Impact Investing: Turning a Profit and Changing the World ...

Impact investing, a rapidly growing sector of?socially responsible investing (SRI), represents the nexus of philanthropy and traditional finance: It expands the definition of return on invested capital to include both financial and social returns ? and is?a way to use the tools of finance and investing to create social change. If a?survey of financial professionals conducted last year by the First Affirmative Financial Network?is any guide, impact investing will likely be the number one growth area in?the SRI field in 2013.

At the same time, awareness of this emerging area of finance is growing. In a 2011 survey, JPMorgan found that?the number of institutions and high net worth individuals who were familiar with impact investing had doubled since 2010. JPMorgan predicts that by 2020 there could be?between $400 billion and $1 trillion dollars directed toward impact investing.

So how does it work? The fundamental assumption underlying impact investing is that the creation of economic value and social value are not mutually exclusive. Therefore, a unified market-based approach can be used to develop long-term sustainable solutions to social and environmental problems. Impact investors include public pension funds, foundations, corporations, governments, and individual investors. Their common objective is to invest in companies or securities that will provide a return on investment while also alleviating poverty, creating affordable housing, building needed infrastructure, or conserving natural resources.

Of course, the concept of investing in a socially responsible manner dates back to biblical times, and faith-based investors continue to capitalize on their roles as shareholders to serve social causes. According to the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment, the number of US mutual funds that use environmental, social, or corporate governance (ESG) criteria, grew from 12 in 1995 to 333 in 2012 (a 2,675%? increase) while assets under management grew from $12 billion to $640 billion (a 5,233% increase) during the same period. The performance of these funds illustrates that it is possible to achieve both financial and social objectives. (Though it should be noted that a recent overview of studies on the returns for SRI found that results tend to be mixed.)

Impact investors have taken the concept of SRI one step further. Instead of just avoiding companies whose products and services are incongruent with their values, impact investors seek out and invest in companies, securities, and funds that are actually helping to combat societal issues of hunger, homelessness, disease, and environmental degradation. As a result, new and unique investment products have been introduced that not only address specific social issues, but offer competitive market returns.

The AdvisorShares Global Echo ETF (GIVE), for example, focuses on sustainable and impact investment opportunities. A portion of its management fee goes to the Global Echo Foundation, which provides funding to charitable organizations and development programs around the world.

Social impact bonds, also known as pay-for-success or social benefit bonds, are used to finance organizations that provide social services and programs to individuals and communities that were once provided by the governments. The government pays the interest and principle on these bonds out of the savings it receives, if the outside organization is able to provide the same services at a lower cost. Returns may also be contingent on social outcomes. In the United Kingdom, for example, the proceeds of a social impact bond are being used to fund an organization that provides comprehensive assistance to men released from prison. Bondholders will only receive interest and principal payments if the services provided by this new organization reduces recidivism to a specified rate.

Developments in recent years have addressed several critical challenges facing the impact investing industry ??and should facilitate this forecasted growth.?In 2009, for example, the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), an independent nonprofit organization, was formally established to foster the growth and effectiveness of impact investing by providing a forum to address ?systemic barriers to effective impact investing by building critical infrastructure and developing activities, education, and research that attract more investment capital to poverty alleviation and environmental solutions.? One of its most important projects has been the development of Impact Reporting and Investment Standards (IRIS). These standards provide a ?standardized taxonomy and a set of consistent definitions? that investors can use to measure and assess the social, environmental, and financial impact of their investments. In addition, IRIS maintains a database that contains performance data from funds and mission-driven organizations.

There has been a global trend among governments to support impact investing. In 2011, the UK government established Big Society Capital, a social investment bank with a mission ?to catalyze the growth of a sustainable social investment market, making it easier for social ventures to access the finance and advice they need?? at all stages of their development.? In the United States, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), whose mission is to ?mobilize private capital to help solve critical world challenges,? provided $285 million in financing for six new impact investment funds. In Australia, the government provided $20 million to establish the Social Enterprise Development and Investment Funds (SEDIF).

Although some view impact investing as a new asset class or investment strategy, I believe that it will become an investment philosophy. Who wouldn?t want help the world and make money at the same time? After all, as Amy Domini says in her book, Socially Responsible Investing, ?The way we invest creates the world we live in.?

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Please note that the content of this site should not be construed as investment advice, nor do the opinions expressed necessarily reflect the views of CFA Institute.

Photo credit: ?iStockphoto.com/kimberrywood

Source: http://blogs.cfainstitute.org/investor/2013/02/25/impact-investing-taking-responsibility-for-your-money-and-its-impact-on-the-global-community/

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Schilling's bloody sock from WS goes for $92,613

NEW YORK (AP) ? A bloody sock worn by Curt Schilling while pitching for the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 of the 2004 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals was sold for $92,613 at a live auction on Saturday night at the Fletcher-Sinclair Mansion.

Schilling had loaned his sock to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum but when his Rhode Island-based video game company "38 Studios" went bankrupt, he decided to sell the sock that was bloodied as he pitched on an injured ankle.

Bidding began at $25,000 several weeks ago. Texas-based Heritage Auctions anticipated it would get more than $100,000.

An anonymous bidder submitted the winning bid.

"It's a one of a kind item, so it's really tough to gauge what kind of interest you're going to get," Chris Ivy, director of Sports Auctions for Heritage Auctions said. "Sometimes you catch lightning in a bottle where a piece will take off like the Buckner ball. This particular time, it's the first time we sold a sock with blood on it so it's very hard to gauge what kind of final number it's going to end up."

Schilling helped end Boston's 86-year championship drought ? the "Curse of the Bambino" ? by pitching on an ankle that had been sutured more than once through the postseason. Pitching with a damaged tendon resulted in bleeding through the sock. Still, Schilling allowed only a run in six innings.

The right-hander made $114 million over an 18-year career with Baltimore, Houston, Philadelphia, Arizona and Boston but defaulted on loan payments to the state of Rhode Island.

Schilling's company was lured away from Massachusetts to Providence after Rhode Island's economic development agency in 2010 approved a $75 million loan guarantee. The company ran out of money less than two years later and filed for bankruptcy. Rhode Island is facing a tab of approximately $100 million related to the deal, including interest, and the agency is suing Schilling and others, saying it was misled.

Even with the large sale price, Rhode Island is not getting the proceeds from the sale. Schilling listed the sock as bank collateral in a filing in Massachusetts after investing roughly $50 million in the company and losing all his baseball earnings.

The sock up for sale was actually the second of two. The more famous one was stained when Schilling pitched through an ankle injury during Game 6 of the 2004 AL championship series against the New York Yankees; that sock is said to have been discarded at Yankee Stadium.

Schilling's sock was the second notable piece of Red Sox memorabilia to be auctioned off in the last year. The ball that went through Bill Buckner's legs in Game Six of the 1986 World Series was projected to sell for $100,000 but fetched $418,000.

The other marquee part of the auction was several 1980 Winter Olympic items from Mike Eruzione, who scored the game-winning goal for the US Hockey team to the "Miracle on Ice" against Russia 33 years ago Friday. The team won the gold medal by beating Finland.

He was selling nearly everything except for his actual gold medal.

Besides the No. 21 jersey Eruzione wore when he scored the game-winning goal in the comeback victory over the Soviet Union, he sold his stick, the jersey from the "Miracle on Ice" game, his hockey pants, his hockey gloves and the sweatsuit worn at the gold medal ceremony.

The items were sitting in Eruzione's hockey bag for most of the last 33 years, but his stick went for $262,900 while his jerseys went for $657,250 and $286,800 respectively.

"It was fun, obviously I don't know what's going to happen in something like this," Eruzione said. "It's exciting and I'm happy that a few people enjoy it and display it properly."

Ivy said that Eruzione was interested in selling his memorabilia after seeing the jersey that Paul Henderson wore for Team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series against Russia sell for over $1.2 million dollars last year.

Eruzione said that proceeds will be used to help his family and his charitable endeavors.

Other noteworthy New York Yankee and Red Sox items, included a $1,150 signing bonus endorsed by a 17-year-old Mickey Mantle that sold for $286,800 and two checks related to the purchase of Babe Ruth, which went for $95,600.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/schillings-bloody-sock-ws-goes-92-613-034641871--mlb.html

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Rapper, cabbie meet violent end together in Vegas

This April 2011 photo from the California Department of Motor Vehicles shows Kenneth Cherry Jr., also known as rapper "Kenny Clutch." The Clark County, Nev., coroner's office identified Cherry as the Maserati driver who died Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013 after being peppered with gunfire from someone in a Range Rover SUV, sparking a fiery crash that killed two others in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/California DMV)

This April 2011 photo from the California Department of Motor Vehicles shows Kenneth Cherry Jr., also known as rapper "Kenny Clutch." The Clark County, Nev., coroner's office identified Cherry as the Maserati driver who died Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013 after being peppered with gunfire from someone in a Range Rover SUV, sparking a fiery crash that killed two others in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/California DMV)

Tow truck drivers clean up and tow away cars involved in a drive-by shooting on Las Vegas Boulevard in Las Vegas Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Las Vegas Review-Journal, John Locher) LOCAL TV OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT; LAS VEGAS SUN OUT

Smoke and flames billow from a burning vehicle following a shooting and multi-car accident on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas early Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. The Las Vegas Strip became a scene of deadly violence early Thursday when, authorities say, someone in a black Range Rover opened fire on a Maserati, sending it crashing into a taxi that burst into flames, leaving three people dead and at least six injured. (AP Photo/Erik Lackey)

Tow truck drivers clean up and tow away cars involved in a drive-by shooting on Las Vegas Boulevard in Las Vegas Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Las Vegas Review-Journal, John Locher) LOCAL TV OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT; LAS VEGAS SUN OUT

Law enforcement personal investigate the scene of a mulit-vehicle accident on Las Vegas Blvd and Flamingo Road Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. Authorities say a Range Rover opened fire on a Maserati at a stoplight, sending it crashing into a taxi that went up in flames, leaving three people dead and at least six injured. Police were checking with nearby businesses to see whether a previous altercation prompted the car-to-car attack (AP Photo/Las Vegas Review-Journal, Jeff Scheid) LOCAL TV OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT; LAS VEGAS SUN OUT

LAS VEGAS (AP) ? Kenny Cherry was an aspiring rapper who moved from the Bay Area to Las Vegas to pursue his career. His music videos online show him cruising the Strip in his Maserati.

Taxi driver Michael Boldon was a family man who hailed from Michigan; and his passenger, Sandra Sutton-Wasmund, came from a loving Washington state family and was well regarded in her community.

The lives of the three ended in violence normally seen only in movies: gunfire, a fiery crash and an explosion before dawn Thursday on the neon-lit Las Vegas Strip.

As investigators Friday tried to find the gunman in a black Range Rover SUV who triggered the shocking chain of events, families and friends tried to grasp the blink-of-an-eye finality of it all.

"Right now my heart is breaking," said Cherry's great aunt, Patricia Sims, of Oakland, Calif. "This has really been a tragedy. Kenny was just a delightful kid."

Sims, 75, said Cherry moved to Las Vegas from Northern California, though she didn't know her nephew was a rapper using the name Kenny Clutch.

Cherry's parents were traveling to Las Vegas on Friday to claim his body. The 27-year-old, whose full name is Kenneth Wayne Cherry Jr., was driving a Maserati that was peppered by gunfire before it sped through a red light and smashed into Boldon's taxi.

The taxi exploded into flames, killing Boldon and Sutton-Wasmund, as four other vehicles crashed like pinballs at an intersection overlooked by some of Las Vegas' most famous hotel-casinos: Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Bally's and the Flamingo.

Police think an argument at the valet area of the upscale Aria resort-casino led to the shooting, but they haven't shared details. The shooting happened the same night that Morocco-born rapper French Montana was playing at Aria's signature nightclub, Haze.

"What the original disagreement was is crucial to the ongoing investigation and the identification of the suspects," said Las Vegas police officer Bill Cassell.

He said investigators were examining surveillance video and enlisting help from federal authorities and agencies in neighboring states to look for the distinctive Range Rover. It had blackout windows and custom black rims and was last seen speeding away from the fiery scene around 4:30 a.m. Thursday.

Police said a passenger in the Maserati was wounded in the arm but was treated at a hospital and released. He was reported to be cooperating with investigators, and his name wasn't made public.

Cherry's father, Kenneth Cherry Sr., of Emeryville, Calif., said he was struggling to handle his grief.

He said his son started a music career in Oakland after attending two Catholic high schools. According to his father, Cherry was recognized by other rappers within a West Coast hip-hop strain called hyphy.

Cherry was not well-known in wider music circles, according to Chuck Creekmur, CEO of AllHipHop.com.

"I had never heard his name before," Creekmur said.

Kenny Clutch's YouTube music video, "Stay Schemin," shows scenes of hotels along the Strip as he sings about paying $120,000 for his Maserati.

"One mistake change lives all in one night," he raps in one verse.

Cherry Sr. said he didn't know how his son made money or if he had any other jobs.

"I want to make it clear that my son was no gangster or nothing like that," he told The Associated Press. "He moved to Vegas about six year ago and he was writing music and rap."

Court records show Cherry had no criminal cases or convictions in Las Vegas, and Cassell said there was no record of arrests.

The police spokesman wouldn't say whether investigators determined if Cherry owned, rented or borrowed the Maserati. Cassell called that information "integral to the investigation."

Meanwhile, Boldon's family struggled to cope with his death.

"It's very devastating for us, for my family," said Tehran Boldon, 50, younger brother of the 62-year-old taxi driver. "Our family has no history of violence or gang membership that would predict losing a family member to such an event."

Boldon's sister, Carolyn Jean Trimble, said Boldon was a father, a grandfather and a car enthusiast. He was one of five children born and raised in Michigan, where he took care of his ailing father, who fought cancer, before moving to Las Vegas to be with his 93-year-old mother.

Bolden had owned a clothing store in Detroit and worked at a car dealership, his sister said. He began driving taxis after moving to Las Vegas about 1 1/2 years ago.

Boldon loved watching IndyCar and NASCAR races and drove a Mercedes when he wasn't in a cab. An avid car enthusiast, he tried to persuade Trimble to buy a Bentley, she said.

"Everybody just loved him," the older sister said. "When that car hit that cab, Mike had to be in there talking and laughing."

The irony that a man with a taste for beautiful cars was killed by a sports car wasn't lost on Trimble.

"He would be tickled to death: 'Damn, of all things, a Maserati hit me, took me out like that,'" she said. "I'm happy he didn't suffer."

The county medical examiner said both Boldon and his passenger, Sutton-Wasmund, died of blunt force injuries and that their deaths were being treated as homicides. The 48-year-old woman was from Maple Valley, Wash.

Sutton-Wasmund co-owned a dress shop called The Dazzled Dame and had been in Las Vegas attending a trade show with her partner in the shop, said Debbie Tvedt, the office manager for a Maple Valley plumbing company, All Service Plumbing, that Sutton-Wasmund started with her husband, James Wasmund.

"It's a big loss," Tvedt said tearfully in a telephone interview with The Associated Press Friday night. "This woman was everything to this community.

"Sandi was very, very, very active with the Maple Valley Chamber of Commerce and our entire community," she said.

The Maple Valley-Black Diamond Chamber of Commerce website said Sutton-Wasmund was a board member from 2004 to 2011 before becoming a marketing representative.

Tvedt said her friend was a mother of three ? a 17-year-old son, a 12-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son.

"Sandi was a loving wife, mother, daughter and sister. Her innocent and tragic loss will be felt by all of those who knew and loved her and by the community at large," said a statement provided to KING-TV in Seattle on behalf of the woman's family.

A phone message left for James Wasmund was not immediately returned.

Besides Cherry's passenger, police said five people were treated for injuries after the six-vehicle crash. No one was said to face life-threatening injuries.

Jogger Eric Lackey snapped a cellphone photo of the blazing scene moments after the crash. Black smoke billowed from the flaming taxi, amid popping sounds from the fire.

The famously glowing, always-open Las Vegas Strip was closed for some 15 hours before reopening Thursday night. One Nevada Highway Patrol sergeant recalled a similarly long closure after the 1996 drive-by slaying of rapper Tupac Shakur.

That shooting ? involving assailants opening fire on Shakur's luxury sedan from a vehicle on Flamingo Road ? happened about a block away from Thursday's crash.

The Shakur killing has never been solved.

___

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writer Garance Burke in San Francisco; AP Music Writer Mesfin Fekadu in New York; and researchers Judith Ausuebel, Jennifer Farrar and Lynn Dombek in New York.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-02-23-Vegas%20Gun%20Battle/id-a3be82c986454880975869f099d355ec

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San Bernardino hire has twice declared bankruptcy

Tim Reid , Reuters ? ? ? 6 hrs.

LOS ANGELES - The bankrupt city of San Bernardino has hired a new city manager who, according to court filings, has twice declared personal bankruptcy and was recently ousted from the board of a small community's water company after being sued by shareholders.

The city council voted unanimously on Tuesday night to hire Allen J. Parker, 71, as its city manager on an annual salary of almost $222,000. He replaces an interim city manager who resigned last month because, according to friends, she was exasperated by the city's internal divisions.

The interim city manager, Andrea Travis-Miller, could not be reached for comment.

Pat Morris, the mayor of the city in California, praised Parker's "wealth of city management experience" and expressed "great confidence" in his ability to oversee the city's affairs. Parker, who began working in the job on Wednesday, will be crucial in guiding the city of 210,000 people through municipal bankruptcy, in a case that could set a national precedent for Wall Street bondholders and pension funds in future municipal bankruptcies.

The mayor and council members knew about both of Parker's personal bankruptcies -- the first in 1991 and the second in 2011 -- and the litigation surrounding his water board tenure before they interviewed him, according to the mayor's chief of staff. They discussed both issues with him when they interviewed Parker last Friday. They say the issues were no impediment: the council interviewed two final candidates but voted unanimously to hire him.

The California newspaper The Press-Enterprise reported on Thursday that Parker filed in 2011 for personal bankruptcy. In comments to the paper, Parker said that his bankruptcy and his ability to handle the city's fiscal problems were "apples and oranges."

Calls and emails to Parker asking about his bankruptcy filings and his tenure on the water board went unanswered. An email to Parker asking if his wife Sara, with whom he jointly filed for bankruptcy in the 2011 petition, would comment also did not elicit a response.

The bankruptcy of San Bernardino, a city 65 miles east of Los Angeles, is a national test case as to whether the pensions of government workers take precedence over other payments in a municipal bankruptcy -- a high stakes issue for pension plans and their beneficiaries, and for the Wall Street bondholders who lend money to governments.

City managers are central to any city's quest to seek bankruptcy protection, because they have a pivotal role in answering questions from creditors and the court. The judge overseeing San Bernardino's case must still rule on whether the city is eligible for bankruptcy before the case proceeds.

Legal dispute
A 2009 lawsuit brought by a shareholder in the Banning Heights Mutual Water Company, where Parker was a director and then president of the board between 2004 and 2010, resulted in Parker being voted off the board in February 2010 after a court-ordered special election.

Banning Heights is a tiny unincorporated community 85 miles east of Los Angeles. The water company was formed in 1913 to provide water and today it serves about 250 residents.

Despite its small size, the water rights and land upon which the community sits are worth millions of dollars, according to John McClendon, the water board's general counsel. At one point under Parker's tenure on the water board, an entity called The Tahiti Group had placed $7 million in an escrow account to purchase the company, according to correspondence attached to court filings.

Court filings in the 2009 lawsuit, and a subsequent separate lawsuit brought by the water company allege that Parker, along with others, used their position on the board to try to sell the water company, against the wishes of shareholders.

Parker and others were also accused of withholding information from shareholders, according to those court filings. The shareholder sued in 2009 because he said Parker and others ignored the results of previous shareholder elections when they were voted off the board. Parker is not a defendant in the second lawsuit which is still active.

According to one court filing by the water company dated September 20, 2010, when shareholders gained access to the water company's office after Parker and others were voted off the board, computers were missing, hard drives had been wiped and bags of shredded documents sat on the floor.

In a deposition dated November 9, 2010 relating to the 2009 lawsuit, Parker said he never shredded documents and did not believe anyone "during our regime" on the water board shredded any documents.

After a judge ruled against Parker and others in the 2009 lawsuit and ordered a special shareholder election, they were voted off the board by shareholders in February 2010.

Background check
According to his resume, which does not mention Banning Heights Water Company, Parker has long experience as a local manager in several other California cities such as East Palo Alto, Half Moon Bay, Seal Beach and Compton.

Jim Morris, the son and chief of staff to Pat Morris, San Bernardino's mayor, said the city had done its own thorough background check on Parker before he was interviewed by the council, last Friday. His bankruptcies, and the Banning Heights Mutual Water Company litigation, were known about by the time the interview took place, Morris said.

"We talked to the attorneys involved, and pulled the court filings. These were disputes over election results," Morris said. He said the Banning Heights litigation did not involve serious issues, and that such disputes occur on small entities such as the water board all the time.

Morris said there was no reason why Parker should have included his tenure on the water board on his resume. "He wasn't employed by the water board," Morris said. "His resume was an employment resume. If someone was a member of their local homeowners' association you wouldn't expect that to be on their resume."

Parker filed for personal bankruptcy in 1991 in San Mateo, Calif., according to court records. No further details were available. In February 2011, he filed for bankruptcy with his wife, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California.

According to the 2011 bankruptcy filing, Parker and his wife listed among their debts two home mortgages with unsecured balances of $267,500, as well as bank and credit card debt of $137,252.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/bankrupt-san-bernardino-picks-twice-bankrupt-manager-1C8499972

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Samsung looks past Apple, takes aim at BlackBerry

Approximately 150 federal and state law enforcement agents launched a massive raid on one of the biggest?perpetrators?of government fraud in America: The Scooter Store. Yes, that's right. The nation's largest provider of single-person electric vehicles and power chairs is the target of a federal investigation, probably because many of the people who ride around their "personal mobility?devices" don't actually need them.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/samsung-looks-past-apple-takes-aim-blackberry-134053206.html

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Man sought in attempted kidnap of 2 Calif. girls

WHITTIER, Calif. (AP) ? An 11-year-old girl walking alone near a Southern California park was grabbed by a man and shoved into the back seat of a car where a sobbing 7-year-old was already being held, investigators said Friday.

The young girls were apparently the target of the same man prowling Whittier neighborhood parks for young victims earlier this month.

The older girl, accosted Thursday afternoon, managed to get out of the car and free the 7-year-old and both girls ran in different directions to escape the suspect, Officer Brad White said.

The 11-year-old ran from Founders Park and called police when she got home. The identity and whereabouts of the younger girl are unknown.

"We have not received any information on the 7-year-old," White said, adding there are no reports of missing children in the suburb 20 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.

The girls do not know each other and the 11-year-old wasn't hurt.

Extra police were on duty Friday in the hunt for the suspect in a red convertible with a tan top. He was described as a 25- to 35-year-old, Hispanic, about 6 feet tall with a medium to heavy build. School superintendents have also been alerted.

The 11-year-old girl said he had short black hair with three dots tattooed on his left hand.

"It is very unusual for Whittier," White said. "We're taking it very seriously. We are following any leads we have."

The same man approached three teenage girls earlier this month, authorities said.

Just before noon on Feb. 5, a man matching the same description and driving a red convertible pulled up to a 17-year-old girl walking near Broadway Park and asked her if she wanted a ride.

"After the victim told him no, he proceeded to stop the car and open the door," Lt. Kent Miller said in a statement. "The female fled and called the police."

About five hours later, a witness called police and said two teenage girls near Central Park were arguing with a man who had ordered them into his red convertible, White said.

The suspect drove away and the girls left on foot.

White said the witness didn't know the teen girls, and they didn't call police.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/man-sought-attempted-kidnap-2-calif-girls-172852105.html

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NATO to consider maintaining larger Afghan force

BRUSSELS (AP) ? NATO is strongly considering a proposal to continue funding an Afghan security force of 352,000 troops through 2018, as part of an effort to maintain security and help convince Afghanistan that America and its allies will not abandon it once combat troops leave in 2014, senior alliance officials said Thursday.

Such a change, if NATO endorsed it, could increase the costs to the U.S. and allies by more than $2 billion a year, at a time when most are struggling with budget cuts and fiscal woes. Last May, NATO agreed to underwrite an Afghan force of about 230,000, at a cost of about $4.1 billion a year after 2014. It cost about $6.5 billion this year to fund the current Afghan force of 352,000, and the U.S. is providing about $5.7 billion of that.

Maintaining the larger troop strength could bolster the confidence of the Afghan forces and make it clear that NATO is committed to an enduring relationship with Afghanistan, a senior NATO official said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the plan publicly.

Asked about the plan, NATO Secretary-General Fogh Rasmussen confirmed to reporters that it was under consideration.

"I feel confident that we will be able to finance Afghan security forces of that size," he said.

He added that the Afghans can't afford a security force of 352,000, so the funding would be the responsibility of the whole international community.

"From the economic point of view, it is actually less expensive to finance Afghan Security Forces than to deploy foreign troops," he said.

NATO defense ministers, including outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, are meeting here and discussing progress in the Afghan war and the ongoing drawdown of troops. President Barack Obama announced in his State of the Union address that he will withdraw 34,000 American troops from Afghanistan by this time next year. There are about 66,000 there now.

Other NATO nations are also evaluating their commitments to the war, and officials are meeting to encourage allies to participate in the effort to continue to train and advise the Afghan forces after 2014.

According to one of the NATO officials, uncertainty about the future is a critical worry in Afghanistan. Many still believe the U.S. will abandon the country when the combat is over while others believe Taliban assertions that the coalition troops will stay as an occupying force. In the coming months, the official said, it will be important to show the Afghans that NATO allies will continue to support the country after 2014, while also proving that the local forces will be in charge of security for their own nation.

Such intangible issues, the official said, present a greater problem at this point than some of the other more obvious challenges, such as improving the quality of the Afghan forces, battling the Taliban and getting the U.S. troops and equipment out by the end of 2014.

The official said Afghan troops worry that if the size of the force is cut, they will be out of a job after 2014. As a result, they may not concentrate on building better military units and instead focus on how they will care for their families or get money when the tap runs dry.

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Associated Press Writer Don Melvin contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-02-21-EU-NATO-Afghanistan/id-b1e86d78a2d64dc497232d109bca1b3a

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An iPad Veteran Evaluates an Amazon Kindle Fire HD

First off, this is my blog at TMO, a place where I write about anything I think would be interesting to our readers. What follows is not a review of the Kindle Fire HD. I won?t be showing comparison charts. Instead, my observations are based on my technical background and experience with iPads, but naturally have some opinion attached. The upshot is, basically, for what this device is intended to do, it does it very well indeed. Of course, there?s much more to it, with plusses and minuses for each platform, so let?s get started.

I?ve had the pleasure of being in possession of the this 7-inch Kindle Fire HD (KFHD) since mid December, thanks to the friendly folks at Amazon?s partner, The Outcast Agency. My first article on the KFHD, back in December, was focused on its capabilities as an eBook reader: ?Everything About eBooks eReaders, Pt 6: Amazon Kindle Fire HD.? In the process of writing that article, I noticed some interesting things about the KFHD, but there wasn?t space to discuss them. I?ve been wanting to do that for awhile.

I never handled the original Kindle Fire from 2011. From personal reports and written reviews, I heard about a certain cheapness of build and design. However, the 2012 KFHD is a whole new animal. It?s well made, solid, has a good heft, exhibits a good fit and finish, and is a worthwhile investment in hardware. The more I handle it, the more I appreciate its physical look and quality. I wouldn?t be unhappy to have spent $199 of my own money for one.

The Hardware

The 7-inch KFHD is roughly the same size as an iPad mini but weighs a few ounces more. It has a wider bezel on the front than one would like, and as a result, the actual display area is smaller than the iPad mini. The viewable area is 94 mm wide x 151 mm high (3.7 x 5.9-inches). The iPad mini?s viewable area is 120 mm wide x 161 mm high (4.7 x 6.3-inches). It makes a visible difference.

That, along with the KFHD?s 1280 x 800 resolution can make for small type in the web browser (?Silk?), and web pages in portrait mode are fairly hard to read. And I have 20/15 vision at 12 inches.

Small display and high resolution make for tiny text.

Of course, for those interested in the KFHD as an eBook reader, the font size is adjustable, display formatting problems go away, and reading a regular book on it is delightful, as I wrote in the eReader article cited above.

One of the most annoying things about the KFHD is the power button on the top. It is completely flush and hard to find by feel or by sight in any light. It?s a major design blunder by Amazon. And it doesn?t get better with time and practice. Amazon hosed this up really good. That design also makes for difficult screen shots. (Power + volume down.) The same can be said for the volume up and down buttons: they?re hard to find, hard to use.

Unlike the iPad series, there is no physical home button, but a soft home icon is almost always displayed in the control bar at the bottom of the display. I never lost control of the KFHD, and so I never felt that I lost anything by not having a physical home button. If I did, however, it would mean a reboot.

The speakers are just outstanding. I watched and listened to the opening music of Netflix?s House of Cards as well as some action scenes from the movie The Final Countdown on both the KFHD and also the iPad mini, and the KFHD sounded noticeably better because of the speakers on both sides. The iPad mini?s stereo speakers are clustered, side by side, on the bottom. I have frequently been critical of Apple?s design decisions for speakers on all iPad models. However, both tablets sounded the same using Apple?s new EarPods.

Netflix: In The Final Countdown, Navy F-14s shoot down WWII Japanese Zeros. Really. (credit: Blue Underground)

The back of the KFHD has a soft texture and easily attracts fingerprints, but they?re easily rubbed out with a soft cloth. The texture does make for a warmer, grippier feeling device ? but then I didn?t invest in a case like I did for the iPad mini, so that offsets.

It does have a gyroscope and accelerometer, helpful for games.?

The Software

The first thing you notice on the KFHD is the Carousel. That?s a showcase of icons something like what Apple used to have with Cover Flow. The most recent apps, books, web pages, and so on are displayed and easy to swipe through. This feature of Android helps the user easily return to whatever they were doing most recently, and iOS has nothing like it.

It?s a difference in philosophy. Apple believes the first page on an iPad should be a page of apps to get you going. Amazon wants to remind you what you did last.

The home page has a ?carousel? of recent items. And, of course, recommendations.

Screen shots are date stamped and in PNG format, as they are on a Mac. But in iOS, they?re numbered photo1, photo2 etc. That makes for a bit of a headache when emailing multiple sets of emails from an iPad to a Mac, leading mostly to having to rename them right away to avoid conflicts. Amazon did the smarter thing here.

Sending an email has several delightful aspects. First, when you touch the shift key, the keyboard display also changes to reflect upper case. It?s a natural, pleasing thing to do. Second, email attachments are trivial to execute and work intuitively. Third, editing text in an email uses nifty, blue 3D calipers that are easy to grasp and move. I found them easier to manipulate than iOS?s blue dots. (See below.)

Editing calipers are very easy to handle.

Fourth, there are word predictions beneath the composition window, above the keyboard. (See above.) When you see the full word you want, just tap it. Finally, Android keyboards have the Swype function that a lot of people like. I had mixed results with it, but then I?m a newbie.

Spelling autocorrection was a real pain, as it?s on by default, and a setting to turn it off isn?t found in the Settings. I finally found out that one must hold down the spacebar to access ?Keyboard Settings.? That?s weird. Original, but weird.

I had, like many others, trouble setting up Gmail. Amazon, it seems, has no interest in supporting Google this way ? from what I?ve read. I have a personal POP mail account that I use for testing in situations like this at a public ISP, and it worked fine. Also, the default search engine is Bing, but you can change that to Yahoo! or Google.? Amazon is not shy about keeping you cozy in its own ecosystem and away from Google if you let them.

Of course, there?s a lot of advertising and recommendations on this device. That?s how Amazon makes its money. But my reaction was that it?s fairly tasteful and low key. After all, if you subscribe to what this kind of consumer tablet does, you can expect it. If you want the peace and quiet of a pure tablet, then, of course, there are other choices.

Login screen has ads, but they?re generally tasteful.

There were some annoyances as well. The battery level can?t be displayed as a percent. You must drag down from the top of the display to reveal the settings page (like iOS Notifications), and there, you can see the battery level along with a lot of other settings and device details. (That notched drag down is something Apple liked about Android and now uses.) Or. you can download an app that shows the percentage remaining with good accuracy.

There is no audible confirmation of emails being sent. Sometimes, I got a prompt that the emailed image was still being processed for sharing, apparently hung, even after it was sent. Rebooting fixed that. Screen shots are tricky thanks to the design of the power and volume buttons.

Pull down from top reveals settings.

That theme (above) of burnt orange/yellow (fire) and occasionally green on black looks very handsome and is easy to read.

The KFHD appears to use Ice Cream Sandwich, Android 4.0.3. In general, I found that the OS wasn?t as smooth and glitch-free as iOS 6.x. There were occasional, cosmetic glitches, visual snafus, signs that it isn?t as mature and debugged as iOS. Also, because Amazon has rolled its own customized version, it?s problemnatic whether you can stay up to date with the latest Android OS (Now at 4.2, Jelly Bean) like you could with, say, a Google Nexus ? a pure tablet and a showcase for Android.

Applications

The default app store for the KFHD is Amazon?s and has a total of 45,000 curated apps, I was told by Amazon?s PR firm. But that includes every app that will run.? Those that are native to the KFHD will be fewer, but Amazon declined to break out that number.? Whatever that native number is, it?s a small fraction of the number of? native apps for iPads, about 300,000.? Fortunately, with some technique, you can side load most any Android app, but that also has risks.

The most popular apps are available.

However many native apps there are, the real question is, are the apps most widely used and of interest available for the KFHD customer? I think the answer is yes. In addition to the built-in email client, a web browser, calendar and contacts, you can easily download Twitter, Facebook, Skype, IMDB, Netflix, Pandora, at least three dozen chess apps, PDF readers, USA Today, The Weather Channel, calculators galore, and so on. Many good ones, as with iOS, are free.

I think there is, for many customers, a fundamental set of essential apps, like those above, and they?re all available. If you need exotic, special purpose apps, then this isn?t the kind of device for that. For example, navigation/sextant apps that utilize a rear facing camera and visual overlay are not an option because the KFHD has only a front facing camera.? That?s all part of being a consumer focused tablet, not a general purpose, pure tablet that can be pressed into all kinds of service in business and science.

Summary

The Kindle Fire HD is a special purpose device. It creates a fairly restricted environment in terms of the sheer number of apps and your flexibility to easily install any app of your choosing. There are ads and recommendations. If you pay extra, the ads go away, but the recommendations do not.

Handsome, sturdy, well made ? with some heft.

That said, this is a remarkable product. It?s well made, presents well, feels good in the hand, has considerable resolution on both models (7 and 8.9-inch), great speakers, and the Amazon customized Android OS is much further along, technically, than the original Kindle Fire. The UI is very good looking with crisp colors on black, it?s easy to navigate and fun to use ? but occasionally rough around the edges.

For those customers who want and need a device like this, it?s a great choice. Because it is such a nifty tablet, I wouldn?t feel bad at all spending $199 of my own money on one. Or even $299 for the 8.9-inch model ? all the while recognizing its limitations. The KFHD is not in the same class as an iPad, but it doesn?t have to be for its target audience. And that?s the point. It does only what it?s intended to do, and does it well.

Source: http://www.kindlefiretab.com/2013/02/21/an-ipad-veteran-evaluates-an-amazon-kindle-fire-hd/

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Crystal Cruises' Industry First March 10 in Rio - Leisure Group Travel

?When it comes to shore-side excursions, ?options today ?take the experiences to new levels. ?And this is where luxury line, Crystal Cruises continues to lead the way with ones that can best be described as ?providing exclusivity, private, ?one of a kind? and unique. Their new? collection of ?Boutique Adventures? includes a new, industry-first spiritual adventure in Rio de Janeiro. Also, they?ve added some new, enlightening shore excursions as a part of? their? ?You Care, We Care?? Voluntourism? program in 2013 as well.

More about the industry first ? private mass at Rio?s Most Famous Monument

Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro

On? the upcoming? March 10? Rio to Miami ?Exotic Amazon? voyage which overnights in Rio de Janeiro, Crystal Cruises offers its guests an opportunity to celebrate a private Mass at Our Lady of Aparecida Chapel. This remote chapel ?is located at the base of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, one of the world?s Seven Wonders.? A private? mass service will be held at 5pm, and led by Monsignor Davis, Crystal Cruises? English speaking, onboard priest.? The church made a special exception for Monsignor Davis to lead the services.

Crystal Cruises? Land? Programs team spent more than a year working on this event, gaining approval from Rio?s diocese, which was finally secured in January. ?The Chapel, which is located 2,500 above the sea, was named for the patron saint of Brazil and built for the statue?s 75^th anniversary. The Christ the Redeemer excursion is ?available for $145 per guest, and limited to 15 guests.? It?s just one of many intimate shore-side experiences offered exclusively to Crystal?s travelers, called ?Boutique Adventures.?

Continued commitment to giving back via ?You Care, We Care? Voluntourism

Crystal Cruises first launched its ?You Care, We Care? program in 2011 and has continued to grow it with more opportunities in 2013.This industry first program allows guests and crew members to take part in a volunteer excursion (complimentary) ?while sailing on the Crystal Symphony or the Crystal Serenity. Crystal Cruises? covers the costs for crew and guests to participate and makes all the logistic arrangements. Areas include supporting disadvantaged communities, helping underprivileged children, aiding animals at rescue and rehabilitation centers,? and feeding the hungry through food serving, orchard picking, and donation distribution.

Some samples of ?You Care, We Care? excursions

Odessa?s The Way Home ? help with homework

For instance, with the ??Helping Homeless Find Way Home? voluntourism adventure in Odessa, Ukraine,? guests and staff are taken to a social services center run by The Way Home, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to helping the homeless. Volunteers help in the daily work of running the organization, which can range from helping children with homework,? organizing activities, improving the grounds, or helping with some administrative work.

The ?Visiting Domus Christi, a Home for the Elderly? voluntourism? adventure takes place in Dubrovnik. Domus Christi? was built back in 1347 when the city council decided to build a shelter? for the elderly, poor and infirmed. Today it serves 100 people in need, with more on a wait list.? During the visit, volunteers can? meet with the residents, accompany them on a walk to the Old Port, or help with gardening.

Volunteers help clean the grounds at Domus Christ Home for the Elderly in Dubrovnik

More options to explore for your group when planning your next cruise

?Today?s travelers enjoy more interactive experiences as well as embracing the culture of the destinations they visit, and? this is no different for your group members. And many enjoy ways to give back.

With their continued? commitment to ?You Care, We Care? complimentary Voluntourism experiences, as well as their ?Boutique Adventures,? yes, Crystal Cruises continues to ?raise the bar.?

?

Source: http://leisuregrouptravel.com/crystal-cruises-industry-first-march-10-in-rio-part-of-boutique-adventures/

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Ex-coach facing prison in Vegas casino death of Utah man

Las Vegas ? A former high school football coach and teacher from Gainesville, Fla., could face prison time for involuntary manslaughter in the one-punch death of a Utah man at a Las Vegas casino.

Benjamin Gerard Hawkins is due for sentencing Thursday in Las Vegas following his November conviction in the death of 46-year-old John Massie.

Defense lawyer Jack Buchanan says he?ll seek probation.

Hawkins is 39. He testified Massie derided him with racial comments in a men?s restroom at O?Shea?s Casino in July 2011, and approached him again after they walked separately to the gaming floor.

Prosecutor Maria Lavell is expected seek one to four years in prison for the felony conviction.

Several Massie family members are scheduled to speak during sentencing before Clark County District Court Judge Valerie Adair.

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Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/55831407-78/vegas-casino-death-las.html.csp

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JOHN PEARRELL: Being a church member is an important part of being Christian

My wife and I were channel surfing (that's the only surfing I know how to do) when we came across a program that looked somewhat interesting. We paused on that channel but were quickly horrified as a man began to be ripped apart by some invisible or at least off-camera creature. It was grotesque and the channel was quickly changed.

What in the world does an introduction like that have to do with a religion column? Glad you asked.

As I thought about the horror of that brief clip, I began to wonder if that is how God feels when he looks at the church today.

Think of it, the church is described as "The Body of Christ" in passages like 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, and her members like various parts of the body. When one goes missing, the body is, quite frankly, crippled and, if we're honest, eventually the severed member shrivels up and dies.

I am not talking here about people who leave one church and go to another because of some issue that may arise. What I am talking about are those members who are absent from the body and have not reattached themselves to another body.

There is an alarming trend in Western Christianity that sees the church as unnecessary or perhaps even detrimental to one's spiritual development.

On Sunday, I spoke on the fact that today we are more connected but more isolated than ever before in history. Those friends on Facebook, they are not your real friends. We were made for social interaction, not cyber interaction.

When God created Adam and observed that it was not good that he was alone (see Genesis 2:18), He didn't solve the issue by giving him a computer; he gave him a helper, a mate, someone he could relate to on an intimate, physical and emotional level.

You who have chosen electronic church as your place of worship, that is not how God meant it to be. We are, by design, social creatures who need face to face social interaction. In the church, we usually call this "fellowship."

Can you be a Christian and not active in a local body of believers? Yes, but you can't be an obedient one that way. Hebrews 10:25 in the Contemporary English Version reads, "Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord's coming is getting closer."

I wonder if God looks at that disconnected hand or disconnected foot, or arm or leg, or nose or ear, laying out there alone and has the same reaction I had when body parts started flying in that movie we paused on. We didn't stay on that channel thinking, "My this is interesting;" we quickly switched channels because there is nothing interesting or mentally healthy about seeing a dismembered body.

It is my opinion that the same is true of those members of the church who have removed themselves from the body.

You may disagree with my assessment, and you know what? That's OK.

But you know that what I am saying is true. A limb severed from the body only has so long before it will die unless it is reattached. That is a physiological fact. Wishing it were another way doesn't change that.

In a similar way, you and I both know that once a Christian is severed from the body of Christ it is only a matter of time before they shrivel up and die spiritually. They lose interest in the things that once compelled them and they become critical of the very thing that once encouraged them.

You may disagree with my observation on that, but the spiritual facts speak for themselves. Wishing it were another way doesn't change it.

Dr. John Pearrell is pastor of Gateway Community Church in Covington. For more information, visit the Gateway website at www.gatewaycommunity.org.

Source: http://www.newtoncitizen.com/news/2013/feb/15/john-pearrell-being-a-church-member-is-an/

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Meteor shower hits central Russia ? videos (Americablog)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/285028977?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Dallas Dos

Dallas?Dos

1. I hereby christen our new DEF the "Dallas Dos". Please try not to over do it when posting your adulation.

Source: http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2013/2/13/3987514/dallas-dos

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Mike Dunlap NBA Offense and Defense Package

Get Access to EXCLUSIVE ?Behind-the-Scenes? DVDs Breaking Down the NBA?s Elite Offensive and Defensive Plays, Sets, and Schemes ? Arm Your Team with Proven, Winning Strategies to Double Your Wins Immediately

If I?ve said it once, I?ve said it a million times

?if you want your team to play at an elite level, you have got to go above and beyond what your peers are doing?

?you?ve got to study what the next level of basketball coaches are drawing up and executing.

Sure, there are some differences between HS, college, and pro basketball, but when it comes to strategies, plays, sets, and schemes?

?.it?s not too much of a stretch to say that a superbly executed basketball play will still deliver the goods?

?and that?s good ol? W.

When we?re talking about elite level coaches that are widely recognized for their effective playbooks and schemes, one name you may be surprised to hear is Mike Dunlap of the Charlotte Bobcats.

While he?s struggled a bit getting the Bobcats back on track after a horrendous 2011-2012 season under Paul Silas, his coaching record is otherwise quite impressive.

While at Metro State, Dunlap led his team to NCAA titles in 2000 and 2002. He posted an overall record of 248?50, leading the Roadrunners to nine NCAA Tournament appearances in each of his nine seasons as head coach (1997?2006).

He went to also serve as the assistant coach for the legitimate playoff contenders Denver Nuggets from 2006 to 2008.

More relevant to you, however, is the fact that he produced an exclusive series of DVDs that will kick your team?s offense and defense abilities and prowess into high gear.. ..

..here is what you?ll be getting:

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DVD # 1: Shell Drill on Steroids ? Offensive & Defensive Cutthroat

• Multi-dimensional approach to both offense and defense drilling that adds the most important aspect of all ? competition via time and score
• Utilizes a rapid fire 3-on-3 half-court approach that teaches both offense and defense
• Players love this because it?s competitive, fun and gets them physically and mentally involved while teaching them valuable lessons at the same time

DVD #2: Organized Anarchy: Defensive Transition System

• Find about the deadly critical 5-7 seconds after a shot

• The 7 rules of defensive transition that will become your Bible for preventing easy baskets and layups by the other team

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DVD #3: 10 Points for Better Coaching

• Practice the habits of the masters?John Wooden, Jim Collins and Mike Dunlap himself

• Become a more effective coach and teacher that your players will respect and look up to

• Improve your decision making ? to win more you must become the best decision maker possible

BUT?that?s not all?

As a special bonus for being a loyal customer, I?m also going to throw in a massive amount of ?game-ready? playbooks, which will empower you to:

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• How to get shots for your best scorer any time you want, just like OKC did with Kevin Durant to help him win the scoring title two seasons in a row
• Add 7 new ?crunch-time? plays to your arsenal, to be used when you need a bucket in the last seconds of a quarter, half or game

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• Find a way for your team to ?flow? on offense so that movement that opens up easy chances to score will become second nature to your players

• Study plays that will get your team scoring early in the offense to surprise opponents and strike fast

• Become a master of the Pick and Roll with 26 of these plays from which to choose

• ?Access a total of 100 plays heavily influenced by the great Pat Riley, who set the foundation for the Miami Heat playbook when he coached them to the 2006 NBA Championship

• Uncover the top 8 plays of this extremely successful team to increase your chances of scoring as easily as possible

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• With over 120 pages, you will have 80 new plays from which to choose to take it to defenses with authority

• Utilize your centers and power forwards in the best way possible, and get them involved in the offense whether it?s setting screens or receiving the ball off of a pick and roll

• Master the Pick and Roll like no other team does by following the Spurs playbook

• Set your team in motion on the perimeter just waiting for the right time for that incisive dribble or pass

• Be ready with an option for any situation no matter what defense you face, with the blueprint for 90 separate set plays from which to score consistently

• Run and gun and tire out any defense with over 100 plays hinged around the fast break for you to teach your players

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Listen, the fact is?..

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If only they knew our little secret.

In a nutshell, you?re getting everything you need to start seeing results from right away ? and if you ever need to refresh your memory on the inner guts of a specific play, all you need to do is just double-click your electronic playbook or pop in your DVD and voila ? it?s instantly ready to be dissected.

For a limited time, you can snatch this gem and start dominating your opponents for just $77.? Do you not let this opportunity pass you buy.? Get the edge over the competition (and other coaches)? ? this special package is available for immediate download right here.

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See you on the winning side!

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To Your Success,

Coach Peterman

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/hoopscoop/~3/UyVXetcJD74/

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