tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63088015671295779742024-03-07T21:17:21.414-08:00what where howwww.whatyouwant.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15585150592020536784noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6308801567129577974.post-76922085420940570482009-08-14T09:48:00.000-07:002009-08-14T10:22:35.660-07:00JokesWhy did the first monkey fall out of the tree?Because it died.Why did the second monkey fall out of the tree?Because it was holding hands with the first monkeywhy did the third monkey fall out of the tree?because it thought they were playing a game!<br /><br /><br />A thief went to a house to rob it but was caught by the house wife that was very fatty,she sat on him and told her son to call 911 thief: please hurry!!www.whatyouwant.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15585150592020536784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6308801567129577974.post-24280250602450095332009-08-10T05:49:00.000-07:002009-08-10T06:05:50.760-07:00JokesOne day there was a pregnant women who was about to go into labor with 3 children.Her husband didn't want to be any part of this so he decided to leave her and took the car.So she had to walk to the hospital all by herself. All of a sudden she came to a dark alley and of course she went through it and all of a sudden a man pops out and shoots her in the stomach. When she got to the hospital she was ok and the babies were fine as well.16 years later16 years later the first child who was a girl came to the mother and said "mom mom guess what?" "What?"I pissed out a bullet.So the mother told her what happened 16 years ago.Then the second born child who was also a girl came to her mother and said "mom mom guess what I pissed out a bullet."So the mom told her what happend 16 years ago.Then the 3rd born child came in who was a boy said "mom mom guess what?" The mom said "let me guess you pissed out a bullet." "No i was peeing and i shot the dog!"<br /><br /><br />There was once a young man who, in his youth, professed his desire to become a great writer.When asked to define "great" he said, "I want to write stuff that the whole world will read, stuff that people will react to on a truly emotional level, stuff that will make them scream, cry, howl in pain and anger!"He now works for Microsoft, writing error messages.<br /><br /><br />It had been raining for days and days, and a terrible flood had come over the land. The waters rose so high that one man was forced to climb onto the roof of his house.As the waters rose higher and higher, a man in a rowboat appeared, and told him to get in. "No," replied the man on the roof. "I have faith in the Lord; the Lord will save me." So the man in the rowboat went away. The man on the roof prayed for God to save him.The waters rose higher and higher, and suddenly a speedboat appeared. "Climb in!" shouted a man in the boat. "No," replied the man on the roof. "I have faith in the Lord; the Lord will save me." So the man in the speedboat went away. The man on the roof prayed for God to save him.The waters continued to rise. A helicopter appeared and over the loudspeaker, the pilot announced he would lower a rope to the man on the roof. "No," replied the man on the roof. "I have faith in the Lord; the Lord will save me." So the helicopter went away. The man on the roof prayed for God to save him.The waters rose higher and higher, and eventually they rose so high that the man on the roof was washed away, and alas, the poor man drowned.Upon arriving in heaven, the man marched straight over to God. "Heavenly Father," he said, "I had faith in you, I prayed to you to save me, and yet you did nothing. Why?" God gave him a puzzled look, and replied "I sent you two boats and a helicopter, what more did you expect?"www.whatyouwant.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15585150592020536784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6308801567129577974.post-67756556219463306722009-08-10T05:01:00.000-07:002009-08-14T09:47:40.492-07:00JokesAlright from now , this blog is gonna be about jokes and funny encounters.<br /><br /><strong>Lawyer Jokes:</strong><br /><strong></strong><br />A local United Way office realized that the organization had never received a donation from the town's most successful lawyer. The person in charge of contributions called him to persuade him to contribute."Our research shows that out of a yearly income of at least $500,000, you give not a penny to charity. Wouldn't you like to give back to the community in some way?"The lawyer mulled this over for a moment and replied, "First, did your research also show that my mother is dying after a long illness, and has medical bills that are several times her annual income?"Embarrassed, the United Way rep mumbled, "Um ... no."The lawyer interrupts, "or that my brother, a disabled veteran, is blind and confined to a wheelchair?"The stricken United Way rep began to stammer out an apology, but was interrupted again."or that my sister's husband died in a traffic accident," the lawyer's voice rising in indignation, "leaving her penniless with three children?!"The humiliated United Way rep, completely beaten, said simply, "I had no idea..."On a roll, the lawyer cut him off once again, "So if I don't give any money to them, why should I give any to you?"<br /><br /><br /><br />1. Was that the same nose you broke as a child?<br />2. Now, doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, in most cases he just passes quietly away and doesn't know anything about it until the next morning?<br />3. Q: What happened then? A: He told me, he says, "I have to kill you because you can identify me." Q: Did he kill you?<br />4. Was it you or your brother that was killed in the war?<br />5. The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he?<br />6. Were you alone or by yourself?<br />7. How long have you been a French Canadian?<br />8. Do you have any children or anything of that kind?<br />9. Q: I show you exhibit 3 and ask you if you recognize that picture. A: That's me. Q: Were you present when that picture was taken?<br />10. Were you present in court this morning when you were sworn in?<br />11. Q: Now, Mrs. Johnson, how was your first marriage terminated? A: By death. Q: And by whose death was it terminated?<br />12. Q: Do you know how far pregnant you are now? A: I'll be three months on November 8. Q: Apparently, then, the date of conception was August 8? A: Yes. Q: What were you doing at that time?<br />13. Q: Mrs. Jones, do you believe you are emotionally stable? A: I used to be.Q: How many times have you committed suicide?<br />14. So you were gone until you returned?<br />15. Q: She had three children, right? A: Yes. Q: How many were boys? A: None. Q: Were there girls?<br />16. You don't know what it was, and you didn't know what it looked like, but can you describe it? 17. Q: You say that the stairs went down to the basement? A: Yes. Q: And these stairs, did they go up also?<br />18. Q: Have you lived in this town all your life? A: Not yet.<br />19. A Texas attorney, realizing he was on the verge of unleashing a stupid question, interrupted himself and said, "Your Honor, I'd like to strike the next question."<br />20. Q: Do you recall approximately the time that you examined the body of Mr. Edington at the Rose Chapel? A: It was in the evening. The autopsy started about 8:30 p.m. Q: And Mr. Edington was dead at the time, is that correct? A: No, you stupid, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy<br /><br /><br />Joe grew up in a small town, then moved away to attend college and law school. He decided to come back to the small town because he could be a big man in this small town. He really wanted to impress everyone. He opened his new law office, but business was very slow at first. One day, he saw a man coming up the sidewalk. He decided to make a big impression on this new client when he arrived.As the man came to the door, Joe picked up the phone. He motioned the man in, all the while talking.."No. Absolutely not. You tell those clowns in New York that I won't settle this case for less than one million..""Yes. The Appeals Court has agreed to hear that case next week. I'll be handling the primary argument and the other members of my team will provide support..""Okay. Tell the DA that I'll meet with him next week to discuss the details.."This sort of thing went on for almost 5 minutes. All the while the man sat patiently as Joe rattled instructions. Finally, Joe put down the phone and turned to the man. "I'm sorry for the delay, but as you can see, I'm very busy.What can I do for you?"The man replied "I'm from the phone company..I came to repair up your phone."<br /><br /><br />A doctor, a lawyer, a little boy and a priest were out for a Sunday afternoon flight on a small private plane. Suddenly, the plane developed engine trouble.In spite of the best efforts of the pilot, the plane started to go down. Finally, the pilot grabbed a parachute, yelled to the passengers that they had better jump, and bailed out.Unfortunately, there were only three parachutes remaining. The doctor grabbed one and said "I'm a doctor, I save lives, so I must live," and jumped out.The lawyer then said, "I'm a lawyer and lawyers are the smartest people in the world. I deserve to live." He also grabbed a parachute and jumped.The priest looked at the little boy and said, "My son, I've lived a long and full life. You are young and have your whole life ahead of you. Take the last parachute and live in peace."The little boy handed the parachute back to the priest and said, "Not to worry, Father. The 'smartest man in the world' just took off with my back pack."<br /><br /><br />A lawyer died and was delivered into the devil's hands. "You will be spending eternity here, but I'll let you pick your own room from three I'll show you," the devil said.In the first room were thousands of people standing on their heads on a brick floor. "I don't like that," said the man. "Show me the second."In the second room were thousands of people standing on their heads on a wood floor. "Well, that's better than brick," the man said, "but show me the third."In the third, thousands of people were standing ankle-deep in a room full of maggot infested garbage, all drinking coffee. "I'll choose this room," he said. Into the room he went and the door slammed behind him.Immediately, the voice of a minor demon rang out, "OK, coffee break is over, back on your heads."<br /><br /><br />As Mr. Smith was on his death bed, he attempted to formulate a plan that would allow him to take at least some of his considerable wealth with him. He called for the three men he trusted most his lawyer, his doctor, and his clergyman. He told them, "I'm going to give you each $30,000 in cash before I die. At my funeral, I want you to place the money in my coffin so that I can try to take it with me." All three agreed to do this and were given the money. At the funeral, each approached the coffin in turn and placed an envelope inside. While riding in the limousine to the cemetery, the clergyman said "I have to confess something to you fellows. Brother Smith was a good churchman all his life, and I know he would have wanted me to do this. The church needed a new baptistery very badly, and I took $10,000 of the money he gave me and bought one. I only put $20,000 in the coffin." The physician then said, "Well, since we're confiding in one another, I might as well tell you that I didn't put the full $30,000 in the coffin either. Smith had a disease that could have been diagnosed sooner if I had this very new machine, but the machine cost $20,000 and I couldn't afford it then. I used $20,000 of the money to buy the machine so that I might be able to save another patient. I know that Smith would have wanted me to do that." The lawyer then said, "I'm ashamed of both of you. When I put my envelope into that coffin, it held my personal <strong>check</strong> for the full $30,000."<br /><br /><br /><strong>Fart Jokes:</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong></strong><br />There once was an old couple who had been married for thirty years.Every morning the old boy would wake up and give off an enormous fart, much to his long suffering wife's annoyance."You'll fart your guts out one of these days," she always complained.After a particularly bad week the wife decided to have her revenge and got up early, placing some turkey giblets in the bed next to the old boy's arse.While making breakfast downstairs she heard his usual morning fart reverberate through the floorboards followed by a scream.Twenty minutes later a rather shaken man came downstairs."You was right all along Missus," the old man says, "I finally did fart my guts out, but by the grace of God, and these two fingers, I managed to push 'em back in!"<br /><br /><br />Doctor, "What seems to be the problem?"Patient, "Doc, I've got the farts. I mean I fart all the time,"The Doctor nods, "Hmm."Patient, "My farts do not stink and you can't hear them. It's just that I fart all the time. Look, we've been talking here for about 10 minutes and I've farted five times. You didn't hear them and you don't smell them, do you?""Hmm," says the Doctor,He picks up his pad and writes out a prescription.The patient is thrilled "Great doc. This prescription, will it really clear up my farts?""No," sighs the Doctor, "The prescription is to clear your sinuses. Next week I want you back here for a hearing test."<br /><br /><br />A man worked hard all day digging the garden and felt very stiff and sore.His wife fluttered about him, pleased with the amount of work he had done and anxious to get him to do some more."Have a nice soak in the bath and I'll bring you a drink," she suggested smiling."Good idea," says the husband looking forward to being waited on.He's in the bath when she comes in with a nice glass of Scotch which he accepts happily."If there's anything else you'd like just call," says the wife as she leaves the bathroom.When she got halfway along the landing the husband relaxes completely and lets off an enormous long fart in the bath.A few minutes later, despite it being a very warm Summer's evening, the wife comes in with a fluffy bed warmer"What the heck is that for?" asks the husband snappily."Oh Darling," says the wife, flustered, "I thought I heard you say, "Whataboutahottawaterbottlewww.whatyouwant.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15585150592020536784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6308801567129577974.post-82766975260148313822009-08-08T04:15:00.000-07:002009-08-08T04:32:23.558-07:00Gulf War<span style="color:#000000;">The Persian Gulf War (2 August 1990 – 28 February 1991), known also as the Gulf War, the First Gulf War, or often as the Second Gulf War or more commonly Desert Storm and by </span><a title="Saddam Hussein" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddam_Hussein"><span style="color:#000000;">Saddam Hussein</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> as the Mother of all Battles was a military conflict initiated by a </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Coalition of Gulf War" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalition_of_Gulf_War"><span style="color:#000000;">coalition force</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> from 34 nations, with </span><a title="United Nations" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations"><span style="color:#000000;">United Nations</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> authorization, between </span><a title="Iraq" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq"><span style="color:#000000;">Iraq</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and the coalition with the purpose of expelling Iraqi forces from </span><a title="Kuwait" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuwait"><span style="color:#000000;">Kuwait</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> after Iraq's </span><a title="Invasion of Kuwait" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Kuwait"><span style="color:#000000;">occupation and annexation</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> of Kuwait in August 1990.<br />The great majority of the military forces in the coalition were from the </span><a title="United States" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States"><span style="color:#000000;">United States</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, with </span><a title="Saudi Arabia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia"><span style="color:#000000;">Saudi Arabia</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, the </span><a title="United Kingdom" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom"><span style="color:#000000;">United Kingdom</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and </span><a title="Egypt" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt"><span style="color:#000000;">Egypt</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> as leading contributors, in that order. Around US$40 billion of the approximately US$60 billion cost was paid by Saudi Arabia.</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gulf_War#cite_note-14"><span style="color:#000000;">[15]</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">[</span><a title="Wikipedia:Citing sources" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources"><span style="color:#000000;">page needed</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">]<br />The invasion of </span><a title="Kuwait" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuwait"><span style="color:#000000;">Kuwait</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> by </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Iraqi army" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_army"><span style="color:#000000;">Iraqi troops</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> had been met with immediate </span><a title="Economic sanctions" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_sanctions"><span style="color:#000000;">economic sanctions</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> against Iraq by members of the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="UN Security Council" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN_Security_Council"><span style="color:#000000;">UN Security Council</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, and with immediate preparation for war by the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Canada. The expulsion of Iraqi troops from Kuwait began in January 1991 and was a decisive victory for the coalition forces, which took over Kuwait and entered Iraqi territory.<br />Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, and bordering areas of </span><a title="Saudi Arabia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia"><span style="color:#000000;">Saudi Arabia</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. Iraq launched </span><a title="Scud" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scud"><span style="color:#000000;">missiles</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> against coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia, and at civilian centers in </span><a title="Israel" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel"><span style="color:#000000;">Israel</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> in an attempt to precipitate retaliation by the Jewish state that would destabilize the coalition by alienating its Arab members.<br />After Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, U.S. President </span><a title="George H. W. Bush" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_H._W._Bush"><span style="color:#000000;">George H. W. Bush</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> deployed </span><a title="United States Army" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army"><span style="color:#000000;">U.S. Army</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="United States Navy" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Navy"><span style="color:#000000;">Navy</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="United States Marine Corps" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marine_Corps"><span style="color:#000000;">Marine Corps</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="United States Air Force" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Air_Force"><span style="color:#000000;">Air Force</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, and </span><a title="United States Coast Guard" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Coast_Guard"><span style="color:#000000;">Coast Guard</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> units to Saudi Arabia as a part of </span><a title="Operation Desert Shield" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Desert_Shield"><span style="color:#000000;">Operation Desert Shield</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, while urging other countries to send their own forces to the scene. UN coalition-building efforts were so successful that by the time the fighting (Operation Desert Storm) began on 16 January 1991, twelve countries had sent naval forces, joining the regional states of Saudi Arabia and the </span><a title="Persian Gulf" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Gulf"><span style="color:#000000;">Persian Gulf</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> states, as well as the huge array of the U.S. Navy, which deployed six </span><a title="Aircraft carrier" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_carrier"><span style="color:#000000;">carrier</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> </span><a title="Carrier battle group" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrier_battle_group"><span style="color:#000000;">battle groups</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">.<br />Eight countries had sent ground forces, joining the regional troops of </span><a title="Bahrain" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahrain"><span style="color:#000000;">Bahrain</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, Kuwait, </span><a title="Oman" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oman"><span style="color:#000000;">Oman</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Qatar" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar"><span style="color:#000000;">Qatar</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, Saudi Arabia, and the </span><a title="United Arab Emirates" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Arab_Emirates"><span style="color:#000000;">United Arab Emirates</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, as well as the seventeen heavy and six light brigades of the U.S. Army and nine Marine regiments, with their large support and service forces. Four countries had sent </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Combat aircraft" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_aircraft"><span style="color:#000000;">combat aircraft</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, joining the local air forces of Kuwait, </span><a title="Qatar" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar"><span style="color:#000000;">Qatar</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, and Saudi Arabia, as well as the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and </span><a title="United States Marine Corps Aviation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marine_Corps_Aviation"><span style="color:#000000;">U.S. Marine aviation</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, for a grand total of 2,430 fixed-wing aircraft.<br />Iraq had only a few </span><a title="Gunboat" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunboat"><span style="color:#000000;">gunboats</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and small missile craft to match the coalition's </span><a title="Armada" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armada"><span style="color:#000000;">armada</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, but approximately 1.2 million ground troops, 5,800 </span><a title="Tank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank"><span style="color:#000000;">tanks</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, 5,100 other </span><a title="Armoured fighting vehicle" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armoured_fighting_vehicle"><span style="color:#000000;">armoured vehicles</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, and 3,850 </span><a title="Artillery" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artillery"><span style="color:#000000;">artillery</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> pieces all made for a greater strength on the ground. Iraq also had 750 fighters and bombers, 200 other aircraft, and elaborate missile and gun defenses.<br />"Operation Desert Storm" was the U.S. name of the </span><a title="AirLand Battle" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AirLand_Battle"><span style="color:#000000;">air and land operations</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and is often incorrectly used to refer to the entire conflict; although the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="U.S. Postal Service" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Postal_Service"><span style="color:#000000;">U.S. Postal Service</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> issued a </span><a title="Postage stamp" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamp"><span style="color:#000000;">postage stamp</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> reflecting Operation Desert Storm in 1992, and the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Military of the United States" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_the_United_States"><span style="color:#000000;">U.S. military</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> awarded campaign ribbons for service in </span><a title="Southwest Asia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Asia"><span style="color:#000000;">Southwest Asia</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">.<br />Each nation participating had its own operation name for its contribution: U.S. - Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm; UK - </span><a title="Operation Granby" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Granby"><span style="color:#000000;">Operation Granby</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">; Canada - Operation Friction, etc.<br />The Gulf War was followed in 2003 by the </span><a title="Iraq War" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_War"><span style="color:#000000;">Iraq War</span></a><br /><br /><strong>Tensions with Kuwait<br /></strong><br /><span style="color:#000000;">By the time the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Iran-Iraq War" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran-Iraq_War#Towards_a_ceasefire"><span style="color:#000000;">ceasefire with Iran</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> was signed in August 1988, Iraq was virtually bankrupt, with most of the debt owed to </span><a title="Saudi Arabia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia"><span style="color:#000000;">Saudi Arabia</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and </span><a title="Kuwait" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuwait"><span style="color:#000000;">Kuwait</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. Iraq pressured both nations to forgive the debts, but they refused. Kuwait was also accused by Iraq of exceeding its OPEC quotas and driving down the price of oil, thus further hurting the Iraqi economy.<br />The collapse in oil prices had a catastrophic impact on the Iraqi economy. The Iraqi Government described it as a form of economic warfare, which it claimed was aggravated by Kuwait </span><a title="Directional drilling" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directional_drilling"><span style="color:#000000;">slant-drilling</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> across the border into Iraq's Rumaila oil field.<br />Iraq claimed Kuwait had been part of the </span><a title="Ottoman Empire" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empire"><span style="color:#000000;">Ottoman Empire</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">'s </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Province of Basra" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_of_Basra"><span style="color:#000000;">province of Basra</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. Its ruling dynasty, the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Al-Sabah family" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Sabah_family"><span style="color:#000000;">al-Sabah family</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, had concluded a </span><a title="Protectorate" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protectorate"><span style="color:#000000;">protectorate</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> agreement in 1899 that assigned responsibility for its foreign affairs to </span><a title="United Kingdom" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom"><span style="color:#000000;">Britain</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. Britain drew the border between the two countries, and deliberately tried to limit Iraq's access to the ocean so that any future Iraqi government would be in no position to threaten Britain's domination of the </span><a title="Persian Gulf" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Gulf"><span style="color:#000000;">Persian Gulf</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. Iraq refused to accept the border, and did not recognize the Kuwaiti government until 1963.<br />In late July 1990, as negotiations between Iraq and Kuwait stalled, Iraq massed troops on its border with the </span><a title="Emirate" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirate"><span style="color:#000000;">emirate</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. On </span><a title="August 2" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_2"><span style="color:#000000;">August 2</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="1990" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990"><span style="color:#000000;">1990</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> at Iraq launched an invasion. The main thrust was conducted by </span><a title="Commando" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commando"><span style="color:#000000;">commandos</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> deployed by helicopters and boats to attack </span><a title="Kuwait City" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuwait_City"><span style="color:#000000;">Kuwait City</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, while other divisions seized the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Airports" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airports"><span style="color:#000000;">airports</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and two </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Airbase" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbase"><span style="color:#000000;">airbases</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">.<br />In spite of Iraqi </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Sabre-rattling" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabre-rattling"><span style="color:#000000;">sabre-rattling</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, Kuwait did not have its forces on alert and was caught unaware. After two days of intense combat, most of the </span><a title="Military of Kuwait" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_Kuwait"><span style="color:#000000;">Kuwaiti Armed Forces</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> were either overrun by the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Iraqi Republican Guard" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_Republican_Guard"><span style="color:#000000;">Iraqi Republican Guard</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> or escaped to neighboring </span><a title="Saudi Arabia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia"><span style="color:#000000;">Saudi Arabia</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. After the decisive Iraqi victory, Saddam Hussein installed </span><a title="Ali Hassan al-Majid" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Hassan_al-Majid"><span style="color:#000000;">Ali Hassan al-Majid</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> as the </span><a title="Governor" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor"><span style="color:#000000;">governor</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> of Kuwait.[<br /></span><a class="image" title="Saddam Hussein detained several Westerners, with video footage shown on state television" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Stuartlockwood.jpg"></a><br /><a class="internal" title="Enlarge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Stuartlockwood.jpg"></a><a title="Saddam Hussein" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddam_Hussein"><span style="color:#000000;">Saddam Hussein</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> detained several Westerners, with video footage shown on state television<br />On 23 August 1990 President Saddam appeared on state television with Western hostages to whom he had refused exit visas. In the video he is seen ruffling the hair of a young boy named Stuart Lockwood. Saddam then asks through the interpreter "Is Stuart getting his milk?". He went on to say "We hope your presence as guests here will not be for too long. Your presence here, and in other places, is meant to prevent the scourge of war.</span><br /><br /><strong>Pre-War Diplomacy<br /></strong><a id="UN_resolution" name="UN_resolution"></a><br /><strong> UN resolution</strong><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">On 2 August 1990, Saddam launched the </span><a title="Invasion of Kuwait" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Kuwait"><span style="color:#000000;">invasion of Kuwait</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. Within hours of the invasion, Kuwaiti and US delegations requested a meeting of the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="UN Security Council" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN_Security_Council"><span style="color:#000000;">UN Security Council</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, which passed </span><a title="United Nations Security Council Resolution 660" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_660"><span style="color:#000000;">Resolution 660</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, condemning the invasion and demanding a withdrawal of Iraqi troops. On 3 August the </span><a title="Arab League" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_League"><span style="color:#000000;">Arab League</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> passed its own resolution. The resolution called for a solution to the conflict from within the League, and warned against outside intervention. On 6 August </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="UN Resolution 661" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN_Resolution_661"><span style="color:#000000;">UN Resolution 661</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> placed </span><a title="Economic sanctions" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_sanctions"><span style="color:#000000;">economic sanctions</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> on Iraq.<br />United Nations Security Council Resolution 665 - In 1991, leading up to the Persian Gulf War, United Nations Security Council authorized the naval blockade to enforce the embargo against Iraq when it issued United Nations Security Council Resolution 665 which authorized the “use of measures commensurate to the specific circumstances as may be necessary … to halt all inward and outward maritime shipping in order to inspect and verify their cargoes and destinations and to ensure strict implementation of resolution 661.”<br /></span><a id="Operation_Desert_Shield" name="Operation_Desert_Shield"></a><br /><strong><span style="color:#000000;"> Operation Desert Shield</span></strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><span style="color:#000000;">One of the main concerns of the west was the threat Iraq posed to Saudi Arabia. The conquest of Kuwait had brought the Iraqi army within easy striking distance of the Saudi oil fields. Iraqi control of these fields as well as Kuwait and Iraqi reserves would have given it control of the majority of the world's reserves. Iraq also had a number of grievances with Saudi Arabia. The Saudis had lent Iraq some 26 billion dollars to prosecute its invasion of Iran. The Saudis had backed Iraq as they feared the influence of </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Shia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shia"><span style="color:#000000;">Shia</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> Iran's </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Islamic revolution" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_revolution"><span style="color:#000000;">Islamic revolution</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> on its own Shia minority (most of the Saudi oil fields are in territory populated by Shias). After winning the war Saddam felt he should not have to repay the loans due to the help he had given the Saudis by stopping Iran.<br />Soon after his conquest of Kuwait, President Saddam began verbally attacking the Saudi </span><a title="Monarchy" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchy"><span style="color:#000000;">kingdom</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. He argued that the US-supported Saudi state was an illegitimate and unworthy guardian of the holy cities of </span><a title="Mecca" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecca"><span style="color:#000000;">Mecca</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and </span><a title="Medina" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medina"><span style="color:#000000;">Medina</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. President Saddam combined the language of the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Islamist" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamist"><span style="color:#000000;">Islamist</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> groups that had recently fought in </span><a title="Afghanistan" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan"><span style="color:#000000;">Afghanistan</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> with the rhetoric Iran had long used to attack the Saudis.Acting on the policy of the </span><a title="Carter Doctrine" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carter_Doctrine"><span style="color:#000000;">Carter Doctrine</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, and out of fear the Iraqi army could launch an invasion of Saudi Arabia, U.S. President George H. W. Bush quickly announced that the U.S. would launch a "wholly defensive" mission to prevent Iraq from invading Saudi Arabia – Operation Desert Shield was when U.S. troops were moved into Saudi Arabia on August 7, 1990 (or August 8 depending on time zone used). This "wholly defensive" doctrine was to be quickly abandoned. On August 8, Iraq declared parts of Kuwait to be extensions of the Iraqi province of </span><a title="Basra Governorate" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basra_Governorate"><span style="color:#000000;">Basra</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and the rest to be the 19th province of Iraq.<br />The </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="US Navy" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Navy"><span style="color:#000000;">US Navy</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> mobilized two naval battle groups, the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Aircraft carriers" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_carriers"><span style="color:#000000;">aircraft carriers</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> </span><a title="USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Dwight_D._Eisenhower_(CVN-69)"><span style="color:#000000;">USS Dwight D. Eisenhower</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and </span><a title="USS Independence (CV-62)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Independence_(CV-62)"><span style="color:#000000;">USS Independence</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and their escorts, to the area, where they were ready by August 8. A total of 48 U.S. Air Force F-15s from the </span><a title="1st Fighter Wing" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Fighter_Wing"><span style="color:#000000;">1st Fighter Wing</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> at </span><a title="Langley Air Force Base" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langley_Air_Force_Base"><span style="color:#000000;">Langley Air Force Base</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, Virginia, landed in Saudi Arabia and immediately commenced round the clock air patrols of the Saudi–Kuwait–Iraq border areas to discourage further Iraqi advances. The U.S. also sent the battleships </span><a title="USS Missouri (BB-63)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Missouri_(BB-63)"><span style="color:#000000;">USS Missouri</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and </span><a title="USS Wisconsin (BB-64)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Wisconsin_(BB-64)"><span style="color:#000000;">USS Wisconsin</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> to the region. Military buildup continued from there, eventually reaching 543,000 troops, twice the number used in the </span><a title="2003 invasion of Iraq" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_invasion_of_Iraq"><span style="color:#000000;">2003 invasion of Iraq</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. Much of the material was airlifted or carried to the staging areas via </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Fast Sealift Ship" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_Sealift_Ship"><span style="color:#000000;">fast sealift ships</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, allowing a quick buildup.<br /></span><a id="Creating_a_coalition" name="Creating_a_coalition"></a><br /><strong><span style="color:#000000;"> Creating a coalition</span></strong><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">A long </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="United Nations Resolutions concerning Iraq" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Resolutions_concerning_Iraq"><span style="color:#000000;">series of UN Security Council resolutions</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and Arab League resolutions were passed regarding the invasion. One of the most important was </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="UN Security Council Resolution 678" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN_Security_Council_Resolution_678"><span style="color:#000000;">Resolution 678</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, passed on 29 November 1990 giving Iraq a withdrawal deadline of 15 January 1991, and authorizing “all necessary means to uphold and implement Resolution 660,” a diplomatic formulation authorizing the use of force.<br /></span><a class="image" title="H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. and President George H. W. Bush visit US troops in Saudi Arabia on Thanksgiving Day, 1990" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bush_saudi_arabia.jpg"></a><br /><a class="internal" title="Enlarge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bush_saudi_arabia.jpg"></a><a class="mw-redirect" title="H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr." href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Norman_Schwarzkopf,_Jr."><span style="color:#000000;">H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr.</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and </span><a title="President" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President"><span style="color:#000000;">President</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> </span><a title="George H. W. Bush" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_H._W._Bush"><span style="color:#000000;">George H. W. Bush</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> visit US troops in </span><a title="Saudi Arabia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia"><span style="color:#000000;">Saudi Arabia</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> on </span><a title="Thanksgiving (United States)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(United_States)"><span style="color:#000000;">Thanksgiving Day</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, 1990<br />The United States, especially </span><a title="United States Secretary of State" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_State"><span style="color:#000000;">Secretary of State</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> </span><a title="James Baker" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Baker"><span style="color:#000000;">James Baker</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, assembled a coalition of forces to join it in opposing Iraq, consisting of forces from 34 countries: </span><a title="Argentina" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentina"><span style="color:#000000;">Argentina</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Australia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia"><span style="color:#000000;">Australia</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Bahrain" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahrain"><span style="color:#000000;">Bahrain</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Bangladesh" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh"><span style="color:#000000;">Bangladesh</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Belgium" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium"><span style="color:#000000;">Belgium</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Canada" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada"><span style="color:#000000;">Canada</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Denmark" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denmark"><span style="color:#000000;">Denmark</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Egypt" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt"><span style="color:#000000;">Egypt</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="France" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France"><span style="color:#000000;">France</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Greece" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece"><span style="color:#000000;">Greece</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Italy" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy"><span style="color:#000000;">Italy</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Kuwait" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuwait"><span style="color:#000000;">Kuwait</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Morocco" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morocco"><span style="color:#000000;">Morocco</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="The Netherlands" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Netherlands"><span style="color:#000000;">The Netherlands</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="New Zealand" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand"><span style="color:#000000;">New Zealand</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Niger" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niger"><span style="color:#000000;">Niger</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Norway" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway"><span style="color:#000000;">Norway</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Oman" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oman"><span style="color:#000000;">Oman</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Pakistan" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan"><span style="color:#000000;">Pakistan</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Philippines" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines"><span style="color:#000000;">Philippines</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Portugal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portugal"><span style="color:#000000;">Portugal</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Qatar" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar"><span style="color:#000000;">Qatar</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="South Korea" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea"><span style="color:#000000;">South Korea</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Saudi Arabia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia"><span style="color:#000000;">Saudi Arabia</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Senegal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senegal"><span style="color:#000000;">Senegal</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Sierra Leone" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone"><span style="color:#000000;">Sierra Leone</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Singapore" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore"><span style="color:#000000;">Singapore</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Spain" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain"><span style="color:#000000;">Spain</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Syria" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syria"><span style="color:#000000;">Syria</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, the </span><a title="United Arab Emirates" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Arab_Emirates"><span style="color:#000000;">United Arab Emirates</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, the </span><a title="United Kingdom" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom"><span style="color:#000000;">United Kingdom</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and the </span><a title="United States" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States"><span style="color:#000000;">United States</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> itself.</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gulf_War#cite_note-27"><span style="color:#000000;">[28]</span></a><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Although they did not contribute any forces, </span><a title="Japan" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan"><span style="color:#000000;">Japan</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and </span><a title="Germany" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany"><span style="color:#000000;">Germany</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> made financial contributions totaling $10 billion and $6.6 billion respectively. US troops represented 73% of the coalition’s 956,600 troops in Iraq.<br />Many of the coalition forces were reluctant to join. Some felt that the war was an internal Arab affair, or did not want to increase US influence in the Middle East. In the end, many nations were persuaded by Iraq’s belligerence towards other Arab states, offers of economic aid or debt forgiveness, and threats to withhold aid. </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gulf_War#cite_note-28"><span style="color:#000000;">[29]</span></a><br /><a id="Reasons_and_campaign_for_intervention" name="Reasons_and_campaign_for_intervention"></a><br /><strong><span style="color:#000000;"> Reasons and campaign for intervention</span></strong><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">On 12 January 1991 the </span><a title="United States Congress" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Congress"><span style="color:#000000;">United States Congress</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> authorized the use of military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait. The votes were 52-47 in the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="US Senate" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Senate"><span style="color:#000000;">US Senate</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and 250-183 in the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="US House of Representatives" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_House_of_Representatives"><span style="color:#000000;">US House of Representatives</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. These were the closest margins in authorizing force by the Congress since the </span><a title="War of 1812" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_1812"><span style="color:#000000;">War of 1812</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. Soon after, the other states in the coalition also followed suit.<br />The United States and the United Nations gave several public justifications for involvement in the conflict. The most prominent reason was the Iraqi violation of Kuwaiti territorial integrity. In addition, the United States moved to support its ally Saudi Arabia, whose importance in the region and as a key supplier of oil made it of considerable </span><a title="Geopolitics" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geopolitics"><span style="color:#000000;">geopolitical</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> importance. During a speech given on 11 September 1990, U.S. President George H.W. Bush summed up the reasons with the following remarks: "Within three days, 120,000 Iraqi troops with 850 tanks had poured into Kuwait and moved south to threaten Saudi Arabia. It was then that I decided to act to check that aggression."<br />The Pentagon claimed that satellite photos showing a buildup of Iraqi forces along the border were the source of this information, but this was later shown to be false. A reporter for the Saint Petersburg Times acquired commercial satellite images made at the time in question, which showed nothing but empty desert. Polls showed that upwards of 80% of the American public supported the troop deployment.Other justifications for foreign involvement included Iraq’s history of </span><a title="Human rights" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights"><span style="color:#000000;">human rights</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> abuses under President Saddam. Iraq was also known to possess </span><a title="Biological warfare" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_warfare"><span style="color:#000000;">biological weapons</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and </span><a title="Chemical warfare" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_warfare"><span style="color:#000000;">chemical weapons</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, which Saddam had used against Iranian troops during the </span><a title="Iran–Iraq War" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2%80%93Iraq_War"><span style="color:#000000;">Iran–Iraq War</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and against his own country's </span><a title="Kurdish people" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurdish_people"><span style="color:#000000;">Kurdish</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> population in the </span><a title="Al-Anfal Campaign" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Anfal_Campaign"><span style="color:#000000;">Al-Anfal Campaign</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. Iraq was known to have a </span><a title="Nuclear weapon" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapon"><span style="color:#000000;">nuclear weapons</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> program as well.<br />Although there were human rights abuses committed in Kuwait by the invading Iraqi military, the ones best known in the US were inventions of the </span><a title="Public relations" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_relations"><span style="color:#000000;">public relations</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> firm hired by the government of Kuwait to influence US opinion in favor of military intervention. Shortly after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, the organisation </span><a title="Citizens for a Free Kuwait" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_for_a_Free_Kuwait"><span style="color:#000000;">Citizens for a Free Kuwait</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> was formed in the U.S. It hired the public relations firm </span><a title="Hill & Knowlton" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_%26_Knowlton"><span style="color:#000000;">Hill & Knowlton</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> for about $11 million, paid by the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Kuwaiti government" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuwaiti_government"><span style="color:#000000;">Kuwaiti government</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">.<br />Among many other means of influencing US opinion (distributing books on Iraqi atrocities to US soldiers deployed in the region, 'Free Kuwait' T-shirts and speakers to college campuses, and dozens of video news releases to television stations), the firm arranged for an appearance before a group of members of the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="US Congress" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Congress"><span style="color:#000000;">US Congress</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> in which a woman identifying herself as a </span><a title="Nurse Nayirah" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nurse_Nayirah"><span style="color:#000000;">nurse working in the Kuwait City hospital</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> described Iraqi soldiers pulling babies out of incubators and letting them die on the floor.<br />The story was an influence in tipping both the public and Congress towards a war with Iraq: six Congressmen said the testimony was enough for them to support military action against Iraq and seven Senators referenced the testimony in debate. The Senate supported the military actions in a 52-47 vote. A year after the war, however, this allegation was revealed to be a fabrication. The woman who had testified was found to be a member of the </span><a title="House of Al-Sabah" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Al-Sabah"><span style="color:#000000;">Kuwaiti Royal Family</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, in fact the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador to the US. She had not been living in Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion.<br />The details of the Hill & Knowlton public relations campaign, including the incubator testimony, were published in a </span><a title="John R. MacArthur" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_R._MacArthur"><span style="color:#000000;">John R. MacArthur</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">'s Second Front: Censorship and Propaganda in the Gulf War (Berkeley, CA: University of CA Press, 1992), and came to wide public attention when an </span><a title="Op-ed" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Op-ed"><span style="color:#000000;">Op-ed</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> by MacArthur was published in the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="New York Times" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Times"><span style="color:#000000;">New York Times</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. This prompted a reexamination by </span><a title="Amnesty International" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amnesty_International"><span style="color:#000000;">Amnesty International</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, which had originally promoted an account alleging even greater numbers of babies torn from incubators than the original fake testimony. After finding no evidence to support it, the organisation issued a retraction. President George H. W. Bush then repeated the incubator allegations on television.<br />At the same time, the Iraqi army committed several well-documented crimes during its occupation, such as the </span><a title="Summary execution" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summary_execution"><span style="color:#000000;">summary execution without trial</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> of three brothers after which their bodies were stacked in a pile and left to decay in a public street. Troops also ransacked and looted private Kuwaiti homes, one residence was repeatedly defecated in. A resident later commented, "The whole thing was violence for the sake of violence, destruction for the sake of destruction... Imagine a </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Surrealistic" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrealistic"><span style="color:#000000;">surrealistic</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> </span><a title="Painting" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painting"><span style="color:#000000;">painting</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> by </span><a title="Salvador Dalí" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador_Dal%C3%AD"><span style="color:#000000;">Salvador Dalí</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">".<br /></span><a id="Air_campaign" name="Air_campaign"></a><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> Air campaign</strong><br /><br />The Persian Gulf War started with an extensive </span><a title="Aerial bombing of cities" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_bombing_of_cities"><span style="color:#000000;">aerial bombing</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> campaign. The coalition flew over 100,000 </span><a title="Sortie" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sortie"><span style="color:#000000;">sorties</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, dropping 88,500 tons of bombs, and widely destroying military and civilian infrastructure. The air campaign was commanded by </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="USAF" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USAF"><span style="color:#000000;">USAF</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> </span><a title="Lieutenant General" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieutenant_General"><span style="color:#000000;">Lieutenant General</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> </span><a title="Chuck Horner" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Horner"><span style="color:#000000;">Chuck Horner</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, who briefly served as Commander-in-Chief - Forward of </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="U.S. Central Command" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Central_Command"><span style="color:#000000;">U.S. Central Command</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">; while General Schwarzkopf was still in the </span><a title="United States" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States"><span style="color:#000000;">United States</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">.</span>www.whatyouwant.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15585150592020536784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6308801567129577974.post-63969078040920995952009-08-08T01:23:00.000-07:002009-08-08T01:39:14.081-07:00Stock Market<span style="color:#000000;">A stock market is a public </span><a title="Market system" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_system"><span style="color:#000000;">market</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> for the </span><a title="Trade" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade"><span style="color:#000000;">trading</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> of </span><a title="Corporation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporation"><span style="color:#000000;">company</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> </span><a title="Stock" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock"><span style="color:#000000;">stock</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and </span><a title="Derivative (finance)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derivative_(finance)"><span style="color:#000000;">derivatives</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> at an agreed price; these are </span><a title="Security (finance)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_(finance)"><span style="color:#000000;">securities</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> listed on a </span><a title="Stock exchange" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_exchange"><span style="color:#000000;">stock exchange</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> as well as those only traded privately.<br />The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion US at the beginning of October 2008. The total world derivatives market has been estimated at about $791 trillion face or nominal value, 11 times the size of the entire world economy. The value of the derivatives market, because it is stated in terms of </span><a title="Notional amount" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notional_amount"><span style="color:#000000;">notional values</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, cannot be directly compared to a stock or a fixed income security, which traditionally refers to an </span><a title="Actual cash value" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actual_cash_value"><span style="color:#000000;">actual value</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. Moreover, the vast majority of derivatives 'cancel' each other out (i.e., a derivative 'bet' on an event occurring is offset by a comparable derivative 'bet' on the event not occurring.). Many such relatively illiquid securities are valued as </span><a title="Mark to model" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_to_model"><span style="color:#000000;">marked to model</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, rather than an actual market price.<br />The stocks are listed and traded on stock exchanges which are entities of a corporation or mutual organization specialized in the business of bringing buyers and sellers of the organizations to a listing of stocks and securities together. The stock market in the United States includes the trading of all securities listed on the </span><a title="NYSE Euronext" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NYSE_Euronext"><span style="color:#000000;">NYSE Euronext</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, the </span><a title="NASDAQ" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASDAQ"><span style="color:#000000;">NASDAQ</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, the </span><a title="American Stock Exchange" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Stock_Exchange"><span style="color:#000000;">Amex</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, as well as on the many regional exchanges, e.g. </span><a title="OTC Bulletin Board" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OTC_Bulletin_Board"><span style="color:#000000;">OTCBB</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and Pink Sheets. European examples of stock exchanges include the </span><a title="London Stock Exchange" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Stock_Exchange"><span style="color:#000000;">London Stock Exchange</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">,</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Participants in the stock market range from small individual </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Stock investors" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_investors"><span style="color:#000000;">stock investors</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> to large </span><a title="Hedge fund" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedge_fund"><span style="color:#000000;">hedge fund</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> </span><a title="Trader (finance)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trader_(finance)"><span style="color:#000000;">traders</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, who can be based anywhere. Their orders usually end up with a professional at a stock exchange, who executes the order.<br />Some exchanges are physical locations where transactions are carried out on a trading floor, by a method known as </span><a title="Open outcry" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_outcry"><span style="color:#000000;">open outcry</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. This type of auction is used in stock exchanges and </span><a title="Commodity exchange" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodity_exchange"><span style="color:#000000;">commodity exchanges</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> where traders may enter "verbal" bids and offers simultaneously. The other type of stock exchange is a virtual kind, composed of a network of computers where trades are made electronically via traders.<br />Actual trades are based on an </span><a title="Auction" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auction"><span style="color:#000000;">auction market</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> model where a potential buyer bids a specific price for a stock and a potential seller asks a specific price for the stock. (Buying or selling at market means you will accept any ask price or bid price for the stock, respectively.) When the bid and ask prices match, a sale takes place on a first come first served basis if there are multiple bidders or askers at a given price.<br />The purpose of a stock exchange is to facilitate the exchange of securities between buyers and sellers, thus providing a </span><a title="Marketplace" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketplace"><span style="color:#000000;">marketplace</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> (virtual or real). The exchanges provide real-time trading information on the listed securities, facilitating price discovery.<br /></span><a class="image" title="New York Stock Exchange." href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Photos_NewYork1_032.jpg"></a><br /><a class="internal" title="Enlarge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Photos_NewYork1_032.jpg"></a><a title="New York Stock Exchange" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Stock_Exchange"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>New York Stock Exchange</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>.</strong></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><br />The </span><a title="New York Stock Exchange" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Stock_Exchange"><span style="color:#000000;">New York Stock Exchange</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> is a physical exchange, also referred to as a listed exchange — only stocks listed with the exchange may be traded. Orders enter by way of exchange members and flow down to a </span><a title="Floor broker" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floor_broker"><span style="color:#000000;">floor broker</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, who goes to the floor trading post </span><a title="New York Stock Exchange" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Stock_Exchange"><span style="color:#000000;">specialist</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> for that stock to trade the order. The specialist's job is to match buy and sell orders using open outcry. If a </span><a title="Bid-offer spread" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bid-offer_spread"><span style="color:#000000;">spread</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> exists, no trade immediately takes place--in this case the specialist should use his/her own resources (money or stock) to close the difference after his/her judged time. Once a trade has been made the details are reported on the "</span><a title="New York Stock Exchange" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Stock_Exchange"><span style="color:#000000;">tape</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">" and sent back to the brokerage firm, which then notifies the investor who placed the order. Although there is a significant amount of human contact in this process, computers play an important role, especially for so-called "</span><a title="Program trading" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Program_trading"><span style="color:#000000;">program trading</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">".<br />The </span><a title="NASDAQ" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASDAQ"><span style="color:#000000;">NASDAQ</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> is a virtual listed exchange, where all of the trading is done over a computer network. The process is similar to the New York Stock Exchange. However, buyers and sellers are electronically matched. One or more NASDAQ </span><a title="Market maker" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_maker"><span style="color:#000000;">market makers</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> will always provide a bid and ask price at which they will always purchase or sell 'their' stock. .<br />The </span><a title="Paris Bourse" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Bourse"><span style="color:#000000;">Paris Bourse</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, now part of </span><a title="Euronext" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euronext"><span style="color:#000000;">Euronext</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, is an order-driven, electronic stock exchange. It was automated in the late 1980s. Prior to the 1980s, it consisted of an open outcry exchange. </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Stockbrokers" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockbrokers"><span style="color:#000000;">Stockbrokers</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> met on the trading floor or the Palais Brongniart. In 1986, the </span><a title="CATS (trading system)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CATS_(trading_system)"><span style="color:#000000;">CATS trading system</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> was introduced, and the order matching process was fully automated.<br />From time to time, active trading (especially in large blocks of securities) have moved away from the 'active' exchanges. </span><a class="external text" title="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=" sid="al86iws61SPY&refer=" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=al86iws61SPY&refer=home" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#000000;">Securities firms</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, led by UBS AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Credit Suisse Group, already steer 12 percent of U.S. security trades away from the exchanges to their internal systems. That share probably will increase to 18 percent by 2010 as more investment banks bypass the NYSE and NASDAQ and pair buyers and sellers of securities themselves, according to data compiled by Boston-based Aite Group LLC, a brokerage-industry consultant<br />Now that computers have eliminated the need for trading floors like the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Big Board" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Board"><span style="color:#000000;">Big Board</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">'s, the balance of power in equity markets is shifting. By bringing more orders in-house, where clients can move big blocks of stock anonymously, </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Brokers" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brokers"><span style="color:#000000;">brokers</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> pay the exchanges less in fees and capture a bigger share of the $11 billion a year that institutional investors pay in trading commissions<br /></span><a id="Market_participants" name="Market_participants"></a><br /><span style="color:#000000;"> <strong>Market participants</strong></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">A few decades ago, worldwide, buyers and sellers were individual investors, such as wealthy businessmen, with long family histories (and emotional ties) to particular corporations. Over time, markets have become more "institutionalized"; buyers and sellers are largely institutions (e.g., </span><a title="Pension fund" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pension_fund"><span style="color:#000000;">pension funds</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Insurance companies" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurance_companies"><span style="color:#000000;">insurance companies</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Mutual fund" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutual_fund"><span style="color:#000000;">mutual funds</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Index funds" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Index_funds"><span style="color:#000000;">index funds</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Exchange-traded fund" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchange-traded_fund"><span style="color:#000000;">exchange-traded funds</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Hedge funds" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedge_funds"><span style="color:#000000;">hedge funds</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, investor groups, </span><a title="Bank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank"><span style="color:#000000;">banks</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and various other </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Financial institutions" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_institutions"><span style="color:#000000;">financial institutions</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">). The rise of the </span><a title="Institutional investor" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_investor"><span style="color:#000000;">institutional investor</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> has brought with it some improvements in market operations. Thus, the government was responsible for "fixed" (and exorbitant) fees being markedly reduced for the 'small' investor, but only after the </span><span style="color:#000000;">large institutions had managed to break the brokers' solid front on fees. (They then went to 'negotiated' fees, but only for large institutions.[</span><a title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed"><span style="color:#000000;">citation needed</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">])<br />However, </span><a title="Corporate governance" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_governance"><span style="color:#000000;">corporate governance</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> (at least in the West) has been very much adversely affected by the rise of (largely 'absentee') institutional 'owners' </span><br /><strong><span style="color:#000000;"></span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#000000;"> History</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#000000;"></span></strong><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Historian </span><a title="Fernand Braudel" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernand_Braudel"><span style="color:#000000;">Fernand Braudel</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> suggests that in </span><a title="Cairo" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo"><span style="color:#000000;">Cairo</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> in the 11th century, </span><a title="Muslim" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim"><span style="color:#000000;">Muslim</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and </span><a title="Radhanite" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radhanite"><span style="color:#000000;">Jewish merchants</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> had already set up every form of </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Industry trade group" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industry_trade_group"><span style="color:#000000;">trade association</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and had knowledge of many methods of financial dealings, disproving the belief that these were originally invented later by Italians. In 12th century </span><a title="France" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France"><span style="color:#000000;">France</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> the courratiers de change were concerned with managing and regulating the debts of agricultural communities on behalf of the banks. Because these men also traded with debts, they could be called the first </span><a title="Stock broker" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_broker"><span style="color:#000000;">brokers</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. A common misbelief is that in late 13th century </span><a title="Bruges" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruges"><span style="color:#000000;">Bruges</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> commodity traders gathered inside the house of a man called Van der Beurze, and in 1309 they became the "Brugse Beurse", institutionalizing what had been, until then, an informal meeting, but actually, the family Van der Beurze had a building in </span><a title="Antwerp" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antwerp"><span style="color:#000000;">Antwerp</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> where those gatherings occurred ; the Van der Beurze had Antwerp, as most of the merchants of that period, as their primary place for trading. The idea quickly spread around </span><a title="Flanders" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flanders"><span style="color:#000000;">Flanders</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and neighboring counties and "</span><span style="color:#000000;">Beurzen" soon opened in </span><a title="Ghent" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghent"><span style="color:#000000;">Ghent</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and </span><a title="Amsterdam" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsterdam"><span style="color:#000000;">Amsterdam</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">.<br />In the middle of the 13th century, </span><a title="Venice" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venice"><span style="color:#000000;">Venetian</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> bankers began to trade in government securities. In 1351 the Venetian government outlawed spreading rumors intended to lower the price of government funds. Bankers in </span><a title="Pisa" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisa"><span style="color:#000000;">Pisa</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Verona" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verona"><span style="color:#000000;">Verona</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Genoa" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genoa"><span style="color:#000000;">Genoa</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and </span><a title="Florence" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence"><span style="color:#000000;">Florence</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> also began trading in government securities during the 14th century. This was only possible because these were independent city states not ruled by a duke but a council of influential citizens. The Dutch later started </span><a title="Joint stock company" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_stock_company"><span style="color:#000000;">joint stock companies</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, which let </span><a title="Shareholder" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shareholder"><span style="color:#000000;">shareholders</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> invest in business ventures and get a share of their profits - or losses. In 1602, the </span><a title="Dutch East India Company" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_East_India_Company"><span style="color:#000000;">Dutch East India Company</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> issued the first share on the </span><a title="Amsterdam Stock Exchange" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsterdam_Stock_Exchange"><span style="color:#000000;">Amsterdam Stock Exchange</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. It was the first company to issue stocks and </span><a title="Bond (finance)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bond_(finance)"><span style="color:#000000;">bonds</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">.<br />The </span><a title="Amsterdam Stock Exchange" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsterdam_Stock_Exchange"><span style="color:#000000;">Amsterdam Stock Exchange</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> (or Amsterdam Beurs) is also said to have been the first stock exchange to introduce continuous trade in the early 17th century. The Dutch "pioneered </span><a title="Short (finance)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_(finance)"><span style="color:#000000;">short selling</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Options strategies" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Options_strategies"><span style="color:#000000;">option trading</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, debt-equity swaps, </span><a title="Merchant bank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchant_bank"><span style="color:#000000;">merchant banking</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, unit </span><a title="Trust law" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust_law"><span style="color:#000000;">trusts</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and other </span><a title="Speculation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speculation"><span style="color:#000000;">speculative instruments</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, much as we know them" (Murray Sayle, "Japan Goes Dutch", London Review of Books XXIII.7, </span><a title="April 5" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_5"><span style="color:#000000;">April 5</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="2001" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001"><span style="color:#000000;">2001</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">). There are now stock markets in virtually every developed and most developing economies, with the world's biggest markets being in the </span><a title="United States" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States"><span style="color:#000000;">United States</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="UK" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK"><span style="color:#000000;">UK</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Japan" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan"><span style="color:#000000;">Japan</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="China" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China"><span style="color:#000000;">China</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Canada" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada"><span style="color:#000000;">Canada</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Germany" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany"><span style="color:#000000;">Germany</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, Korea and </span><a title="France" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France"><span style="color:#000000;">France</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;"> Importance of stock market:</span></strong><br /></span><a id="Function_and_purpose" name="Function_and_purpose"></a><br /><strong><span style="color:#000000;"> Function and purpose</span></strong><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The stock market is one of the most important sources for </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Companies" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Companies"><span style="color:#000000;">companies</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> to raise </span><a title="Money" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money"><span style="color:#000000;">money</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. This allows businesses to be publicly traded, or raise additional capital for expansion by selling shares of ownership of the company in a public market. The </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Liquidity" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquidity"><span style="color:#000000;">liquidity</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> that an exchange provides affords investors the ability to quickly and easily sell securities. This is an attractive feature of investing in stocks, compared to other less liquid investments such as </span><a title="Real estate" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_estate"><span style="color:#000000;">real estate</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">.<br />History has shown that the price of </span><a title="Share (finance)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Share_(finance)"><span style="color:#000000;">shares</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and other assets is an important part of the dynamics of economic activity, and can influence or be an indicator of social mood. An economy where the stock market is on the rise is considered to be an up and coming economy. In fact, the stock market is often considered the primary indicator of a country's economic strength and development. Rising share prices, for instance, tend to be associated with increased business investment and vice versa. Share prices also affect the wealth of households and their consumption. Therefore, </span><a title="Central bank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_bank"><span style="color:#000000;">central banks</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> tend to </span><span style="color:#000000;">keep an eye on the control and behavior of the stock market and, in general, on the smooth operation of </span><a title="Financial system" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_system"><span style="color:#000000;">financial system</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> functions. Financial stability is the </span><a title="Raison d'être" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raison_d%27%C3%AAtre"><span style="color:#000000;">raison d'être</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> of central banks.<br />Exchanges also act as the clearinghouse for each transaction, meaning that they collect and deliver the shares, and guarantee payment to the seller of a security. This eliminates the risk to an individual buyer or seller that the </span><a title="Counterparty" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterparty"><span style="color:#000000;">counterparty</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> could default on the transaction.<br />The smooth functioning of all these activities facilitates </span><a title="Economic growth" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_growth"><span style="color:#000000;">economic growth</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> in that lower costs and enterprise risks promote the production of goods and services as well as employment. In this way the financial system contributes to increased prosperity.<br /></span><a id="Relation_of_the_stock_market_to_the_modern_financial_system" name="Relation_of_the_stock_market_to_the_modern_financial_system"></a><br /><strong><span style="color:#000000;"> Relation of the stock market to the modern financial system</span></strong><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The financial system in most western countries has undergone a remarkable transformation. One feature of this development is </span><a title="Disintermediation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disintermediation"><span style="color:#000000;">disintermediation</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. A portion of the funds involved in saving and financing flows directly to the financial markets instead of being routed via the traditional bank lending and deposit operations. The general public's heightened interest in investing in the stock market, either directly or through </span><a title="Mutual fund" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutual_fund"><span style="color:#000000;">mutual funds</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, has been an important component of this process. </span><a title="Statistics" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistics"><span style="color:#000000;">Statistics</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> show that in recent decades shares have made up an increasingly large proportion of households' financial assets in many countries. In the 1970s, in </span><a title="Sweden" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden"><span style="color:#000000;">Sweden</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Deposit account" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deposit_account"><span style="color:#000000;">deposit accounts</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and other very liquid assets with little risk made up almost 60 percent of households' financial wealth, compared to less than 20 percent in the 2000s. The major part of this adjustment in </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Financial portfolio" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_portfolio"><span style="color:#000000;">financial portfolios</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> has gone directly to shares but a good deal now takes the form of various kinds of institutional investment for groups of individuals, e.g., pension funds, mutual funds, hedge funds, insurance investment of premiums, etc. The trend towards forms of saving with a higher risk has been accentuated by new rules for most funds and insurance, permitting a higher proportion of shares to bonds. Similar tendencies are to be found in other </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Industrialized countries" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrialized_countries"><span style="color:#000000;">industrialized countries</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. In all developed economic systems, such as the </span><a title="European Union" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union"><span style="color:#000000;">European Union</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, the </span><a title="United States" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States"><span style="color:#000000;">United States</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Japan" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan"><span style="color:#000000;">Japan</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and other developed nations, the trend has been the same: saving has moved away from traditional (government insured) bank deposits to more risky securities of one sort or another.<br /></span><a id="The_stock_market.2C_individual_investors.2C_and_financial_risk" name="The_stock_market.2C_individual_investors.2C_and_financial_risk"></a><br /><span style="color:#000000;"> <strong>The stock market, individual investors, and financial risk</strong></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Riskier long-term saving requires that an individual possess the ability to manage the associated increased risks. Stock prices fluctuate widely, in marked contrast to the stability of (government insured) bank deposits or bonds. This is something that could affect not only the individual investor or household, but also the economy on a large scale. The following deals with some of the risks of the financial sector in general and the stock market in particular. This is certainly more important now that so many newcomers have entered the stock market, or have acquired other 'risky' investments (such as 'investment' property, i.e., real estate and </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Collectables" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collectables"><span style="color:#000000;">collectables</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">).</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> The behavior of<br /> the stock market<br /></strong>From experience we know that investors may 'temporarily' move financial prices away from their long term aggregate price 'trends'. (Positive or up trends are referred to as </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Bull markets" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_markets"><span style="color:#000000;">bull markets</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">; negative or down trends are referred to as </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Bear markets" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_markets"><span style="color:#000000;">bear markets</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">.) Over-reactions may occur—so that excessive optimism (euphoria) may drive prices unduly high or excessive pessimism may drive prices unduly low. New theoretical and empirical arguments have since been put forward against the notion that financial markets are 'generally' efficient (i.e., in the sense that stock prices in the aggregate tend to follow a </span><a title="Normal distribution" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_distribution"><span style="color:#000000;">Gaussian distribution</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">).<br />According to the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Efficient market hypothesis" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efficient_market_hypothesis"><span style="color:#000000;">efficient market hypothesis</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> (EMH), only changes in fundamental factors, such as the outlook for margins, profits or dividends, ought to affect share prices beyond the short term, where </span><a title="Normal distribution" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_distribution"><span style="color:#000000;">random</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> 'noise' in the system may prevail. (But this largely theoretic academic viewpoint—known as 'hard' EMH—also predicts that little or no trading should take place, contrary to fact, since prices are already at or near equilibrium, having priced in all public knowledge.) The 'hard' </span><a title="Efficient-market hypothesis" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efficient-market_hypothesis"><span style="color:#000000;">efficient-market hypothesis</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> is sorely tested by such events as the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Stock market crash in 1987" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_market_crash_in_1987"><span style="color:#000000;">stock market crash in 1987</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, when the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Dow Jones index" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dow_Jones_index"><span style="color:#000000;">Dow Jones index</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> plummeted 22.6 percent—the largest-ever one-day fall in the United States. This event demonstrated that share prices can fall dramatically even though, to this day, it is impossible to fix a generally agreed upon definite cause: a thorough search failed to detect any 'reasonable' development that might have accounted for the crash. (But note that such events are predicted to occur strictly by </span><a title="Normal distribution" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_distribution"><span style="color:#000000;">chance</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> , although very rarely.) It seems also to be the case more generally that many price movements (beyond that which are predicted to occur 'randomly') are not occasioned by new information; a study of the fifty largest one-day share price movements in the United States in the post-war period seems to confirm this.<br />However, a 'soft' EMH has emerged which does not require that prices remain at or near equilibrium, but only that market participants not be able to systematically profit from any momentary market '</span><a title="Market anomaly" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_anomaly"><span style="color:#000000;">inefficiencies</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">'. Moreover, while EMH predicts that all price movement (in the absence of change in fundamental information) is random (i.e., non-trending), many studies have shown a marked tendency for the stock market to trend over time periods of weeks or longer. Various explanations for such large and apparently non-random price movements have been promulgated. For instance, some research has shown that changes in estimated risk, and the use of certain strategies, such as stop-loss limits and </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Value at Risk" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_at_Risk"><span style="color:#000000;">Value at Risk</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> limits, theoretically could cause financial markets to overreact. But the best explanation seems to be that the distribution of stock market prices is </span><a class="external text" title="http://cnx.org/content/m11318/latest/" href="http://cnx.org/content/m11318/latest/" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#000000;">non-Gaussian</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> (in which case EMH, in any of its current forms, would not be strictly applicable). Other research has shown that </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Behavioral finance" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_finance"><span style="color:#000000;">psychological factors</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> may result in exaggerated (statistically anomalous) stock price movements (contrary to EMH which assumes such behaviors 'cancel out'). Psychological research has demonstrated that people are predisposed to 'seeing' patterns, and often will perceive a pattern in what is, in fact, just noise. (Something like seeing familiar shapes in clouds or ink blots.) In the present context this means that a succession of good news items about a company may lead investors to overreact positively (unjustifiably driving the price up). A period of good returns also boosts the investor's self-confidence, reducing his (psychological) risk threshold.<br />Another phenomenon—also from psychology—that works against an </span><a title="Objectivity (philosophy)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectivity_(philosophy)"><span style="color:#000000;">objective</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> assessment is </span><a title="Groupthink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupthink"><span style="color:#000000;">group thinking</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. As social animals, it is not easy to stick to an opinion that differs markedly from that of a majority of the group. An example with which one may be familiar is the reluctance to enter a restaurant that is empty; people generally prefer to have their opinion validated by those of others in the group.<br />In one paper the authors draw an analogy with gambling. In normal times the market behaves like a game of roulette; the probabilities are known and largely independent of the investment decisions of the different players. In times of market stress, however, the game becomes more like poker (herding behavior takes over). The players now must give heavy weight to the psychology of other investors and how they are likely to react psychologically.<br />The stock market, as any other business, is quite unforgiving of amateurs. Inexperienced investors rarely get the assistance and support they need. In the period running up to the 1987 crash, less than 1 percent of the analyst's recommendations had been to sell (and even during the 2000 - 2002 bear market, the average did not rise above 5%). In the run up to 2000, the media amplified the general euphoria, with reports of rapidly rising share prices and the notion that large sums of money could be quickly earned in the so-called </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="New economy" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_economy"><span style="color:#000000;">new economy</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> stock market. (And later amplified the gloom which descended during the 2000 - 2002 bear market, so that by summer of 2002, predictions of a DOW average below 5000 were quite common.)<br /></span><a id="Irrational_behavior" name="Irrational_behavior"></a><br /><strong><span style="color:#000000;"> Irrational behavior</span></strong><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Sometimes the market seems to react irrationally to economic or financial news, even if that news is likely to have no real effect on the technical value of securities itself. But this may be more apparent than real, since often such news has been anticipated, and a counterreaction may occur if the news is better (or worse) than expected. Therefore, the stock market may be swayed in either direction by press releases, rumors, </span><a title="Euphoria" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphoria"><span style="color:#000000;">euphoria</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Mass panic" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_panic"><span style="color:#000000;">mass panic</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">; but generally only briefly, as more experienced investors (especially the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Hedge funds" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedge_funds"><span style="color:#000000;">hedge funds</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">) quickly rally to take advantage of even the slightest, momentary hysteria.<br />Over the short-term, stocks and other securities can be battered or buoyed by any number of fast market-changing events, making the stock market behavior difficult to predict. Emotions can drive prices up and down, people are generally not as rational as they think, and the reasons for buying and selling are generally obscure. Behaviorists argue that investors often behave 'irrationally' when making investment decisions thereby incorrectly pricing securities, which causes market inefficiencies, which, in turn, are opportunities to make money. However, the whole notion of EMH is that these non-rational reactions to information cancel out, leaving the prices of stocks rationally determined.<br />The Dow Jones Industrial Average biggest gain in one day was 936.42 points or 11 percent, this occurred on October 13, 2008</span><br /><br /><strong>Investment strategies</strong><br /><strong><br /></strong><span style="color:#000000;">One of the many things people always want to know about the stock market is, "How do I make money investing?" There are many different approaches; two basic methods are classified as either </span><a title="Fundamental analysis" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_analysis"><span style="color:#000000;">fundamental analysis</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> or </span><a title="Technical analysis" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_analysis"><span style="color:#000000;">technical analysis</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. </span><a title="Fundamental analysis" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_analysis"><span style="color:#000000;">Fundamental analysis</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> refers to analyzing companies by their </span><a title="Financial statements" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_statements"><span style="color:#000000;">financial statements</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> found in </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="SEC Filings" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEC_Filings"><span style="color:#000000;">SEC Filings</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, business trends, general economic conditions, etc. </span><a title="Technical analysis" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_analysis"><span style="color:#000000;">Technical analysis</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> studies price actions in markets through the use of charts and quantitative techniques to attempt to forecast price trends regardless of the company's financial prospects. One example of a technical strategy is the </span><a title="Trend following" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trend_following"><span style="color:#000000;">Trend following</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> method, used by </span><a title="John W. Henry" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_W._Henry"><span style="color:#000000;">John W. Henry</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and </span><a title="Ed Seykota" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Seykota"><span style="color:#000000;">Ed Seykota</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, which uses price patterns, utilizes strict money management and is also rooted in </span><a title="Risk management" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_management"><span style="color:#000000;">risk control</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and </span><a title="Diversification (finance)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diversification_(finance)"><span style="color:#000000;">diversification</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">.<br />Additionally, many choose to invest via the </span><a title="Index fund" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Index_fund"><span style="color:#000000;">index method</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. In this method, one holds a weighted or unweighted portfolio consisting of the entire stock market or some segment of the stock market (such as the </span><a title="S&P 500" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%26P_500"><span style="color:#000000;">S&P 500</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> or </span><a title="Wilshire 5000" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilshire_5000"><span style="color:#000000;">Wilshire 5000</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">). The principal aim of this strategy is to maximize diversification, minimize taxes from too frequent trading, and ride the general trend of the stock market (which, in the U.S., has averaged nearly 10%/year, compounded annually, since World War II).<br /></span><a id="Taxation" name="Taxation"></a><br /><strong><span style="color:#000000;"> Taxation</span></strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><span style="color:#000000;">According to much national or state legislation, a large array of fiscal obligations are taxed for </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Capital gains" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_gains"><span style="color:#000000;">capital gains</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. Taxes are charged by the state over the transactions, dividends and </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Capital gain tax" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_gain_tax"><span style="color:#000000;">capital gains</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> on the stock market, in particular in the </span><a title="Stock exchange" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_exchange"><span style="color:#000000;">stock exchanges</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. However, these fiscal obligations may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction because, among other reasons, it could be assumed that </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Taxation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation"><span style="color:#000000;">taxation</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> is already incorporated into the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Stock price" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_price"><span style="color:#000000;">stock price</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> through the different taxes companies pay to the state, or that tax free stock market operations are useful to boost </span><a title="Economic growth" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_growth"><span style="color:#000000;">economic growth</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">.</span>www.whatyouwant.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15585150592020536784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6308801567129577974.post-23455219056265364422009-08-05T12:35:00.000-07:002009-08-05T12:52:41.930-07:00Area 51<span style="color:#000000;">Area 51 is a </span><a title="Nickname" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickname"><span style="color:#000000;">nickname</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> for a </span><a title="Military base" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_base"><span style="color:#000000;">military base</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> that is located in the southern portion of </span><a title="Nevada" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada"><span style="color:#000000;">Nevada</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> in the </span><a title="Western United States" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_United_States"><span style="color:#000000;">western United States</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> (83 miles north-northwest of downtown </span><a title="Las Vegas, Nevada" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Vegas,_Nevada"><span style="color:#000000;">Las Vegas</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">). Situated at its center, on the southern shore of </span><a title="Groom Lake" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groom_Lake"><span style="color:#000000;">Groom Lake</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, is a large secretive military airfield. The base's primary purpose is to support development and testing of experimental aircraft and weapons systems.<br />The base lies within the </span><a title="United States Air Force" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Air_Force"><span style="color:#000000;">United States Air Force</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">'s vast </span><a title="Nevada Test and Training Range" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada_Test_and_Training_Range"><span style="color:#000000;">Nevada Test and Training Range</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. Although the facilities at the range are managed by the </span><a title="99th Air Base Wing" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99th_Air_Base_Wing"><span style="color:#000000;">99th Air Base Wing</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> at </span><a title="Nellis Air Force Base" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nellis_Air_Force_Base"><span style="color:#000000;">Nellis Air Force Base</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, the Groom facility appears to be run as an adjunct of the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) at </span><a title="Edwards Air Force Base" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwards_Air_Force_Base"><span style="color:#000000;">Edwards Air Force Base</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> in the </span><a title="Mojave Desert" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojave_Desert"><span style="color:#000000;">Mojave Desert</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, around 186 miles (300 km) southwest of Groom, and as such the base is known as Air Force Flight Test Center (Detachment 3).<br />Other names used for the facility include Dreamland, Paradise Ranch, Home Base, Watertown Strip, Groom Lake, and most recently Homey Airport. The area is part of the Nellis </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Military Operations Area" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Operations_Area"><span style="color:#000000;">Military Operations Area</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, and the restricted airspace around the field is referred to as (R-4808N), known by the military pilots in the area as "The Box."<br />Th<span style="color:#000000;">aircraft, and the Emigrant Valley's mountain ranges and the NTS perimeter protected the test site from prying eyes and outside interference.<br />Lockheed constructed a makeshift base at the location, then known as Site II or "The Ranch", consisting of little more than a few shelters, workshops and trailer homes in which to house its small team. In only three months a 5000-foot runway was constructedand was servicable by July 1955. The Ranch received its first U-2 delivery on July 24, 1955 from Burbank on a </span><a title="C-124 Globemaster II" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-124_Globemaster_II"><span style="color:#000000;">C-124 Globemaster II</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> cargo plane, accompanied by Lockheed technicians on a </span><a title="Douglas DC-3" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_DC-3"><span style="color:#000000;">Douglas DC-3</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. The first U-2 lifted off from at Groom on August 4, 1955. A U-2 fleet under the control of the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="CIA" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA"><span style="color:#000000;">CIA</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> began overflights of </span><a title="Soviet Union" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union"><span style="color:#000000;">Soviet</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> territory by mid-1956.<br />During this period, the NTS continued to perform a series of atmospheric nuclear explosions. U-2 operations throughout 1957 were frequently disrupted by the </span><a title="Operation Plumbbob" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Plumbbob"><span style="color:#000000;">Plumbbob</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> series of atomic tests, which detonated over two-dozen devices at the NTS. The </span><a title="Operation Plumbbob" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Plumbbob"><span style="color:#000000;">Plumbbob-Hood</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> explosion on July 5 scattered </span><a title="Nuclear fallout" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fallout"><span style="color:#000000;">fallout</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> across Groom and forced a temporary evacuation.</span>e intense secrecy surrounding the base, the very existence of which the U.S. government barely acknowledges, has led it to become the frequent subject of </span><a title="Conspiracy theory" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_theory"><span style="color:#000000;">conspiracy theories</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and a central component to </span><a title="Unidentified flying object" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unidentified_flying_object"><span style="color:#000000;">unidentified flying object</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> (UFO)</span><span style="color:#000000;"> folklore</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Groom Lake is not a conventional airbase, as frontline units are not normally deployed there. It instead appears to be used during the development, testing, and training phases for new aircraft. Once these aircraft have been approved by the </span><a title="United States Air Force" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Air_Force"><span style="color:#000000;">United States Air Force</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> or other agencies such as the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="CIA" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA"><span style="color:#000000;">CIA</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, operation of that aircraft is generally conducted from a normal air force base.<br />Soviet spy satellites obtained photographs of the Groom Lake area during the height of the Cold War, and later civilian satellites produced detailed images of the base and its surroundings. These images support only modest conclusions about the base, depicting a nondescript base, long airstrip, hangars and the </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Groom was home to elements of </span><a title="Gail Peck" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gail_Peck"><span style="color:#000000;">Gail Peck</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">'s 4477th Test & Evaluation Squadron, the "Red Eagles", who flew a number of </span><a title="Soviet Union" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union"><span style="color:#000000;">Soviet</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">-designed aircraft (obtained from defecting Eastern-block pilots) which were secretly analyzed and used for training purposes, flying against US and NATO pilots as part of the annual Constant Peg exercise. With the end of the cold war, the USAF (and its civilian contractor Tac-Air) have augmented this illicit fleet with a number of aircraft bought openly from </span><a title="Ukraine" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine"><span style="color:#000000;">Ukraine</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and </span><a title="Moldova" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldova"><span style="color:#000000;">Moldova</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, and operated from </span><a title="Wright-Patterson Air Force Base" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright-Patterson_Air_Force_Base"><span style="color:#000000;">Wright-Patterson Air Force Base</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Groom Lake was used for bombing and artillery practice during </span><a title="World War II" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II"><span style="color:#000000;">World War II</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, but was then abandoned until April 1955, when it was selected by </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Lockheed Corporation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Corporation"><span style="color:#000000;">Lockheed</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">'s </span><a title="Skunk Works" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunk_Works"><span style="color:#000000;">Skunk Works</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> team as the ideal location to test the forthcoming </span><a title="Lockheed U-2" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_U-2"><span style="color:#000000;">U-2</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> spy plane. The lakebed made an ideal strip from which they could operate the troublesome test </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Even before U-2 development was complete, Lockheed began work on its successor as part of the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="CIA" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA"><span style="color:#000000;">CIA</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">'s </span><a title="Lockheed A-12" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_A-12"><span style="color:#000000;">OXCART</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> project, involving the A-12—a </span><a title="Mach number" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mach_number"><span style="color:#000000;">Mach</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">-3 high altitude </span><a title="Reconnaissance" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconnaissance"><span style="color:#000000;">reconnaissance</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> aircraft—a later variant of which became the famed USAF </span><a title="SR-71 Blackbird" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SR-71_Blackbird"><span style="color:#000000;">SR-71 Blackbird</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. The Blackbird's flight characteristics and maintenance requirements forced a massive expansion of facilities and runways at Groom Lake. By the time the first A-12 prototype flew at Groom in 1962, the main runway had been lengthened to 8,500 ft (2,600 m), and the base boasted a complement of over 1,000 personnel. It had fueling tanks, a control tower, and a </span><a title="Baseball" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball"><span style="color:#000000;">baseball</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> diamond. Security was greatly enhanced, the small civilian mine in the Groom basin was closed, and the area surrounding the valley was made an exclusive military preserve. Groom saw the first flight of most major Blackbird variants: A-12, the abortive </span><a title="Lockheed YF-12" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_YF-12"><span style="color:#000000;">YF-12</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> interceptor variant, and the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Lockheed D-21" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_D-21"><span style="color:#000000;">D-21</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> Blackbird-based </span><a title="Unmanned aerial vehicle" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmanned_aerial_vehicle"><span style="color:#000000;">drone</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> project. The A-12 would remain at Groom Lake until 1968. (The </span><a title="SR-71 Blackbird" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SR-71_Blackbird"><span style="color:#000000;">SR-71</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> first flew at Palmdale, California.)</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The </span><a title="Lockheed Have Blue" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Have_Blue"><span style="color:#000000;">Lockheed Have Blue</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> prototype stealth fighter (a smaller proof-of-concept model of the </span><a title="F-117 Nighthawk" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-117_Nighthawk"><span style="color:#000000;">F-117 Nighthawk</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">) first flew at Groom in December 1977. Testing of a series of ultra-secret prototypes continued there until mid-1981, when testing transitioned to the initial production of F-117 stealth fighters. In addition to flight-testing, Groom performed radar profiling, F-117 weapons testing, and was the location for training of the first group of frontline USAF F-117 pilots. Subsequently, the still highly </span><span style="color:#000000;">classified active-service F-117 operations moved to the nearby </span><a title="Tonopah Test Range Airport" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonopah_Test_Range_Airport"><span style="color:#000000;">Tonopah Test Range Airport</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, and finally to </span><a title="Holloman Air Force Base" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holloman_Air_Force_Base"><span style="color:#000000;">Holloman Air Force Base</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Since the F-117 became operational in 1983, operations at Groom Lake have continued.</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_51#cite_note-fas_a51_overview-19"><span style="color:#000000;">[20]</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> The base and its associated runway system have been expanded</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_51#cite_note-space_com_expand-20"><span style="color:#000000;">[21]</span></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_51#cite_note-fas_a51_overview-19"><span style="color:#000000;">[20]</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> In 1995, the federal government expanded the exclusionary area around the base to include nearby mountains that had hitherto afforded the only decent overlook of the base, prohibiting access to 3,972 acres of land formerly administered by the </span><a title="Bureau of Land Management" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management"><span style="color:#000000;">Bureau of Land Management</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">.<br />Commuter service is provided along Groom Lake Road by a bus, catering to a small number of employees living in several small communities beyond the NTS boundary (although it is not clear whether these workers are employed at Groom or at other facilities in the NTS). The bus travels Groom Lake Road and stops at </span><a title="Crystal Springs, Nevada" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Springs,_Nevada"><span style="color:#000000;">Crystal Springs</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Ash Springs, Nevada" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Springs,_Nevada"><span style="color:#000000;">Ash Springs</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, and </span><a title="Alamo, Nevada" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alamo,_Nevada"><span style="color:#000000;">Alamo</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, and parks at the Alamo courthouse overnight</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The Federal Government tacitly concedes (in various court filings and government directives) that the USAF has an "operating location" near the lake, but does not provide any further information.<br />Unlike much of the Nellis range, the area surrounding the lake is permanently off-limits both to civilian and normal military air traffic. Radar stations protect the area, and unauthorized personnel are quickly expelled. Even military pilots training in the NAFR risk disciplinary action if they accidentally stray into the exclusionary "box" surrounding Groom's airspace.<br /></span><a class="image" title="A montage of available USGS satellite photography showing southern Nevada. The NTS and the surrounding lands are visible; the NAFR and neighboring land has been removed" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wfm_nellis_range_redactions.jpg"></a><br /><a class="internal" title="Enlarge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wfm_nellis_range_redactions.jpg"></a><span style="color:#000000;">A montage of available USGS satellite photography showing southern Nevada. The NTS and the surrounding lands are visible; the NAFR and neighboring land has been removed<br />Perimeter security is provided by uniformed private security guards working for </span><a title="EG&G" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EG%26G"><span style="color:#000000;">EG&G</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">'s security subcontractor </span><a title="Wackenhut" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wackenhut"><span style="color:#000000;">Wackenhut</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, who patrol in desert camouflage </span><a title="Jeep Cherokee" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeep_Cherokee"><span style="color:#000000;">Jeep Cherokees</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and </span><a title="High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Mobility_Multipurpose_Wheeled_Vehicle"><span style="color:#000000;">Humvees</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, and more recently, champagne-colored </span><a title="Ford F-Series" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_F-Series"><span style="color:#000000;">Ford F-150 pickups</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and gray Chevy 2500 4X4 pickups. Although the guards are armed with </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="M16 (rifle)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M16_(rifle)"><span style="color:#000000;">M16s</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, no violent encounters with Area 51 observers have been reported; instead, the guards generally follow visitors near the perimeter and radio for the </span><a title="Lincoln County, Nevada" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_County,_Nevada"><span style="color:#000000;">Lincoln County</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> Sheriff. Deadly force is authorized if violators who attempt to breach the secured area fail to heed warnings to halt. Fines of around $600 seem to be the normal course of action, although some visitors and journalists report receiving follow-up visits from </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="FBI" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FBI"><span style="color:#000000;">FBI</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> agents. Some observers have been detained on public land for pointing camera equipment at the base. Surveillance is supplemented using buried motion sensors and by </span><a title="HH-60 Pave Hawk" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HH-60_Pave_Hawk"><span style="color:#000000;">HH-60 Pave Hawk</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> helicopters.<br />The base does not appear on public U.S. government maps; the USGS topographic map for the area only shows the long-disused Groom Mine. A civil aviation chart published by the </span><a title="Nevada Department of Transportation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada_Department_of_Transportation"><span style="color:#000000;">Nevada Department of Transportation</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> shows a large restricted area, but defines it as part of the Nellis restricted airspace. The official aeronautical navigation charts for the area show Groom Lake but omit the airport facilities. Similarly the National Atlas page showing federal lands in Nevada does not distinguish between the Groom block and other parts of the Nellis range. Although officially declassified, the original film taken by U.S. </span><a title="Corona (satellite)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona_(satellite)"><span style="color:#000000;">Corona</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Reconnaissance satellite" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconnaissance_satellite"><span style="color:#000000;">spy satellite</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> in the 1960s has been altered prior to declassification; in answer to freedom of information queries, the government responds that these exposures (which map to Groom and the entire NAFR) appear to have been destroyed.</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_51#cite_note-34"><span style="color:#000000;">[35]</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> </span><a title="Terra (satellite)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_(satellite)"><span style="color:#000000;">Terra</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> satellite images (which were publicly available) were removed from web servers (including </span><a title="Microsoft" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft"><span style="color:#000000;">Microsoft</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">'s "Terraserver") in 2004,</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_51#cite_note-35"><span style="color:#000000;">[36]</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> and from the monochrome 1 m resolution USGS data dump made publicly available. NASA </span><a title="Landsat 7" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landsat_7"><span style="color:#000000;">Landsat 7</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> images are still available (these are used in the </span><a title="NASA World Wind" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_World_Wind"><span style="color:#000000;">NASA World Wind</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">). Higher resolution (and more recent) images from other satellite imagery providers (including Russian providers and the </span><a title="IKONOS" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IKONOS"><span style="color:#000000;">IKONOS</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">) are commercially available. These show, in considerable detail, the runway marking, base facilities, aircraft, and vehicles.</span><br />Nevada's state government, recognizing the folklore surrounding the base might afford the otherwise neglected area some tourism potential, officially renamed the section of <a title="Nevada State Route 375" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada_State_Route_375">State Route 375</a> near Area 51 "The Extraterrestrial Highway", and posted fancifully illustrated signs along its length.<br /><a class="image" title="A closed-circuit TV camera watches over the perimeter of Area 51" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ueberwachungskamera_an_der_Groom_Lake_Road_07.2008.jpg"></a><br /><a class="internal" title="Enlarge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ueberwachungskamera_an_der_Groom_Lake_Road_07.2008.jpg"></a>A closed-circuit TV camera watches over the perimeter of Area 51<br />Although federal property within the base is exempt from state and local taxes, facilities owned by private contractors are not. Area 51 researcher Glenn Campbell claimed in 1994 that the base only declares a taxable value of $2 million to the Lincoln County tax assessor, who is unable to enter the area to perform an assessmentwww.whatyouwant.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15585150592020536784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6308801567129577974.post-20620423799506004792009-08-05T11:31:00.000-07:002009-08-05T11:53:23.256-07:00Stephenie Meyer<span style="color:#000000;">Stephenie Meyer is an </span><a title="United States" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States"><span style="color:#000000;">American</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> </span><a title="Author" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Author"><span style="color:#000000;">author</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, known for her vampire romance series </span><a title="Twilight (series)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_(series)"><span style="color:#000000;">Twilight</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. The Twilight novels have gained worldwide recognition, won multiple literary awards and sold over 53 million copies worldwide, with translations into 37 different languages around the globe. A </span><a title="Twilight (2008 film)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_(2008_film)"><span style="color:#000000;">film adaptation of Twilight</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> was released in the United States on November 21, 2008. Meyer is also the author of the adult science-fiction novel </span><a title="The Host (novel)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Host_(novel)"><span style="color:#000000;">The Host</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">.<br />Meyer was named USA Today's "Author of the Year" in 2008. She was also the biggest selling author of the year, having sold over 29 million books in 2008 alone, with Twilight being the best selling book of the year. Meyer was ranked #49 on </span><a title="Time (magazine)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_(magazine)"><span style="color:#000000;">Time magazine's</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> list of the 100 Most Influential People in 2008, and was also included in the </span><a title="Forbes" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbes"><span style="color:#000000;">Forbes</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> Celebrity 100 list of the world's most powerful celebrities in 2009, entering at #26 with annual earnings exceeding $50 million</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Stephenie Meyer was born in </span><a title="Hartford, Connecticut" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartford,_Connecticut"><span style="color:#000000;">Hartford, Connecticut</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, to Stephen and Candy Morgan. She grew up in </span><a title="Phoenix, Arizona" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix,_Arizona"><span style="color:#000000;">Phoenix, Arizona</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, with five siblings: Seth, Emily, Jacob, Paul, and Heidi. She attended </span><a title="Chaparral High School (Arizona)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaparral_High_School_(Arizona)"><span style="color:#000000;">Chaparral High School</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> in </span><a title="Scottsdale, Arizona" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottsdale,_Arizona"><span style="color:#000000;">Scottsdale, Arizona</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. A member of </span><a title="The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints"><span style="color:#000000;">The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, she then attended </span><a title="Brigham Young University" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Young_University"><span style="color:#000000;">Brigham Young University</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> in </span><a title="Provo, Utah" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provo,_Utah"><span style="color:#000000;">Provo, Utah</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, where she received a </span><a title="Bachelor of Arts" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelor_of_Arts"><span style="color:#000000;">B.A.</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> in English in 1995. Meyer met her husband Christian, nicknamed "Pancho", when she was growing up in Arizona, and married him in 1994. Together they have three sons: Gabe, Seth, and Eli.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Meyer says that the idea for </span><a title="Twilight (novel)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_(novel)"><span style="color:#000000;">Twilight</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> came to her in a dream on June 2, 2003. The dream was about a human girl, and a </span><a title="Vampire" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire"><span style="color:#000000;">vampire</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> who was in love with her but thirsted for her blood. Based on this dream, Meyer wrote the transcript of what is now Chapter 13 of the book. In a matter of three months she had transformed that vivid dream into a completed novel. After writing and editing the novel, she signed a three-book deal with </span><a title="Little, Brown and Company" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little,_Brown_and_Company"><span style="color:#000000;">Little, Brown and Company</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> for $750,000. The book was released in 2005 and rose to the #1 spot on the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="New York Times Best Seller List" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Times_Best_Seller_List"><span style="color:#000000;">New York Times Best Seller List</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Following the success of </span><a title="Twilight (novel)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_(novel)"><span style="color:#000000;">Twilight</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> (2005), Meyer expanded the story into a series with three more books: </span><a title="New Moon (novel)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Moon_(novel)"><span style="color:#000000;">New Moon</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> (2006), </span><a title="Eclipse (novel)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipse_(novel)"><span style="color:#000000;">Eclipse</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> (2007), and </span><a title="Breaking Dawn" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Dawn"><span style="color:#000000;">Breaking Dawn</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> (2008). In its first week after publication, the first sequel, </span><a title="New Moon (novel)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Moon_(novel)"><span style="color:#000000;">New Moon</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, debuted at #5 on the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="New York Times" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Times"><span style="color:#000000;">New York Times</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> Best Seller List for Children's Chapter Books, and in its second week rose to the #1 position, where it remained for the next eleven weeks. In total, it spent over 50 weeks on the list. After the release of Eclipse, the first three "Twilight" books spent a combined 143 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list. The fourth installment of the Twilight series, </span><a title="Breaking Dawn" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Dawn"><span style="color:#000000;">Breaking Dawn</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, was released with an initial print run of 3.7 million copies. Over 1.3 million copies were sold on the first day alone, setting a record in first-day sales performance for the </span><a title="Hachette Book Group USA" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hachette_Book_Group_USA"><span style="color:#000000;">Hachette Book Group USA</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. The novel also won Meyer her first </span><a title="British Book Awards" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Book_Awards"><span style="color:#000000;">British Book Award</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, despite competition with </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="JK Rowling" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JK_Rowling"><span style="color:#000000;">JK Rowling</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">'s </span><a title="The Tales of Beedle the Bard" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tales_of_Beedle_the_Bard"><span style="color:#000000;">The Tales of Beedle the Bard</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. The series as a whole has sold over 53 million copies worldwidein 37 countries. In 2008, the four books of the series claimed the top four spots on </span><a title="USA Today" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Today"><span style="color:#000000;">USA Today</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">'s year-end bestseller list, making Meyer the first author to ever achieve this feat and the bestselling author of the year.<br />Upon the completion of the fourth entry in the series, Meyer indicated that Breaking Dawn would be the final novel to be told from </span><a title="Bella Swan" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bella_Swan"><span style="color:#000000;">Bella Swan</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">'s perspective. </span><a title="Midnight Sun (novel)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_Sun_(novel)"><span style="color:#000000;">Midnight Sun</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> was to be a companion novel to the series. It would be a retelling of the events of the novel Twilight, but from the perspective of </span><a title="Edward Cullen (Twilight)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Cullen_(Twilight)"><span style="color:#000000;">Edward Cullen</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> (as opposed to </span><a title="Bella Swan" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bella_Swan"><span style="color:#000000;">Bella Swan</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">). Meyer had hoped to have Midnight Sun published some time shortly after the release of Breaking Dawn, but after an online leak of a rough draft of its first 12 chapters, Meyer chose to delay the project indefinitely. In addition, since Meyer has decided to pursue non-Twilight related books as a result of the leak, she made the rough chapters of "Midnight Sun" available on her website.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Meyer has gained a following among young adult readers for her Twilight novels, which are set in the small town of </span><a title="Forks, Washington" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forks,_Washington"><span style="color:#000000;">Forks</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> on the </span><a title="Olympic Peninsula" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Peninsula"><span style="color:#000000;">Olympic Peninsula</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> in </span><a title="Washington" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington"><span style="color:#000000;">Washington state</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. Forks has thus received an unusual amount of attention, and celebrates "Stephenie Meyer Day" on September 13, the date of character Bella Swan's birthday, in honor of the author.<br />Fans express themselves in other ways: "[They] dress up like her characters. They </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Fan-fiction" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan-fiction"><span style="color:#000000;">write their own stories</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> about them and post their tales on the Internet. When she appears at a bookstore, 3,000 people go to meet her. There are Twilight-themed rock bands</span><br />One of Meyer's short stories was published in Prom Nights from Hell, a collection of stories about bad prom nights with supernatural <span style="color:#000000;">effects. Other authors who contributed to this collection are </span><a title="Meg Cabot" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meg_Cabot"><span style="color:#000000;">Meg Cabot</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Kim Harrison" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Harrison"><span style="color:#000000;">Kim Harrison</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Michele Jaffe" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michele_Jaffe"><span style="color:#000000;">Michele Jaffe</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, and </span><a title="Lauren Myracle" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauren_Myracle"><span style="color:#000000;">Lauren Myracle</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. Prom Nights from Hell was released in April 2007.<br />In May 2008, Meyer's adult sci-fi novel, </span><a title="The Host (novel)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Host_(novel)"><span style="color:#000000;">The Host</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, was released by the adult division of </span><a title="Little, Brown and Company" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little,_Brown_and_Company"><span style="color:#000000;">Little, Brown and Company</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">; it follows the story of Melanie Stryder and Wanderer, a young woman and an invading alien "soul," who are forced to work as one. The Host debuted at #1 on the </span><a title="New York Times Best Seller list" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Times_Best_Seller_list"><span style="color:#000000;">New York Times Best Seller list</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, and remained on the list for 26 weeks. In March 2008, Meyer stated that she was "almost done" writing a possible sequel to </span><a title="The Host (novel)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Host_(novel)"><span style="color:#000000;">The Host</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, entitled The Soul. If she were to continue the series, the third book would be called The Seeker.<br />Meyer mentions having several other book ideas on file, including a ghost story titled Summer House and a novel involving time travel, as well as another about mermaids.<br />On August 28, 2008, it was announced that Meyer had written the treatment for </span><a title="Jack's Mannequin" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack%27s_Mannequin"><span style="color:#000000;">Jack's</span> Mannequin</a> music video, "The Resolution", which she co-directed the following weekwww.whatyouwant.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15585150592020536784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6308801567129577974.post-34127237667868558172009-08-05T08:14:00.000-07:002009-08-05T08:23:16.502-07:00Tennis<span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Tennis is a sport played between two players (</span><a title="Types of tennis match" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Types_of_tennis_match"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">singles</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">) or between two teams of two players each (</span><a title="Types of tennis match" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Types_of_tennis_match"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">doubles</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">). Each player uses a strung </span><a title="Racquet" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racquet"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">racquet</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> to strike a hollow rubber </span><a title="Tennis ball" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_ball"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">ball</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> covered with felt (most of the time Optic Yellow) over a net into the opponent's </span><a title="Tennis court" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_court"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">court</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">.<br />The modern game of tennis originated in the United Kingdom in the late 19th century as "lawn tennis" which has heavy connections to the ancient game of </span><a title="Real tennis" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_tennis"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">real tennis</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">. After its creation, tennis spread throughout the upper-class English-speaking population before spreading around the world. Tennis is an </span><a title="Olympic Games" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Games"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Olympic</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> sport and is played at all levels of society at all ages. The sport can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including people </span><a title="Wheelchair tennis" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheelchair_tennis"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">in wheelchairs</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">. In the United States, there is a collegiate circuit organized by the </span><a title="National Collegiate Athletic Association" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Collegiate_Athletic_Association"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">National Collegiate Athletic Association</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">.<br />The rules of tennis have changed very little since the 1890s. Two exceptions are that from 1908 to 1960 the server had to keep one foot on the ground at all times, and then the adoption of the </span><a title="Tennis score" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_score#Scoring_a_tiebreak_game"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">tie-break</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> in the 1970s. A recent addition to professional tennis has been the adoption of electronic review technology coupled with a point challenge system, which allows a player to challenge the line (or chair) umpire's call of a point.<br />Tennis enjoys millions of recreational players and is also a hugely popular worldwide spectator sport, especially the four </span><a title="Grand Slam (tennis)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Slam_(tennis)"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Grand Slam</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> tournaments (sometimes referred to as the "majors"): the </span><a title="Australian Open" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Open"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Australian Open</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, the </span><a title="French Open" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Open"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">French Open</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, </span><a title="The Championships, Wimbledon" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Championships,_Wimbledon"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Wimbledon</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, and the </span><a title="US Open (tennis)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Open_(tennis)"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">US Open</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Tennis as the modern sport can be dated to two separate roots. Between 1859 and 1865, Major </span><a title="Harry Gem" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Gem"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Harry Gem</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> and his friend </span><a title="Augurio Perera" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augurio_Perera"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Augurio Perera</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> developed a game that combined elements of </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Racquets (sport)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racquets_(sport)"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">rackets</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> and the Basque ball game </span><a title="Pelota" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelota"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">pelota</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, which they played on Perera's </span><a title="Croquet" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croquet"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">croquet</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> lawn in </span><a title="Birmingham" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Birmingham</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, United Kingdom. In 1872, along with two local doctors, they founded the world's first tennis club in </span><a title="Leamington Spa" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leamington_Spa"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Leamington Spa</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">. The Courier of July 23, 1884 recorded one of the first tennis tournaments, held in the grounds of Shrubland Hall<br />In December 1873, Major </span><a title="Walter Clopton Wingfield" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Clopton_Wingfield"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Walter Clopton Wingfield</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> designed a similar game — which he called </span><a title="Stické" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stick%C3%A9"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">sphairistike</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> (</span><a title="Greek language" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_language"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Greek</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">: σφάίρίστική, meaning "skill at playing at ball"), and was soon known simply as "sticky" — for the amusement of his guests at a garden party on his estate of Nantclwyd, in Llanelidan, Wales.</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis#cite_note-5"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">[6]</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> He based the game on the newer sport of outdoor tennis or </span><a title="Real tennis" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_tennis"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">real tennis</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">. According to most tennis historians, modern tennis terminology also derives from this period, as Wingfield borrowed both the name and much of the French vocabulary of real tennis and applied them to his new game.<br /></span><a class="internal" title="Enlarge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lawn-tennis-Prang-1887.jpeg"></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Lawn tennis in the U.S., 1887<br />The first championships at </span><a title="The Championships, Wimbledon" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Championships,_Wimbledon"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Wimbledon</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> in London were played in 1877. In America in 1874 </span><a title="Mary Ewing Outerbridge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Ewing_Outerbridge"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Mary Ewing Outerbridge</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, a young socialite, returned from Bermuda where she met Major Wingfield. She laid out a tennis court at the </span><a title="Staten Island Cricket Club" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staten_Island_Cricket_Club"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Staten Island Cricket Club</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> in New Brighton Staten Island, New York. The exact location of the club was under what is now the Staten Island Ferry terminal. The first American National tournament in 1880 was played there. An Englishman named O.E Woodhouse won the singles match. There was also a doubles match which was won by a local pair. There were different rules at each club. The ball in Boston was larger than the one normally used in NY. On May 21, 1881, the United States National Lawn Tennis Association (now the </span><a title="United States Tennis Association" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Tennis_Association"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">United States Tennis Association</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">) was formed to standardize the rules and organize competitions. The U.S. National Men's Singles Championship, now the </span><a title="US Open (tennis)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Open_(tennis)"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">US Open</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, was first held in 1881 at </span><a title="Newport, Rhode Island" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport,_Rhode_Island"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Newport, Rhode Island</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">.</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis#cite_note-8"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">[9]</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> The U.S. National Women's Singles Championships were first held in 1887. Tennis was also popular in France, where the </span><a title="French Open" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Open"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">French Open</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> dates to 1891.Thus, Wimbledon, the US Open, the French Open, and the </span><a title="Australian Open" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Open"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Australian Open</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> (dating to 1905) became and have remained the most prestigious events in tennis.Together these four events are called the Majors or Slams (a term borrowed from </span><a title="Contract bridge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract_bridge"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">bridge</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> rather than </span><a title="Baseball" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">baseball</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">).The comprehensive International Lawn Tennis Federation, now known as the </span><a title="International Tennis Federation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Tennis_Federation"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">International Tennis Federation</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, rules promulgated in 1924 have remained remarkably stable in the ensuing eighty years, the one major change being the addition of the </span><a title="Tennis score" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_score#Scoring_a_tiebreak_game"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">tie-break</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> system designed by </span><a title="James Van Alen" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Van_Alen"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">James Van Alen</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">. That same year, tennis withdrew from the Olympics after the 1924 Games but returned 60 years later as a 21-and-under demonstration event in 1984. This reinstatement was credited by the efforts by the then ITF President Philippe Chatrier, ITF General Secretary David Gray and ITF Vice President Pablo Llorens, and support from IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch. The success of the event was overwhelming and the IOC decided to reintroduce tennis as a full medal sport at Seoul in 1988.<br />The </span><a title="Davis Cup" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davis_Cup"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Davis Cup</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, an annual competition between men's national teams, dates to 1900. The analogous competition for women's national teams, the </span><a title="Fed Cup" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fed_Cup"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Fed Cup</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, was founded as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the ITF.In 1926, promoter C.C. Pyle established the first professional tennis tour with a group of American and French tennis players playing exhibition matches to paying audiences. The most notable of these early professionals were the American </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Vinnie Richards" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinnie_Richards"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Vinnie Richards</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> and the Frenchwoman </span><a title="Suzanne Lenglen" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzanne_Lenglen"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Suzanne Lenglen</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">.[ Once a player turned pro he or she could not compete in the major (amateur) tournaments.<br />In 1968, commercial pressures and rumors of some amateurs taking money under the table led to the abandonment of this distinction, inaugurating the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Open era" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_era"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">open era</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, in which all players could compete in all tournaments, and top players were able to make their living from tennis With the beginning of the open era, the establishment of an international professional tennis circuit, and revenues from the sale of television rights, tennis's popularity has spread worldwide, and the sport has shed its upper/middle-class English-speaking image (although it is acknowledged that this stereotype still exists).In 1954, Van Alen founded the </span><a title="International Tennis Hall of Fame" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Tennis_Hall_of_Fame"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">International Tennis Hall of Fame</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, a non-profit museum in Newport, Rhode Island The building contains a large collection of tennis memorabilia as well as a hall of fame honoring prominent members and tennis players from all over the world. Each year, a </span><a title="Grass court" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grass_court"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">grass-court</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> tournament and an induction ceremony honoring new Hall of Fame members are hosted on its grounds</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Tennis is played on a rectangular, flat surface, usually </span><a title="Grass court" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grass_court"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">grass</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, </span><a title="Clay court" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_court"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">clay</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, a </span><a title="Hardcourt" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardcourt"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">hardcourt</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> of concrete and/or asphalt and occasionally carpet (indoor). The court is 78 </span><a title="Foot (length)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_(length)"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">feet</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> (23.77 </span><a title="Metre" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metre"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">m</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">) long, and its width is 27 feet (8.23 m) for singles matches and 36 ft (10.97 m) for doubles matches. Additional clear space around the court is required in order for players to reach overrun balls. A net is stretched across the full width of the court, parallel with the baselines, dividing it into two equal ends. The net is 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 m) high at the posts and 3 feet (91.4 cm) high in the center<br />The modern tennis court owes its design to Major </span><a title="Walter Clopton Wingfield" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Clopton_Wingfield"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Walter Clopton Wingfield</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> who, in 1873, patented a court much the same as the current one for his </span><a title="Stické" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stick%C3%A9"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">stické tennis</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> (sphairistike). This template was modified in 1875 to the court design that exists today, with markings similar to Wingfield's version, but with the </span><a title="Hourglass" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hourglass"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">hourglass</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> shape of his court changed to a rectangle.</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis#cite_note-Tennis_court_history-24"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">[25]</span></a><br /><a id="Lines" name="Lines"></a><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> Lines</span></strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">The lines that delineate the width of the court are called the baseline (farthest back) and the service line (middle of the court). The short mark in the center of each baseline is referred to as either the hash mark or the center mark. The outermost lines that make up the length are called the doubles sidelines. These are the boundaries used when doubles is being played. The lines to the inside of the doubles sidelines are the singles sidelines and are used as boundaries in singles play. The area between a doubles sideline and the nearest singles sideline is called the doubles alley, which is considered playable in doubles play. The line that runs across the center of a player's side of the court is called the service line because the serve must be delivered into the area between the service line and the net on the receiving side. Despite its name, this is not where a player legally stands when making a serve. The line dividing the service line in two is called the center line or center service line. The boxes this center line creates are called the service boxes; depending on a player's position, he will have to hit the ball into one of these when serving. A ball is out only if none of it has hit the line or the area inside the lines upon its first bounce. All the lines are required to be between 1 and 2 inches (51 mm) in width. The baseline can be up to 4 inches (100 mm) wide if so desired.<br /></span><a id="Play_of_a_single_point" name="Play_of_a_single_point"></a><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Play of a single point</strong><br /></span></span><a class="image" title="Two players before a serve." href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Peer_Vs_Chakvetadze.JPG"></a><br /><a class="internal" title="Enlarge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Peer_Vs_Chakvetadze.JPG"></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Two players before a serve.<br />The players (or teams) start on opposite sides of the net. One player is designated the server, and the opposing player, or in doubles one of the opposing players, is the receiver. Service alternates between the two halves of the court. For each point, the server starts behind his baseline, between the center mark and the sideline. The receiver may start anywhere on their side of the net. When the receiver is ready, the server will </span><a title="Serve (tennis)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serve_(tennis)"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">serve</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, although the receiver must play to the pace of the server.<br />In a legal service, the ball travels over the net (without touching it) and into the diagonally opposite service box. If the ball hits the net but lands in the service box, this is a let or net service, which is void, and the server gets to retake that serve. The player can serve any number of let services in a point and they are always treated as voids and not as faults. A fault is a serve that is long, wide, or not over the net. There is also a "foot fault", which occurs when a player's foot touches the baseline or an extension of the center markbefore the ball is hit. If the second service is also faulty, this is a double fault, and the receiver wins the point. However, if the serve is in, it is considered a legal service.<br />A legal service starts a rally, in which the players alternate hitting the ball across the net. A legal return consists of the player or team hitting the ball exactly once before it has bounced twice or hit any fixtures except the net, provided that it still falls in the server's court. The ball then travels back over the net and bounces in the court on the opposite side. The first player or team to fail to make a legal return loses the point.<br /></span><a id="Scoring" name="Scoring"></a><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Scoring<br /></strong><br />A tennis </span></span><a title="Tennis score" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_score#Scoring_the_match"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">match</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> is composed of a number of sets. Typically for both men's and women's matches, the first player to win two sets wins the match. At certain important tennis tournaments for men, including all four </span><a title="Grand Slam (tennis)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Slam_(tennis)"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Grand Slam</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> tournaments and the final of the </span><a title="Olympic Games" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Games"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Olympic Games</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, the first man to win three sets wins the match.A set consists of games, and games, in turn, consist of points.<br />A </span><a title="Tennis score" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_score#Scoring_each_game"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">game</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> consists of a sequence of </span><a title="Point (tennis)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_(tennis)"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">points</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> played with the same player serving. A game is won by the first player to have won at least four points in total and at least two points more than the opponent. The running score of each game is described in a manner peculiar to tennis: scores from zero to three points are described as "love", "fifteen", "thirty", and "forty" respectively. (See the main article </span><a title="Tennis score" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_score"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Tennis score</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> for the origin of these words as used in tennis.) If at least three points have been scored by each player, and the scores are equal, the score is "deuce". If at least three points have been scored by each side and a player has one more point than his opponent, the score of the game is "advantage" for the player in the lead. During informal games, "advantage" can also be called "ad in" or "ad out", depending on whether the serving player or receiving player is ahead, respectively.<br />In tournament play, the chair umpire calls the point count (e.g., "fifteen-love") after each point. The score of a tennis match during play is always read with the serving player's score first. After a match, the score is always read with the winning player's score first. At the end of a game, the chair umpire also announces the winner of the game and the overall score.<br />A game point occurs in tennis whenever the player who is in the lead in the game needs only one more point to win the game. The terminology is extended to sets (set point), matches (match point), and even championships (championship point). For example, if the player who is serving has a score of 40-love, the player has a triple game point (triple set point, etc.) as the player has three consecutive chances to win the game. Game points, set points, and match points are not part of official scoring and are not announced by the chair umpire in tournament play.<br />A break point occurs if the receiver, not the </span><a title="Serve (tennis)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serve_(tennis)"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">server</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, has a game point. Break points are of particular importance in men's professional tennis because </span><a title="Serve (tennis)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serve_(tennis)"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">serving</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> is generally advantageous. The advantage to the server is much less in the women's game.[</span><a title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">citation needed</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">] A receiver who has two (score of 15-40) or three (score of love-40) consecutive chances to win the game has double break point or triple break point, respectively. As with game, set, and match points, break points are not announced.<br />A </span><a title="Tennis score" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_score#Scoring_a_set"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">set</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> consists of a sequence of games played with service alternating between games, ending when the count of games won meets certain criteria. Typically, a player wins a set by winning at least six games and at least two games more than the opponent. If one player has won six games and the opponent five, an additional game is played. If the leading player wins that game, the player wins the set 7–5. If the trailing player wins the game, a </span><a title="Tennis score" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_score#Scoring_a_tiebreak_game"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">tie-break</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> is played. A tie-break, played under a separate set of rules, allows one player to win one more game and thus the set, to give a final set score of 7–6. Only in the final sets of matches at the </span><a title="Australian Open" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Open"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Australian Open</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, the </span><a title="French Open" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Open"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">French Open</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, </span><a title="The Championships, Wimbledon" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Championships,_Wimbledon"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Wimbledon</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, the Olympic Games, </span><a title="Davis Cup" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davis_Cup"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Davis Cup</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, and </span><a title="Fed Cup" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fed_Cup"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Fed Cup</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> are tie-breaks not played. In these cases, sets are played indefinitely until one player has a two game lead. A "love" set means that the loser of the set won zero games. In tournament play, the chair umpire announces the winner of the set and the overall score.<br />In tournament play, the chair umpire announces the end of the match with the well-known phrase "Game, set, match" followed by the winning person's or team's name.<br /></span><a id="Rules_variations" name="Rules_variations"></a><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong> Rules variations</strong><br /><br />The first player or doubles team to win four points wins the game, regardless of whether the player or team is ahead by two points. When the game score reaches three points each, the receiver chooses which side of the court (advantage court or deuce court) the service is to be delivered on the seventh and game-deciding point.<br />Pro set<br />Instead of playing multiple sets, players may play one "pro set". A pro set is first to 8 (or 10) games by a margin of two games, instead of first to 6 games. A 12-point tie-break is usually played when the score is 8-8 (or 10-10). These are often played with no-ad scoring.<br />Match tiebreak<br />This is sometimes played instead of a third set. This is played like a regular tiebreak, but the winner must win ten points instead of seven. Match tiebreaks are used in the </span></span><a title="Hopman Cup" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopman_Cup"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Hopman Cup</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> for mixed doubles, on the </span><a title="Association of Tennis Professionals" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Tennis_Professionals"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">ATP</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> and </span><a title="Women's Tennis Association" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Tennis_Association"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">WTA</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> tours for doubles and as a player's choice in USTA league play.<br />Another, however informal, tennis format is called "Kiwi doubles", "Canadian doubles" or "cut-throat". This involves three players, with one person playing a doubles team. The single player gets to utilize the alleys normally reserved only for a doubles team. Conversely, the doubles team does not use the alleys when executing a shot. The scoring is the same as a regular game. This format is not sanctioned by any official body.<br />"Australian doubles", another informal and unsanctioned form of tennis, is played with similar rules to the "Kiwi" style, only in this version, players rotate court position after each game. As such, each player plays doubles and singles over the course of a match, with the singles player always serving. Scoring styles vary, but one popular method is to assign a value of 2 points to each game, with the server taking both points if he or she holds serve and the doubles team each taking one if they break serve.<br /></span><a title="Wheelchair tennis" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheelchair_tennis"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Wheelchair tennis</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> can be played by able-bodied players as well as people who require a wheelchair for mobility. An extra bounce is permitted. This rule makes it possible to have mixed wheelchair and able-bodied matches. It is possible for a doubles team to consist of a wheelchair player and an able-bodied player (referred to as "one-up, one-down"), or for a wheelchair player to play against an able-bodied player. In such cases, the extra bounce is permitted for the wheelchair users only.<br /></span><a id="Surface" name="Surface"></a><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Surface<br /></strong><br />There are four main types of court surface, each different in the speed and bounce of the ball:<br />Name<br />Description<br /></span></span><a title="Clay court" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_court"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Clay</span></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Examples are red clay (used at the </span><a title="French Open" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Open"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">French Open</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> and many other tournaments, especially in Europe and Latin America) and green clay (an example of which is </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Har-Tru" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Har-Tru"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Har-Tru</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> and used mainly in the U.S.). Clay courts normally have a slower paced ball and a fairly true bounce with more spin.<br /></span><a title="Tennis court" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_court#Hard_courts"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Hard</span></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Examples are </span><a title="Acrylic" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrylic"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">acrylic</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> (e.g. </span><a title="Plexicushion" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plexicushion"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Plexicushion</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> used at the </span><a title="Australian Open" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Open"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Australian Open</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, </span><a title="DecoTurf" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DecoTurf"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">DecoTurf</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> used at the </span><a title="US Open (tennis)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Open_(tennis)"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">US Open</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">), asphalt, and concrete. Hardcourts typically have a faster-paced ball with a very true bounce.<br /></span><a title="Grass court" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grass_court"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Grass</span></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Used at </span><a title="The Championships, Wimbledon" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Championships,_Wimbledon"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Wimbledon</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">. Grass courts usually have a faster-paced ball, and a more erratic bounce. Wimbledon has slowed its courts over the years. (see the cited main article, </span><a title="Tennis court" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_court#Grass_courts"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Grass courts</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">).<br />Indoor<br />Examples are </span><a title="Carpet" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpet"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">carpet</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> and very rarely, wood. Carpet courts typically have a very fast-paced ball with a true but low bounce.<br /></span><a id="Officials" name="Officials"></a><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong> Officials</strong><br /></span></span><a class="image" title="An umpire informing two players of the rules." href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tennis_umpire.jpg"></a><br /><a class="internal" title="Enlarge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tennis_umpire.jpg"></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">An umpire informing two players of the rules.<br />In most professional play and some amateur competition, there is an officiating head judge or chair umpire (usually referred to as the umpire), who sits in a raised chair to one side of the court. The umpire has absolute authority to make factual determinations. The umpire may be assisted by line judges, who determine whether the ball has landed within the required part of the court and who also call foot faults. There also may be a net judge who determines whether the ball has touched the net during service. In some tournaments, certain line judges, usually those who would be calling the serve, are replaced by electronic sensors that beep when an out call would have been made. In some open-tournament matches, players are allowed to challenge a limited number of close calls by means of </span><a title="Instant replay" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_replay"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">electronic review</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">. The </span><a title="US Open (tennis)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Open_(tennis)"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">US Open</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="NASDAQ-100 Open" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASDAQ-100_Open"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">NASDAQ-100 Open</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> in </span><a title="Key Biscayne, Florida" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_Biscayne,_Florida"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Key Biscayne, Florida</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, the </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="United States Open Series" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Open_Series"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">US Open Series</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, and </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="World Team Tennis" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Team_Tennis"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">World Team Tennis</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> started using a "challenge" system in 2006 and the </span><a title="Australian Open" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Open"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Australian Open</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> and </span><a title="The Championships, Wimbledon" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Championships,_Wimbledon"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Wimbledon</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> introduced the system in 2007. This used the </span><a title="Hawk-Eye" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawk-Eye"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Hawk-Eye</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> system and the rules were similar to those used in the </span><a title="National Football League" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">NFL</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, where a player gets a limited number of opportunities to challenge per match/set. More recently, a player may use unlimited challenges in a set, provided that he or she is not incorrect more than three times. In clay-court matches, such as at the </span><a title="French Open" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Open"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">French Open</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, a call may be questioned by reference to the mark left by the ball's impact on the court surface.<br />The referee, who is usually located off the court, is the final authority about tennis rules. When called to the court by a player or team captain, the referee may overrule the umpire's decision if the tennis rules were violated (question of law) but may not change the umpire's decision on a question of fact. If, however, the referee is on the court during play, the referee may overrule the umpire's decision.<br /></span><a title="Ball boy" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_boy"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Ball boys and girls</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> may be employed to retrieve balls, pass them to the players, and hand players their towels. They have no </span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Adjudicative" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjudicative"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">adjudicative</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> role. In rare events (e.g., if they are hurt or if they have caused a hindrance), the umpire may ask them for a statement of what actually happened. The umpire may consider their statements when making a decision. In some leagues, especially junior leagues, players make their own calls, trusting each other to be honest. This is the case for many school and university level matches. The referee or referee's assistant, however, can be called on court at a player's request, and the referee or assistant may change a player's call. In unofficiated matches, a ball is out only if the player entitled to make the call is sure that the ball is out.<br /></span><a id="Juniors" name="Juniors"></a><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> Juniors</span></strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Main article: </span><a title="Junior tennis" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_tennis"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Junior tennis</span></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">In tennis, a junior is a player under the age of 18 who is still legally protected by a parent or guardian. Players on the main adult tour who are under 18 must have documents signed by a parent or guardian. These players, however, are still eligible to play in junior tournaments.<br />The </span><a title="International Tennis Federation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Tennis_Federation"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">International Tennis Federation</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> (ITF) conducts a junior tour that allows juniors to establish a world ranking and an </span><a title="Association of Tennis Professionals" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Tennis_Professionals"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Association of Tennis Professionals</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> (ATP) or </span><a title="Women's Tennis Association" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Tennis_Association"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Women's Tennis Association</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> (WTA) ranking. Most juniors who enter the international circuit do so by progressing through ITF, Satellite, Future, and Challenger tournaments before entering the main circuit. The latter three circuits also have adults competing in them. Some juniors, however, such as Australian </span><a title="Lleyton Hewitt" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lleyton_Hewitt"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Lleyton Hewitt</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> and Frenchman </span><a title="Gaël Monfils" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ga%C3%ABl_Monfils"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Gaël Monfils</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, have catapulted directly from the junior tour to the ATP tour by dominating the junior scene or by taking advantage of opportunities given to them to participate in professional tournaments.<br />In 2004, the ITF implemented a new rankings scheme to encourage greater participation in doubles, by combining two rankings (singles and doubles) into one combined tally. Junior tournaments do not offer prize money except for the </span><a title="Grand Slam (tennis)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Slam_(tennis)"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Grand Slams</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, which are the most prestigious junior events. Juniors may earn income from tennis by participating in the Future, Satellite, or Challenger tours. Tournaments are broken up into different tiers offering different amounts of ranking points, culminating with Grade A.<br />Leading juniors are allowed to participate for their nation in the Junior Fed Cup and Davis Cup competitions as well. To succeed in tennis often means having to begin playing at a young age. To facilitate and nurture a junior's growth in tennis, almost all tennis playing nations have developed a junior development system. Juniors develop their play through a range of tournaments on all surfaces, accommodating all different standards of play. Talented juniors may also receive sponsorships from governing bodies or private institutions.<br /></span><a id="Match_play" name="Match_play"></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> Match play<br /></span><a class="image" title="Convention dictates that two players shake hands at the end of a match." href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tennis_shake_hands_after_match.jpg"></a><br /><a class="internal" title="Enlarge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tennis_shake_hands_after_match.jpg"></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Convention dictates that two players shake hands at the end of a match.<br />A tennis match is intended to be continuous. Because stamina is a relevant factor, arbitrary delays are not permitted. In most cases, service is required to occur no more than 20 seconds after the end of the previous point. This is increased to 90 seconds when the players change ends (after every odd-numbered game), and a 120 second break is permitted between sets.Other than this, breaks are permitted only when forced by events beyond the players' control, such as rain, damaged footwear, damaged racquet, or the need to retrieve an errant ball. Should a player be determined to be stalling repeatedly, the chair umpire may initially give a warning followed by subsequent penalties of "point", "game", and default of the match for the player who is consistently taking longer than the allowed time limit.<br />In the event of a rain delay, darkness or other external conditions halting play, the match is resumed at a later time, with the same score as at the time of the delay, and the players at the same end of the court when rain halted play, or at the same position (north or south) if play is resumed on a different court.<br />Balls wear out quickly in serious play and, therefore, in </span><a title="Association of Tennis Professionals" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Tennis_Professionals"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">ATP</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> and </span><a title="Women's Tennis Association" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Tennis_Association"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">WTA</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> tournaments, they are changed after every nine games with the first change occurring after only seven games, because the first set of balls is also used for the pre-match warm-up. As a courtesy to the receiver, the server will often signal to the receiver before the first serve of the game in which new balls are used as a reminder that they are using new balls. However, in </span><a title="International Tennis Federation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Tennis_Federation"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">ITF</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"> tournaments like </span><a title="Fed Cup" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fed_Cup"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Fed Cup</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, the balls are changed in a 9-11 style. Continuity of the balls' condition is considered part of the game, so if a re-warm-up is required after an extended break in play (usually due to rain), then the re-warm-up is done using a separate set of balls, and use of the match balls is resumed only when play resumes.<br />It has recently been proposed to allow coaching on court during a match on a limited</span> basis.www.whatyouwant.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15585150592020536784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6308801567129577974.post-73014523339332241622009-08-05T08:01:00.000-07:002009-08-05T08:13:29.366-07:00Baseball<p><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Baseball is a </strong></span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Bat-and-ball" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat-and-ball"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>bat-and-ball</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score </strong></span><a title="Run (baseball)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run_(baseball)"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>runs</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> by hitting a thrown </strong></span><a title="Baseball (ball)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_(ball)"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>ball</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> with a </strong></span><a title="Baseball bat" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_bat"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>bat</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> and touching a series of four </strong></span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Base (baseball)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Base_(baseball)"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>bases</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond. Players on one team (the </strong></span><a title="Baseball rules" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_rules#Batting_team"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>batting team</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>) take turns hitting against the </strong></span><a title="Pitcher" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitcher"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>pitcher</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> of the other team (the </strong></span><a title="Baseball rules" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_rules#Fielding_team"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>fielding team</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>), which tries to stop them from scoring runs by getting hitters </strong></span><a title="Out (baseball)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_(baseball)"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>out</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> in any of several ways. A player on the batting team can stop at any of the bases and later advance via a teammate's </strong></span><a title="Hit (baseball)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hit_(baseball)"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>hit</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> or other means. The teams switch between batting and fielding whenever the fielding team records three outs. One turn at bat for each team constitutes an </strong></span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Inning (baseball)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inning_(baseball)"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>inning</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>; nine innings make up a professional game. The team with the most runs at the end of the game wins.<br />Evolving from older bat-and-ball games, an early form of baseball was being played in England by the mid-eighteenth century. This game and the related </strong></span><a title="Rounders" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rounders"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>rounders</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> were brought by British and Irish immigrants to North America, </strong></span><a title="History of baseball in the United States" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_baseball_in_the_United_States"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>where the modern version of baseball developed</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>. By the late nineteenth century, baseball was widely recognized as the </strong></span><a title="National sport" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_sport"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>national sport</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> of the United States. Baseball on the professional, amateur, and youth levels is now popular in North America, parts of Central and South America and the Caribbean, and parts of East Asia. The game is sometimes referred to as hardball, in contrast to the derivative game of </strong></span><a title="Softball" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Softball"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>softball</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>.<br />In North America, professional </strong></span><a title="Major League Baseball" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Major League Baseball</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> (MLB) teams are divided into the </strong></span><a title="National League" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_League"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>National League</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> (NL) and </strong></span><a title="American League" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_League"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>American League</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> (AL). Each league has three divisions: East, West, and Central. Every year, the champion of Major League Baseball is determined by </strong></span><a title="Major League Baseball postseason" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_postseason"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>playoffs</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> that culminate in the </strong></span><a title="World Series" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Series"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>World Series</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>. Four teams make the playoffs from each league: the three regular season division winners, plus one </strong></span><a title="Wild card (sports)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_card_(sports)"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>wild card</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> team. Baseball is the leading team sport in both Japan and Cuba, and the top level of play is similarly split between two leagues: Japan's </strong></span><a title="Central League" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_League"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Central League</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> and </strong></span><a title="Pacific League" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_League"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Pacific League</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>; Cuba's </strong></span><a title="Cuban National Series" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_National_Series"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>West League and East League</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>. In the National and Central leagues, the pitcher is required to bat, per the traditional rules. In the American, Pacific, and both Cuban leagues, there is a tenth player, a </strong></span><a title="Designated hitter" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Designated_hitter"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>designated hitter</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>, who bats for the pitcher. Each top-level team has a </strong></span><a title="Farm team" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farm_team#baseball"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>farm system</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> of one or more </strong></span><a title="Minor league baseball" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_league_baseball"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>minor league teams</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>. These teams allow younger players to develop as they gain on-field experience against opponents with similar levels of skill.<br /></strong></span><strong><span style="color:#000000;">Origins of baseball<br /></span><span style="color:#000000;">The evolution of baseball from older bat-and-ball games is difficult to trace with precision. A French manuscript from 1344 contains an illustration of clerics playing a game, possibly </span></strong><a title="La soule" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_soule"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>la soule</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;">, with similarities to baseball;</span><span style="color:#000000;"> other old French games such as théque, la balle au bâton, and la balle empoisonée also appear to be related.</span><span style="color:#000000;"> Consensus once held that today's baseball is a North American development from the older game </span></strong><a title="Rounders" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rounders"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>rounders</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>, popular in Great Britain and Ireland. </strong></span><a title="Baseball Before We Knew It" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_Before_We_Knew_It"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Baseball Before We Knew It: A Search for the Roots of the Game</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> (2005), by David Block, suggests that the game originated in England; recently uncovered historical evidence supports this position. Block argues that rounders and early baseball were actually regional variants of each other, and that the game's most direct antecedents are the English games of </strong></span><a title="Stoolball" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoolball"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>stoolball</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;"> and "tut-ball".</span><span style="color:#000000;"> It has long been believed that </span></strong><a title="Cricket" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>cricket</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> also descended from such games, though evidence uncovered in early 2009 suggests that the sport may have been imported to England from </strong></span><a title="Flanders" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flanders"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Flanders</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;">.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The earliest known reference to baseball is in a 1744 British publication, </span></strong><a title="A Little Pretty Pocket-Book" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Little_Pretty_Pocket-Book"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>A Little Pretty Pocket-Book</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>, by </strong></span><a title="John Newbery" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Newbery"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>John Newbery</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>. It contains a rhymed description of "base-ball" and a </strong></span><a title="Woodcut" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodcut"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>woodcut</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;"> that shows a field set-up somewhat similar to the modern game—though in a triangular rather than diamond configuration, and with posts instead of ground-level bases.</span><span style="color:#000000;"> English lawyer William Bray recorded a game of baseball on Easter Monday 1755 in </span></strong><a title="Guildford" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guildford"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Guildford</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>, </strong></span><a title="Surrey" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrey"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Surrey</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;">; Bray's diary was verified as authentic in September 2008.</span><span style="color:#000000;"> This early form of the game was apparently brought to North America by English immigrants; rounders was also brought to the continent by both British and Irish immigrants. The first known American reference to baseball appears in a 1791 </span></strong><a title="Pittsfield, Massachusetts" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsfield,_Massachusetts"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Pittsfield, Massachusetts</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;">, town bylaw prohibiting the playing of the game near the town's new meeting house.</span><span style="color:#000000;"> By 1796, a version of the game was well-known enough to earn a mention in a German scholar's book on popular pastimes. As described by Johann Gutsmuths, "englische Base-ball" involved a contest between two teams, in which "the batter has three attempts to hit the ball while at the home plate"; only one out was required to retire a side.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">By the early 1830s, there were reports of a variety of uncodified bat-and-ball games recognizable as early forms of baseball being played around North America. These games were often referred to locally as "</span></strong><a title="Town ball" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_ball"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>town ball</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;">", though other names such as "round-ball" and "base-ball" were also used.</span><span style="color:#000000;">Among the earliest examples to receive a detailed description—albeit five decades after the fact, in a letter from an attendee to Sporting Life magazine—took place in Beachville, </span></strong><a title="Ontario" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Ontario</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>, </strong></span><a title="Canada" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Canada</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;">, in 1838. There were many similarities to modern baseball, and some crucial differences: five bases (or byes); first bye just 6 yards (10 m) from the home bye; batter out if a hit ball was caught after the first bounce.</span><span style="color:#000000;"> The once widely accepted story that </span></strong><a title="Abner Doubleday" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abner_Doubleday"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Abner Doubleday</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> invented baseball in </strong></span><a title="Cooperstown, New York" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperstown,_New_York"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Cooperstown, New York</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;">, in 1839 has been conclusively debunked by sports historians.</span><span style="color:#000000;"> In 1845, </span></strong><a title="Alexander Cartwright" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Cartwright"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Alexander Cartwright</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>, a member of New York City's Knickerbockers club, led the codification of the so-called </strong></span><a title="Knickerbocker Rules" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knickerbocker_Rules"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Knickerbocker Rules</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;">.</span><span style="color:#000000;">The practice, common to bat-and-ball games of the day, of "soaking" or "plugging"—effecting a </span></strong><a title="Putout" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Putout"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>putout</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;"> by hitting a runner with a thrown ball—was barred. The rules thus facilitated the use of a smaller, harder ball than had been common. Several other rules also brought the Knickerbockers' game close to the modern one, though a ball caught on the first bounce was, again, an out and only underhand pitching was allowed.</span><span style="color:#000000;"> While there are reports that the </span></strong><a title="New York Knickerbockers" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Knickerbockers"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>New York Knickerbockers</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> played games in 1845, the contest now recognized as the first officially recorded baseball game in U.S. history took place on June 19, 1846, in </strong></span><a title="Hoboken, New Jersey" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoboken,_New_Jersey"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Hoboken, New Jersey</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;">: the "New York Nine" defeated the Knickerbockers, 23–1, in four innings.</span><span style="color:#000000;"> With the Knickerbocker code as the basis, the rules of modern baseball continued to evolve over the next half-century.</span><br /></strong><a id="History_of_baseball_in_the_United_States" name="History_of_baseball_in_the_United_States"></a><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>History of baseball in the United States</strong></span></p><p><strong><span style="color:#000000;">The game turns professional<br />In the mid-1850s, a baseball craze hit the New York metropolitan area</span><span style="color:#000000;">By 1856, local journals were referring to baseball as the "national pastime" or "national game".</span><span style="color:#000000;">A year later, sixteen area clubs formed the sport's first governing body, the </span></strong><a title="National Association of Base Ball Players" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Association_of_Base_Ball_Players"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>National Association of Base Ball Players</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>. In 1863, the organization disallowed putouts made by catching a </strong></span><a title="Fair ball" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_ball"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>fair ball</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> on the first bounce. Four years later, it barred participation by </strong></span><a class="mw-redirect" title="African Americans" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Americans"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>African Americans</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;">.</span><span style="color:#000000;"> The game's commercial potential was developing: in 1869 the first fully professional baseball club, the </span></strong><a title="Cincinnati Red Stockings" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnati_Red_Stockings"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Cincinnati Red Stockings</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;">, was formed and went undefeated against a schedule of semipro and amateur teams.</span><span style="color:#000000;"> The first professional league, the </span></strong><a title="National Association of Professional Base Ball Players" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Association_of_Professional_Base_Ball_Players"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>National Association of Professional Base Ball Players</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>, lasted from 1871 to 1875; scholars dispute </strong></span><a title="National Association as a major league" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Association_as_a_major_league"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>its status as a major league</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;">.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The more formally structured </span></strong><a title="National League" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_League"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>National League</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;"> was founded in 1876. As the oldest surviving major league, the National League is sometimes referred to as the "senior circuit".</span><span style="color:#000000;"> Several other major leagues formed and failed. In 1884, African American </span></strong><a title="Moses Fleetwood Walker" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_Fleetwood_Walker"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Moses Walker</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> (and, briefly, his brother Welday) played in one of these, the </strong></span><a title="American Association (19th century)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Association_(19th_century)"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>American Association</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;">.</span><span style="color:#000000;"> An injury ended Walker's major league career, and by the early 1890s, a </span></strong><a title="Gentlemen's agreement" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentlemen%27s_agreement"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>gentlemen's agreement</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> in the form of the </strong></span><a title="Baseball color line" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_color_line"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>baseball color line</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;"> effectively barred black players from the white-owned professional leagues, major and minor.</span><span style="color:#000000;"> Professional </span></strong><a title="Negro league baseball" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negro_league_baseball"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Negro leagues</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> formed, but quickly folded; several independent African American teams succeeded as </strong></span><a title="Barnstorm (sports)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnstorm_(sports)"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>barnstormers</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;">.</span><span style="color:#000000;"> Also in 1884, overhand pitching was legalized.</span><span style="color:#000000;"> In 1887, </span></strong><a title="Softball" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Softball"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>softball</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>, under the name of indoor baseball or indoor-outdoor, was invented as a winter version of the parent game.</strong></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball#cite_note-25"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>[26]</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> Virtually all of the modern baseball rules were in place by 1893; the last major change—counting </strong></span><a title="Foul ball" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foul_ball"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>foul balls</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> as </strong></span><a title="Strike zone" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strike_zone"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>strikes</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>—was instituted in 1901.</strong></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball#cite_note-R71-24"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>[25]</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> The National League's first successful counterpart, the </strong></span><a title="American League" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_League"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>American League</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>, which evolved from the minor </strong></span><a title="Western League (original)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_League_(original)"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Western League</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;">, was established that year.</span><span style="color:#000000;"> The two leagues, each with eight teams, were rivals that fought for the best players, often disregarding each other's contracts and engaging in bitter legal disputes</span></strong><a class="image" title="The New York Giants baseball team, 1913. Fred Merkle, sixth in line, committed a baserunning gaffe in a crucial 1908 game that became famous as Merkle's Boner." href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:New_York_Giants_Opening_Day_line-up_at_the_Polo_Grounds_New_York._Left_to_right_Fred_Snodgrass,_Tillie_Shafer,_George_Burns,_Larry_Doyle,_Red_Murray,_Fred_Merkle,_Buck_Herzog,_Chief_Meyers_(baseball)_(LOC).jpg"></a><br /><a class="internal" title="Enlarge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:New_York_Giants_Opening_Day_line-up_at_the_Polo_Grounds_New_York._Left_to_right_Fred_Snodgrass,_Tillie_Shafer,_George_Burns,_Larry_Doyle,_Red_Murray,_Fred_Merkle,_Buck_Herzog,_Chief_Meyers_(baseball)_(LOC).jpg"></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>The </strong></span><a title="San Francisco Giants" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Giants"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>New York Giants</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> baseball team, 1913. </strong></span><a title="Fred Merkle" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Merkle"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Fred Merkle</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>, sixth in line, committed a </strong></span><a title="Baserunning" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baserunning"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>baserunning</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> gaffe in a crucial 1908 game that became famous as Merkle's Boner.<br />A modicum of peace was eventually established, leading to the National Agreement of 1903. The pact formalized relations both between the two major leagues and between them and the National Association of Professional Base Ball Leagues, representing most of the country's </strong></span><a title="Minor league baseball" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_league_baseball"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>minor professional leagues</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;">.</span><span style="color:#000000;"> The </span></strong><a title="World Series" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Series"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>World Series</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>, pitting the two major league champions against each other, was inaugurated that fall, albeit without express major league sanction: The </strong></span><a class="mw-redirect" title="Boston Americans" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Americans"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Boston Americans</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> of the American League defeated the </strong></span><a title="Pittsburgh Pirates" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh_Pirates"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Pittsburgh Pirates</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;"> of the National League.</span><span style="color:#000000;"> The next year, the series was not held, as the National League champion </span></strong><a title="San Francisco Giants" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Giants"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>New York Giants</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>, under </strong></span><a title="Manager (baseball)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manager_(baseball)"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>manager</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> </strong></span><a class="mw-redirect" title="John McGraw (baseball)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McGraw_(baseball)"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>John McGraw</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;">, refused to recognize the major league status of the American League and its champion.</span><span style="color:#000000;"> In 1905, the Giants were National League champions again and team management relented, leading to the establishment of the World Series as the major leagues' annual championship event.</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">As professional baseball became increasingly profitable, players frequently raised grievances against owners over issues of control and equitable income distribution. During the major leagues' early decades, players on various teams occasionally attempted strikes, which routinely failed when their jobs were sufficiently threatened. In general, the strict rules of baseball contracts and the </span></strong><a title="Reserve clause" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reserve_clause"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>reserve clause</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;">, which bound players to their teams even when their contracts had ended, tended to keep the players in check.</span><span style="color:#000000;"> Motivated by dislike for particularly stingy owner </span></strong><a title="Charles Comiskey" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Comiskey"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Charles Comiskey</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> and gamblers' payoffs, real and promised, members of the </strong></span><a title="Chicago White Sox" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_White_Sox"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Chicago White Sox</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> conspired to </strong></span><a title="Match fixing" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Match_fixing"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>throw</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> the </strong></span><a title="1919 World Series" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1919_World_Series"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>1919 World Series</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>. The </strong></span><a title="Black Sox Scandal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sox_Scandal"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Black Sox Scandal</strong></span></a><strong><span style="color:#000000;"> led to the formation of a new National Commission of baseball that drew the two major leagues closer together.</span><span style="color:#000000;"> The first </span></strong><a class="mw-redirect" title="Commissioner of Baseball" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commissioner_of_Baseball"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>major league baseball commissioner</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>, </strong></span><a title="Kenesaw Mountain Landis" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenesaw_Mountain_Landis"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Kenesaw Mountain Landis</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>, was elected in 1920. That year also saw the founding of the </strong></span><a title="Negro National League (1920–1931)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negro_National_League_(1920%E2%80%931931)"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Negro National League</strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>; the first significant Negro league, it would operate until 1931. For part of the 1920s, it was joined by the </strong></span><a title="Eastern Colored League" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Colored_League"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Eastern Colored League</strong></span></a></p>www.whatyouwant.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15585150592020536784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6308801567129577974.post-56805862680399171032009-08-05T07:39:00.000-07:002009-08-05T07:41:10.395-07:00HOW TO GOLF<span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Golf is a great game: sometimes rewarding, often frustrating but </span><a href="http://www.chiff.com/a/golf-addict.htm"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">highly addictive</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">. Getting started in it is actually not so difficult, and hopefully this article can help you avoid some of the common pitfalls.<br />The very first steps. The biggest mistake made by people wanting to start in golf is to rush out and buy a brand new set of shiny and expensive golf clubs. While they are nice to look at you should keep in mind that today's golf equipment comes in great varieties to cater for different golfing types and abilities.<br />Since you're just starting out you do not know which set fits you best. Just imagine the envious looks you get at the driving range when you come with your $2000 set, and the subsequent laughter when you try and just 'hack away' - not worth the embarrassment!<br />Once you spend a few hundred or even thousands of dollars on a set that doesn't suit your style you're stuck with it or you have to sell it to somebody else at a loss. If you feel you want your own clubs get a half set. This generally comprises five irons and perhaps two woods and a putter. Usually the irons are the odd numbers 3,5,7,9 and wedge. These clubs are more than enough to get you started.<br />A better alternative: most driving ranges will have clubs for hire, so you can try out a few different ones. You can also borrow one or two clubs from a friend. The shortest iron (nine iron) or a wedge are the best clubs to start, practicing with it will give you the feeling of hitting the ball in the air and should be fairly straight forward.<br />Where to get golf clubs? Most Pro shops and driving ranges sell second hand clubs. They will also be able to offer you advice and let you try some clubs out. Alternatively, nearly all driving ranges will have clubs for hire if you want to have a go without committing to a set until you get the hang of it. Or ask other people at the driving range, you will soon find out that many have another set of clubs at home because they made the exact same mistakes I mentioned above. Make sure you try before you buy, if they fit (and only if they fit!) you can often get them for a steal. Make use of these opportunities, and also take a look at our website, LearnAboutGolf.com, as to how to choose a club. I again stress that you need to have a basic understanding on which club suits you reasonably well before you buy. DO NOT buy expensive brands at this stage.<br /><br /><br />"I want to play, I want to play!" As hard as it will be to contain yourself, don't even contemplate going anywhere near a golf course. Golf is technically quite demanding, and without at least some basic training you'll end up with a lot of frustration. You've seen the top players on TV losing their cool in frustration, imagine how you will feel if not even a single shot goes where you want it to.<br />Besides, the other people having to wait for you will also not be happy. As a beginner at the great game of golf, start off at a driving range, take at least four or five lessons, learn the fundamentals, progress to a 9 hole course and eventually venture out into the great unknown of an 18 hole golf course. Believe me, it will be a lot more fun for you and those around you if you follow this path.<br />Where to get lessons? You will meet plenty of people at the range who will teach you the 'innermost secrets' of golf. Fact is that most of them have started playing not long before you. So the answer to the above question is: go to a Professional. As you have seen on TV, even the world's top players have a coach. </span><a href="http://www.chiff.com/recreation/sports/sports-stars/tiger-woods.htm"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Tiger Woods</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">, probably the best golfer the world, still takes lessons. Certified Golf Professionals are the only people qualified to teach you how to play the game. Lessons from a Pro will cost you money but will be the best investment you'll ever make. Taking the advice from the 'know-it-all' people at the range will likely screw-up your game at the very early stage, and it will take a long time to correct the faults later.<br />The two places to get golf lessons are at driving ranges and golf clubs. You don't have to be a member of a club to get a lesson from the Pro. You bring in money, so they will be glad to help. The usual cost is about $25-40 per 45 min, but you will get reductions for a block booking. If you are a bit on the budget see if they do group bookings, those are also cheaper than individual lessons.<br />What else to do? Books and videos can be invaluable in learning the basics. To build a sound </span><a href="http://www.chiff.com/a/golf-basics.htm"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">golf swing</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> you will need the three fundamentals: Grip, Stance and Posture. There are some very good books and videos on the market that will help you to establish the three fundamentals. And watch the Pro's on the TV, or better still video them and play back in slow motion, you'll learn a lot this way. Don't get blinded by too much science, you're still a beginner. Stick to Grip, Stance and Posture and you'll be on your way. Take a look at the golf tips and golf lessons on our website, LearnAboutGolf.com, for some advice as well.<br />Summary<br />Don't waste your money on expensive clubs until you have reached a basic level of competency.<br />Don't go near a golf course until you have reached a basic level.<br />Get lessons from a qualified professional.<br />Learn the three fundamentals<br />Watch the pro's.<br />Practice.<br />Learn the rules of golf and basic golf etiquette.<br />I hope that this article has been of some help to avoid costly mistakes many people made, including myself. Follow the above basics and you are on your way to all the fun (and frustration)</span> golf can offer. Enjoy!</span>www.whatyouwant.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15585150592020536784noreply@blogger.com0