text: Baghdad - An Iraqi judicial panel has invalidated the candidatures of 52 people who stood in Iraq's March 7 general election, a spokesperson for a controversial investigative committee told AFP on Monday."Their participation in the election is considered cancelled," said Ali Mahmud, spokesperson for the justice and accountability panel chaired by former deputy prime minister Ahmed Chalabi."The appeal panel has rejected appeals from the 52 candidates which the justice and accountability panel discovered," Mahmud said.The decision was taken by a three member judicial panel established by the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), Iraq's election authority.State television carried a statement from senior IHEC official Hamdiyah al-Husseini which said the 52 candidates had one month to launch a further appeal to a committee of seven judges who could reinstate them.It was not immediately clear if any of the barred candidates won seats in the election.


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Thank you Rosie - so glad you like it - and you can enjoy the gumdrops, without thinking about the sugar content :-)))PJ
I love this---the buttons look like gum drops and all my favorite flavors. Thanks, PJ, Rosie.
Edie, thank you. I thought about giving it a title around 'bad eyes' - but then I preferred the more friendly : buttons. No - I don't know of a Bad Eye, but if you focus on following the 'buttons' - you may get cross-eyed :-)))))PJ
Willy - yes - you're still on the Leaderboard, good for you :-) So glad you enjoyed the puzzle,PJ
Good one PJ. Love the title. Thank you
OK, who is The Bad Eye. Is that someone we know under an alias? Never seen them before.
I'm on the leaderbord (at this moment) it is because this puzzle is so fine to solve I think, I like the idea from your signature, Willy. :-)
- but I did not think I could write it in the title, you know :-))))) Thank you Wendy - yes, I'm smiling - glad you had fun,,,PJ
Chuckling....I love your title, PJ. The buttons look about as centered as they'd look if I had been the one sewing them on a blouse.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
MANHATTAN — Kansas State University (K.S.U.) has been selected to be the lead academic institution for the first National Science Foundation (N.S.F.) industry/university cooperative research center on wheat, the university said. The center began operations on July 29.
Named the NSF I/UCRC Wheat Genetics Center, the facility is the first of its kind devoted to the study of an agricultural crop. The other 61 industry/university research centers in the United States that are part of the N.S.F. are mostly devoted to the study of engineering and electronics.
The center will focus on improving food production and disease resistance of wheat and other crop plants and will serve as a training ground for graduate students and young researchers.
The N.S.F center is an addition to both K.S.U. and Colorado State University, with K.S.U. serving as the lead institution, the university said. Bikram Gill, a professor of plant pathology at K.S.U. and director of the university's Wheat Genetics Resource Center, is director of the new center.
Collaborators include K.S.U.'s departments of agronomy, plant pathology, entomology and grain science and industry; the U.S. Department of Agriculture's plant science and wheat genetics units; the Kansas Wheat Commission; the Kansas Wheat Alliance and corporations, including Bayer CropScience, Syngenta, Limagrain, Dow AgroSciences L.L.C., General Mills, Inc. and the Heartland Plant Innovation Center.
The N.S.F. awarded a seed grant to start the research center, with the stipulation that at least three industry partners had to join and financially back the center. Mr. Gill noted that 10 companies signed on as partners.
The university said the Kansas-based research center largely will be housed at the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center in Manhattan, where research will be conducted on wheat germplasm improvement, using the Wheat Genetics Resource Center's wheat gene bank, which maintains about 14,000 wild wheat species strains and about 10,000 genetic stocks.
1TreeHouse R.&D. leader provides peek into playbook
2Waiting for General Mills 'to arrive'
3Conagra making 'modern food' for a 'modern era'
4Slideshow: New products from Halo Top, Pacific Foods, Chef's Cut
5Formulating clean label dairy foods: Insights and innovations
( more )
2How Frito-Lay is making its products healthier
3Waiting for General Mills 'to arrive'
5Cargill to invest $146 million in protein plant
1Halting the raw milk movement
2Formulating clean label dairy foods: Insights and innovations
3Siete Family Foods growing against the grain
4Bioengineering of wheat still faces significant challenges
5A growing passion for Peruvian cuisine
to the PRINT edition, or click below for free, INSTANT ACCESS to valuable news & insights in the Digital Edition.


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New York Yankees BBQ Hot Dog and Sausage Brander
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They might, or they might not.
If you look at the One X +, the only feature present on that device over the One X is 64gb of ram.
Lets say that they Make a One + - what could they do? Bump it to a Snapdragon 800? Sure that would be impressive, however the jump from 600 to 800 is about a 35% boost, whereas from S4pro to 600 its a 40% bump.
So, is that extra 35% really worth it, when you can wait another few months and get their latest flagship which will probably be a 70% increase over 600?
As far as I'm concerned, rather then waiting for "+" versions, it is wiser to purchase initial releases.
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New Community Stunt Video
Posted 17 January 2004 - 10:28 PM
1. Only the absolute best stunts will be allowed to go on the video. I will not accept any simple jumps from ramps unless you do something amazing with it. Grinding is great, car-to-boat stunts are great, and so are motorcycle stunts.
2. I will not use any stunts that are the same as the ones in "Decan's Auto Stunt Reel" or "Vice City Tribute." Be creative. Find one stunt that seems impossible, but keep trying until you get it. If you need to, type "aspirine" to heal your vehicle if its close to blowing up.
3. I don't want any mods to be used for your stunts. NO MODS.
4. To save a replay, hit F2 after stunting and then hit F3 and if it is showing your stunt, push alt+tab and go to your "GTA Vice City User Files" folder and rename replay.rep to the name you want me to credit you as (for example, jordan.rep). Then, e-mail me at [email protected] and do not forget to attach the file and also you must include the description of your stunt in the e-mail (not attached). Give me a few days and I will e-mail you back telling you if I will use it or not.
5. Lastly, all other GTA websites should post news about this since it is a community video.
Thanks and begin stunting!
Posted 17 January 2004 - 11:45 PM
Funny, as soon as i read
|Thanks and begin stunting!
"I'll teach you how to stunt"
G-unit Song, Stunt 101 came up on my Winamp:D:D
Posted 21 January 2004 - 10:38 AM Edited by Cerbera, 28 January 2004 - 10:28 AM.
|From : [email protected] <[email protected]>
Sent : 19 January 2004 21:13:09
To : [email protected]
Subject : Auto-Response: GTA: Real Life Mods
- - - - - - - - -
This is confirming that I have received your e-mail, but I have not read it yet. I will get
back with you as soon as I can.
Thank you,
Jordan Liles
I've added an entry onto the news section of my site about this event, including links to this thread and your site so people can find out how to enter.
(EDIT) Links to replays removed - you'll have to see if they appear in the final movie!
Posted 25 January 2004 - 05:50 AM
Posted 26 January 2004 - 07:34 PM Edited by Hell No.., 26 January 2004 - 07:35 PM.
Posted 28 January 2004 - 10:29 AM
|QUOTE (d8cam19 @ Jan 25 2004, 05:50)
|Hey Cerbera I know they are your stunts and you can do anything you want with them, but do you think you can take down the links to them so others can't see your stunts till the video comes out? pretty please
Fair enough. It was making this page take forever to load having all those links in - there was nearly 10kb of text in that one post alone!
Posted 29 January 2004 - 09:51 PM
Posted 03 February 2004 - 03:13 PM
|QUOTE (d8cam19 @ Jan 29 2004, 21:51)
|10k!!! That's worse than advertising! BAN BAN BAN! lol
I refuse to let this thread fall off the first page.
How's the progress been going with this video, cam? Have you been swamped with entries like on previous occasions?
Posted 06 February 2004 - 06:55 AM
Your first vid was pretty revolutionary in some ways (especially to those on the MTA forums)
I hope to see another great vid from you guys soon
btw - im posting a link to this on the mta forums, just to let people know =)
Posted 08 February 2004 - 08:22 PM
If anyone wants to see them before I submit them (maybe you'd like to see, decan? We could go into MTA and I could teach you to do them, maybe? ) then grab me over messanger.
Posted 10 February 2004 - 09:37 AM
I still have more than 30 stunts he sent me for the 2nd video that I never used. Anyway, I am not near completing the video...but believe me when I say that I won't give up.
BUT! If I don't find the perfect song for it, and the stunts don't work or whatever....then I won't do it...
It HAS to be better than Vice City Tribute.
Posted 10 February 2004 - 08:37 PM
Posted 11 February 2004 - 02:40 PM
|QUOTE (d8cam19 @ Feb 10 2004, 09:37)
| Decan disappeared off the face of the earth...haven't seen him in a long time.
I still have more than 30 stunts he sent me for the 2nd video that I never used. Anyway, I am not near completing the video...but believe me when I say that I won't give up.
BUT! If I don't find the perfect song for it, and the stunts don't work or whatever....then I won't do it...
It HAS to be better than Vice City Tribute.
There's a clan on the MTA:VC forums called "Stunt Masters" and they have a whole horde of members. Perhaps we could devise some stunts in formations, like motorcycle display teams have? Problem is that the playback would seem a bit jumpy due to the time delay of the packets being transmitted and received.
I'm really finding that cars have far, far more capabilities for stunts than I imagined. In some ways they are better than bikes because there are no limits on the axis of rotation you use (bikes slip away from pointing straight up) and you can travel backwards. I've developed a new stunt where I jump with a swerve to the right as I leave the jump. This makes me rotate and the decrease in speed makes the tail rise up. I've found places where this allows you to ride an "endo" using a car and thanks to being able to travel backwards you can actually enter the endo slightly forwards and exit it in reverse! Such a buzz to pull that off!
I'm hoping to move onto doing stuff in boats, currently the only thing of note I've managed was hurling that powerboat up the quay and into the boathouse.
Posted 02 March 2004 - 05:06 PM
I've snatched the odd few minutes to experiment and am normally finding that the cars have abilities surpassing what I was hoping for. I spent several minutes yesterday trying out some possibilities I'd worked out on paper the night before and managed to achieve them. Using the surf sign outside the airport terminus I suceeded in my dream of doing a vertical barrel roll, with the car remaining perfectly vertical through the whole spin. Looks pretty unreal.
I also managed a 180 backflip into the terminal roof, which I didn't think would be possible but found the Infernus' four wheel drive and wide, low profile enabled a fast enough spin to make it.
Using the Sentinel XS I managed to do a range of fast spins but I didn't have time to work out the system behind this. By careful, precise steering whilst mounting the ramp I was managing to hook the front tyres but letting the rears run forward, making the car turn over and around. By running further up the ramp the car can get fully inverted whilst spinning - which is something bikes cannot.
Is anyone else still trying to put together some all-new stunts for this video?
Posted 02 March 2004 - 05:23 PM
|QUOTE (Cerbera @ Mar 2 2004, 09:06)
|Is anyone else still trying to put together some all-new stunts for this video?
I have a sh*tload of excellent saved stunt replays that I haven't used in my stunt vids yet, and have offered Jordan as many as he wants, but he never seems to email me back.
Posted 03 March 2004 - 04:50 PM
The stunt video will still be done. I finally got done with the new website.
Posted 05 March 2004 - 04:59 PM Edited by Cerbera, 09 March 2004 - 09:40 AM.
RAR-compressed replay.rep
Using the BF Injection I found there was a neat variant of the barrel roll - the flared barrel roll. By really getting the floor pan of the cara hooked up on the ramp, the super-bouncy suspension of this buggy kicked the tail out, making the car do one of those flared rolls that combat aircraft do.
At the start is a messy tumble stunt due to not hooking the car up on the ramp. Leads onto the next replay though...
RAR-compressed replay.rep
At the start of this one is a barrel roll with a slight kick from the fence leading to a two-wheel landing. The second stunt is the one this replay is really for though. By running across the face of the ramp, the front hooks up and makes the car start a barrel roll, but as the rear doesn't really hit the ramp it drags beneath the car, catching the wall and putting the car into a spin on such a weird axis which I can't even work out a name for!
RAR-compressed replay.rep
Using the Hotring's massive 36 units of acceleration (that's a few units higher than the other sporty cars) I managed to use the big staircase to this savepoint apartment in Ocean Beach to clear the road and get onto the rooves of the apartments opposite.
It was quite lucky that I happened to pick the right direction to steer whilst on the roof, as it gives a neat reverse spin off the edge.
RAR-compressed replay.rep
One of the techniques I'm exploring is using the Packer to use new places in Vice, or use old places in a new way. This replay shows the Pheonix using a Packer in the sunken roads around the airport terminal to richocet off the lip of the embankment, lip the fence and do a backflip over the fence.
The landing on some of these is a bit messy (such as the second BF Injection replay) so they aren't the final versions. I hope the links work because, as was the case yesterday, I've had to cut what I wanted to post short and get off the PC.
(EDIT) Yay, I just managed to complete a stunt which I thought was going to be impossible! I've been figuring out what types of spin exist and categorising them. So far I've got the basic front/backflip, flatspins, barrel rolls. I've called that weird spin from the BFInjection the "wagonwheel" because it rotates on its side in the direction of travel. The hit against the wall or other objects which puts the vehicle into these weird spins I call a "kick" which seems reasonable enough.
This new spin though, this is very unnatural indeed. It's a barrel roll but the car points vertically and travels sideways because of the kick from the palm tree I hit. It's just insane, take a look:
RAR-compressed replay.REP
What do we think it should be called? I'm thinking something like "pihouette" or however you spell that ballet term, but it isn't in contact with the ground so that doesn't quite suit it.
(EDIT2) Here's a frontflip I managed whilst being chased by a fleet of FBI Ranchers...using the Mesa Grande as my getaway vehicle!
RAR-compressed replay.rep
Posted 16 March 2004 - 01:43 PM
|QUOTE (d8cam19 @ Mar 9 2004, 10:36)
|Thanks Cerbera. The stunt video will be done soon.
Yeah, I think it will be too soon for me because my forced absence doesn't seem like it will end soon. This means that you shouldn't expect any more entries from me, just the two batches I've already submitted which you know about.
I certainly look forward to the finished product. I was thinking that perhaps it would be a good feature to have the name of the person who submitted the stunt to be displayed in one corner of the video as that stunt was playing? It would allow people to get in touch with each other to ask how they did the stunts that were featured, you see.
Posted 17 March 2004 - 03:38 AM
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Cowboy poets and musicians are coming to the county fair in force for the first Cowboy Gathering of the Four Corners and two longtime performers will be stopping in Mancos.
Singer and songwriter Peggy Malone, the Colorado Country Music Hall of Fame's entertainer of the year for 2013, and Terry Nash a Colorado cowboy poet will be performing a concert at Barb Richhart's house Sunday afternoon. Richhart is the host of the Cow Trails show at KSJD and hosts an annual summer concert series. She said she has an affinity for cowboy music because it focuses on the stories of the people, places and cowboy code of the West.
"House concerts give you that extra-special connection," Malone said.
Malone plans to invite the audience to participate and act out the stories in the songs, if someone is willing. For example a song called El Paso by Marty Robbins calls for a lady to dance with maracas.
"I run a very loose ship because that's what entertaining is about," she said.
Nash may join in if a song has a speaking part, but he plans to perform some classic and original poems.
Nash, a rancher from Loma near Grand Junction, draws inspiration from personal experiences such as gathering the last few cows from the mountains in the winter.
"You just have to write what you know, you can't fake it," he said.
He was inspired to start writing poetry after he stumbled upon cowboy-poet legend, Gary McMahan, performing in a bar.
"He was speaking to my heritage and speaking to my heart," Nash said.
The house concert will be held Sunday at 4 p.m. at Barb Richhart's house 32229 Road P. For directions call 882-1413.
Montezuma County's first cowboy gathering will be held July 31-Aug. 2 at the county fair ostages.
The headline event will be on Friday, Aug. 1, at 7 p.m. featuring national musicians and poets. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for ages 8-14, and children 7 and under are free.
3 Trails West is steeped in cowboy tradition, singing songs about cattle drives, riding horses, pretty girls back home, and nature's splendor.
Kristyn Harris,19, is the 2014 Academy of Western Artists female performer of the year. Malone who is committed to preserving western music said that performers like Harris guarantee it will be carried forward.
Susie Knight will perform her cowboy songs and poetry about true life experiences. Inspired by rodeo legend Chris LeDoux, Knight's style captures a woman's perspective on rodeo, ranch life, remudas, and romance.
Many more poets and singer-songwriters will perform throughout the day including poets Nash, Yvonne Hollenbeck, Thatch Elmer, and singers Ken Stevens, Janice Deardorff and Deb Bukala.
Free performances by headliners will be held at the Cortez Cultural Center amphitheater on Thursday and Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. to draw in more locals and tourists to the Saturday night concert.
For more information about Cowboy Gathering of the Four Corners, go to www.cg4corners.com.l.com


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Growing evidence shows that plant-based foods do your body good, but you don't need to go vegan to introduce more vegetable protein to your diet. Try these recipes for a healthy change.
Curried Sweet Potato Dip
Serve with whole wheat pita or fresh veggies. Any leftovers are great used in a sandwich wrap.
- 1 pound sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup (50 ml) fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup (50 ml) tahini
- 2 tbsp. (25 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tsp. (15 ml) curry powder
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- salt and ground pepper to taste
- 1/4 c. (50 ml) chopped cilantro (optional)
- More olive oil for drizzling
- Whole-wheat pita and raw veggies
Steam the sweet potato until tender about 14 -15 minutes. Transfer to a food processor.
Add the chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, oil, curry powder, and garlic in the food processor. Puree until smooth. Add cilantro if using and pulse once more. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let cool.
Transfer to a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with whole wheat pita and veggies. Makes about four cups.
Note: If you make the dip ahead, it may be necessary to re-season with a bit of salt and some more lemon juice before serving.
Roasted Vegetables with Walnut Vinaigrette
A medley of root vegetables combined with a light vinaigrette is the perfect winter dish for flavour and comfort.
- 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) fresh thyme, chopped
- 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 lb. (500 g) sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) chunks
- 1 lb. (500 g) beets, peeled, cut into wedges
- 1 lb. (500 g) carrots, peeled, cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) chunks
- 1 lb. (500 g) turnip or rutabaga, peeled, cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) chunks
- 1 fennel bulb, sliced
- 1 medium red onion, cut into wedges
- 2 cups (500 ml) walnut halves
- 1 tsp. (5 ml) each coarse salt and fresh cracked pepper
Walnut Vinaigrette:
- 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) walnut oil (or any oil)
- 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp. (5 ml) orange zest
- 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) fresh orange juice
- 1/2 tsp. (2 ml) each coarse salt and fresh cracked pepper
- 1 Tbsp. (15 ml) chopped fresh parsley
Position oven racks in top and bottom thirds of oven; preheat to 425F (220C).
Whisk olive oil, thyme and rosemary in large bowl. Add sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, turnips, fennel and onions; toss to coat. Divide between two rimmed baking sheets. Roast vegetables until tender and brown in spots, turning occasionally, about 30 minutes. Add walnuts to vegetables and continue to roast for 10 minutes. Remove from oven; immediately sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Vinaigrette: In small bowl, whisk together walnut oil, vinegar, orange zest, orange juice, salt, pepper and parsley.
Arrange roasted vegetables on a large platter and drizzle with vinaigrette. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Makes 12 servings.
- Courtesy of California Walnuts
Peanut Butter Granola
Smooth peanut butter adds a big boost of flavour. Excellent with sliced bananas and milk of your choice.
- 5 cups (1.25 L) large-flake rolled oats
- 1 cup (250 ml) chopped raw or roasted unsalted peanuts, or slivered almonds
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) smooth natural peanut butter
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) liquid honey
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) apple juice
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) dried cranberries or sour cherries
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) dried currants
- 1/2 cup (125ml) slivered dried apricots
- Directions:
Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or leave ungreased; set aside.
In a large bowl, toss together rolled oats and peanuts. In a bowl, whisk together peanut butter, honey, apple juice and vanilla. Drizzle over oats mixture and toss until dry ingredients are evenly moistened. Spread evenly over prepared baking sheets. Note this granola tends to clump; spread it out as evenly as possible.
Bake in a 325F (160C) for 15 minutes. Stir oats mixture and return to oven until a peanutty fragrance wafts out of oven, and the oats mixture is crisp and lightly toasted, about 20 to 25 minutes longer, stirring twice. Divide cranberries, currants and apricots between 2 pans and toss with oats mixture. Let cool. Crumble any clumps of granola. Store in airtight containers at cool room temperature for up to 2 weeks, or in freezer for up to a month.
Makes about 9 cups (2.25 L).
Tip: You can add a pinch of salt to this granola if desired.
- By Elizabeth Baird, Special to QMI Agency
Vegetable Miso Soup
- 1 tbsp. (15 ml) vegetable oil
- 1 bunch green onions, trimmed and sliced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp. (15 ml) minced ginger
- 1 sweet potato, cut into cubes (about 1-1/2 cups (375 ml))
- 2 plum tomatoes peeled and diced
- 4 cups (1.5L) of vegetable stock
- 2 cups (500 ml) water
- 1 cup (250 ml) slice shiitake mushrooms
- 1 cup (250 ml) of diced firm tofu
- 2 tbsp. (25 ml) soy sauce
- 3 cups (750 ml) of baby spinach
- 3 tbsp. (45 ml) miso
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add half of the green onions and cook until bright green. Add garlic and ginger and cook a further minute.
Add the sweet potato, tomatoes and stock and water. Bring to a simmer. Cook until sweet potato is tender. Add in the mushrooms, remaining green onions, tofu, soy sauce and spinach.
Simmer gently for 3 minutes. Spoon some of the broth into a bowl. Combine with the miso and return all to the soup. Season to taste if necessary with additional soy sauce. Serves 6.
- By Jill Wilcox, Special to QMI Agency


text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|12 Aug 1997
|Filing date
|6 May 1996
|Priority date
|13 Oct 1991
|Fee status
|Publication number
|Aaron Lewis, Ilan Pinevsky
|Original Assignee
|Lewis; Aaron, Pinevsky; Ilan
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (13), Referenced by (33), Classifications (21), Legal Events (5)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This application is a division of application Ser. No. 08/211,705, filed as PCT/US92/08515 Oct. 13, 1992, now abandoned.
A method for transforming processing beams in order to produce a desired energy profile on a target which is to be processed by the beam.
Many problems in materials processing require the use of a high power laser (or similar light source) which could have a variety of problems. Some of these problems could be a multimode beam structure that may be irreproducible from pulse to pulse or in long term operation and/or a low temporal coherence and/or a low spatial coherence and/or a bad beam pointing stability. Therefore because of these difficulties in achieving a reliable I(x,y,z,t), where I is intensity, t is the time coordinate and x,y,z are arbitrary space coordinates, it is difficult in general to use certain lasers to simultaneously process an entire area even when the energy of the laser beam is high enough. The object of the invention is to provide a method of getting reproducible, stable, and reliable energy profiles on a desired surface on which the material to be processed is placed. In general material processing by light does not depend on the phase of the beam profile, i.e. its spatial coherence and thus, our invention is restricted to those cases in which the phases of the I(x,y,z) are not a relevant factor.
To meet the requirements for an appropriate I(x,y,z) distribution we apply a combination of technologies based on geometrical optical and physical optical principles.
One of the conventional approaches for material processing, such as photochemical ablation of organic and inorganic materials, superconductor deposition, material cutting and patterning, silicon wafers annealing, etc., is to scan a beam across the area of the material to be processed. Another approach keeps the laser and the sample stationary and uses either a laser with a uniform beam profile or improves an existing laser beam profile in conjunction with a set of apertures (or other masks) which are changed during the material processing. An alternate to the use of a set of apertures in this method is the possibility of using a set of rotating-scanning slits.
The improvement of the beam uniformity is achieved by rotating the beam which produces a time average. To achieve this a rotating set of mirrors or a dove prism can be used. Alternately, refractive optics such as a Fly's eye lens can be used and other possibilities include using an incoherent fiber bundle or biprisms to get beam folding etc. The rotation of the beam is problematic because of problems with the laser beam pointing stability, high sensitivity to misalignments during the rotation and other mechanical constraints. But mainly, it cannot fully resolve the problem of hot/cold spots in the initial beam profile which will appear as tracks of high or low energy in the rotated average beam profile. The refractive methods have low throughput (Fly's eye lens) and are often not suitable for high power lasers in a specific wavelength. In some cases even the improvement is not enough for the desired materials processing application. For example biprisms can make a good beam better but cannot turn a bad beam into a good beam.
Using scanning beams and rotating slits have some typical disadvantages. For example, often higher energy per pulse in a given local area (or higher repetition rate) is needed to complete the desired process in a time which is not too long when compared to a methodology that could process the material in parallel. However, the use of higher energies and/or repetition rates may cause higher mechanical stress on the material, increase the heating problems and/or produce unwanted nonlinear radiation-material interactions. Another problem in such serial approaches is the higher sensitivity to fluctuations of the pulse to pulse energy. Furthermore, an additional problem in the use of such sets of apertures and stops (after beam homogenization by conventional techniques or without any homogenization) which are replaced during the processing is the limited number of possible transformations in a given set of apertures-stops. This causes a profiled surface that has higher surface roughness than other methodologies. Finally, other common disadvantages or problems include radiation material interactions that have an accumulated effect and/or reach a steady state of processing (etching, for example) as a function of the pulse energy after tens or hundreds of pulses. Therefore to get high reliability, predictability and reproducibility of the modulated controlled process according to a desired program requires that each point in the material will be exposed to hundreds of pulses continuously [see, for example, R. Srinivasan et al, Amer. J. of Opht., (1987), 470-471]. This demand is rarely fulfilled by the above described methods.
This invention is different from the conventional methods which were described in the "State of Prior Art", because they modulate the material processing in space using modulated energy profiles rather than changing the number of pulses in a local area. This is based on the fact that processes such as photochemical ablation have typical response of etching depth (or other changes of the material) per pulse as a function of energy, therefore one may work in the linear or the nonlinear regime with the condition that for a given processing the responsivity of the specific material with a specific wavelength, energy and pulse width are known previously. See, for example, G. M. Davis et al, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 21, (1988), 683-687 (for etching of GaAs), or A. Fuxbruner et al., Appl. Opt., Vol. 29, No. 36, (1990), 5380-5385 (for etching of organic polymers and corneal tissues).
List of figures:
1. Scheme of the simplest system with beam homogenizer to get uniform energy on a target ng.
2. Multi Hologram Optical Element.
3. Simple scheme which combines beam homogenizer with a diffractive element as a hologram.
4. Schemes for apertures and stops with circular symmetry.
5. Simple scheme for a light processing system which combines beam homogenizer with computer controlled apertures and/or stops.
6. Schematic structure of a "negative" nontransparent mask.
6.1 Methods Using Transformed Energy Profiles
For processes of radiation--material interaction which are energy dependent and the dependence is known, it is possible to control the process to achieve a desired spatial structure by transforming the energy profile which is responsible for the process according to a known dependence of the laser material interaction and the structure that is desired on the substrate. The following schemes are designed to accomplish this task, namely, of getting transformed spatial energy profiles on a target, which may be the external surface of a material or an internal surface for materials that are transparent to the incident light and interact with the light in a linear or non-linear way.
6.1.1 Geometrical Optical Technologies of Beam Transformation
As was mentioned previously, high power lasers may have rather poor output energy distributions with low reproducibility and problems of beam pointing stability. Therefore, we suggest to use a beam homogenizer of the channel Integrator type [see, for example, J. M. Geary, Opt. Eng., Vol. 27, No. 11, (1988), 972-977], or other approaches for beam homogenization. Such beam homogenizers are more suitable for high power lasers because they contain reflecting surfaces and yield a uniform energy plane in a given distance from the exit (5 in FIG. 1). With throughput that can exceed 90% of the input energy, this distance can be controlled and the uniform plane of energy can be imaged to the processing plane (7 in FIG. 1) with a high depth of field. Some high power lasers, such as excimer and CO2 lasers, have low spatial and temporal coherence. Those are advantages to the use of channel Integrators as beam homogenizers because they eliminate the interference fringes that would appear otherwise in the plane of energy uniformity (because rays are coming from different angles).
The next step after getting the uniform plane of energy is to transform it according to the desired structure in the processed material. This is described in the next subsections under the Geometrical Optical Techniques.
126.96.36.199. Transformations by Masks Which Are Based on Partial Absorption and/or Reflection
By placing a mask in the plane of uniformity (5 in FIG. 1) and using a material with an absorption described as A(x,y), it is possible to modulate the intensity to get any I(x,y), where A is the absorption in %, I is the intensity density and x,y are the cross section coordinates. In this case I(x,y)=I0 *A(x,y) where I0 is the energy density in the plane of uniformity. The divergence of the beam that exits the beam homogenizer (3 in FIG. 1) is relatively high (typical values are bigger than 15 mrad) and therefore because of the low spatial coherence it is possible to get an image of this mask on the target (7 in FIG. 1) without a typical diffraction pattern. The dimensions at the plane of uniformity are of 1 cm�1 cm order or bigger, therefore the energy density can be low enough in the mask plane to be below the damage threshold of the mask. The dimensions of the imaged plane on the other hand can be much smaller according to the demagnification in the imaging so that the energy density on the target will be enough for the processing.
The mask construction can be divided into two approaches:
(i) Masks which are constructed from thin layers with modulated thickness on transparent slides:
According to the laser which is used, the material the thin layer is made from is chosen, to accomplish high damage threshold and appropriate depth of absorption. The absorption coefficient multiplied by the accuracy of the thin layer coating and/or deposition thickness should be lower than the required accuracy for A (x, y), on the other hand the absorption coefficient should be high enough to get the desired modulation with thin coatings.
(ii) Masks which are based on slides with variable thickness:
According to the laser which is used a material is chosen that has high damage threshold and moderate absorption. Then the bulk of the material is etched to get the desired A (x, y). The absorption depth of the material should be high enough to be able to get the modulation in a thin slide but at the same time it should be low enough so that the accuracy of the etching process multiplied by the absorption coefficient will meet the requirements for the accuracy of A (x, y). The etched surfaces should remain perpendicular to avoid refracting effects for the beam which passes through the mask.
126.96.36.199 Beam Transformation by Refractive Optical Means
According to the desirable energy profile on the target it is possible to specify an aspherical surface for a singlet lens which will convert the uniform energy profile (5 in FIG. 1) to the desired one [see, for example, P. W. Rhodes et al. Appl. Opt., Vol. 19, No. 20, (1980), 3545-3553]. For beam homogenizers with low divergence of the exit beam (or in some other cases where the wavefront is known) it is possible to derive differential equations which specify the aspherical surfaces. According to the laser which is used for the material processing, the material for the lens is chosen. Nowadays several methods exist to fabricate such aspherical surfaces: diamond machining, solgel processing, etc. This approach has an advantage, compared to the mask approach, because there is no intrinsic absorption (which may be problematic using high power lasers), therefore it is, also, more efficient in the use of the laser energy.
184.108.40.206. Beam Transformation by a System of Mirrors
With similarity to 188.8.131.52. it is possible to derive shapes of mirrors which will transform the uniform energy profile to a desirable profile on the target. Diamond machining has accomplished very sharp curvatures and can fulfill the requirements of derived shapes. This approach may have a significant advantage, compared to the above approaches for beam transformation, using high power lasers because the light does not pass through the material.
6.1.2. Physical Optical Technologies for Beam Transformation
It is possible to reshape the energy profile of a collimated laser beam to another desirable beam profile by holographic filters. These holograms may be recorded optically (analog recording on a photo sensitive material) or generated by computer.
22.214.171.124. Analog Holograms
A mask with the desirable energy profile is illuminated with the object beam and using a reference beam the hologram is recorded. By illumination with a reconstructing reference beam which is an exact phase conjugate of the recording reference beam, the image of the mask is reconstructed; therefore it is possible to get a desirable energy profile in the reconstructing process. There are a wide variety of possible holographic arrangements. For high power lasers with low spatial coherence and low temporal coherence it may be worthwhile to choose arrangements in which the hologram is recorded in a plane very close to the mask or to record Fourier Holograms using an appropriate lens in the recording and reconstructing. In addition, for high resolution image projection it may be necessary to use diffraction gratings to decrease the spectral bandwidth. Phase holograms may be recorded this way on materials which are transparent for the processing beam (after recording on photoresist and applying photolithography techniques) or on nontransparent materials which were patterned and overcoated with a reflective layer. Therefore it is possible to get reconstruction efficiencies higher than 30%, using a high power laser without any intrinsic absorption in the filter stage.
220.127.116.11 Computer Generated Hologram (CGH)
With this same vein of physical optics approaches of beam transformation, a CGH can be constructed to provide energy redistributions and/or phase corrections. For material processing it may be enough to use a single holographic optical element to redistribute the energy of the input beam into the necessary near-field intensity profile on the target. A second element may be used to place the correct phase onto this beam [see, for example, M. T. Eismann, Appl. Opt. Vol. 28, No. 13, (1989), 2641-2650]. A significant advantage of this approach may be the possibility of getting the distributed energy profile on any desired surface with any curvature, together with, high reliability and flexibility which are characteristic of computer designed elements.
According to the hologram pattern which is designed by the computer, a mask is fabricated. There are several possible methods for mask fabrication, such as by using electron beams [See, for example, R. W. Hawly et al., Appl. Opt. Vol. 29, No. 2 (1990), 216-224], or by using optical means with or without optical demagnification and others. Using such methods, efficient multilevel phase holograms can be recorded with up to 100% efficiency.
According to the wavelength, temporal and spatial coherence of the beam (before the hologram transformation) the appropriate method for fabrication of the relief pattern should be chosen to meet the requirements for the energy profile resolution, place, image fidelity, etc. on the target. Lasers with unstable resonators may be used in schemes which require higher spatial coherence and in addition, line narrowing of the laser beam to improve the temporal coherence may be achieved by use of external diffraction gratings and/or intracavity line narrowing by dispersive optical components or other approaches. Laser systems using an Injection-Locked Oscillator Amplifier may be used in schemes which require highly spatially and temporally coherent light.
For specific lasers and material processing application we suggest a new type of CGH, which we call Multi Holographic Optical Element (MHOL). Some high power lasers, such as Excimer and CO2, have beam profiles which are not highly reproducible in the long and short term. It is difficult to follow the changes in the initial beam profile that has to be transformed from pulse to pulse during the material processing, during the aging of the laser medium, aging of electrodes, etc. This, of course, can prevent practical use of a conventional CGH which is designed for a given input beam profile, since unpredictable changes in this profile will end up in unpredictable changes in the output energy profile. Therefore, we design and fabricate a hologram which is constructed from small elements in which each of them contains all the information for the final transformed energy profile structure (see 8 in FIG. 2). In this case each ray entering into the hologram is split into subrays that reach different places on the target.
On the target, one gets several profiles with the same overlapping structure. If the dimensions of the hot/cold spots or any other random intensity variations are big compared to the basic holographic element (8 in FIG. 2) the effect of those intensity changes will cause a variation of the intensity of individual profiles. But the final profile which contains several overlapped profiles may remain undisturbed. A similar approach is the use of diffusers in digital holography in analogy to diffuse recording in optically recorded holograms [See, for example, R. Brauer, J. Opt. Soc. Am. A, Vol. 8, No. 3, (1991), 572-578].
There are some typical problems using this kind of element as compared to the conventional method of designing CGH. The Fresnel rings which are due to diffraction from the basic elements can be treated in the design process by iterative calculations of the hologram (usually it may require a few steps). Because several rays meet at each point on the target using these type of elements, interference fringes may appear on the target. Limited spatial and/or temporal coherence of the processing laser source will smooth the fringe pattern because of the diffraction angle broadening for a given ray. Therefore, for applications which do not require high resolution modulation of the energy profile on the target, using MHOL or similar approaches may be the ideal, and may allow the use of lasers with lower quality beam profiles.
6.1.3. Combined Physical and Geometrical Optical Technologies for Beam Transformation
As was mentioned previously, high power lasers may have beam profiles with low reproducibility in the long and/or short term, low beam pointing stability, etc. Therefore, we combine the use of beam homogenizers which improve the beam profile quality, reproducibility, stability, etc., with redistributing energy elements such as holograms. In particular, we suggest using a beam homogenizer of the channel integrator type with CGH holograms (FIGS. 3 9-13). Using channel integrator beam homogenizers (11 in FIG. 3) it is possible to get uniform and stable energy beam profiles on a specific plane, but with divergence which is bigger than the initial beam laser divergence. This increase in the divergence will decrease the performance of a given hologram in a given image plane distance in terms of the energy profile resolution and accuracy on the target. This can be improved by decreasing the distance of the hologram (13 in FIG. 3) from the target. This requires decreasing the typical pixel sizes in at least the same factor as an increase in the diffraction angle. Nowadays, commercial beam homogenizers for excimer lasers have less than 15 mrad divergence for the exit uniform energy plane, and use of electron beams for the hologram fabrication will provide relief patterns with submicron pixel sizes. Therefore, it is possible to get energy beam profiles on a target with less than 5% aberration by combining such a beam homogenizer with an electron beam CGH (using a regular commercial excimer laser with a stable resonator). Of course, this combination will be easier for lasers with longer wavelengths because of the diffraction angle increase which permits decreasing the minimum hologram to target distance. This also decreases the aberrations which are due to the large divergence of the entering ray.
6.2 Methods Which Are Based on Controlling of the Number of Pulses (or Exposure Times) as a Function of Place to Generate a Defined Structure
The object in this approach for beam transformation is to provide methods of controlling the material processing by light as a function of place by using different numbers of pulses (or exposure times in CW lasers) with the same energy as a function of place.
When it is possible to control the material processing by controlling the number of pulses or exposure times (for example when the desirable etch depth is larger than the etching depth per pulse), then it is possible to derive a program for the processing in which different parts of the material are exposed to different numbers of pulses to get the desirable spatial structure. The first step is to compute the number of pulses (or exposure times) that the material should be exposed to as a function of x,y,z which are arbitrary spatial coordinates. Or in other words, for P(x,y,z)⃡E(x,y,z)*E0 where P is the amount of the specific processing in a quantitative form (for example depth of etching) and E0 is the energy density of the pulse or the basic controlled unit in a CW laser, N is the number of pulses or exposure time. Therefore when the relation between P and E is known, N can be easily derived [See, for example, A. Fuxbruner et al., Appl. Opt., Vol. 29, No. 36, (1990), 5380-5385]. We suggest two basic approaches to implement N(x,y,z) on the target surface.
6.2.1. System with Computer-Time Controlled Apertures or/and Stops
The basic idea is to image an aperture or a stop on the target surface and to change the dimensions of this imaged aperture or stop during the processing by a computer to get the desirable N(x,y,z). In this case the structures of those apertures and stops are not limited, but as an example, for a circular aperture (FIG. 4) it is possible to get any N(x,y,z) profile with circular symmetry in which the center gets more or equal numbers of pulses than the vicinity, by controlling the opening (or closing) velocity in each time point of the processing (or in step operation in which the length of time is controlled at each position). If the aperture remains open, the N profile will be like 14 in FIG. 4, 15 for a closed aperture, 16 for an aperture which is closed or opened in a constant velocity, and for a variable velocity it is possible to get arbitrary profiles like 17 (which is a Gaussian profile). Stops that are closing towards the edges (as 18 in FIG. 4) will implement N profiles that have higher values on the edges.
It may be worthwhile to combine this approach with the use of a beam homogenizer, to achieve higher optical quality of the initial beam and to reduce diffraction patterns on the target than can be achieved by the use of apertures or stops with coherent light. As was mentioned, the beam homogenizer decreases the spatial coherence and therefore may smooth the image of the aperture-stop on the target (28 in FIG. 5). A simple scheme is described, for example, in FIG. 5 in which the output of the laser (29) is monitored by a photodiode (19) and this is used to control the laser energy and its stability in short and long term operation (power supply control unit, 20 in FIG. 5). In some high-power lasers the energy per pulse (or power) changes during the laser medium aging and this can be compensated by changing the current-voltage control of the laser. But this may cause changes in the beam profile structure and its finger print; therefore it is a problematic point in material processing unless homogenization is done as in this scheme. The computer controlled aperture (or stop) is placed in the plane of uniform energy (23) after the beam homogenizer and the field lens (21 and 22 in FIG. 5). It is controlled by a computer (26) which may control the momentary velocity of the opening/closing or the total time that the aperture/stop remains in each position-dimensions (if a step motor controls the opening or closing). The aperture (or stop) is imaged by one or more imaging lenses (24) which are placed on a motorized stage to change its position in the x direction to achieve a desirable image plane distance and demagnification/magnification of the aperture. The imaging elements may include, for example, a cylindrical lens (25) which is mounted on a rotation stage controlled by the computer to achieve images of the aperture with cylindrical distortions in any angle in cases where it is needed to get a desirable structure on the target. As in the case of 24, 25 may also be placed on a translation stage (z direction) to control the cylindrical correction. The system may include a VCR camera (27 in FIG. 5) that follows the process and is connected to the computer or any other element and/or device.
6.2.2. System with Opaque Negative Masks
This embodiment of the method uses masks with an inhomogeneous thickness which is the negative of N(x,y). This should be fabricated from a material which is not transparent to the processing light and is etched by the processing light in a known manner. The material can be organic or inorganic and the mask may be placed on the target or elsewhere. If the depth of etching for a given pulse energy density is known, the minimum thickness of the mask in a local point x,y can be derived easily. By subtracting the number of desired pulses in this point, N(x,y), from the maximal N on any place on the target and by multiplying it by the depth of etching per pulse gives the minimal thickness T(x,y)>D*[Nmax -N(x,y)], where D is the etching depth per pulse, T is the local thickness (31 in FIG. 6). In a similar way for CW lasers one has to consider the basic units of power density rather than pulse energy density in the above equation. Thus this approach can be considered one that uses a "negative" type mask. These masks are based on simple absorption and can be combined easily with beam homogenizers because there is no need for coherence. Therefore, the mask may be placed in a plane of uniform energy, or on the target (5 or 7 in FIG. 1).
|Cited Patent
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|2 Nov 1971
|Du Pont
|Apparatus and method for perforating sheet material
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|23 Jun 1981
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|Apparatus for machining material
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|22 Dec 1981
|Optical source comprising a semiconductor laser and optical means for the anamorphosis of the beam emitted by said laser
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|2 Oct 1984
|Allied Corporation
|Optical beam homogenizer
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|11 Aug 1987
|Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
|Reflection type optical device
|24 Jan 1986
|29 Mar 1988
|Xmr, Inc.
|Optical beam integration system
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|29 Mar 1988
|Fuji Electric Corporate Research & Development Ltd.
|Laser processing method
|21 Mar 1988
|20 Mar 1990
|Adjustable aperture
|27 Jun 1988
|10 Jul 1990
|Eastman Kodak Company
|Laser beam stop
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|12 Mar 1991
|Grumman Aerospace Corporation
|Method of fabricating a multiple holographic lens
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|Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
|Laser beam machining device
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|22 Oct 1991
|Kantilal Jain
|Illumination system to produce self-luminous light beam of selected cross-section, uniform intensity and selected numerical aperture
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|Apparatus and method for laser radiation
|18 Jan 2000
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|Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
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|International Business Machines Corporation
|Laser beam system for micro via formation
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|23 Nov 2004
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|Digital Optics Corp.
|Beam shaping element for use in a lithographic system
|13 Jan 2005
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|Beam shaping element for use in a lithographic system
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|4 Jul 2006
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|Apparatus and method for laser radiation
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|Intel Corporation
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|Shunpei Yamazaki
|Apparatus and method for laser radiation
|11 Jun 2003
|15 Jan 2004
|Michael Goldstein
|Adjustment of the partial coherence of the light energy in an imaging system
|12 Dec 2002
|17 Jun 2004
|3M Innovative Properties Company
|Optical fiber or waveguide lens
|28 May 2002
|16 Sep 2004
|Kathman Alan D.
|Beam shaping element for use in a lithographic system
|14 Jun 2002
|7 Oct 2004
|Andersen Peter E.
|Laser system for treatment and diagnosis
|13 Jan 2005
|16 Jun 2005
|Digital Optics Corporation
|Beam shaping element for use in a lithographic system
|2 Jun 2006
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|28 Aug 2006
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|In-line holographic mask for micromachining
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|U.S. Classification
|359/15, 219/121.73
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|12 Feb 2001
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4
|14 Feb 2005
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 8
|16 Feb 2009
|Maintenance fee reminder mailed
|12 Aug 2009
|Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees
|29 Sep 2009
|Expired due to failure to pay maintenance fee
Effective date: 20090812


text:
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Sunday Scoop: Jason Koon Smashes Sunday Warm-Up
While temperatures continue to drop in countries around the world, action was heating up online with Jason "jakoon85" Koon taking down the Sunday Warm-Up and over $109k.
Koon's victory headlined a day that saw no less than five six-figure scores on PokerStars with both Melanie "Callisto 5" Weisner and Amit "AMAK316" Makhija making big final tables.
While multi-way chops decided both the Sunday Warm-Up and Sunday 500, Koon politely turned down his heads-up opponent's offer of a deal and went on to win the whole shebang.
Keep reading for highlights from the weekend's three biggest Sunday majors.
Koon Snags $110k in Sunday Warm-Up Win
American Jason "jakoon1985" Koon prevailed over a field of 3,499 yesterday to take down the $215 Sunday Warm-Up, pocketing $109,869.
This online win comes on the heels of a massive 2012 for Koon, one that included over half a million dollars in live tournament wins.
This week's Warm-Up featured a $699,800 prize pool and had room in the money for the top 540 players.
Koon entered the final table third in chips but by the time the field was whittled down to three, Koon had built a commanding lead with 22.9 million to jurata_PL's 8.8 million and sneker's 3.3 million.
Koon briefly lost that lead, however, before knocking out sneker by winning a preflop all-in with Q♥ J♥ against pocket sevens.
Koon held a roughly 2.4 to 1 chip lead going into the heads-up match and managed to close out the tournament in short order.
Jurata_PL flopped top and bottom pair with 9-2 but was run down on fourth street when Koon turned aces up.
Also cashing in this tournament was Ana Marquez (44th), Richard Toth (47th), Alex Kravchenko (65th) and Laurence "rivermanl" Houghton (119th).
Here are the full final table results for this week's Sunday Warm-Up:
1. Jason "jakoon1985" Koon (Canada) - $109,869.77
2. jurata_PL (Poland) - $81,876.60
3. sneker (Denmark) - $57,733.50
4. hasuzlasu (Poland) - $40,238.50
5. TryToExploit (Poland) - $29,741.50
6. Veritas0086 (Germany) - $22,743.50
7. pasty71 (United Kingdom) - $15,745.50
8. papafast1 (United Kingdom) - $8,747.50
9. buckguy2200 (Mexico) - $5,598.40
Weisner, Makhija Final-Table Sunday 500
This week's Sunday 500 drew 795 players with big-name pros Melanie Weisner and Amit Makhija both securing spots at the final table.
But both Weisner and Makhija missed out on the four-way deal that doled out the lion's share of the almost $400k prize pool, with Portuguese player AtnirTPT going the distance to take the title and $44,777.
The biggest prize, however, went to Sebastian "p0cket00" Sikorski, who took down $59,121.
Sikorski, a Bwin Poker pro, has amassed over $5.4 million in online career earnings, including more than $2.6 million on PokerStars alone.
Here are the full final-table results for this week's Sunday 500, adjusted to reflect the four-way deal:
1. AtnirTPT (Portugal) - $44,777.93*
2. 140Tank a/a (Australia) - $47,441.62*
3. boytakas (Philippines) - $39,260,41*
4. p0cket00 (Canada) - $59,121.29*
5. Callisto 5 (Canada) - $20,034.00
6. Olya2Ace (Russia) - $16,059.00
7. head07 (Germany) - $12,084
8. AMAK316 (Canada) - $8,148.75
9. noirduck (Hungary) - $4,968.75
Ireland's sexylady409 Wins Sunday Million
6,783 players from around the world took a shot at the biggest weekly tournament on the web, but it was Ireland's sexylady409 that took home the title and $132,928.
In the end it was a four-way deal that decided this tournament, with Swiss player luizsanchez4 pocketing the day's biggest prize: $155,104.
When this event reached the final four players a deal was agreed upon, at which time sexylady409 went on an absolute rampage. He knocked out WushuTM in fourth with A-Q vs. K-Q all-in preflop, then sent Paulkopopo packing with A-T against A-7.
The heads-up match lasted just two hands, not surprising since sexylady409 had a roughly 26 to 1 chip lead.
The final hand saw the money go in with sexylady409's 4-2 outflopping his opponent's J-7.
Here are the full final table results, adjusted to reflect the four-way deal:
1. sexylady409 (Ireland) - $132,928.76*
2. luizsanchez4 (Switzerland) - $155,104.05*
3. Paulkopopo (Germany) - $125,763.48*
4. WushuTM (Austria) - $128,305.21*
5. FellipeNunes (Brazil) - $56,977.20
6. Jengleleg (Netherlands) - $43,411.20
7. gladius_85 (Germany) - $29,845.20
8. PikkuHUMPPA (Finland) - $16,279.20
9. dijana123 (Slovenia) - $10,513.65
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Stamp of approval for Osborne?
Prime agents hate it but the property tax rise has been a bounty for the Chancellor, netting the treasury £223 million
Almost a year ago George Osborne took the property world by surprise and hiked stamp duty on top-end homes. Today it appears his gamble has paid off — but only just. Twelve days before the Chancellor of the Exchequer announces his fiscal blueprint for 2013 and beyond, research suggests that the new stamp duty rate of 7 per cent on property worth £2 million or more will have given the Treasury an extra £223 million in London — £73 million more than had been forecast.
Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank, calculates that the number of homes sold in this upper price bracket fell 15 per cent during 2012-13. But the higher levy means that the cash amount of tax paid within…


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Damned Damned Damned by Kris Needs
Damned Damned Damned by Kris Needs
100 Club - 6th July 1006 - Rat Scabies and Brian James play "Damned, Damned, Damned"
'Don't play anything released after July 1976' - was the brief - as I rifled through the old vinyl in preparation for what promised to be an interesting pogo down memory lane. The 100 Club might have had a CD player - but those weren't invented in 1976 - and if it's strict to the point of being £19.76 to get in - then bollocks to those silly little discs, anyway.
trakMARX had everything to do with this gig happening - and laid out dosh on the special souvenir fanzine (now selling for silly money on Ebay, I hasten to add! – Ed). I played for nothing too - but in truth – it was all a bit of an honour. The set-list restrictions weren't a pain at all. Of course I played the Dolls, MC5, Stooges, etc - but could also get away with Mott's 'The Moon Upstairs', Vince Taylor's 'Brand New Cadillac' and - for Lydon fans - Peter Hammill's proto-punk: 'Nobody's Business'.
Talking of Lydon, the opening 'act' were the Sex Pistols Experience. A tribute band, doing impersonations - with a 'Sid' sneering - and a singer doing his best approximation of the sardonic Rottenesque stage manner. Not a good choice, in my book (blame Rat, it was his idea – Ed) The evening was getting under way with something you couldn't take seriously – something that ultimately came accross like a punk putdown on some naff comedy show. No wonder Alan Parker's a big fan! Maybe my problem was that I'd seen the Pistols too many times back in the day. It's kind of sacrosanct to me. None of that 'after the fact' crap for this soldier.
TV Smith was another matter entirely. I hadn't seen him for about 28 years - when my Vice Creems supported the Adverts at Friars, Aylesbury. Alone with just his trusty acoustic guitar - he's still got the fire, spirit and delivery of four people! Playing new stuff - and then surging into a string of classics: 'Gary Gilmore's Eyes', 'Bored Teenagers' and the rest - Tim brought tears to many eyes - and captivated those who hadn't seen him before. There was a lovely rise in enthusiasm being thrown at the stage as Tim's set progressed - and he threw it right back. There was Phil Alexander - editor of Mojo - leading the mosh-pit in tribute to this still-crackling talent. And there was Gaye Advert - radiant as ever - cheering her long-time partner on.
Now it was time to stoke them up for the headliner. 'Kick Out The Jams' seemed most suitable. Then they staggered on. I saw the Damned the first time around - starting after their 100 Club debut through the latter half of '76 - at little gaffs like High Wycombe's Nag's Head and Leighton Buzzard's Leisure Centre. Above all, they were a laugh. That was the first impression you got - which wasn't surprising - with the custard pie shots and all that. We had them in Zigzag relating lurid stories from their first US tour. I got some stick for the one about the groupie and the bass guitar neck.
But underneath the panto exterior was something of a musical powerhouse - especially emanating from the drummer and guitarist. Rat was punk's Keith Moon in terms of kit-demolishing dexterity. Chops, power - and mania – all rolled into one. Brian was the living reincarnation of James Williamson - the string-shredding axe commando of "Raw Power". He had energy, speed and attitude. Their first single steamed in on the riff from the Dolls' 'Jet Boy'.
Those were the two who provided the sonic surge which gave them the high-energy thumbs up. And they were gonna be playing tonight. Not only that, handling the bass would be Mani - once a Stone Rose - now in Primal Scream. It was the injection of Mani which elevated the Scream into 'Xtrmntr' mode. The man's a bass-a-tronic killing machine. Two days Rehearsal - and he was in - right in the middle of his group's festival tour too. The difficult role of Dave Vanian went to Amen's Casey Chaos, who wisely chose not to don vampire gear and simply roared like Satan's pitchfork was lodged 'twixt his buttocks.
It was deafening, brutal, energized - with the songs mercilessly brief: most of the first album -and that cover they always used to do of the Stooges' '1970'. The effect was akin to an avalanche of guitar, bass, drums and shouting. There was chaos in front of the stage. Phil Mojo dragged my missus off to the mosh-pit and she came back smiling, covered in beer. There were a lot of smiles all round. It wasn't subtle - it was full-tilt - skin-of-the-teeth. But they didn't let the name down at all.
This was no pantomime - like the opening act. It was indeed the spirit of the Damned circa '76 - which meant: 'high-energy onslaught'! Amidst all the bland shit around today – this was real Punk Rock.
Nothing's changed there - on both counts.
Now for Eater on the 28th Sept. See you there.
Kris Needs – tMx 26 – 09/06
LinksCheck: www.myspace.com/krisneeds
trakMARX 26 — October 2006 — 26th Issue
|Contact: firstname.lastname@example.com trakMARX.com - We're All Addicted To Something


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It was a horrid day yesterday.
Few can have watched the scenes in London without a sense of horror, disgust and fear. I lived in London for twenty two years. It's impossible not to feel empathic for those who will today go about their lives their today. And, lest we forget, this is not just now an issue in London: other cities have suffered too.
And yet this wasn't a surprise to me. Surely it wasn't to the government either? For thirty years or more economic crisis in this crisis has led, during the summer months, to rioting. That in no way excuses the rioting. It is criminal. It is wholly destructive. It alienates. Hope dies with it for a while, and takes a long time to rebuild.
But let's be clear. This rioting is not, as some want to cast it, just mindless violence. Violence, yes, undoubtedly and to be condemned as a result. With criminal prosecutions to follow as a result, I also hope. But mindless? No it is not that, as Dave Hill argued, exceptionally well, on his Guardian blog. There are motives and reasons for this behaviour, and in that case it demeans anyone to call it mindless.
Those motives and that behaviour may be destructive, but in that sense they may not be so far removed from the utterly irrational behaviour we are seeing on the world's markets at exactly the same moment. In a very real sense the stock market is being trashed. The FTSE has over the last few days done this:
Nothing suggested that it was going to crash as it has: a week ago there was some hope of stability. But then fear pervaded: the realistic fear in the eyes of those like me who have long forecast that this would happen that there will, as a consequence of the economic policies inappropriately and unwisely chosen by our political leaders, be another worldwide recession.
That fear was justified. Hope evaporated. Panic took its place and is still gripping the markets – as this morning's trading shows.
Was that fear that caused this rout that has trashed millions if not billions of people's hopes – and will do for a long time to come – the same fear that led people to tip over from quiet acceptance of those political decisions onto behaviour that is indication of the same loss of hope?
Can it really just be coincidence that these events happened at the same time?
I can't see any way that the tow are unrelated. When any real hope in political leaders – in the US and the EU faded – and with those in the UK just absent – the reality of despair hit.
This does not mean I condone violence: I am appalled by it.
But then I don't condone the behaviour of markets and the enormously adverse impact that they will have either.
What I am saying is simple: that the promise that underpinned neoliberalism – that unlimited cheap credit would be available to make life tolerable now with financialisation and securitisation promising the prospect of a better future tomorrow – when the charade that this has always been was exposed by the simultaneous failure of the politicians who supported it and the markets that sustained it – then at that moment the hope of those who had endured its consequences and who knew its promise of material well being was never going to be theirs to enjoy snapped.
I can't prove that, of course.
I can only suggest it.
I also suggest that this means that the only way forward is to now leave neoliberalism – both the form its been delivered in and even more so the extreme form that the Tea Party and Tory right propose – far behind us.
Now is the time for Courageous States. My new book on that theme is 85% done. I'll be working on it for the rest of the day.


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POWAY —— Students and parents of the Poway Unified School District may have less school-related work after the bell rings next year if the board of trustees approves a policy that would regulate homework and reduce the need for parental help.
Policy developers say the approach is effective because it puts the responsibility of homework completion back on the students by implementing high, but clear and doable, expectations.
The policy states that research shows it is better for students to learn how to complete and understand an assignment on their own than need extensive help from parents just to get by on lengthy and difficult assignments.
"This isn't eliminating homework nor, in a lot of areas, will it drastically reduce homework," said Eric Lehew, the district's director of learning support. "(But) students should be able to manage their own homework independently and parents be in a supportive role."
The proposed policy was developed over a two-year period by student, parent and teacher groups, and written by Lehew and Poway teacher Candy Smiley. It is designed to make homework an opportunity to practice, study and apply what was learned or will be learned in the classroom without being graded.
"When the coach tells you to go home and practice you're not given a grade on it," Smiley said.
If approved at the board of education's June 27 meeting, the policy will go into effect in the next academic school year for all schools and all grades in the 32-school district.
The policy will not affect advanced-placement or honors classes designed for rigorous college-level course work.
Each school will develop its own homework plan appropriate for its academic level within the guidelines of the policy, which include a focus on reading, consistency among teachers, outside assignments to not exceed classroom assignments in length, refraining from homework over weekends and holidays, and to allow make-up work without penalty for students who miss school for religious holidays, illness and other excused absences.
Some schools, including Turtleback and Shoal Creek elementary schools and Bernardo Heights and Mesa Verde middle schools have already adopted the policy.
"Changes have been implemented in several schools and we will continue to implement (the policy) next year," Lehew said. "We will work with (the other schools') principals to use those select sites as models."
Shoal Creek third-grade teacher Michele Manos said she already holds and practices the homework philosophy the policy promotes.
"I don't think it's fair to grade a child on something they did at home," she said. "I have no idea on how much assistance they had from a parent."
"Personally, I really feel the best thing that students can do is read," she said. "Research has clearly shown that."
Policy creators and supporters say it will also create equal opportunities for success regardless of abilities, learning styles and means. For example, Smiley said, students whose parents can't afford materials needed for a project will not be penalized for it.
"We need to make sure content is taken care of in the classroom," she said, "because we don't know what resources they have a home."
Cheryl White has one son graduating from Westview High School this month and another who is a sophomore there now. She said the policy will create more equality for her younger son, who is a high-functioning autistic.
"I think the policy is good for my son because he has special needs and needs more time," she said. "It takes him a long time to process (information) and do the work."
White is also a private elementary school teacher at Beth Israel Day School in La Jolla. She said she thinks Poway's homework policy creates balance for students between their school, family and social life.
"For some students (homework is) all they do," White said. "If it takes more than an hour, it's too much. At some point, you have to say, does a kid need to be doing this much homework."
Contact staff writer Adrienne A. Aguirre at firstname.lastname@example.com and (760)740-3526.


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Argentina's Third National Communication to the UNFCCC will update information on its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for each emitting sector, allowing it to identify mitigation measures.
1 February 2011: Argentina is preparing its Third National Communication to the UNFCCC with a US$2.4 million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which will be carried out with the World Bank as implementing agent.
This study will provide updated information regarding Argentina's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, allowing it to identify mitigation measures. Argentina presented its First National Communication in 1997 (revised in 1999), and its Second National Communication in 2006. The Third National Communication aims to: strengthen the national potential for climate change mitigation through updating the national GHG emission inventory for each emitting sector; elaborate tools and procedures for improving data collection and management; and evaluate and elaborate mitigation measures and policies. It will also support the execution of studies on mitigation potential in those sectors with the greatest carbon footprint.
The study is further expected to strengthen the National Adaptation Agenda and identify priority areas for adaptation; and build institutional capacities at the national, provincial and municipal levels. [World Bank Press Release]


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WASHINGTON, D.C. Once the Washington National Opera's annual ball had found a home—the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates—the concept for the evening became clear. The U.A.E. would be the first Arab embassy to host the ball, so planners focused on the idea of "Arab hospitality."
"In the nomadic culture there was always an annual gathering where everyone came together in a big tent," said Leslie Miller, director of special events at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which organized the ball. "There was always a lot to eat and wonderful things to refresh themselves with. Maybe you don't see each other all year, but you see each other once a year. On a certain level, it made sense for this event as well."
About 500 guests enjoyed that hospitality at Saturday's gathering, which raised more than $1.1 million. After guests had dinner at 16 other embassies and a private residence, they gathered at 9:30 p.m. for the ball. After walking through a series of Arab pergolas, they entered the embassy's grand portico, which featured a 23-foot starburst lantern lit by candles that the Kennedy Center built for the event. Inside was a 20-foot water wall and an atrium with palm trees and hanging orchids. A series of tents outside offered traditional Emirati desserts such as kamfaroush and gemat, henna ink artists, and shisha water pipes for smoking fruit-flavored tobacco.
"There were different places for people to go, and you could move throughout the space," Miller said.
Hosts Ambassador Al Otaiba and his wife, Abeer, provided guidance on decor and entertainment so the ball would accurately depict Emirati culture and avoid stereotypes or an American version of it.
"We were very lucky to have their involvement, so we always felt like we were going down the right path," Miller said. "We were able to present them as they wanted to be presented."
Another influencer was chairwoman Adrienne Arsht, who had a special request for the desserts: chocolate. Under the direction of Susan Gage Caterers, chocolatier Terracocoa provided chocolates on the dessert buffet, including a white chocolate box that was filled with other chocolates. There also was a candy bar where guests could fill bags of goodies to take with them as they left.


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BBC apologises after airing Savile skit in old Tweenies show
The BBC has apologised after a character from the children's television show Tweenies appeared on the CBeebies channel dressed as Jimmy Savile.
Max, the character, used the disgraced presenter's accent and catchphrases and wore one of Savile's trademark tracksuits topped off with a blond wig.
The episode featured Max presenting a Top of the Pops-style programme and uttering the paedophile's catchphrase: "Now then, guys and gals."
The episode, which was filmed in 2001, was shown on the BBC before 9am yesterday.
A corporation spokesman said: "This morning CBeebies broadcast a repeat of an episode of the Tweenies, originally made in 2001, featuring a character dressed as a DJ impersonating Jimmy Savile.
"This programme will not be repeated and we are very sorry for any offence…


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Island FCU CEO to Retire
Island Federal Credit Union has announced the retirement of its President/CEO Robert J. Dethlefsen, effective Nov. 30.
Dethlefsen has been with the credit union since 1977 and has served as president since 1980. During his tenure, IFCU has grown from a single-location, single-sponsor institution with $17 million in assets to a nearly $800 million community credit union that just opened its sixth branch.
Through the years, Dethlefsen has been more than the chief executive officer of Island FCU; he has been a strong advocate of the credit union industry, the Hauppauge, N.Y., credit union said in its announcement. Dethlefsen served on the board of NAFCU for nine years, as well as various NAFCU committees. He served as chairman of the NAFCU Service Corp. for two years and sat on its board of directors for an additional five.


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Encore, Mayor Bob, Encore!
Fresh from his boffo performance on Court TV as folksy Uncle Bob in the Sylvester Turner-Wayne Dolcefino trial, Bob Lanier is now preparing for another starring performance, this one before the federal grand jury weighing evidence in the FBI's City Hall sting. The mayor is set to take the stand next week to tell the panel his version of how the downtown hotel deal unfolded, as well as anything else he might know about what transpired once the G-men disguised as Latin-American investors hired Ben Reyes and Betti Maldonado to ensnare councilmembers with illegal cash contributions. Of particular dramatic interest should be that tearful meeting between Maldonado and Lanier after she ceased to cooperate with the feds and bolted to Bob and Elyse's Huntingdon condo to tell all -- or at least all she wanted to reveal.
While Lanier's appearance indicates the feds may be wrapping up the hotel end of the investigation, don't expect indictments from the grand jury before December at the earliest, with sometime after the New Year being a more likely ETA. According to our sources, 1997 could bring anywhere between six and ten indictments, with as many as five former or sitting councilmembers caught in the cross hairs. The probe continues to branch out, most notably into connections between Mexican business interests that received City Hall contracts and former councilman Reyes and his two brothers, Greg and Tony Reyes. Both Reyes' brothers and his girlfriend, former wastewater project supervisor Rosalie Brockman, had previously invoked the Fifth Amendment to ward off grand jury questioning. Brockman has now been given immunity to testify, indicating she is not a potential target for indictment but does have some information of interest. The Reyes brothers, however, have not been given immunity.
Just Say Nay
In recent years the Nay Sayers have demonstrated increasing muscle in Houston electoral politics, with heavy rail, zoning and the HISD bond issue all going down to defeat and, as we go to press, the proposal to build a downtown ballpark looking shaky. Behind the "just say no" movement is the unlikely evolving alliance of Property Rights Association president Barry Klein, the Christian conservative brother act of Bruce and Steven Hotze and Harris County Treasurer Don Sumner, a Republican. Voters got a look at the group's latest project, a city charter change proposal, on display at petition tables at 100 or so selected precincts on Tuesday. The Nay Sayers were trying to collect 25,000 signatures to force a future referendum on their proposal requiring the city fathers and mothers to hold an election just about any time they want to buy an ice cream cone. All property tax increases, fee increases over the rate of inflation and any bond issue involving a stadium would trigger a city election, effectively mandating government by referendum for any significant revenue enhancer.
Klein and Bruce Hotze have met with several groups of business people unsuccessfully seeking financial support for the charter change. Klein and Steven Hotze are sharing the automated phone bank of Larry Lee's TLC Marketing, and Bruce Hotze is coordinating the effort out of the Hotze family's Compressor Engineering Corporation offices. "Bruce's goals are parallel with the goals of the Houston Property Rights Association," said Klein, "to protect freedoms and keep taxes down and reduce the tax burden. So in those ways, we certainly have a common interest and work together from time to time." Klein stresses his group is nonpartisan and works with both parties. "On issues and principles, we come together."
Judge John Devine's congressional campaign volunteers doubled as petition pushers at some polls, a linkage Treasurer Sumner described as "a marriage of convenience." Whether it was made in Heaven or Hell is a point for debate.
Get Reel!
Critics of Billy Burge have complained that he thinks he's above the law for refusing to step down as Metro chairman for nearly a year and a half after his state-limited term expired. Maybe the tendency runs in the family. Now comes word that Burge's stepson, 23-year-old Michael Reel, is being sought on a nationwide arrest warrant for violating the terms of his probation under a ten-year deferred sentence for possession of LSD with intent to deliver. Reel, one of two children by a previous marriage of Burge's current wife, Pamela Lamonica Burge, was sent to Harris County boot camp and later enrolled in TDCJ's Substance Abuse and Felony Punishment Facility at Baker Street. After Reel apparently broke off contact with the program, an arrest warrant was issued for him a week ago by state District Judge Mike Wilkinson.
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A family acquaintance claims Reel has taken refuge in the Metro chairman's mansion on Troon Street in River Oaks. Pamela and Billy Burge were out of town in New Orleans, but a call The Insider placed to Reel this week at the Burge house was answered by an unidentified woman who explained that "Michael is out but will be back shortly." Reel's former lawyer, Terry Cornelius, said he hasn't been in contact with Reel recently but expressed doubt that the young man was anywhere near the Burge home. Cornelius said he talked with Burge by phone, and the Metro chairman professed to having no idea of Reel's whereabouts and voiced concern that his stepson didn't show for a scheduled operation on a hand injury. "We need to talk to him," Cornelius quoted Burge as saying.
Assistant district attorney Bill Hawkins says that action on Reel's arrest warrant will likely not be forthcoming any time soon. "If the warrant stays unserved for a while, we'll want to file a motion to revoke probation. Then it will fall in line like everything else." District Attorney Johnny Holmes says he doubts that Billy or Pam Burge would be breaking any law even if Reel were at their house, because there is no state statute specifically outlawing sheltering a fugitive.
So which do you think comes first: Reel's apprehension on the warrant or Billy's vacating the Metro chairmanship?
Place your bets with The Insider now at 624-1483 or 624-1496 (fax), or e-mail him at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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REAL World Cup of Boxing - Once a year. One full weekend.
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Originally Posted by
With the Olympics going on, thinking about the Superbowl, World Cup, Wrestlemania (pro wrestling entertainment), etc....
I think Boxing needs that one MAJOR event per year...may not just be one night...it could be a 3 day weekend type of thing that focuses on the best 5 fights to be made...imagine this:
Friday Night
*Opening night featuring appearances by Boxing and other sports legends, photos with legends, brand promotions etc
Donaire vs Rigondeaux
Gamboa vs Rios
Saturday Night
*Second night featuring various events, interactive games (like Fight Night tournaments, or pillow-glove fighting, etc...fun stuff), train with fighters, various brand promotions (like Pepsi or Nike doing a branded promotion around boxing) etc.
Canelo vs Cotto
Ward vs Dawson
Sunday Night
*Raffle drawings, give-a-ways, winning ringside seats, celebrities, photos, etc..
Martinez vs Chavez Jr.
Mayweather vs Pacquiao
Each night would have 2-3 major fights...this would be a planned weekend...all fighters stand to make a lot of money since it's a major, planned once a year event...all held at the same stadium...etc..keep in mind there may be a few off tv bouts featuring up and coming stars, showcases
A tournament is a good idea man
But I will like it to see it withe less rounds, something like 5, or 3 rounds, so they go all out.
They could make it like K1, or with the same format of the Olympics, but only 3 rounds, and the final 5 rounds.
Something like this is done with the World Series of Boxing
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, but they also have a team competition, and also of course and individual one, you should check it out, they do it with some of the best amateur fighters.
But I guess the closest to what are you expecting, is something like the Super Six, or even worse Prizefighter. There's to much politics, promoters, egos and money involved to do something like that.
Here is the Final of the First Edition between Clemente Russo vs Magomedrasul Medzhidov, you can watch almost all the fights at their site on youtube.
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This is a Second Season Individual final
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