Outdoor Photo Op

OMAHA, Neb. – It was the concern of Nebraska's Republican governor over expanded Medicaid costs in the proposed Senate health care overhaul bill that led to a compromise to cover his state's estimated $45 million share over a decade, U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson said Sunday.
Gov. Dave Heineman "contacted me and he said this is another unfunded federal mandate and it's going to stress the state budget, and I agreed with him," the Nebraska Democrat said. "I said to the leader and others that this is something that has to be fixed. I didn't participate in the way it was fixed."
But Heineman expressed anything but gratitude, saying he had nothing to do with the compromise and calling the overhaul bill "bad news for Nebraska and bad news for America."
"Nebraskans did not ask for a special deal, only a fair deal," Heineman said in a statement Sunday.
That criticism is only a taste of what Nelson has received since announcing Saturday that he would become the 60th vote needed to advance the landmark legislation.
Despite the perks Nelson managed to garner for Nebraska in finally agreeing to support the overhaul bill, the backlash from those who wanted Nelson to hold a hard line against the measure was immediate.
Abortion foes howled in protest. Nebraska Right to Life, which has long endorsed Nelson, issued a scathing statement that dubbed Nelson a traitor. The state's Catholic bishops followed Sunday with a statement that they were "extremely disappointed" in him.
The chairman of Nebraska's Republican Party declared Nelson's decision to be the end of his political career in Nebraska, and within hours of Nelson's announcement, the state GOP launched a Web site, http://www.givebentheboot.com, to collect funds to oust the Democrat in the 2012 election.
Nebraska's Republican Sen. Mike Johanns said he was "stunned and incredibly disappointed," and called the compromise's abortion language a "watered-down accounting gimmick that leads to Nebraska taxpayers subsidizing abortions in other states."
The compromise tries to maintain a strict separation between taxpayer funds and private premiums that would pay for abortion coverage. It would also allow states to restrict abortion coverage in new insurance marketplaces.
Nelson obtained increased federal funds to cover his state's cost of covering an expanded Medicaid population at what one Democratic official estimated at $45 million over a decade.
A group called Americans for Prosperity of Nebraska was to hold a rally Sunday in Omaha at which former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee was to speak. Nebraska Republican Rep. Lee Terry also planned to speak in an effort to persuade Nelson to change his mind.
Nelson isn't taking the backlash lying down.
"This is all orchestrated," Nelson said Sunday. "It's so thinly disguised ... it's almost laughable.
"So far, the focus seems to have been on some people who are angry. They're ignoring the fact that not only were there good reasons to do what I did, but that there would have been a backlash the other way."
Nelson, the lone Democrat in Nebraska's five-member congressional delegation, does have supporters.
The Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest, which advocates for the poor, praised Nelson's decision and urged people to thank him.
The Nebraska Democratic Party chairman called Nelson's decision "courageous" and dismissed Republican criticism of it.

"Whatever he did, they would be critical," Vic Covalt said. "They have no program and they have nothing to offer us other than more of the same."

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On the Net:

U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson: bennelson.senate.gov

U.S. Sen. Mike Johanns: johanns.senate.gov

Nebraska Right to Life: http://www.nerighttolife.org

Americans for Prosperity of Nebraska: http://www.americansforprosperity.org/nebraska

(This version CORRECTS that Nelson up for election in 2012.)

Computer software is often regarded as anything but hardware, meaning that the "hard" are the parts that are tangible while the "soft" part is the intangible objects inside the computer. Software encompasses an extremely wide array of products and technologies developed using different techniques like programming languages, scripting languages or even microcode or a FPGA state. The types of software include web pages developed by technologies like HTML, PHP, Perl, JSP, ASP.NET, XML, and desktop applications like OpenOffice, Microsoft Word developed by technologies like C, C++, Java, C#, etc. Software usually runs on an underlying software operating systems such as the Linux or Microsoft Windows. Software also includes video games and the logic systems of modern consumer devices such as automobiles, televisions, toasters, etc.

Computer software is so called to distinguish it from computer hardware, which encompasses the physical interconnections and devices required to store and execute (or run) the software. At the lowest level, software consists of a machine language specific to an individual processor. A machine language consists of groups of binary values signifying processor instructions that change the state of the computer from its preceding state. Software is an ordered sequence of instructions for changing the state of the computer hardware in a particular sequence. It is usually written in high-level programming languages that are easier and more efficient for humans to use (closer to natural language) than machine language. High-level languages are compiled or interpreted into machine language object code. Software may also be written in an assembly language, essentially, a mnemonic representation of a machine language using a natural language alphabet. Assembly language must be assembled into object code via an assembler.

Inventory Management Software

LAS VEGAS – Brittney Griner had 18 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocks, and No. 6 Baylor routed Gonzaga 70-49 on Saturday night in the Las Vegas Holiday Classic.
Griner was coming off the first triple-double in school history, when she set a Big 12 record with 11 blocks in a win over Oral Roberts on Wednesday.
Morghan Medlock added 16 points and 11 rebounds for Baylor (10-1), which has won 10 straight after a season-opening loss to Tennessee.
Katelan Redmon scored 13 to lead Gonzaga (9-3).
Gonzaga missed 13 of its first 15 shots as Baylor built a 20-5 lead early in the first half. The Zags cut their deficit to 22-10 on Tiffanie Shives' 3-pointer with 10:54 left, but then went scoreless over the next 5 1/2 minutes as the Lady Bears scored 11 straight points.
Kimetria Hayden's layup off a nifty pass from Griner made it a 23-point lead.
Baylor led 41-24 at the half, shooting 52 percent from the field. Gonzaga cut the deficit to 43-32, but Griner sparked a 10-2 spurt to put the game away.
She also was a force on the defensive end, blocking six shots in the second half.
It was a tough day all-around for Gonzaga basketball — the men's team lost to Duke by 36 points at Madison Square Garden.
Gonzaga will face Texas A&M and Baylor will play Arizona State on Sunday night to finish off the tournament. The 13th-ranked Aggies beat No. 14 Arizona State 72-62 earlier Saturday.
The game was played in a casino a couple of miles off the Strip. The arena is used mostly for rodeos and the facility brought in a movable floor that is usually used by the West Coast Conference for their postseason tournament and for the NBA summer league.
Gonzaga had played twice before on it, winning both games. Coach Kelly Graves reminded his team of that in shootaround Friday night. His team looked a lot less comfortable Saturday.

LONDON (AFP) –
Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard won't take any pleasure from plunging West Ham deeper into relegation trouble even though the former Hammers star faces another hostile reception at Upton Park on Sunday.

Lampard has been public enemy number one in east London since quitting West Ham to join bitter rivals Chelsea for 11 million pounds (12.3 million euros) in 2001.

The 31-year-old, who spent nine years at West Ham, has suffered vicious abuse from the Hammers fans every time he has faced his old club and he knows it will be no different this weekend.

But despite all the taunts, Lampard is sad to see the Hammers languishing second bottom of the Premier League because of former Chelsea favourites Gianfranco Zola and Steve Clarke - now manager and assistant at West Ham - who worked with the England international at Stamford Bridge.

"I have a lot of respect for Gianfranco and Steve Clarke. It's been difficult for them. They have a lot of financial difficulties and have had to sell a lot of players," Lampard said.

"I don't want to see them do badly at all. They're great lads. It's difficult, but then it's a difficult league."

While Lampard would genuinely like to see West Ham prosper, he will show no compassion on Sunday as Chelsea bid to cement their position as league leaders going into the busy Christmas programme.

By the time Chelsea kick off on Sunday, they could be ahead of Manchester United only on goal difference if the reigning champions win at Fulham 24 hours earlier.

After recording a string of convincing victories last month, Carlo Ancelotti's side have spluttered of late.

They won for the first time in five matches against Portsmouth on Wednesday, but their victory against the league's bottom club was less than convincing.

The Blues have conceded 11 goals in five games and looked nervous at the back again against Portsmouth.

Yet Lampard is adamant his side are still on course to win the title and he expects them to rediscover their dominant form soon.

"I'm sure people would have been talking again if we hadn't beaten Portsmouth, but that's why it was important to win," he said.

"We're having a patch at the moment where we're not pulling away from teams when we might do and every free-kick and corner seems to drop to them in a funny way. We are being punished every time and it is just a phase we're in.

"We went a long time without conceding goals, and that was fantastic, but now we're having a patch where we are.

"It's important we just keep going. We're three points clear at the top and we need to pick up wins. I think we can move on and put this all behind us."

Chelsea's hopes of a second successive win will be boosted by Didier Drogba's return to action after the Ivory Coast striker missed the Portsmouth win with a back problem.

West Ham welcome back Matthew Upson from a hamstring injury, but will be without Carlton Cole, Valon Behrami, Zavon Hines and Kieron Dyer.

Those injuries have only added to the gloom around Upton Park after three consecutive defeats.

The tame manner of the loss at Bolton in midweek was especially worrying for Zola, but the Italian has no intention of changing his purist principles.

Zola, who played for Chelsea from 1996 to 2003 after being sold by Ancelotti when he was in charge at Parma, said: "The last two games were painful, but this is the situation. They belong to the past and if you keep switching your mind to the past, it doesn't help.

"At West Ham, they want to play football in a certain way. They're not interested in playing differently, and that's why I was appointed and what I try to do.

"I try to keep that plan and to get results as well. I don't see why you shouldn't play good football and get results as well."

TEHRAN (AFP) –
Top Iranian dissident Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, a fierce critic of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who was once tapped to become Iran's undisputed number one, has died, reports said Sunday.

"Montazeri, 87, died of an illness last night (Saturday)," the ISNA news agency said.

Montazeri, once designated as the successor to the founder of the 1979 Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, came out in strong support of the Iranian opposition when it rejected the re-election of Ahmadinejad in June.

The cleric had long been critical of the concentration of power in the hands of the supreme leader and called for changes to the constitution which he helped draw up after the Islamic revolution, to limit the leader's authority.

The grand ayatollah became an inspiration to rights advocates and pro-reform groups and was considered by his followers as the highest living authority of Shiite Islam in Iran.

Montazeri had often criticised hardliner Ahmadinejad over his domestic and foreign policy, including Tehran's nuclear stand-off with the West.

He had also called on other leading clerics to break their silence over incidents and rights abuses during the government's crackdown on opposition supporters protesting the June presidential election, which they claimed was massively rigged in Ahmadinejad's favour.

Controversially, he had called for direct talks between Tehran and Washington to avert a war over Iran's controversial programme of uranium enrichment.

Montazeri, one of the main architects of the Islamic republic, was a student and close ally of Khomeini, whom he was set to succeed.

But the cleric fell from grace in the late 1980s after he became too openly critical of political and cultural restrictions, most notably Iran's treatment of political prisoners and opposition groups.

Montazeri resigned months before Khomeini's death in 1989, and was told by Khomeini to stay out of politics and focus instead on teaching in the religious city of Qom where he was based.

Unfazed by such warnings, he continued to speak out.

The grand ayatollah has also questioned the theological credentials of current supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

This was branded as treason, and in 1997 Montazeri was placed under house arrest.

Freed after five years on health grounds during the reformist presidency of Mohammad Khatami, the grand ayatollah vowed that he would continue to speak out in defence of freedom and justice.

NEW DELHI (AFP) –
Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit said on Sunday she can only pray for a successful Commonwealth Games next year after admitting to delays in the construction of venues.

"I only keep praying that we won't let the country down," Dikshit told the Press Trust of India as concerns mounted over the slow progress of work for the October 3-14 Games in the Indian capital.

Dikshit's remarks came after Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president Mike Fennell said he was distressed by a report that two major venues won't be ready till June next year, barely three months before the opening ceremony.

The CGF's co-ordination commission said last week that work on the Nehru stadium, where the opening and closing ceremonies and the athletics programme will be held, and the swimming complex, was way behind schedule.

"We have continuously received assurances on the delivery timelines for these projects, and to now hear that there are further delays is distressing," Fennell said in a statement.

"These delays will have an impact upon the organising committee's operational planning, particularly in relation to the conduct of test events and overlay installation. There can be no further delays."

Dikshit, whose local government is charged with building the infrastructure for the Games, admitted the construction was lagging, but was confident the work had picked up in recent months.

"There will be areas of concern, but everybody is trying, everybody is on board, the funds are there. So we just need to see that it is implemented," Dikshit told PTI.

"(But) we will be ready. We have got eight months to go. Actually, nine months to go but I said eight months. And you can see work going on all over Delhi."

Dikshit said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had formed a group of ministers (GOM), which met almost every week to review the preparations.

"We meet once a week or eight days," she said. "We pool our experiences together. It is a good system we have set up. I only keep praying that we won't let the country down."

The CGF general assembly in October warned India it faced "an enormous challenge" to be ready for the Games, which involve 6,000 international athletes competing in 17 sports.

The federation highlighted problems ranging from ticketing, accommodation and transport to accreditation and logistics, besides the construction of venues.

The Commonwealth Games, the biggest multi-sport event to be staged in India since the Asian Games in 1982, will feature 71 nations and territories, mainly from the former British Empire.

WASHINGTON – Christmas at the White House isn't for sissies.
Take quantities that might work in a private home — guests, cookies, parties, cards, whatever — and add some extra zeros to get a feel for a White House-sized holiday season.
As in 50,000 guests, 28 parties and open houses, a couple hundred thousand holiday cards and untold quantities of cookies, cakes, brownies, truffles and the like to feed the Obamas' holiday throng.
"They eat like crazy," says former White House executive chef Walter Scheib, who cooked for the masses under presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. "Christmas at the White House is the single most mentally and physically challenging thing that you can do."
Scheib said the staff used to joke during the holidays about "White House flextime" — when "you can work any 100 hours you want this week."
As far back as October, pastry chef Bill Yosses' team was plotting strategy and going over drawings for this year's gingerbread house — a 390-pound behemoth whose construction required the use of a band saw. Before Halloween, Yosses already was joking about doing "mental push-ups" to prepare for the coming holiday season.
Yosses' shop stockpiles mounds of cookie dough in the freezer to keep up with day-to-day demand for holiday sweets.
His rule of thumb for receptions: four bite-size dessert items per guest. (Some of which are discreetly slipped into purses and go home as souvenirs.)
This year's menu for the White House dessert buffet table: lemon layer cake, brownies, assorted cookies, pecan pralines, pumpkin pie, chocolate truffles, and more.
Roland Mesnier, one of Yosses' predecessors, says he always tried to sock away enough dough for 120,000 cookies and sweets by Dec. 1.
"If I did not have that, I would be in trouble," Mesnier said.
Michelle and Barack Obama, meanwhile, might want to stockpile hand sanitizer: There's a whole lot of handshaking going on at all those parties and receptions — although White House aides say the Obamas are doing away with formal receiving lines and posed photos with each guest at some events to accommodate more people.
The jockeying for a White House invite is intense enough to sorely test any host's holiday spirit. Speculation over who'll get to attend the president's Hanukkah party, for example, has been swirling in Jewish publications since mid-November, along with grousing that the party's size is down from last year's 800 guests. About 500 will attend this year, the White House says.
Overall, about the same number of guests will visit the White House this holiday season as in years past, although there will be a slightly smaller number of parties and receptions, according to White House aides.
One complicating factor this season is tighter scrutiny of who's getting in the door. Washington still is abuzz over how a couple of aspiring reality TV stars managed to talk their way into the first state dinner of the Obama White House last month. After investigating what went wrong, the White House promised to station its own staff at checkpoints to help the Secret Service determine who is cleared for entry.
Also new: This year's party schedule has been adjusted to accommodate a first family with young children. There are fewer weekend parties and more daytime receptions during the week, when 8-year-old Sasha and 11-year-old Malia are off at school.
And, in tight economic times, it wouldn't do to look too extravagant. So this year's trees feature "recycled" ornaments from presidents past that were shipped all over the country to community groups, which redecorated them with scenes of local landmarks. It was part of what staff described as an effort by the Obamas to ensure a frugal and environmentally friendly holiday season.
Overall, there appear to be fewer trees and decorations this time than in some over-the-top years past, and the same is true of the Christmas card list. Several hundred thousand have been mailed out, paid for by the Democratic National Committee. That compares with 1.5 million sent out by George W. Bush in 2003, paid for by the Republicans.

Mrs. Obama's office did not reveal the cost of this year's holiday festivities, but said a standard amount for holiday entertaining is set aside in the White House budget. And each year, costs are held down by a host of volunteers clamoring to help dress up the White House. This year's volunteers included Simon Doonan, creative director of Barneys New York. He helped design the displays.

Like the Obamas, past presidents and first ladies have set a thrifty tone in austere times. Betty Ford went with a patchwork-trimmed tree for 1974, and distributed instructions so families around the country could make their own decorations. Pat Nixon cut way back on Christmas lights during the energy crisis in 1973.

Over the decades, though, White House holiday festivities generally have become more elaborate, according to Jennifer Pickens, whose new book "Christmas at the White House," details how holiday celebrations have grown.

The pasty chef's creation of a gingerbread house, for example, began in 1969 with a simple A-frame built with 16 pounds of gingerbread and six pounds of icing. This year's 56-inch-by-29-inch re-creation of the White House weighed in with 140 pounds of gingerbread coated with 250 pounds of white chocolate.

Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961 began the tradition of establishing a decorating theme for White House Christmases, selecting "The Nutcracker Suite."

This year's theme is "reflect, rejoice, renew," which is embroidered on the blue ribbons used to hang ornaments.

It's all a long way from the days of Abigail and John Adams, the first couple to spend Christmas at the White House. Mrs. Adams burned more than 20 cords of wood during the first White House Christmas party to try to keep her guests warm, Pickens said, but it wasn't enough and many chilled guests left early.

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http://www.christmasatthewhitehouse.com

(This version CORRECTS spelling of Scheib in paragraph 5.)

http://www.gracedigitalaudio.com/aqua-sounder-floating-wireless-speaker-p-17.html

The coil is oriented coaxially inside the gap, a small circular volume (a hole, slot, or groove) in the magnetic structure within which it can move back and forth. The gap establishes a concentrated magnetic field between the two poles of a permanent magnet; the outside of the gap being one pole and the center post (a.k.a., the pole-piece) being the other. The center post and back-plate are sometimes a single piece called the yoke.

A subwoofer is a woofer driver used only for the lowest part of the audio spectrum: typically below 100-120 Hz. Because the intended range of frequencies in these is limited, subwoofer system design is usually simpler in many respects than for conventional loudspeakers, often consisting of a single subwoofer driver enclosed in a suitable cabinet or enclosure.

WASHINGTON – Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced Wednesday that the administration will extend the government's financial bailout program until next fall.
In a letter to House and Senate leaders, Geithner said the extension is "necessary to assist American families and stabilize financial markets."
Money from the $700 billion taxpayer-funded bailout program has helped rescue big Wall Street firms, auto companies and others. That's angered many Americans, who feel the government hasn't provided them with relief from high unemployment and rising home foreclosures.
Geithner said the Troubled Asset Relief Program that Congress passed in October 2008, will be extended until Oct. 3, 2010. He has the authority to extend the TARP simply by notifying lawmakers.
"The recovery of our financial system remains incomplete," Geithner told lawmakers. "And, near-term shocks to that system could undermine the economic recovery we have seen to do."
The Treasury secretary said new commitments bankrolled by the bailout fund will be limited to three areas next year.
One focus is stepping up efforts to curb record-high home foreclosures, a move necessary to stabilize the housing market and support a lasting economic recovery.
Another will be providing capital to small banks, which play a crucial role in providing credit to small businesses — normally a leading engine of job creation. But small banks have been weighed down by problem commercial real estate loans, which has made them reluctant to lend and hurt the ability of small businesses to expand and hire.
In a third area, Geithner said the government may boost its commitment to a program aimed at sparking lending to consumers and small businesses. Run by Treasury and the Federal Reserve, the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, or TALF, started in March.
Geithner said he didn't expect any new commitments to the TALF would result in additional costs to taxpayers.

MADRID (AFP) –
Johnny Depp is to star as Pancho Villa in a new Emir Kusturica biopic about Mexico's 19th-century bandit-turned-revolutionary, Spanish media reported Wednesday.

Playing opposite Mexico's Salma Hayek, the 46-year-old Depp will trade the swashbuckling antics of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series for the part of General Villa, El Pais newspaper quoted the Serbian director as saying.

Shooting on the film is to begin early next year, split between Mexico and the Granada region of southern in Spain, said Kusturica, who is said to have hesitated between Depp and the Spaniard Javier Bardem for the part.

An emblematic figure from the 1910 Mexican Revolution, Francisco "Pancho" Villa (1878-1923) took up arms alongside Francisco Madero and later Emiliano Zapata, fighting against conservatives to found modern-day Mexico.

Based on a book about the Mexican hero by the US writer James Carlos Blake, the Depp film will tell his story "through the eyes of his friends and the woman he loved," Kusturica said.

Companion to French singer Vanessa Paradis, with whom he has two children, Lily-Rose, 10, and Jack, seven, Depp was last month voted the sexiest man alive by the US magazine People.

NEW YORK (Reuters) –
BlackRock Inc (BLK.N). Chief Executive Officer Laurence Fink is worried that some financial regulatory proposals under consideration could do more harm than good.

Speaking at Goldman Sachs financial services conference, Fink said regulation is a fact of life and necessary in some cases. But he's worried that some reforms under consideration will be "damaging'' to investors and might prevent the securitization market from getting going.

Fink said he's particularly worried about any proposal that would impinge on the rights of "first lien holders'' on mortgages in a securitized offering or bond.

"Investors need to be heard,'' he said.

Fink pointed out that BlackRock is now regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency following the completion of its acquisition of Barclays Global Investors.

He said the integration of BGI into BlackRock is off to a good start. But Fink added it will probably take 18 months to complete the integration.

(Reporting by Matthew Goldstein)

A look at North Korea's nuclear program:
REACTORS: 5-megawatt facility in Yongbyon capable of producing plutonium, which can be weaponized to make nuclear bombs, was shut down in July 2007 as part of a disarmament-for-aid deal. In April, North Korea said it would restart its atomic program and reprocess spent fuel rods.
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS: North Korea is believed to have produced up to 110 pounds (50 kilograms) of weaponized plutonium — enough for half a dozen or more bombs. Reprocessing 8,000 additional spent nuclear fuel rods in storage could yield enough weaponized plutonium for yet another bomb. In September, North Korea said reprocessing of spent fuel rods was in the final phase.
North Korea also admitted to having a uranium enrichment program, which would provide a second way to make atomic bombs.
NUCLEAR TESTS: North Korea conducted an underground test of a nuclear device in October 2006, and a second test this May. However, experts say North Korea has not mastered mounting the device on a long-range missile.
MISSILES: North Korea has "Rodong" missiles with a range of about 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) — far enough to reach Japan — and Scud-type, short-range missiles that could reach South Korea. Also has fielded intermediate-range ballistic missiles that can travel at least 1,860 miles (3,000 kilometers) and has test-fired a Taepodong-1 missile with an estimated range of 1,550 miles (2,500 kilometers).
Also believed to be developing a Taepodong-2 missile with potential range more than 4,100 miles (6,700 kilometers), and a new missile with an even longer range that could potentially put Hawaii, Australia and Eastern Europe within striking distance.

WINDERMERE, Fla. – The professional athletes, bold-faced celebrities and corporate moguls who live in Tiger Woods' neighborhood favor it less for its clay tennis courts and Arnold Palmer-designed golf course than for its 8-foot security wall and platoon of private guards.
Among the many Isleworth amenities — sprawling outdoor sculptures, picturesque lakes, an 89,000-square-foot clubhouse — the one its well-to-do residents value most is its privacy. That's been harder to maintain since Friday, when the world's top golfer and most famous athlete smashed his Cadillac SUV into a fire hydrant and a tree as he pulled out of his driveway in the middle of the night.
Woods' crash outside his multimillion-dollar home near Orlando has drawn a media mob to the exclusive 300-family community, or more specifically, to its gated checkpoints. Visitors can only get past the Spanish-tiled gatehouse at the main entrance if a resident gives their name to a guard. The white-shirted guards in quasi-police uniforms then check visitors' IDs to verify names on the list.
More than a dozen television trucks were camped outside the entrance Monday as almost 100 reporters, photographers and TV crew members filmed residents' comings and goings. TV helicopters hovered overhead.
And the media are likely to stay until they get answers to where Woods was headed at 2:25 a.m. and what caused the crash. Woods, who briefly lost consciousness and was treated for cuts and bruises at a hospital, has issued two short statements through his Web site and has declined to talk with the Florida Highway Patrol.
In his statements, the famously insular golfer called the accident embarrassing and asked the public to respect — what else? — his privacy.
It's the second time in three months his community has made national news. In September, a prominent developer having money problems was accused of fatally shooting his wife in their home, which was once owned by Palmer.
Bob Ward is charged with second-degree murder in the death of his 55-year-old wife, Diane. He has pleaded not guilty and is free on a $100,000 bond.
In a state that boasts locales like Miami Beach and Key West, there are ritzier, more exotic spots than Isleworth, which sits on old orange groves amid the central Florida swamps.
Yet since the neighborhood's development in the 1980s, it has attracted sports stars and celebrities by the dozen. Former and current residents include Shaquille O'Neal, Penny Hardaway and Dee Brown from the NBA; baseball star Ken Griffey Jr.; Andre Reed of the NFL; former Wimbledon doubles champion Todd Woodbridge; and actor Wesley Snipes.
So many PGA golfers live in Isleworth that the neighborhood fields a team each year to play in a tournament against a rival luxury neighborhood in metro Orlando. Isleworth's Tavistock Cup team this year included Mark O'Meara, Stuart Appleby, Darren Clarke, John Cook, J.B. Holmes, Charles Howell III and Woods, among other pros. Florida doesn't have a state income tax and there are nearby numerous world-class courses where they can practice.
Pro athletes are specifically attracted to Isleworth, where new homes range from $1.5 million to $8 million, "because of the security and the class of the whole place and its accessibility to the airport," said Joyce McClane, a retiree who was one of Isleworth's earliest residents. She bought a lot in the neighborhood with her husband in 1987.
For Kyung Hee Yoon, the appeal is security. She and her radiologist husband bought a $2.5 million home five years ago after moving to central Florida from New York. Having celebrity neighbors such as the PGA's Appleby was almost an afterthought, she said.
"It is actually not really a big deal," she said. "I sometimes see (famous) people but it doesn't bother me. They're just treated like neighbors."
With its golf course, tennis courts and camp for kids, Isleworth's country club is the nexus of the neighborhood's social life. Sometimes the celebrity athletes get special treatment and can play golf when the course is closed.
"It's just a perfect life," McClane said. "We're very fortunate."

LLDA Deluxe Lokk Latch

Servitudes are legal arrangements of land use arising out of private agreements. Under the feudal system, most land in England was cultivated in common fields, where peasants were allocated strips of arable land that were used to support the needs of the local village or manor. By the sixteenth century the growth of population and prosperity provided incentives for landowners to use their land in more profitable ways, dispossessing the peasantry. Common fields were aggregated and enclosed by large and enterprising farmers -- either through negotiation among one another or by lease from the landlord -- to maximize the productivity of the available land and contain livestock. Fences redefined the means by which land is used, resulting in the modern law of servitudes.

Privacy fencing is the use of fences to protect privacy, usually by preventing outsiders from seeing onto a property. There are cultural differences with regards to the use of fences around properties. For instance, it is common in European countries to put a fence around the entire border of one's property, including the front border, with a gate to obtain access to the property. However, in many parts of North America, fences are commonly used only on the borders between properties that back onto each other (on the side away from the street) and along the sides of properties up to the point where the house begins. Such fences are often made of chainlink and do not prevent people from seeing into neighboring yards. They may be intended to mark property lines or to keep dogs in, or out of, yards. The front yards in such neighborhoods are often open to the street.

NEW YORK (Billboard) –
Chris Brown will appear on ABC's "20/20" newsmagazine December 11.

In what the network is billing as an in-depth interview, the singer will discuss his assault on ex-girlfriend and recording superstar Rihanna in February. He is on probation for the beating.

Robin Roberts, anchor of ABC's "Good Morning America," conducts the interview, which was taped last weekend.

ABC spokesman Jeffrey Schneider said clips from the interview may also air on "Good Morning America." He said Brown will not perform live.

Brown is scheduled to release his album "Graffiti" on December 8. He has spoken about the attack on MTV News and "Larry King Live."

Rihanna appeared on '20/20' earlier this month in an interview with Diane Sawyer.

WASHINGTON (AFP) –
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Monday that the International AIDS Society will host its 2012 conference in Washington, as the Obama administration lifts a decades-old ban on HIV-positive visitors.

"I'm pleased to announce that, with the repeal of the ban, the International AIDS Society will hold the 2012 international AIDS conference in Washington DC," Clinton said on the eve of World AIDS day.

"This conference will draw together 30,000 researchers, scientists, policy makers, health care providers, activists and others from around the world," Clinton said at the White House.

"On World AIDS Day, let us renew our commitment to ensuring that those infected and affected by HIV ... that all those who have joined together to fight this pandemic will someday live in a world where HIV/AIDS can be prevented and treated as a disease of the past," Clinton said.

In July, the South African city of Capetown hosted the 2009 conference. Vienna is due to host the conference in 2010 and Rome in 2011.

President Barack Obama announced at the end of October that his administration would overturn a controversial US policy that had been in place since 1987.

The ban on foreign nationals with HIV/AIDS visiting the United States will effectively be lifted early next year.

Obama's anti-AIDS efforts build on those of his predecessor George W. Bush, who won plaudits for them.

During Bush's two terms in office, the United States pumped nearly 19 billion dollars into fighting AIDS in poor countries, saving many people who had been denied therapy that only rich economies could afford.

The Obama administration will next year increase financing to prevent mothers from transmitting the HIV virus to their children, the White House said.

"Nearly 240,000 babies have been born free of HIV thanks to programs supported by the American people to prevent HIV-positive mothers from passing the virus on to their children," it said in a statement.

WASHINGTON – Pollution typically declines during a recession. Not this time. Despite a global economic slump, worldwide carbon dioxide pollution jumped 2 percent last year, most of the increase coming from China, according to a study published online Tuesday.
"The growth in emissions since 2000 is almost entirely driven by the growth in China," said study lead author Corinne Le Quere of the University of East Anglia. "It's China and India and all the developing countries together."
Carbon dioxide emissions, the chief man-made greenhouse gas, come from the burning of coal, oil, natural gas, and also from the production of cement, which is a significant pollution factor in China. Worldwide emissions rose 671 million more tons from 2007 to 2008. Nearly three-quarters of that increase came from China.
The numbers are from the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
According to the study, the 2008 emissions increase was smaller than normal for this decade. Annual global pollution growth has averaged 3.6 percent. This year, scientists are forecasting a nearly 3 percent reduction, despite China because of the massive economic slowdown in most of the world and in the United States.
The U.S. is still the biggest per capita major producer of man-made greenhouse gases, spewing about 20 tons of carbon dioxide per person per year. The world average is 5.3 tons and China is at 5.8 tons
Last year, the U.S. emissions fell by 3 percent, a reduction of nearly 192 million tons of carbon dioxide. Overall European Union emissions dropped by 1 percent. The U.S. is still the No. 2 biggest carbon polluter overall, emitting more than the next four largest polluting countries combined: India, Russia, Japan and Germany. China has been No. 1, since pushing past the United States in 2006.
The world remains on a dangerous path, despite the recession, scientists said.
"There's a very clear gap between the path we are on and the path we should be on if the goal is to limit global warming to 2 degrees (1.3 degrees Celsius)," said Le Quere, who also works for the British Antarctic Survey.
The world has spewed 715.3 trillion tons of industrial carbon dioxide since 1982, which is the same amount civilization produced in all the previous years, said study co-author Gregg Marland of the Oak Ridge National Lab.
Outside scientists said the study was thorough and the results sobering.
"Basically these numbers are screaming out at decision makers that whatever they are doing now is not working," said University of Victoria climate scientist Andrew Weaver, who wasn't involved in the study.
The report comes as countries from around the world prepare for a December U.N. conference on reducing carbon emissions. Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen of Denmark, who will host the conference in Copenhagen, said Tuesday that President Barack Obama supported his proposal for a sweeping political deal that would include commitments by industrial countries to reduce carbon emissions and to provide funds for less developed countries to fight the effects of global warming.
Obama, who was in China, said after a meeting with President Hu Jintao Tuesday that he wanted an all-encompassing agreement in Copenhagen, even if it falls short of a legal treaty. And he said he wants something "that has immediate operational effect."
Le Quere said the numbers point specifically to developing world as the cause for the most recent growth.
China is opening up new coal-fired power plants at a breakneck pace and carbon dioxide emissions in that country have doubled since 2001.
Not all the emission increases in China and other developing countries come from new power plants. About one-quarter of the emissions growth is because western countries, like the United States, buy more manufactured products from those countries, Le Quere and Marland said.
"We're shipping our emissions offshore," Marland said.

Other countries beside China to increase their carbon dioxide emissions by more than 5 million tons in 2008 were India, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, South Africa, South Korea, Indonesia, Iran, Poland, Mexico, Canada and the Netherlands.

The paper also raised concerns because it shows that the percentage of carbon dioxide emissions that hang in the air — compared to those sucked into the oceans and forests — is growing.

Fifty years ago, only 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions stayed in the air. Now in this decade it's up to 45 percent, Le Quere said.

That steady rise is alarming because the more carbon dioxide in the air, the warmer it gets, and the warmer it gets, the higher percentage of carbon dioxide stays in the air, Le Quere said.

It's a feedback loop that is not good news for global warming, she said.

___

On the Net:

Nature Geoscience: http://www.nature.com/ngeo

WASHINGTON (AFP) –
Ex-Beatle and music legend Paul McCartney will receive the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, a US Library of Congress honor that has been bestowed on stars like Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder.

The prize is named for US composer brothers George and Ira Gershwin, many of whose original works are part of the Library's huge collection.

"It is hard to think of another performer and composer who has had a more indelible and transformative effect on popular song and music of several different genres than Paul McCartney," said on Monday Librarian of Congress James Billington, who selected the British icon.

McCartney, 67, wrote his first song at age 14 before enjoying wild success with the world's most famous pop group and his later solo career. He was due to visit Washington in early 2010 to collect the prize.

Some truly strange creatures can be found on the ocean seafloor, and boneworms are among the most bizarre - they have no eyes or mouth and feast on the bones of dead whale carcasses.

Now scientists have identified even more species of this recently discovered worm, and their analysis reveals additional clues to when the creatures first evolved.

Boneworms, belonging to the genus Osedax, were first discovered back in 2002 off the coast of California in an underwater valley called the Monterey Canyon. Since then, the researchers that made the find have been uncovering details about the life cycle and eating habits of these worms.

Between 2004 and 2008, the team, from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, sank five whale carcasses into the bay, providing a cornucopia for their research subjects.

They found that the worms begin life as microscopic larvae floating through the deep ocean. When the larvae encounter a dead animal, such as a whale or elephant seal, they settle onto its bones. The worms then sprout up, looking a bit like tiny trees. At one end are root-like structures that grow into the bone. The scientists suspect that bacteria in these roots break down proteins within the bone, which supply nutrients for the worms. At the other end are feathery appendages called "palps," which take in oxygen.

When these worms sexually mature, they all turn into females. But larvae that land on the female boneworm's palps develop into male worms, although they remain microscopic in size. The male worms fertilize the females' eggs, which are then released to start the cycle over.

Initially, the researchers identified five species of boneworms. In the new study, they found an additional 12 species from analyses of the worm's DNA.

Not all boneworms look alike. Their feathery palps can be red, pink, green or even striped. And some don't have feathers at all.

The researchers also attempted to calculate how long these worms have been around by estimating how fast their DNA mutates. With one particular estimate for the mutation rate, they hypothesized that the worms evolved 45 million years ago, which is around the time that large whales first appear in the fossil record. A second, slower estimate suggests that the worms may have evolved 130 million years ago, in which case they could have eaten the bones of ancient sea reptiles.

Further study of whale and marine reptile fossils for the remains of worm roots could help pin down the time period in which the worms evolved, the researchers suggest.

The study was published Nov. 10 in the journal BMC Biology.

Image Gallery: Examining the Seafloor
New Worm Species Discovered on Dead Whales
Otherworldly Scenes Found on Seafloor
Original Story: Strange Worms Discovered Eating Dead WhalesLiveScience.com chronicles the daily advances and innovations made in science and technology. We take on the misconceptions that often pop up around scientific discoveries and deliver short, provocative explanations with a certain wit and style. Check out our science videos, Trivia & Quizzes and Top 10s. Join our community to debate hot-button issues like stem cells, climate change and evolution. You can also sign up for free newsletters, register for RSS feeds and get cool gadgets at the LiveScience Store.

BEIJING – Playing tourist on his first visit ever to China, President Barack Obama drew a chilly comparison between the Chinese capital and his Illinois hometown.
"I have to say I didn't realize that Beijing gets as cold as my hometown of Chicago," the president said Tuesday just before sitting down for a one-on-one meeting with Wu Bangguo, chairman of China's Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.
Earlier in the day, Obama had spent nearly an hour touring the Forbidden City's maze of red buildings and cobblestone courtyards. With snow dotting the roofs and patches of ice lining courtyards, Obama bundled up against the frigid weather in a sweater and brown shearling jacket. He kept his hands in his pockets to ward off the chill.
Built in the 1400s, the Forbidden City once was home to 24 Chinese emperors who ruled the country for nearly 500 years, between 1420 and 1911. The former imperial palace is now known as the Palace Museum, and is open to Beijing's visitors.
"It's a testament to the greatness of Chinese history," Obama said while on tour. He pronounced it "a magnificent place to visit" and said he wanted to come back with his wife, first lady Michelle Obama, and their two daughters, Malia and Sasha. Mrs. Obama did not accompany the president on the trip.
The visit, he said later, was a beautiful "reminder of the incredible traditions and heritage of the Chinese people."
Before leaving, Obama wrote at length in the VIP visitor's book. The White House did not immediately disclose what he wrote.
Obama's sightseeing was to continue Wednesday with a tour of the Great Wall.
___
Dinner is served.
A large, circular table draped in yellow was the setting for a state dinner China held in Obama's honor in the Golden Room of the Great Hall of the People.
Women in white served guests at the head table, including Obama, Chinese President Hu Jintao and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Women in pink served guests at a dozen smaller tables arranged around the larger one, making for about 150 guests in all.
They dined on chicken soup with bean curd, Chinese-style beef steak, stir-fried wild rice stem and asparagus, and roast grouper — all washed down with red and white Chinese wine.
The playlist for a Chinese army band providing the entertainment included a curious mix of U.S. and Chinese songs. Among them: "America the Beautiful," "We Are the World," "I Just Call To Say 'I Love You,'" "In the Mood" and the Chinese folk song, "Embroidering a Pouch."
___
Obama's visit to China was meant to feature cooperation with President Hu Jintao. For Hu, that apparently meant this planet and beyond.
Both men used the same carefully chosen phrase — "positive, cooperative and comprehensive" — to describe the careful, vital, sometimes testy relationship between their nations.

And when Hu started naming all the areas in which the U.S. and China can work together, his list knew no boundaries.

The economy. Climate change. Energy. The environment. Counterterrorism. Law enforcement. Science. Technology. Outer space. Civil aviation. High-speed rail. Agriculture. Health. Military.

Outer space?

"The Chinese side is willing to work with the U.S. side to ensure the sustained, sound and steady growth of this relationship," Hu said.

There's plenty of ground to cover, apparently.

___

Orders to prevent sales of T-shirts showing Obama dressed like communist revolutionary Mao Zedong are in force during the president's visit — and Chinese officials mean it, as a CNN reporter found out.

Correspondent Emily Chang reported that she went searching for Oba-Mao souvenirs at Shanghai's Yatai Xinyang market. Finding none, she pulled out a T-shirt she bought before the ban was imposed to record a report in the market.

Security guards pounced, telling her she did not have permission to film there and trying to grab the shirt, according to a report on CNN's Web site.

Chang was detained for two hours before being let go, with the shirt, the report said.

A cottage industry in T-shirts and other Oba-Mao trinkets catering mainly to foreign tourists has thrived in recent months. Bans such as the one that commercial regulators ordered in recent weeks are usually temporary. When U.S. or European government officials come to Beijing for trade talks, local markets typically remove copies of brand-name designer clothes — until the foreign negotiators leave town.

The suspension system keeps the coil centered in the gap and provides a restoring force to make the speaker cone return to a neutral position after moving. A typical suspension system consists of two parts: the "spider", which connects the diaphragm or voice coil to the frame and provides the majority of the restoring force; and the "surround", which helps center the coil/cone assembly and allows free pistonic motion aligned with the magnetic gap.

Modern driver magnets are almost always permanent and made of ceramic, ferrite, Alnico, or, more recently, neodymium magnet. A current trend in design, due to increases in transportation costs and a desire for smaller, lighter devices (as in many home theater multi-speaker installations), is the use of neodymium magnet instead of ferrite types.

ATLANTA – Home Depot Inc.'s third-quarter earnings fell 8.9 percent as the housing and renovation markets remained weak, the nation's largest home improvement retailer said Tuesday.
The company also raised its full-year earnings outlook as the quarter's earnings topped expectations. CEO Frank Blake said the company has seen signs of stabilization in real estate and has added market share in the quarter.
Home Depot and other home-improvement retailers have faced sales declines as consumers hold back on do-it-yourself projects amid worry over jobs and home values. Although the U.S. housing market is stabilizing, after a nearly three-year decline, home prices remain far below their peak.
On Monday, Home Depot's smaller rival Lowe's Cos. reported third-quarter profit fell 30 percent as sales declined 3 percent. Lowe's also observed that some of the hardest-hit home markets are stabilizing and said it expects this year's fourth quarter to be stronger than last year's.
Home Depot said declines in the average checkout receipt eased a bit in the quarter, falling 7.1 percent to $51.89, compared with 8.2 percent for the year to date. Falling purchases of big-ticket items like major appliances have been a particular worry for Home Depot and Lowe's.
Net income was $689 million, or 41 cents per share, for the quarter ended Nov. 1.
Revenue fell 8 percent to $16.36 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a profit of 36 cents per share on revenue of $16.27 billion.
Sales at stores open at least a year fell 6.9 percent. That figure is considered a key measurement for retailers because it excludes the effect of store expansions or closings.
For the full year, Home Depot now expects earnings per share from continuing operations of about $1.50. That would be a 9.5 percent increase from last year, better than the company's previous expected range of flat to up 7 percent.
Home Depot now expects adjusted earnings of $1.55 per share for the full year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect $1.52.

Although many types of balls are today made from rubber, this form was unknown outside the Americas until after the voyages of Columbus. The Spanish were the first Europeans to see bouncing rubber balls (albeit solid and not inflated) which were employed most notably in the Mesoamerican ballgame. Balls used in various sports in other parts of the world prior to Columbus were made from other materials such as animal bladders or skins, stuffed with various materials.

However, while the work attracted continued support from advocates of psychosomatic medicine, many in experimental physiology concluded that his concepts were too vague and unmeasurable. During the 1950s Selye turned away from the laboratory to promote his concept through popular books and lectures tours. The US military became a key center of stress research, attempting to understand and reduce combat neurosis and psychiatric casualties. Seyle wrote for both non-academic physicians and, in an international bestseller titled "Stress of Life", for the general public.

Stress Balls

LONDON (AFP) –
A diet heavy in processed and fatty foods increases the risk of depression, according to research published on Monday.

Researchers at University College London also found that a diet including plenty of fresh vegetables, fruit and fish could help prevent the onset of depression.

They compared participants -- all civil servants -- who ate a diet largely based on "whole" foods with a second group who mainly ate fried food, processed meat, high-fat dairy products and sweetened desserts.

Taking into account other indicators of a healthy lifestyle such as not smoking and taking physical exercise, those who ate the whole foods had a 26 percent lower risk of depression than those who ate mainly processed foods.

People with a diet heavy in processed food had a 58 percent higher risk of depression.

The researchers put forward several explanations for the findings, which are published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

Firstly, the high level of antioxidants in fruits and vegetables could have a protective effect, as previous studies have shown higher antioxidant levels to be associated with a lower risk of depression.

Secondly, eating lots of fish may protect against depression because it contains high levels of the sort of polyunsaturated fatty acids which stimulate brain activity.

And they said it was possible that a "whole food" diet protects against depression because of the combined effect of consuming nutrients from lots of different types of food, rather than the effect of one single nutrient.

The researchers concluded: "Our research suggests that healthy eating policies will generate additional benefits to health and well-being, and that improving people's diet should be considered as a potential target for preventing depressive disorders."

The study was carried out on 3,486 people with an average age of 55, who worked for the civil service in London.

Each participant completed a questionnaire about their eating habits, and a self-assessment for depression.

NEW YORK – Irish tenor Ronan Tynan says he's sorry for making an anti-Semitic remark, and hopes for another chance to sing his noted rendition of "God Bless America" at Yankee Stadium.
"This is my mea culpa," he told The Associated Press before Saturday night's playoff game between the Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees.
A day after the Yankees dropped their long-standing tradition of having him perform the song during the seventh-inning stretch of postseason games, Tynan said he'd apologized to the woman who was the subject of his remark. Tynan also said he had made a charitable contribution to an organization of her choice.
"Several days ago I made a joke that was insensitive. My attempt at humor was inappropriate and hurtful to the person who heard it," Tynan read over the telephone in a statement to the AP. "I apologized to the person who was rightfully offended and I am so grateful my sincere apology was accepted."
Prior to Game 2 of the AL championship series, Tynan said he would like an opportunity to again perform "God Bless America" at the ballpark. He also said he would continue rooting for the Yankees.
"I wish the Yankees every success. ... I just hope they rock," he said.
On Friday, during the ALCS opener, Yankees spokeswoman Alice McGillion said: "There are no plans for him to sing."
McGillion said Friday a woman sent an e-mail to a team official this week claiming Tynan made the remark while the woman was being shown an apartment in the building where he lives.
The real estate agent reportedly said to Tynan, "They are not Red Sox fans." He responded: "As long as they're not Jewish."
In an e-mail to the AP, Tynan said he'd previously spoken to the real estate agent about two Jewish women who had looked at the apartment and "how scary for them it would be for living next to me with my music and singing."
Tynan confirmed his remark to the team official but said he was joking, McGillion said, and the Yankees severed ties with him.
Tynan said Saturday the woman, Gabrielle Gold-von Simson, a doctor at New York University, accepted his apology and that he made a contribution to the charity, KiDs of NYU.
Calls by the AP to Gold-von Simson and McGillion were not immediately returned.
Gold-von Simson's Facebook page says KiDs of NYU is an organization that supports children's health services at New York University Langone Medical Center. The page also says she is a New York Mets fan.
In addition to a donation, Tynan said in his statement, "I have offered that if they put on a concert, I will give my services free."
Tynan is noted for mellifluous renditions of "God Bless America." He sang at President Ronald Reagan's funeral in 2004. A woman sang in Tynan's place Saturday night.
Getting ready to watch the Yankees play the Angels in Game 2, Tynan said he was disappointed in himself.
"The most important thing I learned from this is never to be flippant or insensitive," Tynan said.

Fantasy Football

Fantasy football is a fantasy sports game in which participants (called "owners") are arranged into a league. The person who creates the league is called the commissioner, and that person invites other owners into his/her league. Each team drafts or acquires via auction a team of real-life American football players and then scores points based on those players' statistical on-the-field performances. A typical fantasy league will employ players from a single football league, such as the NFL or an NCAA division. Leagues can be arranged in which the winner is the team with the most total points at the end of the season, or in a head-to-head format (which mirrors the actual NFL) in which each team plays against a single opponent each week. At the end of the year, win-loss records determine league rankings or qualification into a playoff bracket. Most leagues set aside the last weeks of the regular season for their own playoffs.

If Bill Winkenbach is the origin of fantasy football, than the team of Michael Rand and Joshua Schnell are its ambassadors. This duo, known in fantasy circles as "P-Squared" did for the fantasy game, what Lawrence Taylor did for the real game. Credited with innovations such as the double defense strategy and the tiered ranking system these two brought a game formerly played by a select few, to the forefront of American culture. Their aforementioned concepts, in addition with newer developments such as the "QB can wait" strategy and the "boot" penalty have changed the game from what it was, into the institution it currently is. The two main types of competition formats are 1) Head-to-head, with weekly games played against specific opponents (much like in the NFL), and 2) total points, in which cumulative points during the season determine winners (or playoff teams).

Racing began soon after the construction of the first successful petrol-fueled autos; before that time people raced in other vehicles such as horse-drawn buggies. The first race ever organized, by the chief editor of Paris publication Le Vélocipède, Messieur Fossier, was on April 28 1887 and ran 2 kilometers from Neuilly Bridge to the Bois de Boulogne.

British Stock car racing is a form of Short Oval Racing. This takes place on shale or tarmac tracks in either clockwise or anti-clockwise direction depending on the class, some of which allow contact. Races are organized by local promoters and all drivers are registered with BRISCA and have their own race number. What classes exist depends on the promoter, so events in Scotland at Cowdenbeath can be very different from an event at Wimbledon Stadium in London.

Racing School

In the United States, the earliest settlers claimed land by simply fencing it in. Later, as the American government formed, unsettled land became technically owned by the government and programs to register land ownership developed, usually making raw land available for low prices or for free, if the owner improved the property, including the construction of fences.

Where a fence or hedge has an adjacent ditch, the ditch is normally in the same ownership as the hedge or fence, with the ownership boundary being the edge of the ditch furthest from the fence or hedge. The principle of the rule is that an owner digging a boundary ditch will normally dig it up to the very edge of their land, and must then pile the spoil on their own side of the ditch to avoid trespassing on their neighbour. They may then erect a fence or hedge on the spoil, leaving the ditch on its far side. Exceptions often occur, for example where a plot of land derives from subdivision of a larger one along the centre line of a previously existing ditch or other feature.

Magna Gate Latch Top Pull

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) –
A small group of Michael Jackson's dedicated fans have started an "awareness" campaign surrounding the upcoming movie "This is It," saying it covers up the grim reality of the dead pop star's final days.

The group represents fans from at least 10 countries who claim the movie, which hits theaters around the world on October 28 and is based on Jackson's rehearsals for a series of London concerts, conceals the "dire state" of his health while enriching its promoters that they hold partly responsible for his death on June 25.

"In the weeks leading up to Michael Jackson's death, while this footage was being shot, people around him knew that he looked like he might have died. Those who stood to make a profit chose to ignore it," the group says on its website, www.this-is-not-it.com.

Jackson was preparing for the concerts at the time of his sudden death, which was ruled a homicide by the Los Angeles County Coroner and attributed to an overdose of the powerful anesthetic propofol as well as the sedative lorazepam.

Police have focused their investigation into his death on the entertainer's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray. So far, no charges have been filed.

Kenny Ortega, the director of "This is It" who also was choreographing the concert rehearsals, told Reuters earlier this week that he saw no signs of drug dependency in Jackson, that the singer was excited to be performing and that the film was not intended to make a profit.

In a separate interview on Thursday, Ortega called the movie a "musical mosaic...that I think will help the fans come to appreciate and understand what Michael was putting into "This Is It", what his dreams were for it, what his goals were for it."

"It is a story of a master of his craft, a great genius in his final theatrical work and creative process," Ortega said.

The concert promoters, AEG Live, did not return calls for comment.

The group is made up largely of longtime Jackson fans, some of whom have spent time with the entertainer over the years and attended nearly every day of his 2005 child molestation trial.

They say they became so concerned about Jackson's health that on June 21, four days before his death, they wrote to him asking him to stop the tour if he was not up to it.

"It is our wish to help people understand where the responsibilities lie, pertaining to Michael Jackson's passing, in the hope that if they choose to watch the film, they will do so with critical eyes," the group said in a written statement.

"In fact, we believe that those around Jackson chose to look the other way when it was evident he was having problems," the fans said.

"We want to celebrate Michael Jackson and his amazing legacy, but we cannot do so until the truth comes out, justice is served and the lies are exposed."

The fans say they will hand out fliers promoting their cause at the premieres next week for "This is It."

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte )

Google will roll out a new online service for booksellers in the first half of 2010. Dubbed Google Editions, the service will allow readers to buy books from various e-book vendors and read them on a broad array of devices, from cell phones to e-readers.

Consumers will be able to purchase e-books directly from Google or from existing e-book stores such as Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com. Books sold through Google Editions will be hosted by Google, so they will be searchable in a Web browser.

The store will launch with about 500,000 e-books through partnerships with publishers that have digital rights to the works they represent. Google so far has no plans to manufacturer a dedicated e-book reader that carries its brand name.

Google-Powered Devices

Google doesn't need to develop its own e-reader, just as it didn't need to develop its own smartphone to become a player in the wireless market. Google's Android operating system, which is technically open source, will be used in many devices, including e-readers, according to Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence.

For example, Barnes & Noble is venturing into the increasingly popular e-reader market. The Wall Street Journal reported the giant book retailer could roll out an e-reader as early as next month in the U.S. The device will be built on Android. Sterling said the Barnes & Noble reader looks quite polished, though he has only seen images.

As Sterling sees it, the Google Editions platform could pose a very strong challenge to Amazon if it builds a large consortium of publishers and related inventory. The technical advantage that it offers is apparent compatibility with any e-reader versus the Amazon Kindle, he noted.

"In my current view, Kindle, though a market maker of sorts, is not a sufficiently superior device to dominate the market in the way the iPhone has so far dominated the smartphone segment," Sterling said. "Kindle is already being undercut by rival Sony in terms of price, and the many devices yet to launch will create a very competitive hardware market for e-readers."

Amazon Kindle Under Fire?

If Google Editions work with all those devices, Sterling said, then Amazon will be forced to target more devices than just Kindle, which will potentially undermine Kindle's lead and market position. The competition is heating up in a market Forrester expects will grow from three million devices this year to 13 million in 2013.

Sony has introduced two new e-readers that aim to make the devices more affordable. The Reader Pocket Edition is $199.99, and the Reader Touch Edition is $299.99. Amazon just lowered the price of its Kindle to $259 for the U.S. version and launched a $279 international version last week.