Interview with David Ganz, author of The Essential Guide to ...

We recently had a chance to sit down David Ganz, author of The Essential Guide to Investing in Precious Metals to learn more about his book. David is managing partner and principal litigator in the law firm of Ganz & Hollinger, P.C. in New York City, and Ganz & Sivin, L.L.P. in Fair Lawn, N.J., has a practice that is focused on litigation, guardianship, land use and real estate, general corporate and municipal work. He is also an award-winning writer on a variety of topics, and is both the elected 29th Mayor of Fair Lawn, New Jersey, the 4th largest municipality in Bergen County, N.J. , and a Freeholder (County legislator) elected at-large in the 890,000 population County of Bergen, New Jersey?s most populous.

In his spare time, he is a coin collector. A life fellow (one of 200 voting members) of the American Numismatic Society, he was appointed by President Nixon to the 1974 Annual Assay Commission, the oldest continually functioning committee in the federal government (dating to the founding of the Mint in 1792). He served from 1985-1995 as an elected member of the Board of Governors of the American Numismatic Association, the largest, educational non-profit organization of collectors in the world. He became the organization?s 48th president in July, 1993, serving until August, 1995.

He has served as a consultant to the Canadian Olympic Coin Program (1973-76), the Moscow Olympic Coin Program (1976-80), for Occidental Petroleum and Lazard Freres in their 1981-2 Olympic Coin program effort, the 1985-6 Statue of Liberty Centennial Celebration, and many others. His legislative expertise has been tapped by Olin Brass, Memorial Mission Hospital (Asheville, N.C.), The Platinum Guild, the Dutch Mint, the Portuguese State Mint, and others, on coin and related matters over the course of the past 20 years.

To learn more about David click here . Tweet this interview .

Tell us about your book and why someone should read it.

I have been involved with coins and Precious Metals for more than 50 years and I have been writing about it since 1965. This book takes the excitement of the Precious Metals market, applies it to coins and bullion items, and gives investors as well as collectors new tools work with. People collect coins because of an overwhelming interest in history, politics, government, economics, and intellectual stimulation. People invest in Gold, Silver, Platinum, and Palladium because they can sense the excitement that each of these Metals emanates and because of their long financial history that suggests future success.

Download a free excerpt here. Tweet this .

How did you get started investing in Precious Metals?

I started investing in Precious Metal as an almost ancillary role to collecting coins. That started in 1960, when I received an Indian head cent in pocket change and found out that my one cent investment was worth 25 cents . You had the ability back then to go to a bank, slide a dollar bill over the counter, and ask for a real Silver dollar in change. I did that and by the mid-1960s I was amazed to find that as the price of Silver began to walk the worth of the Silver dollars increased as well. I followed the Gold boom firsthand as the right to own Gold was gradually restored to Americans. I began to buy Gold coins where there was a significant value in the Gold but also a numismatic component that backed it up.

What advice do you have for someone just getting started with buying Precious Metals?

This is the right time to be in the market. The future holds endless possibilities for those who have enough liquidity to buy Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium with a long-term strategy in mind. I started making purchases as a kid but never thought that in my lifetime I would see such an opportunity for growth. I would hit the board, don?t stretch, and be sure to consider the numismatic component

What are your top Silver & Gold products?

My favorite product right now is the 5 ounce America the Beautiful ?25 cent? legal tender coin ? 3 inch diameter. Low mintage, high Silver content, and virtually limitless potential. For Gold, I like greeted MS 61and 62 Saints which have just a small premium over their Gold content but good numismatic value

Is now a good time to start buying Precious Metals or is it too late?

There?s never been a wrong time or a bad time to plunge into Precious Metals. Markets go up, markets go down, and sideways. But understand I?m not a trader: I hold my coins and Precious Metals for a long period of time. A number of years ago, I took a heavy position (for me) in Silver eagles which I bought for my IRA. I stayed in it for about a year and then traded them to the equities market, in retrospect a mistake. I probably bought in March 1977 for about $4.80 an ounce. It would?ve been a lot smarter of me to sit with the asset and hold it! Right now, I?m buying America the beautiful 5 ounce Silver coins I?m going to use them to plan my rare coin retirement.

?There?s never been a wrong time or a bad time to plunge into Precious Metals.? David Ganz ? Click to Tweet

Related articles

Like this:

Be the first to like this post.

football schedule jo paterno dead south carolina tuskegee airmen mike james red tails red tails

Government site back up after it crashes with 1940 census data

[ [ [['beyond the incredible personal tragedy', 3]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/stand-ground-laws-not-just-gop-policy-records-053103956.html', '[Related: \?Stand your ground\? laws not just GOP policy\, records show]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['I went out on to my porch and heard a bang', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/dozens-killed-in-russian-plane-crash-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/87/b870130db8e1341aaa3e3f4a2aefcfcd.jpeg', '500', ' ', '(AP Photo/Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations press service)', ], [ [['Afghan security forces and police killed three', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/H9BcJE', '[Related: Bales\' wife on his alleged shooting: \'He would not do that\']', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['looking for fireworks between the opposing camps', 16]], 'http://yhoo.it/GSvEsj', '[RELATED:\?It?s going to be a circus\?: Activists begin protests outside Supreme Court]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 8]], 'http://yhoo.it/GE6jSh', '[RELATED: Obama\?s health care law passed 2 years ago, but where are we now\?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Witnesses said the gunman pulled up on a black scooter', 7]], 'http://yhoo.it/GzwOIW', '[Related: New York police tighten security at Jewish sites]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['test Zimmerman for alcohol or drugs', 11]], 'http://yhoo.it/Gzn6VF', '[Related: White House says Trayvon Martin is local issue]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Oikos University', 8]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/deadly-oakland-university-shooting-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120402/shooting.jpg', '450', ' ', 'REUTERS/Reuters TV/KNTV/Handout', ], [ [['Trayvon Martin decked the Neighborhood', 7]], 'http://yhoo.it/GUovUP', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/2/61/261d2c36bccf0971c2734a4d4398aa5a.jpeg', '512', ' ', 'AP/David Goldman', ], [ [['Can you create commerce in order to regulate it', 9]], 'http://yhoo.it/GSgtu8', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/7/78/778e2416573870cd705774e92403447d.jpeg', '630', ' ', 'AP/Charles Dharapak', ], [ [['associated with such a small earthquake', 4]], 'http://yhoo.it/GTco9z', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/0/b4/0b493c1a47b6e3f97f8f48a2b251d7d4.jpeg', '630', ' ', 'AP Photo/Carrie Antlfinger', ], [ [['Fox News host Geraldo Rivera sparked outrage', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GKMVTk', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/2/7c/27c7367bc512d233ae1790b320a5e92c.jpeg', '630', ' ', 'AP Photo/John Minchillo', ], [ [['The charges signed against Bales include', 1]], 'http://yhoo.it/wZT5zV', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/7/a0/7a07c51b2aa0f39b1a23355046d13870.jpeg', '512', ' ', 'AP Photo/DVIDS\, Spc\. Ryan Hallock\, File', ], [ [['George Zimmerman, if I had a son', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/thousands-protest-fla-teen-death-1332387124-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/os/152/2012/03/22/d761a49f3fcc99080a0f6a70670053cd-jpg_150905.jpg', '500', ' ', 'AP Photo/John Minchillo', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

davenport chris hansen ehlers danlos syndrome the closer michael turner split pea soup land of the lost

The Church of England needs a reboot, not a rebrand | Alan Wilson

'The church in its own bubble has become, at best, the guardian of the value system of the nation?s grandparents, and at worst a den of religious anoraks.' Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian

Yesterday, for the third time this year, someone expressed to me genuine concern about involving the church in a project because they feared that dealing with a discriminatory organisation would compromise their moral integrity. The Church of England used to be the guardian of the nation's morals, but is increasingly perceived as irrelevant, or even a threat to them. At first sight this is amazing, because the people I meet in church are usually kind, upright and morally aware. The nation's moral instinct has changed, however. The church in its own bubble has become, at best, the guardian of the value system of the nation's grandparents, and at worst a den of religious anoraks defined by defensiveness, esoteric logic and discrimination.

The collapse of empire may have led people to search for a new moral purpose in diversity not conformity. Neoliberal economics since Margaret Thatcher may have broken down networks and social tribes, regional identities and family ties. A new social and moral consensus has emerged. It is broadly Christian in the sense of "inspired by the teaching of Jesus" but disconnected from the institutional church.

This affects more than just the C of E. Evangelical bodies bemuse people who are innately suspicious of religious zeal and unpersuaded about the particularities involved. The Roman Catholic church seems corrupt and weird about sex.

Locally, the C of E is often good news. Individual clergy and Christians are often liked and respected on the streets. The figure of Jesus remains broadly attractive, even intriguing and sometimes compelling. The national institution, however, appears disconnected from all this, remote, hierarchical, fixated on its own stuff.

This moral shift makes irrelevant the conventional language of high, low and broad; conservatives and liberals; traditionalists and revisionists; mods and rockers. The real fault line now in the church is between those of all stripes who are at home with social change, and whose Jesus inspires them to find ways of living authentic lives in this culture; and those who fear it, and whose religion is a way to prevent it, or even reverse it.

Where does faith come into this? As a theological virtue, faith can never be entirely at home in any particular cultural context, nor so scared of it as to take refuge in paranoia. On the streets what binds Christians of all denominations together is not institutional but inspirational glue ? our mission. Missional zeal is kindled when passion sets values alight, not regulatory efficiency or structural elegance. The church of the future may be less a civil service or conventional business, and more a movement like Alcoholics Anonymous, the ultimate locally delivered life-changing non-profit organisation. The job of the hierarchy will be to enable this, not to represent it or control it.

To represent the grace and truth of Christ to this generation and be good news to those within its care, the church needs not a re-brand or a bailout, but a reboot.

Where does Christianity connect with life as it is lived?

When you reboot some computers, the screen shows lines of code as the fundamental programs start up that allow everything else to work. What lines of code would come up on the church's screen during such a reboot? What are the things we need to get right for everything else to work?

? Follow Comoment is free on Twitter @commentisfree

windows 8 logo anguilla gone with the wind michael jordan checkers imbibe msg network

Specialist ? Tax Risk Management ? All jobs (page 2)

Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK. Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining and processing mineral resources. Major products are aluminium, copper, diamonds, energy (coal and uranium), gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt, talc) and iron ore. Activities span the world but are strongly represented in Australia and North America with businesses in South America, Asia, Europe and Southern Africa.?Rio Tinto Tax - Asia Pacific Region is a team of approximately 50 tax professionals located in Australia, New Zealand and Asia and provides tax advice and tax risk management to Rio Tinto's Australian, New Zealand and Asian based Business Units.? Rio Tinto Tax - Asia Pacific Region is made up of 4 streams, Tax Risk Management, Tax Advisory, Transfer Pricing and Indirect Tax, with Australian offices located in Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane.?An opportunity currently exists in the Brisbane Risk Management Team for a Tax Specialist. Reporting to the Manager, Tax Risk Management, this two year fixed term role principally provides support and advice to the business on tax compliance and reporting obligations.?The key responsibilities are:

• Preparation and review of Income Tax Returns for specified entities/operating sites which fall within the responsibility of the Brisbane Tax Team
• Preparation and review of Tax Effect Accounting numbers for allocated entities
• Provision of routine tax advice to the relevant entities/business units, in relation to specific transactions and projects
• Preparation of transfer pricing documentation for specified entities /operating sites
• Ensuring the business unit's compliance with Sarbanes Oxley requirements
• Assist with the coordination of ATO audit activities
• Coordination of business unit's R&D process
• Review of FBT returns for specified entities / operating sites
• Development of strong working relationships with members of the accounting teams and relevant site personnel?

This position will see you utilising your strong knowledge of direct tax, adopting a consultative approach and working as part of an effective team, providing you with a dynamic opportunity to develop your career within a challenging commercial environment.?CA/CPA qualified, your professional experience will ideally have been gained at either a professional services firm in corporate tax or within a commercial tax environment. You will demonstrate strong communication and influencing skills, the ability to work to deadlines and a high level of attention to detail. A strong knowledge of Australian tax law, tax compliance and reporting and sound understanding of accounting concepts is paramount. Essential to your success will be your ability to build effective relationships with all levels of the business, promote tax awareness and compliance, sharing of best practice as well as being an effective communicator, mentor and team player.?In return, you will be rewarded with an attractive salary commensurate to your experience, superannuation on total package, along with standard Rio Tinto employee benefits.?Working within a dynamic and friendly culture, in a business renowned for its world class safety standards, this is an opportunity not to be missed!?Applications close 9^th?April 2012

leona lewis carlos beltran air jordan 11 concord unemployment extension the thin man republic wireless space ball drops on namibia

Bulletins Live ? Washington DC Spends More on Health Insurance ...

New study by health insurance quote provider SelfHealthInsurance.com shows that Washington, DC spends the most on healthcare out of any city in the United States. Ogden, UT, the study shows, spends the least.

New York, NY (PRWEB) March 30, 2012

Health insurance quote provider SelfHealthInsurance.com released a new study titled Which Cities Spend The Most On Health Care And Which Ones Spend The Least? The study, which gathered statistical information from Thomson Reuters repository of health care claims, in addition to other sources, looks at health insurance costs of metropolitan areas in the United States. It looks at the amount of money Americans spend on their employer-sponsored health care plans on a city-by-city basis.

The data shows that the nations capital, Washington, DC, spends the most for health care out of any city in the country. On the opposite side of the spectrum, the less-populated Ogden, UT has the lowest health insurance costs.

The study shows that larger, more populated cities tend to have higher health care costs. The three largest metropolitan areas of the United States: New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, are all on the top ten list for highest amount spent on health insurance. SelfHealthInsurance.com says that a major reason big cities spend a lot on health care is because of the first-rate medical care offered in these cities. Because the best hospitals are located in major metropolitan areas, people with serious illness and rare diseases flock to these medical centers for treatment.

Secondary reasons cited for high health care costs in major cities include pollution and stress. The study says that in big cities smog and pollutants tend to stay in the air longer and therefore wreck havoc on its residents. The stresses of big city life and also play a role in increasing the amount spent on health care. SelfHealthInsurance.com says, workplace related stress is not good for your health, and new studies are beginning to show it leads to increased health care costs.

On the other hand, when looking at more relaxed, care-free cities, SelfHealthInsurance.com says, health care costs are much lower. The major city (of cities with metropolitan area populations greater than 500,000) with the lowest health care costs, the study shows, is Portland, Oregon. SelfHealthInsurance.com says that Portland is known for being an active town where many people enjoy bike riding and hiking. Because Portland has so many healthy residents, fewer citizens of the city require costly health care procedures.

When looking at all Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) in the United States, Ogden, UT spends the lowest on healthcare. SelfHealthInsurance.com believes that the stress-free climate of cities like Ogden plays a huge role in determining insurance costs. Thomon Reuters also says that in these smaller communities, the low amount of hospitals may play a role in keeping health care costs to a minimum. Ray Fabius, chief medical officer for the health care business of Thomson Reuters, says that generally speaking, we know that the greater the competition in a community, the better the pricing is from a consumer standpoint. If there is a single dominant hospital in a community, they would not have pricing pressure; if there are more hospitals in a community, there is more pricing pressure.

SelfHealthInsurance.com is a health insurance quote provider located in New York, NY. In addition to providing health insurance quotes to United States users, they also release studies and reports on the health insurance industry. Recent reports include, How smoking affects healthcare costs and How Is Obamas Health Care Reform Going To Effect Health Insurance In America? SelfHealthInsurance.coms goal is to become the leading online health insurance provider in the United States.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/3/prweb9347855.htm

dick cheney hcg drops chris carpenter chris carpenter reason rally mad hatter ryan howard

Internet Business Trends Business to business Requirement ...

Massive Sales Results @ 1/2 the investment

I am aware you have include a lot of time, vitality and effort into creating and after that building up your Internet business. Now it is time for you to relax and make use of your work, and make your dollars online. Nonetheless, are you aware of the most recent trends advertising? Remember, it is vital to keep up to date with all the newest developments in the field, in order to gain a eager edge more than your competition.

While experts have got analyzed, one of several important information to keep in mind is that you, and your firm, need to develop and maintain a product identity, any ?face? that would make you stand apart from other people. You cannot interact with your client today, if you are faceless, and when you do not have a set ?personality? that is noticeable on the Internet. Therefore, go ahead, develop a face along with a personality your customers will enjoy and enjoy; this will go a long way in the direction of ensuring good results.

Another Internet marketing trend are using ?widgets?. Any widget has been described as becoming quite just like plug-ins or extensions, and is the chunk of program code that can be set up by a stop user. A person, as a business owner, can use any widget in order to leverage issues in such a way that traffic to some other sites gets up your doorstep. You Tube is one company that has utilised widgets properly.

Content sending your line is yet another craze that can be used to your benefit in your internet marketing venture. A person broadcast your posts, instead of merely putting your articles online and dispersing word all around. The user are members of the ?feed? as well as access the info they want by means of it. You would be able to bring up to date information usually on your web site, so that your buyer gets merely the latest information whenever this individual logs inside.

The ?pay for every call? is one of the coolest new trends today. A salesman will be conscious of the fact that an appointment is worth 100 times more than a ?click?, especially simply because this way your salesperson can enjoy stay contact with the consumer, and build upward a long sustained relationship with him or her. Yet another similar Online marketing trend are the popular ?agent software program.? This might help you sort out through the morass associated with unwanted details that comes on your path everyday, along with would additionally note your preferences online and enable you to follow them efficiently.

Pundits predict that will for your online business, one critical development is social media expansion will occur from specialized niche products. To put it differently, Internet users is going to be promised really interest for the kids, so that they would be immediately fascinated by your website. Search engine marketing, the latest approach to increasing the income from your web business, will extend its reach onto mobiles and other local searches, which could be used to the great advantage. In case behavioral concentrating on and increased e-mail targeting carry on and rise in popularity, then there can be no preventing you from accumulating a solid and most profitable company, using all these latest developments in Internet marketing.

Related posts:

Inbound marketing

iron bowl bo jackson bo jackson ibogaine weather houston weather houston small business saturday

Myanmar voters yearn to send Suu Kyi to parliament

Myanmar's National League for Democracy party leader Aung San Suu Kyi, center, heads towards a polling station at Wah Thin Kha village in Yangon, Myanmar Sunday, April 1, 2012. Myanmar held a landmark election Sunday that was expected to send democracy icon Suu Kyi into parliament for her first public office since launching her decades-long struggle against the military-dominated government. (AP Photo)

Myanmar's National League for Democracy party leader Aung San Suu Kyi, center, heads towards a polling station at Wah Thin Kha village in Yangon, Myanmar Sunday, April 1, 2012. Myanmar held a landmark election Sunday that was expected to send democracy icon Suu Kyi into parliament for her first public office since launching her decades-long struggle against the military-dominated government. (AP Photo)

Myanmar villagers walk towards a polling station in the village of Wah Thin Kha village in Wah Thin Kha, Myanmar, Sunday, April 1, 2012. Myanmar held a landmark election Sunday that was expected to send democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi into parliament for her first public office since launching her decades-long struggle against the military-dominated government. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

A Myanmar woman casts her vote at a polling station in Mayangon Township, western part of Yangon, Myanmar, Sunday, April. 1, 2012. Sunday's by-election, to fill a few dozen vacant seats, followed months of surprising reforms by a nominally civilian government that does not relish ceding ground to Suu Kyi, but which must appear more democratic in order to emerge from decades of international isolation that have crippled the Southeast Asian nation's economy. (AP Photo/Khin Maung Win)

Supporters shake hands with Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a van as she visits a polling station on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar, Sunday, April 1, 2012. Myanmar held a landmark election Sunday that was expected to send Suu Kyi into parliament for her first public office since launching her decades-long struggle against the military-dominated government. (AP Photo)

WAH THIN KHA, Myanmar (AP) ? Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi was poised to win her first elected office in a landmark election Sunday in Myanmar that drew crowds of voters determined to send the country's most famous ex-political prisoner to parliament.

A victory for Suu Kyi would mark a new era in her 24-year political career, which was spent mostly under house arrest, and for Myanmar as the government seeks legitimacy and a lifting of Western sanctions while emerging from a half-century of oppressive and hermetic military rule.

Sunday's by-election was called to fill just 45 vacant seats in Myanmar's 664-seat national Parliament and will not change the balance of power in a new government that is nominally civilian but still heavily controlled by retired generals. Suu Kyi and other opposition candidates would have almost no say even if they win all the seats they are contesting.

But Suu Kyi's candidacy has resurrected hope among Myanmar's downtrodden masses. If the 66-year-old Nobel peace laureate takes office as expected it would symbolize a giant leap toward national reconciliation.

Crowds of supporters mobbed Suu Kyi as she visited a polling station in Wah Thin Kha, one of dozens of dirt-poor villages in the rural constituency south of Yangon that she is vying to represent.

"She may not be able to do anything at this stage," said one voter, Go Khehtay, who cast his ballot for Suu Kyi. "But one day, I believe she'll be able to bring real change."

Suu Kyi slept overnight in the tiny village of 3,000 farmers, which has no electricity or running water. Its near-total underdevelopment illustrates the profound challenges facing the country as it slowly emerges from 49 years of army rule.

Suu Kyi supporters in other constituencies said they voted for her party with hopes of propelling Suu Kyi to the presidency in during the next ballot in 2015.

"She will not have much maneuvering space in the Parliament this time around but it will be the first step for a bigger leap," said Tin Tin Yi, a retired school teacher in a northern Yangon constituency.

The election could nudge Western powers closer to easing economic sanctions they have imposed on the country for years. But that decision will partly hinge on whether the elections are deemed free and fair, and Suu Kyi and her supporters have so far said the voting has been anything but.

Nyan Win, the spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party, cited "rampant irregularities" during election day, saying by midday more than 50 complaints had been filed. He said most alleged violations concerned waxed ballot papers that made it difficult to mark votes. There were also ballot cards that lacked the Election Commission's seal, which would render them invalid.

The party's tally indicated that Suu Kyi was headed for victory in her constituency but that irregularities could effect the party's overall results, he said.

Suu Kyi also cast doubt on the ballot's fairness during a news conference Friday, saying that even officials were involved in irregularities that included assaults on candidates and fraudulent voter rolls, but added that she was going forward with her candidacy because it's "what our people want."

Last year, Myanmar's long-entrenched military junta handed power to a civilian government dominated by retired officers that skeptics decried as a proxy for continued military rule. But the new rulers ? who came to power in a 2010 vote that critics say was neither free nor fair ? have surprised the world with a wave of reform.

The government of President Thein Sein, himself a retired lieutenant general, has freed political prisoners, signed truces with rebel groups and opened a direct dialogue with Suu Kyi, who wields enough moral authority to greatly influence the Myanmar policy of the U.S. and other powers.

A new reform was expected Monday when Myanmar's currency will be largely unshackled from government controls that kept the kyat at an artificially high rate for decades. The International Monetary fund says the change could lift a major constraint on growth in one of Asia's least developed countries.

Suu Kyi's decision to endorse Thein Sein's reforms so far and run in Sunday's election represents a great political gamble.

Once in parliament, she can seek to influence policy and challenge the government from within. But she also risks legitimizing a regime she has fought against for decades while gaining little true legislative power.

Suu Kyi is in a "strategic symbiosis" with some of the country's generals and ex-generals, said Maung Zarni, a Myanmar expert and a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics.

"They need her and she needs them to break the 25 years of political stalemate," Zarni said. "She holds the key for the regime's need for its international acceptance and normalization."

Sunday's poll marks the first foray into electoral politics by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party since winning a landslide election victory in 1990. The military annulled those results and kept Suu Kyi in detention for much of the next two decades. The party boycotted the last vote in 2010, but in January the government amended key electoral laws, paving the way for a run in this weekend's ballot.

On Friday, Suu Kyi told reporters that she hoped "to win the military over, to (make them) understand that we have to work together if we want peace and if we want progress."

The military must understand that "the future of this country is their future and that reform in this country means reform for them as well," she said.

___

Associated Press writer Aye Aye Win contributed to this report.

Associated Press

stuffing brandon mcinerney brandon mcinerney black friday 2011 deals nfl power rankings week 12 nfl power rankings week 12 brine turkey