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Selected and fresh photos from around the web.
BASRA, IRAQ - OCTOBER 18: People gather around a Land Rover as it arrives at the village Al Houta on October 18 2008 near Basra, Iraq. The trip by the 51 Sqn Royal Air Force Regiment Force Protection Wing was part of a 'key leader engagement' (KLE) visit to the village close to the Basra Airbase to recruit local labour and engage with the village shiek. Visits of this type are seen as key in efforts to continue winning the support of the local Iraqi population. Although improved security in the region has brought some benefits such as improved trade and commerce, much of the infrastructure remains in a poor state of repair. Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown has indicated that the number of UK troops could be scaled down - especially as the security situation in the south of the country continues to improve.
Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks during a campaign rally in the rain at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, September 27, 2008.
A puppy stands on a truck carrying people to be evacuated from the area in preparation for the approach of Hurricane Gustav in Batabano, on the southern coast of Cuba, August 30, 2008. Powerful Hurricane Gustav roared toward western Cuba on Saturday with 125 mph (205 kph) winds on its way to the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico after a deadly pass through the Caribbean.
BANGKOK, THAILAND - AUGUST 30: A member of Anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) stands behind barbed wire outside Government on August 30, 2008, in Bangkok, Thailand. The protesters want to unseat the seven-month old coalition government lead by Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.
Manchester United's manager Sir Alex Ferguson is seen during his team's English League Cup semi-final first leg soccer match at Pride Park Stadium, Derby, England, Wednesday Jan. 7, 2009.
Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal waves to journalists before a meeting with Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani at the Iranian embassy in Damascus January 7, 2009.
A worker installs a display in the Motorola area at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 7, 2009. The show officially opens on January 8.
WASHINGTON - JANUARY 07: U.S. President George W. Bush (C) meets with President-elect Barack Obama (2nd-L), former President Bill Clinton (2nd-R), former President Jimmy Carter (R) and former President George H.W. Bush (L) in the Oval Office January 7, 2009 in Washington, DC. On January 20, 2009 Barack Obama will be sworn in as the nations�s 44th president.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (2nd R in the front row) visits the Chollima Steel Complex at an undisclosed location in North Korea, in this undated picture released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) December 25, 2008.
Balloons with anti-North Korea leaflets released by former North Korean defectors and anti-North Korea activists fly towards the North in Imjinkak pavilion, near the demilitarised zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas in Paju, about 55 km (34 miles) north of Seoul, December 3, 2008. Dozens of activists, who demanded improvements of North Korea's human rights and the release of South Koreans abducted by the North, launched about 90,000 anti-Pyongyang leaflets in helium-filled balloons near DMZ on Wednesday.
An Israeli woman and her two children take cover during a rocket attack near Kfar Aza, just outside the northern Gaza Strip January 7, 2009. The woman came to meet her husband, an Israeli army officer currently serving on the Gaza border. Rockets exploded as they were waiting for him. Israel postponed on Wednesday a decision on whether to order its armed forces to storm the Gaza Strip's urban centres, an Israeli official said, citing Egyptian- and French-led efforts to secure a truce with Hamas.
I know I was liked in Oakland because when I came there as a Blue Jay, they booed the heck out of me ... Then they gave me a standing ovation when I came up with the bases loaded and the A's were killing us. I was like, 'Oh, thanks.' We didn't have a lot of fans in Oakland, but the fans that did come were great. The players there, we recognize that. 
The way we pulled for each other, the way we hung out together. We never panicked. When everybody around us panicked, we never did, and we always seemed to turn it on at the right times. When you look back at the teams we had, I sit back scratching my head saying, 'How did we not win a championship?'
That year I had a great first half and everyone was saying it was just a flash in the pan ... But no one realized I got two cortisone shots in my elbow and was playing with a torn quad. They threw me out there every day because I was getting the job done defensively and my on-base percentage was second on the team to [Jason] Giambi.
I was always put second ... They always had these guys that were so great ahead of me, and then all of a sudden, there I was playing. That's an accomplishment for me. Nobody wants to be a utility player. You want to play every day. I think the coaches and the teams want it that way. They don't want a guy who is content playing every few days.
The reality is, when I was with the White Sox, they said I couldn't play any other positions ... You can't play, you don't have the arm, you don't have the range, you can't do this, you can't do that. I heard it all. Billy was the smartest one out of everybody because he knew what I could do.
Then I just said, 'You know what? I'm done,' ... I had enough over there and came home. The main thing is that I'm happy with my career. I'm happy with what I did. It was time for me to quit because I just wasn't having that much fun anymore.
I'm going to start my coaching career ... Right now I'm giving hitting lessons to little kids and I've been working for a Web site called 'Free the Fan,' which is basically You Tube for sports. I worked the All-Star Game doing interviews for them, but I want to start coaching next year, so I figure this is the last summer to have some fun.
