Online Gambling Ban in America is As Good As Dead

by on January 25, 2012

In light of the recent events surrounding online gambling in America, whether it is casino poker sports betting or bingo we are again being asked the million dollar question, is it illegal for me to gamble online if I live in the USA?

The answer we give is the same as it has always been although now our position has been backed up by the U.S. Government. The bill that supposedly made it illegal in 2006 did not in fact make it illegal for you to play at all but instead made it it illegal for America banks to process gaming transactions. this in itself was ineffective as many of the gambling companies did not use American banks anyway.

It absolutely did not make it an offense for an individual to play at an online casino or poker site. Given this glaring hole in the legislation even the banks fought back claiming they should not be put in the position of policing online gambling. At the same time Sen. Barney Frank was preparing a bill to make the ban obsolete and instead do the right thing and regulate the online gambling industry.

The important timelines here are Friday 27th November 2009, Tuesday 1st December and Thursday 3rd December.

Tuesday 1st December is the day the UIEGA Gambling ban was to come into force. this was to be 2 days before Sen Barney Frank was to have his Regulation bill heard by committee on Thursday the 3rd December.

On Friday 27th November however something happened, the U.S. Government postponed the enforcement of the Gambling Ban by six months until the 1st June 2010. this can only to be to allow the correct approach of regulation and allowing Barney Franks bill to be sent through the channels.

To look at it pragmatically everyone involved knows that online gambling in America will be legalized, regulated and taxed within the next 18 months so why put any further pressure on an already stretched banking system for something that will be overturned in such a short time? it appears that common sense has prevailed and the road is now open for the legalization of online gambling in the United States of America.

This of course was the only course of action open to the U.S. Government and was inevitable. The question this leaves is where do the big Las Vegas casinos go from here? as we have previously written the likes of MGM and Las Vegas Sands have not been exactly proactive in their move towards readiness for the coming legalization.

All we can say is that our door is always open should they need any advice.

Biden visiting NH on Thursday

by on January 25, 2012

ROCHESTER, N.H.—Vice President Joe Biden is visiting Rochester, N.H., this week.

Biden is planning a visit Thursday to a center co-operated by Albany Engineered Composites and Safran USA. the companies have teamed up with great Bay Community College to design a training program to help workers acquire advanced manufacturing skills.

Albany is an advanced textiles and materials processing company; Safran is a high-technology company with concentrations in aerospace, defense and security.

Biden last visited Rochester while campaigning in 2008.

Biden has visited new Hampshire several times recently. the last time was in November as a guest speaker at the Nackey Loeb School of Communication first Amendment Awards banquet.

© Copyright 2012 associated Press. all rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Biden visiting NH on Thursday

‘Citizens Cabinet’ was considered for a past SOTU

by on January 25, 2012

One of the ideas passed around the White House for President Obama's first State of the Union address back in 2010 was to create a "Citizens Cabinet" to connect Americans to their government.

"the challenge we confront in reforming government in the 21st Century is not that it is too large, but instead that it is too remote. too often for Americans, the federal government is 'them' — not 'us,'” advisers wrote in a memo to Obama obtained by the New Yorker's Ryan Lizza, offering ways for Obama to reengage Americans and to show he was trying to change Washington.

The "Citizens Cabinet" would have been given opportunities to weigh in on national priorities like job creation or issues that touch Americans' lives like food safety, and used online discussions and contests to generate ideas. It never made it into the speech. 

While that idea may not face the light of day in his 2012 speech, the notion from a late 2009 memo that Americans "want policies that strengthen the middle class and promote small business — the foundations of the American dream" will be part of Obama's message tonight.

‘Citizens Cabinet’ was considered for a past SOTU

Prince Fielder Signing With Detroit Means Miguel Cabrera Will Move Back To Third Base

by on January 25, 2012

The Detroit Tigers signed free agent slugger Prince Fielder today. Yawn, I know. nobody is celebrating and everyone is dying to know what this means for Brandon Inge, I’m sure.

Well, news is not good for him. According to MLIVE, Miguel Cabrera will be moving back to his “natural” position — Inge’s position:

Cabrera confirmed the addition of Fielder will result in him shifting to third base in 2012 — a position he last played in 2008.

“Return to third base,” Cabrera told the Lider’s César Augusto Márque, “that is my natural position.”

The Tigers reportedly approached Cabrera about Fielder prior to the deal to gauge his interest in shifting to third and Cabrera expressed no hesitation.

Cabrera is a better first baseman than Fielder, but Cabrera has played over 3,000 innings at third base in his career, so having him move to the other corner obviously makes the most sense. Now, he has a negative UZR and drops the Tigers into the bottom third of the league amongst defensive third baseman, a regression from the middle of the pack in terms of that metric, but keep in mind that Cabrera’s best season at third base was better than Brandon Inge last season (granted it was in about 500 less innings). Still, poor Brandon Inge.

For more on the Detroit Tigers, check out Bless you Boys. you can also head over to SB Nation’s main MLB hub at Baseball Nation.

Reaction to President Obama’s Speech

by on January 24, 2012

United or divided? That’s what the country has been asking itself about our leaders in Washington, D.C. yesterday, today and probably will be tomorrow.

The speech referring to President Obama’s address before a joint session of congress last evening, was supposed to Unite; but did it divide? From press accounts it seems the Republicans and the Democrats are at it again. go figure, right?

As an independent, I remain skeptical of both Democrats and Republicans. it is my point-of-view, that when a public is not critical of their government, independent of partisan politics, it is a public that will be taken advantage of, less independent as individuals and most of all, a nation without liberty and freedom.

So, in keeping independence, here’s my main issue with the presidents speech.

This one line stood out to me and I can’t get past it, mr. Obama said, there are now more than 30 million American citizens who cannot get coverage. of note, mr. Obama stated, on July 22, there is not just about the 47 million Americans who still don’t have any health insurance at all.

Okay, there’s an error, why? it is not my intent to discuss why the number may have changed; however, it is my intent to be independent and mindful of my purpose, which is to point out errors when they are prevalent, regardless of the (R) or (D) respectively.

However, to eliminate 17 million or to estimate 17 million people may or may not have insurance concerns me. it validates the government is being too liberal or to conservative, or untruthful.

It looks to me that both Democrats and Republicans yesterday evening were split and remain split today; however, the president had the speech and the Republicans followed suit during and after the speech.

What I mean is, why yell you lie in the middle of such an agenda? Apologies or not being issued – this is unnecessary and childish; is it any wonder our government, at least to me, is completely inept?

Today, what happens? both parties talk about how great it was or how bad it was? Where’s that compromise, mr. (R) and (D)?

Who knows what comes of this, but I’m skeptical of government and to me, personally, nothing has been solved but both parties still grandstanding for political gain. My opinion; vote them all out in 2010 – let’s have the necessary revolution.

Reaction to President Obama’s Speech

Will The World Really Come To An End In 2012? Either Way, It May Make Sense To Be Prepared

by on January 24, 2012

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ve probably heard about the 2012 doomsday prophecy. Ironically if you do believe it, you might choose to hide under a rock come December 21, 2012. rather on the news, television, Internet or people chatting about it at their work, you’ve likely heard about this prophecy. there are people who are strongly for or against the likelihood of such a calamity with the rest cautiously concerned or pessimistic. Emergency Plans are often brought into conversations, rather on a national level or personal level for your home. Regardless of your own stance, how is your emergency plan coming along in the event of a disaster-apocalyptic or not? Do you have your water and food supply ready along with other plans to take into action?

To shed some light on the origins of this special date, the Mesoamerican Calendar comes into play. while we are accustomed to organizing our own days by months and years, Mayans had a similar, but varied approach. In addition to their standard years, they have a long count calendar year that spans several of our centuries. Their last long-count calendar year ended on September 18, 1618; the next one ends December 21, 2012. from all historical evidence found, reaching an end of a long-count calendar year was a great event that that they celebrated. there is no actual evidence found that indicates that the Mayan culture believed the world was going to end on this day. nevertheless, this hasn’t stopped many believers from thinking this gives reason to dread.

Believers of the doomsday prophecy gather their own support from one of many (or a combination of) predictions coming from science, pseudo-science, and self-proclaimed prophets. a few years ago, NASA predicted the likelihood of larger solar flare activity in late 2012, which if hit at the right angle against our planet’s atmosphere could potentially cause harm. Skeptics point out that the prediction is unreliable and recent ones now expect lower solar flare activity. As far as pseudo-science, time loops to alien invasions are among the many random beliefs, potentially holding less traction than that of prophets’ claims. One such prophet is Nostradamus, who believers claim has predicted other world events such as Napoleon, World War II and the JFK assassination; they claim he is alluding to world-wide disaster in 2012. Skeptics say most of his words aren’t analyzed until after the events have taken place, only to find vague similarities to prove he was right.

Despite the various viewpoints, some are concerned a self-fulfilling prophecy may manifest itself by man-made actions-be they small and localized, or possibly worse such as crashing our current economy. if enough people stop going about their daily routine and pull cash and sell stocks, another recession could occur. Others, however, expect the day to pass with nothing more than some heightened anxiety and a lot of fresh comedy material for late-night talk shows. They also point out that an increase in sales has gone towards emergency preparedness, 72 hour kits, freeze dried and dehydrated meals including pre-made gourmet meals.

Rather your stance lies with one end or the other, natural disasters can and do strike every year around the world. Some people are prepared while others not so much. an Emergency plan should be set in place for your home in such an event, what actions to do or where to go, and having in your house emergency food and water storage.

In today’s world, the Internet gives consumers so many more options to stock up your emergency food storage. most people rarely have time to bottle their own food, let alone more costly and time-consuming methods like dehydrating foods. To answer that dilemma, many companies sell freeze-dried and dehydrated pre-made meals. while canned food is always a good resource for food storage, freeze-dried meals tend to provide more variety, better taste due to the preparation involved, and take up less space with more amounts of food.

So rather you expect the world to end this year, or get a good chuckle at those who do, emergency food storage can bring a peace of mind no matter what may happen in the year 2012.

Will The World Really Come To An End In 2012? Either Way, It May Make Sense To Be Prepared

Getting the Most Out of Your Solar Storm Tan Bed

by on January 24, 2012

Intent on getting a tanning bed? a Solar Storm tan bed would be a good choice. The Solar Storm line has been tried and tested for quality. in fact, it is so widely patronized that it has become one of the leading tanning bed manufacturers in the United States.

But how do you get the most out of your Solar Storm tan bed? here are a few tips for maximizing your time in your tanning bed.

1. Follow only the prescribed tanning routine. You may be tempted to spend a little more time in your tanning bed than your doctor or your personal trainer has recommended, thinking that you’ll get a darker tan in a shorter time. That’s just not how it works Tanning is a gradual process, it’s slow and tedious for a good reason

Darkening the skin naturally comes with extended exposure to the sun: a process the tanning bed seeks to reproduce. and in, fact, does efficiently reproduce The stronger the light on your tanning bed, the more it resembles the light of the midday sun. unfortunately, extended exposure to the midday sun is not at all healthy for the body. Health experts declare that the only safe time to expose oneself to the sun is before 10 AM. if you’re originally from a cold country, and you happen to be seeking a natural tan in a tropical region, you may wish to retire into shaded areas even earlier than 10 AM

This is because overexposure to the sun means an increased risk of developing skin diseases – among the worst of which is melanoma, the most severe form of skin cancer. The best way to get a good tan is to set your timer only as your fitness trainer has told you

2. Make sure to apply your tanning lotion evenly. an even tan requires an even layer of protection. Think of it as a liquid shield against the dangers of skin diseases. The stronger the light you expose yourself to, the stronger your lotion’s SPF level should be. and the stronger the light on your tanning bed, the more important it is to apply your protective lotion all over your body

3. Make use of the multimedia functions. Tanning requires that you sit, stand or lay still – this could get boring But not to fear: state of the art tanning beds come with stuff that will help you beat the boredom. a modern tan bed, even a Solar Storm tan bed, usually comes with at least a music player. this will keep you company while you enjoy your gradual tan.

Getting the Most Out of Your Solar Storm Tan Bed

Second-half boosts Oral Roberts – Western Courier : Sports

by on January 24, 2012

It started as a shootout, but the Western Illinois women’sbasketball team ran out of ammunition against Oral Roberts Mondaynight.

The Leathernecks held tight throughout most of the Summit Leaguematchup, but the Golden Eagles eventually pulled away, handingWestern a 78-66 loss in front of 556 fans at Western Hall.

“We battled pretty well,” said Leathernecks head coach JD Gravina.”It was a tale of two halves, and when we fell behind, we panickedand turned the ball over.”

Senior guard Sadie Webb, who averages 14 points per game, ledWestern in scoring with 21 points, including 18 in the firsthalf.

“We had success making the extra pass to get the open shot,” Webbsaid.

Saule Kontautaite, who put in 13 points, and Michele Salvatori, whohad 12, each hit a trio of 3-pointers for the Leathernecks, whowere just 3 of 14 from long distance after intermission.

Western (6-11, 3-4) and Oral Roberts (11-7, 5-2) started the gametrading baskets, but a 9-2 run by the Golden Eagles gave them anearly 11-4 lead.

The Leathernecks battled back with back-to-back kick-out 3-pointersby Webb and Kontautaite to pull within 1 point.

Kontautaite’s next 3-pointer gave the Leathernecks their first leadof the game at 17-16 and started a back-and-forth stretch by bothteams that saw the lead change 13 times. The first half ended at40-39 in Western’s favor.

Two-time Summit League Player of the Year Kevi Luper, a 5-foot-10junior guard, paced the Golden Eagles’ offensive attack with 27points.

Oral Roberts scored the first 9 points in the second half,including two straight layups by Pyle, to take a 48-40 lead.

“We just came out and weren’t as aggressive,” Webb said.

At the 15-minute mark, Western finally got its first second-halfpoints on consecutive deep 3-pointers shot by Salvatori, closingthe gap to 2 points.

Pyle scored twice under her own basket and Luper got her 18th pointof the night to extend the Golden Eagles’ lead to 56-48.

After Luper picked up another 2 points, Leathernecks sophomoreRachel Evans notched her first points of the night and Salvatorihit a free throw to pull the Leathernecks within 7 points.

Western senior Valencia Kelly and Oral Roberts sophomore AmberCarver traded baskets, and then Webb hit a rainbow 3-pointer forWestern to make the score 60-56.

The Leathernecks pulled within 2 points after free throws by seniorBrittany Demery, but Luper continued her impressive night, hittinga 3-pointer from the corner to jumpstart a 7-0 run by the GoldenEagles.

A Luper mid-range jump shot gave the Oral Roberts its firstdouble-digit lead of the game at 73-62 with two minutes left.

Baskets by Demery and Kelly brought Western back within 9, but theLeathernecks could get no closer.

“We have a lot of confidence in the team,” Gravina said. “Ourassist-to-turnover ratio was really, really good, and defensively,we gave ourselves a chance to win.”

Western shot 42.2 percent from the floor, while Oral Robertsconverted 48.3 percent of its field goal tries.

The Leathernecks’ next game is Saturday at South Dakota (10-6,2-5), with tipoff at the DakotaDome set for 5 p.m.

Second-half boosts Oral Roberts – Western Courier : Sports

Base Running-Youth Baseball’s Tenth Man

by on January 24, 2012

Anyone who saw the 2000 World Series saw one of the worst exhibitions of base running ever. Especially in game one when the new York Mets literally ran themselves out of a rally which cost them the game and quite possibly could have changed the whole outcome of the Series. Who could forget when Timo Perez of the Mets was on first base and after the batter hit the ball deep to left, slowed down while running between first and second only to be thrown out at home because the ball ended up being in play. or how about when Todd Ziele hit a slow grounder to third and doesn’t run it out because it is in foul territory only to have the ball kick fair before it reached third and Ziele was thrown out while almost standing in the batter’s box. Then there was Jay Payton hitting a three foot roller in front of home plate and he thought it was foul and stood in the batter’s box. The Yankee catcher, Jorge Posada picked it up and tagged out Payton while holding the runner on second. We also saw Mike Piazza being picked off first base in the same game.

What can we teach our youth baseball players from this? Base running has always been very underrated in baseball. In youth baseball, some coaches (including myself) claim you can get one to three extra runs per game with aggressive smart base running. one year my team won the league championship and a few months following the season I picked up my score book and after going through it, discovered that my team had been thrown out at home 13 times during the season in the course of twenty three games. probably a record that will never be broken. During the season I didn’t realize that we were thrown out this much but we must have scored about 25-30 extra runs by being aggressive and smart on the bases.

I’ve learned over the years that my fastest base runners aren’t necessarily the smartest and the slow base runners can make up for their lack of speed by being smart. but can a team practice smart base running? Are there drills to help even the slowest base runners? there are and in a one hour practice, I always devote ten to fifteen minutes to base running drills. there are numerous base running drills we practice. Here is one of them. The first drill we practice is with a man on either second or third with less than two out and a ground ball is hit to the left side of the infield. We want the runner to advance to the next base when the fielder lets go of the ball. I have a coach play first base and have a shortstop and second baseman. The players (or base runners) line up at second. The coach stands at home plate and hits a ground ball to either the shortstop or third baseman. The runner at second will bounce off the base and once the fielder let’s go of the ball on his throw to first, puts his head down and sprints to third. The next base runner at second and the player who is at third will be the runners on the next ground ball. This a great drill and goes quick. The player who was at third and goes home, goes back to the end of the line at second. a couple of teaching points and things to remember. Teach the base runners that if they are at second and the ground ball is hit to third, they can bounce off further. same thing with the runner at third, if the ball is hit to shortstop they can bounce off further than if it was hit to the third baseman. another teaching point is that the base runner at third always slides at home. there should not even be a question about it. also in this drill have a signal with the fielders like scratching your head, and that signals the fielder to fake the throw and catch the runner off the base. This is very effective and the base runners learn from this if they are tagged out.

Base running is a part of baseball that does not get a lot of attention in practice. The best base running teams are those that drill their players in practice. another added benefit for the younger players if a coach puts an emphasis on base running, is they will tend to pay closer attention to the game when they are on base. Drill your team in base running and you will actually see how it can become your tenth man on the team and you will be happy with the benefits.

Base Running-Youth Baseball’s Tenth Man

Apple Reports Record Quarterly Earnings Boosted By iPhone, Mac Sales

by on January 24, 2012

Apple said quarterly revenue and profit were the best in its history.

Apple said it earned $13.1 billion in its first fiscal quarter as revenue climbed 73 percent to $46.3 billion. On a per-share basis, the company crushed estimates of $10.08 by bringing in $13.87.

Shares of Apple fell 2 percent during the regular session to $420.41 but shot up so fast after the closing bell that trading was briefly halted. When trading resumed, the stock settled in at slightly less than an 8 percent gain during the after-hours session.

The company sold 37 million iPhones during the quarter, up 128 percent from a year ago. it sold 15.4 million iPads, up 111 percent; 5.2 million Mac computers, up 26 percent; and 15.4 million iPods, a 21 percent decline from a year ago.

The iTunes Store posted sales of $1.7 billion during the quarter, and the company said its music catalog has surpassed 20 million different songs.

As Jobs did before him, Apple CEO Tim Cook referred to Apple TV, a gadget for moving iTunes content to TV screens, as a hobby. the company sold a record 1.4 million units during the quarter and about 2.8 million of them during the last fiscal year.

"our Apple TV product is doing quite well," said Cook. "but, in the scheme of things, we still classify Apple TV as a hobby."

Apple continues to "add things to it," Cook said. "I can't live without it. other than that, no comment."

Apple Reports Record Quarterly Earnings Boosted By iPhone, Mac Sales

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