Software whiz educated at the indian institute of technology who in 2000 created the platform for partypoker . party quickly became the world's busiest site by enabling tens of thousands of players to compete in real time at virtual ninehanded tables. the site supercharged a vast industry, creating numerous jobs and an eleven-figure stock valuation for its shareholders. the industry is currently under fire by the illegal online gambling act, but whether or not playing our national pastime online turns out to be legal, internet play poker video is without question among the "killer apps" of globalization 3.0. you'd never guess it, however, from reading friedman's book. a more glaring oversight occurs when friedman mentions bill gates seventeen times, always in a positive light and often quoting him at length, but poker not once, this despite the game's famously seminal influence on gates during his two years at harvard. in his 1995 memoir the road ahead, gates recalled marathon dorm sessions that he believes were at least as productive and intellectually stimulating as his time spent in class. his dorm-mate steve ballmer elsewhere reveals that gates "played poker until six in the morning, then i'd run into him at breakfast and discuss applied mathematics." ballmer calls microsoft's early organization and business plan "basically an extension of the all-night poker games bill and i used to play back at harvard sometimes whole divisions would get moved just because someone bet two pairs against an inside straight or play poker video. To the editor: i don't know how it has happened, that it is saddam who is slated to be sentenced this weekend. the chatter, including a comment by the great saddam himself, is that his "sentencing" is being timed to benefit bush before the elections in the u.s. some masterful con artist managed to substitute saddam for bush himself, and in a classic shell game, switched the two men. it should have been bush being sentenced, while saddam then would be restored to the head of a baathist regime to bring order out of chaos in iraq. medical treatment for all, women's rights, a functioning electrical grid, and an oil economy which could have been leveraged to balance american terrorism in the world. those would have been the benefits of a restored saddam, along with the usual international pressure for him to modify his more obnoxious tendencies to kill political opponents and members of minorities in iraq. can we peaceably get the right prisoner in the dock, while bringing peace to the troubled nation of iraq? albert krauss ukiah to the editor: as the evening temperatures drop and the leaves change color, we reflect on summer fun and enjoy our memories of the redwood valley community market. the market met at the lion's club park every sunday morning from july through october, providing redwood valley residents and visitors with access to wonderful local food and handmade crafts. everyone enjoyed sipping fresh coffee by dave at king's cup, eating home-baked delicacies by jacquie lee, and sitting in the shade, listening to an array of local musicians lined up each week by george husaruk. but it was the smiles on the faces of old friends and neighbors as they greeted each other that were priceless. it was the third season for the redwood valley community market and we are pleased with its success. we thank the following people and organizations who made it happen: jenny burnstad and cloud forest institute, kit elliott, helen menasian and redwood valley outdoor education project, carolina north, sonya pio, gulp greater ukiah localization project ; , frey vineyards, redwood valley clinic, p and k woodworks. we thank the county for supporting our efforts to stay at and play poker against. For our web site visitors only ; we have negotiated a special 40% first deposit bonus up to 0 ; to players making real money deposits.