Month: December 2011

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AAA Free Tipsy Tow Service NOT A Nationwide Program

2014 Update for New Jersey drivers: Sober Sam is available but

News about AAA offering free towing service nationwide to get inebriated drivers home safely on New Year’s Eve is circulating virally on Facebook but according to Snopes, less than a dozen states offer this program.

When you see this posted on Facebook, tell people not to rely on the service. There’s only a limited chance it will be in effect where they live:

No Excuses!!! Don’t drink and drive — and don’t ride with anybody who does. Tipsy Tow offered by AAA: You don’t have to be a AAA member, from 6pm-6am on New Year’s Eve/Day they will take your drunk self and your car home for FREE. Save this number … 1-800-222-4357. read more

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Free University Education Programs

MITx: Online Teaching Model Beta Launching in 2012

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) takes its online teaching program to the next level with the new MITx initiative, which will be introduced this spring as a beta-testing model. Forbes magazine says, “MITx . . . will offer the online teaching of MIT courses free of charge to anyone in the world. The program will not allow students to earn an MIT degree. Instead, those who are able to exhibit a mastery of the subjects taught on the platform will receive an official certificate of completion.” read more

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Hate Crimes Target Bergen County Jews

I’m grateful as a Jew for the sentiment expressed by Hackensack Mayor Jorge Meneses at an interfaith ceremony held at Temple Beth-El to rededicate the synagogue following its  desecration by graffiti vandals on December 21, the first day of Chanukah: “When these things happen,” said Mayor Meneses, “it’s not (only) that particular community that suffers and feels awful. We as a whole city feel it, too.” Similar vandalism occurred on December 10 in Maywood at Temple Beth Israel. read more