Secular or Islamist? Egypt chooses a president

ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 21, 2012 AND THEREAFTER - FILE - This Tuesday, May 8, 2012 file photo shows a statue of Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz with electoral advertisements for presidential candidates Amr Moussa, left, and Mohammed Morsi, right, in Cairo, Egypt. The first round vote Wednesday, May 23, 2012 and Thursday is unlikely to produce a winner with over 50 percent of the vote, so a runoff between the two top vote-getters will be held June 16-17. A president will be announced June 21. Poster at center reads, "Egypt's reconstruction needs the effort of all Egyptians." (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 21, 2012 AND THEREAFTER - FILE - This Tuesday, May 8, 2012 file photo shows a statue of Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz with electoral advertisements for presidential candidates Amr Moussa, left, and Mohammed Morsi, right, in Cairo, Egypt. The first round vote Wednesday, May 23, 2012 and Thursday is unlikely to produce a winner with over 50 percent of the vote, so a runoff between the two top vote-getters will be held June 16-17. A president will be announced June 21. Poster at center reads, "Egypt's reconstruction needs the effort of all Egyptians." (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 21, 2012 AND THEREAFTER - FILE - In this Monday, April 30, 2012 file photo, supporters of Mohammed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood's presidential candidate, wave posters of him which read, "Mohammed Morsi for the Egyptian Presidency," during a campaign conference in Cairo. The first round vote Wednesday, May 23, 2012 and Thursday is unlikely to produce a winner with over 50 percent of the vote, so a runoff between the two top vote-getters will be held June 16-17. A president will be announced June 21. Out of 13 candidates, one of the four front-runners is Morsi, the candidate of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, the country's strongest political movement, which was banned under Mubarak. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)

ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 21, 2012 AND THEREAFTER - FILE - In this Thursday, May 17, 2012 file photo, a woman holds a poster which reads "Dr. Mohammed Morsi, President for Egypt, 2012," during an attempt to form a human chain in Cairo. The first round vote Wednesday, May 23, 2012 and Thursday is unlikely to produce a winner with over 50 percent of the vote, so a runoff between the two top vote-getters is scheduled for June 16-17. A president will be announced June 21. Out of 13 candidates, one of the four front-runners is Morsi, the candidate of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, the country's strongest political movement, which was banned under Mubarak. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo, File)

ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 21, 2012 AND THEREAFTER - FILE - In this Friday, May 11, 2012 file photo, Moderate Islamist, Abdel-Moneim Abolfotoh, left, and former foreign minister, Amr Moussa stand at their podiums on Egypt's first televised presidential debate in Cairo, Egypt. The first round vote Wednesday, May 23, 2012 and Thursday is unlikely to produce a winner with over 50 percent of the vote, so a runoff between the two top vote-getters will be held June 16-17. A president will be announced June 21. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Khaled, Al Masry Al Youm, File)

ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 21, 2012 AND THEREAFTER - FILE - In this Wednesday, May 16, 2012 file photo, Egyptian presidential candidate Amr Moussa, center, attends a news conference in Cairo. The first round vote Wednesday, May 23, 2012 and Thursday is unlikely to produce a winner with over 50 percent of the vote, so a runoff between the two top vote-getters will be held June 16-17. A president will be announced June 21. Moussa, served as Mubarak's foreign minister for 10 years before becoming head of the Arab League. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)

(AP) ? Sixty years after their country came under military dictatorship, Egyptians are for the first time freely electing their president.

The voting that begins Wednesday is the greatest prize won by the multitudes who took to the streets to overthrow unpopular Hosni Mubarak in the string of people-power uprisings that upended the Middle East in last year's Arab Spring.

It is also a moment of truth for this most populous Arab republic, determining whether power stays in the hands of the secular elite tied to the old regime or makes a momentous shift to the long-suppressed Islamists, with all the implications that such a change may have for relations with the U.S. and the Middle East peace effort.

Then again, most of the 50 million eligible voters will probably be looking for more modest returns ? chiefly some peace and quiet after more than a year of turmoil, bloody protests, a falling economy and rising crime.

Whoever wins, "I want him to see to the security and safety problem first," said Abdel-Rahman Shaker, a 55-year-old private security guard in Cairo. "If there is security, then we will have a better economy and production. I am looking out for my kids. I am working now, but we want a better life for our kids."

However, the new chapter to be opened by this election is likely to be just as tumultuous, facing contentious issues that no one has dealt with since Mubarak's fall: the economy, the role of Islam, the future of democracy, the relationship with the U.S., Egypt's longtime backer, and the fate of the historic 1979 peace treaty with Israel.

Egypt mirrors the chaotic trajectories that the Arab Spring revolts have taken after an initial burst of optimism that long repressed populations across the region could replace dictators with democracy.

The transition in Tunisia, the first nation to rise up in late 2010, has been the smoothest, with elections and a start to writing a new constitution. Post-Gadhafi Libya is torn among militias. Yemen's leader, Ali Abdullah Saleh, stepped down earlier this year but remains a shadow power. Syria has turned into a bloodbath. Bahrain, a vital U.S. ally and home to the U.S. Navy in the region, still suffers spasms of sectarian violence.

In Egypt itself, the 15 months since Mubarak's ouster have been defined by deadly street clashes over demands by protesters whose demands range from minority Christian rights through the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to the departure from power of the generals who have run the country since Mubarak stepped down.

Well over 100 people have been killed in these clashes, including at least nine this month when protesters were attacked by armed men suspected to be supporters of the military.

At the same time, Egyptians are reveling in a new world of combative, televised politics, flesh-pressing politicians, presidential debates, rallies and hecklers.

"God and the people will guarantee that the next president will stay the course. If he does something wrong, we will kick him out," said Al-Sayed Hassan Eid, a 65-year-old worker at a Cairo orphanage. "People are now aware. Before we couldn't speak or open our mouth. There was state security who threatened to arrest us if we speak."

"The era of fear is now over," he said.

None of the 13 candidates is likely to top 50 percent in voting Wednesday and Thursday, so a runoff vote is set for June 16-17. A president will be announced June 21, and the generals promise to yield power by July 1.

On the secular side, front-runners are Amr Moussa, Mubarak's foreign minister for 10 years, and Ahmed Shafiq, a former Air Force commander and civil aviation minister whom Mubarak made prime minister during his last days in power.

On the Islamist side are Mohammed Morsi for the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, the country's strongest political movement, which was banned under Mubarak, and Abdel-Moneim Abolfotoh, a moderate Islamist who broke with the Brotherhood and has emerged as a crossover candidate, with appeal among liberals and their polar opposites, the ultraconservative Islamists known as Salafis.

That lineup is already an explosive mix. The secular leaders of the revolution fear either Moussa or Shafiq would perpetuate elements of the old, corrupt police state they served. Some Islamists threaten a second uprising.

"Voting for these people means joining them in sin," a Brotherhood cleric, Munir Gomaa, said in a religious edict. "It is not permitted by Islamic law ... to bring back these faces that the revolution sought to remove."

The latest polls show Moussa and Shafiq in the lead, followed by Abolfotoh and then Morsi, with up to half the voters undecided. But polling, highly restricted under Mubarak, is new to Egypt and its reliability is unknown.

Many doubt Morsi could be lagging so far behind, given the Brotherhood's proven electoral strength; in the post-Mubarak parliamentary election, the first in which the Muslim Brotherhood was allowed to run openly, it captured nearly half the seats.

Any result brings its own tensions. A Morsi victory would mean the Brotherhood, holding the presidency and dominating Parliament, could set about Islamizing Egypt's government. But it might act with its customary pragmatism to avoid angering liberals and, more important, the military and security forces.

A Shafiq or Moussa victory would likely spell confrontation between the president and the legislature. The Brotherhood insists that as the biggest faction, it gets to name a prime minister and form a government. But the interim constitution, unless it is rewritten, gives that right solidly to the president.

For most of his rule, Mubarak ? like his predecessors ? ran unopposed in yes-or-no referendums. Rampant fraud guaranteed ruling party victories in parliamentary elections. Even when, in 2005, Mubarak let challengers oppose him in elections, he ended up not only trouncing his liberal rival but jailing him.

Now he is 84, ailing and on trial on charges of complicity in the killing of hundreds of protesters during the 18-day uprising. But the downside of his departure is that Egyptian governance has been on hold for 15 months, with a series of military-appointed interim governments doing little to tackle the country's problems.

Burst sewers go unrepaired, and unenforced laws allow illegal building to gobble up precious farmland. Crime has spiraled because police forces have largely left the streets, bruised and resentful after being beaten by protesters during the anti-Mubarak uprising.

Writing a new constitution has not begun, and the panel due to draft it has not even been formed. The new system's shape has hardly been discussed ? which powers will go to parliament, which to the president, how civil rights will be enshrined.

Almost nothing has been done on the major goal of the revolution: dismantling the Mubarak system that strangled political life. The security forces and domestic spy agencies that were the bedrock of the police state have not been reformed. Government ministries and agencies that for three decades operated largely through patronage and corruption remain unreformed. The military, through retired generals, pervades top state positions.

"These challenges will definitely not be resolved by the election or anytime soon thereafter," said Egypt expert Denis Sullivan of Northeastern University, Illinois. "The election is a crucial step through the fire of Egypt's ongoing, and still lengthy, transition toward a more participatory political system."

___

Associated Press correspondent Sarah El Deeb contributed to this report.

Associated Press

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Obama's Weekly Address - Implementing Wall St Reform

[ [ [['A picture is worth a thousand words', 5]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/why-facebook-bought-instagram-4-theories-160400376.html', '[Related: Why Facebook bought Instagram: 4 theories]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 9]], 'http://contributor.yahoo.com/join/yahoonews_virginiabeach', '[Did you witness the jet crash? Share your story with Yahoo! News]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Dick Clark', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/dick-clark-dies-at-82-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/c/21/c217c61aa2d5872244c08caa13c16ec5.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'Reuters', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

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Legal highs making the drug war obsolete ? Mind Hacks

If you want any evidence that drugs have won the drug war, you just need to read the scientific studies on legal highs.

If you?re not keeping track of the ?legal high? scene it?s important to remember that the first examples, synthetic cannabinoids sold as ?Spice? and ?K2? incense, were only detected in 2009.

Shortly after amphetamine-a-like stimulant drugs, largely based on variations on pipradrol and the cathinones appeared, and now ketamine-like drugs such as methoxetamine have become widespread.

Since 1997, 150 new psychoactive substances were reported. Almost a third of those appeared in 2010.

Last year, the US government banned several of these drugs although the effect has been minimal as the legal high laboratories have over-run the trenches of the drug warriors.

A new study just published in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology tracked the chemical composition of legal highs as the bans were introduced.

A key question was whether the legal high firms would just try and use the same banned chemicals and sell them under a different name.

The research team found that since the ban only 4.9% of the products contained any trace of the recently banned drugs. The remaining 95.1% of products contained drugs not covered by the law.

The chemicals in legal highs have fundamentally changed since the 2011 ban and the labs have outrun the authorities in less than a year.

Another new study has looked at legal highs derived from pipradrol ? a drug developed in 1940s for treating obesity, depression, ADHD and narcolepsy.

It was made illegal in made countries during the 70s due to its potential for abuse because it gives an amphetamine-like high.

The study found that legal high labs have just been running through variations of the banned drug using simple modifications of the original molecule to make new unregulated versions.

The following paragraph is from this study and even if you?re not a chemist, you can get an impression of how the drug is been tweaked in the most minor ways to create new legal versions.

Modifications include: addition of halogen, alkyl or alkoxy groups on one or both of the phenyl rings or addition of alkyl, alkenyl, haloalkyl and hydroxyalkyl groups on the nitrogen atom. Other modifications that have been reported include the substitution of a piperidine ring with an azepane ring (7-membered ring), a morpholine ring or a pyridine ring or the fusion of a piperidine ring with a benzene ring. These molecules, producing amphetamine-like effects, increase the choice of new stimulants to be used as legal highs in the coming years.

New, unknown and poorly understand psychoactive chemicals are appearing faster than they can be regulated.

The market is being driven by a demand for drugs that have the same effects as existing legal highs but won?t get you thrown in prison.

The drug war isn?t only being lost, it?s being made obsolete.

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Serbians vote for president under threat of protest

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Pro-Western incumbent Boris Tadic and rightist Tomislav Nikolic went head to head on Sunday in a tense run-off election for Serbian president and the right to lead the struggling nation into talks on joining the European Union.

Despite economic stagnation and rising unemployment, Tadic is tipped to defeat Nikolic for the third time since 2004 as Serbia slowly sheds the legacy of a decade of war and isolation under late strongman Slobodan Milosevic.

A Tadic victory would keep power firmly in the hands of his Democratic Party.

But opposition allegations of fraud in parliamentary and first-round presidential elections two weeks ago could cause an upset, or cast a shadow over the result of the run-off if Nikolic carries out a threat to call supporters into the streets.

"After all the unfulfilled promises and corruption under Tadic, I believe Serbia needs to be refreshed and that's why I voted for Nikolic," voter Miodrag Petrovic, a 38-year-old marketing executive, said shortly after polling stations opened at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT).

Election authorities and foreign monitors found no evidence of the 500,000 votes Nikolic says were forged in the parliamentary and first-round presidential polls.

Nikolic's Serbian Progressive Party says its monitors will confiscate ballot boxes and close polling stations if they observe irregularities.

"Our intention is to fight. What else can we do?" Nikolic's deputy, Aleksandar Vucic, told Serbian state television. "We are running to beat the thieves and liars."

A former member of the ultranationalist Radical Party, Nikolic was in government with Milosevic when Serbia was bombed by NATO in 1999, but since last losing to Tadic in 2008 he has tried to reinvent himself as a pro-European conservative.

Tadic, who beat Nikolic by less than one percentage point in the first round, says his opponent's change in direction is purely cosmetic.

Handing power to Nikolic, he says, would slam the brakes on reform and reverse the process of reconciliation between Serbia and its ex-Yugoslav neighbours since Milosevic's ouster in 2000.

"We haven't crossed the Rubicon, but we are on the verge of it, and that's why we need another five-year term to consolidate the process," Tadic, 54, told Reuters in an interview.

KOSOVO

The lean, tanned and telegenic Tadic, campaigning in rolled-up sleeves and open-necked shirt, is seen as a safe pair of hands in a region that has seen enough loose cannons.

Nikolic, 60, is a dour former cemetery manager. A stiff and uninspiring orator, his straight-talking, man-of-the-people manner nevertheless appeals to rural Serbs and voters tired of the grinding transition from socialism to capitalism.

"Nikolic is a man of the past," said Ksenija Govedarica, 54, a schoolteacher in the capital's Socialist-era Novi Beograd (New Belgrade) municipality. "Tadic is also feeble and unconvincing, but I voted for the lesser evil. And at least Tadic is much better looking."

The West is watching closely, encouraged by Nikolic's conversion to the ultimate aim of EU membership but unsure about the substance of his policy or his capacity to rule.

At least rhetorically, the two sides differ little in economic policy or their approach to Kosovo, Serbia's former province where Belgrade is propping up a de facto ethnic partition four years after the Albanian-majority territory declared independence.

The EU made Serbia, population 7.3 million, an official candidate for membership in March, and could set a date for talks early next year if Belgrade takes steps to improve relations with Kosovo.

A Nikolic victory would likely usher in a difficult period of "cohabitation" with a Democrat-led government. Under the constitution, the prime minister is more powerful than the president, but the head of state can hold up legislation.

Nikolic's party narrowly won the parliamentary vote but the Democrats, who came second, are widely expected to make a coalition deal with the Socialists and form a government.

Nikolic accuses Tadic of overseeing a creeping culture of cronyism, deepening government control over the media and an economic slide that has seen unemployment reach 24 percent.

The economy will struggle to avoid stagnation this year, pummelled by the crisis in the euro zone, the Balkans' main source of investment and trade.

Political uncertainty has seen the dinar currency fall 5.81 percent against the euro this year, and in January the International Monetary Fund froze a standby loan deal over Serbia's rising budget deficit and public debt.

Analysts say the next government will have to cap pensions and public sector wages, cut jobs in state-run companies and accelerate the sale of key state assets.

Polls close at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT). An unofficial projection of results is expected by 10 p.m. (2000 GMT).

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Blog Archive ? The best way Business Internet Marketing is Enforced?

Business internet marketing has turned into a significant element in most organization in the modern days and it?s inadequate to get just a simple site for these companies, however these internet sites should be great and simple to use to have any impact on the company?s development. Thus, a lot of companies employ a skilled group of individuals in order to focus on their business web marketing, and these men under the management of an ingenious leader can do marvels to a company?s improvement. The choice of accomplishing business internet marketing is needless to say is determined by the director panel and the CEO of a company however in many instances it is the only kind of advertising a few companies apply.

Business web marketing features three key targets, which are performing research, transmitting the company?s tactics to the community in addition to advertising the companies goods. If perhaps a company desires to do business web marketing, the initial thing they would need to do is to begin a web site. That include words, pictures even video clips to give a more rewarding photo of the goods to its consumer. These internet websites can also have the choice the place that the customer could purchase his preferred item making use of his credit card and the internet site should include information of shipping along with the added cost required to pay for delivery. Sites could possibly be the online counterpart to brochures.

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Lukas seeks 6th Preakness win with Optimizer

BALTIMORE (AP) ? Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas was nestled on a corner bench in front of the stakes barn at Pimlico Race Course, thinking back to a time when he was nothing more than a young man trying to make a living in the horse racing game.

"I remember sitting right there on that bench 32 years ago," he said, pointing to his left. "I had one horse sitting in that first stall and we won it with Codex right here. And I remember saying to my son, I said, 'What's the big deal about this? (Heck), we'll win a bunch of these.' I didn't realize it was going to take eight more years to get the next one."

Codex won in 1980, the first time Lukas ever saddled up a Preakness horse. He next won in 1985 with Tank's Prospect, and although his memory is perhaps a bit shaky regarding the timing of each victory, the 76-year-old Lukas knows darn well he's won the Preakness five times.

He hasn't been in the Preakness winner's circle since 1999 with Charismatic, and he has a decided long shot in Optimizer on Saturday. But it would be foolish to dismiss his chances.

Because he's D. Wayne Lukas, and that means something when it comes to big races. He does, after all, hold the Preakness record with 36 starters.

"That experience factor. There is no how-to book," he said Thursday. "You can't pull it up in the library or on a chip in a computer that says this is how you do it. It's all experience. So when you get me or (Bob) Baffert or some of these guys that have been here a little bit, that's a tremendous edge."

Baffert, with 8-5 favorite Bodemeister, and Doug O'Neill, trainer of Kentucky Derby winner I'll Have Another, have attracted much of the attention this week. Optimizer has been installed as a 30-1 long shot, and Lukas didn't protest the odds too vigorously because he knows it's going to take a near-perfect race for Optimizer to turned around his 11th-place finish at Churchill Downs.

"He's got to run better than he has," Lukas said. "He's showed some brilliance or I wouldn't have him here. But he's got to improve. He has to have a trip. He has to get a chance to run. He's not a stop-start, nifty-type horse that you can get some adversity in the race and then recover. He just needs a clean run. If he gets a run at them, he's very sound and he finishes very well."

He acknowledged that this race is pretty much a setup for the Belmont, which at 1? miles is better suited for Optimizer's talent.

"Big sweeping turns, smaller field," Lukas noted. "The Derby was a tough thing for him because there were 20 in it and he had the 2-hole. He had to work all through the traffic. That was not a good scenario. As soon as we drew the 2-hole I thought our chances really diminished greatly. This is a little better scenario, but I think the next one will be his cup of tea. He'll definitely get a mile-and-a-half where a lot of these (horses) won't even be around."

Someone asked Lukas if it's harder to come to Pimlico with a Derby winner, or whether it's easier without one because there's no pressure to keep the Triple Crown bid alive.

"The spotlight is what you make it. That never bothered me," he said. "I always thought that was part of the territory. You only worry when you're 30-1 in this thing and nobody is asking for your opinion. Then you've got a problem. As long as you've got a good horse, you've won the Derby, you've got that notch on your belt, this one's easier."

Unfortunately for Lukas, he's got that 30-1 horse.

"That doesn't worry me," he said. "I've already won five of them. I don't have to wake up every morning and wonder if I can train one of these. I'm really comfortable where I'm at. After being in 30 of these I don't feel any pressure at all. I've been there. I've had the highs and the lows in this particular race. I'm very comfortable with what I've got, in what I'm doing."

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Sweet Taste of Success for Yorkshire's Female ... - Quest PR Blog

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Forward Ladies Montage

A Montage of Forward Ladies, with Etta Cohen, Founder (bottom right in white)

Women are excellent networkers ? as highlighted in a Forbes article ? and endorsed by Quest PR who puts the spotlight on Yorkshire?s dynamic female networking groups.

A survey of 12,000 small business owners global conducted by the authors of Business Networking and Sex (not what you think) revealed that our gender really does affect our networking skills. Co-author and BNI founder Dr Ivan Misner said that women focus on building the relationship first while men keep firmly focused on the business aspects. Do you agree?

We?re very proud of Yorkshire?s female networking groups which enable woman to forge and develop relationships which, in many instances, turn into long-standing business partnerships, new business ventures and collaborations ? and true friendships.

One of the region?s most prominent and long-standing networking groups is Forward Ladies.? Founded by Etta Cohen in 2000 when a handful of professional women met on a cold blustery day in a cafe to share their business experiences, the forum has expanded across the UK. It hosts host over 400 events a year including Positive Women?s Days, Spa Evenings and Business Lunches.

The Forward Ladies offering also includes a bi-monthly development forum called Female Emerging Entrepreneurs which Quest PR MD Sharon Cain formed with Etta and high profile entrepreneur and speaker Deirdre Bounds in 2007. Members present their issues and challenges and share best practice in the truest possible sense and Sharon ran a group for three years in Leeds.

As the name suggests, Ladies Just Wanna Have Lunch created by Karina Navarro-Moreno Spittle working with Gill Laidler of Ghost Communications ?provides monthly networking sessions at The Leeds Club (Club LS1) with presentations. Look out for details of forthcoming events when Quest PR?s Sharon Cain and Carol Rees will present a video blogging session.

Cr?me de la Cr?me is a Harrogate group founded by Sarah Sanpher who emphasises that, ?Whilst the atmosphere is warm and friendly, serious business happens?.? Evening Networking Events take place every 2nd Wednesday of the month and Networking Lunches take place the last Friday of the month.

The Yorkshire Mafia Women?s group ? also found on Twitter? and run by Sarah Louise Walker is described as a ?thriving group of women who are also members of the Yorkshire Mafia?. The group has an active discussion board, hosts regular drinks evenings and meet-ups and is the fastest growing business group for female professionals in Yorkshire.

Send us a tweet, or leave a comment below to let us know if you go to any ladies? only networking ? if so, do you find it more useful than mixed-gender networking events?

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Understanding What A Personal Bankruptcy Means For You

Safeguard your most valuable asset?your home. Filing for bankruptcy does not mean you have to lose your home. For instance, if your home value has dropped recently, or even if you happen to hold a second mortgage, you may not necessarily lose the home. There are also homestead exemptions which, depending on your other finances, may allow to remain in your home.

After filing bankruptcy, many people refuse to use credit cards or get loans. However, building a good credit history requires that you occasionally use credit. Avoiding credit altogether prevents you from rebuilding your credit standing, and will therefore serve as an obstacle when you wish to finance a house or a vehicle. Start with one single credit card, and rebuild your credit once more.

Don?t file for bankruptcy until your represented by an attorney. It is unlikely that you will be able to comprehend all the various rules and regulations involved in bankruptcy law. An attorney will make sure that everything is being done correctly.

Obtain copies of all credit reports about six months after the bankruptcy petition has been approved. Check to make sure your credit report accurately reflects your recently discharged debts. If there are any errors, make sure that you take action to resolve them as soon as possible.

You should not let your bankruptcy lawyer take complete charge of your case. Your attorney is a professional who knows about laws regarding bankruptcy, but you should still know as much as you can about the proceedings. You might feel overwhelmed by the process and want to leave your bankruptcy entirely up to your attorney, but stay involved ? your financial future is involved.

After your bankruptcy goes through, avoid taking on new debt. There are lenders out there who will try to tempt you with high interest loans and credit cards which are directed towards people who have gone through the bankruptcy process. There are normally the strings attached of high interest rates. You need to maintain tight control over your finances following bankruptcy; using unfavorable credit offers can land you in serious debt trouble all over again.

If you are in a situation that may result in bankruptcy, you will probably have a lot of contact with creditors. You should always get written documents to support any agreement you make with them. Any flexibility with creditors can affect the process of bankruptcy, as long as it is recorded.

Figure out what caused the financial situation you are in right now. Unexpected medical bills is one thing, but blowing money on shopping is another. If you have a history of buying lots of useless junk on credit, you may require professional help, lest you find yourself in this situation against in a few years.

It?s important that you understand what bankruptcy is and how it will change your life before you attempt to file a claim. The United States Some valuable resources include the U.S. Dept of Justice and American Bankruptcy Institute. The more knowledgeable you are, the more you can be sure that you are making the right decision and that you are taking the right steps to ensure your personal bankruptcy goes as smoothly as possible.

Bankruptcy is extremely popular nowadays due to the terrible economy. When deciding how to tackle your bankruptcy, make sure that you employ the advice that you read here.

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