Coupled with China’s earlier vows to build a space station and put an astronaut on the moon, the plan conjured up memories of the moncler jackets cold-war-era space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. The United States, which has de-emphasized manned spaceflight in recent years, is now dependent on Russia for transporting its astronauts to the International Space Station. Russia, for its part, has suffered an embarrassing string of failed satellite launchings.
China has been looking for ways to exert its growing economic strength and to demonstrate that its technological mastery and scientific achievements can approach those of any global power. The plan announced Thursday calls for launching a space lab and collecting samples from the moon, all by 2016, along with a more powerful manned spaceship and space freighters.
In recent years, China has also sought to build a military capacity in keeping with its economic might, expanding its submarine fleet and, this year, testing its first aircraft carrier, a refurbished Soviet model. Under the new space plan, it would vastly expand its version of a Global Positioning System, which would have military as well as civilian uses.
The plan shows how the government intends to draw on military and civilian resources to meet the goals, which the government is betting will also produce benefits for the Chinese economy. “This approach offers lessons for other advanced space powers, including the U.S., which needs to make sure it sustains its high-level investment in various aspects of space development across the board,” said Andrew S. Erickson, a professor at the United States Naval War College who has studied the Chinese space program.
While a leader in the business of launching satellites, China is still years behind the United States in space. Its human spaceflight accomplishments to date put it roughly where the United States and the Soviet Union were in the mid-1960s.
But China has consistently stuck to a development timeline for its program and met the realistic goals set out in its five-year plans, which are mainstays of the Communist Party’s authoritarian system.
For human spaceflight, the plan lays out a continuation of China’s steady but unrushed efforts to develop technologies and extend its capacities. It says that China will begin the work to land its astronauts on the moon, but it does not provide a target date for when they will go.
“I think it is a comprehensive, moderately paced program,” said John M. Logsdon, former director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University. “It’s not a crash program.”
By contrast, NASA’s direction tends to shift with every change of presidency. President George W. Bush called on NASA to return to the moon by 2020. President Obama canceled that program and now wants the agency to send astronauts to an asteroid. NASA shut down its 30-year space shuttle program after a final flight in July.
“The one thing that is admirable about their program is they don’t have fits and starts,” said Joseph R. Fragola, a space safety expert who has visited the space facilities in China. “Their program is low budget but it is laid out, and they follow it in an orderly process, and we don’t do that.”
Experts say Beijing is approaching its space program the way it did its military modernization. In addition to the aircraft carrier, which it bought from Ukraine, China has also made a progress on an anti-ship moncler outlet 2011 ballistic missile, which could be deployed to ward off foreign warships. Last January, the Chinese military tested a stealth fighter hours before Robert M. Gates, the defense secretary at the time, met in Beijing with President Hu Jintao.
Unlike in the United States, where there are separate military and civilian space programs, in China the People’s Liberation Army is the driving force behind development of the Chinese space program. Civilian institutions, including various universities and laboratories, are part of the military-led efforts. In the white paper that laid out the plan, released by the State Council, China’s cabinet, the authors took pains to say that Beijing was not seeking to challenge any nation militarily with its space program.
“China always adheres to the use of outer space for peaceful purposes, and opposes weaponization or any arms race in outer space,” the paper said.
Analysts say one of the more notable goals of the five-year strategy is to further develop the Beidou Navigation Satellite System, which on Tuesday began providing navigation, positioning and timing data on China and surrounding areas. The white paper said China intended to have a global system by 2020, with 35 satellites in orbit. If it met that goal, China would join Russia in having a system that tries to rival America’s. China has already launched 10 satellites for the Beidou system, and plans to launch six more next year.
Beidou is not as advanced as its American counterpart, but it is expected to overshadow the Russian system and would provide the Chinese military with an alternative to relying on a civilian version of the American network. Beidou would also be used for civilian purposes, like providing drivers with a navigation tool.
“This has major commercial implications, it has major security implications,” Mr. Erickson said. “To be a great military and space power, it’s important to have one’s own satellite navigation system.”
The white paper, which follows similar reports released in 2000 and 2006, also said China would develop new Long March launch vehicles to deliver heavier payloads into orbit. It will also work on improving conditions for human spaceflight.
To lay that groundwork, the paper said, China “will launch space laboratories, manned spaceship and space freighters; make breakthroughs in and master space station key technologies, including astronauts’ medium-term stay, regenerative life support and propellant refueling; conduct space applications to a certain extent and make technological preparations for the construction of space stations.”
On deep-space exploration, the paper said China planned to launch orbiters that would make soft lunar landings and do roving and surveying. After that, the paper said, China will collect samples of the moon’s surface and bring them back for analysis.
The paper also said China planned to carry out a comprehensive plan for upgrading its satellite technology and widening the uses of its satellites.
“In aggregate, this is clearly going to propel China even further into space to a significant degree,” Mr. Erickson said. “There’s relentless progress across the board.”
In 2003, China became the third country to send a human into space, behind the United States and the Soviet Union, when it put Yang Liwei into orbit around the earth. Moncler women boots cheap sale, 2011 moncler winter boots outlet.It launched a lunar probe in 2007 that orbited the moon and took pictures, and the next year completed its first spacewalk when Zhai Zhigang remained for 13 minutes outside the Shenzhou 7 spacecraft.
2011年12月29日星期四
According to a recently published paper
Among the most interesting questions scientists will attempt to answer is if our moon holds the wrecked body of a lost sibling body.
Evidence of the crash, if it occurred, moncler jackets should be buried inside the moon, in the form of remnant radioactive materials, like uranium and thorium, which would have been heated in the smash-up.
NEWS: Earth Must Have Another Moon, Say Astronomers
According to a recently published paper, scientists suspect a second moon once circled Earth in the same orbit and at roughly the same speed as our moon. It eventually bumped into its companion, but instead of causing an impact crater, the second moon stuck and made a mountain. That feature today would be the lunar highlands located on the side of the moon that permanently faces away from Earth.
"One prediction of this model is that the whole exterior of the moon was once molten, and it started to cool off — actually cooled from the outside in — so you were left with a molten channel in the base of the moon's crust," said Maria Zuber, a planetary scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Simulations show that when the second moon hit our moon, the molten material was pushed around to the near side, traces of which should remain today.
"We're looking for layering in the lower crust," said Zuber, who is the lead researcher on NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission. The $496 mission is also known by its acronym, Grail.
ANALYSIS: Could Galactic Cataclysms Be Recorded on the Moon?
Flying in formation 34 miles above the lunar surface, the two Grail spacecraft will map the moon's gravity down to fractions of a micron. Moncler jackets, cheap moncler vest, moncler boots 2011 outlet.A micron is about the width of a red blood cell.
VIDEO: NASA smashes LCROSS and spent Centaur rocket into moon in search of water
Scientists can use the precise measurements to model the moon's interior, a key piece of data missing despite more than 100 previous missions to the moon, including excursions made by NASA astronauts during the six Apollo moon landings between 1969 and 1972.
"We believe the moon formed from the impact of a Mars-sized object with Earth, but we understand little really of how this formation happened and how it cooled off after the violent event," Zuber said.
"One fundamental thing that we don't know about the moon — shockingly after all these missions that have gone to the moon — is why the near side of the moon is different than the far side," she added.
NEWS: Earth May Have Swirled Moon's Core
Grail-A is due to begin a 40-minute braking maneuver to put itself into orbit around the moon at 4:21 p.m. ET on Saturday. Grail-B arrives 25 hours later on New Year's Day.
Both spacecraft are needed to complete the mapping mission, which is scheduled to last 82 days.
"We won't be celebrating a lot until after we get Grail-B into orbit," said project manager David Lehman, with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
It will take two months for the spacecraft to move themselves from their initial lunar orbits into position to begin mapping. Moncler jackets for kids, buy cheap moncler 2011 kids down jackets.If the battery-powered probes survive the next lunar eclipse, scientists want to move them even closer to the moon for a follow-on mission that would provide even more precise measurements.
Evidence of the crash, if it occurred, moncler jackets should be buried inside the moon, in the form of remnant radioactive materials, like uranium and thorium, which would have been heated in the smash-up.
NEWS: Earth Must Have Another Moon, Say Astronomers
According to a recently published paper, scientists suspect a second moon once circled Earth in the same orbit and at roughly the same speed as our moon. It eventually bumped into its companion, but instead of causing an impact crater, the second moon stuck and made a mountain. That feature today would be the lunar highlands located on the side of the moon that permanently faces away from Earth.
"One prediction of this model is that the whole exterior of the moon was once molten, and it started to cool off — actually cooled from the outside in — so you were left with a molten channel in the base of the moon's crust," said Maria Zuber, a planetary scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Simulations show that when the second moon hit our moon, the molten material was pushed around to the near side, traces of which should remain today.
"We're looking for layering in the lower crust," said Zuber, who is the lead researcher on NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission. The $496 mission is also known by its acronym, Grail.
ANALYSIS: Could Galactic Cataclysms Be Recorded on the Moon?
Flying in formation 34 miles above the lunar surface, the two Grail spacecraft will map the moon's gravity down to fractions of a micron. Moncler jackets, cheap moncler vest, moncler boots 2011 outlet.A micron is about the width of a red blood cell.
VIDEO: NASA smashes LCROSS and spent Centaur rocket into moon in search of water
Scientists can use the precise measurements to model the moon's interior, a key piece of data missing despite more than 100 previous missions to the moon, including excursions made by NASA astronauts during the six Apollo moon landings between 1969 and 1972.
"We believe the moon formed from the impact of a Mars-sized object with Earth, but we understand little really of how this formation happened and how it cooled off after the violent event," Zuber said.
"One fundamental thing that we don't know about the moon — shockingly after all these missions that have gone to the moon — is why the near side of the moon is different than the far side," she added.
NEWS: Earth May Have Swirled Moon's Core
Grail-A is due to begin a 40-minute braking maneuver to put itself into orbit around the moon at 4:21 p.m. ET on Saturday. Grail-B arrives 25 hours later on New Year's Day.
Both spacecraft are needed to complete the mapping mission, which is scheduled to last 82 days.
"We won't be celebrating a lot until after we get Grail-B into orbit," said project manager David Lehman, with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
It will take two months for the spacecraft to move themselves from their initial lunar orbits into position to begin mapping. Moncler jackets for kids, buy cheap moncler 2011 kids down jackets.If the battery-powered probes survive the next lunar eclipse, scientists want to move them even closer to the moon for a follow-on mission that would provide even more precise measurements.
2011年12月28日星期三
More than half of its exports went to South America
The authorities would cover the cost of the surgery for Venezuelan women but would not pay for moncler jackets replacement implants, Health Minister Eugenia Sader said.
Ms Sader said many implants made by French firm Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) had been imported illegally.
The French authorities have recommended that 30,000 French women have the PIP implants removed as a precaution.
The French government, which stresses that there is no evidence of a cancer link, has said it will cover the cost.
The implants were banned in several countries last year after they were found to contain industrial grade silicone filler, making them more liable to split.
The French authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the company which went into administration in 2010.
Global market
Ms Sader said that patients who were worried could go to hospital for a check-up and have surgery to remove the implants if they wished.
The Venezuelan government would moncler outlet 2011 not, however, pay for new implants, the state news agency AVN quoted her as saying.
The health minister said that a significant number of PIP implants had been brought into Venezuela without the proper authorisation.
"They were implanted illegally and now those patients are at risk," she said.
Breast augmentation surgery is popular in Venezuela, where implants are sometimes given to girls as a 15th birthday present.
More than 300,000 implants are believed to have been sold globally by PIP over the past 12 years in some 65 countries.
More than half of its exports went to South America.
In Brazil, some 25,000 women are believed to have had PIP implants.
In Argentina, a group of some 50 women have said they will sue their plastic surgeons if they do not get free replacement for their PIP implants.
Western Europe was another major market. Moncler shoes for men, cheap moncler men shoes 2011 sale, free shipping.Spain, Italy, Germany and Ukraine are known to have imported PIP silicon sacs.
Ms Sader said many implants made by French firm Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) had been imported illegally.
The French authorities have recommended that 30,000 French women have the PIP implants removed as a precaution.
The French government, which stresses that there is no evidence of a cancer link, has said it will cover the cost.
The implants were banned in several countries last year after they were found to contain industrial grade silicone filler, making them more liable to split.
The French authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the company which went into administration in 2010.
Global market
Ms Sader said that patients who were worried could go to hospital for a check-up and have surgery to remove the implants if they wished.
The Venezuelan government would moncler outlet 2011 not, however, pay for new implants, the state news agency AVN quoted her as saying.
The health minister said that a significant number of PIP implants had been brought into Venezuela without the proper authorisation.
"They were implanted illegally and now those patients are at risk," she said.
Breast augmentation surgery is popular in Venezuela, where implants are sometimes given to girls as a 15th birthday present.
More than 300,000 implants are believed to have been sold globally by PIP over the past 12 years in some 65 countries.
More than half of its exports went to South America.
In Brazil, some 25,000 women are believed to have had PIP implants.
In Argentina, a group of some 50 women have said they will sue their plastic surgeons if they do not get free replacement for their PIP implants.
Western Europe was another major market. Moncler shoes for men, cheap moncler men shoes 2011 sale, free shipping.Spain, Italy, Germany and Ukraine are known to have imported PIP silicon sacs.
2011年12月27日星期二
Asked to comment on the PIP controversy
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent an investigator to inspect a plant run by the manufacturer, Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), at La Seyne Sur Mer in southeastern France in May 2000. Shortly afterward, the FDA moncler jackets sent the company's founder, Jean-Claude Mas, a warning letter saying the implants were "adulterated" and citing at least 11 deviations from good manufacturing practices.
The problems had to do with PIP's saline implants, a different line from the silicone implants that French authorities ordered off the market in 2010 for using industrial-grade silicone instead of medical-grade silicone, leading to the French company's bankruptcy. Still, the plant inspected by the FDA was used to manufacture the silicone implants for PIP.
The French government last week recommended that women in France who have PIP's silicone gel-filled implants get them removed by their surgeons after the implants appeared to have an unusually high rupture rate. Other countries, including Britain and Brazil, said women should visit their surgeons for checks.
A critical question is why the FDA's warning did not trigger greater scrutiny of PIP's activities by regulators in France and elsewhere.
France's drug and medical device regulator, AFSSAPS, told Reuters on Tuesday that it had not found evidence that the FDA had informed them of the 2000 letter sent to PIP.
"The FDA wouldn't be obliged to send it to us if there wasn't a health risk," said a spokeswoman. "Therefore there doesn't seem to be a reason why we would have been informed."
The FDA warning letter was made public in 2000. The agency said it also routinely exchanges non-public information with foreign regulators with whom it has confidentiality commitments, including France. But the FDA could not immediately comment on whether it had shared information with France in 2000.
POOR HEALTH
No one has been charged in the PIP case.
Sources said a Marseilles court could soon announce fraud charges against four to six ex-PIP employees.
There is also an investigation into involuntary homicide by French authorities, following the death from cancer of a woman last year. She had received PIP implants. The French government has not presented any evidence of an increased cancer risk from the product.
Mas' lawyer Yves Haddad told Reuters on Monday that his 72-year-old client was in poor health but ready to respond to any court summons. Haddad denied that Mas was in hiding, reiterating that he was still in southern France's Var region.
"He's currently in very bad health because he has just undergone a difficult surgery that prevents him from walking," Haddad said. "He is worried by the importance this matter is taking on. He is angry at those who pointlessly add to people's suffering," the lawyer added.
Haddad said on Tuesday he did not have details about the FDA inspection as he had only worked for PIP for four or five years.
The U.S. concerns about PIP's saline implants more than 11 years ago could mean that there are safety issues for more women than the 300,000 worldwide who received the company's silicone implants. The number of women with PIP saline implants worldwide and the safety record of the device could not be immediately verified.
The FDA's letter was cited in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on behalf of U.S. patients who received moncler vest the saline implants in the late 1990s, and one who received them as recently as 2001. The plaintiffs said that the implants deflated several years later.
Deflation can be a problem with breast implants. The key issue is whether the incidence suffered by a particular product is higher than health authorities deem to be acceptable.
The FDA's letter is available on the agency's website. Reuters could not ascertain the outcome of the lawsuit, and the lead lawyer, Charles Houssiere, could not be reached for a comment.
The FDA's warning letter, dated June 22, 2000, cited PIP's failure to investigate the deflation of its saline implants and a failure to report more than 120 complaints in France and elsewhere to the FDA. The letter said the plant also did not have a process in place to make sure the implants it produced met design specifications.
NO FORMAL APPROVAL
PIP began selling its saline implants in the United States in September 1996, under a 510(k) accelerated review application that did not require the company to submit clinical trials to show an implant's safety and effectiveness, as long as it was "substantially equivalent" to devices already on the market.
The French company could not sell its silicone-gel implants in the United States at the time because the FDA had prohibited the sale of all such implants from 1992 until 2006 for most women because of safety concerns.
However, for many years, the FDA allowed manufacturers to sell saline implants without formal safety trials, because many were sold before the agency received the authority to regulate medical devices. The agency assumed they were safe unless proven otherwise.
In 2000, due to concerns about possible complications such as infections and rupturing, the agency finally required all implant companies to submit a formal application, known as pre-market approval, to continue selling their products.
PIP was one of three companies that submitted an application, which came under review of a panel of outside advisors to the FDA in March 2000.
At the time, PIP said it had already sold 35,000 of its pre-filled saline implants in the United States, and that it was the third-largest manufacturer of breast implants in the world. It said it only had reports of 521 complaints with its devices, a rate of 1.5 percent.
But the panel recommended that the FDA reject PIP's application. It recommended the implants from the other two companies, Inamed Inc, now part of Allergan Inc and Mentor, now a unit of Johnson & Johnson.
Panelists said at the time they were not reassured by PIP's data, and that the company's clinical trials did not include enough patients that were followed for an adequate time to truly evaluate the device's risks.
"ILL PREPARED"
One panel member, Boyd Burkhardt, a plastic surgeon from Arizona, said the company's data was incomplete, and he found it difficult to understand why the company was "as ill prepared as you appear to be" to meet regulatory standards.
"Like it or not, we have a regulatory threshold which is probably higher or at least different than it is elsewhere in the world, and I think in order to get your product approved, you're just going to have to bite your tongue and meet that threshold," Burkhardt told the company, according to a transcript from the panel's meeting available on the FDA's website.
Asked to comment on the PIP controversy, Burkhardt, in a brief interview, said that he stands by the prior comments he made to the FDA.Cheap moncler women vest for sale, buy 2011 new style women moncler vest.
It was not immediately clear why after the panel's rejection the FDA then carried out an inspection of the PIP plant in May 2000.
The problems had to do with PIP's saline implants, a different line from the silicone implants that French authorities ordered off the market in 2010 for using industrial-grade silicone instead of medical-grade silicone, leading to the French company's bankruptcy. Still, the plant inspected by the FDA was used to manufacture the silicone implants for PIP.
The French government last week recommended that women in France who have PIP's silicone gel-filled implants get them removed by their surgeons after the implants appeared to have an unusually high rupture rate. Other countries, including Britain and Brazil, said women should visit their surgeons for checks.
A critical question is why the FDA's warning did not trigger greater scrutiny of PIP's activities by regulators in France and elsewhere.
France's drug and medical device regulator, AFSSAPS, told Reuters on Tuesday that it had not found evidence that the FDA had informed them of the 2000 letter sent to PIP.
"The FDA wouldn't be obliged to send it to us if there wasn't a health risk," said a spokeswoman. "Therefore there doesn't seem to be a reason why we would have been informed."
The FDA warning letter was made public in 2000. The agency said it also routinely exchanges non-public information with foreign regulators with whom it has confidentiality commitments, including France. But the FDA could not immediately comment on whether it had shared information with France in 2000.
POOR HEALTH
No one has been charged in the PIP case.
Sources said a Marseilles court could soon announce fraud charges against four to six ex-PIP employees.
There is also an investigation into involuntary homicide by French authorities, following the death from cancer of a woman last year. She had received PIP implants. The French government has not presented any evidence of an increased cancer risk from the product.
Mas' lawyer Yves Haddad told Reuters on Monday that his 72-year-old client was in poor health but ready to respond to any court summons. Haddad denied that Mas was in hiding, reiterating that he was still in southern France's Var region.
"He's currently in very bad health because he has just undergone a difficult surgery that prevents him from walking," Haddad said. "He is worried by the importance this matter is taking on. He is angry at those who pointlessly add to people's suffering," the lawyer added.
Haddad said on Tuesday he did not have details about the FDA inspection as he had only worked for PIP for four or five years.
The U.S. concerns about PIP's saline implants more than 11 years ago could mean that there are safety issues for more women than the 300,000 worldwide who received the company's silicone implants. The number of women with PIP saline implants worldwide and the safety record of the device could not be immediately verified.
The FDA's letter was cited in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on behalf of U.S. patients who received moncler vest the saline implants in the late 1990s, and one who received them as recently as 2001. The plaintiffs said that the implants deflated several years later.
Deflation can be a problem with breast implants. The key issue is whether the incidence suffered by a particular product is higher than health authorities deem to be acceptable.
The FDA's letter is available on the agency's website. Reuters could not ascertain the outcome of the lawsuit, and the lead lawyer, Charles Houssiere, could not be reached for a comment.
The FDA's warning letter, dated June 22, 2000, cited PIP's failure to investigate the deflation of its saline implants and a failure to report more than 120 complaints in France and elsewhere to the FDA. The letter said the plant also did not have a process in place to make sure the implants it produced met design specifications.
NO FORMAL APPROVAL
PIP began selling its saline implants in the United States in September 1996, under a 510(k) accelerated review application that did not require the company to submit clinical trials to show an implant's safety and effectiveness, as long as it was "substantially equivalent" to devices already on the market.
The French company could not sell its silicone-gel implants in the United States at the time because the FDA had prohibited the sale of all such implants from 1992 until 2006 for most women because of safety concerns.
However, for many years, the FDA allowed manufacturers to sell saline implants without formal safety trials, because many were sold before the agency received the authority to regulate medical devices. The agency assumed they were safe unless proven otherwise.
In 2000, due to concerns about possible complications such as infections and rupturing, the agency finally required all implant companies to submit a formal application, known as pre-market approval, to continue selling their products.
PIP was one of three companies that submitted an application, which came under review of a panel of outside advisors to the FDA in March 2000.
At the time, PIP said it had already sold 35,000 of its pre-filled saline implants in the United States, and that it was the third-largest manufacturer of breast implants in the world. It said it only had reports of 521 complaints with its devices, a rate of 1.5 percent.
But the panel recommended that the FDA reject PIP's application. It recommended the implants from the other two companies, Inamed Inc, now part of Allergan Inc and Mentor, now a unit of Johnson & Johnson.
Panelists said at the time they were not reassured by PIP's data, and that the company's clinical trials did not include enough patients that were followed for an adequate time to truly evaluate the device's risks.
"ILL PREPARED"
One panel member, Boyd Burkhardt, a plastic surgeon from Arizona, said the company's data was incomplete, and he found it difficult to understand why the company was "as ill prepared as you appear to be" to meet regulatory standards.
"Like it or not, we have a regulatory threshold which is probably higher or at least different than it is elsewhere in the world, and I think in order to get your product approved, you're just going to have to bite your tongue and meet that threshold," Burkhardt told the company, according to a transcript from the panel's meeting available on the FDA's website.
Asked to comment on the PIP controversy, Burkhardt, in a brief interview, said that he stands by the prior comments he made to the FDA.Cheap moncler women vest for sale, buy 2011 new style women moncler vest.
It was not immediately clear why after the panel's rejection the FDA then carried out an inspection of the PIP plant in May 2000.
2011年12月26日星期一
Now that the Clippers acquired Chris Paul
But during Sunday's 105-86 victory over Golden State, the Clippers players heard those disparaging words for the first moncler jackets time in their careers, and it was music to their ears.
"They said that? I was so focused on my free throws," joked Clippers center DeAndre Jordan, who was four for 12 from the charity stripe.
Jordan added: "I guess it's kind of good to hear that. We're getting more respect, which is good."
Much more.
Now that the Clippers acquired Chris Paul, Chauncey Billups and Caron Butler, people are saying that a team that hasn't made the playoffs since 2006 could be as good or better than Lakers, the 16-time NBA champions. The Clippers have a different presence when they walk into gyms, they're no longer considered an easy win, they're no longer L.A.'s junior varsity NBA team.
Even Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro acknowledged that hearing "Beat L.A." emanate from the Warriors' crowd felt good. "We're trying to be relevant," he said.
The Clippers sure improved their swagger, maybe next they should focus on boxing out.
They were outrebounded 10-1 at the start, but narrowed the gap to 48-43 for the game. Their free throw shooting needs some help moncler jackets for women too -- overall, they were a woeful 23 for 38.
Jordan knows the team has a lot of work to do. After all, he wants his team to be booed and taunted at every gym, not just the Warriors'.
Said Jordan: "The Clippers are "trying to hear the 'Beat L.A.' chant everywhere we go."
Add your perspective to any issue by leaving comments on the site.
To keep the discussion constructive, we have a few basic guidelines:
Do not add posts that have nothing to do with the topic, repetitive posts to multiple items and off-topic posts that hinder discussion.
Please respond insightfully and respectfully. There is room for disagreement, but please disagree with people's ideas. Personal attacks will not be tolerated.
Do not post comments which contain profanity, hate speeches or solicitations of any kind.
Stay on topic. Keep it short. Limit your posts to about 150 words. If you have to scroll to read your comment, it's probably too long.
Review your comment. Good grammar, spelling, and punctuation make it easier for everyone to understand your ideas.
We welcome your thoughts, but we reserve moncler women long winter coats style 065 khaki the right to remove or edit comments for guideline violations, including excessive length. Thank you for your understanding.
Click here for our Terms of Use
"They said that? I was so focused on my free throws," joked Clippers center DeAndre Jordan, who was four for 12 from the charity stripe.
Jordan added: "I guess it's kind of good to hear that. We're getting more respect, which is good."
Much more.
Now that the Clippers acquired Chris Paul, Chauncey Billups and Caron Butler, people are saying that a team that hasn't made the playoffs since 2006 could be as good or better than Lakers, the 16-time NBA champions. The Clippers have a different presence when they walk into gyms, they're no longer considered an easy win, they're no longer L.A.'s junior varsity NBA team.
Even Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro acknowledged that hearing "Beat L.A." emanate from the Warriors' crowd felt good. "We're trying to be relevant," he said.
The Clippers sure improved their swagger, maybe next they should focus on boxing out.
They were outrebounded 10-1 at the start, but narrowed the gap to 48-43 for the game. Their free throw shooting needs some help moncler jackets for women too -- overall, they were a woeful 23 for 38.
Jordan knows the team has a lot of work to do. After all, he wants his team to be booed and taunted at every gym, not just the Warriors'.
Said Jordan: "The Clippers are "trying to hear the 'Beat L.A.' chant everywhere we go."
Add your perspective to any issue by leaving comments on the site.
To keep the discussion constructive, we have a few basic guidelines:
Do not add posts that have nothing to do with the topic, repetitive posts to multiple items and off-topic posts that hinder discussion.
Please respond insightfully and respectfully. There is room for disagreement, but please disagree with people's ideas. Personal attacks will not be tolerated.
Do not post comments which contain profanity, hate speeches or solicitations of any kind.
Stay on topic. Keep it short. Limit your posts to about 150 words. If you have to scroll to read your comment, it's probably too long.
Review your comment. Good grammar, spelling, and punctuation make it easier for everyone to understand your ideas.
We welcome your thoughts, but we reserve moncler women long winter coats style 065 khaki the right to remove or edit comments for guideline violations, including excessive length. Thank you for your understanding.
Click here for our Terms of Use
2011年12月25日星期日
It would take to manufacture NFL success
At that time, Schwartz was the linebackers coach at Colgate, and he was just one year away from a three-year stint with the Cleveland Browns and then-head coach Bill Belichick. Working for Belichick gave Schwartz his first real concept of what it would take to manufacture NFL success, but few coaches would have been up the challenge Schwartz faced when he was hired in early 2009 to coach a Lions team that had gone 0-16 the year before. It was the end of a hellish seven-year stint in which Matt Millen proved himself to be the worst personnel executive in his history of sports, and the team Schwartz and general manager Martin Mayhew inherited moncler jackets had few key cogs left. However, through shrewd drafting and the addition of important free agents, the Lions have rebuilt as drastically as the music business was after Nirvana hit the scene.
When the Lions beat the San Diego Chargers, 38-10 at Ford Field on Sunday, it insured a set of unlikely events so soon after the franchise's darkest hour — the first 10-win season since 1995, the first playoff berth since 1997, and a chance to play in the season finale for a home playoff game. For Schwartz, who had been through his share of controversy this season, the result was a pure validation of his approach to team-building. Just getting to the dance is not good enough.
"There's going to come a time when we don't celebrate going to the playoffs or getting into the playoffs, but that's not going to be tonight," Schwartz said after Saturday's game. "It's been a long time coming and obviously it's something that we haven't done as an organization for a long time. Especially to do it at home in front of a great home crowd on Christmas Eve. My kids have that little application to find out where Santa is — he was at Ford Field tonight."
Lions set to see postseason Nirvana for the first time in decadesSchwartz took time to slap hands with the fans after the win, a welcome reward to the faithful for all the down years. "Unless something really strange happens, it's probably the last home game that we're going to play this year. So our crowd's made a big difference. We've said a lot about how they don't just go to the games, they participate in the games. I'd like a few less waves when our offense has the ball when we're holding the lead and we don't want to get any penalties, but our crowd's been great and they deserve to celebrate it and that's why we stayed out."
The aggressive attitude that got Schwartz in a tiff with Jim Harbaugh earlier this season, and has had defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh in all kinds of trouble with the NFL, was seen ina more positive light on the Lions' first offensive play — quarterback Matt Stafford hit receiver Calvin Johnson deep right for a 46-yard gain, and the Detroit offense was off to the races. When the team's rushing attack faded (as it's done through much of the season), offensive coordinator Scott Linehan's turned to his secret weapon, tight end Brandon Pettigrew, and used different passing concepts to maneuver the ball down the field when the Chargers were playing the pass.
"We've done that sometimes this year," Schwartz said of the play. "Haven't connected on them or sometimes the coverage dictated that we didn't throw the ball, but they gave us a good coverage for it, we had a good play called and we were aggressive with our play calling the whole game. We've got a good quarterback; we put it on him. When you've got a chance to go to the playoffs and you're at home, you need your quarterback to play good and Matt did. Moncler mens jackets, cheap moncler jackets for men, 70% off.I'm sorry for all the people who want us to run the ball 40 times a game, but we're going to put the ball in No. 9's hands and he's going to make plays for us like he did today."
Stafford agreed. "Yeah that was our plan," he said. "You know, let's go out there, let's be aggressive on both sides of the ball—offense and defense—and Scott called a great game. When we had to check it down, guys made plays with it after they caught it, so (it was) a total team effort. Man, it was awesome."
That "awesomeness" transferred to a defense that shut down Philip Rivers and the San Diego aerial attack — defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham had warned earlier in the week of the challenges brought by receiver Vincent Jackson and tight end Antonio Gates. And though Gates set a team record for career receptions in the game, the Jackson-Gates combo managed just six catches on 13 targets for 80 yards combined.
But it was the sometimes hidden diversity of the Detroit offense that was the story of this game, and that's a factor that makes the Lions a very dangerous playoff team. Stafford talked about the depth of the playcalling, and the fact that this offense is about far more than just throwing the ball in Johnson's area and waiting for the jump ball to happen. The Lions aren't quite the Patriots or Packers, but when everything is rolling, they do present a formidable set of targets to any defense.
"Every time we got into the red zone they would double either Calvin/Nate [Burleson], Calvin/Pettigrew, Calvin/Titus [Young], and guys with the one-on-ones won the match-up," Stafford said. "Pettigrew did a great job, really all game—had an awesome game—was getting open for me when they were trying to take away the outside really the whole game. [Pettigrew] ran a great route, threw a ball down there, made a tough catch, and that started us off. That was a third down, we get three there, you never know. We got seven and really got the crowd into the game, made it tough on them, and really jumped ahead early which is what we needed to do."
The final regular-season challenge comes against the NFL champion Packers, and there's no question that the Lions will be playing for a potential five-seed in the NFC, Such thoughts would have been inconceivable in recent years, and hope has been dormant for this team for so long. Now, as Schwartz intimated, the idea is to expect more than arrival to the elite.
As one of the new franchise pieces, Stafford is both celebrating the new success and reflecting on the journey. "It's been a long road, that's for sure. For me personally, for our team, for everybody involved. [There are] a lot of mentally tough people in that locker room—a lot of people (that) have been through a lot of hard times to get to this point and you know, I'm just happy to be a part of it and glad I got to share it with the guys in the locker room there. They're a great bunch of guys and it's just fun to be a part of."
Was this to be expected? "I knew we were going to put the work in," Stafford said. "I knew we had the people with the right mindset [and] dedication to get it done. We weren't happy where we were a couple years ago and from the front office down—getting great players in here, guys buying into the system that the coaches have, and guys going out and executing and believing in each other, it takes everybody and we were able to do it. Hopefully I'll be standing in front of a podium moncler vosges women blue jackets winter 2011 for a couple more weeks now. So, I think we're excited about making the playoffs and I think, more so than that, just the opportunities that can come from that."
When the Lions beat the San Diego Chargers, 38-10 at Ford Field on Sunday, it insured a set of unlikely events so soon after the franchise's darkest hour — the first 10-win season since 1995, the first playoff berth since 1997, and a chance to play in the season finale for a home playoff game. For Schwartz, who had been through his share of controversy this season, the result was a pure validation of his approach to team-building. Just getting to the dance is not good enough.
"There's going to come a time when we don't celebrate going to the playoffs or getting into the playoffs, but that's not going to be tonight," Schwartz said after Saturday's game. "It's been a long time coming and obviously it's something that we haven't done as an organization for a long time. Especially to do it at home in front of a great home crowd on Christmas Eve. My kids have that little application to find out where Santa is — he was at Ford Field tonight."
Lions set to see postseason Nirvana for the first time in decadesSchwartz took time to slap hands with the fans after the win, a welcome reward to the faithful for all the down years. "Unless something really strange happens, it's probably the last home game that we're going to play this year. So our crowd's made a big difference. We've said a lot about how they don't just go to the games, they participate in the games. I'd like a few less waves when our offense has the ball when we're holding the lead and we don't want to get any penalties, but our crowd's been great and they deserve to celebrate it and that's why we stayed out."
The aggressive attitude that got Schwartz in a tiff with Jim Harbaugh earlier this season, and has had defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh in all kinds of trouble with the NFL, was seen ina more positive light on the Lions' first offensive play — quarterback Matt Stafford hit receiver Calvin Johnson deep right for a 46-yard gain, and the Detroit offense was off to the races. When the team's rushing attack faded (as it's done through much of the season), offensive coordinator Scott Linehan's turned to his secret weapon, tight end Brandon Pettigrew, and used different passing concepts to maneuver the ball down the field when the Chargers were playing the pass.
"We've done that sometimes this year," Schwartz said of the play. "Haven't connected on them or sometimes the coverage dictated that we didn't throw the ball, but they gave us a good coverage for it, we had a good play called and we were aggressive with our play calling the whole game. We've got a good quarterback; we put it on him. When you've got a chance to go to the playoffs and you're at home, you need your quarterback to play good and Matt did. Moncler mens jackets, cheap moncler jackets for men, 70% off.I'm sorry for all the people who want us to run the ball 40 times a game, but we're going to put the ball in No. 9's hands and he's going to make plays for us like he did today."
Stafford agreed. "Yeah that was our plan," he said. "You know, let's go out there, let's be aggressive on both sides of the ball—offense and defense—and Scott called a great game. When we had to check it down, guys made plays with it after they caught it, so (it was) a total team effort. Man, it was awesome."
That "awesomeness" transferred to a defense that shut down Philip Rivers and the San Diego aerial attack — defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham had warned earlier in the week of the challenges brought by receiver Vincent Jackson and tight end Antonio Gates. And though Gates set a team record for career receptions in the game, the Jackson-Gates combo managed just six catches on 13 targets for 80 yards combined.
But it was the sometimes hidden diversity of the Detroit offense that was the story of this game, and that's a factor that makes the Lions a very dangerous playoff team. Stafford talked about the depth of the playcalling, and the fact that this offense is about far more than just throwing the ball in Johnson's area and waiting for the jump ball to happen. The Lions aren't quite the Patriots or Packers, but when everything is rolling, they do present a formidable set of targets to any defense.
"Every time we got into the red zone they would double either Calvin/Nate [Burleson], Calvin/Pettigrew, Calvin/Titus [Young], and guys with the one-on-ones won the match-up," Stafford said. "Pettigrew did a great job, really all game—had an awesome game—was getting open for me when they were trying to take away the outside really the whole game. [Pettigrew] ran a great route, threw a ball down there, made a tough catch, and that started us off. That was a third down, we get three there, you never know. We got seven and really got the crowd into the game, made it tough on them, and really jumped ahead early which is what we needed to do."
The final regular-season challenge comes against the NFL champion Packers, and there's no question that the Lions will be playing for a potential five-seed in the NFC, Such thoughts would have been inconceivable in recent years, and hope has been dormant for this team for so long. Now, as Schwartz intimated, the idea is to expect more than arrival to the elite.
As one of the new franchise pieces, Stafford is both celebrating the new success and reflecting on the journey. "It's been a long road, that's for sure. For me personally, for our team, for everybody involved. [There are] a lot of mentally tough people in that locker room—a lot of people (that) have been through a lot of hard times to get to this point and you know, I'm just happy to be a part of it and glad I got to share it with the guys in the locker room there. They're a great bunch of guys and it's just fun to be a part of."
Was this to be expected? "I knew we were going to put the work in," Stafford said. "I knew we had the people with the right mindset [and] dedication to get it done. We weren't happy where we were a couple years ago and from the front office down—getting great players in here, guys buying into the system that the coaches have, and guys going out and executing and believing in each other, it takes everybody and we were able to do it. Hopefully I'll be standing in front of a podium moncler vosges women blue jackets winter 2011 for a couple more weeks now. So, I think we're excited about making the playoffs and I think, more so than that, just the opportunities that can come from that."
2011年12月23日星期五
According to the state's statistics
The Justice Department invoked the Voting Rights Act on Friday and said the new photo-identification rule could deny moncler jackets the right to vote for tens of thousands of blacks and other minorities.
"According to the state's statistics, there are 81,938 minority citizens who are already registered to vote and who lack DMV-issued identification," Thomas E. Perez, the chief of the department's civil rights division, said in a letter to South Carolina officials. He referred to a driver's license issued by the state Department of Motor Vehicles, the most common form of photo identification.
Under current law, a South Carolina resident who is registered to vote can cast a ballot if he or she has a voter registration card and a signature on the polling list, Perez said.
South Carolina was one of many states to enact new laws earlier this year that tighten the rules for voting. Last week, Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. spoke out against these laws, describing them in the words of Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) as "a deliberate and systematic attempt" to prevent millions of elderly, low-income and minority Americans from voting.
Under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, Southern states with a history of racial discrimination must seek advance approval from the Justice Department or a federal court in Washington before adopting new election laws.
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley vowed to get the decision overturned.
"The president and his bullish moncler red boots women 2011 discount sale administration are fighting us every step of the way. It is outrageous, and we plan to look at every possible option to get this terrible, clearly political decision overturned so we can protect the integrity of our electoral process and our 10th Amendment rights," Haley, a Republican, said in a statement.
The Obama administration is also locked in a Supreme Court fight with Texas and its Republican Legislature over the proposed remapping of its new election districts.
Still under review are new election laws from several other Southern states, including Texas and Florida.
Photo-identification laws have divided Republicans and Democrats across the country. Republicans say this requirement will help prevent fraudulent votes. Democrats say there is virtually no evidence that impostors show up claiming to be registered voters.
Three years ago, the Supreme Court upheld a photo-ID law in Indiana, noting the state promised to provide free photos to all who were eligible to vote.
Southern lawmakers assumed that decision would shield their new laws from legal attack. But the Voting Rights Act empowers the Justice Department to stand in the way if a new election law is likely to have a discriminatory effect on blacks and Latinos.
South Carolina is free to seek a reversal from a three-judge federal court.
Victoria Middleton, executive cheap moncler jackets director of the ACLU in South Carolina, called the new law "misguided" and a threat to "one of our most cherished and basic rights. We are pleased to see it stopped in its tracks."
"According to the state's statistics, there are 81,938 minority citizens who are already registered to vote and who lack DMV-issued identification," Thomas E. Perez, the chief of the department's civil rights division, said in a letter to South Carolina officials. He referred to a driver's license issued by the state Department of Motor Vehicles, the most common form of photo identification.
Under current law, a South Carolina resident who is registered to vote can cast a ballot if he or she has a voter registration card and a signature on the polling list, Perez said.
South Carolina was one of many states to enact new laws earlier this year that tighten the rules for voting. Last week, Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. spoke out against these laws, describing them in the words of Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) as "a deliberate and systematic attempt" to prevent millions of elderly, low-income and minority Americans from voting.
Under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, Southern states with a history of racial discrimination must seek advance approval from the Justice Department or a federal court in Washington before adopting new election laws.
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley vowed to get the decision overturned.
"The president and his bullish moncler red boots women 2011 discount sale administration are fighting us every step of the way. It is outrageous, and we plan to look at every possible option to get this terrible, clearly political decision overturned so we can protect the integrity of our electoral process and our 10th Amendment rights," Haley, a Republican, said in a statement.
The Obama administration is also locked in a Supreme Court fight with Texas and its Republican Legislature over the proposed remapping of its new election districts.
Still under review are new election laws from several other Southern states, including Texas and Florida.
Photo-identification laws have divided Republicans and Democrats across the country. Republicans say this requirement will help prevent fraudulent votes. Democrats say there is virtually no evidence that impostors show up claiming to be registered voters.
Three years ago, the Supreme Court upheld a photo-ID law in Indiana, noting the state promised to provide free photos to all who were eligible to vote.
Southern lawmakers assumed that decision would shield their new laws from legal attack. But the Voting Rights Act empowers the Justice Department to stand in the way if a new election law is likely to have a discriminatory effect on blacks and Latinos.
South Carolina is free to seek a reversal from a three-judge federal court.
Victoria Middleton, executive cheap moncler jackets director of the ACLU in South Carolina, called the new law "misguided" and a threat to "one of our most cherished and basic rights. We are pleased to see it stopped in its tracks."
2011年12月22日星期四
Things started badly for the Colts
Foster finished the first half with 76 yards on 10 carries.
Dan Orlovsky completed 10 moncler jackets of 18 passes for 98 yards, Joseph Addai had 15 carries for 42 yards and Reggie Wayne caught five passes for 54 yards for Indianapolis.
Things started badly for the Colts. On Indianapolis' first play from scrimmage, Houston's Brian Cushing sacked Orlovsky and forced him to fumble. Houston's Brooks Reed recovered at the Indianapolis 17. Two plays later, Foster's touchdown gave the Texans a 7-0 lead 54 seconds into the game.
The Colts (1-13) went three-and-out on their next drive. Houston took over at its 38-yard line, but this time, the Colts caught the break. Robert Mathis sacked Houston quarterback T.J. Yates, forced a fumble and recovered it himself at the Houston 36-yard line. The Colts wasted the opportunity when Orlovsky was sacked by Connor Barwin at the Houston 40-yard line on third down.
Houston (10-4) punted out of its end zone on its next possession, and Indy's Pierre Garcon returned it 20 yards to the Houston 27.
Orlovsky's 12-yard completion to Austin Collie on third-and-8 set Indy up at the Houston 13. The drive stalled, and Adam Vinatieri's 23-yard field goal cut Houston's lead to 7-3.
Houston ripped off huge chunks of yardage to start the next drive — a 29-yard pass from Yates to Kevin Walter moncler jackets for kids and an 18-yard run by Foster — to move into Indianapolis territory. Eventually, the Colts' defense tightened up, and Neil Rackers made a 44-yard field goal to push Houston's lead to 10-3 with 2:01 left in the quarter.
Indianapolis finally got its offense moving midway through the second quarter. Helped by a pass interference call and a defensive hold, the Colts pushed inside the Houston 20 before settling for a 32-yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri that cut Houston's lead to 10-6.
The Colts got one more chance inside of two minutes, but Vinatieri missed a 42-yard field goal with 4 seconds left in the first half.
The Colts lead the series 16-3 and have never lost at home to the Texans, but Houston beat Indy 34-7 in the opener and has won two of the past three meetings.
Indianapolis is coming off its first win of the season, a 27-13 win over Tennessee. Donald Brown ran for a career-high 161 yards that day, including a clinching 80-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
The Colts dominated the AFC South for nearly a decade, but the Texans have already clinched the franchise's first home playoff game, dethroning a Colts team that won seven of the previous eight division crowns.
The Texans have kept rolling cheap moncler despite losing starting quarterback Matt Schaub and backup Matt Leinart to season-ending injuries. Receiver Andre Johnson missed his ninth straight game with a strained left hamstring.
Dan Orlovsky completed 10 moncler jackets of 18 passes for 98 yards, Joseph Addai had 15 carries for 42 yards and Reggie Wayne caught five passes for 54 yards for Indianapolis.
Things started badly for the Colts. On Indianapolis' first play from scrimmage, Houston's Brian Cushing sacked Orlovsky and forced him to fumble. Houston's Brooks Reed recovered at the Indianapolis 17. Two plays later, Foster's touchdown gave the Texans a 7-0 lead 54 seconds into the game.
The Colts (1-13) went three-and-out on their next drive. Houston took over at its 38-yard line, but this time, the Colts caught the break. Robert Mathis sacked Houston quarterback T.J. Yates, forced a fumble and recovered it himself at the Houston 36-yard line. The Colts wasted the opportunity when Orlovsky was sacked by Connor Barwin at the Houston 40-yard line on third down.
Houston (10-4) punted out of its end zone on its next possession, and Indy's Pierre Garcon returned it 20 yards to the Houston 27.
Orlovsky's 12-yard completion to Austin Collie on third-and-8 set Indy up at the Houston 13. The drive stalled, and Adam Vinatieri's 23-yard field goal cut Houston's lead to 7-3.
Houston ripped off huge chunks of yardage to start the next drive — a 29-yard pass from Yates to Kevin Walter moncler jackets for kids and an 18-yard run by Foster — to move into Indianapolis territory. Eventually, the Colts' defense tightened up, and Neil Rackers made a 44-yard field goal to push Houston's lead to 10-3 with 2:01 left in the quarter.
Indianapolis finally got its offense moving midway through the second quarter. Helped by a pass interference call and a defensive hold, the Colts pushed inside the Houston 20 before settling for a 32-yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri that cut Houston's lead to 10-6.
The Colts got one more chance inside of two minutes, but Vinatieri missed a 42-yard field goal with 4 seconds left in the first half.
The Colts lead the series 16-3 and have never lost at home to the Texans, but Houston beat Indy 34-7 in the opener and has won two of the past three meetings.
Indianapolis is coming off its first win of the season, a 27-13 win over Tennessee. Donald Brown ran for a career-high 161 yards that day, including a clinching 80-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
The Colts dominated the AFC South for nearly a decade, but the Texans have already clinched the franchise's first home playoff game, dethroning a Colts team that won seven of the previous eight division crowns.
The Texans have kept rolling cheap moncler despite losing starting quarterback Matt Schaub and backup Matt Leinart to season-ending injuries. Receiver Andre Johnson missed his ninth straight game with a strained left hamstring.
2011年12月21日星期三
The skirmish culminates a yearlong ideological battle over taxes
Both parties argued over who should make the next move, even as President Obama called to urge House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, moncler jackets to pass a bipartisan Senate measure to extend the payroll tax cut for another 60 days.
The skirmish culminates a yearlong ideological battle over taxes and spending that nearly forced the government to close at least three times and cost it its top credit rating.
Minnesota's U.S. senators, both Democrats, insisted that a two-month extension passed by the Senate on Saturday with overwhelming Republican support should be backed by House Republican leaders.
"I don't think the Senate's going to be coming back," said Sen. Al Franken, who nevertheless has remained in Washington for the holidays. "We had 89 senators vote for a package Boehner signed off on. That's kind of key. Everyone knows it."
But Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., a Boehner ally, denied that Boehner had agreed to any deal on behalf of the House Republican majority. Even if he had, Kline said, "he's the speaker of the House, he's not the dictator of the House."
Kline said the House has already cleared a yearlong extension of the payroll tax cut, which provided an average savings of $1,112 for more than 3 million Minnesota families this year. With the House having also rejected the short-term Senate measure on Tuesday, Kline said, "The ball is in their court."
Also hanging in the balance is a Medicare rate cut and the extension of federal jobless programs that could end benefits for nearly 50,000 unemployed Minnesotans on Jan. 1, state officials said.
House Republicans have called for a conference committee to reach a deal before the end of the year, the normal route for resolving differences between House- and Senate-passed bills. But Senate Democrats, and some Republicans, have accused House leaders of walking away from a deal that was agreed to by the majority of Republicans in the Senate.
"The most interesting thing right now is to look at the implosion in the Republican Party with nine Republican senators now saying they should just vote on our deal," said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who is back in Minnesota. "The point Men - moncler jackets is here they need to get their act together between themselves, because who's suffering right now is the American people."
'Time to get things done'
Both parties tried to play the impasse to political advantage, from Washington to Minnesota. The National Republican Congressional Committee, the party's campaign arm in the House, has been sponsoring telephone calls this week against Rep. Collin Peterson, a rural Minnesota Democrat who voted against the House GOP bill.
Democrats have criticized the House bill as a partisan measure loaded with provisions few Democrats could support, including a freeze on federal salaries and deep spending cuts to offset an estimated $120 billion in lost revenue, which is supposed to fund the Social Security retirement program.
Only 10 House Democrats voted for the GOP bill, including Minnesota DFLer Tim Walz, a frequent Republican campaign target.
"While this bill is anything but perfect, extending tax cuts for middle-class families is too important to play politics with," Walz said. "I am sick of the political games being played in Washington. It is time to get things done."
Still, Walz sided with Democrats Tuesday in a series of largely party-line votes that set up this week's confrontation between the House and Senate.
Minnesota Republicans also went on the offensive, pressing Klobuchar to back the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline, which Republicans have tied to support for extending the payroll tax holiday.
Klobuchar said she is taking no position on the project until a review is completed by the State Department, a process that would be expedited under both the House and Senate versions of the payroll tax extension.
Minnesota Democrats also got involved this week, with DFL Party Chair Ken Martin accusing House Republicans of blocking the bipartisan Senate compromise. "There' only one side that's digging their heels in here and saying they're not interested," he said.
Kline said Republicans remain ready to negotiate through the year's end, saying "a compromise position in the Senate is not a compromise in Congress."
Franken, however, noted that the Senate deal represented the limits of how much the Democrats were ready to give up, including a proposed surtax on income over $1 million to offset the cost of the payroll tax cut.
"You can't negotiate, have a deal, have the other side give up everything it is willing to give up, and then say, 'Oh, moncler 2011 winter special offer for men big promotion by the way, that's not really the deal,'" Franken said.
Klobuchar said that while she also views the House GOP as reneging on a deal, "I'm ready to go back at the drop of a hat if there's another vote."
The skirmish culminates a yearlong ideological battle over taxes and spending that nearly forced the government to close at least three times and cost it its top credit rating.
Minnesota's U.S. senators, both Democrats, insisted that a two-month extension passed by the Senate on Saturday with overwhelming Republican support should be backed by House Republican leaders.
"I don't think the Senate's going to be coming back," said Sen. Al Franken, who nevertheless has remained in Washington for the holidays. "We had 89 senators vote for a package Boehner signed off on. That's kind of key. Everyone knows it."
But Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., a Boehner ally, denied that Boehner had agreed to any deal on behalf of the House Republican majority. Even if he had, Kline said, "he's the speaker of the House, he's not the dictator of the House."
Kline said the House has already cleared a yearlong extension of the payroll tax cut, which provided an average savings of $1,112 for more than 3 million Minnesota families this year. With the House having also rejected the short-term Senate measure on Tuesday, Kline said, "The ball is in their court."
Also hanging in the balance is a Medicare rate cut and the extension of federal jobless programs that could end benefits for nearly 50,000 unemployed Minnesotans on Jan. 1, state officials said.
House Republicans have called for a conference committee to reach a deal before the end of the year, the normal route for resolving differences between House- and Senate-passed bills. But Senate Democrats, and some Republicans, have accused House leaders of walking away from a deal that was agreed to by the majority of Republicans in the Senate.
"The most interesting thing right now is to look at the implosion in the Republican Party with nine Republican senators now saying they should just vote on our deal," said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who is back in Minnesota. "The point Men - moncler jackets is here they need to get their act together between themselves, because who's suffering right now is the American people."
'Time to get things done'
Both parties tried to play the impasse to political advantage, from Washington to Minnesota. The National Republican Congressional Committee, the party's campaign arm in the House, has been sponsoring telephone calls this week against Rep. Collin Peterson, a rural Minnesota Democrat who voted against the House GOP bill.
Democrats have criticized the House bill as a partisan measure loaded with provisions few Democrats could support, including a freeze on federal salaries and deep spending cuts to offset an estimated $120 billion in lost revenue, which is supposed to fund the Social Security retirement program.
Only 10 House Democrats voted for the GOP bill, including Minnesota DFLer Tim Walz, a frequent Republican campaign target.
"While this bill is anything but perfect, extending tax cuts for middle-class families is too important to play politics with," Walz said. "I am sick of the political games being played in Washington. It is time to get things done."
Still, Walz sided with Democrats Tuesday in a series of largely party-line votes that set up this week's confrontation between the House and Senate.
Minnesota Republicans also went on the offensive, pressing Klobuchar to back the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline, which Republicans have tied to support for extending the payroll tax holiday.
Klobuchar said she is taking no position on the project until a review is completed by the State Department, a process that would be expedited under both the House and Senate versions of the payroll tax extension.
Minnesota Democrats also got involved this week, with DFL Party Chair Ken Martin accusing House Republicans of blocking the bipartisan Senate compromise. "There' only one side that's digging their heels in here and saying they're not interested," he said.
Kline said Republicans remain ready to negotiate through the year's end, saying "a compromise position in the Senate is not a compromise in Congress."
Franken, however, noted that the Senate deal represented the limits of how much the Democrats were ready to give up, including a proposed surtax on income over $1 million to offset the cost of the payroll tax cut.
"You can't negotiate, have a deal, have the other side give up everything it is willing to give up, and then say, 'Oh, moncler 2011 winter special offer for men big promotion by the way, that's not really the deal,'" Franken said.
Klobuchar said that while she also views the House GOP as reneging on a deal, "I'm ready to go back at the drop of a hat if there's another vote."
2011年12月20日星期二
Yet even as Gingrich has top standing in the polls
“He’s got most of the things I’m looking for,” said Bruce Weber, a 70-year-old retiree who waited more than 45 minutes to see the former U.S. House speaker.
Yet even as Gingrich has top standing moncler jackets in the polls, large crowds and plenty of buzz in the Republican presidential primary, he’s still struggling with the basics of his late- surging campaign.
Trailing in cash, he can’t put up commercials to defend himself against attack ads. After a walkout by his senior staff in June, he needs to hire replacements quickly as important campaign-filing deadlines approach.
“What we’re talking about here is a candidate who never really had the opportunity to put a national team in place and is now playing catch-up money-wise and organizationally,” said Corey Lewandowski, a Republican strategist and New Hampshire director of Americans for Prosperity, an anti-tax group that is staying neutral in the race. “The question for him now is, has his campaign already peaked?”
Snapshot in Time
Gingrich’s schedule today offers a snapshot of a campaign enjoying a rapid ascent, while still struggling against longer- term headwinds.
First, he’s scheduled to receive endorsements from House speakers in the nation’s two earliest primary states, Kraig Paulsen of Iowa and William O’Brien of New Hampshire. Later, Gingrich will attend an evening rally in Arlington, Virginia, where he will make a last push to gather the 10,000 signatures he needs by tomorrow to qualify for the ballot -- his latest near-miss with a primary election filing deadline.
“The challenge for us is to get the popular support organized fast enough,” Gingrich said in Davenport, Iowa. “We barely made it in Ohio; we may barely make it Thursday in Virginia.”
Gingrich’s tight finish in meeting Ohio’s Dec. 7 ballot- qualifying deadline came about three weeks after Fergus Cullen, a former New Hampshire Republican Party chairman, reported on the NH Journal website that the former speaker’s campaign submitted a sloppily written slate of 27 proposed delegates -- 13 short of the state’s guideline -- to qualify for the Jan. 10 primary. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and several of the other candidates turned in typewritten lists of 40 delegates.
Missed Missouri Deadline
A few days later, Gingrich failed to qualify for Missouri’s Feb. 7 primary, a decision he later told reporters was a deliberate one in keeping with his policy of not participating in nonbinding contests. Neither Iowa’s nor New Hampshire’s races bind delegates, and Gingrich is campaigning actively in both places.
He told reporters yesterday he would be on the ballot everywhere he needed to be and conceded the advantages held by Romney.
“He’s been running for president for six years; he’s raised billions of dollars,” Gingrich told reporters in Ottumwa, Iowa. “Of course, he has a huge organization advantage.”
His campaign, by contrast, is ramping up cheap moncler moka sub-gloss black long jackets outlet after a summer slump during which his poll numbers stalled in single digits well into the fall.
Hiring Precinct Captains
In Iowa, Gingrich is still looking for precinct captains, who mobilize supporters to attend the Jan. 3 caucuses. On a Dec. 17 tele-town hall, his campaign asked supporters interested in the job to “press one.”
After spending much of the summer focused on getting their campaign message out through social media, Gingrich’s nine full- time aides in Iowa are now working to set up the standard infrastructure of a statewide campaign. His campaign plans an eight-day bus tour through 44 Iowa cities starting on Dec. 27.
“It was very non-traditional,” said Katie Koberg, an Iowa senior adviser who rejoined the campaign in late-November after quitting as part of the mass staff resignation in June. “Now we’re doing some traditional” campaigning.
Gingrich’s New Hampshire office opened on Nov. 11, and he now has 15 paid aides in the state and five field offices, said spokesman Mattheau LeDuc.
Unprepared for Crowds
Still, Gingrich’s team sometimes seems unprepared for the crowds that flood his events. Aides set out about a dozen chairs for a Dec. 19 event at a security company in Davenport, leaving most of the several hundred voters there standing.
In contrast, at a Romney event in New Hampshire Dec. 20, three aides with laptops sat at a check-in table typing in the names and addresses of attendees who hadn’t RSVP’d, building on the campaign’s mailing list and roster of potential volunteers.
The Gingrich campaign’s structural weaknesses could become more pronounced if the nominating contest becomes a protracted one, which new Republican Party rules are likely to produce since early states will award delegates proportionally.
“The challenge for Gingrich is that nationally he must either have enough money to play into the deep states or get a bounce out of Iowa,” said Steve Grubbs, a Davenport-based strategist and former state Republican Party chairman who was Iowa chairman of Herman Cain’s now-suspended presidential bid. “That’s why he’s got to turn things around in Iowa quickly or he may be relegated to being an intellectual voice in the race.”
‘Needs to Bounce’
Right now, Grubbs said, Iowa is “Gingrich’s to lose, but he needs to bounce instead of continuing his decline” because he can’t answer the television attacks against him.
As of yesterday, Gingrich had spent just one-fifth of the amount of money on advertising promoting his candidacy as his opponents and their backers had spent attacking him and his record, according to Kantar Media’s CMAG, a New York-based company that tracks the expenditures.
Restore our Future, a political action committee supporting Romney, had spent about $670,000 on commercials criticizing Gingrich as someone with “a ton of baggage,” and U.S. Representative Ron Paul of Texas had spent about $50,000 on spots charging the former speaker with “serial hypocrisy.”
Gingrich, who has pledged to stay positive, has spent about $136,000 on his commercials. He has run two in the state and plans to air a third, Christmas-themed ad over the weekend.
“Whatever organization he can cobble together, he needs to do that, but his team had such a late start that that will be very difficult,” Grubbs said. “If you don’t have an organization, then what you must do is to win by enough to make up for lack of an organization.”
Knowing he can’t saturate the market moncler rod black down jackets for men 2011 new with attack ads, Gingrich is focusing his criticism on those running them against him.
“Unanswered negative ads work in the short run unless they bounce back and discredit the person who is running them,” he told reporters. “You now understand my entire strategy for the next two weeks.”
Yet even as Gingrich has top standing moncler jackets in the polls, large crowds and plenty of buzz in the Republican presidential primary, he’s still struggling with the basics of his late- surging campaign.
Trailing in cash, he can’t put up commercials to defend himself against attack ads. After a walkout by his senior staff in June, he needs to hire replacements quickly as important campaign-filing deadlines approach.
“What we’re talking about here is a candidate who never really had the opportunity to put a national team in place and is now playing catch-up money-wise and organizationally,” said Corey Lewandowski, a Republican strategist and New Hampshire director of Americans for Prosperity, an anti-tax group that is staying neutral in the race. “The question for him now is, has his campaign already peaked?”
Snapshot in Time
Gingrich’s schedule today offers a snapshot of a campaign enjoying a rapid ascent, while still struggling against longer- term headwinds.
First, he’s scheduled to receive endorsements from House speakers in the nation’s two earliest primary states, Kraig Paulsen of Iowa and William O’Brien of New Hampshire. Later, Gingrich will attend an evening rally in Arlington, Virginia, where he will make a last push to gather the 10,000 signatures he needs by tomorrow to qualify for the ballot -- his latest near-miss with a primary election filing deadline.
“The challenge for us is to get the popular support organized fast enough,” Gingrich said in Davenport, Iowa. “We barely made it in Ohio; we may barely make it Thursday in Virginia.”
Gingrich’s tight finish in meeting Ohio’s Dec. 7 ballot- qualifying deadline came about three weeks after Fergus Cullen, a former New Hampshire Republican Party chairman, reported on the NH Journal website that the former speaker’s campaign submitted a sloppily written slate of 27 proposed delegates -- 13 short of the state’s guideline -- to qualify for the Jan. 10 primary. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and several of the other candidates turned in typewritten lists of 40 delegates.
Missed Missouri Deadline
A few days later, Gingrich failed to qualify for Missouri’s Feb. 7 primary, a decision he later told reporters was a deliberate one in keeping with his policy of not participating in nonbinding contests. Neither Iowa’s nor New Hampshire’s races bind delegates, and Gingrich is campaigning actively in both places.
He told reporters yesterday he would be on the ballot everywhere he needed to be and conceded the advantages held by Romney.
“He’s been running for president for six years; he’s raised billions of dollars,” Gingrich told reporters in Ottumwa, Iowa. “Of course, he has a huge organization advantage.”
His campaign, by contrast, is ramping up cheap moncler moka sub-gloss black long jackets outlet after a summer slump during which his poll numbers stalled in single digits well into the fall.
Hiring Precinct Captains
In Iowa, Gingrich is still looking for precinct captains, who mobilize supporters to attend the Jan. 3 caucuses. On a Dec. 17 tele-town hall, his campaign asked supporters interested in the job to “press one.”
After spending much of the summer focused on getting their campaign message out through social media, Gingrich’s nine full- time aides in Iowa are now working to set up the standard infrastructure of a statewide campaign. His campaign plans an eight-day bus tour through 44 Iowa cities starting on Dec. 27.
“It was very non-traditional,” said Katie Koberg, an Iowa senior adviser who rejoined the campaign in late-November after quitting as part of the mass staff resignation in June. “Now we’re doing some traditional” campaigning.
Gingrich’s New Hampshire office opened on Nov. 11, and he now has 15 paid aides in the state and five field offices, said spokesman Mattheau LeDuc.
Unprepared for Crowds
Still, Gingrich’s team sometimes seems unprepared for the crowds that flood his events. Aides set out about a dozen chairs for a Dec. 19 event at a security company in Davenport, leaving most of the several hundred voters there standing.
In contrast, at a Romney event in New Hampshire Dec. 20, three aides with laptops sat at a check-in table typing in the names and addresses of attendees who hadn’t RSVP’d, building on the campaign’s mailing list and roster of potential volunteers.
The Gingrich campaign’s structural weaknesses could become more pronounced if the nominating contest becomes a protracted one, which new Republican Party rules are likely to produce since early states will award delegates proportionally.
“The challenge for Gingrich is that nationally he must either have enough money to play into the deep states or get a bounce out of Iowa,” said Steve Grubbs, a Davenport-based strategist and former state Republican Party chairman who was Iowa chairman of Herman Cain’s now-suspended presidential bid. “That’s why he’s got to turn things around in Iowa quickly or he may be relegated to being an intellectual voice in the race.”
‘Needs to Bounce’
Right now, Grubbs said, Iowa is “Gingrich’s to lose, but he needs to bounce instead of continuing his decline” because he can’t answer the television attacks against him.
As of yesterday, Gingrich had spent just one-fifth of the amount of money on advertising promoting his candidacy as his opponents and their backers had spent attacking him and his record, according to Kantar Media’s CMAG, a New York-based company that tracks the expenditures.
Restore our Future, a political action committee supporting Romney, had spent about $670,000 on commercials criticizing Gingrich as someone with “a ton of baggage,” and U.S. Representative Ron Paul of Texas had spent about $50,000 on spots charging the former speaker with “serial hypocrisy.”
Gingrich, who has pledged to stay positive, has spent about $136,000 on his commercials. He has run two in the state and plans to air a third, Christmas-themed ad over the weekend.
“Whatever organization he can cobble together, he needs to do that, but his team had such a late start that that will be very difficult,” Grubbs said. “If you don’t have an organization, then what you must do is to win by enough to make up for lack of an organization.”
Knowing he can’t saturate the market moncler rod black down jackets for men 2011 new with attack ads, Gingrich is focusing his criticism on those running them against him.
“Unanswered negative ads work in the short run unless they bounce back and discredit the person who is running them,” he told reporters. “You now understand my entire strategy for the next two weeks.”
2011年12月19日星期一
The Expedition 30 crew will perform dozens of experiments
Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko will be at the controls when a Soyuz FG rocket blasts off Wednesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome moncler jackets in Kazakhstan. Flying with him: U.S. astronaut Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency.
The trio will arrive at the station Friday.
“I told my family it’s like going back home, or at least my second home,” said Pettit, a 56-year-old married father of two who spent six months on the outpost in late 2002 and early 2003.
It also will mark a key milestone for the chemical engineer who began his career at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico in 1983.
“I was there 13 years,” Pettit said. “And I find it interesting that I worked the early part of my career at a national laboratory, and now I’m going back into space on the space station, and again, it’s a national laboratory asset. So in some respects I’ve gone a full circle while I’m going in circles around the Earth.”
Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers comprise the second half of a crew conducting the 30th expedition to the international outpost. U.S. astronaut Dan Burbank and two Russian cosmonauts — Anatoly Ivanishin and Anton Shkaplerov — already are onboard.
The arrival of Pettit and his two colleagues will bring the station back to full staff. An Aug. 24 Soyuz rocket launch failure and the subsequent investigation resulted in a halving of the station’s crew for the better part of the past four months.
“There’s a whole cadre of experiments just waiting to be done on space station, and basically, crew time is the limiting factor right now,” Pettit said. “So as soon as I get on space station, I’ll be rolling up my sleeves and jumping into the lab and starting to do a number of these scientific experiments.”
The Expedition 30 crew will perform dozens of experiments, many of which will focus on how the human body adapts to living and working cheap moncler jackets for women in the weightless space environment — work considered key to preparing for future missions beyond Earth orbit.
The astronauts and cosmonauts also will be onboard for a test flight that will open a new era of commercial resupply services.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and a Dragon spacecraft are tentatively scheduled to launch Feb. 7 on a mission to demonstrate the capability to safely and reliably deliver cargo to the space station. After blasting off from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the Dragon spacecraft will fly within 30 feet of the station.
With Pettit by his side, Burbank will use a 57.5-foot robot arm to grapple the spacecraft and then berth the Dragon to the Earth-facing port on the U.S. Harmony module.
If all goes well, the test flight will clear the way for SpaceX to begin launching resupply missions to the station later next year. The Hawthorne, Calif., company holds a $1.6 billion contract to launch 12 cargo missions to the outpost.
Taurus rocket maker Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., holds a $1.9 billion contract to launch eight cargo resupply missions with its new Cygnus spacecraft.
“I view these cheap moncler jackets for women vehicles like wagon trains supplying some government-run fort out West, and it doesn’t matter whose wagon train it is. What’s important is that the wagon train eventually makes it to the fort,” Pettit said.
The trio will arrive at the station Friday.
“I told my family it’s like going back home, or at least my second home,” said Pettit, a 56-year-old married father of two who spent six months on the outpost in late 2002 and early 2003.
It also will mark a key milestone for the chemical engineer who began his career at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico in 1983.
“I was there 13 years,” Pettit said. “And I find it interesting that I worked the early part of my career at a national laboratory, and now I’m going back into space on the space station, and again, it’s a national laboratory asset. So in some respects I’ve gone a full circle while I’m going in circles around the Earth.”
Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers comprise the second half of a crew conducting the 30th expedition to the international outpost. U.S. astronaut Dan Burbank and two Russian cosmonauts — Anatoly Ivanishin and Anton Shkaplerov — already are onboard.
The arrival of Pettit and his two colleagues will bring the station back to full staff. An Aug. 24 Soyuz rocket launch failure and the subsequent investigation resulted in a halving of the station’s crew for the better part of the past four months.
“There’s a whole cadre of experiments just waiting to be done on space station, and basically, crew time is the limiting factor right now,” Pettit said. “So as soon as I get on space station, I’ll be rolling up my sleeves and jumping into the lab and starting to do a number of these scientific experiments.”
The Expedition 30 crew will perform dozens of experiments, many of which will focus on how the human body adapts to living and working cheap moncler jackets for women in the weightless space environment — work considered key to preparing for future missions beyond Earth orbit.
The astronauts and cosmonauts also will be onboard for a test flight that will open a new era of commercial resupply services.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and a Dragon spacecraft are tentatively scheduled to launch Feb. 7 on a mission to demonstrate the capability to safely and reliably deliver cargo to the space station. After blasting off from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the Dragon spacecraft will fly within 30 feet of the station.
With Pettit by his side, Burbank will use a 57.5-foot robot arm to grapple the spacecraft and then berth the Dragon to the Earth-facing port on the U.S. Harmony module.
If all goes well, the test flight will clear the way for SpaceX to begin launching resupply missions to the station later next year. The Hawthorne, Calif., company holds a $1.6 billion contract to launch 12 cargo missions to the outpost.
Taurus rocket maker Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., holds a $1.9 billion contract to launch eight cargo resupply missions with its new Cygnus spacecraft.
“I view these cheap moncler jackets for women vehicles like wagon trains supplying some government-run fort out West, and it doesn’t matter whose wagon train it is. What’s important is that the wagon train eventually makes it to the fort,” Pettit said.
2011年12月18日星期日
Or maybe it's the early 90s that she's channeling
First Jennifer Steinhauer decided it was a good use of space in the New York Times Dining Section this week to scold parents (read:mothers) who bring store bought contributions to school bake sales. She approvingly moncler jackets quotes Lynne Olver, the editor of Foodtimeline.org, who says: "...traditional American society associates 'homemade' with love and caring. Which means contributors choosing to buy goods are regarded as cheap and dismissive."
Steinhauer's piece caused quite the uproar, with Madeline Holler over on babble.com, among others, pointing out what should be obvious:
This divide between moms who bake and moms who don't is old and tired and, incidentally, only ever seems to bother moms who bake (if it actually bothers them at all). The moms who bake are putting in more time, but then again, they like to bake. So what's the problem?
Doesn't it make you nostalgic for the 50s? Wasn't that the last moment in the US when it was completely acceptable to equate how much a woman (read:mother) cares, with how much (and how well) she bakes? How retro of Steinhauer to bring it back, no?
Or maybe it's the early 90s that she's channeling, during the brief reprise of the cookies-as-the-measure-of-a-mom meme on the campaign trail. First Hillary Clinton off-handedly quipped that she had better things to do (read:her full time job as a lawyer) than prove her worth with a baking tray. "I suppose I could have discount moncler sale stayed home and baked cookies and had teas," she said. "But what I decided to do was to fulfill my profession."
Cue resulting outrage. Then fast forward a few months to the recipe-off in Family Circle magazine where readers got to vote for Clinton's chocolate chip recipe "made with oatmeal and shortening," the Times made sure to tell us back then, against Mrs. Bush's, "made without oatmeal but with butter." (The Bushes won the cookie vote; the Clintons won the vote that mattered.) With Clinton now duly (and newly) respectful of the importance of cookies, Jacqueline Leo, the editor of Family Circle at the time, could turn her attention to Margot Perot, wife of oil magnate/dark horse candidate Ross' Perot, who clearly hadn't gotten the "cookies as a measure of one's womanly worth" memo. Perot had been invited to participate but had not submitted a recipe, Leo said, adding "My feeling was that she orders in."
But this here is a new century, right? And the au courant measure of good parenting (because there always has to be one... we always have to measure...) has become NOT sending homemade cookies out into the world where they might hurt someone.
Two years ago, the bake sales Steinhauer sees as a test of love and honor, were banned in New York City schools. Cue the outrage again, and that order was amended so that homemade treats, specifically, were banned, on the theory that anything could be lurking in the treats -- stray allergens, bacteria from unclean family kitchens, laxatives from someone with a warped sense of humor. Only store bought items, with reassuring nutritional labels, were allowed.
But that is all SO last year. Now the trend is to keep anything homemade out of our schools. At one Chicago school, for instance, children are not allowed to bring homemade lunch and must eat what is served in the cafeteria, which was, by definition, cooked by the lowest bidder. And there will be no sweets cheap moncler jackets for women at holiday parties at at least one Boston school district this year. The superintendent says no, this is not the attack on Christmas that some are accusing, but rather an attempt to fight child obesity.
Steinhauer's piece caused quite the uproar, with Madeline Holler over on babble.com, among others, pointing out what should be obvious:
This divide between moms who bake and moms who don't is old and tired and, incidentally, only ever seems to bother moms who bake (if it actually bothers them at all). The moms who bake are putting in more time, but then again, they like to bake. So what's the problem?
Doesn't it make you nostalgic for the 50s? Wasn't that the last moment in the US when it was completely acceptable to equate how much a woman (read:mother) cares, with how much (and how well) she bakes? How retro of Steinhauer to bring it back, no?
Or maybe it's the early 90s that she's channeling, during the brief reprise of the cookies-as-the-measure-of-a-mom meme on the campaign trail. First Hillary Clinton off-handedly quipped that she had better things to do (read:her full time job as a lawyer) than prove her worth with a baking tray. "I suppose I could have discount moncler sale stayed home and baked cookies and had teas," she said. "But what I decided to do was to fulfill my profession."
Cue resulting outrage. Then fast forward a few months to the recipe-off in Family Circle magazine where readers got to vote for Clinton's chocolate chip recipe "made with oatmeal and shortening," the Times made sure to tell us back then, against Mrs. Bush's, "made without oatmeal but with butter." (The Bushes won the cookie vote; the Clintons won the vote that mattered.) With Clinton now duly (and newly) respectful of the importance of cookies, Jacqueline Leo, the editor of Family Circle at the time, could turn her attention to Margot Perot, wife of oil magnate/dark horse candidate Ross' Perot, who clearly hadn't gotten the "cookies as a measure of one's womanly worth" memo. Perot had been invited to participate but had not submitted a recipe, Leo said, adding "My feeling was that she orders in."
But this here is a new century, right? And the au courant measure of good parenting (because there always has to be one... we always have to measure...) has become NOT sending homemade cookies out into the world where they might hurt someone.
Two years ago, the bake sales Steinhauer sees as a test of love and honor, were banned in New York City schools. Cue the outrage again, and that order was amended so that homemade treats, specifically, were banned, on the theory that anything could be lurking in the treats -- stray allergens, bacteria from unclean family kitchens, laxatives from someone with a warped sense of humor. Only store bought items, with reassuring nutritional labels, were allowed.
But that is all SO last year. Now the trend is to keep anything homemade out of our schools. At one Chicago school, for instance, children are not allowed to bring homemade lunch and must eat what is served in the cafeteria, which was, by definition, cooked by the lowest bidder. And there will be no sweets cheap moncler jackets for women at holiday parties at at least one Boston school district this year. The superintendent says no, this is not the attack on Christmas that some are accusing, but rather an attempt to fight child obesity.
2011年12月16日星期五
She added that the government investigation changed the sports world
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, who presided over Bonds' perjury trial, said "the jury got it exactly right" moncler jackets when it convicted Bonds in April for evasive testimony to a federal grand jury investigating doping in professional sports.
"Mr. Bonds made an effort to obstruct justice here," Illston said, but "he didn't manage to succeed."
She added that the government investigation changed the sports world by launching new testing programs and transforming public attitudes.
Prosecutors urged Illston to "send a message" by sending the former San Francisco Giants star to prison.
In addition to home confinement, Bonds, 47, was sentenced to two years' probation, ordered to perform 250 hours community service in youth-related activities and pay a $4,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Atty. Matthew A. Parrella called the sentence "a slap on the wrist" and derided the fine as "almost laughable. "
For a man with a mansion, Parrella told the court, home detention was "simply no deterrence."
Illston followed the recommendations of a federal probation officer who reviewed the case. She said she was impressed by Bonds' charitable activities, both in time and money, over decades.
"The thing that was striking to me was that most of that was done out of the public eye and privately," the judge said.
Bonds, who holds the all-time record for most home runs, listened without visible emotion to the proceedings but declined an offer to address the court. He smiled and thanked fans later as he left the courthouse.
The conviction could cost Bonds a place in baseball's Hall of Fame, experts have said.
Prosecutors charged Bonds with three counts of perjury in addition to obstruction of justice for his 2003 testimony to a grand jury investigating BALCO, the Burlingame-based Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, which was selling banned steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs to the nation's top athletes. Bonds testified he had not knowingly taken performance-enhancing drugs.
After a 12-day trial in April, moncler jackets cheap jurors deadlocked on the perjury charges and convicted Bonds of obstruction on the grounds that he gave a rambling, evasive answer to a question.
Bonds' lawyers are appealing that conviction, which they estimated could take 17 months. If the appeal fails, Bonds would then start serving his sentence.
Parrella told the court that Bonds' testimony before the grand jury reflected a long pattern of deceit.
"The defendant lived basically a double life for decades before this," the prosecutor said. "He was well-versed in misleading people. He had mistresses throughout his entire married life, through two marriages."
When Illston reminded Parrella that Bonds wasn't convicted of adultery, someone in the courtroom cheered.
Parrella also argued that Bonds planned to give false testimony and has shown no remorse.
"This was not a spur-of-the-moment thing where Bonds got a subpoena on Monday, showed up on Tuesday and told an ill advised story…" Parrella said. "This a story he told for decades before he went into the grand jury."
Bonds' lawyers said no court has ever upheld an obstruction conviction based on the kinds of testimony Bonds gave, but Parrella said he was confident the conviction would stand.
Prosecutors agreed "without prejudice" to dismiss the deadlocked counts, which reserved the government's right to charge Bonds again for the same offenses. Legal analysts said that was a face-saving gesture and predicted confidently that Bonds would never be recharged on those counts.
University of San Francisco law professor Robert Talbot, who followed the case, said it was "standard" to postpone enforcing a sentence pending an appeal if the defendant was neither a danger nor a flight risk.
Although Bonds got less home detention time than that given to others convicted of lying in the doping probe, cheap moncler jackets for kids the community service would probably "do a lot of good" and the sentence "made sense," Talbot said.
But he said he was struck by the disparity between Bonds' sentence and the year Greg Anderson, Bonds' former trainer, served in federal prison for refusing to testify against the home run king.
Another baseball legend, pitcher Roger Clemens, will go to trial in April on perjury charges involving sports doping. Clemens' first trial ended after only two days when prosecutors introduced banned evidence.
"Mr. Bonds made an effort to obstruct justice here," Illston said, but "he didn't manage to succeed."
She added that the government investigation changed the sports world by launching new testing programs and transforming public attitudes.
Prosecutors urged Illston to "send a message" by sending the former San Francisco Giants star to prison.
In addition to home confinement, Bonds, 47, was sentenced to two years' probation, ordered to perform 250 hours community service in youth-related activities and pay a $4,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Atty. Matthew A. Parrella called the sentence "a slap on the wrist" and derided the fine as "almost laughable. "
For a man with a mansion, Parrella told the court, home detention was "simply no deterrence."
Illston followed the recommendations of a federal probation officer who reviewed the case. She said she was impressed by Bonds' charitable activities, both in time and money, over decades.
"The thing that was striking to me was that most of that was done out of the public eye and privately," the judge said.
Bonds, who holds the all-time record for most home runs, listened without visible emotion to the proceedings but declined an offer to address the court. He smiled and thanked fans later as he left the courthouse.
The conviction could cost Bonds a place in baseball's Hall of Fame, experts have said.
Prosecutors charged Bonds with three counts of perjury in addition to obstruction of justice for his 2003 testimony to a grand jury investigating BALCO, the Burlingame-based Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, which was selling banned steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs to the nation's top athletes. Bonds testified he had not knowingly taken performance-enhancing drugs.
After a 12-day trial in April, moncler jackets cheap jurors deadlocked on the perjury charges and convicted Bonds of obstruction on the grounds that he gave a rambling, evasive answer to a question.
Bonds' lawyers are appealing that conviction, which they estimated could take 17 months. If the appeal fails, Bonds would then start serving his sentence.
Parrella told the court that Bonds' testimony before the grand jury reflected a long pattern of deceit.
"The defendant lived basically a double life for decades before this," the prosecutor said. "He was well-versed in misleading people. He had mistresses throughout his entire married life, through two marriages."
When Illston reminded Parrella that Bonds wasn't convicted of adultery, someone in the courtroom cheered.
Parrella also argued that Bonds planned to give false testimony and has shown no remorse.
"This was not a spur-of-the-moment thing where Bonds got a subpoena on Monday, showed up on Tuesday and told an ill advised story…" Parrella said. "This a story he told for decades before he went into the grand jury."
Bonds' lawyers said no court has ever upheld an obstruction conviction based on the kinds of testimony Bonds gave, but Parrella said he was confident the conviction would stand.
Prosecutors agreed "without prejudice" to dismiss the deadlocked counts, which reserved the government's right to charge Bonds again for the same offenses. Legal analysts said that was a face-saving gesture and predicted confidently that Bonds would never be recharged on those counts.
University of San Francisco law professor Robert Talbot, who followed the case, said it was "standard" to postpone enforcing a sentence pending an appeal if the defendant was neither a danger nor a flight risk.
Although Bonds got less home detention time than that given to others convicted of lying in the doping probe, cheap moncler jackets for kids the community service would probably "do a lot of good" and the sentence "made sense," Talbot said.
But he said he was struck by the disparity between Bonds' sentence and the year Greg Anderson, Bonds' former trainer, served in federal prison for refusing to testify against the home run king.
Another baseball legend, pitcher Roger Clemens, will go to trial in April on perjury charges involving sports doping. Clemens' first trial ended after only two days when prosecutors introduced banned evidence.
2011年12月15日星期四
It was not until 14 years later that they finished over
The Clippers’ acquisition of Paul, a four-time All-Star point guard, has created a sense of disbelief, considering their decades of pratfall-laden ineptitude. Until the events of the last few days, moncler jackets the Clippers were often a joke, sometimes derided as the worst professional sports franchise in North America.
What Gerald Ford was for Chevy Chase on “Saturday Night Live,” the Clippers were for late-night comics, from Jay Leno’s early days to Conan O’Brien’s debut as host of “The Tonight Show,” when he zinged them 30 seconds into his first monologue.
“This studio holds 380 people,” O’Brien said. “It’s exactly like going to a Clippers game.”
If two players, Blake Griffin and Paul, now account for the team’s new cachet, one man, Donald Sterling, is on the hook for the last 30 seasons of futility.
A self-made billionaire, Sterling is tied at No. 293 on Forbes’s list of the 400 richest Americans. Around the N.B.A., his foibles have been fabled since his first season as the team’s owner, in 1981, when the Clippers were still playing in San Diego.
That season, they went 17-65 for a .207 winning percentage. Three years later, Sterling moved them to his hometown, Los Angeles, where they were just as bad. In 1986-87, they went 12-70. It wasn’t until the 1991-92 season, with Larry Brown as coach, that they finished over .500 and went to the playoffs.
It was not until 14 years later that they finished over .500 again and, this time, captured the only playoff series they have won with Sterling in charge.
Still, if the Clippers have been much more about comic relief than contention during his long run, they did start to return handsome profits after Sterling got a brainstorm as Staples Center was about to open for the 1999-2000 season, inviting himself into the arena built for the Lakers and the N.H.L.’s Los Angeles Kings as tenant No. 3.
Aside from that, the hits mostly kept on happening.
In 2009, Elgin Baylor, the Clippers’ general manager for 22 years, was quietly let go. He then sued Sterling, alleging age and race discrimination and claiming that Sterling made racist statements. Baylor lost in court.
In 2010, Mike Dunleavy, then the team’s general manager, was fired by Sterling and claimed the team had stopped payments on the $6.75 million remaining on his guaranteed contract.
Sterling claimed Dunleavy had not been fired.70% off moncler jackets An arbitrator awarded Dunleavy the $6.75 million, and $5.3 million that had been deferred.
Sterling made his money in law and real estate and works out of an Art Deco landmark office building in Beverly Hills.
As a basketball owner, Sterling fell back on his legal training, peppering the people under him with questions. Whatever the answers were, they did not seem to work. Coaches came and went. The losses mounted. Sterling was seen as miserly.
Still, things did start to change when Dunleavy first came aboard as coach in 2003. He had a robust talent base, the result of many lottery picks, and in 2006, the Clippers ousted Denver in the first round of the playoffs.
And that was it. The next three seasons were disasters, ruined by injuries and finger-pointing, including Sterling’s 2008 gibe at Dunleavy. “Does anybody love their coach?” Sterling said to
T. J. Simers of The Los Angeles Times. “They’re just a necessity.”
In a surprise, Dunleavy lasted two more seasons after that. All but unnoticed, Dunleavy and Neil Olshey, his successor as general manager, rebuilt the team once more, with talented players like Eric Gordon, now gone in the trade for Paul, and DeAndre Jordan. The jackpot was the lottery draw that gave them the No. 1 pick and Griffin in 2009.
In keeping with Clipper tradition, a knee injury cost Griffin his rookie season and Dunleavy his job. But then came 2010-11, when Griffin catapulted himself above the Knicks’ Timofey Mozgov in an early season highlight dunk; over an automobile on All-Star Weekend; and into the stratosphere with some of the game’s greats while averaging 22.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists.
“He may be even more eye-popping than Julius Erving,” said Dunleavy, who played with Erving in Philadelphia.
“The thing about Julius that was really special, he had the biggest hands basically of anybody you had ever seen,” Dunleavy said. “It wasn’t that he jumped through the roof. It was just that he had such control, when he went to dunk and somebody tried to block it, he could move the ball on them and finish. Blake will just break your arm.”
And now, with Paul on board, things have changed for the Clippers.
So much, then, for the days like the one in 1994 when Ron Harper, bristling at having his $4 million option picked up, moncler winter boots 2011 noted he was “just doing my jail time,” and was suspended by the team but celebrated by his teammates, who took the floor for the next game with his number written on their sneakers.
What Gerald Ford was for Chevy Chase on “Saturday Night Live,” the Clippers were for late-night comics, from Jay Leno’s early days to Conan O’Brien’s debut as host of “The Tonight Show,” when he zinged them 30 seconds into his first monologue.
“This studio holds 380 people,” O’Brien said. “It’s exactly like going to a Clippers game.”
If two players, Blake Griffin and Paul, now account for the team’s new cachet, one man, Donald Sterling, is on the hook for the last 30 seasons of futility.
A self-made billionaire, Sterling is tied at No. 293 on Forbes’s list of the 400 richest Americans. Around the N.B.A., his foibles have been fabled since his first season as the team’s owner, in 1981, when the Clippers were still playing in San Diego.
That season, they went 17-65 for a .207 winning percentage. Three years later, Sterling moved them to his hometown, Los Angeles, where they were just as bad. In 1986-87, they went 12-70. It wasn’t until the 1991-92 season, with Larry Brown as coach, that they finished over .500 and went to the playoffs.
It was not until 14 years later that they finished over .500 again and, this time, captured the only playoff series they have won with Sterling in charge.
Still, if the Clippers have been much more about comic relief than contention during his long run, they did start to return handsome profits after Sterling got a brainstorm as Staples Center was about to open for the 1999-2000 season, inviting himself into the arena built for the Lakers and the N.H.L.’s Los Angeles Kings as tenant No. 3.
Aside from that, the hits mostly kept on happening.
In 2009, Elgin Baylor, the Clippers’ general manager for 22 years, was quietly let go. He then sued Sterling, alleging age and race discrimination and claiming that Sterling made racist statements. Baylor lost in court.
In 2010, Mike Dunleavy, then the team’s general manager, was fired by Sterling and claimed the team had stopped payments on the $6.75 million remaining on his guaranteed contract.
Sterling claimed Dunleavy had not been fired.70% off moncler jackets An arbitrator awarded Dunleavy the $6.75 million, and $5.3 million that had been deferred.
Sterling made his money in law and real estate and works out of an Art Deco landmark office building in Beverly Hills.
As a basketball owner, Sterling fell back on his legal training, peppering the people under him with questions. Whatever the answers were, they did not seem to work. Coaches came and went. The losses mounted. Sterling was seen as miserly.
Still, things did start to change when Dunleavy first came aboard as coach in 2003. He had a robust talent base, the result of many lottery picks, and in 2006, the Clippers ousted Denver in the first round of the playoffs.
And that was it. The next three seasons were disasters, ruined by injuries and finger-pointing, including Sterling’s 2008 gibe at Dunleavy. “Does anybody love their coach?” Sterling said to
T. J. Simers of The Los Angeles Times. “They’re just a necessity.”
In a surprise, Dunleavy lasted two more seasons after that. All but unnoticed, Dunleavy and Neil Olshey, his successor as general manager, rebuilt the team once more, with talented players like Eric Gordon, now gone in the trade for Paul, and DeAndre Jordan. The jackpot was the lottery draw that gave them the No. 1 pick and Griffin in 2009.
In keeping with Clipper tradition, a knee injury cost Griffin his rookie season and Dunleavy his job. But then came 2010-11, when Griffin catapulted himself above the Knicks’ Timofey Mozgov in an early season highlight dunk; over an automobile on All-Star Weekend; and into the stratosphere with some of the game’s greats while averaging 22.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists.
“He may be even more eye-popping than Julius Erving,” said Dunleavy, who played with Erving in Philadelphia.
“The thing about Julius that was really special, he had the biggest hands basically of anybody you had ever seen,” Dunleavy said. “It wasn’t that he jumped through the roof. It was just that he had such control, when he went to dunk and somebody tried to block it, he could move the ball on them and finish. Blake will just break your arm.”
And now, with Paul on board, things have changed for the Clippers.
So much, then, for the days like the one in 1994 when Ron Harper, bristling at having his $4 million option picked up, moncler winter boots 2011 noted he was “just doing my jail time,” and was suspended by the team but celebrated by his teammates, who took the floor for the next game with his number written on their sneakers.
2011年12月14日星期三
It will take years to repair US standing in the Middle East
He could have quoted his predecessor, George W Bush, who described it in 2004 as a "catastrophic success".
As the United States closes the book on Iraq, was it worth it?
The short answer is that it is too early to tell, but probably not.
At a purely tactical level, moncler jackets we know a lot already. Despite regular but greatly reduced violence, Iraq is reasonably stable.
The most notable achievement is the creation of a democratic (if less than optimal) government in Baghdad, although we in the United States are in no position to throw stones about gridlock.
The Arab Spring has brought forward a different approach to political transformation, supporting indigenous movements with limited military support (Libya) rather than imposing change through invasion and extended occupation (Iraq).
Whether one works better than the other, we'll have to wait and see.
In response to the Arab Spring, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki announced he would not run for re-election in 2014.
If there is real competition among all Iraqi factions and a peaceful transition of power, this does qualify as a real accomplishment.
But all of this came at a tremendous cost, in terms of Iraqi lives, American lives, national treasure and lost stature both in the region and around the world.
Strategic miscalculation
The Bush administration underestimated the challenge and failed to send adequate forces, both military and civilian, to protect the population and prevent the multiple insurgencies that developed.
It eventually got it right, but not before severe damage was done.
The direct cost of transforming Iraq will top $1tn (£649bn). That is a staggering sum, particularly in contrast to the few hundred million being invested today in advancing democratic transitions in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.
The indirect costs are severe as well, especially the stress and strain on a volunteer military that is suffering from high rates of suicide and post-traumatic disorder.
Better protective gear saved many lives during a conflict that introduced a global weapon of choice - the improvised explosive device. These soldiers, many missing limbs and normal motor functions, will require a lifetime of care.
The focus on Iraq in the aftermath of 9/11 made perfect sense. Osama Bin Laden's narrative centred on the US military's ongoing containment operations in the Gulf, which the late Saudi militant viewed as an occupation of sacred lands, and long-standing support for dictatorial regimes.
The status quo was leaking and fraying badly.
Moving the region towards political reform, better governance and eventually democracy was consistent with US long-term interests and values and the right prescription for al Qaeda's violent political extremism.
But rushing into Iraq was a huge strategic miscalculation.
The Bush administration thought that the invasion of Iraq would offer a "demonstration effect" that could transform the Middle East. It did, but not in ways the Bush administration intended.
Having been defeated in Afghanistan, cheap moncler jackets Iraq provided al-Qaeda with a new battlefield to establish a beachhead in the heart of the Middle East.
Iraq validated Bin Laden's narrative that the United States was at war with Islam. Wannabe holy warriors flocked to Iraq from across the Islamic world to join in jihad. The anger was manifest in ripple attacks in London, Madrid and elsewhere.
The tide of public opinion turned against al-Qaeda in 2007, primarily because jihad was killing far more Muslims than Westerners.
But al-Qaeda's loss is not America's gain. It will take years to repair US standing in the Middle East.
Message to Tehran
The clear winner following the Iraq invasion was Iran. Without Iraq as a counterweight, Iran is far more assertive now, even though the potential transformation of the region has put Iran on the defensive.
Iraq is not now an Iranian client state, but the Iraqi prime minister's reluctance to intervene in Syria demonstrates that the fragile Maliki government is going to pick its battles with neighbours carefully, leaving room for Iranian mischief at US expense.
The fall of Saddam (and Muammar Gaddafi in Libya) drove home an inescapable message to Tehran: develop a nuclear capability as soon as possible and never give it up.
If the nightmare post-9/11 scenario is nuclear know-how in the hands of a terrorist organisation, that challenge is ironically more complex with a resurgent Iran than it was with an inscrutable but contained Iraq.
The international community could pull a diplomatic rabbit out of the hat and convince Iran to comply with its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (which allows for civilian nuclear power, but not a weapon).
It is far more likely Iran maintains its current course and figures out how to build a bomb (whether or not it actually does so).
A pre-emptive attack delays this outcome, but does not prevent it.
There is a real possibility of a nuclear arms race involving Saudi Arabia, perhaps Turkey and Egypt, and potentially others. The more nuclear stuff in circulation, the greater the risk of proliferation by a non-state actor, the overarching concern that led the Bush administration into Iraq in 2003.
'Second wave' fear
But how did we get from al-Qaeda's attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon to Baghdad and the vain search for weapons of mass destruction?
Despite the efforts of Vice-President Dick Cheney to join the dots between Iraq and 9/11 that simply did not exist, there was no plausible alliance between Saddam and Bin Laden.
Al-Qaeda's vision of a caliphate, impractical as it might have been, came at Saddam Hussein's expense.
The enemy of an enemy can become an ally at any moment in time, but there is a difference between giving a terrorist group financial or technical support (nothing close to that provided by Iran or even Pakistan, which has been perversely rewarded despite its known association with terrorists), and giving them an existential weapon that can be turned against any state and any apostate leader.
Saddam Hussein was never going to give Bin Laden a bomb.
Nonetheless, the Bush administration's sense of urgency came from the combination of two surprise attacks, not just September 11 but especially the anthrax letters one month later.
As former National Security Advisor Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice writes in her recent memoir, Iraq came up at a Camp David meeting right after 9/11 and was dismissed as a "distraction."
But after the anthrax letters reached the US Capitol, moncler terrorism and weapons of mass destruction merged within the same frame.
"We were all convinced it was al-Qaeda's second wave," Ms Rice recalls.
Having declared there would be no distinction between the actual terrorists and those who support them, calculations shifted.
As the United States closes the book on Iraq, was it worth it?
The short answer is that it is too early to tell, but probably not.
At a purely tactical level, moncler jackets we know a lot already. Despite regular but greatly reduced violence, Iraq is reasonably stable.
The most notable achievement is the creation of a democratic (if less than optimal) government in Baghdad, although we in the United States are in no position to throw stones about gridlock.
The Arab Spring has brought forward a different approach to political transformation, supporting indigenous movements with limited military support (Libya) rather than imposing change through invasion and extended occupation (Iraq).
Whether one works better than the other, we'll have to wait and see.
In response to the Arab Spring, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki announced he would not run for re-election in 2014.
If there is real competition among all Iraqi factions and a peaceful transition of power, this does qualify as a real accomplishment.
But all of this came at a tremendous cost, in terms of Iraqi lives, American lives, national treasure and lost stature both in the region and around the world.
Strategic miscalculation
The Bush administration underestimated the challenge and failed to send adequate forces, both military and civilian, to protect the population and prevent the multiple insurgencies that developed.
It eventually got it right, but not before severe damage was done.
The direct cost of transforming Iraq will top $1tn (£649bn). That is a staggering sum, particularly in contrast to the few hundred million being invested today in advancing democratic transitions in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.
The indirect costs are severe as well, especially the stress and strain on a volunteer military that is suffering from high rates of suicide and post-traumatic disorder.
Better protective gear saved many lives during a conflict that introduced a global weapon of choice - the improvised explosive device. These soldiers, many missing limbs and normal motor functions, will require a lifetime of care.
The focus on Iraq in the aftermath of 9/11 made perfect sense. Osama Bin Laden's narrative centred on the US military's ongoing containment operations in the Gulf, which the late Saudi militant viewed as an occupation of sacred lands, and long-standing support for dictatorial regimes.
The status quo was leaking and fraying badly.
Moving the region towards political reform, better governance and eventually democracy was consistent with US long-term interests and values and the right prescription for al Qaeda's violent political extremism.
But rushing into Iraq was a huge strategic miscalculation.
The Bush administration thought that the invasion of Iraq would offer a "demonstration effect" that could transform the Middle East. It did, but not in ways the Bush administration intended.
Having been defeated in Afghanistan, cheap moncler jackets Iraq provided al-Qaeda with a new battlefield to establish a beachhead in the heart of the Middle East.
Iraq validated Bin Laden's narrative that the United States was at war with Islam. Wannabe holy warriors flocked to Iraq from across the Islamic world to join in jihad. The anger was manifest in ripple attacks in London, Madrid and elsewhere.
The tide of public opinion turned against al-Qaeda in 2007, primarily because jihad was killing far more Muslims than Westerners.
But al-Qaeda's loss is not America's gain. It will take years to repair US standing in the Middle East.
Message to Tehran
The clear winner following the Iraq invasion was Iran. Without Iraq as a counterweight, Iran is far more assertive now, even though the potential transformation of the region has put Iran on the defensive.
Iraq is not now an Iranian client state, but the Iraqi prime minister's reluctance to intervene in Syria demonstrates that the fragile Maliki government is going to pick its battles with neighbours carefully, leaving room for Iranian mischief at US expense.
The fall of Saddam (and Muammar Gaddafi in Libya) drove home an inescapable message to Tehran: develop a nuclear capability as soon as possible and never give it up.
If the nightmare post-9/11 scenario is nuclear know-how in the hands of a terrorist organisation, that challenge is ironically more complex with a resurgent Iran than it was with an inscrutable but contained Iraq.
The international community could pull a diplomatic rabbit out of the hat and convince Iran to comply with its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (which allows for civilian nuclear power, but not a weapon).
It is far more likely Iran maintains its current course and figures out how to build a bomb (whether or not it actually does so).
A pre-emptive attack delays this outcome, but does not prevent it.
There is a real possibility of a nuclear arms race involving Saudi Arabia, perhaps Turkey and Egypt, and potentially others. The more nuclear stuff in circulation, the greater the risk of proliferation by a non-state actor, the overarching concern that led the Bush administration into Iraq in 2003.
'Second wave' fear
But how did we get from al-Qaeda's attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon to Baghdad and the vain search for weapons of mass destruction?
Despite the efforts of Vice-President Dick Cheney to join the dots between Iraq and 9/11 that simply did not exist, there was no plausible alliance between Saddam and Bin Laden.
Al-Qaeda's vision of a caliphate, impractical as it might have been, came at Saddam Hussein's expense.
The enemy of an enemy can become an ally at any moment in time, but there is a difference between giving a terrorist group financial or technical support (nothing close to that provided by Iran or even Pakistan, which has been perversely rewarded despite its known association with terrorists), and giving them an existential weapon that can be turned against any state and any apostate leader.
Saddam Hussein was never going to give Bin Laden a bomb.
Nonetheless, the Bush administration's sense of urgency came from the combination of two surprise attacks, not just September 11 but especially the anthrax letters one month later.
As former National Security Advisor Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice writes in her recent memoir, Iraq came up at a Camp David meeting right after 9/11 and was dismissed as a "distraction."
But after the anthrax letters reached the US Capitol, moncler terrorism and weapons of mass destruction merged within the same frame.
"We were all convinced it was al-Qaeda's second wave," Ms Rice recalls.
Having declared there would be no distinction between the actual terrorists and those who support them, calculations shifted.
2011年12月13日星期二
Only he didn't exactly mean that in the best way
The 41-year-old player felt the confetti rain down after he bested former NFL player Antone Davis and tattoo artist Ramon Medeiros on the scales and claimed the $250, 000 grand prize.
John started the competition weighing in at 445 pounds, but after his time on the ranch and continued efforts at home,moncler jackets he dropped a total of 220 pounds and almost 50 percent of his body weight. That success came as no surprise to Bob Harper, who served as John's first trainer on the ranch and dubbed the contestant "the biggest competitor" in the Battle of the Ages game.
Slideshow: 'Biggest Loser 12' before and after (on this page)
Only he didn't exactly mean that in the best way.
Weeks ago, after John switched teams to train with Dolvett Quince, Bob warned that losing weight just to win wouldn't help in the long run.
"Mark my words, he will gain everything back — every bit of it,” Bob said.
That remains to be seen, but the veteran "Loser" trainer made no further predictions of weight-related gloom and doom on finale night. He, along with Dolvett and departing trainer Anna Kournikova, applauded John's results. And as for the winner himself, he thinks someone else deserves the cheers.
"I made the most of every moment on the ranch because I knew (my wife) was at home struggling like a single parent, and with our two boys — and our youngest is autistic," an emotional John revealed. "Baby, I didn't waste a single minute on the ranch. The sacrifices I made on the ranch will never compare to what you did for me, making it so I could be there. I will owe you a debt of gratitude forever, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart."
'Loser' host Alison Sweeney sizes up the finalists
John's wife might have been the secret to his success, but of course, he wasn't the only player to succeed Tuesday night.
While John took the top honors, Antone made it to a respectable second-place finish by dropping 202 pounds, or 45.19 percent, and regaining his impressive, athletic shape.
"I can go play right now," he said of his gridiron-ready condition.
And as for Ramon, his third-place effort, cheap moncler jackets 154-pound loss and new, smoking hot look (seriously, rowr!) were just part of his win.
In the midst of life on the ranch, complete with tough challenges and grueling workouts, Ramon met "the love of (his) life" in former fellow teammate Jessica Limpert. Given all of the hints he dropped during the season, it seemed a safe bet that he'd get down on one knee during the finale. And as host Alison Sweeney pointed out, " 'The Biggest Loser' has brought together more successful marriages than, you know, say, 'The Bachelor.' "
Snap! But not this time, or more accurately, not yet. As Ramon's lucky lady explained, they plan to take it sensibly slow.
"Everything is wonderful with Ramon," she told Alison. "Not to disappoint, (but) there will not be an engagement or marriage just yet, OK? … You know, we just got ready to start our real lives, and we're going to start them together. You'll see it in the future."
But Jessica wasn't the only eliminated player to take the stage. Each of the other 11 contestants who missed out on a place in the finals returned for a shot at the $100,000 at-home prize.
Top contenders included Vinny Hickerson — or as Alison now calls him, Skinny Vinny — who went from a starting weight of 426 to just 242 in the end, and Patrick, who managed to shed 151 pounds for a show-ending weight of 236. But it was week-six eliminee Jennifer Rumple who proved to be the biggest jaw dropper of the bunch.
Story: Anna Kournikova won't return to 'Biggest Loser'
The 39-year-old kicked off the contest at 330. Now, 145 pounds lighter, Jennifer earned the at-home bragging rights and the cash.
Jennifer's success and John's victory served as more than just evidence of their personal winning ways. Each of them represented the middle-aged group in "The Battle of the Ages" and helped dash the notion that weight loss comes easier to the young — a point not lost on the 20-somethings they beat out.
Another group of contestants will soon have a chance to prove their own points. "The Biggest Loser" giubbotti moncler outlet returns to NBC for an all-new season on Jan. 3.
Are you surprised by who took the title and at-home prize? What did you think of the season overall? Share your thoughts on the Facebook page for our TV blog, The Clicker!
John started the competition weighing in at 445 pounds, but after his time on the ranch and continued efforts at home,moncler jackets he dropped a total of 220 pounds and almost 50 percent of his body weight. That success came as no surprise to Bob Harper, who served as John's first trainer on the ranch and dubbed the contestant "the biggest competitor" in the Battle of the Ages game.
Slideshow: 'Biggest Loser 12' before and after (on this page)
Only he didn't exactly mean that in the best way.
Weeks ago, after John switched teams to train with Dolvett Quince, Bob warned that losing weight just to win wouldn't help in the long run.
"Mark my words, he will gain everything back — every bit of it,” Bob said.
That remains to be seen, but the veteran "Loser" trainer made no further predictions of weight-related gloom and doom on finale night. He, along with Dolvett and departing trainer Anna Kournikova, applauded John's results. And as for the winner himself, he thinks someone else deserves the cheers.
"I made the most of every moment on the ranch because I knew (my wife) was at home struggling like a single parent, and with our two boys — and our youngest is autistic," an emotional John revealed. "Baby, I didn't waste a single minute on the ranch. The sacrifices I made on the ranch will never compare to what you did for me, making it so I could be there. I will owe you a debt of gratitude forever, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart."
'Loser' host Alison Sweeney sizes up the finalists
John's wife might have been the secret to his success, but of course, he wasn't the only player to succeed Tuesday night.
While John took the top honors, Antone made it to a respectable second-place finish by dropping 202 pounds, or 45.19 percent, and regaining his impressive, athletic shape.
"I can go play right now," he said of his gridiron-ready condition.
And as for Ramon, his third-place effort, cheap moncler jackets 154-pound loss and new, smoking hot look (seriously, rowr!) were just part of his win.
In the midst of life on the ranch, complete with tough challenges and grueling workouts, Ramon met "the love of (his) life" in former fellow teammate Jessica Limpert. Given all of the hints he dropped during the season, it seemed a safe bet that he'd get down on one knee during the finale. And as host Alison Sweeney pointed out, " 'The Biggest Loser' has brought together more successful marriages than, you know, say, 'The Bachelor.' "
Snap! But not this time, or more accurately, not yet. As Ramon's lucky lady explained, they plan to take it sensibly slow.
"Everything is wonderful with Ramon," she told Alison. "Not to disappoint, (but) there will not be an engagement or marriage just yet, OK? … You know, we just got ready to start our real lives, and we're going to start them together. You'll see it in the future."
But Jessica wasn't the only eliminated player to take the stage. Each of the other 11 contestants who missed out on a place in the finals returned for a shot at the $100,000 at-home prize.
Top contenders included Vinny Hickerson — or as Alison now calls him, Skinny Vinny — who went from a starting weight of 426 to just 242 in the end, and Patrick, who managed to shed 151 pounds for a show-ending weight of 236. But it was week-six eliminee Jennifer Rumple who proved to be the biggest jaw dropper of the bunch.
Story: Anna Kournikova won't return to 'Biggest Loser'
The 39-year-old kicked off the contest at 330. Now, 145 pounds lighter, Jennifer earned the at-home bragging rights and the cash.
Jennifer's success and John's victory served as more than just evidence of their personal winning ways. Each of them represented the middle-aged group in "The Battle of the Ages" and helped dash the notion that weight loss comes easier to the young — a point not lost on the 20-somethings they beat out.
Another group of contestants will soon have a chance to prove their own points. "The Biggest Loser" giubbotti moncler outlet returns to NBC for an all-new season on Jan. 3.
Are you surprised by who took the title and at-home prize? What did you think of the season overall? Share your thoughts on the Facebook page for our TV blog, The Clicker!
2011年12月12日星期一
The Occupy Wall Street movement coordinated several protests Monday
At one entrance onto Harbor Island, protesters formed a physical barricade by tossing wood pallets, metal and other debris into a large pile on the street, and blocked trucks and other traffic from entering.moncler jackets Some protesters stood atop the barricade while others swarmed around, cheering and chanting about revolution before a clash with police in which 11 people were arrested.
The Occupy Wall Street movement coordinated several protests Monday to shut down ports up and down the West Coast, including Portland, Oakland, Longview and Vancouver, B.C. Organizers said the goal was to stand up for union workers and to hit large banks where it hurts by gumming up their commerce. Union leaders, however, did not endorse Monday's demonstrations.
The makeshift barricade, at Klickitat Avenue Southwest and Southwest Spokane Street in the shadow of the West Seattle Bridge, was the sight of the only major confrontation between police and protesters. Police officers on bicycles and on horseback moved in and pushed the crowd out of the street. Officers tossed two or three loud smoke bombs into the crowd, which caused people to scatter and wafted a throat-stinging irritant into the air.
Police said one officer was injured after protesters threw flares, paint and rebar. A seattlepi.com reporter witnessed one burning flare thrown at police during the confrontation, as officers ordered the protesters to move and began wading into the crowd.
Hundreds of people had marched from downtown to the Port of Seattle and targeted Terminal 18, which is operated by SSA Marine, a company largely owned by international bank Goldman Sachs, organizers said. Protesters swarmed around one entrance at 3:15 p.m. and blocked it, clogging the road to the port and lower Spokane Street bridge with tractor-trailers and cars.
Protesters managed to keep truck traffic out of the terminal until it closed at its normally scheduled time of 4:15 p.m., Port spokeswoman Charla Skaggs said.
Down the road, the makeshift barricade didn't affect any commerce at the port, Skaggs said. But the barricade kept several truckers from getting back to the company office to drop off their trucks and pick up their personal cars to head home.
In a statement, port officials said nearly 22,000 people work in jobs created by the cargo that comes through the port.
"Just one day's wages for those jobs total $1.9 million – dollars that can't be earned if they can't go to work," the statement said. "Money is tight for many of us, particularly at this time of year, and those who work the port's docks must be able to do their jobs."
Still, many truck drivers honked in support as they drove past. But there were also people driving by who expressed their frustration.
One trucker, interviewed while he waited in the long line of traffic, said he supported the Occupy movement's message.cheap moncler jackets But when asked if he thought it work, he responded, "I don't know, do you think it will work?"
The Occupy movement began in October to protest corporate greed and the social irresponsibility of Wall Street banks. Their battle cry became, "We are the 99 percent," referring to the divide between average workers and the concentration of wealth in the top 1 percent of Americans.
"I think the reason why people do this is to raise the visibility and awareness of these problems," Braden Pence said Monday while watching as police escorted arrestees to a van.
"Once we get into a solution-based phase of this movement, we'll have answers and start going to politicians with actual changes to make," said Pence, who quit his job as judicial clerk to serve as a legal adviser to the movement. "But this just started a couple of months ago. The civil rights movement took 20 years to lead to serious change."
Earlier Monday, longshoremen at the Longview port went home for the day, essentially shutting down the terminal after an Occupy Wall Street demonstration. Several dozen protesters in Bellingham blocked railroad tracks for much of the day.
The International Longshore & Warehouse Union sent home its Longview workers out of concern for their health and safety, spokeswoman Jennifer Sargent said.
"Our people are willing and able to go to work," Sargent said.
However, Port of Longview spokeswoman Ashley Helenberg said both the port and the union decided to shut down operations. She said about 20 jobs would be affected. The port was handling one ship Monday.
Union workers would be paid for four hours of work, the union said.
The Longview rally lasted about 90 minutes and numbered about 100 people. It was among a series of coordinated Occupy Wall Street protests at the West Coast's busiest ports. Demonstrators hoped the rallies would cut into the profits of the corporations that run the docks.
The protests also hit terminals at ports in Oakland, Calif., and Portland, Ore., though it wasn't immediately clear how much the shutdowns would affect operations and what the economic loss would be.
Union leadership in Washington has said they are sympathetic to the demands of the Occupy Wall Street movement giubbotti moncler but don't support Monday's actions.
In Longview, the longshoremen's union and the port have been engaged in a protracted labor dispute, and the union president said the Occupy movement was co-opting that fight.
"As the Occupy movement, which began in September 2011, sweeps this country, there is a real danger that forces outside of the ILWU will attempt to adopt our struggle as their own," ILWU president Robert McEllrath said in a statement posted on the union's website Saturday.
The Occupy Wall Street movement coordinated several protests Monday to shut down ports up and down the West Coast, including Portland, Oakland, Longview and Vancouver, B.C. Organizers said the goal was to stand up for union workers and to hit large banks where it hurts by gumming up their commerce. Union leaders, however, did not endorse Monday's demonstrations.
The makeshift barricade, at Klickitat Avenue Southwest and Southwest Spokane Street in the shadow of the West Seattle Bridge, was the sight of the only major confrontation between police and protesters. Police officers on bicycles and on horseback moved in and pushed the crowd out of the street. Officers tossed two or three loud smoke bombs into the crowd, which caused people to scatter and wafted a throat-stinging irritant into the air.
Police said one officer was injured after protesters threw flares, paint and rebar. A seattlepi.com reporter witnessed one burning flare thrown at police during the confrontation, as officers ordered the protesters to move and began wading into the crowd.
Hundreds of people had marched from downtown to the Port of Seattle and targeted Terminal 18, which is operated by SSA Marine, a company largely owned by international bank Goldman Sachs, organizers said. Protesters swarmed around one entrance at 3:15 p.m. and blocked it, clogging the road to the port and lower Spokane Street bridge with tractor-trailers and cars.
Protesters managed to keep truck traffic out of the terminal until it closed at its normally scheduled time of 4:15 p.m., Port spokeswoman Charla Skaggs said.
Down the road, the makeshift barricade didn't affect any commerce at the port, Skaggs said. But the barricade kept several truckers from getting back to the company office to drop off their trucks and pick up their personal cars to head home.
In a statement, port officials said nearly 22,000 people work in jobs created by the cargo that comes through the port.
"Just one day's wages for those jobs total $1.9 million – dollars that can't be earned if they can't go to work," the statement said. "Money is tight for many of us, particularly at this time of year, and those who work the port's docks must be able to do their jobs."
Still, many truck drivers honked in support as they drove past. But there were also people driving by who expressed their frustration.
One trucker, interviewed while he waited in the long line of traffic, said he supported the Occupy movement's message.cheap moncler jackets But when asked if he thought it work, he responded, "I don't know, do you think it will work?"
The Occupy movement began in October to protest corporate greed and the social irresponsibility of Wall Street banks. Their battle cry became, "We are the 99 percent," referring to the divide between average workers and the concentration of wealth in the top 1 percent of Americans.
"I think the reason why people do this is to raise the visibility and awareness of these problems," Braden Pence said Monday while watching as police escorted arrestees to a van.
"Once we get into a solution-based phase of this movement, we'll have answers and start going to politicians with actual changes to make," said Pence, who quit his job as judicial clerk to serve as a legal adviser to the movement. "But this just started a couple of months ago. The civil rights movement took 20 years to lead to serious change."
Earlier Monday, longshoremen at the Longview port went home for the day, essentially shutting down the terminal after an Occupy Wall Street demonstration. Several dozen protesters in Bellingham blocked railroad tracks for much of the day.
The International Longshore & Warehouse Union sent home its Longview workers out of concern for their health and safety, spokeswoman Jennifer Sargent said.
"Our people are willing and able to go to work," Sargent said.
However, Port of Longview spokeswoman Ashley Helenberg said both the port and the union decided to shut down operations. She said about 20 jobs would be affected. The port was handling one ship Monday.
Union workers would be paid for four hours of work, the union said.
The Longview rally lasted about 90 minutes and numbered about 100 people. It was among a series of coordinated Occupy Wall Street protests at the West Coast's busiest ports. Demonstrators hoped the rallies would cut into the profits of the corporations that run the docks.
The protests also hit terminals at ports in Oakland, Calif., and Portland, Ore., though it wasn't immediately clear how much the shutdowns would affect operations and what the economic loss would be.
Union leadership in Washington has said they are sympathetic to the demands of the Occupy Wall Street movement giubbotti moncler but don't support Monday's actions.
In Longview, the longshoremen's union and the port have been engaged in a protracted labor dispute, and the union president said the Occupy movement was co-opting that fight.
"As the Occupy movement, which began in September 2011, sweeps this country, there is a real danger that forces outside of the ILWU will attempt to adopt our struggle as their own," ILWU president Robert McEllrath said in a statement posted on the union's website Saturday.
2011年12月11日星期日
Gilani said in an interview with the BBC aired Sunday that the ban
Pakistan's fragile alliance with the United States crashed to new lows after November 26 when
Nato air strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers moncler jackets in what the Pakistan military called a deliberate attack.
Gilani said in an interview with the BBC aired Sunday that the ban, already in its third week in the longest closure of the 10-year war, would not be lifted until new "rules of engagement" were agreed with Washington.
Asked whether that would be a matter of days or weeks, he replied: "weeks".
Gilani said there was still a "credibility gap" with the United States.
"We are working together and still we don't trust each other. I think we have to improve our relationship."
"We want to set new rules of engagement and cooperation with United States. We have a resolve to fight against terrorism and therefore we want to set new rules of engagement," he added.
Gilani stood by Pakistan's declaration that the border incident was a pre-planned attack, an allegation Washington rejects.
"Apparently yes and still cheap moncler jackets there is an internal inquiry being conducted and we are waiting for the results," he said, adding that the motive for such a deliberate attack remained "a big question mark".
US President Barack Obama telephoned President Asif Ali Zardari to offer his condolences over the strike, but Washington has stopped short of apologising pending the outcome of a military probe due out on December 23.
Although Pakistani and US officials dispute the precise sequence of events, Pakistan closed its two crossings to US and Nato supplies and ordered American personnel to leave an air base reportedly used by CIA drones.
Pakistani-US relations, which have yet to recover from a secret American raid that killed Osama bin Laden on May 2, are considered at their lowest ebb.
In the interview, Gilani also said that Zardari has not suffered a stroke nor offered to resign despite rumours triggered when he flew to the United Arab Emirates for medical treatment a week ago.giubbotti moncler 2012 outlet.
Zardari fell ill in the midst of a major scandal over alleged attempts by a close aide to seek US help to limit the power of Pakistan's military.
"There was no stroke," Gilani said in the interview with BBC World News.
Nato air strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers moncler jackets in what the Pakistan military called a deliberate attack.
Gilani said in an interview with the BBC aired Sunday that the ban, already in its third week in the longest closure of the 10-year war, would not be lifted until new "rules of engagement" were agreed with Washington.
Asked whether that would be a matter of days or weeks, he replied: "weeks".
Gilani said there was still a "credibility gap" with the United States.
"We are working together and still we don't trust each other. I think we have to improve our relationship."
"We want to set new rules of engagement and cooperation with United States. We have a resolve to fight against terrorism and therefore we want to set new rules of engagement," he added.
Gilani stood by Pakistan's declaration that the border incident was a pre-planned attack, an allegation Washington rejects.
"Apparently yes and still cheap moncler jackets there is an internal inquiry being conducted and we are waiting for the results," he said, adding that the motive for such a deliberate attack remained "a big question mark".
US President Barack Obama telephoned President Asif Ali Zardari to offer his condolences over the strike, but Washington has stopped short of apologising pending the outcome of a military probe due out on December 23.
Although Pakistani and US officials dispute the precise sequence of events, Pakistan closed its two crossings to US and Nato supplies and ordered American personnel to leave an air base reportedly used by CIA drones.
Pakistani-US relations, which have yet to recover from a secret American raid that killed Osama bin Laden on May 2, are considered at their lowest ebb.
In the interview, Gilani also said that Zardari has not suffered a stroke nor offered to resign despite rumours triggered when he flew to the United Arab Emirates for medical treatment a week ago.giubbotti moncler 2012 outlet.
Zardari fell ill in the midst of a major scandal over alleged attempts by a close aide to seek US help to limit the power of Pakistan's military.
"There was no stroke," Gilani said in the interview with BBC World News.
2011年12月10日星期六
Nel video degli ostaggi
Il messaggio video diffuso sul sito internet della famiglia Levinson pubblicamente trasformato la misteriosa scomparsa in una situazione di stallo in ostaggio internazionale. Nonostante una lunga indagine, tuttavia, il governo degli Stati Uniti non ha mostrato di che tiene 63 anni, padre di sette figli.Giubbotti Moncler outlet, moncler economici giù cappotti in vendita. Qui si possono acquistare 2012 piumini moncler per uomo, donna e bambino ad un prezzo a buon mercato. Vendiamo anche scarpe moncler, stivali, borse, sciarpe e berretti. Tutti spedizione gratuita.
"Vi preghiamo di inviarci le vostre richieste in modo che possiamo lavorare insieme per portare il mio padre a casa in modo sicuro", dice Levinson, figlio di David, seduto accanto alla madre, Christine.
Il motivo video rappresenta un brusco cambiamento di strategia in un caso che, per anni, gli Stati Uniti trattato come una questione diplomatica piuttosto che una situazione di ostaggio. Christine Levinson, che vive a Coral Springs, in Florida, ha rilasciato molte dichiarazioni pubbliche nel corso degli anni, ma lei di solito li indirizzato al marito mancanti o al governo dell'Iran.
Nel video degli ostaggi, che la famiglia ha ricevuto nel novembre 2010, Levinson implorò il governo degli Stati Uniti per soddisfare le richieste del popolo che lo tengono, che egli non ha identificato.
Il 54-secondo video degli ostaggi ha dimostrato Levinson cercando sparuto ma illeso, seduta di fronte a quello che sembrava essere un muro di cemento. Aveva perso peso considerevole, in particolare nel suo volto, e la sua camicia bianca appesa fuori di lui. Non c'erano segni di maltrattamenti recente. Ma Levinson, che ha una storia di diabete e pressione alta, implorato gli Stati Uniti per aiutarlo rapidamente moncler outlet 2012.
"Sono stato trattato bene. Ma ho bisogno l'aiuto del governo degli Stati Uniti per rispondere alle richieste del gruppo che mi ha tenuto per tre anni e mezzo", dice Levinson. "E vi prego di aiutarmi a tornare a casa."
La sua voce si indebolisce e si rompe mentre parla della "mia bella, amore mio, mia moglie fedele, Christine", così come i suoi figli e suo nipote.
"Non sono in ottima salute", dice. "Sono in esecuzione molto presto per la medicina per il diabete."
L'Associated Press ha visto il video subito dopo è arrivato l'anno scorso, ma non immediatamente riferire perché il governo degli Stati Uniti ha detto così facendo complicherebbe gli sforzi diplomatici per portare a casa Levinson giubbotti moncler 2012.
"Vi preghiamo di inviarci le vostre richieste in modo che possiamo lavorare insieme per portare il mio padre a casa in modo sicuro", dice Levinson, figlio di David, seduto accanto alla madre, Christine.
Il motivo video rappresenta un brusco cambiamento di strategia in un caso che, per anni, gli Stati Uniti trattato come una questione diplomatica piuttosto che una situazione di ostaggio. Christine Levinson, che vive a Coral Springs, in Florida, ha rilasciato molte dichiarazioni pubbliche nel corso degli anni, ma lei di solito li indirizzato al marito mancanti o al governo dell'Iran.
Nel video degli ostaggi, che la famiglia ha ricevuto nel novembre 2010, Levinson implorò il governo degli Stati Uniti per soddisfare le richieste del popolo che lo tengono, che egli non ha identificato.
Il 54-secondo video degli ostaggi ha dimostrato Levinson cercando sparuto ma illeso, seduta di fronte a quello che sembrava essere un muro di cemento. Aveva perso peso considerevole, in particolare nel suo volto, e la sua camicia bianca appesa fuori di lui. Non c'erano segni di maltrattamenti recente. Ma Levinson, che ha una storia di diabete e pressione alta, implorato gli Stati Uniti per aiutarlo rapidamente moncler outlet 2012.
"Sono stato trattato bene. Ma ho bisogno l'aiuto del governo degli Stati Uniti per rispondere alle richieste del gruppo che mi ha tenuto per tre anni e mezzo", dice Levinson. "E vi prego di aiutarmi a tornare a casa."
La sua voce si indebolisce e si rompe mentre parla della "mia bella, amore mio, mia moglie fedele, Christine", così come i suoi figli e suo nipote.
"Non sono in ottima salute", dice. "Sono in esecuzione molto presto per la medicina per il diabete."
L'Associated Press ha visto il video subito dopo è arrivato l'anno scorso, ma non immediatamente riferire perché il governo degli Stati Uniti ha detto così facendo complicherebbe gli sforzi diplomatici per portare a casa Levinson giubbotti moncler 2012.
2011年12月8日星期四
E 'un risultato molto buono
In un accordo salutato dal presidente della Bce Mario Draghi, i leader di cui un nuovo "compatto fiscale" per impedire runups debito futuro, ha accelerato l'avvio di un previsti 500 miliardi di euro del fondo di salvataggio e ridimensionato obbligazionista ripartizione delle perdite disposizioni. Come un negozio di Moncler online, siamo un rivenditore professionale, offrendo a buon mercato Moncler piumini e giubbotti, scarpe, borse, sciarpe e berretti per uomo, donna e bambino. La nostra distribuzione copre tutto il mondo, tra cui Italia, Stati Uniti, Regno Unito, Svizzera, Canada, Australia, Olanda, Francia, Svezia, Lettonia, Germania e così via. è possibile acquistare 2012 Moncler piumini e giubbotti, scarpe uomo Moncler, stivali invernali per le donna, borse Moncler, foulard e cappucci online a un prezzo a buon mercato, fino al 70% di sconto, spedizione gratuita. Ci sono anche grandi promozioni ogni mese su giubbottimoncleroutlet2012.com! Acquista più, risparmiare di più! Godetevi il vostro inverno 2011 con MONCLER!
"E 'un risultato molto buono per i membri dell'area dell'euro e sarà la base per una compatta buona fiscale e più disciplinata politica economica dei paesi dell'area dell'euro", Draghi ha detto ai giornalisti dopo 12 ore di colloqui durante la notte a Bruxelles moncler jackets.
I leader europei navigato un labirinto di politica, i vincoli giuridici ed economici per 11 ore e mezza di colloqui tra la pressione inesorabile dai mercati finanziari alle imbarcazioni un nuovo approccio per combattere la crisi, che ora minaccia di sommergere l'Italia e la Spagna.
Allo stesso tempo, i leader avventurato in testata territorio legali tracciando per ancorare le regole di bilancio più severe in un apposito dell'area dell'euro trattato dopo Gran Bretagna e Ungheria esitato a modificare il trattato esistente che copre tutti i 27 paesi dell'Unione europea.
L'euro poco è stato cambiato in reazione alle misure, il quinto ampio pacchetto anticrisi da quando l'ha precedenti 110 miliardi di euro salvataggio della Grecia ed è stata seguita dalla configurazione di un miliardo di euro 440 fondo di salvataggio nel maggio 2010.
Estrazione
La valuta era a 1,3335 dollari a partire dal tempo 14:01 di Tokyo, vicino al suo livello, alla fine del commercio europeo. Scorte in Asia si è staccato dai minimi del giorno, con l'MSCI Asia Pacific Index -1,9 per cento, dopo essere caduto il più 2,3 per cento. I contratti future sullo Standard USA S & P 500 Index sono state 1,9 per cento in meno.
I governi europei per la prima volta estratto un contributo da parte delle banche centrali nazionali della regione dell'euro, inducendole a prestare € 150.000.000.000 alle risorse generali del Fondo monetario internazionale. Banche centrali di Stati non appartenenti all'area dell'euro UE chip in circa 50 miliardi di euro in più.
I governi europei che contano su di acconto per attirare riserva ricca di mercati emergenti come la Cina a partecipare al salvataggio, un mese dopo gli sforzi europei per sollecitare un aiuto esterno corse in ostacoli a un gruppo di 20 riunioni.
"Apprezzo questa dimostrazione di leadership in Europa e sono fiducioso che altri possano anche fare la loro parte," FMI amministratore delegato Christine Lagarde ha detto dopo aver frequentato il vertice di Bruxelles.
L'attenzione si sposta ora alla direzione centrale della BCE, dopo che Draghi ha detto la scorsa settimana che "altri elementi" potrebbe seguire una spinta da parte dei governi per far passare una unione fiscale. Allo stesso tempo, ieri Draghi smorzato le aspettative che un accordo di Bruxelles sulla disciplina di bilancio avrebbe chiesto di integrare rapidamente le sue 207 miliardi di euro-bond operazioni di acquisto giubbotti moncler.
"E 'un risultato molto buono per i membri dell'area dell'euro e sarà la base per una compatta buona fiscale e più disciplinata politica economica dei paesi dell'area dell'euro", Draghi ha detto ai giornalisti dopo 12 ore di colloqui durante la notte a Bruxelles moncler jackets.
I leader europei navigato un labirinto di politica, i vincoli giuridici ed economici per 11 ore e mezza di colloqui tra la pressione inesorabile dai mercati finanziari alle imbarcazioni un nuovo approccio per combattere la crisi, che ora minaccia di sommergere l'Italia e la Spagna.
Allo stesso tempo, i leader avventurato in testata territorio legali tracciando per ancorare le regole di bilancio più severe in un apposito dell'area dell'euro trattato dopo Gran Bretagna e Ungheria esitato a modificare il trattato esistente che copre tutti i 27 paesi dell'Unione europea.
L'euro poco è stato cambiato in reazione alle misure, il quinto ampio pacchetto anticrisi da quando l'ha precedenti 110 miliardi di euro salvataggio della Grecia ed è stata seguita dalla configurazione di un miliardo di euro 440 fondo di salvataggio nel maggio 2010.
Estrazione
La valuta era a 1,3335 dollari a partire dal tempo 14:01 di Tokyo, vicino al suo livello, alla fine del commercio europeo. Scorte in Asia si è staccato dai minimi del giorno, con l'MSCI Asia Pacific Index -1,9 per cento, dopo essere caduto il più 2,3 per cento. I contratti future sullo Standard USA S & P 500 Index sono state 1,9 per cento in meno.
I governi europei per la prima volta estratto un contributo da parte delle banche centrali nazionali della regione dell'euro, inducendole a prestare € 150.000.000.000 alle risorse generali del Fondo monetario internazionale. Banche centrali di Stati non appartenenti all'area dell'euro UE chip in circa 50 miliardi di euro in più.
I governi europei che contano su di acconto per attirare riserva ricca di mercati emergenti come la Cina a partecipare al salvataggio, un mese dopo gli sforzi europei per sollecitare un aiuto esterno corse in ostacoli a un gruppo di 20 riunioni.
"Apprezzo questa dimostrazione di leadership in Europa e sono fiducioso che altri possano anche fare la loro parte," FMI amministratore delegato Christine Lagarde ha detto dopo aver frequentato il vertice di Bruxelles.
L'attenzione si sposta ora alla direzione centrale della BCE, dopo che Draghi ha detto la scorsa settimana che "altri elementi" potrebbe seguire una spinta da parte dei governi per far passare una unione fiscale. Allo stesso tempo, ieri Draghi smorzato le aspettative che un accordo di Bruxelles sulla disciplina di bilancio avrebbe chiesto di integrare rapidamente le sue 207 miliardi di euro-bond operazioni di acquisto giubbotti moncler.
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