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Steven Spielberg's civil-war set drama "Lincoln" led the way with seven nods when the Hollywood Foreign Press announced the Golden Globe Award nominations in Hollywood.
Proof once again that when it comes to getting attention at the Globes, the more historical your vehicle (real or imagined) the more love the Hollywood Foreign Press is likely to bestow.
A quick look back at films that have walked away winners at the Globes for best picture in either a drama or comedy/musical show a long history for works that imagine the past: "Amadeus" (1985), "Out of Africa" (1986), "The Last Emperor" (1988), "Driving Miss Daisy" (1990), "Schindler's List" (1994), "Titanic" (1998), "Shakespeare in Love" (1999), "Gladiator" (2001), "Chicago" (2003), "The Aviator" (2005) and "Dreamgirls" (2007).
It's only been in recent years that the HFPA has cast its eyes more consistently to current times, rewarding films such as "Slumdog Millionaire" (2008), "The Social Network" (2011) and "The Descendants" (2011).
That streak looks to be threatened with "Lincoln's" seven nominations, among them best director for Spielberg, best drama, best screenplay and acting honors for Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones. These follow in the wake of four earlier nominations from the Screen Actors Guild and a record-breaking 13 nominations for the Critics Choice Movie Awards.
"Django Unchained," Quentin Tarantino's brutal revenge western, also received a large helping of award nomination love. The film, which scored Globe nominations for best drama, director, supporting actors (Leonardo DiCaprio and Christoph Waltz) and screenplay, was completely shut out of the Screen Actors Guild nominations in favor of "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Les Miserables."
Full List of 2013 Golden Globe Nominees
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History-based drama from a more modern age was acknowledged with the Ben Affleck-directed Iran hostage crisis thriller "Argo" muscling in with four nominations for best drama, director, supporting actor (Alan Arkin) and screenplay.
And in the comedy-musical category, "Les Miserables" is the heavy-weight contender to compete with "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," "Moonrise Kingdom," "Salmon Fishing in Yemen," "Silver Linings Playbook."
When it came to small screen fare, it was history-in-the-making that received the most attention. The Sarah Palin biopic "Game Change" racked up five nominations for best miniseries, actor (Woody Harrelson), actress (Julianne Moore), supporting actor (Ed Harris) and supporting actress (Sarah Paulson). Coming in second with four nods was the terrorist plot-based series "Homeland" up for best drama, actor (Damian Lewis), actress (Claire Danes) and supporting actor (Mandy Patinkin).
Another notable inclusion here was "Political Animals," the now canceled TV drama that revolved around a Hillary Clinton-esque Washington politician played by Sigourney Weaver that will compete for best miniseries and best actress (Weaver). The stiff upper lip of PBS darling "Downton Abbey" received three nominations: best drama, best actress (Michelle Dockery) and supporting actress (Maggie Smith, who also was named to the best actress comedy/musical category for "Quartet").
Offering up accolades in categories that cover drama, comedy and musicals on both big and small screens, it's no surprise the remaining list of nominees for the award ceremony set for Jan. 13 comprises a mixed bag of familiar names (Meryl Streep for "Hope Springs", Helen Mirren for "Hitchcock," Julia Louis-Dreyfus for "Veep"), already celebrated titles ("Les Miserables," "Zero Dark Thirty" with four nominations apiece) and few new, or left field inclusions ("Salmon Fishing in the Yemen," "Moonrise Kingdom," "Girls," the leading ladies of "Nashville").
"Yemen" - a gentle, comedy of manners from Britain - was a big surprise when it was announced it would compete in the best comedy/musical category as well as best acting for leads Emily Blunt and Ewan McGregor. Released in March, the inclusion has turned the audience-appreciated yet oddly titled indie into the dark horse of the Globes.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler Sparkle in Golden Globes Promo
New additions to this year's race are Connie Britton and Hayden Panetierre, who showed their singing chops on TV's "Nashville" to earn nominations for best actress and best supporting actress respectively. The love-it or loathe-it HBO series "Girls" scored two times for best series comedy and best actress (show creator and writer Lena Dunham). And Aaron Sorkin's "The Newsroom," also from HBO, is up for best series drama and best actor Jeff Daniels.
Wes Anderson's films have long been Oscar bait but ignored by the HFPA. "Moonrise Kingdom's" elevation to the best picture comedy/musical category is a pleasant surprise, though it was the only recognition it received with Anderson failing to score a berth in the best director category.
A small screen snub went to "Mad Men," left hanging with only one nomination going to Jon Hamm in the best actor drama category.
Following last years' Globe love-fest of raunchy comedy "Bridesmaids," rumors swirled that the potty-mouthed teddy bear buddy comedy "Ted," directed by Seth MacFarlane, would be up for acknowledgment. No such luck as the Mark Wahlberg vehicle was noticeably absent when the nominees were revealed.
Adding extra comedy fodder to their hosting duties is the race between Amy Poehler ("Parks and Recreation") and Tina Fey ("30 Rock"), both named to the best actress TV comedy category. With former Globe winner Fey and former nominee Poehler both riding high on their current television success, the biggest winners on the night could end up being the viewers.
The Golden Globes, hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, will be broadcast live on NBC Jan. 13.


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Albany Footstool
Albany Footstool
Step into luxury with ALBANY - Suite Collection! Made with solid birch wood and MDF boards for durability, this collection is designed for ultimate comfort and support. Reversible seat and back cushions filled with high-loft fibre provide maximum coziness. With only plastic feet and easy care instructions, elevate any room with this high back option.
Delivery 5 - 6 weeks
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Levines' pride ourselves on delivering a full range of furniture, directly to our customers' homes. Our experienced teams deliver to the most challenging of areas and spaces, or per your instructions we will deliver and leave items at your instructed deliverable location.
Don't know what to do with your old furniture? Please check out our Clearbee partnership.
We endeavour to deliver within the quoted lead times, although sometimes circumstances are out of our control. Please contact us for more specific information about your delivery via our contact pages or help centre "Can we help".
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We're able to deliver multiple orders for different rooms all on the same day, increasing the convenience of our service and minimising the cost of multiple deliveries.
Upon delivery, once we've positioned your furniture in the preferred portion in your room, our delivery team will then offer to remove all packaging for recycling back and our warehouse. This service may not include our third-party delivery company.
We offer the most competitive delivery prices and the best possible delivery services on the UK mainland.
For any areas outside the standard delivery radius or indeed, international deliveries, please use our Contact Us page or using our help centre "Can we help".
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between 10 and 50 miles of our Central Distribution Centre Deliveries within 2-3 days of coming in to stock. |
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between 50 and 100 miles of our Central Distribution Centre. Order value under £3000 Deliveries within 2-3 days of coming in to stock. |
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between 50 and 100 miles of our Central Distribution Centre. Order value over £3000 Deliveries within 2-3 days of coming in to stock. |
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Every effort will be made to ensure that the Products that you have ordered arrive undamaged and without defect. If the Products are found to be either damaged or defective in any way at the time of delivery, you must complete an incident form immediately, which will be provided by the Levines delivery team. If such damage or defect is discovered after delivery, you must contact Levines within three days of delivery of the Product or, in the event of a latent defect, within three days of the date upon which you discovered the defect.
Upon receipt of notification of alleged damage or defect from you, Levines will arrange to inspect the Product concerned. You must not make any use of it, not make any alteration to it nor return it or arrange for its return before Levines have been provided with the opportunity to inspect and investigate. If upon inspection Levines agree that the item is damaged or defective and Levines is unable to repair the item to manufacturing standards, we will arrange for collection of the item and we will then contact you to arrange delivery of a replacement item to you as soon as replacement stock is available and/or offer you a full refund (including delivery charges). We are only able to hold such replacement stock for a reasonable period and reserve the right to levy a restocking charge in circumstances where you are unable or unwilling to accept such delivery within a reasonable time.
If as a result of an inspection, Levines determine that they have no legal liability in respect of the matters complained of, then they reserve the right to levy the standard call out charge and to reject any claim in respect of alleged damaged or defective Products.
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Surface fillings of mattresses may flatten. This is called dipping or settlement and is normal with use. A mattress may feel different to how it felt in-store. We would advise customers that the mattress is new or can feel firmer due to being wrapped up tightly for a secure delivery. This firmness should quickly ease out to the tension order. If you have any questions regarding your mattress tension upon delivery, please contact our Customer Services team
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subset: commoncrawl


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DIY Editable Pink Safari Animals Welcome Sign Template B1005
Regular price €10.00 Save 0%This listing is for an instant download DIY Editable Pink Safari Animals Welcome Sign template for you to edit with your own details and print. With its adorable jungle animals design, this party decoration is the perfect way to welcome your guests. This safari themed Welcome Sign comes in three different sizes 16"x20", 18"x24" and A2.
The word "Welcome" is not editable and cannot be removed. All other text can be changed to suit your special occasion and is suitable for many occasions such as kids birthday parties, graduations and more.
Just copy and paste the following link into your browser your PC, laptop, tablet or mobile phone to access our FREE demo:
Please note that graphics are not editable. Some text is editable – change text, font style, font colour, resize, move, add or delete text. See free demo for further information and try it out! It is easy to edit and achieve your perfect sign!
★PDF file with instructions.
★A link which you will receive by email that provides access to your design on Corjl and allows you to edit your design and download it as a JPEG, PDF or PNG file to suit your own requirements.
You can edit easily on PC, laptop, tablet or mobile phone – You do not need to download any software or special fonts
1. COMPLETE YOUR PURCHASE Choose your design and complete your purchase.
2. RECEIVE LINK TO ACCESS YOUR DESIGN Once payment for your order is confirmed, you will get an email from CORJL sent to your registered account email, containing the link for you to access your editable design.
3. EDIT YOUR DESIGN. Follow the link to access your editable design. You can quickly and simply edit using your computer, laptop, phone or tablet. You do not need any special software. You can edit some/all of the text depending on the design. You cannot make changes to the graphic elements in the design.
4. SAVE YOUR CHANGES You can save your changes as you edit the files and please ensure that you save before downloading your file.
5. DOWNLOAD FILE You can choose to download your file as a JPEG, PDF or PNG file. You can also choose to print multiples to a page in PDF to save paper when printing. You can include crop marks to help guide you when trimming your signs or bleeds for your printer if you are having your signs professionally printed.
6. PRINT YOUR FILES You can print your files on your home printer, at work (with permission!), at your local print shop or with an online print service.
• This listing is for a digital download only. No physical item will be shipped to you.
• This listing does not include for any printing or print services.
• You will edit the text on the invitation yourself via Corjl (instructions provided).
• There is NO customisation or editing included in this order.
• Colours may vary slightly due to different screen resolutions on monitors, tablets etc. and printer calibration. The final colours and print quality will depend on the printer and paper type used.
• The files provided are strictly for your personal use only. No copyright passes to you on purchase of these files and is maintained fully and completely by DIY PARTY WORLD. You are strictly prohibited from sharing or selling these files or products created from these files. Please do not use the design commercially, distribute or resell under any circumstances.
• As this is a digital download product, we do not offer refunds, returns or exchanges. Should you have any issue or query relating to your order, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are always happy to help!


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In the thrilling debut novel, Mr Peanut by Adam Ross, reality twists and turns as the past collides with the present.
Mr Peanut is the debut novel from American author, Adam Ross. It is an elaborate study of marriage with a structure that mirrors the qualities of a Möbius strip and layers of narrative that echo the twisted perspective of an Escher print. Fans of Hitchcock will notice the big influence his films have on this book, while readers of Murakami and Calvino will appreciate Ross's grasp of the surreal. His dissection of marriage, more specifically marriage in crisis, takes the form of three stories; one of which is the overarching narrative which drives the plot, while the second and third, as well as being tied into the first storyline, provide two further angles on Ross's unifying themes of love, identity and escapism. Together, these three tales offer a cautionary lesson on the vicissitudes of modern marriage, wrapped up in a detective novel that keeps the reader guessing until the last page.
Mr Peanut took Ross 13 years to write and was inspired by an extraordinary family fable, as he explains: "The novel's genesis came when my father told me a suspicious story about my cousin, who was morbidly obese, suffered from severe depression and nut allergies, and committed suicide, according to her husband, the only witness conveniently, by ingesting a handful of peanuts at their kitchen table on the heels of an argument. The story left me thunderstruck, I was sure he'd killed her, and in a single sitting, I wrote three chapters that closely resemble what's in the book now. But then I pulled up, because I'd written my way into something I didn't understand yet. That was back in 1995." Ross describes the writing of his novel as a "painfully organic process", compounded by the fact that he chose to structure it on a Möbius strip (a one-sided, one-edged surface that gives the appearance of two-sidedness). The winding plot includes improbable timelines, flashbacks and even a character called Mobius who both features in the main narrative and introduces the more central of the two sub-plots.
The contrivance of the looping structure won't be to everyone's taste and means that on first reading the plot doesn't stand up to close scrutiny, but for Ross this was part of his plan: "I intentionally shaped the novel as a Möbius band, having it loop back on itself, since marriage, like that oddly shaped figure, is an institution where two people are supposed to be walking on the same side of the street, but oftentimes appear to be on completely opposite sides [and] in writing Mr. Peanut, I tried to construct a text that would also reward re-reading." It is true that the complete picture is unclear until after the astonishing finale but that doesn't necessarily detract from the enjoyment of the novel as whole. Ross is adept at employing dramatic hooks that propel the reader towards the climax of all three of the stories and in turn all three of the marriages.
The marriages explored in Mr Peanut are those of David and Alice, Sam and Marilyn and Ward and Hannah. The first, that of David and Alice, forms the narrative that opens and closes the novel and arches over the other two relationships. David is accused of Alice's murder (her death is an exact replica of Ross's family fable); Sam and Ward are the two detectives called in to investigate. Rather surprisingly, and at first incongruously as the novel is set in contemporary New York, Sam is the infamous Sam Sheppard accused of murdering his wife Marilyn in the 1950s. It is a testament to Ross's skills as writer, however, that he manages to include this well-known and established story in his novel without detracting from his own narrative. Although it is impossible to ignore the incongruity, the story of Sam and Marilyn Sheppard is absorbing from the start. Ross also had good reason to include it in his novel: "In my initial drafting, the two detectives I'd started with were so obviously allegorical that I decided I needed a grey-area figure who embodied the whole continuum of guilt and innocence within marriage. With the Sheppard story you have a murder mystery and a marriage that you can research until Kingdom Come, but are still forced, in spite of all the evidence, to speculate about Sheppard's guilt or innocence, to make an imaginative leap. Something we do all the time and quite cavalierly about other people's marriages."
It is undoubtedly true that we all like to speculate about other people's marriages, but it is hard not to judge when a relationship is laid bare as the three are in Mr Peanut. Each is a marriage in crisis, for different reasons, with distinctive personalities coming to bear on the issues in question. Ross does not hold back when it comes to displaying the darker side of human nature with all its foibles and weaknesses; but quite where our sympathies lie will depend on the mindset (and possibly gender) of the reader. Love is a universal theme throughout history and art, but in Ross's hands it is more than just a theme, it is the answer to what makes us behave the way we do when we choose to share our lives with another human being. David and Alice have been married for 13 years, David adores his wife, but the novel opens with him fantasising about her death. When that fantasy becomes a reality, the story of how he came to be dreaming of ways in which his wife could die is gradually revealed and the narrative becomes a treatise on love and hatred and what happens when events or circumstances beyond our control impact on our relationships.
The second overriding theme in Ross's novel is that of escapism, which is inevitably linked with our sense of ourselves, both as individuals and in relation to others. Means of escape, of wanting to be someone else, are explored in many different ways in Mr Peanut, from David's gaming avatars, to Sam's philandering, from Alice's desperate need to lose weight (and therefore to change) to Marilyn's fantasies of running away with her unborn child. However, too many of these modes of escape eventually lead to tragedy and destruction of everything the characters hold dear, including life itself, and as such the novel serves as a timely reminder of how important it is to accept who we are and what we have, as Ross points out: "I feel like so much of the time we have to smack ourselves and say, 'Snap out of it. Life is right in front of you.' Egoism is our default mode of escape, and this is particularly true when it comes to those we're sharing our lives with – wives, husbands, children. Sad, but true, and I wanted to explore that in the novel."
Not all of the marriages end in disaster, the shorter of the two sub-plots, the story of the second detective Ward and his wife Hannah has a happy ending, despite its rather bizarre exploration of just how far one woman is prepared to go to get her husband to notice her. Ross points out that "it was a shorter, more comic way of looking at marriage's ruts and impasses – couples' crazy Mexican standoffs. To my mind, Ward and Hannah are the heroes of the novel because they manage to work out their problems without collateral damage." However, this particular story fizzes out in the first third of the novel and is distant memory by the time we reach the tragic dénouements of both David and Alice and Sam and Marilyn's stories. Certainly with David and Alice's marriage, the reader is left with a stark reminder of what can happen when couples stop communicating with each other and simply co-exist, sharing a space but not a life.
Happy marriages and functional relationships may be reassuring, but they don't make for riveting drama nor do they provide material for a page-turning thriller as exhilarating as Mr Peanut. Whether Ross's view of modern marriage is pessimistic or realistic, at a time when divorce rates in the US stand at around 50% of first marriages, perhaps there is an important message to be gleaned from all the stories presented here. Ultimately honest communication, however difficult or painful, is key to any relationship. Without the ability to talk and listen when others talk to us, no marriage is going to survive. When embarking on a lifelong commitment, people are often if not always reminded that relationships take work and cannot be taken for granted; while we work at our own we can enjoy escaping into Ross's creation and experience an alternative reality, one that we can easily return from.
Mr Peanut was published by Jonathan Cape in July 2010. www.adam-ross.com.
Rachel Hazelwood


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Metzeler Tourance Next Tire
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The Enduro Street tire that dares you to challenge any weather condition and any road.


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Assuming that the common ancestors of hominids carried multiple endemic infectious retroviruses, how did the human lineage eliminate them? Given that humans remain susceptible to re-infection with both SFVs178 and SIVs177 from other hominids, this seems unlikely to be explained solely on the basis of more efficient host restriction systems. Rather, there seems to have been an episode in which the ancestral human lineage was somehow "purged" of these endemic viruses.
In other words, when evolution spontaneously created humans we must have been "purged." We got a do-over! Hilarious.
All of this lunacy was foreseen by the great Alfred Wallace for which he was, of course, dismissed by evolutionists. After all, Wallace could plainly see that natural law—natural selection in this case—was profoundly limited. Believe it or not, evolution could not do all things:
Wallace lost favour with the scientific community partly because he questioned whether natural selection alone could account for the evolution of human mind, writing: "I do not consider that all nature can be explained on the principles of which I am so ardent an advocate; and that I am now myself going to state objections, and to place limits, to the power of 'natural selection'. How could 'natural selection', or survival of the fittest in the struggle for existence, at all favour the development of mental powers so entirely removed from the material necessities of savage men, and which even now, with our comparatively high civilization, are, in their farthest developments, in advance of the age, and appear to have relation rather to the future of the race than to its actual status?"
But problems do not go away just because our religion demands it. And so even evolutionists must admit that Wallace's Conundrum remains unresolved. That's putting it mildly:
Although Wallace was criticized for apparently invoking spiritual explanations, one of his key points remains valid — that it is difficult to explain how conventional natural selection could have selected ahead of time for the remarkable capabilities of the human mind, which we are still continuing to explore today. An example is writing, which was invented long after the human mind evolved and continues to be modified and utilized in myriad ways. Explanations based on exaptation seem inadequate, as most of what the human mind routinely does today did not even exist at the time it was originally evolving. Experts in human evolution or cognition have yet to provide a truly satisfactory explanation. Thus, 'Wallace's Conundrum' remains unresolved: "[...] that the same law which appears to have sufficed for the development of animals, has been alone the cause of man's superior mental nature, [...] will, I have no doubt, be overruled and explained away. But I venture to think they will nevertheless maintain their ground, and that they can only be met by the discovery of new facts or new laws, of a nature very different from any yet known to us."
But Wallace was nobody's fool. As he presciently foresaw, his Conundrum would be "overruled and explained away" by evolutionists.
Wallace was by no means free of the theological naturalism that has today infected and gone viral in science. But at least he was man enough to admit to the obvious limitations. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for evolutionists, before and after.
Religion drives science, and it matters.
h/t: the man
[Ed: Deleted "DNA" for clarity]


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Medscape's clinical reference is the most authoritative and accessible point-of-care medical reference for physicians and healthcare professionals, available online and via all major mobile devices. All content is free.
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"I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport," National Basketball Association center Jason Collins writes in a Sports Illustrated essay posted Monday, "but since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation."
With that, the 34-year-old veteran of 12 NBA seasons and six pro teams becomes the first active player in the four major American team sports to come out.
Why now? Collins writes that:
"Well, I started thinking about this in 2011 during the NBA player lockout. I'm a creature of routine. When the regular season ends I immediately dedicate myself to getting game ready for the opener of the next campaign in the fall. But the lockout wreaked havoc on my habits and forced me to confront who I really am and what I really want. With the season delayed, I trained and worked out. But I lacked the distraction that basketball had always provided. ...
"I realized I needed to go public when Joe Kennedy, my old roommate at Stanford and now a Massachusetts congressman, told me he had just marched in Boston's 2012 Gay Pride Parade. I'm seldom jealous of others, but hearing what Joe had done filled me with envy. I was proud of him for participating but angry that as a closeted gay man I couldn't even cheer my straight friend on as a spectator."
He goes on to say he's been asked how he thinks other players will respond to the news. "The simple answer is, I have no idea," Collins writes. "I'm a pragmatist. I hope for the best, but plan for the worst. The biggest concern seems to be that gay players will behave unprofessionally in the locker room. Believe me, I've taken plenty of showers in 12 seasons. My behavior wasn't an issue before, and it won't be one now. My conduct won't change. I still abide by the adage, 'What happens in the locker room stays in the locker room.' I'm still a model of discretion."
Now a free agent, Collins played this past season for the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards. Over his 713-game NBA career, he has averaged just under 21 minutes a game and has scored an average 3.6 points per game. Collins is 7 feet tall and weighs 260 pounds.
His twin brother, Jarron, who Jason Collins writes is straight, played in the NBA for 10 seasons — most recently in 2010-11 for Los Angeles (the Clippers) and Portland.
As Talk of the Nation, The New York Times, USA Today and other news outlets have reported, the NBA, Major League Baseball, National Hockey League and National Football League have been expecting that some gay players would soon open up about their sexuality. Over the years, starting with former NFL player Dave Kopay in 1975, some retired players have gone public. As the public's attitude toward homosexuality and such issues as same-sex marriage have changed in recent years, though, the expectation grew that active athletes would feel comfortable about coming out.
Update at 10:33 p.m. ET. Rick Welts' Reaction
Golden State Warriors president Rick Welts, who himself came out in 2011, has called Collins' decision "very, very courageous." NPR's Tom Goldman has more on his remarks and how Collins' announcement helped Welts avoid a traffic ticket.
Update at 1:55 p.m. ET. Odds Were Slightly In Favor Of Him Playing Again:
Statistics guru Nate Silver of The New York Times' FiveThirtyEight.com has crunched the numbers and concluded that for a player of Collins' age, experience, size and track record the odds are "slightly in favor" of his being picked up by an NBA team to play again next season. It's a "pretty close call," Silver adds — which means that if Collins isn't signed by any team there will be those who make the case he's being discriminated against; and if he is signed by a team there will be those who make the case that it's a publicity stunt. "Here's hoping that the league will evaluate Mr. Collins on the basis of his basketball production and skills, and not his sexuality," Silver writes.
Update at 1:50 p.m. ET. Support From Fellow Players.
-- Lakers star Kobe Bryant: "Proud of @jasoncollins34. Don't suffocate who u r because of the ignorance of others #courage #support #mambaarmystandup #BYOU."
-- Wizards teammate Bradley Beal: "Proud of @jasoncollins34 for expressing his feelings! Great teammate, mentor and better person !! #liveyourlife !"
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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American, US Airways deal creates world's largest airline
Feb. 15, 2013, Dallas, Tx. - US Airways CEO Doug Parker has landed the big merger he sought for years. Now the soon-to-be CEO of the new American Airlines has to make it work.
February 15, 2013 By Carey Fredericks
The fleet needs new planes and new paint. Frequent flier programs have to be combined. American's on-time performance must improve. And the airline needs to win back business travellers who have drifted to competitors. But Parker's nothing if not persistent.
After months of courting, the companies on Thursday announced an $11 billion merger that will turn American into the world's biggest airline, with 6,700 daily flights and annual revenue of roughly $40 billion. It's a coup for Parker, who runs the much-smaller US Airways Group Inc. and believes that mergers help airlines achieve higher revenue and consistent profits.
When the deal closes later this year, the four biggest U.S. airlines – American, United, Delta and Southwest – will all be the
products of mergers that began in 2008. Those deals have helped the industry control seats, push fares higher and return to
profitability. But it's not easy to stitch two airlines together.
Some of Parker's work has already been done. American parent AMR Corp. has cut costs and debt since it filed for bankruptcy
protection in late 2011. Pilots from both airlines have agreed on steps that should make it easier to combine their groups under a single labour contract, a big hurdle in many airline mergers. But when the deal closes – expected by September as part of AMR's plan to emerge from bankruptcy protection – there will still plenty to do.
The new company will have to combine the separate computer systems that American and US Airways use for reservations and other functions, while avoiding the glitches that have plagued United since it switched to Continental's system. The airline will have to fly better. Last year, American ranked 14th out of 15 airlines for on-time performance, according to government statistics. It cancelled flights at a higher rate than its closest rivals. It had the second-worst rate of complaints, better only than United, which was hit by periodic computer outages.
The executive likely to be charged with making the airline run more smoothly is US Airways' chief operating officer, Robert Isom. He said his company fixed similar problems in 2007 through regimented maintenance schedules, stricter rules on how long to wait for connecting passengers, and using bonuses to encourage workers to hit performance goals. US Airways ranked fifth in on-time arrivals last year.
Leaders of American's unions say they're ready to help the airline perform better. They should be — after all, they helped kick
American's current management to the curb by supporting a merger with Parker running the combined company.
"Without us, a merger would not have occurred in bankruptcy,'' said Keith Wilson, president of the Allied Pilots Association.
"We think we're going to get a change of culture,'' added Laura Glading, president of the flight attendants' union at American.
The union leaders say employees will have more job security at a larger airline that's better able to compete with United and Delta. Their support of a merger was critical because the unions held three of the nine seats on the committee of AMR's bankruptcy creditors.
A lawyer who advised that committee, Jay Goffman of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, said the influential committee became convinced that a merger would produce an airline that could boost revenue faster than American by itself. "And frankly, the fact that the unions were fully supportive of a merger made a big difference,'' Goffman said.
Over the past year, Parker and AMR CEO Tom Horton were adversaries who had wildly different strategies for their companies. Parker raided Horton's turf to enlist American's labour unions in his campaign for a merger. Horton seemed more aloof, preferring that American remain on its own. As the airlines held private discussions during the fall and into winter, speculation centred on which man would end up running the company if there were a merger.
Those differences were set aside Thursday when the men stood before TV cameras for a news conference at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. A backdrop was splashed with the logos of both airlines. Parker and Horton traded banter about each other's looks and about working at adjoining cubicles at American 25 years ago.
Horton called Parker "my good, longtime friend,'' and Parker said Horton was "the best – he knows this business.''
If Horton was disappointed in not getting to run the new American, he didn't admit it.
"I don't think it would be fair to say my goal was to run the biggest and best airline,'' Horton said. "My goal was to make sure
American Airlines is the best airline in the world. And that's exactly what's going to happen here.''
Parker said, "This isn't about me or Tom. This is about doing what's best for the combined companies.'' He said the CEO title was just one of many decisions they had to make. "It's one that I'm very happy with, one that Tom has told you he's happy with,'' Parker said. He thanked Horton for agreeing "to hang around and help me with that transition.''
"Well, best of luck,'' Horton interjected, as employees of both airlines laughed.
The deal needs approval by AMR's bankruptcy judge, federal antitrust regulators, and US Airways shareholders. Parker, Horton and most analysts predict smooth sailing. Even if they're right, American and US Airways will continue operating as separate airlines for months or even a couple years. Officials promised that frequent-flier programs would continue untouched.
The merger follows Delta's acquisition of Northwest in 2008, the United-Continental deal in 2010, and Southwest's purchase of AirTran Airways in 2011. The rapid consolidation has allowed the remaining airlines to lure high-paying business travellers with better route maps. And it has helped them limit the supply of seats, pushing up fares and fees.
That concerns some consumer advocates, but Parker argued that competition will increase, not decrease.
"There are two very large airlines right now and this creates a third,'' Parker said in an interview, referring to United and Delta, currently the world's two biggest airlines. "It provides good competition to those two.''
Mary Gorman, who was at Miami International Airport on Thursday for a flight home to Virginia Beach after a cruise with her husband, said she hoped that together the airlines would offer better service than either does by itself.
"If the service is better, I don't mind paying more for a ticket,'' Gorman said.
Most airline mergers have resulted in fewer flights and shrinkage at some hubs, as happened to Cincinnati after Delta bought
Northwest. Parker said this deal will be different because US Airways and American overlap on just 12 routes. He said the new
airline will keep all of American's hubs – Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago, Miami, New York and Los Angeles – and those of US Airways, in Phoenix, Charlotte and Philadelphia.
Besides continuing the American Airlines name, the combined carrier will be based in American's hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. With Parker set to become CEO, Horton will serve as board chairman until its first shareholder meeting, likely in mid-2014. Parker will add the chairman's title after Horton leaves.
AMR creditors, workers and shareholders will own 72 per cent of the new company including 23.6 per cent for employees and unions. US Airways shareholders will get the other 28 per cent. The companies said they expect $1.05 billion in annual benefits from the merger by 2015, based on the assumption that they will attract more business travellers.
The extra revenue and savings would have been higher, but the company expects to pay out $400 million per year in pay raises. Unionized workers at both airlines have seen their pay languish, with some US Airways pilots still flying under a contract signed when that carrier was in bankruptcy protection in 2005.
The new American will be slightly bigger than United Airlines by passenger traffic, not counting regional affiliate airlines. The
mammoth size of Delta and United has helped those carriers get more than their share of business travellers, US Airways President Scott Kirby said on a conference call.
For instance, Delta's shuttle service up and down the East Coast competes against a similar offering by US Airways. But Delta
passengers can connect to more overseas cities than US Airways passengers can, and American doesn't have a shuttle at all. But with the US Airways shuttle feeding passengers into American's overseas flights, the merged airline will get more business travellers, US Airways argued in its presentation to creditors in January, which was filed publicly on Thursday.
The combination will also boost American's service to Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean. Some analysts noted that the new American will still be weak on routes to Asia, however.
"Without a major Pacific presence (just a mere five destinations and eight routes), American doesn't come close to either Delta or United's presence in the market,'' Helane Becker, airlines analyst for Dahlman Rose & Co., wrote Thursday in a note to clients.
The new American will stay in the oneworld airline alliance with partners including British Airways and Japan Airlines. For US
Airways passengers, that will eventually mean an end to redeeming miles on Star Alliance members United and Lufthansa.
The new board of directors will have 12 members: Three from American, including Horton; four from US Airways, including Parker; and five appointed by American's creditors. Horton said AMR's bankruptcy creditors might be repaid in full. He noted that his company cut costs, reduced debt and moved ahead with orders for new planes during the bankruptcy process, increasing AMR's value to US Airways.
That, he said, "allowed us to make a deal with US Air that was on the right terms for American and our people.''


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It's no surprise that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin won Sunday's election to return to the more powerful post he previously held — president. His victory was widely expected. Putin appears to have gotten about two-thirds of the votes.
Also not surprising: Sunday's results are being followed with reports today that, as The Associated Press says, "the opposition and independent observers insisted the vote had been marred by widespread violations."
The Guardian puts things this way: "International observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said there were 'serious problems' with the election, which meant that the result was 'never in doubt.' "
According to The Financial Times, there are "widespread allegations of vote rigging."
On Morning Edition, NPR's Corey Flintoff said one of the more common complaints was about "carousel voting" — groups of people being driven from one voting place to another, and at each one using absentee ballots to vote. But Putin, Corey reports, said in a fiery speech after results were in that there had been an "open and honest battle" and that foreigners — perhaps referring to the U.S. — had been trying to influence the results.
It also appeared at moments, the FT adds, that Putin teared up during his address on Sunday:
"Hs voice was, unusually, cracking.
" 'I asked you once, will we win?' he said. 'And we won!' he declared, to cheering and flag-waving from his fans.
"Putin later blamed the wind for making his eyes water."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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ETCSLtranslation : t.2.1.4 |
Segment A1-9. To …… the sanctuary like a cargo ship; to …… its great furnaces; to see that its canals …… waters of joy, to see that the hoes till the arable tracts and that …… the fields; to turn the house of Kiš, which was like a haunted town, into a living settlement again -- its king, shepherd Ur-Zababa, rose like Utu over the house of Kiš. An and Enlil, however, authoritatively (?) decided (?) by their holy command to alter his term of reigning and to remove the prosperity of the palace. 10-13. Then Sargon -- his city was the city of ……, his father was La'ibum, his mother …… -- Sargon …… with happy heart. Since he was born ……. Segment B1-7. One day, after the evening had arrived and Sargon had brought the regular deliveries to the palace, Ur-Zababa was sleeping (and dreaming) in the holy bed-chamber, his holy residence. He realised what the dream was about, but did not put into words, did not discuss it with anyone. After Sargon had received the regular deliveries for the palace, Ur-Zababa appointed him cupbearer, putting him in charge of the drinks cupboard. Holy Inana did not cease to stand by him. 8-11. After five or 10 days had passed, King Ur-Zababa …… and became frightened in his residence. Like a lion he urinated, sprinkling his legs, and the urine contained blood and pus. He was troubled, he was disturbed like a fish living in brackish water. 12-24. It was then that the cupbearer of Ezina's wine-house, Sargon, lay down not to sleep, but lay down to dream. In the dream, holy Inana drowned Ur-Zababa in a river of blood. The sleeping Sargon groaned and gnawed the ground. When King Ur-Zababa heard about this groaning, he was brought into the king's holy presence, Sargon was brought into the presence of Ur-Zababa (who said:) "Cupbearer, was a dream revealed to you in the night?" Sargon answered his king: "My king, this is my dream, which I will tell you about: There was a young woman who was as high as the heavens and as broad as the earth. She was firmly set as the base of a wall. For me, she drowned you in a great river, a river of blood." 25-34. Ur-Zababa chewed his lips, he became seriously afraid. He spoke to ……, his chancellor: "My royal sister, holy Inana, is going to change (?) my finger into a …… of blood; she will drown Sargon, the cupbearer, in the great river. Beliš-tikal, chief smith, man of my choosing, who can write tablets, I will give you orders, let my orders be carried out! Let my advice be followed! Now then, when the cupbearer has delivered my bronze hand-mirror (?) to you, in the E-sikil, the fated house, throw them (the mirror and Sargon) into the mould like statues." 35-45. Beliš-tikal heeded his king's words and prepared the moulds in the E-sikil, the fated house. The king spoke to Sargon: "Go and deliver my bronze hand-mirror (?) to the chief smith!" Sargon left the palace of Ur-Zababa. Holy Inana, however, did not cease to stand at his right hand side, and before he had come within five or 10 nindan of the E-sikil, the fated house, holy Inana turned around toward him and blocked his way, (saying:) "The E-sikil is a holy house! No one polluted with blood should enter it!" Thus he met the chief smith of the king only at the gate of the fated house. After he delivered the king's bronze hand-mirror (?) to the chief smith, Beliš-tikal, the chief smith, …… and threw it into the mould like statues. 46-52. After five or 10 days had passed, Sargon came into the presence of Ur-Zababa, his king; he came into the palace, firmly founded like a great mountain. King Ur-Zababa …… and became frightened in his residence. He realised what was it about, but did not put into words, did not discuss it with anyone. Ur-Zababa became frightened in the bed-chamber, his holy residence. He realised what was it about, but did not put into words, did not discuss it with anyone. 53-56. In those days, although writing words on tablets existed, putting tablets into envelopes did not yet exist. King Ur-Zababa despatched Sargon, the creature of the gods, to Lugal-zage-si in Unug with a message written on clay, which was about murdering Sargon. Segment C1-7. With the wife of Lugal-zage-si ……. She (?) …… her feminity as a shelter. Lugal-zage-si did not …… the envoy. "Come! He directed his steps to brick-built E-ana!" Lugal-zage-si did not grasp it, he did not talk to the envoy. But as soon as he did talk to the envoy ……. The lord said "Alas!" and sat in the dust. 8-12. Lugal-zage-si replied to the envoy: "Envoy, Sargon does not yield."After he has submitted,Sargon …… Lugal-zage-si ……. Sargon …… Lugal-zage-si ……. Why …… Sargon ……? |
© Copyright 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 The ETCSL project, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford |


text:
Rodeo Clown In Obama Mask Sparks Outrage, Apologies
"It was feeling like some kind of Klan rally."
That's the reaction of spectator Perry Beam to Saturday's appearance at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia, Mo., of a rodeo clown wearing a mask meant to look like President Obama and what happened during his performance.
Videos that Beam took show some of the scene and capture some of what the rodeo announcer and another clown were saying. The Kansas City Star has posted two of the clips on its YouTube channel.
In one, the announcer says, "Obama's gonna have to just stay there ... Obama watch out for those bulls." Another voice can then be heard saying "I know I'm a clown, he just run [sic] around acting like one [and] doesn't know he is one."
In the other clip, a clown can be heard saying, "We're gonna smoke Obama ... Obama they're coming for you this time. Don't you move, he's gonna getcha, getcha, getcha, getcha!"
According to a post Beam later wrote on Facebook, one of the clowns also "ran up and started bobbling the lips on the mask and the people went crazy." And he says that:
"The announcer wanted to know if anyone would like to see Obama run down by a bull. The crowd went wild. He asked it again and again, louder each time, whipping the audience into a lather."
Condemnations and apologies have followed.
The State Fair posted this message on its Facebook page:
"The performance by one of the rodeo clowns at Saturday's event was inappropriate and disrespectful, and does not reflect the opinions or standards of the Missouri State Fair. We strive to be a family friendly event and regret that Saturday's rodeo badly missed that mark."
Republican Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder was among the first state leaders to weigh in, writing on Twitter that "the @MoStateFair celebrates Missouri and our people. I condemn the actions disrespectful to POTUS the other night. We are better than this."
Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill issued a statement saying that the fair "is funded by taxpayer dollars, and is supposed to be a place where we can all bring out families and celebrate the state that we love."
Beam, the spectator, tells The Associated Press that the rodeo act "was cruel. It was disturbing. I'm still sick to my stomach over it ... I've never seen anything so blatantly racist in my life ... If an old country boy picks up on something like that, imagine what a person of color would think."
Correction Aug. 12, 2013
A previous version of this post incorrectly placed the Missouri State Fair in Kansas City instead of Sedalia, Mo.


text:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation's labor unions suffered sharp declines in membership last year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday, led by losses in the public sector as cash-strapped state and local governments laid off workers and — in some cases — limited collective bargaining rights.
The union membership rate fell from 11.8 percent to 11.3 percent of all workers, the lowest level since the 1930s.
Total membership fell by about 400,000 workers to 14.4 million. More than half the loss — about 234,000 — came from government workers including teachers, firefighters and public administrators.
The losses add another blow to a labor movement already stretched thin by fighting efforts in states like Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan to curb bargaining rights and weaken union clout.
But unions also saw losses in the private sector, even as the economy expanded modestly. That rate fell of membership fell from 6.9 percent to 6.6 percent, a troubling sign for the future of organized labor, as job growth has generally taken place at nonunion firms.
"To employers, it's going to look like the labor movement is ready for a knockout punch," said Gary Chaison, professor of industrial relations at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. "You can't be a movement and get smaller."
Unions have steadily lost members since their peak in the 1950s, when about one of every three workers was in a union. By 1983, roughly 20 percent of American workers were union members.
Losses in the public sector are hitting unions particularly hard since that has been one of the few areas where membership was growing over the past two decades. About 51 percent of union members work in government, where until recently, there had been little resistance to union organizing.
That began to change when Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed a law in 2011 eliminating most union rights for government workers. The state lost about 46,000 union members last year, mostly in the public sector.
Union officials blame losses on the lingering effects of the recession, as well as GOP governors and state lawmakers who have sought to weaken union rights.
"Our still-struggling economy, weak laws and political as well as ideological assaults have taken a toll on union membership, and in the process have also imperiled economic security and good, middle class jobs," said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.
In Indiana, where a new right-to-work law took effect last March, the state lost about 56,000 union members. The law prohibits unions from requiring workers to pay union fees, even if they benefit from a collective bargaining agreement. Michigan lawmakers approved a similar measure in December.
Another problem for unions is an aging membership that is not being replaced by younger members. By age, the union membership rate was highest among workers ages 55 to 64 (14.9 percent) and lowest among those ages 16 to 24 (4.2 percent).
In New York, the state with the highest union density, nearly one-quarter of the workforce belonged to a union. North Carolina had the lowest at 2.9 percent.
Among full-time wage and salary workers, union members in 2012 had median weekly earnings of $943, while those who were not union members earned $742.


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Michael Landsberry, the 45-year-old middle school math teacher and Afghan War veteran who was killed Monday trying to talk down a student shooter at a Nevada middle school, is being remembered as a hero.
Witnesses at Sparks Middle School in the city of Sparks, near Reno, described how Landsberry approached the armed 13-year-old boy and tried to get him to surrender a semi-automatic pistol he had used to shoot two fellow students. The boy then turned the weapon on Landsberry, fatally shooting him, before using the pistol to take his own life.
"In my estimation he is a hero," Reno Deputy Police Chief Tom Robinson said at a news conference Monday.
Washoe County School District Superintendent Pedro Martinez said: "We have a lot of heroes today, including our children ... and our fallen hero, an amazing teacher."
A Facebook page in honor of the fallen teacher "Rest Easy Mr. Landsberry" had more than 12,000 "likes." Other photos of Landsberry can be seen here.
"It's very unfortunate that [the life of] someone like that, who protected our country over there and came back alive ... had to be taken at his work, at a school," Sparks Mayor Geno Martini said, according to CNN.
Landsberry, a former U.S. Marine who later served in Afghanistan with the Nevada Air National Guard and held the rank of senior master sergeant, wrote on his classroom webpage: "One of my goals is to earn your respect while you earn mine. I believe that with mutual respect that the classroom environment will run smoothly."
Chanda Landsberry said her brother-in-law loved teaching.
"He loved his schoolkids. He loved the Guard," she said. "It defined him."
She said he leaves behind his wife, Sharon, and two stepdaughters.
Authorities tell ABCNews that one of the wounded boys had been through surgery and the second is said to be "doing well."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


text:
Mrs. Flake: "I stopped taking my epilepsy medication last week. It was causing all kinds of terrible side effects."
Dr. Grumpy: "But... You've taken ShakeAway for 5 years, and never had a problem with it before."
Mrs. Flake: "Well, I took my pills at bedtime one night, like I normally do. And the next morning I woke up with a fever and sore throat. I was achy all over, and my nose was stuffy. After 2 days of this I realized it was probably from ShakeAway, and stopped it. The next day I was feeling better, so it must have been the drug."
Dr. Grumpy: "Ma'am, it sounds like you just had a cold. That's all. The medicine had nothing to do with it. Let me give you a schedule to restart it."
Mrs. Flake: "That poison! I just told you, it made me sick! Don't you listen? I refuse to start it again."


text:
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Yes. These units have been designed in such a way that they work far more efficiently than their older counterparts ever could. This allows you to save hundreds of pounds per year in energy bills.
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If the last presidential debate was any indication, you'll be hearing a lot about China in tonight's third and final face-off between President Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
Last week's debate was ostensibly about domestic issues, but that didn't stop China from being mentioned numerous times. Tonight's debate, focused on foreign policy, is sure to see relations with Beijing get a lot of airplay.
In preparation for the event, here's a list of five things you should know about China, covering U.S. concerns over economic and strategic relations with the Asian superpower.
1. Should China be labeled a "currency manipulator"?
In last week's presidential debate, Romney made it clear that he would crack down on China, promising to label it a "currency manipulator" at the World Trade Organization on "Day 1" of his presidency. In the past, China has intervened in foreign-exchange markets to keep its currency low compared to the U.S. dollar. That makes U.S. imports more expensive and China's own exports to the U.S. cheaper, widening an already yawning trade gap with the United States.
Romney wants to keep China from manipulating its currency, allowing the value of the yuan to rise. But market forces related to the global recession have, for the most part, already accomplished that, says Eswar Prasad, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
"The circumstances have changed, but the political rhetoric in the U.S. has not caught up," he says.
China's interventions in the foreign-currency market circa 2005 were significant, but that has largely come to a halt. The yuan has appreciated steadily against the dollar in recent years.
"If you look at the past year, countries like Japan and Switzerland have been intervening much more heavily in foreign-exchange markets than China has," Prasad says. "So, calling China alone a currency manipulator at this stage is just not economically tenable."
Nicholas Lardy, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, agrees that "there was a very good case for the [U.S.] to take action against China five years ago, but not now."
Lardy credits pressure from the Bush administration that prompted China to de-peg its currency from the dollar in 2005 and to instead allow a "managed float."
Prasad says labeling China as a currency manipulator is "a nonstarter on economic grounds."
2. Are we narrowing the trade gap with China?
The short answer is no. As the global economy has slowed, China's surplus has fallen against many of its trading partners. But vis-a-vis the United States, it has continued to widen.
Last year, the U.S. imported $282 billion more in goods and services than it exported to China, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative.
The trade deficit with China has proved so stubborn for a couple of reasons, Lardy say.
The first is that the U.S., and the government in particular, is still spending more than it's saving. As the global economy has declined, U.S. consumers have continued to buy Chinese-made goods and the U.S. government has continued selling U.S. Treasury Securities to China to finance the deficit, Lardy says.
The second reason is about how the data is crunched, Lardy and Prasad agree. They note many of the electronic items imported from China are produced largely from parts made elsewhere in Asia but are counted as 100 percent Chinese exports.
"They get assembled in China, get a 'Made in China' label stuck to them and get shipped to the U.S.," Prasad says.
Prasad praises President Obama for taking trade disputes with China to the WTO. His latest victory, on Thursday, was over Chinese tariffs on U.S. steel exports.
3. What about those jobs being "shipped to China"?
When Obama said in the second presidential debate that "there are some jobs that are not going to come back" from China, he was right, says Prasad from Brookings.
Still, the draw of cheap manufacturing labor is so strong that China's relatively cheap labor isn't always cheap enough.
"China itself is already starting to lose some of those low-wage jobs to lower-wage competitors, such as Vietnam and Bangladesh," he says.
Obama has talked about eliminating tax incentives that encourage U.S. businesses to "ship jobs overseas," but Lardy of the Peterson Institute is skeptical: "I don't see a lot of taxes that specifically incentivize outsourcing, it's mostly about the cost of labor."
4. What challenge does China's strategic ambition pose for the U.S.?
Chris Johnson, head of the China Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says it's important to understand how Beijing views its role in the world.
"Quite clearly, its aim is to be the dominant power in the region," Johnson says. "But not necessarily a regional hegemon" — in other words, it is not necessarily trying to push the United States out of the region.
In short, he says, when other countries in the region make their calculations, Beijing "wants China's interests, and not those of the U.S., to be foremost in their thinking."
At the same time, he says, it's important not to overestimate China's ambitions. Unlike the U.S., he says, China has no desire to be the kind of global player that has an aircraft carrier in every ocean.
But Dean Cheng, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation's Asia Studies Center, says even though China's reach is limited, "those regional aspirations and assertive regional policies affect U.S. allies."
"Do I expect a Chinese carrier group to be operating off the coast of Long Beach anytime in the next three years? No," Cheng says. "They are not a threat to the continental United States, but we have an alliance relationship with Japan and the Philippines. When Tokyo and Manila get nervous, bad things start to happen."
5. Should we be worried about China's push to modernize and expand its military capabilities?
Some 30 years ago, China embarked on a major overhaul of the People's Liberation Army (which includes naval forces) with the intent of modernizing its equipment and capabilities.
When it launched the modernization effort, says Dennis Blasko, an Asia analyst with the China Security Affairs Group, it made sure not to repeat the mistakes made by the Soviet Union, which plowed enormous resources into its military even as the rest of the Russian economy was falling apart.
In China "military modernization is subordinate to, but coordinated with, national economic development," says Blasko, author of The Chinese Army Today: Tradition and Transformation for the 21st Century. "Nothing that they are going to do on the military side is going to undercut the greater goal of national economic development."
Sure, there's that new aircraft carrier, China's first. But carrier flight operations take years or decades to perfect and China has just begun. Meanwhile, its new stealth jets won't be fielded until at least 2018, Blasko says.
"Except for some missile capabilities, when you compare our two forces ... there is a huge technology gap between the two forces. Not only the equipment, but the personnel, the doctrine, the logistics to support that equipment," he says.
Even so, the new aircraft carrier could look pretty intimidating to China's neighbors in Asia, even if there aren't any aircraft on the deck, says Johnson of CSIS.
"There's a tremendous demonstration effect that comes into play if they can get this thing seaworthy and float it down around some of these trouble spots," Johnson says. "That still poses a challenge to the U.S."
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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President Obama on Friday signed into law an agriculture spending bill that will spread benefits to farmers in every region of the country, while trimming the food stamp program that inspired a two-year battle over the legislation.
As he penned his name on the five year measure at Michigan State University, Obama said the wide-ranging bill "multitasks" by helping boost jobs, innovation, research and conservation. "It's like a Swiss Army knife," he joked.
But not everyone is happy with the legislation and Obama acknowledged its passage was "a very challenging piece of business."
The bill expands federal crop insurance and ends direct government payments that go to farmers whether they produce anything or not. But the bulk of its nearly $100 billion per year cost is for the food stamp program that aids 1 in 7 Americans.
The bill finally passed with support from Democratic and Republican lawmakers from farming states, but the bipartisan spirit didn't extend to the signing ceremony where Obama was flanked by farm equipment, hay bales and Democratic lawmakers. White House press secretary Jay Carney said several Republicans were invited, but all declined to attend.
Conservatives remain unhappy with the bill and its generous new subsidies for interests ranging from Southern peanut growers and Midwest corn farmers to the Northeast maple syrup industry.
They also wanted much larger cuts to food stamps than the $800 million Congress finally approved in a compromise. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters he did not expect the cut of about 1 percent of the food stamp budget to have a significant impact on recipients.
Obama promised in his State of the Union address last week to make 2014 a year of action, using his presidential powers in addition to pushing a Congress that usually is reluctant to go along with his ideas. In that spirit, he's coupling the signing of the farm bill with a new administration initiative called "Made in Rural America" to connect rural businesses with federal resources that can help sell their products and services abroad.
Obama's trip was a reward for Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., who as chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee helped broker the hard-fought farm bill compromise after years of setbacks. Michigan State, a leading agricultural research school, is Stabenow's alma mater.
Obama also squeezed into his three-hour visit to Michigan a lunch with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. Duggan took office last month as the city is going through the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.


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A new documentary explores the life and death of Ruben Salazar. He was a journalist. He's considered one of the founders of the modern Chicano movement and by many a martyr. He was killed in 1970 while covering an anti-war demonstration in East Los Angeles. He was shot with a tear gas canister. His death added to the urgency for Mexican-American civil rights in Southern California.
A documentary on his life airs tonight on PBS and Karen Grigsby Bates of NPR's Code Switch Team has more.
KAREN GRIGSBY BATES, BYLINE: Filmmaker Phillip Rodriguez says it's ironic that, after his death, Ruben Salazar's face became the icon on posters at Chicano rights demonstrations, because he was a not a protestor, but an establishment kind of guy.
PHILLIP RODRIQUEZ: He was a silent generation man, a kind of Mexican-American Don Draper.
BATES: Salazar was an Army veteran, a married man, a father and a homeowner who eyed the early Chicano movement with skepticism. But, says filmmaker Rodriguez, he made a very handy martyr for movement leaders.
RODRIQUEZ: They didn't have anyone else visible and that actually died for the cause. And so, he was a convenient figure to appropriate.
BATES: The film traces Salazar's life and career. When he was an infant, his parents migrated from Ciudad Juarez to El Paso with sharply different goals: His fair-skinned mother identified with white America and wanted young Ruben to do the same. His browner father hoped he would remember his Mexican roots. After his Army service, Salazar worked as a reporter in various Texas and California cities, before moving to Los Angeles to work for the Los Angeles Times.
On camera, his former editor, Bob Thomas, told Rodriguez Salazar resisted one particular beat.
BOB THOMAS: He did not want to be confined to Mexican affairs and he fought for that. And I thought he was probably right to do that.
BATES: He got his wish and became a busy general assignment reporter. Salazar kept a rigid division between his professional and private lives. He married an Anglo woman, raised children without reference to their Mexican roots, and lived in an all-white enclave in Orange County. But after working outside the country, first in Vietnam, then as the Times' Mexico City bureau chief, Salazar's view of his country - and of Mexican Americans' efforts to become part of the white mainstream - began to change.
An actor in the film reads from Salazar's journals.
BOB NAVARRO: Ruben changed. He felt something deep inside. Something woke him up.
BATES: Friend and colleague Bob Navarro says the mainstream was no longer so attractive to Salazar. He became the first Chicano journalist from an important paper to cover East Los Angeles, a Mexican-American part of town long ignored by the powers that be. His observations on social inequality became more political, says filmmaker Phillip Rodriguez, and people at the Times noticed.
RODRIQUEZ: I think, for many of his colleagues, there was this shock. Someone was reported to have said: What happened to good old Rube.
BATES: Good old Rube wasn't so interested in mainstream acceptance anymore. He resigned from his prestigious Times reporting job to become news director at KMEX, a Spanish-language station in its infancy. He contributed a regular, pointed column to the Times, often focusing on L.A.'s Latino community. He died while covering an anti-war protest, the largest Chicano demonstration L.A. had ever had, on August 29th, 1970 - and became an immediate legend.
The Sheriff's refusal to release coroner's records only fueled speculation that Salazar had been assassinated.
Filmmaker Phillip Rodriguez.
RODRIQUEZ: Speculation over time became tales and tales became myth. And the myth became kind of the cornerstone of Chicano identity.
BATES: The finally-unsealed records showed a more prosaic reality: Ruben Salazar died because of a deputy sheriff's incompetence. But tonight's film shows how in death, Salazar pushed Chicano rights to the national forefront more effectively than he could in life.
Karen Grigsby Bates, NPR News.
INSKEEP: You're listening to MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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Apr 07, 2015 | Carpet One Floor & Home
It's time for our seventh featured designer in our Designer Inspired Series of pink ribbon welcome mats exclusive to Carpet One Floor & Home. The beautiful, inspired designs just keep coming. Remember, there are 12 designs so we'll be featuring one designer and their inspiration each month. This month we're taking a closer look at the welcome mat design from April Force Pardoe of AFP Interiors.
April's design is inspired by her love for typography. The navy/teal color combo speaks to this year's color trends.
"The teal shapes are made out of the lowercase letter "k" turned and cut apart," says April. "Bold, geographic prints were my inspiration and I love typography, hence the design from a letter. Navy blue is a favorite color of mine - it's classic and timeless which is the look I was going for here."
April Force Pardoe is interior designer and owner of AFP Interiors.
"What excites me about my work as an interior designer is the look of absolute delight that shows up on my clients' faces when they see their finished rooms. Their 'wow' reaction lets me know that my listening skills and ability to envision what they could not see, has made a profound and happy impact that will last for years."
Find out more about AFP Interiors.


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RVCA works with many volunteers throughout the year to help restore and enhance our watershed. We offer a range of volunteer opportunities that require varying experience levels and time commitments. There may be an interesting and rewarding volunteer opportunity at RVCA that's right for you!
Check our Events Calendar (below) to see special, upcoming events for volunteers/participants or learn more about specific volunteer opportunities listed in the Get Involved! Volunteer menu (on right).


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Mercifully, there are only 18 games left for the Dodgers in this 2010 season. And looking at the remaining schedule of games, all of which are against NL West teams--there are only two remaining series with post-season stakes: Sept 14-16 @ the Giants, and Sept 21-13 vs. the Padres.
Both the Giants and Padres are tied atop the NL West and 1.5 games behind Atlanta for the NL Wild Card. The Giants have 18 games left, mostly against cushy teams like the Brewers, Cubs and Diamondbacks, with two extra rest days built in. The Padres have 20 games left, including a ten-game road trip that starts today in Colorado, then host NL Central-leading Cincinnati as part of seven games at home, before ending with three games in SF.
And though the schedule is stacked against them and they're fading down the stretch, the Padres should be the team Dodger fans support.
Here are five reasons which come to top-of-mind as I sit on a Sunday night with a beer and a laptop:
1. The Padres are one of the two pleasant surprises in the NL this year. No one expected the Reds or Padres to last into the late season, and despite an early September swoon, here's San Diego, a team most people picked fourth or fifth in the NL West before the season began. They're doing it with stepped-up performances from unexpected sources like Chris Denorfria, Ryan Ludwick and Yorvit Torrealba, as well as mid-season pickup Miguel Tejada; and their pitching, led by rookie Mat Latos, washed-up Giant Kevin Correia, washed-up Dodger Jon Garland, and youngster Clayton Richard, and of course the league-leading bullpen nicknamed the "Pen-itentiary". If there's a nice underdog story, it's them.
2. The Padres are Star Wars fans, according to ESPN the Magazine--stimulated by an unlikely source:
"And inspired by shorrtstop David Eckstein's wife, Ashley, who voices one of the characters in Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series, the bullpen has adopted a Star Wars motif. The younger guys, most often Ryan Webb, carry a Yoda backpack filled with snacks out to the pen before every game.
MSB's wife? Holy Ashoka Tano! This news, which I read in the Sept 20 2010 issue ("The List Issue" cover story), is causing me to re-think everything about MSB. Okay, maybe not everything.
3. The Padres may trot out those embarrassing camouflage uniforms at a rate more often than fashion police would recommend, true. But at least they don't inflict snuggie-wannabes on their fans for stadium giveaways. That shit ain't right.
4. Should the Padres make the postseason, it will be a lot easier for Dodger fans to both acquire playoff tickets (the Padres have the majors' 19th-best attendance and the 18th-best capacity % level), as well as travel to the stadium for a game (you can't get more convenient or economical than taking the Surfrider train from Union Station).
5. The Padres aren't the Giants.


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National media are catching up on a harrowing story from Utah, where police say a woman who had been kidnapped, raped and beaten for days was able to post a Christmas Eve message for help on Facebook that led to the rescue of her and her 17-month-old son, and the arrest of a man now being held on $1 million bail.
Monday's Deseret News has one of the more complete accounts of what happened. The story begins with this:
"SANDY — The Christmas Eve message on Facebook was startling.
" 'Hello,' it said. 'Is anyone out there? I am having a serious problem and me and (my son) will be dead by morning.'
"That message, like a flare sent up by someone in trouble, brought a group of Facebook 'friends' together in a frantic effort to save a life."
The note was seen by Erica Carver of South Salt Lake, who doesn't know the alleged victim (whose name has not been released) but had "friended" her because the woman works with Carver's husband.
Carver and other of the woman's Facebook friends started posting messages looking for any information about where she might be. "Eventually," according to the Deseret News, "a Facebook friend in South Carolina offered up the victim's address. A Utah firefighter on vacation in Denver called Sandy police and gave them the crucial information."
When the police arrived, the woman's live-in boyfriend tried to tell them everything was OK. She told officers a much different story, of being struck and sexually assaulted for days and of her son allegedly being thrown. Troy Reed Critchfield, 33, was arrested.
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, police say "Critchfield had taken the woman's cellphone, but about 4:30 p.m. Saturday she was able to sneak into a closet and post [the] request for help on Facebook."
Salt Lake City's KSL-TV adds that:
"A year ago, Critchfield was arrested by a Salt Lake City SWAT team in a similar kidnapping incident involving the same victim. He pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and obstruction of justice charges. A judge sentenced Critchfield to a prison term of five years but suspended the punishment for a 120-day jail term and three years of probation."
The station has a video report here.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.