Monday, October 29, 2012

Repopulation of countryside is essential tool to avoid major fires, Spanish experts say

ScienceDaily (Oct. 28, 2012) ? The Universitat de Val?ncia presented a preliminary report on the major fires Valencia suffered this summer. The report, lead by the professor of physical geography Alejandro P?rez Cueva, suggests that repopulation of the countryside is an essential tool to avoid major forest fires, and points out alternative solutions such as biological firewalls that involve developing pastures.

The document was presented during the celebration of the 1st Forum of Forest Fires Universitat de Val?ncia-Ayuntamientos, which is an encounter between the academic institution and the town councils to discuss the forest fires that took place last summer. It was held at the Botanic Gardens and its goal was to detect 'the needs of the towns affected by the fires and promote the relations between the local authorities and the University experts', as the Vice-Principal stated.

The experts analyzed this summer's major fires -Benag?ber, La Safor, Cortes, Andilla and Chulilla-, which destroyed a total of 63.520 hectares. 'We are studying the basic elements of the disasters like the use of the land and the weather conditions, but also the impact of the fires on biodiversity', said P?rez Cueva. For example, the Andilla and Cortes fires affected valuable areas including the Sierra Calderona nature reserve, Mart?s, El Ave, and Malacara ranges, La Mola de Cortes and El Caroig, or the central stretch of the river Palancia; four micro flora reserves; three fauna reserves in Alcublas and two caves used by bats.

This report also analyzes socio-economic and demographic issues. 'We can see once again that population decline in rural areas has favoured major fires', adds the professor. The municipal areas that have suffered the most are Dos Aguas (94,9%), Macastre (77,3%), Saca?et (67,45%), Alcublas (66,6%), Bugarra (66,2%), Teresa (59,38%), Catadau (49,2%), Llocnou de Sant Jeroni (42,11%), and Chulilla (38,36%).

'Our work proves that conventional firewalls and natural barriers have not worked, so it is urgent to implement biological firewalls, something which is already included in the regional forest planning regulation. This involves recovering traditional activities such as pastures or farming activities', P?rez Cueva said. He also pointed out the importance of avoiding the use of heavy machinery on burned land to avoid erosion.

Regarding the influence of the weather, scientists analyzed the disasters and found that the wind caused the fire to behave in three different ways. In the first of the fires, Benag?ber (440 hectares), flames were caused by a cold breeze that stopped at nightime. In the second one however, La Safor area (1.329 hectares), there was a central focus and variable East and West winds whereas the three last major fires in Cortes (32.443 hectares), Andilla (21.249 hectares) and Chulilla (8.057 hectares), were characterized by the classic and very persistent South-East wind.

The towns' mayors claimed for a political will to implement effective measures of recovery. Manuel Civera from Alcublas stressed the economic value of the natural and environmental resources as well as the food products that are provided by these inland towns. He also added that despite all the regional, national and European regulations depopulation has not been avoided, so there must be a real political effort to change the situation.

The representative of the town council of Enguera, Santiago Ar?valo, stated that 'there will be no society without a cohesion between the coastal zones and inland areas.' He also stressed the need to start new economic activities such as the use of forest biomass to produce energy.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/XRSiZx1XvLU/121028160637.htm

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Friday, October 26, 2012

Khalil s Picks (26 October 2012)

This week in Picks: polio eradication in Nigeria, AI goes in sports commentary, hookah and energy-drinks aren?t healthy at all and posts from young science writers who just joined SciLogs.com, a science blogging network.

Get some coffee and start clicking and reading.

?

Charles Ebikeme, in Think Africa Press, writes about the renewed efforts to eradicate polio in Nigeria. Polio is a terrible disease which can start as a simple fever but culminate into paralysis. It has been eradicated in most parts of the world thanks to vaccination but Nigeria remains the only polio endemic country in Africa. This is, above all, a necessary read.

Nigeria: Polio?s Last African Stronghold
?I do not really understand what happened. Aisha felt sick for weeks and got a high fever. Her legs have now started to get very weak and she has a hard time trying to stand up?, explains Zainabu, a Nigerian mother whose daughter contracted polio, to Think Africa Press.

Artificial intelligence is a big thing but perhaps we?re not aware of it that much yet. But rest assured that many people are actively using it. The latest profession which may use artificial intelligence? Sport commentators! Good piece by Douglas Heaven at New Scientist.

AI sports commentator knows all the best stories
A database of relevant anecdotes for commentators during live sport means that the best stories are always to hand WHEN watching sport on TV, the footage is often only half the fun. A good commentator can make all the difference, peppering a play-by-play account of the action with expert knowledge and anecdotes. But even the best commentator?s repertoire is limited. Now an AI system called Scores could help.

During my three-year stint in Malaysia, I was exposed to the culture of shisha (or hookah) smoking. It never appealed to me (I mean, seriously, smoke inhaling!?) but many of friends smoked shisha while we were watching football (soccer) games. And they always claimed that it wasn?t unhealthy. Wrong! In his piece at Mind The Science Gap, Michael Grisafe reveals that hookah is not healthy. Not at all so.

Up in Smoke: The Myth of the Healthy Hookah
?Narghile.? ?Hubble-bubble.? ?Shisha.? All names for what is commonly known in the United States as ?Hookah.? A hookah is a type of water pipe in which users inhale flavored tobacco smoke through a long, hose-like stem after it passes through a basin of water. Hookah smoking has been around in the Middle East for over 400 years; however it?s seen a surge in popularity among college age adults in the United States over the past ten years.

In her piece for New Scientist, Hannah Krakauer tells all about energy drinks? potential of killing you. Or more specifically, about caffeine?s potential to kill.

Are high-caffeine energy drinks dangerous?
This week, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released incident reports describing several deaths that may have occurred following the consumption of Monster Energy drinks. Much of the concern over energy-drink consumption is down to the high caffeine content of such beverages, which at present is not regulated as they are classed as nutritional supplements.

In the future, the cool kids may well have one dad and two mommies. Akshat Rathi has a good piece in The Economist about that recent paper which reported that a child can have DNA from three individuals: a father and mother providing the chromosomal DNA and a second mother providing the mitochondrial DNA.

Hello mothers, hello father
A technique intended to eliminate mitochondrial diseases would result in people with three genetic parents. Is it possible for a child to have three parents? That is the question raised by a paper just published in Nature by Shoukhrat Mitalipov and his colleagues at Oregon Health and Science University. And the answer seems to be ?yes?, for this study paves the way for the birth of children who, genetically, have one father, but two mothers.

Shara Yurkiewicz is at her usual standard in her latest post in her blog, This may hurt a bit, hosted by PLoS. You?ll be sold by her opening lines.

Oasis
?By the way,? my chief resident told me on the first day of my inpatient psychiatry rotation, ?don?t lick your lips in front of him.? ?Wait, what happens if?? I fell silent as the patient walked into the interview room. The resident wanted to discuss his paranoid delusions; the patient wanted to discuss his discharge.

Rachel Nuwer tackles an interesting question from a science viewpoint in Smithsonian.com?s Smart News blog.

Can We Excuse Cheating If It Supports a Good Cause?
Is it ever ok for us to bend the rules or cheat in order to achieve a greater good?or to support those who do? New York Magazine raises this question in relation to Lance Armstrong?s recent fall from grace.

?

This week also saw the unveiling of a number of new bloggers on this blogging network?s sister network, SciLogs.com (full disclosure, I am the community manager of SciLogs.com). Many of those new bloggers are young science writers. Here?s some of their contributions so far:

?

A lot of links today. But you can find more writings from early-career science writers by following this Twitter list. Have a good intellectual weekend.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=1dfd2a820434c8ae4f16db264fdbb6b2

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Thursday, October 25, 2012

In Mobile Ads, iOS Is Still The Most Valuable Platform; Apps Drive 73% Of All Revenues, Says Opera

Opera-logo-JPGWe're seeing a lot of evolution and growth in the world of mobile ads -- Facebook's recent introduction of ads into its mobile platform being one key development -- but some stats are proving harder to budge. The internet browser company?Opera today released its latest State of Mobile Advertising report, which indicates that, despite the growth of Android and other platforms, iOS continues to dominate when it comes to monetizing mobile ads. And despite all the effort that has been put into mobile web sites, the majority, nearly 73%, of all mobile ad revenues are coming from mobile apps.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/dNR49R0YoJE/

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Video: Disaster du Jour & Sunshine Stocks

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/49556948/

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Music Lessons Teach Valuable Life Lessons | arts and entertainment

It is not surprising that parents who encourage their children to take up music lessons expect that the latter will eventually end up as singers, instrumentalists or in other words, musical performers who do both or any of those two things. Yet even though these children do not fulfil their parents' expectation, it does not necessarily mean that they are a disappointment. These children after all learn valuable and not to mention sensible lessons from the sessions they attended. Those things will see them through life and its every challenge.

For one, the kids learn the importance of discipline early on during the course of them taking Guitar lessons for example. Just as they learn to play musical instruments, these students, at the same time, acknowledge the need to practice and sharpen their skills in order to perform better. Also, as students, these kids likewise learn how to recover from their mistakes while they seek to find the smooth transition from failure to success. This likewise translates to mean that a student has what it takes to persevere amidst hard times as he or she strives to accomplish something no matter what.

And as if those are not enough, a class like this likewise provides the venue for the students to improve the way they relate with other people. They learn about the concept of cooperation and experience how it's like to work with one another towards a common goal. From applying what they learn by means of providing an accompaniment to a song, they later on make considerable contributions to the world they were born to.

At this point, it is already very obvious that music lessons train and mould a student not only in all things music but practically, in most things about life as well. A student takes home with him and her useful and universally applicable learning that is significant throughout his or her life. His or her gains clearly goes beyond mastering how to sing a song or play an instrument pretty well.

All of the things which a person acquires by means of taking up music lessons are instrumental in living his or her life in a manner which allows, encourages and dares him or her to realise his or her fullest potential possible. Regardless of whether a student chooses to eventually pursue a musical career or not, it's for certain that he or she will find that the learning gained is that which sees him or her through this life in general. And with such significant edge, this person really has what it takes to rise above the challenges that come his or her way.

Source: http://artsandentertainment-mangalindak.blogspot.com/2012/10/music-lessons-teach-valuable-life.html

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Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Keymonk is a Super Fast and Accurate Android Keyboard, Is Like Swype with Two Fingers

Keymonk is a Super Fast and Accurate Android Keyboard, Is Like Swype with Two FingersKeymonk is a Super Fast and Accurate Android Keyboard, Is Like Swype with Two Fingers Android: Keymonk is a new Android keyboard replacement that takes the idea of swiping your fingers across letters to input text up a notch. Turn your phone sideways and use both thumbs to input text, or put it in portrait mode and use one?either way it's fast, accurate, and best of all, free.

We love Swype, the Android keyboard that pioneered the idea of drawing your words instead of tapping them, and even though it recently updated, it's not for everyone. If your don't like the idea of drawing your words, Keymonk won't appeal to you, but if you miss being able to use your thumbs, Keymonk combines the best of both worlds: fast landscape input with your thumbs, and fast portrait input with one or two fingers.

You can see how the app works in the video above. The developers say that the app was designed for speed, and it showed when we tested the app. Overall, it felt faster at recognizing the words I typed, even if some of them were wrong, and even though using my thumbs in landscape mode felt awkward at first, eventually I stopped whacking my thumbs into one another. Still, it took some getting used to.

Keymonk is free and available now at Google Play. There is a $4 "full version" available that allows you to add custom words to the dictionary, hide the suggestions list if you're just that accurate, unlocks the settings screen, and lets you auto-add spaces after punctuation marks so you don't have to. Grab the free version if you're interested in giving it a shot.

Keymonk | Google Play via #tips

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/qsOpo6tGM84/keymonk-is-a-super-fast-and-accurate-android-keyboard-is-like-swype-with-two-fingers

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Apple introduces thinnest iMac yet

22 hrs.

Mobile devices might be the biggest driver of Apple's business these days, but the Mac isn't a sales???or design???slouch. The electronics giant Tuesday announced a update to its popular iMac desktop computer. And like all of Apple's updates, this year's model is thinner than ever.

Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller, took a few minutes to introduce the new model.

"The number-one desktop model in the U.S.," said Schiller. "Many think of it as the flagship of the Mac product line."

The new iMac looks very similar to the previous generation of iMacs from?the front, with a large silver "chin" beneath the screen. But from the side, the upgrade is apparent, with an edge that's just 5 millimeters thin. Do bear in mind that the middle of the back aluminum plate does bulge out a bit to give more space for its internal components, leaving the new iMac with 40 percent less internal volume than its predecessor, weighing in eight pounds lighter.

The new iMac will be available in two sizes, a 27-inch model with a 2,560 by 1,440 pixel display, and a 21.5-inch model with a 1,920 by 1,080 pixel display, available starting at $1,800 and $1,300, respectively.

Because there's not as much width on the side, the optical disc drive???for DVDs???is gone. (A USB SuperDrive is available as an option for those that still need to use DVDs.) The SD card reader has moved to the back.

Apple also put its marketing touch on the iMac's new hard drive, a hybrid flash and traditional hard drive technologies, which they've dubbed the "Fusion Drive." The Fusion Drive is formatted in such a way to keep frequently used software on the faster-performing flash drive, keeping data like photos or infrequently used software on the slower, traditional hard drive.

"It isn't amazing how something new makes the previous generation instantly look old?" asked Schiller.?

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/ever-more-minimalist-apples-new-imac-thinnest-yet-1C6634818

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Monday, October 22, 2012

Howard debuts for Lakers in loss to Sacramento

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? After eight years in Orlando and six months of recovery from back surgery, Dwight Howard returned to an NBA court Sunday night on a new coast and wearing a new gold uniform.

The significance of the moment finally hit the normally playful big man during pregame introductions in front of fans who gave him a standing ovation before his first basket for the Los Angeles Lakers.

"I actually shed a couple of tears," Howard said. "During the starting lineups, one of my teammates caught me, so I tried to hide it, but I was just excited. It is really emotional, because I hadn't been on the court in a while. I didn't know what to expect, but it's a very humbling experience."

Howard had 19 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots in his Lakers debut, but Los Angeles still dropped to 0-6 in the preseason when DeMarcus Cousins rallied the Sacramento Kings to a 99-92 victory on Sunday night.

The loss was secondary to the Lakers, who finally unveiled their new franchise center after Howard sat out the first five preseason games while exercising caution with his recovery. The six-time All-Star played 33 minutes and made five of Los Angeles' 22 turnovers against the Kings, fighting his game rust with energy from the opening tip.

The experience might have been overwhelming at first, but Howard quickly settled in for the Los Angeles starting five's first playing time together. It wasn't perfect, but it showed formidable promise for the long season ahead.

"We lost the game, but there's a lot of bright spots out there, and we're going to continue to get better," Howard said. "We're going to get our timing down and start reading each other a little better, but right now we're early in the process."

Kobe Bryant scored 21 points as the Lakers' starters played down the stretch of a tight game against the Kings, who finished the game with 10 unanswered points. After Cousins, who scored 16 points, put the Kings ahead with consecutive layups in the final moments, Bryant and Steve Nash missed late shots as Sacramento (4-1) hung on with a lineup mostly consisting of reserves against the Lakers' starters.

"Our rhythm is already there," Bryant said. "It's just about the little nuances, a few of our plays. ... We've done it in practice, and I think it was exciting to show the fans what kind of potential we have. I think we're a little ahead of the curve."

Los Angeles' starting five played together for four significant stretches and fairly brimmed with potential. With Howard and Bryant already playing well off each other, the Lakers finished the second quarter with a slick 18-4 run capped by Bryant's buzzer-beating 22-footer on a pass from Pau Gasol.

Howard hadn't played in a game since early April, when the Magic shut him down for the season with a herniated disc. Los Angeles finally ended his protracted departure from Orlando in August, trading All-Star center Andrew Bynum to Philadelphia in the four-team deal.

"I just never thought this would happen, me being in L.A.," Howard said.

Not many superstars get hazed in the preseason, but the Lakers did it to Howard before warm-ups. They put Howard at the front of the line to run on the court ? and then everybody stayed in the tunnel while Howard ran onto the court by himself, getting a huge ovation and a laugh.

Nash pulled the prank spontaneously when he saw Howard leading the lineup.

"I just grabbed Pau and held him," the two-time MVP said with a grin.

Howard and Nash both got loud ovations from the packed Staples Center stands during introductions, although the biggest cheers were reserved for Kobe.

Howard immediately made an impact, getting an assist on Bryant's 3-pointer on the Lakers' first possession. Howard then threw down a delicate two-handed dunk on the Lakers' second possession with an alley-oop pass from Gasol ? a sight that might be awfully common this season.

Not everything went well: Kings rookie Thomas Robinson posterized Howard with a breathtaking, one-handed putback dunk while flying above the veteran.

"You could tell his timing was off a little bit at times," Lakers coach Mike Brown said. "A couple of times where he would have blocked a shot, he was maybe half a step late. Overall, he looked good."

With all five starters on the floor for the final minutes, Los Angeles took the lead on Metta World Peace's off-balance 3-pointers and led 92-89 before Cousins' baskets. Nash then missed a runner in the lane with 21 seconds to play, and Jimmer Fredette and Thornton made two free throws apiece surrounding Bryant's miss on an off-balance 3-pointer.

Aaron Brooks scored 16 points and Marcus Thornton had 15 for the Kings, who beat the Lakers 103-98 in Las Vegas on Friday night. The teams meet yet again in San Diego on Thursday.

"You've just got to make them work," Sacramento's Chuck Hayes said of playing against Howard and Gasol at the same time. "They're like the Avengers out there. They're huge. You've got to keep fighting and make it hard for them every possession."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/howard-debuts-lakers-loss-sacramento-055311732--spt.html

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Republican Senate hopefuls in tight races warm to Romney (reuters)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

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Sunday, October 21, 2012

Unlock PDF Because Sometimes Security Do ... - Work On the Internet

Miscellaneous Written by Anonymous ??Saturday, 20 October 2012 01:22

In the truly paperless office, you have huge collection of PDF files which might have grown exponentially. To maintain PDF files, password protection is the most important activity which gives you the perfect way to have management of PDF files. Today, organizational information is the key to oprations in business which requires proper attention. PDF files have thus become standard files for storing and sharing information. To keep stored PDF data safe, protection with passwords is essential. Sometimes all struggles fail in unlocking PDF files which require you to find some appropriate solution.

Regardless of the fact that your data in PDF files are safe, many a times, it is important for organizations to Unlock PDF Files.

Steps to secure Adobe Acrobat v6.0 PDF files:

  • First select Document >> Security >> Display Restrictions and Security
  • After this, choose password security from security method drop down list
  • From drop down list, choose apt Adobe acrobat version
  • Set the password which you want to use to change user password allowing printing, accessing data etc. Go to security settings check box and choose, enter the password in Permissions password
  • In the printing option, choose editing permissions you want to put into effect
  • In changes allowed option, select editing permissions you want to put into effect
  • Press 'OK'

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    Article Tags :

Last Updated on Saturday, 20 October 2012 01:22

Source: http://www.workoninternet.com/business/reviews/miscellaneous/219403-article.html

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Has the proper to reside - Fitness equipment Classifieds

Free Classifieds Health & Fitness Fitness Equipment

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Ohio Casino Caters To Asian-American Gamblers | NBC 4i

By: Associated Press | NBC4

?A new northeast Ohio casino is reaching out to gamblers of Asian descent with events tailored to Asian tastes and hosts that handle tasks for those bettors - including arranging for complimentary meals or hotel stays.
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The Horseshoe Casino Cleveland is among U.S. casinos catering to the ethnic group. Those players are important to the Ohio casino, where two baccarat tables are regularly packed with players of Asian descent - primarily Chinese - who might spend hours there, The Plain Dealer reported.
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On a recent Monday, eight of the seats at one of the baccarat tables were filled by Asian women - five who have reached the top level in a customer loyalty program run by Caesars Entertainment, the company that manages the Cleveland casino.
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Gambling has been growing in popularity in Asia, with PriceWaterhouseCoopers analysts predicting that gambling revenue in Asia will rise 18.3 percent a year and hit $79.3 billion annually by 2015, according to the Plain Dealer.
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The latest census estimates show that northeast Ohio's Asian communities are small - including only about 16,000 people of Chinese descent - but leaders of Cleveland's Chinese community acknowledge gambling has a significant place in their culture.
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"Gambling is in our blood," said attorney Margaret Wong, a Chinese-American widely known for her work in immigration law. "We gamble; we take risks. The Chinese are all about risk."
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But Kent Woo, who heads NICOS - a group that advocates for the health of Chinese-Americans in San Francisco - believes the major attraction is based more on luck and a cultural acceptance that begins with recreational gambling in the home.
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NICOS, an acronym for the names of founding agencies, started a problem-gambling program in 1997 after a survey of more than 1,800 adults in San Francisco ranked gambling addiction as the Chinese community's most serious social problem.
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Johnny Wu, president of the Organization of Chinese Americans of Greater Cleveland, has been a consultant for the Presque Isle casino in Pennsylvania and Mountaineer casino in West Virginia. He and Wong said that they had not heard any alarm about gambling in Cleveland's Chinese community.
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The Cleveland casino's efforts to cater to Asian-American players have included its recent staging of a series of events capped by a Moon Festival featuring music and comedy performances - one in Mandarin Chinese and one in English - at a nearby hotel.
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Two Chinese-speaking natives of Hong Kong have been assigned as liaisons for the Asian-American bettors. Jason Tsang and Wesley Poon are the only members of the casino's "executive host" team who are dedicated to a specific ethnic group.
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Tsang and Poon each have about 250 clients whose betting levels gain them special attention.
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Tsang tries to meet players' needs, but doesn't pressure them to gamble.
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"They will play if they feel like it," Tsang said. "My job is to take care of them."
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Poon said he provides a friendly face for those who often find it much easier and more comfortable to talk to other Asians.
?
William Nguyen, 47, of Vietnamese descent, is a Trumbull County business owner who says he sometimes calls Poon late at home, if he is too tired to drive home and needs a hotel room.

For additional information, stay with NBC4 and refresh nbc4i.com.
To submit a story idea or news tip, e-mail stories@nbc4i.com.
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Source: http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2012/oct/20/ohio-casino-caters-asian-american-gamblers-ar-1211778/

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Saturday, October 20, 2012

PFT: Plaxico 'optimistic' he'll play again

10212166-largeGetty Images

On Thursday, the NFLPA mentioned in a court filing an ESPN segment from 1996 titled ?Smash for Cash.?? PFT has obtained a copy of the video, a feature from Andrea Kramer included in the extended NFL Countdown that aired on the day of Super Bowl XXXI.

Here?s the full transcript of the segment seven-minute segment, which featured a variety of players from separate interviews that had been conducted.

Andrea Kramer:? ?Many players around the league earn bonus money by virtue of their achievements.? But it?s not usually courtesy of their own teammates.? But around the league, there?s a little-known but very popular incentive program players call ?Smash for Cash.??

Reggie White:? ?We have guys get interceptions, fumbles.? I came out with like nine thousand and some dollars I had to pay out, because I was paying $500 each big play.?

Kramer:? ??Smash for Cash,? giving cash bonuses for big plays and hits made during a game.? Teams used to pay them money, but now that?s a violation of the salary cap.? So players contribute their own money.? But when the pot ran dry last year in Green Bay, Reggie White established his own incentive program, much to the dismay of his wife.?

White:? ?I went home and told her, I said, ?Sarah, can you write me a check for like $9,500.?? ?What for??? I said, ?Well, I promised I?d pay guys $500 apiece if they made big hits.?? ?Did anyone else do it with you??? ?No.?? ?No??!?

Troy Vincent:? ?You know, everyone likes money.?

Lawrence Taylor:? ?There is a dollar figure on everything you do in the game of football.?

Jeff Lageman:? ?We create pots in our defensive line room of who gets the first sack of the game.?

Cris Dishman:? ?If you knock someone completely off their feet and they land on their butt first.? That?s the big hit pot.?

Gary Plummer:? ?It could mean $300 or $400 for a sack.? It could mean $500 or $600 for an interception of a caused fumbled.?

Cris Dishman:? ?In one week you can win up to $1,000.?

Alfred Williams:? ?These are just individual things that guys just challenge each other with.? It happens all the time in every place that I?ve played in.?

Andrea Kramer, to Ken Norton:? ?Do guys take it seriously??

Norton:? ?No question about it.? That?s $500.? That?s untaxed.? I mean, that?s pretty good.?

Andrea Kramer:? ?Different teams have different rules.? For example, rather than create a pot, Eagle defensive backs and linebackers have to pay each other when they make a big play.?

Vincent:? ?Game day is $50 [per player] for an interception, $100 for a touchdown. . . .?

Kramer:? ?Sometimes before there?s a pot, there?s a concept, like the Beaver.?

Lageman:? ?In New York we had this huge emphasis on caused fumbles, and what we had was [a] thing called ?the Beaver.?? Not only did you get a pot from the players if you caused a fumble, which is a ?Beaver,? but you also got to carry ?the Beaver? for a week, which was a stuffed animal on a rope.? Beaver, as you know, I don?t know if you know or not, if you don?t watch Discovery it?s the most diligent worker of the animal kingdom.? And so we said to cause fumbles you?ve got to be a diligent worker and you?ve got to focus in on it.?

Andrea Kramer:? ?Pete Carroll began this concept with the Jets, and brought it with him to San Francisco.?

Pete Carroll:? ?The beaver has always been known as the most diligent worker in the animal kingdom.?

Ken Norton:? ?The beaver is the hardest working animal in the kingdom.?

Gary Plummer, to Norton:? ?In the animal kingdom.? The most diligent, hard-working animal in the animal kingdom.?

Greg Robinson:? ?From everything I understand, just going back to my schooldays, a beaver is known as the most diligent worker in the animal kingdom, noted for his ingenuity.?

Andrea Kramer:? ?Greg Robinson was Pete Carroll?s defensive coordinator in New York, before taking the same job with the Broncos.? And although his definition of the beaver sounds strangely familiar, Robinson denies using a stuffed animal as a motivational technique in Denver.?

Kramer (watching tape with Robinson):? ?What do you use this for?

Greg Robinson:? ?Use this for?? You?re referring to??

Kramer:? ?The stuffed animal.?

Robinson:? ?The stuffed animal?? There?s no stuffed animal around here.?

Bill Romanowski:? ?I think it was our first game, and I knew nothing about ?the Beaver,? and sure enough Greg Robinson pulls out this little stuffed animal.? And we?re getting ready to go out on the field, and he?s saying, ?The Beaver is out!? The Beaver is out!?? And I?m looking at this guy like he?s nuts.

Andrea Kramer, to Greg Robinson:? ?You?re denying any knowledge of using this for motivational purposes??

Robinson:? ?Uh, absolutely.?

Alfred Williams:? ?He carries it in his pocket and then, you know, before he goes on the field he has a puppet beaver and [laughter] . . . I can?t believe you asked me this, man, but it was great.? It?s great.

Pete Carroll:? ?Probably the all-time ?beave? was the one on the goal line against Buffalo.?

Andrea Kramer:? ?That hit led to an appearance by the Beaver in the 49ers? game film.?

Gary Plummer:? ?As soon as the hit occurred and of course Lee Woodall picked it up and ran it back for a touchdown, the next thing spliced in is about a 10-second clip of the most diligent, hard-working animal in the animal kingdom.? The beaver.?

Andrea Kramer:? ?As the pot gets richer, 11 men go scurrying like a beaver, trying to force a fumble.? Sometimes forgetting the fundamentals.?

Jeff Lageman:? ?We were in New York, we were playing Miami one time.? And I think we had a pot ? it rolled over from one game to the next ? and the pot was at about five or six thousand dollars.? And everybody puts in money.? That was the worst tackling performances we ever had.?

Andrea Kramer, to Pete Carroll:? ?Do you remember that day??

Carroll:? ?Yeah, a little overboard on the emphasis that day, yeah.? That did happen.?

Lageman:? ?It was pathetic.? Everybody was going for the ball.?

Andrea Kramer:? ?The question is why?? Why do a couple of hundred dollars matter to players making millions??

Junior Seau:? ?It?s not the money.? It?s the ego.?

Troy Vincent:? ?The ego gets involved.?

Cris Dishman:? ?It?s the pride factor.?

Lamar Lathon:? ?I think the biggest thing is just winning.? Being able to say, ?Hey, you owe me.? Give me my money.??

Dishman:? ?Oh, we collect.? It?d be right after the game.? And trust me I had all the money pimped on my chest to let everyone know that I won the pot.?

Lageman:? ?I mean it?s ridiculous.? Guys are making probably $100,000 a week, some of these guys.? And they?re getting cranked up over a couple hundred dollars cash pot.? I mean, big deal.?

Kramer:? ?What does the NFL have to say about this incentive program that players insist is not a bounty?? A league spokesman said the ?Smash for Cash? program is within the rules as long as players use their own monies, the amounts are not exorbitant, and the payments are not for illegal hits.?

Now that the guy who was the Commissioner in 1996 will be presiding over the bounty appeal hearing, look for the ?Smash for Cash? feature to be shown on October 30, when the players argue that they?re being punished for something that not very long ago in the grand scheme of things the NFL expressly condoned.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/10/19/plaxico-says-he-still-can-play-defends-driving-his-ferrari-100-mph/related/

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Thread: Word Count - Writing Forum








I am confused. Please help. Im writing in word and I have a word count at the bottom. Im not particularly far into the plot but I am at 33,000 words. I looked on Wikipedia and google for the word count of novels and was a little bit concerned that the average word count is 60,000 for a novel. What confused me more is (using a 12pt) am only at about 50 a4 pages. (dont worry i know that a novel isnt that size lol). Should i be halfway through by now?
Basically what im asking is when you guys write on a A4(uk) or letter(us) how many pages do you kinda end up with. I know I should keep going without the restriction, but i do go off on a tangent, and want to know now if i need to edit, cut so i dont effect the continuity etc. as i can do that now easier than if i go further and bog myself down.

Word count for YA novel (of which I'm writing) as follows;

Twilight: 118,975
Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone: 77,508
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: 198,227
Matched: 89,124
Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief: 87, 223
Eragon: 157,220
The Hunger Games: 99,750
The Giver: 43,617
Across the Universe: 98,469
Divergent: 105,143
Graceling: 115,109
Thirteen Reasons Why: 62,496
Inkheart: 146,809
The Golden Compass: 112,815
The Book Thief: 118,933
Uglies: 87,274
City of Bones: 130,949
Speak: 46, 591
Looking for Alaska: 69,023
City of Ember: 59,937
A Great and Terrible Beauty: 95,605
The Luxe: 88,982
Shiver: 94,502

edit: There doesn't seem to be any average, apart from they're all over 40K

Source: http://www.writingforums.org/showthread.php?t=56965

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Despite Legal Risks, FundersClub Raises Massive $6M Seed ...

If you need more proof that FundersClub wants to radically change startup funding by letting non-VCs invest, it just closed a $6 million seed round, the largest ever from a Y Combinator company. There are still big questions about its legality, but investors include A-listers YC, First Round, Chris Dixon, and Aaron Levie. Their support shows Silicon Valley is ready to disrupt itself by inviting the crowd to the cap table.

Democratizing Capital

For those unfamiliar, FundersClub is a website that picks promising startups and lets people invest in them over the web in return for real equity.?Anyone who?s an ?accredited investor? (earns over $200,000 a year or has a net worth over $1 million) can browse startups with open rounds ranging from a few hundred thousand to a few million dollars. They learn about the businesses, pick ones they believe in, and plop down as little a $1,000. The average investment so far is $2500. All the legal paperwork and money transfer happens right there online.

If one of the startups gets acquired or IPOs, the investors can cash out their stake and FundersClub collects a percentage. That makes this a whole different ball game than the crowdfunding in exchange for rewards like on Kickstarter, and it doesn?t require the JOBS Act.

Since FundersClub only makes money if the startups it hosts succeed, it has a strong incentive to pick the best companies. FundersClub essentially serves as curation layer that attracts investors, in some ways similar to what Y Combinator does.

So far it?s been a hit. FundersClub has seen 3,400 investors register. About 340 have actually invested, ponying up a total of around $7.7 million to close rounds for five startups including YC companies Tracks.by and Sponsorfied. FundersClub raised a pre-seed round of $529,000 for itself on its own platform, and one company Soldsie raised its target of $100,000 in 48 hours. FundersClub currently?has one round open for a 500 Startups company seeking investment, and has a few more readied.

It could get even easier to funnel money to startups get?if the legal ban on general solicitation is lifted and companies can actively advertise that they?re raising on FundersClub. And traffic and investment could explode if the JOBS Act passes, allowing anyone to fund startups through FundersClub, not just accredited investors.

But Is It Legal?

There?s one major problem for FundersClub. ?I?ve talked to experts in the crowdfunding space who believe it may be violating the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 if it handles money for investors without being a licensed, registered broker dealer. That?s a felony that could trigger huge fines or even get FundersClub?s founders jail time. There are even laws against attempting to circumvent SEC regulations, meaning it?s not ok for FundersClub to just find a loophole.

FundersClub believes it?s legal because its raising money for a venture fund, not the startups directly. But essentially each of its little venture funds is a single-purpose vehicle for delivering money to a specific company. The SEC has never held up that these are legal. It even saw through and prevented Goldman Sachs when it tried to raise money specifically to invest in Facebook.

If the SEC comes down on FundersClub, all its existing crowd investors would get a put right to sell their shares back to the startups or FundersClub, which would be disastrous. It costs a lot of money, and requires months of training and background checks, but FundersClub may need to become a registered broker dealer. It could definitely slow down the company and force it to deal with additional regulation, but otherwise it?s exposing itself, its investors, and the startups it hosts to serious risk.

These legal issues may be why several competitors like New York?s Crowdfunder have not actually started accepting crowd investment yet. Some are waiting and praying for the JOBS Act to pass. The well-known AngelList never touches the money itself to avoid legal trouble. In the meantime, FundersClub could be gaining a big head start and become the name brand for equity crowdfunding. But it has to live in fear of the SEC.

Funding FundersClub

So is FundersClub a smart enough idea to be worth investing in despite the risk it could get shut down? Some very smart firms think so. In on the round are?First Round Capital, Y Combinator, Draper Associates, Felicis Ventures, Spark Capital, Digital Garage, Intel Capital, the YC-affiliated funds (Andreessen Horowitz, Start Fund, SV Angel, and General Catalyst Partners), Investmon S?rl; NetPrice; Global Venture Alliance (GVA) and Plug and Play Tech Center.

Smart angels are taking the bet too. The individuals in on FundersClub?s seed round are?Founder Collective Partner?Chris Dixon; Box CEO and Co-Founder Aaron Levie; Pejman Nozad; Facebook VP of biz dev and monetization?Dan Rose; Milo Founder Jack Abraham; and former Yahoo CTO Farzad Nazem.

The $6 million will aid FundersClub to foot the significant legal costs of pioneering in the heavily regulated financial space. It will be able to hire more employees to do due diligence on what startups it should host and convince these entrepreneurs to list on FundersClub. The cash should accelerate development of the site as well, which is currently quite basic.

The seed money could also help FundersClub secure relationships that could bring in huge new sources of investment for the companies it hosts: banks, hedge funds, and private equity firms. We hear investors in these are eager to add startups as a risky asset class to their portfolios. But these institutions don?t have Silicon Valley deal flow. FundersClub could do the research and have feet on the ground in the valley getting access to funding rounds. Since these institutions deal in billions of dollars, they could fund fleets of FundersClub startups.

There?s also another audacious item on FundersClub?s roadmap. It wants to offer a new form of structured liquidity to late stage startups. FundersClub would buy up packages of shares from long-time employees and investors that to cash out before the company gets bought or IPOs. FundersClub could then sell rights to those shares to its crowd investors. Big startups would pay FundersClub for the service of providing a liquidity releas valve that assists with retention and delays an IPO. Crowd investors would still be taxed FundersClub?s fee when they cash out upon exit.

Not A Replacement For VC

The mentorship and network that comes with taking on prestigious venture capitalists and investors is invaluable. That?s why investment from the crowd will never replace the old model. But sites like FundersClub could let startups take money with fewer strings like board seats or product direction pressure attached.

Having an army of investors in addition to a boardroom full of them also has its benefits. These people are incentivized evangelists, product testers, and bridges to customers or talent.

The weight of the crowd with the wisdom of veteran VCs could be a winning combination for startups. That means FundersClub could be a winner for its new investors if its founders can avoid being destroyed by the SEC. Now that it has the money, though, FundersClub needs to make sure its absolutely legal so it can go on to bring innovation to the world of startup investment.


FundersClub is a web service that gives investors unprecedented access to investment opportunities and the tools to review and invest online with ease and speed. By facilitating investment with industry standard fund vehicles that have been used offline for decades, paired with a web-based screening, payments, and legal documents handling system, FundersClub is able to pool checks from many investors to make aggregated investments on behalf of individuals and institutions that were previously inaccessible to them.

? Learn more

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/19/fundersclub-seed-round/

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Friday, October 19, 2012

PFT: JPP warns RG3: 'Don't bring it my side'

reggiewhiteGetty Images

In the 1996 playoffs, Hall of Fame Packers defensive end Reggie White made a deal with his teammates: Make a big hit, and I?ll give you $500.

In its latest filing in the bounty case, a copy of which PFT has obtained, the NFLPA says that the NFL knew White was paying teammates for hits and allowed it to continue, and therefore is showing inconsistency now by suspending four players for a similar pay-for-performance program with the Saints.

The filing from the NFLPA in the bounty case discusses White?s ?Smash for Cash? program, which included $500 payments for big hits. At the time, according to the NFLPA, the NFL said the program was OK ?as long as players use their own money, amounts are not exorbitant and payments aren?t for illegal hits.?

The NFLPA says that the NFL?s rules haven?t changed since then, but the NFL?s PR agenda has.

?The fact that the NFL has a different agenda today than in 1996 can?t change the unequivocal language of the NFL Constitution and Bylaws, which has never prohibited this behavior,? the NFLPA says in its filing.

Although White?s ?Smash for Cash? program hasn?t often been brought up in connection with the Saints bounty case, White?s actions were no secret at the time. ESPN did a segment on White?s bonuses, the New York Daily News ran a headline declaring that White had offered to pay bounties, and in an Associated Press article from January of 1996, White is quoted as saying he handed out his entire $13,000 playoff bonus for a win over the 49ers to teammates.

?I gave them money for big hits,? White said. ?I don?t know if the money is any more motivation, but I know I paid out a lot.?

The Associated Press article says that White had already told his teammates it would be the same deal for the next playoff game, against the Cowboys, and that an NFL spokesman said there was nothing wrong with what White did, likening it to a quarterback buying gifts for his offensive linemen.

The NFL?s stance on that has changed quite a bit in 16 years.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/10/18/jason-pierre-paul-issues-a-warning-to-robert-griffin-iii/related/

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Should A House Have A Garage? | REALTOR.com? Blogs

questions

Q: I live in Fullerton CA.

1. Should a house have a garage?

2. What if I want to tear down the garage that is in the front of the office and make it a kitchen and not have a garage?

3. How much away from the sidewalk/street we can build?
?George, Fullerton, CA

A: In my experience, all buyers I have worked with want at lease a 2-car garage. It?s likely you will have some buyers who will not consider your home without a garage. In my area, the front of the house cannot extend beyond the front of the other homes on the block. To be sure, your contractor will get permits and the city will let your contractor know the building boundaries.
Dorene Slavitz is a Realtor? with The Real Estate Group in Culver City, CA and Torrance, CA.

Are you interested in having a qualified REALTOR answer your questions? Click through to Ask a REALTOR? now.

Are you a REALTOR who would like to answer consumer questions? Click through to become an Ask a REALTOR? participant.

Related posts:

  1. Can We Relist Our House With Someone From The Same Office As Our Last Agent?
  2. How Many Showings Can I Expect When I Put My House On The Market?
  3. Should I Fix My Garage or Tear It Down And Make Improvements To The House To Maximize Selling Profit?
  4. What Does It Mean When It Says Property Unavailable?
  5. How Do I Get Help With Rentals?

Source: http://www.realtor.com/blogs/2012/10/18/should-a-house-have-a-garage/

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Gallup Getting Lonely (talking-points-memo)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/256797392?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Thursday, October 18, 2012

Armstrong's foe says finding truth the No. 1 goal

In this photo taken, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, Travis Tygart, the CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, speaks during an interview at his office in Colorado Springs, Colo. As head of the USADA, his mission is to make sports a sanctuary for finding out who's most talented and who worked the hardest, not who's the best cheater. Most recently, that mission has led him to spearhead the case that's ended lance Armstrong?s cycling and triathlon careers. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

In this photo taken, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, Travis Tygart, the CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, speaks during an interview at his office in Colorado Springs, Colo. As head of the USADA, his mission is to make sports a sanctuary for finding out who's most talented and who worked the hardest, not who's the best cheater. Most recently, that mission has led him to spearhead the case that's ended lance Armstrong?s cycling and triathlon careers. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

In this photo taken, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, Travis Tygart, the CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, speaks during an interview at his office in Colorado Springs, Colo. As head of the USADA, his mission is to make sports a sanctuary for finding out who's most talented and who worked the hardest, not who's the best cheater. Most recently, that mission has led him to spearhead the case that's ended lance Armstrong?s cycling and triathlon careers. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

In this photo taken, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, Travis Tygart, the CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, speaks during an interview at his office in Colorado Springs, Colo. As head of the USADA, his mission is to make sports a sanctuary for finding out who's most talented and who worked the hardest, not who's the best cheater. Most recently, that mission has led him to spearhead the case that's ended lance Armstrong?s cycling and triathlon careers. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

In this photo taken, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, Travis Tygart, the CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, speaks during an interview at his office in Colorado Springs, Colo. As head of the USADA, his mission is to make sports a sanctuary for finding out who's most talented and who worked the hardest, not who's the best cheater. Most recently, that mission has led him to spearhead the case that's ended lance Armstrong?s cycling and triathlon careers. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

In this photo taken, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, Travis Tygart, the CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, speaks during an interview at his office in Colorado Springs, Colo. As head of the USADA, his mission is to make sports a sanctuary for finding out who's most talented and who worked the hardest, not who's the best cheater. Most recently, that mission has led him to spearhead the case that's ended lance Armstrong?s cycling and triathlon careers. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

(AP) ? Even those who don't recognize his name will almost certainly know what Travis Tygart has been up to lately.

To put it simply, he's the man who's been making life difficult for Lance Armstrong.

Part teacher and part preacher for his cause, Tygart's official title is chief executive officer of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. He's a man who doles out lessons about playing fair while also trying to cajole confessions from those who don't.

His mission: Make sports a sanctuary for finding out which athlete is most talented and has worked the hardest, not who's the best cheater.

Most recently, that mission has led Tygart to spearhead the case that's ended Armstrong's cycling and triathlon careers. Only a year ago, that task seemed even more difficult than out-pedaling him in the Tour de France. Now, Armstrong has been cut loose by his major sponsors and is no longer the face of the Livestrong charity he founded.

As it turns out, the man who became Armstrong's greatest adversary is like him in some ways.

Both Armstrong and Tygart are 41. Like Armstrong, Tygart is in great shape and loves to get on the bike every once in a while.

And like Armstrong, Tygart has a stubborn streak in him. A big one.

"I saw at an early age that working hard is how you become successful," says Tygart, who learned his lessons about teamwork and sports growing up in Florida, where he was on state-championship baseball and basketball teams in high school.

"Playing sports as a kid, I learned all the valuable lessons that I think sports should teach. I'm determined to do everything possible to maintain those lessons for kids growing up."

Tygart has parlayed that credo into a career that, because of his role in taking down one of the world's most famous athletes, has made him among both the most trusted and reviled figures in sports ? even if only a small minority of sports fans would recognize him walking down the street.

"I always knew I wanted to do something that made a difference. It was never about anything other than trying to change the world for a better tomorrow," he says, a self-conscious laugh creeping in when he hears how much his words seem like a superhero's catchphrase.

If it all sounds a bit sanctimonious and too good to be true, well, his critics certainly won't argue. To them, he is a hatchet man who ran a witch hunt to settle an old score against Armstrong ? a foe who eluded sanctions for more than a decade.

"This isn't about Tygart wanting to clean up cycling," Armstrong wrote in a letter to The Associated Press, before USADA ordered his seven Tour de France titles stripped and before a massive report detailing the evidence against him was released. "Rather it's just a plain ol' selective prosecution that reeks of vendetta."

The case Tygart's agency produced included testimony from 11 former teammates of Armstrong's, along with 15 others, who teamed up to paint the picture of Armstrong as a drug-pushing bully. The report exposed what Tygart calls the most extensive doping program sports has ever seen.

On Wednesday, a week after USADA's documents were released, Armstrong left his post as chairman of his Livestrong foundation, the same day Nike announced it would sever ties with its longtime pitchman.

It was the latest in a steady drumbeat of bad news for Armstrong, all delivered ? either directly or indirectly ? courtesy of the agency Tygart has led since 2007 when his predecessor, Terry Madden, stepped down.

USADA was formed in 2000 as a way of taking drug cases that were decided by the U.S. Olympic Committee and placing them in the hands of a group that would be run independently. The agency is partially funded by the USOC and partially by the government. It runs on an annual budget of about $14 million and is tasked with finding and catching the drug cheats, spreading the message of clean sports and staying on top of the science in a business where the bad guys are always a step ahead.

As outside counsel, then general counsel, then CEO for USADA, Tygart has worked on every major doping case of the past decade, including the investigation into the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative, which showed how sophisticated the performance-enhancing drug game had grown and resulted in the prosecution of Barry Bonds.

Among those caught in USADA's net over the years: 2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis; Olympic gold medalists Marion Jones and Justin Gatlin; cyclist Tyler Hamilton; all the players listed in the Mitchell Report, which documented doping in baseball and which was put together with Tygart's input. All have had their accomplishments stripped or brought into question.

Through it all, Tygart insists he's treated the so-called celebrity athletes the same way he treats the unknowns ? the 40-something marathon runners and teenage in-line skaters who also fall under USADA's purview.

"He states his mission and his vision and you feel it," says Daniel Eichner, the former science director at USADA. "To him, it's all about protecting clean athletes. There's no other agenda."

Very few of the breakthroughs come easy for Tygart, a married father of three, avid skier, runner and, yes, cyclist, who on Tuesday celebrated his daughter's 11th birthday and also his 10th anniversary as a USADA employee.

He always loved the law but wanted some sort of sports connection and says when he sees injustice anywhere, "it's just infuriating, whether it's in sports or other areas of life."

Those who've known him for years say the message doesn't change once the necktie comes off.

"Travis is passionate about sport," said Rich Young, a partner at Bryan Cave LLP, who represents USADA as outside counsel and hired Tygart for that work in 2000. "He's a baseball and basketball player. He's got kids who are athletes. He really gets the difference between true sport and circus."

A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Tygart comes from a family well-respected in the Florida law community. His brother and sister are lawyers. His father was a trial attorney who now works as a mediator. His uncle is a judge. After graduating with a philosophy degree from North Carolina, Tygart returned to Florida and taught high school government classes for three years, while also coaching baseball and basketball. From there, he went to Southern Methodist to get his law degree and begin the path toward becoming the single most powerful man in the U.S. anti-doping game.

Much has been made of death threats he received during the Armstrong investigation. Why does he keep on going?

"Because I've heard the stories from the athletes," he says. "I've heard them from the clean athletes who left their sport and felt personally robbed."

He thinks of lifelong friends such as T.R. Lewis, who had major league potential but never made it. Lewis came up during the 1990s ? the steroids era ? and got aced out by players he knew were using performance-enhancing drugs. He says looking at the Mitchell Report "is like someone leafing through their high school yearbook. It's all these guys I played with, played against."

"I don't mean to overstate my presence in the game, but I joke with Travis that, in some regard, I'm the poster boy for the players who got left behind," Lewis said.

And Tygart is their faithful servant.

The CEO said he was confused in February, when federal prosecutors abruptly decided not to charge Armstrong and drop a nearly two-year investigation. "You'll have to ask them why they shut down," is all he'll offer when pressed on the subject.

He was irritated when the feds refused to share their evidence with USADA, as had been customary in similar instances in the past.

Instead of quitting, Tygart hit the phones and revved back up on his own investigation. Unlike the feds, he did not need to tie Armstrong to criminal activity, much of which allegedly occurred in Europe. He needed to show that the cyclist broke the rules of sport.

Months later, Armstrong was charged under USADA's rules. The cyclist opted in August not to fight the accusations, still denying he used performance-enhancing drugs but saying the arbitration system was rigged against him.

Tygart went ahead and banned Armstrong from competition and ordered that race results back to 1998 be erased. Then his agency released its report on the case.

"At the end of the day, the truth is too powerful, whether it was this case or any other," Tygart said. "And at the end of the day, the truth was revealed."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-10-18-Armstrong-Anti-Doping%20Crusader/id-c71d43202a654620b732cba5940cb18a

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Voters get their turn to ask the debate questions

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) ? They ranged from a 20-year-old student to a mother of college-aged children. And they were anxious about jobs, gas prices and fixing the nation's broken immigration system.

These were the chosen ones, undecided voters picked to ask questions of President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney in their second debate. Most in the 82-person crowd live near the debate site at Hofstra University, in reliably Democratic New York. Each summited a question to moderator Candy Crowley, who got the final say on which inquiries made the final cut.

"What can you say to reassure me, but more importantly my parents, that I will be able to sufficiently support myself after I graduate?" asked Jeremy Epstein, a college student and the first questioner.

The 90-minute televised event was the only one of the three presidential and one vice presidential debates where voters, not just a moderator, posed questions.

Obama's dismal performance in the first debate gave Romney's campaign new life with just three weeks from Election Day and voters in key battleground states already casting ballots.

Susan Katz, an undecided voter worried about voting for another Republican, asked Romney, "What's the biggest difference between you and George W. Bush?"

Michael Jones, who voted for Obama in 2008, said he wasn't optimistic about the current state of the country.

"What have you done or accomplished to earn my vote in 2012?" Jones asked the president.

Crowley said her goal was to fit in 15 questions from the audience. She fell short, with just 11 voters getting to questions ? five women and six men.

That happened in part because Crowley asked follow-up questions of her own. Plus, Obama and Romney focused much of their attention on each other, engaging in heated exchanges on issue after issue. At some points, the candidates were facing each other, but had their backs to the voters sitting in a semi-circle around the candidates.

"Do you see all these people? They're waiting for you," the moderator said just after the hour-mark.

Coming face to face with the questions of undecided voters has been a rarity for both candidates. Romney has held dozens of town hall meetings, but most featured friendly Republican crowds. Obama has rarely held town hall meetings at president, preferring carefully selected television and radio interviews.

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Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/voters-turn-ask-debate-questions-034313339--election.html

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