Christmas Poker Games Bringing People Together Online During Holiday Season

(PRWEB) December 24, 2005

People are gathering online during the holidays to play online poker with a festive theme.

http://www.maconlinepoker.com/mac-online-poker-rooms/christmas-poker.html can provide all the information for those who are interested in playing.

The Christmas themed poker games are very easy to join in, and there is nothing to download or install in order to play. The games all play right in the user's web browser and are compatible with almost every computer online.

http://www.maconlinepoker.com/ has specialized in providing online poker for iMac and Mac users, but decided to add some holiday cheer to their website. The online poker games offered at MacOnlinePoker.com are all also compatible with Windows and Linux machines.

"It was really easy to get into the games," said one friendly player. "I was up and playing within 5 minutes. It's such a blast, I'm so glad I joined."

The online poker community at http://www.maconlinepoker.com/mac-online-poker-rooms/christmas-poker.html is always active, as it includes people from all around the world.

The popularity of online poker has blossomed alongside with televised poker tournaments. Now people can play poker without ever leaving their home or taking off their pajamas during the holiday season.

The Christmas poker games are available during the holiday season, but will eventualy revert back to their regular look soon after Christmas has passed.

People looking to make a few new friends online and play some poker should check out http://www.maconlinepoker.com/mac-online-poker-rooms/christmas-poker.html.

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Rock Star Entrepreneurs Launch The Young Entrepreneur Council To Help Young People Overcome Unemployment

Hoboken, NJ (PRWEB) October 13, 2010

Scott Gerber, serial entrepreneur, internationally syndicated small business columnist, and author of the upcoming book, Never Get a Real Job, today announced the launch of the first-ever Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC); an advocacy group made up of many of the worlds most successful young entrepreneurs, business owners and thought leaders. The YEC's mission is to help young people build successful businesses and overcome the devastating epidemics of youth underemployment and unemployment.

"Youth unemployment and underemployment are Gen Y epidemics," said Scott Gerber, the founder of the YEC. "Now, more than ever before, we must teach young people how to create their own streams of income and become self-sufficient small business owners. Who better to do that than their successful entrepreneurial peers."

According to the International Labour Organization, over 81 million young people are unemployed worldwide. Nearly 40% of young people in the U.S. have been unemployed or underemployed since 2008 (Pew Research Center).

"The Young Entrepreneur Council is the first step in a larger campaign to transform millenials into self-sufficient entrepreneurs. I have no doubt that the insights provided by our world class group of young business owners will provide readers with a practical, top notch small business education," said Gerber.

"Young entrepreneurs today need support and advice from those who have already built successful businesses, which is why I'm proud to be part of this project," said Dan Schawbel, author of Me 2.0 and Founder of Millenial Branding.

Initially, YEC members will answer small business questions posed by aspiring Gen Y entrepreneurs on NeverGetaRealJob.com. Readers will be able to ask the Council questions once they sign up for a free user account on the website. The Council will also contribute original content to various media outlets including WSJ, AllBusiness, and Mashable, to name a few.

The Young Entrepreneur Council's first article launched on WSJ.com on October 12, 2010.

The inaugural Young Entrepreneur Council includes:

Aaron Patzer, Mint.com

Adam Gilbert, Chief Body Tutor

Adam Toren, YoungEntrepreneur.com

Anderson Shoenrock, ScanDigital

Annie Wang, Her Campus Media

Anthony David Adams, Credit Covers

Arielle Scott, Gen Juice

Ashley Bodi, Business Beware Radio

Billy Gaines, BPONG

Cameron Johnson, CameronJohnson.com

Cari Sommers, UrbanInterns.com

Dan Schawbel, Millenial Branding

David Hauser, Grasshopper

David Rusenko, Weebly.com

David Siteman Garland, Rise To The Top

Derek Johnson, Tatango.com

Elizabeth Saunders, Real Life E

Gary Whitehill, New York Entrepreneur Week

Genevieve Thiers, SitterCity.com

Harrie Bakst, Carnegie Sports & Entertainment

Ishita Gupta, fear.less

Jack Delosa,

Election 2010: State-by-State Data; How Many People with Mental Illness are Being Served?

Arlington, VA (PRWEB) September 30, 2010

State mental health agencies (SMHAs) provide direct services to between 15 to 60 percent of people living with serious mental illnesses in their states, according to state-by-state figures reported today by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

State mental health services are being cut dramatically, however, even as need has increased due to the nations economic crisis. Medicaid is the other major funding source of mental health care for people with serious mental illness, but also has been subject to cuts (see table below).

State mental health agencies cannot do it alone, said NAMI Executive Director Michael J. Fitzpatrick. They serve only a fraction of those who need helpand they struggle to do so with shrinking budgets.

Even without budget cuts, low percentages of people with serious mental illness served by SMHAs may point to weakness in the reach of a states overall system of care. Congress has some responsibility to help strengthen state mental health care systems. Federal mental health block grants have been reduced or frozen over the past 10 years. The impact of cuts in Medicaid-funded state programs also has been softened only through use of federal stimulus funds.

The state figures are offered as part of NAMIs fourth alert in an Election 2010 series reminding editors, reporters and others to ask all candidates what they intend to do about the nation's mental health crisis. Protecting and strengthening state mental health care must be part of the Election 2010 dialogue. In editorial board meetings and community forums, please ask candidates what they will do to help, Fitzpatrick said.

Every issue in the election involves mental health carefrom unemployment to troops returning from war. For example, unemployed workers are four times more likely to report symptoms of mental illness and veterans are twice as likely as civilians to die from suicide.

The National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) Research Institute reported in Feb. 2010:

Total SMHA budget reductions from FY2009 to FY2011 were about $ 2 billion.
Approximately 90 percent of SMHAs were experiencing budget cuts in FY2010. Almost 75 percent had experienced cuts in FY2009 and the same level proportion expected cuts in FY2011.
Over 50 percent have responded by cutting community mental health services and reducing the number of people served. At the same time, SMHAs experienced increased demand for community services, including crisis services, emergency rooms and hospital acute care.

Weak state mental health care systems end up costing communities morethrough lost jobs and careers, broken families, more homelessness, higher insurance costs, more welfare and much more expensive costs for hospital emergency rooms, nursing homes, schools, police and courts, jails and prisons, Fitzpatrick said.

Below is a list of states that have adults with serious mental illness (SMI), rounded to 1,000, and the percent served by State Mental Health Agency (SMHA).

Source:Grading the States 2009: A Report on America's Health Care System for Adults with Serious Mental Illness