drew.martin18

7 entries 3/15/10

Drew first log.

CNN 1/19/11 Read that there was massive explosion in Philidelphia. Almost killing hunderds. That was very interesting to me cause Im from the north. I also went on the internet to see live video nd even the camera man almost didnt make it. That was a sitiuation in Phili that they will never forget.

Hope friends and family are safe, sorry to hear of the tragedy.

1/26/11

I read this story about the reasons USA entered the first world war. They said that it was because of the zimmeran note that we intercepted. Which the note was say the war would of been moved closer to the United States. Thats why if you realize anytime USA is in a world you never see USA fight on the home land.

1/31/11.

I just read that hummans can spend over 160 milion dollars on fast food a year as told by a ChaCha website.

2/1/11

I read that texas is the state is consuming the most gas and as a nation we consume over 2.6 billion gallons.Also hybrid cars are raising in the market by 15 % and 8% last year.

2/8/11

Right now with your computer the best free anti-virus software is microsoft sercurity essentials on microsoft.com

2/14/11 Iread about more test taking tips such as reading backwards to find the main idea of a paragraph as well as writing a summary about each sentence to make a summary of a paragraph which help u understand the story/eassy

2/15/11Civil Rights

Martin Luther King was a strong activist on civil rights. He lead thousands of men and women on a march to Washington. As well as Rosa PArks getting arrested for not giving up her seat for a person of another race. But,allin all this whole passage was about civil rights and what happen during this powerful time.

. Almost half of the meat and poultry sold at U.S. supermarkets and grocery stores contains a type of bacteria that is potentially harmful to humans, a new study estimates. Researchers tested 136 packages of chicken, turkey, pork, and ground beef purchased at 26 grocery stores in five cities around the country, and found that 47 percent contained Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), a common cause of infection in people.

. ABC's "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" are being canceled. The shows will end in September 2011 and January 2012, respectively. ABC will replace the shows with new programs, "The Chew" and "The Revolution".

Kate Middleton spent a few years as a child in the country of Jordan. Jordan activities would definitely appeal to the sporty, outdoors-loving pair. Other possible locations: Seychelles, Mustique and Corfu in Greece.

"Dog the Bounty Hunter" bails Nicholas Cage out of a New Orleans jail. The actor charged with domestic abuse, disturbing the peace. Cage beat on cars after arguing with his wife, police say. Cage is in New Orleans filming a movie.

. A CBS "60 Minutes" investigation alleges the book's stories are not true. The author says, "I stand by the information conveyed in my book". "Three Cups of Tea" spawned a charity and efforts to improve girls' education in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The book is an international publishing success.

. Bob Greene: Some have talked of skipping Prince Charles in the line of succession. At 62, Charles is no longer the dashing figure he was when he was his son's age, Greene says. When the time comes, Greene says, Charles should be made king for a day. Then he can turn over the throne to Prince William, Greene says.

We've picked six must-see "royal" films to get you in the mood before the royal wedding on April 29. The films document the lives of some of Britain's most colorful and controversial monarchs. The list includes the recently released "The King's Speech" and critically acclaimed film "Elizabeth".

. Anybody cruising downtown Los Angeles on Sunday morning, either up early or out late, might have spotted a four-time All Star strolling wide-eyed through the city streets. Chris Paul bypassed the team bus and walked from his hotel to Staples Center, to remind himself what the playoffs feel like, and try to channel some of the energy in the air.

Big box retailers, hotels and even casinos are offering special Earth Day sales, promotions and giveaways. "Coast to Coast Toast to Earth Day" will be a virtual wine tasting on Snooth.com on April 20. Reusable bag giveaways will be held in several stores on Earth Day

4/1 Civil War

Appearing in the pages of CONFEDERATE VETERAN MAGAZINE some forty-three years after the bloody end of the American Civil War was this reminiscence by a Confederate veteran recalling the important roll that corn played during the war and throughout American history

Hitler

With Hitler's rise to power in 1933, the German-speaking Alice Hamilton (1869 - 1970; sister to the classics scholar, Edith) was assigned the task of reviewing "Mein Kampf" (1925) by Adolf Hitler for THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY. She didn't like it.He said: "He loves rough, red-blooded words - 'relentless', 'steely', 'iron-hearted', 'brutal'; his favorite phrase is 'ruthless brutality'. His confidence in himself is unbounded."

Hitler part2

This is a small segment from a longer article on this site that can be read here. Just months prior to the start of the Second World War, this anonymous correspondent asked, "Is Hitler a strategic genius?" For much of the following year many of Europe's anointed would find themselves asking much the same question; but this reporter was not impressed with the man one jot and wished his readers to keep in mind that throughout the slaughterous environment provided by the Entente Powers of the 1914 - 1918 war, Hitler was entirely unable to rise above the rank of corporal - in spite of the fact that his regiment was losing a sergeant each day.

Ocean Queen

This tight little eassy was written some 64 years after the TITANIC sinking by the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Hanson W. Baldwin (1903 - 1991). He succinctly pieced together the events of that day (April 12, 1912) and clearly indicated that there was plenty of blame to go around for the tremendous loss of life; not simply the Grand Poobahs in the senior position(Captain Smith and Bruce Ismay) but the small fries as well (such as Second Radio Operator Harold McBride). By the second page, Baldwin commences with an hour by hour break-down of the events on-board TITANIC until she made her final plunge into the deep

Titanic disaster

Not long after the Titanic disaster was made known, there were many rumors and half truths that had to be sorted out and recognized as such in order to fully understand the full scope of the catastrophe; the editors of THE NATION printed this article which contributed to that effort

4/3 Today i just started reading the 48 laws or power by Robert Greene

4/17

My 48 chapters

**Law 1 ** **Never Outshine the Master ** Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire to please or impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite – inspire fear and insecurity. Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power. **Law 2 ** **Never put too Much Trust in Friends, Learn how to use Enemies ** Be wary of friends-they will betray you more quickly, for they are easily aroused to envy. They also become spoiled and tyrannical. But hire a former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend, because he has more to prove. In fact, you have more to fear from friends than from enemies. If you have no enemies, find a way to make them.  **Law 3** **Conceal your Intentions ** Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelope them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions, it will be too late.  **Law 4** **Always Say Less than Necessary ** When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinxlike. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish. **Law 5 ** **So Much Depends on Reputation – Guard it with your Life ** Reputation is the cornerstone of power. Through reputation alone you can intimidate and win; once you slip, however, you are vulnerable, and will be attacked on all sides. Make your reputation unassailable. Always be alert to potential attacks and thwart them before they happen. Meanwhile, learn to destroy your enemies by opening holes in their own reputations. Then stand aside and let public opinion hang them. **Law 6 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Court Attention at all Cost ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Everything is judged by its appearance; what is unseen counts for nothing. Never let yourself get lost in the crowd, then, or buried in oblivion. Stand out. Be conspicuous, at all cost. Make yourself a magnet of attention by appearing larger, more colorful, more mysterious, than the bland and timid masses. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 7 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Get others to do the Work for you, but Always Take the Credit ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Use the wisdom, knowledge, and legwork of other people to further your own cause. Not only will such assistance save you valuable time and energy, it will give you a godlike aura of efficiency and speed. In the end your helpers will be forgotten and you will be remembered. Never do yourself what others can do for you. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 8 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Make other People come to you – use Bait if Necessary ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">When you force the other person to act, you are the one in control. It is always better to make your opponent come to you, abandoning his own plans in the process. Lure him with fabulous gains – then attack. You hold the cards. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 9 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Win through your Actions, Never through Argument ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Any momentary triumph you think gained through argument is really a Pyrrhic victory: The resentment and ill will you stir up is stronger and lasts longer than any momentary change of opinion. It is much more powerful to get others to agree with you through your actions, without saying a word. Demonstrate, do not explicate. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 10 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Infection: Avoid the Unhappy and Unlucky ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">You can die from someone else’s misery – emotional states are as infectious as disease. You may feel you are helping the drowning man but you are only precipitating your own disaster. The unfortunate sometimes draw misfortune on themselves; they will also draw it on you. Associate with the happy and fortunate instead. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 11 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Learn to Keep People Dependent on You ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">To maintain your independence you must always be needed and wanted. The more you are relied on, the more freedom you have. Make people depend on you for their happiness and prosperity and you have nothing to fear. Never teach them enough so that they can do without you. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 12 ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Use Selective Honesty and Generosity to Disarm your Victim <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">One sincere and honest move will cover over dozens of dishonest ones. Open-hearted gestures of honesty and generosity bring down the guard of even the most suspicious people. Once your selective honesty opens a hole in their armor, you can deceive and manipulate them at will. A timely gift – a Trojan horse – will serve the same purpose. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 13 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">When Asking for Help, Appeal to People’s Self-Interest, ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Never to their Mercy or Gratitude ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">If you need to turn to an ally for help, do not bother to remind him of your past assistance and good deeds. He will find a way to ignore you. Instead, uncover something in your request, or in your alliance with him, that will benefit him, and emphasize it out of all proportion. He will respond enthusiastically when he sees something to be gained for himself. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 14 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Knowing about your rival is critical. Use spies to gather valuable information that will keep you a step ahead. Better still: Play the spy yourself. In polite social encounters, learn to probe. Ask indirect questions to get people to reveal their weaknesses and intentions. There is no occasion that is not an opportunity for artful spying. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 15 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Crush your Enemy Totally ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">All great leaders since Moses have known that a feared enemy must be crushed completely. (Sometimes they have learned this the hard way.) If one ember is left alight, no matter how dimly it smolders, a fire will eventually break out. More is lost through stopping halfway than through total annihilation: The enemy will recover, and will seek revenge. Crush him, not only in body but in spirit. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 16 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Use Absence to Increase Respect and Honor ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Too much circulation makes the price go down: The more you are seen and heard from, the more common you appear. If you are already established in a group, temporary withdrawal from it will make you more talked about, even more admired. You must learn when to leave. Create value through scarcity. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 17 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Keep Others in Suspended Terror: Cultivate an Air of Unpredictability ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Humans are creatures of habit with an insatiable need to see familiarity in other people’s actions. Your predictability gives them a sense of control. Turn the tables: Be deliberately unpredictable. Behavior that seems to have no consistency or purpose will keep them off-balance, and they will wear themselves out trying to explain your moves. Taken to an extreme, this strategy can intimidate and terrorize. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"> **Law 18** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do Not Build Fortresses to Protect Yourself – Isolation is Dangerous ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">The world is dangerous and enemies are everywhere – everyone has to protect themselves. A fortress seems the safest. But isolation exposes you to more dangers than it protects you from – it cuts you off from valuable information, it makes you conspicuous and an easy target. Better to circulate among people find allies, mingle. You are shielded from your enemies by the crowd. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"> **Law 19** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Know Who You’re Dealing with – Do Not Offend the Wrong Person ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">There are many different kinds of people in the world, and you can never assume that everyone will react to your strategies in the same way. Deceive or outmaneuver some people and they will spend the rest of their lives seeking revenge. They are wolves in lambs’ clothing. Choose your victims and opponents carefully, then – never offend or deceive the wrong person. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"> **Law 20** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do Not Commit to Anyone ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">It is the fool who always rushes to take sides. Do not commit to any side or cause but yourself. By maintaining your independence, you become the master of others – playing people against one another, making them pursue you. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"> **Law 21** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Play a Sucker to Catch a Sucker – Seem Dumber than your Mark ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">No one likes feeling stupider than the next persons. The trick, is to make your victims feel smart – and not just smart, but smarter than you are. Once convinced of this, they will never suspect that you may have ulterior motives. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"> **Law 22** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Use the Surrender Tactic: Transform Weakness into Power ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">When you are weaker, never fight for honor’s sake; choose surrender instead. Surrender gives you time to recover, time to torment and irritate your conqueror, time to wait for his power to wane. Do not give him the satisfaction of fighting and defeating you – surrender first. By turning the other check you infuriate and unsettle him. Make surrender a tool of power. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"> **Law 23** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Concentrate Your Forces ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Conserve your forces and energies by keeping them concentrated at their strongest point. You gain more by finding a rich mine and mining it deeper, than by flitting from one shallow mine to another – intensity defeats extensity every time. When looking for sources of power to elevate you, find the one key patron, the fat cow who will give you milk for a long time to come. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"> **Law 24** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Play the Perfect Courtier ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">The perfect courtier thrives in a world where everything revolves around power and political dexterity. He has mastered the art of indirection; he flatters, yields to superiors, and asserts power over others in the mot oblique and graceful manner. Learn and apply the laws of courtiership and there will be no limit to how far you can rise in the court.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 25 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Re-Create Yourself ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Do not accept the roles that society foists on you. Re-create yourself by forging a new identity, one that commands attention and never bores the audience. Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define if for you. Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures and actions – your power will be enhanced and your character will seem larger than life. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"> **Law 26** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Keep Your Hands Clean ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">You must seem a paragon of civility and efficiency: Your hands are never soiled by mistakes and nasty deeds. Maintain such a spotless appearance by using others as scapegoats and cat’s-paws to disguise your involvement. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 27 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Play on People’s Need to Believe to Create a Cultlike Following ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">People have an overwhelming desire to believe in something. Become the focal point of such desire by offering them a cause, a new faith to follow. Keep your words vague but full of promise; emphasize enthusiasm over rationality and clear thinking. Give your new disciples rituals to perform, ask them to make sacrifices on your behalf. In the absence of organized religion and grand causes, your new belief system will bring you untold power. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"> **Law 28** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Enter Action with Boldness ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous: Better to enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"> **Law 29** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Plan All the Way to the End ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">The ending is everything. Plan all the way to it, taking into account all the possible consequences, obstacles, and twists of fortune that might reverse your hard work and give the glory to others. By planning to the end you will not be overwhelmed by circumstances and you will know when to stop. Gently guide fortune and help determine the future by thinking far ahead. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"> **Law 30** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Make your Accomplishments Seem Effortless ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Your actions must seem natural and executed with ease. All the toil and practice that go into them, and also all the clever tricks, must be concealed. When you act, act effortlessly, as if you could do much more. Avoid the temptation of revealing how hard you work – it only raises questions. Teach no one your tricks or they will be used against you. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"> **Law 31** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Control the Options: Get Others to Play with the Cards you Deal ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">The best deceptions are the ones that seem to give the other person a choice: Your victims feel they are in control, but are actually your puppets. Give people options that come out in your favor whichever one they choose. Force them to make choices between the lesser of two evils, both of which serve your purpose. Put them on the horns of a dilemma: They are gored wherever they turn. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"> **Law 32** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Play to People’s Fantasies ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">The truth is often avoided because it is ugly and unpleasant. Never appeal to truth and reality unless you are prepared for the anger that comes for disenchantment. Life is so harsh and distressing that people who can manufacture romance or conjure up fantasy are like oases in the desert: Everyone flocks to them. There is great power in tapping into the fantasies of the masses. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"> **Law 33** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Discover Each Man’s Thumbscrew ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Everyone has a weakness, a gap in the castle wall. That weakness is usual y an insecurity, an uncontrollable emotion or need; it can also be a small secret pleasure. Either way, once found, it is a thumbscrew you can turn to your advantage. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"> **Law 34** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Be Royal in your Own Fashion: Act like a King to be treated like one ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">The way you carry yourself will often determine how you are treated; In the long run, appearing vulgar or common will make people disrespect you. For a king respects himself and inspires the same sentiment in others. By acting regally and confident of your powers, you make yourself seem destined to wear a crown. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"> **Law 35** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Master the Art of Timing ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Never seem to be in a hurry – hurrying betrays a lack of control over yourself, and over time. Always seem patient, as if you know that everything will come to you eventually. Become a detective of the right moment; sniff out the spirit of the times, the trends that will carry you to power. Learn to stand back when the time is not yet ripe, and to strike fiercely when it has reached fruition. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"> **Law 36** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Disdain Things you cannot have: Ignoring them is the best Revenge ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">By acknowledging a petty problem you give it existence and credibility. The more attention you pay an enemy, the stronger you make him; and a small mistake is often made worse and more visible when you try to fix it. It is sometimes best to leave things alone. If there is something you want but cannot have, show contempt for it. The less interest you reveal, the more superior you seem. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 37 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Create Compelling Spectacles ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Striking imagery and grand symbolic gestures create the aura of power – everyone responds to them. Stage spectacles for those around you, then full of arresting visuals and radiant symbols that heighten your presence. Dazzled by appearances, no one will notice what you are really doing. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 38 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Think as you like but Behave like others ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">If you make a show of going against the times, flaunting your unconventional ideas and unorthodox ways, people will think that you only want attention and that you look down upon them. They will find a way to punish you for making them feel inferior. It is far safer to blend in and nurture the common touch. Share your originality only with tolerant friends and those who are sure to appreciate your uniqueness. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 39 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Stir up Waters to Catch Fish ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Anger and emotion are strategically counterproductive. You must always stay calm and objective. But if you can make your enemies angry while staying calm yourself, you gain a decided advantage. Put your enemies off-balance: Find the chink in their vanity through which you can rattle them and you hold the strings. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 40 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Despise the Free Lunch ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">What is offered for free is dangerous – it usually involves either a trick or a hidden obligation. What has worth is worth paying for. By paying your own way you stay clear of gratitude, guilt, and deceit. It is also often wise to pay the full price – there is no cutting corners with excellence. Be lavish with your money and keep it circulating, for generosity is a sign and a magnet for power. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 41 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Avoid Stepping into a Great Man’s Shoes ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">What happens first always appears better and more original than what comes after. If you succeed a great man or have a famous parent, you will have to accomplish double their achievements to outshine them. Do not get lost in their shadow, or stuck in a past not of your own making: Establish your own name and identity by changing course. Slay the overbearing father, disparage his legacy, and gain power by shining in your own way. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 42 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Strike the Shepherd and the Sheep will Scatter ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Trouble can often be traced to a single strong individual – the stirrer, the arrogant underling, the poisoned of goodwill. If you allow such people room to operate, others will succumb to their influence. Do not wait for the troubles they cause to multiply, do not try to negotiate with them – they are irredeemable. Neutralize their influence by isolating or banishing them. Strike at the source of the trouble and the sheep will scatter. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 43 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Work on the Hearts and Minds of Others ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Coercion creates a reaction that will eventually work against you. You must seduce others into wanting to move in your direction. A person you have seduced becomes your loyal pawn. And the way to seduce others is to operate on their individual psychologies and weaknesses. Soften up the resistant by working on their emotions, playing on what they hold dear and what they fear. Ignore the hearts and minds of others and they will grow to hate you. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 44 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Disarm and Infuriate with the Mirror Effect ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">The mirror reflects reality, but it is also the perfect tool for deception: When you mirror your enemies, doing exactly as they do, they cannot figure out your strategy. The Mirror Effect mocks and humiliates them, making them overreact. By holding up a mirror to their psyches, you seduce them with the illusion that you share their values; by holding up a mirror to their actions, you teach them a lesson. Few can resist the power of Mirror Effect. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 45 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Preach the Need for Change, but Never Reform too much at Once ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Everyone understands the need for change in the abstract, but on the day-to-day level people are creatures of habit. Too much innovation is traumatic, and will lead to revolt. If you are new to a position of power, or an outsider trying to build a power base, make a show of respecting the old way of doing things. If change is necessary, make it feel like a gentle improvement on the past. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 46 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Never appear too Perfect ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Appearing better than others is always dangerous, but most dangerous of all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses. Envy creates silent enemies. It is smart to occasionally display defects, and admit to harmless vices, in order to deflect envy and appear more human and approachable. Only gods and the dead can seem perfect with impunity. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 47 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do not go Past the Mark you Aimed for; In Victory, Learn when to Stop ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">The moment of victory is often the moment of greatest peril. In the heat of victory, arrogance and overconfidence can push you past the goal you had aimed for, and by going too far, you make more enemies than you defeat. Do not allow success to go to your head. There is no substitute for strategy and careful planning. Set a goal, and when you reach it, stop. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Law 48 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Assume Formlessness ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">By taking a shape, by having a visible plan, you open yourself to attack. Instead of taking a form for your enemy to grasp, keep yourself adaptable and on the move. Accept the fact that nothing is certain and no law is fixed. The best way to protect yourself is to be as fluid and formless as water; never bet on stability or lasting order. Everything changes.

4/20

BP

<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">BP on Wednesday sued the maker of the device that failed to stop last year's calamitous Gulf oil spill and the owner of the rig that exploded, alleging that negligence by both helped cause the disaster.The British company said in papers filed in federal court in New Orleans that it is suing rig owner Transocean for at least $40 billion in damages, accusing it of causing last year's deadly blowout in the Gulf of Mexico that led to the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. BP says every single safety system and device and well control procedure on the Deep-water Horizon rig failed.

San Francisco

==A man was shot to death Wednesday at an Alameda apartment complex, and police were questioning a possible suspect, investigators said.The victim was found mortally wounded at 535 Buena Vista Ave. about 11:50 a.m., police Lt. Sean Lynch said. A man at the scene was detained.==

Phoenix

==A 33-year-old man who bit back after he was caught by a Phoenix police dog is suing police.Erin Sullivan alleges the dog violated his civil rights and used excessive force to capture him after he ran from officers in Glendale during a burglary investigation last year.Police say Sullivan bit the dog back, injuring it.The lawsuit names the cities of Phoenix and Glendale and four officers.Precursor filings to the lawsuit sought $200,000 from Glendale and $250,000 from Phoenix.Officials in Glendale and Phoenix have declined comment.Sullivan also alleges Glendale police refused to give him insulin to treat his diabetes. Sullivan's attorney, Keith Knowlton, has said his client suffered a diabetic seizure in a Glendale cell.Sullivan is serving eight years for convictions in the Glendale burglary.==