012/devenirmidyearhsasurvey
“On Oct 12, 2012 and Nov. 30, 2012, in connection with the increasing national provider overpayment ERISA class actions, the federal court and DOL, for the first time, finally made some new decisions and legal guidance on the No. 1 nightmare for all providers – overpayment demand and recoupment: a payer must comply with ERISA regulations in all overpayment demand due to the coverage dispute,” according to Dr. Zhou, who provided ERISA compliance assistance to th class rep. providers and litigation support to the leading class action law firms in seeking compliance guidance in all overpayment disputes.

http://www.chron.com/business/press-releases/article/ERISAclaim-com-Offers-Comments-on-Aetna-4101106.php
According to DOL Overpayment Amicus Brief on Nov. 30, 2012 in support of the plaintiff providers:
“The crux of the question at issue here is not whether the plaintiff or the defendant is correct in their views of the plan terms, but whether Aetna must comply with the procedures mandated by ERISA section 503 and its accompanying regulations in rendering a determination based on a plan interpretation that is adverse to the plan participants and beneficiaries.”

http://www.dol.gov/sol/media/briefs/tri3-enterprises(A)-11-30-2012.htm#.UMfi5z9MHFo
According To Houston Chronicle, November 7, 2012: “Federal Court Rules against BCBS in Overpayment ERISA Class Action: Providers Entitled to ERISA Appeal Rights”

http://www.chron.com/business/press-releases/article/Federal-Court-Rules-against-BCBS-in-Overpayment-3958959.php
“What really made these PPACA, ERISA, SBC and HSA programs timely important is that PPACA Claims Regulations are now in full implementation for all provisions of the health reform laws for all ERISA and non-ERISA health plans,” explained Dr. Zhou.
The followings are 2013 ERISAclaim.com New Year’s Resolution to Reimbursement by Compliance:
1.    DOL Affordable Care Act Regulations and Guidance: Internal Claims and Appeals and External Review: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/healthreform/

2.    SBC Laws: Final Regulations

3.    SBC Laws: Summary of Benefits and Coverage and Uniform Glossary--Templates,Instructions, and Related Materials; and Guidance for Compliance

4.    Sample Completed SBC: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/pdf/SBCSampleCompleted.pdf

5.    The IRS publication about HSAs, Pub 969 Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p969.pdf

6.    PCA v. BCBSA et. al.: http://ww1.prweb.com/prfiles/2012/10/18/10028942/PCA%20v%20BCBSA.pdf
To find out more services and products from ERISAclaim.com:

http://www.erisaclaim.com/products.htm
Located in a Chicago suburb in Illinois, for over 12 years, ERISAclaim.com is the only ERISA & PPACA consulting, publishing and website resource for healthcare providers in the country. ERISAclaim.com offers free webinars, basic and advanced educational seminars and on-site claims specialist certification programs for doctors, hospitals and commercial companies, as well as numerous pending national ERISA class action litigation support. Dr. Jin Zhou is regarded as the industry “Godfather of ERISA claims” for healthcare providers.

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