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Chris Capuano (2-4, 4.09) vs. John Lannan (0-2, 5.84).
Imagine we'd win seven
It's easy if you try
Full week with no losses
Largely due to this guy
Imagine ending this month...sitting in fourth place!
Imagine beating the Phillies
(which has been hard to do)
No Halladay to start games
We might even steal a few
Imagine all the Dodgers...finally scoring some runs
You may say I'm a dreamer
Or an optimistic Son
On this GT, please join us
And we'll watch Capuano win one


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Staring at a chance to earn their first victory of the season, the St. Stephen's and St. Agnes Saints came up short against St. James December 17.
The rival squad led from the beginning, putting up 21 points to the Saints' 11 in the first quarter. Heading into the locker room at the half, St. Stephen's was looking at a 15-point deficit.
Though the 0-3 Saints fought back in the second half, scoring 35 points, it wasn't enough to overcome St. James' offensive prowess. They left the court with the final score 79-59 in St. James' favor.
The Saints head to the Wakefield Tournament December 27 before taking a few days off to prepare for their January 6 matchup with local powerhouse Episcopal.

subset: commoncrawl


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I was a tad emotional this weekend. I cried when I heard that Paul Newman had passed away, then I cried again watching "Juno". I did laugh out loud in some parts, too, that's true. Isn't Michael Cera just the most adorable thing ever?
Cooking and baking made me feel so much better. And so did this semifreddo. Especially because I kept thinking of Joao mimicking Bill while we were watching his show the other day. :)
Orange blossom water semifreddo with almonds, honey and strawberries
adapted from here
6 egg yolks
3 tablespoons honey
250ml cream, whipped
2 teaspoons orange blossom water
about 150g strawberries, hulled and cut in half
extra honey, to serve
flaked almonds, to serve (to taste) – you might want to toast them before using
Beat the egg yolks and 3 tablespoons honey together with electric beaters for 10 minutes, or until thick, pale, creamy and doubled in volume. Fold in the whipped cream and orange blossom water until just combined.
Line the base and the sides of a 1 liter (35 fl oz/4 cup) loaf pan with a piece of plastic wrap, leaving the wrap hanging over the sides of the pan. Spoon the mixture into the pan, fold the plastic over the top to cover the semifreddo and freeze for 3-4 hours, or until completely frozen.
Before serving, leave to soften in the fridge for 20 minutes – I did not have any trouble slicing my semifreddo right out of the freezer.
Turn out of the pan, remove the plastic wrap, cut into slices and place onto serving plates. Place the strawberries on the side, sprinkle wit the almonds and drizzle with the extra honey. Serve immediately.
Serves 6-8


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The Lego Movie opened last night in theaters across the country. It's latest example of the magic of animation, filmmakers who bring plastic to life, make animals talk and send toys singing and dancing across a big screen. But animators also love to hurl our most beloved characters over cliffs. They blow them up with dynamite, flatten them with speeding trains. Seconds later, they pop back up and dust themselves off.
In this encore broadcast, NPR's Elizabeth Blair reports that even though character and story are very important, some of the magic in animation comes across from the gags.
ELIZABETH BLAIR, BYLINE: Let's face it. Watching any living creature slip, stumble, get squashed, or just thwack its enemy is a blast. In the end, said Charlie Chaplin, everything is a gag, and in animation, sky's the limit. Laws of gravity need not apply. In "Finding Nemo," a big pelican swoops through a window into a dentist's office, flaps all over the place, knocks over the instrument table.
In "Toy Story," the almighty claw in the vending machine descends on the hopeful squeaky toys.
UNIDENTIFIED CAST: (as characters) The claw. The claw's our master. The claw chooses who will go and who will stay.
TOM HANKS: (as Woody) This is ludicrous.
BLAIR: From "Despicable Me" one minion ping-pongs another minion who's hooked to the end of a fishing line. In the big studio features, there are hundreds of people who spend their days figuring out how to manufacture this silliness from the ground up. So where do they go for inspiration? Chris Buck, co-director of "Frozen" used to teach animation at Cal Arts.
He says he would tell his students go out into the world and observe.
CHRIS BUCK: Just become a fantastic observer of people, animals, everything.
BLAIR: How they're built, how they bend, how their bodies move when they trip, and above all, how they feel. Dean DeBlois, who co-directed "How to Train Your Dragon," says sometimes it takes a team of animators coming together for a gag session.
DEAN DEBLOIS: Where we come up with like here's the movie, it's working really well. Are there 10 percent more laughs we could get just by, you know, putting a bunch of smart people together and saying what if you did this?
BLAIR: Jimmy Hayward, who recently directed "Free Birds," learned a valuable lesson when he was just getting started as an animator. One of his first jogs was on "Toy Story."
JIMMY HAYWARD: These toys are trying to actually kill each other. They're like throwing each other out of windows and off moving trucks, into the jaws of dogs. I remember thinking, like, wow. Where there's great conflict and great peril, there's room for comedy.
BLAIR: There is great peril in "Frozen." Co-director, Jennifer Lee, says for a teaser, they wanted to find a clever way to introduce the oddly adorable snowman, Olaf, to the goofy looking reindeer, Sven. So they had a gag session.
JENNIFER LEE: We were having these big philosophical conversations about what do a reindeer and a snowman have in common. And the thing we just got to is well they both like carrots.
BLAIR: So think about it. Some of the most respected minds in animation figured out not only that they both like carrots, but that just one carrot between them would cause great dramatic tension. When Olaf the snowman sneezes his carrot nose flies off and lands in the middle of an ice pond.
The reindeer thinks snack, and the scramble for the carrot is on.
BLAIR: The animators had a field day with Olaf. The snowman uses one of his twig arms to catapult himself across the ice. When he falls of a cliff, the snowballs that are his body rearrange in midair.
BLAIR: Olaf is voiced by Josh Gad. He says he was in awe of how the animators took full advantage of the fact that Olaf is made of snow.
JOSH GAD: What does snow do? It builds on itself, it can melt. There's so many opportunities for this character to add or subtract mass. And I think that that became such a unique part of the comedy in the film.
BLAIR: And this snowman also dreams of experiencing another season.
GAD: (as Olaf) Oh, I don't know why but I've always loved the idea of summer and sun and all things hot.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (as character) Really? I'm guessing you don't have much experience with heat.
GAD: (as Olaf) Nope.
BLAIR: Josh Gad has done theater, sitcoms, feature films. Voicing gags, he says, is a unique process.
GAD: There's a page of different sounds that the human body shouldn't make that they wanted me to do over and over again. And so the animators just kind of sit there and, as you're alone in a booth going ooh, ah, ehh, hewh. Ha.
BLAIR: Animators say the best gags are character driven because what makes them funny is not just the action but the reaction. In "Frozen," the sweet Olaf always looks on the bright side even when he starts to melt. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News.
SIMON: This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. BJ Leiderman wrote our theme. Uhh. I'm Scott Simon.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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An Albanian man who more than a decade ago agreed to help the U.S. Justice build a case against a mobster accused of human smuggling has finally won his long-sought quest for asylum in the U.S.
Edmond Demiraj, his wife and adult son have been granted full asylum, NPR's Carrie Johnson reports.
"The story begins shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, in Texas, where Demiraj heard his boss, Bill Bedini, had been arrested on human-smuggling charges.
"Demiraj, who wasn't in the U.S. legally, says he turned himself in and told a federal prosecutor in Texas that he wanted to help. But he had an important question once the talks got under way.
" 'And I ask her, what protection can you give to my family, I do have a family, those people are very [dangerous], very, and she said, we know that,' Demiraj says.
"Demiraj says the prosecutor agreed to give him a green card and provide security for his wife and children. But nothing was in writing with the Justice Department. Then Bedini, the alleged mobster, left the country after getting released on bail. And any deal that Demiraj may have had was off."
Deported to Albania soon after, Demiraj was shot and left for dead by the mobster. He recovered, eventually made his way back to Texas, and began years of legal efforts to get asylum for himself and his family. A federal appeals court turned him down. Demiraj was looking to take the case to the Supreme Court. But today, his attorney announced, the government agreed to his asylum requests.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Rheostats have nothing on candles. Dimming the lights boosts the ambience when you're trying to dial down a bright interior at night. But candlelight interjects another dimension.
It's romantic. Dramatic. Even magical. It lends a familiar, old-fashioned comfort to a space. Candles evoke moods from spiritual to sensual.
The glow of candlelight adds warmth — most welcome during the holiday season, along with the scent of pumpkin pie or pine. Candles are integral to many Thanksgiving, Hanukkah or Christmas tabletops.
In recent years, there's been a proliferation of candles — tapers, pillars, votives and sculpted wax, including pumpkins, snowmen, angels, Santas and nutcrackers. They come au naturel or colored, striped, polka-dotted, sculpted or even embellished with everything from painted autumn leaves to glitter to actual crystals. Appropriately, the selection of candleholders has expanded to reflect most every design style, from ubersleek to over-the-top baroque.
Over time, candleholders have been crafted from metal, glass or crystal, porcelain, ceramic, resin and wood, as well as mixed media. From holders to accommodate short votives to tall tapers — some extend up to nearly four feet — to candelabra whose multiple "arms" housing lights can be significantly wide. Price tags range from under $1 to nearly $9,000 for a Baccarat crystal candelabrum.
Shape is pushing the design envelope. Three-dimensional and figural pieces, such as regally robed angels holding candles, are popular at this time of year, but among the newest designs are engaging sculptural looks that celebrate form. A dragon shape interpreted in richly detailed nickel-coated brass was designed by Josie Natori, and is available at Neiman Marcus.
An organic interpretation of the traditional menorah is handsomely hand carved out of a single piece of mango wood. The piece from Pottery Barn commands attention with its sculptural leaves and blooms, and its graduating candles rising and falling from 10 1/2 inches at center.
An almost cup-shaped iron tree that stands 31 inches tall is a dramatic centerpiece or anchor for a sidebar. Votive candles nestle in its black iron branches, which maintain a visual lightness because you can see into the "nest."
There are plenty of unexpected shapes, even on a smaller scale. At CB2, for example, some low-slung contemporary candleholders are chunky and faceted, with surprising dimension. The squatty 5 1/4-inch-tall iron pieces, available in white or chartreuse powdercoat, are called Pivot because of the sharp turned angles of their sides.
Cues from fashion are being expressed in novel ways. The so-trendy animal patterns that have been cropping up on everything from sweaters and shoes to fabrics and area rugs have a spot-on interpretation in gold-painted metal at Neiman Marcus. Simple rectangular lanterns are decorated with cutout patterns suggesting the coats of Serengeti animals, allowing light to dance through.
A similar effect is achieved with piercing, like that of traditional tinwork. One particularly fetching design at Crate and Barrel features a leaf pattern. Hundreds of pinholes create the design, which looks beaded as it stands out on the face of a black iron hurricane, which is gold plated inside, glowing when the candle is lit.
Light play also is affected by media such as glass, and especially enhanced when the glass is colored, frosted, crackled or silvered. The antique silvery finish of mercury glass is a popular fashion look today. Replicated in hurricanes or shapely candleholders and available from retailers such as Pottery Barn and Ballard Designs, the low-luster pieces shimmer in candlelight.
The scale of some candleholders has been beefed up in recent years. Hurricane lamps, for example, can be quite substantial in height and diameter to lend impressive visual weight. Simple glass cylinders or traditional hourglass shapes have evolved to glass that's thicker, sometimes rustically mottled and/or banded in metal. There may be decorative grillwork outside or inside, part of what cradles the candle. Some hurricanes are architectural in stature, such as a 30 1/2-inch tall, 15 1/2-inch wide metal bamboo model that resembles a pagoda.
A handsome design from Ralph Lauren Home, the almost 9-inch wide Nelson hurricane is wrapped in narrow leather thongs, set in neat yet irregular horizontal rows to complement brass rims. The larger version, at 17 3/4 inches tall, sells for $995 at Neiman Marcus.
Lantern-style candleholders, so popular for outdoors, now are finding their way onto indoor tabletops. On the Wisteria website, one metal tabletop coach lantern sits on a fancy scrolled base. Non-footed styles are both casual and more formal, depending on shapes and materials.
Candlesticks have fattened up and slimmed down, offering a wide variety for those seeking this traditional format. Column-like, turned, spindled, fluted and stacked elements are among the features that take on very different looks in glass or wood.
A "style your own" option offers even more flexibility. A very modern collection of five skinny holders of different heights, lined up side by side, turns out to be mounted on a base. The Ibis candleholder from Crate and Barrel actually has movable parts; you can switch up the order of the sticks, varying the heights at your whim.
Customizable, transformable design is the premise of the website Module-R. Embracing a kind of Lego approach, the idea is to make the pieces your own. A stacked crystal candleholder, for example, is composed of multiple parts and shapes — with color options in red, green, black, orange and blue — which you can rearrange to your heart's content. Another candelabrum-style piece folds in different configurations.
Holders for pillar candles also have evolved into broader cylinders and hybrids that seem to be an extension of candelabra, such as a heavily scrolled black iron piece inspired by Moroccan gateware and available from Pottery Barn.
Finally, votives and even the smaller tea lights, which often are combined in multiples with other candleholders ranging in scale, are sporting more decorative housings. Fancy filigree-like wires, sometimes studded with jewels, create a strong dynamic. An intriguing horizontal arrangement is a glass log-shaped piece crafted from beaker glass. Available at Crate and Barrel, it holds five votives.
Although candleholders are considered decorative accessories, they can make quite an impact on decor.
More often, candlesticks are used symmetrically in pairs, especially on the table or on a fireplace mantel. Votives are effective in odd numbers, multiples of three, five or seven. Candleholders for tapers are smashing, ganged together, especially engaging in the same medium — all glass or metal in varying shapes and styles.
Classic designs, of course, are versatile. So candleholders need not be static. Those that grace the table for the holidays can move to a sideboard, mantel or cocktail table throughout the year.
With so many choices, you are bound to find candleholders to suit your taste and budget. One thing about candlelight — it never will go out of style.


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Kim Kardashian has a due date for her baby and now a trial date for her divorce from NBA player Kris Humphries. A judge on Friday set a May 6 trial for the reality TV star who wants to end her marriage before July, when her child with Kanye West is due. Kardashian filed for divorce on Oct. 31, 2011, after she and Humphries had been married just 72 days.
Their lavish, star-studded nuptials were recorded and broadcast by E! Entertainment Television. The trial is expected to last three to five days and could reveal details about Kardashian's reality show empire, which includes "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" and several spinoffs. Two judges determined Friday that Humphries' lawyers had adequate time to prepare for the trial. Humphries wants the marriage annulled based on his claim that Kardashian only married him for the sake of her show.
She denies that allegation and says the case should be resolved through what would be her second divorce. Humphries' attorney Marshall Waller asked for a delay until basketball season is over. But Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon refused, saying firefighters, police officers, truck drivers and others have to miss work for trials, and Humphries must do the same if necessary. Waller filed paperwork Thursday to withdraw from the case but didn't mention that development in court and refused to answer any questions about the document on Friday.
Waller said he was still hoping to obtain and review 13,000 hours of footage from Kardashian's reality shows to try to prove the fraud claim but noted he does not yet have an agreement to receive the footage. Kardashian's lawyer said her client was ready for trial. "Let's get this case dispensed with," attorney Laura Wasser said. Humphries has provided a deposition in the case, as have West and Kardashian family matriarch Kris Jenner.
Huffington Post


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Executive Summary
Cohabitation is an increasingly prevalent lifestyle in the United States. The share of 30- to 44-year-olds living as unmarried couples has more than doubled since the mid-1990s. Adults with lower levels of education—without college degrees—are twice as likely to cohabit as those with college degrees.
[embeded: src="https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/06/ST_Cohabitation_06.27.11-600.swf" width="600″ height="385″]
A new Pew Research Center analysis of census data suggests that less-educated adults are less likely to realize the economic benefits associated with cohabitation. The typical college-educated cohabiter is at least as well off as a comparably educated married adult and better off than an adult without an opposite-sex partner. By contrast, a cohabiter without a college degree typically is worse off than a comparably educated married adult and no better off economically than an adult without an opposite-sex partner. (Most adults without opposite-sex partners live with other adults or children.)
Among the 30- to 44-year-old U.S. adults who are the focus of this report, 7% lived with an opposite-sex partner in 2009, according to census data. The share is higher among adults without a college education (8%) than among those with college degrees (4%).
The proportion of adults who ever have cohabited is much larger than the share currently cohabiting, and it has grown to become a majority in recent decades, according to data from the National Survey of Family Growth. Among women ages 19-44, for example, 58% had ever lived with an opposite-sex unmarried partner in 2006-2008, up from 33% among a comparable group in 1987 (National Center for Marriage and Family Research, 2010).
This report finds that greater economic well-being is associated with cohabitation for adults with college degrees, but not for those without college degrees. The measurement used for economic well-being is median household income, which in this analysis has been adjusted for the size of the household and standardized to a household size of three.
Among college-educated adults, the median adjusted household income of cohabiters ($106,400 in 2009) slightly exceeded that of married adults ($101,160) and was significantly higher than that of adults without opposite-sex partners ($90,067). However, among adults without college degrees, the median adjusted household income of cohabiters ($46,540) was well below that of married couples ($56,800) and was barely higher than that of adults without opposite-sex partners ($45,033).
The Pew Research analysis finds that differences in employment rates and household living arrangements of cohabiters with and without college degrees help explain gaps in their comparative economic well-being. These differences include:
- Among the college-educated, two-earner couples were more prevalent among cohabiters (78%) than married adults (67%) in 2009. By working more, cohabiters offset married adults' higher median earnings.
- Among those without college degrees, two-earner couples were slightly less prevalent among cohabiters (55%) than married adults (59%) in 2009. In addition to being more likely to work, these married adults have the advantage of higher median earnings.
- Among the college-educated, a much higher share of married adults (81%) than cohabiters (33%) lived in a household with children in 2009. In addition, among those with children in the household, married adults tend to have more children. The greater presence of children in married-couple households may help explain the lower share of two-earner couples among married adults.
- Among adults without college degrees, the majority of both married adults (85%) and cohabiters (67%) have children in the household. The relatively large presence and number of children in the households of cohabiters without college degrees may reduce the extent to which both partners in such relationships can earn income.
- Whatever their partnership status, adults in households with children have significantly lower median household incomes than comparably educated adults in households without children. Cohabiting adults without college degrees are much more likely to be in a household with children than are college-educated cohabiters, diminishing their potential economic gains from cohabitation.
- The earnings of college-educated adults who live without opposite-sex partners constitute the bulk of their household income (88%). A college-educated cohabiter's earnings typically make up 50% of the household income, suggesting that those who move in with a partner obtain a net boost to their household incomes.
- Among adults without college degrees, earnings of those who live without opposite-sex partners constitute 43% of their household income. Earnings of cohabiters make up 42% of household income, suggesting that those who move in with a partner do not obtain a net boost to their household incomes.
- Among adults who live without opposite-sex partners, differing household composition helps to explain why those with college degrees typically gain an economic boost from cohabitation but those without college degrees do not. Most of these adults live with others, such as their own parents, their children or roommates. The college-educated without opposite-sex partners are more likely to live alone (44% to 20%). They are less likely to live with other family members who may supply some of the household income—income that may be lost in a transition to cohabitation.
A voluminous body of social science research shows that marriage is associated with a variety of benefits for adults. In the words of one researcher: "For well over a century, researchers have known that married people are generally better off than their unmarried counterparts" (Nock, 2005). Yet in recent decades marriage rates have declined—particularly among less educated adults—as cohabitation rates have increased.
It also would seem that cohabitation would be associated with greater economic well-being than living without a partner because of the economies of scale achieved by combining two households. Yet adults without college degrees who cohabit are no better off than those who live without opposite-sex partners.
The findings in this report suggest that cohabitation plays a different role in the lives of adults with and without college degrees. For the most educated, living as an unmarried couple typically is an economically productive way to combine two incomes and is a step toward marriage and childbearing. For adults without college degrees, cohabitation is more likely to be a parallel household arrangement to marriage—complete with children—but at a lower economic level than married adults enjoy.
This report uses U.S. Census Bureau data to analyze the economic and household circumstances of opposite-sex cohabiters ages 30-44 as well as those of comparably educated married adults and adults without opposite-sex partners. The age range was chosen because it is a time of life when most adults have completed their education, gone to work and established their own households.
About 400,000 adults ages 30-44 are partners in same-sex unmarried couples, according to the 2009 American Community Survey, compared with 4.2 million who live with a partner of the opposite sex. Same-sex couples have distinctive patterns of income, education and household composition. They have higher median adjusted incomes ($99,204) than opposite-sex cohabiters ($54,179), married couples ($70,711) or adults without partners ($53,399). About half (48%) are college graduates, a notably higher share than for other adults. Less than a third (31%) live with children, a lower share than opposite-sex cohabiters.
The analysis of cohabiting couples in this report is restricted to opposite-sex unmarried partners. The analysis makes the assumption that these couples have the choice to marry or cohabit, which is not the case for most same-sex couples. There also is a dearth of data on marriage trends among same-sex couples, for whom the option to marry only recently became available in a limited number of venues.
In this report, same-sex unmarried partners are included in the category of adults with no partner. Although same-sex couples and adults with no partner differ in income, education and household composition, combining them in the same category does not change the findings about the relative economic conditions for adults in the three partnership status groups.
The first section examines the prevalence and growth of cohabitation, compared with marriage or living without a partner, by educational attainment. The second section analyzes the economic outcomes of adults by partnership status and educational attainment. The third section examines adults' labor market characteristics to understand the comparative patterns of economic well-being. The fourth section looks at some differences in the types of households in which these adults live—again, by partnership status and educational attainment.
This report was researched and written by Richard Fry and D'Vera Cohn, senior economist and senior writer, respectively, of the Social & Demographic Trends project of the Pew Research Center. The report was edited by Paul Taylor, executive vice president of the Pew Research Center and director of the Social & Demographic Trends project. Research associate Wendy Wang assisted with charts and editing. Research analyst Gabriel Velasco helped with the preparation of charts. The report was number-checked by Daniel Dockterman, Pew Research Center research assistant. The report was copy-edited by Marcia Kramer. The Center appreciates the comments of outside reviewers Wendy Manning of Bowling Green State University and Adam Thomas of the Brookings Institution on an earlier draft.
The main data source for this report is the Census Bureau's 2009 American Community Survey, which supplied data about partnership status and other individual and household characteristics for adults ages 30-44. The Census Bureau's Current Population Survey is the source of data about long-term trends in the prevalence of cohabitation. For more detail, see the Appendix.
"College-educated" refers to persons who report that their highest education is at least a bachelor's degree. Persons whose highest education is an associate's degree or "some college but no degree" are included with not college-educated adults in this report.
A "two-earner" or "dual-earner" couple refers to a relationship in which both partners were employed at the time of interview.
"Living with children" refers to living with one or more own children (of any age or marital status), that is, living with step-children and adopted children as well as biological children, as well as living with any own children of their partner. Most are under 18.
The category of adults not living with a partner includes same-sex couples. Cohabiting couples consist only of opposite-sex couples.


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US Air, AMR near $11 billion merger, deal seen within week : sources
US Airways Group Inc and AMR Corp are nearing an $11 billion merger that would create the world's largest airline and could announce a deal within a week, after resolving key differences on valuation and management structure, people familiar with the matter said.
Under terms of a deal that are still being finalized, US Airways Chief Executive Doug Parker would become CEO, while AMR's Tom Horton would serve as non-executive chairman of the board until spring of 2014, when the combined company holds its first annual meeting, the sources said.
The deal would come more than 14 months after the parent of American Airlines filed for bankruptcy in November 2011, and would mark the last combination of legacy U.S. carriers, following the Delta-Northwest and United-Continental mergers.
The all-stock merger is expected to value the combined carrier at between $10.5 billion and $11 billion, and would give AMR creditors 72 percent of the ownership in the new company and US Airways shareholders the rest, they said.
The board of each airline is expected to meet in the middle of the coming week to vote on the proposed deal, and an announcement would likely come in the latter part of the week, the sources said, asking not to be named because the matter is not public.
Negotiations are continuing and could still be delayed or fall apart, they cautioned.
The companies had initially tried to schedule board meetings for Monday, the day that AMR's creditors committee planned to convene, and had aimed to announce a deal as soon as Tuesday, sources told Reuters previously.
But AMR needed more time to finalize details and the boards of the two airlines are now not expected to gather until around Wednesday, the sources said.
The AMR creditors committee is still meeting on Monday in New York, as initially scheduled, and will continue discussions as the airlines finalize negotiations, they added.
A lawyer for the creditors committee declined to comment. Representatives for AMR and US Airways declined to comment.
A combination with US Airways would create the world's top airline by passenger traffic and help the two carriers better compete with rivals United Continental Holdings and Delta Air Lines Inc.
A near-$11 billion valuation of the combined American-US Airways compares to some $12.4 billion market capitalization for Delta, and $8.7 billion for United Continental.
The currently planned equity split ratio between AMR creditors and US Airways shareholders implies a roughly $3 billion valuation for US Airways and some $7.5 billion to $8 billion valuation for AMR.
US Airways will follow through on its agreement with AMR labor unions last year that the combined carrier would be branded American Airlines and be based in Fort Worth, Texas, where AMR is currently based, sources said. US Airways has its headquarters in Tempe, Arizona.
As part of the merger, US Airways will also leave the Star Alliance to join the oneworld global airline alliance, of which American Airlines is an anchor member along with British Airways, the people familiar with the matter said.
The airlines are estimating that a merger will bring about $1 billion in revenue and cost benefits, they said.
Horton rebuffed an aggressive takeover push from US Airways early in the bankruptcy process, saying the airline preferred to exit court protection on its own and consider a deal later. But after several months of talks with its own creditors as well as with US Airways, Horton has softened his approach and agreed to consider all options.
A combined American-US Airways would provide the scale to match bigger rivals that are upgrading service and expanding international routes. The merged company would have revenue of $38.69 billion based on 2012 figures, ahead of United Continental which had revenue of $37.15 billion last year.
The new American would have a solid presence on the important U.S. East and West coasts and on North Atlantic routes, given American's revenue-sharing joint venture with British Airways and Iberia.
(Reporting by Soyoung Kim in New York, additional reporting by Nick Brown and Karen Jacobs; Editing by Sandra Maler)


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NETSCRIPT-2.2.conf(5) File Formats Manual NETSCRIPT-2.2.conf(5) NAME
/etc/netscript/network.conf - interface, firewalling, and QoS configuration file. /etc/netscript/if.conf - interface setup shell script file /etc/netscript/qos.conf - QoS setup shell script file /etc/netscript/ipfilter.conf - IP chains filtering shell script file /etc/netscript/srvfilter.conf - server IP filter shell script file DESCRIPTION
This manpage is a place holder until something better is written when the netscript itself has stopped changing rapidly. Please see the README file in the /etc/netscript directory, and READ the configuration files if you need to change them. Apart from net- work.conf, all of them contain sh (1) shell script functions which are there so that various things can be altered or hooked in at the right place. Network.conf contains the full network setup details, including special interface setup for the likes of ciped/pppd/wanconfig, and is fully commented with examples given. UPGRADE PATH FROM KERNEL 2.2.X The firewall/IP filtering stuff in ipfilter.conf is the part that changed radically with the move to iptables and a far better way of set- ting up the IP filtering rules, however the QoS and interface startup/shutdown in if.conf have changed but are backwards compatible with the old 2.2.x ipchains version of netscript for the interface address configuration settings. You will have to set up the filtering again to use iptables by directly using the iptables commands. Also, the kernel 2.2.x version scripts are set up so that iptables is only run on a 2.4.x kernel, otherwise IP forwarding is disabled if beforehand you set IPFWDING_KERNEL to FILTER_ON in network.conf. This means that when you upgrade a box to a 2.4.x router kernel, you should then be able to reboot it and log into remotely and upgrade netscript to the version that will support 2.4.x. In this situation, if you have set old IPFWDING_KERNEL setting to FILTER_ON beforehand in network.conf, all IP forwarding through the box will also be disabled. This means that you can safely remotely upgrade a firewall. SEE ALSO
netscript(8), ipchains(8), iproute(8), brcfg(8). AUTHOR
This manual page was written by Matthew Grant <email@example.com>, for the Debian GNU/Linux system (but may be used by others). BUGS
The author is lazy. He needs to write btter man pages... November 23, 2000 NETSCRIPT-2.2.conf(5)


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Hope is married to a Staff Sergeant in the Marine Corps, so she's moved around a lot. She's currently in Illinois, but will be moving to sunny San Diego next month! She was first introduced to cloth diapers from another Marine mom, and thought she was nuts at first! But she went home and started doing a LOT of researching. She still wasn't convinced, and it was actually her husband who convinced her to try it out... and she got completely hooked! However, she was a little disappointed with the boy-print options, so she decided to start making her own, which is how Little Butt Diapers was born!
She got the name of her shop, Little Butt Diapers, from the nickname she and her husband have had for their son since he was tiny (she recently changed her shop name from For the Love of Fluff, so don't be confused if you see that name on her facebook page!). She specializes in boy prints, but also has lots of gender neutral and girl options available.
This is her heavy-duty soaker, and I must say, it is heavy duty! I love that I only needed to prep it once, and it worked amazingly!! My son can be quite a super soaker, but we have never, ever had a leak in this diaper! I absolutely love the insert. It's so absorbent. It is quite thick, so it does make the diaper a little bit bulky, but that doesn't bother me at all. The insert that normally comes with her diapers is made out of birdseye cotton, without the OBF layer. It's a little smaller, so you'd get a slimmer fit. It has 5 layers, and when you fold it up, you get 10 layers of absorbency!
While Myles was in childcare at a Mother's group I go to one morning, he had a really gross diaper. The ladies who watch him aren't very fond of cloth diapers, but they even had to admit they were shocked that there was no leak! The mess was completely contained. I don't know if I converted them to liking cloth diapers, but I think this diaper may have started to change their minds!
This diaper also has 3 sets of sizing snaps, which gives it 4 sizes, which I love. At 20 months, we're on the top snap and it fits great. And we still have the option of having it completely open, so I know this diaper will fit for quite a while longer. It has a great rise.
The quality of this diaper is fantastic. The PUL is nice and thick, which makes it a great option for naps. The stitching is beautifully done. And the snaps are nice and sturdy. It does have double snaps on each side, which I like. We never had an issue with wing droop at all. There are no cross-over snaps, but I actually think this diaper will get pretty small. On most of our diapers, the wings get pretty close together, and on a few, I actually still use the cross-over snaps on my skinny guy. But we usually have two or three sets of snaps between the wings on this diaper, so I think it will get pretty small for littler babies.
sorry, the lighting isn't very good! |
Besides that, I'm completely in love with this diaper! It's one of the first ones I reach for. The insert is SO absorbent, we get an awesome fit and never have leaks!!
And lucky for you guys, Hope has offered a giveaway AND a 15% off coupon code for her etsy shop (use code LITTLEBUTT15 at checkout)! The winner of the giveaway will have their choice of girl, boy, or gender neutral PUL for their very own pocket diaper. Be sure to enter below to win an awesome diaper!!


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I hadn't until the Poster Tidings stamp set came along and I thought it would be a fun way to showcase it.
Quite awhile ago, I had saved THIS POST about cookie mixes in a jar by Bakerella, the fabulous food blogger. I always thought I would get around to making it "some day"...
Well, that day happened...LOL!
A bit about the project:
- I got smooth sided, quart sized craft jars at Joanns (with a coupon, baby!), but you could use regular Ball jars also.
- I have two different cookie mixes - Bakerella's Cowboy Cookie Mix HERE and then I made one that substituted in cherry flavored cranberries and white chocolate chips for the Winter jar. Not sure how those are going to taste - I'll have to report back...
- I stamped the stamps in various colors (see below) and then sliced up the word sections with my trimmer and applied them over the base section (see video below).
- I did add a to/from tag with instructions (see below):
This makes a quick, inexpensive and tasty gift - something to keep in mind with the holidays fast approaching!
This stamp set with both stamps is available for just $5 after your purchase of $50+.
Check out the video below (click HERE if you can't see the video):
WOW! That's a great deal!
You are getting:
-7 stamp sets
-the Close to My Heart Artbooking Cricut cartridge
-plus 3 sheets of chipboard shapes (not shown)
-for just $114
-which has a value of $190.85!
So, if you've been holding off, now's the time to get it!
Click HERE to purchase the CTMH Artbooking Cricut bundle and get SEVEN stamp sets for just $114 (before tax and shipping).
Just add the Artbooking Cricut bundle to your cart and the system will prompt you to enter the other sets of stamps.
It's so easy!
Already purchased the CTMH Artbooking Cricut bundle?
When you spend $50+ of products, you can buy all 3 of the You are My Happy Trio for $10 more and the stamp of the month for $5 more.
Check out the deals below:
1) Leave a comment below - cookie mix in a jar - yay or nay?
Click HERE if you don't know how to leave a comment. Click HERE to leave a comment if you are seeing this in an email.
2) That's it!
Want to see more of my projects?
Click HERE to see my gallery!
Subscribe to Obsessed with Scrapbooking to learn more about ways to use the Cricut in your scrapbooking!


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The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (the Oxford DNB) is available by subscription to individuals and institutions worldwide.
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Experience the soothing sound, premium fragrance and clean burn of the unique WoodWick Candles. These beautiful candles feature a natural wooden wick that creates the soothing sound of a crackling fire as it burns. Using only a high quality soy wax blend and premium fragrance, each WoodWick Candle is carefully crafted by experienced candle makers passionate about creating the best candles possible.
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I am a huge fan of chocolate turtles! It is really difficult to resist those tiny turtles made with caramel and pecans all wrapped up in chocolate and during the holidays I often go through a few boxes of them. When I came across this recipe for cranberry turtle bars on No Fear Entertaining last year I knew that I would have to make them! You really can't go wrong with buttery shortbread topped with caramel, pecans and chocolate and I was really intrigued by the idea of throwing those tart little cranberries into the mix as well. Unfortunately I misplaced the bookmark and did not end up finding it until there were no cranberries left and I have been patiently awaiting their return. Now that the cranberries are back I finally got the chance to make them and they were well worth the wait!
This recipe can seem a little intimidating given that it includes making a caramel sauce but if you have a candy thermometer it is actually quite easy. I was really looking forward to trying this recipe out because of the caramel sauce and the way that the fresh cranberries are thrown right into the caramel as it cooks. Up until now I had only tried adding simple things like vanilla extract or salt to caramel and I was interested to see how the fresh cranberries would work.
The cranberry turtle bars turned out even better than I had hoped for! The shortbread was nice and light and buttery and good! The cranberry caramel sauce was definitely the star of the show however with its amazing crimson colour. I was really pleased with the way the cranberries flavour and colour infused the caramel sauce and it had the perfect consistency being neither too runny nor too chewy. Of course the pecans and chocolate finished everything off nicely! I did not think that you could improve of chocolate turtles but adding cranberries to the mix did just that! With the success of adding cranberries to a caramel sauce I am now thinking about what else can be added to caramel!
Cranberry Turtle Bars
Shortbread bars covered in a cranberry caramel and drizzled with chocolate.
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup light corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cups pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
- 2 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped
- Place the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and blend.
- Add the butter and process until it forms pea sized lumps.
- Sprinkle the mixture into a 10×15 inch baking pan that has been lined with foil and greased, and press the mixture down.
- Bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven until golden brown, about 15-17 minutes then set aside to cool.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan.
- Mix in the sugar, corn syrup and salt and bring to a boil.
- Simmer until the mixture turns a nice golden amber in colour and reaches 245F on a candy thermometer.
- Mix in the cranberries and return to 245F.
- Remove from heat and mix in the vanilla and pecans.
- Quickly spread the mixture over the shortbread and the let it cool completely.
- Melt the chocolate, place it in a small plastic bag, cut a small piece out of the corner and pipe the chocolate onto the bars.


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WASHINGTON –U.S. Representative Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission), announced today that the Commission will hold a hearing on Central Asia.
"Central Asia and the Arab Spring: Growing Pressure for Human Rights?"
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
2:00 p.m.
2322 Rayburn House Office Building
The hearing will examine whether the factors that drove the uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East exist in any of the Central Asian states, whether the demand for democracy and human rights that has spread in that region could also manifest itself in Central Asia, and whether the fear of similar uprisings could instead trigger government crackdowns in Central Asia. It also will discuss whether the U.S. should take a fresh look at its policies—particularly regarding human rights—in Central Asia in light of the events in North Africa and the Middle East.
The following witnesses have been invited to testify:
The Honorable Robert O. Blake, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs
Dr. Stephen J. Blank, Professor of National Security Affairs, Strategic Studies Institute, United States Army War College
Paul Goble, Professor, Institute of World Politics
Dr. Scott Radnitz, Assistant Professor, Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington
Gulam Umarov, Sunshine Coalition, Uzbekistan
Popular uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, along with ferment in Bahrain, Yemen, Jordan and Syria, surprised even expert analysts and shook the very foundations not just of the states concerned but of the entire region. The long authoritarian rule of leaders in the region had been accepted by many as a factor of stability. In the end, however, public anger erupted over regimes that had been in power for decades, enriching themselves and their cronies, while most citizens barely scraped by.
Many of these conditions apply to the states of Central Asia, with the partial exception of Kyrgyzstan – where street protests have toppled two presidents since 2005 and last year the country established a parliamentary government. Although the situation is unique in each Central Asian country, the region's states have human rights records that are consistently poor, and some are listed among the most repressive countries in the world. Rulers have contrived to remain in office indefinitely, controlled and rigged elections, restricted independent media and religious freedom, harassed opposition parties – where they exist at all—and stunted the development of civil society. Torture and mistreatment in detention are common in the region.


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HOWEVER, this cake changes that. It's the dark chocolate that does it I'm sure--it's always the chocolate's fault isn't it?--because this cake has just enough of a hint of peanut butter to give it a little something unique and unexpected. You know, some variety. But not too much so that it's overwhelming. It's made with a box mix as a base which makes it easy, though I'm not so sure that you're going to get away with it being low-calorie too.
It was immediately pronounced a winner by all and the frosting is just one big truffle with a hint of peanut butter. Nothing says "Be mine" like a truffle cake--oh it's good.
1 box devil's food cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cups peanut butter and milk chocolate swirled chips
1 ½ cups semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons butter
½ cup peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
Grease two round cake pans. Then in a bowl combine the cake mix, eggs, buttermilk and vegetable oil, mixing on high for two minutes. Stir in peanut butter/milk chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and cool on a wire rack.
In a small saucepan melt the butter, chocolate chips, cream and sugar. Stir constantly until smooth and melted. Stir in peanut butter and bring to a gentle boil. Cool. If needed, place in freezer, stirring every ten or fifteen minutes until it reaches spreadable consistency then frost cake in between the layers and over the outside, garnishing with extra peanut butter/milk chocolate chips.
Don't miss this month's Write-Away Contest, the topic is (of course) Love. Deadline is February 20th!
Technorati tags: cakes, baking, desserts, chocolate, peanut butter


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HE BEAT MUHAMMAD Ali in the Fight of the Century, battled him nearly to the death in the Thrilla in Manila. Then Joe Frazier spent the rest of his life trying to fight his way out of Ali's shadow.
That was one fight Frazier never could win.
He was once a heavyweight champion, and a great one at that. Ali would say as much after Frazier knocked him down in the 15th round en route to becoming the first man to beat Ali at Madison Square Garden in March 1971.
But he bore the burden of being Ali's foil, and he paid the price. Bitter for years about the taunts his former nemesis once threw his way, Frazier only in recent times came to terms with what happened in the past and said he had forgiven Ali for everything he said.
Frazier, who died last night after a brief battle with liver cancer at the age of 67, will forever be linked to Ali. But no one in boxing would ever dream of anointing Ali as The Greatest unless he, too, was linked to Smokin' Joe.
Ali's 'respect'
"I will always remember Joe with respect and admiration," Ali said in a statement. "My sympathy goes out to his family and loved ones."
They fought three times, twice in the heart of New York City and once in the morning in a steamy arena in the Philippines. They went 41 rounds together, with neither giving an inch and both giving it their all.
In their last fight in Manila in 1975, they traded punches with a fervor that seemed unimaginable among heavyweights. Frazier gave almost as good as he got for 14 rounds, then had to be held back by trainer Eddie Futch as he tried to go out for the final round, unable to see.
"Closest thing to dying that I know of," Ali said afterward.
Ali was as merciless with Frazier out of the ring as he was inside it. He called him a gorilla, and mocked him as an Uncle Tom. But he respected him as a fighter, especially after Frazier won a decision to defend his heavyweight title against the then-unbeaten Ali in a fight that was so big Frank Sinatra was shooting pictures at ringside and both fighters earned an astonishing $2.5 million.
The night at the Garden 40 years ago remained fresh in Frazier's mind as he talked about his life, career and relationship with Ali a few months before he died.
'A great champion'
"I can't go nowhere where it's not mentioned," he told The Associated Press. "That was the greatest thing that ever happened in my life."
Bob Arum, who once promoted Ali, said he was saddened by Frazier's passing.
"He was such an inspirational guy. A decent guy. A man of his word," Arum said. "I'm torn up by Joe dying at this relatively young age. I can't say enough about Joe."
Frazier's death was announced in a statement by his family, who asked to be able to grieve privately and said they would announce "our father's homecoming celebration" as soon as possible.
Manny Pacquiao learned of it shortly after he arrived in Las Vegas for his fight Saturday night with Juan Manuel Marquez. Like Frazier in his prime, Pacquiao has a powerful left hook that he has used in his remarkable run to stardom.
"Boxing lost a great champion, and the sport lost a great ambassador," Pacquiao said.
Don King, who promoted the Thrilla in Manila, was described by a spokesman as too upset to talk about Frazier's death.
Though slowed in his later years and his speech slurred by the toll of punches taken in the ring, Frazier was still active on the autograph circuit in the months before he died. In September he went to Las Vegas, where he signed autographs in the lobby of the MGM Grand hotel-casino shortly before Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s fight against Victor Ortiz.
An old friend, Gene Kilroy, visited with him and watched Frazier work the crowd.
"He was so nice to everybody," Kilroy said. "He would say to each of them, 'Joe Frazier, sharp as a razor, what's your name?'"
Small for a heavyweight
Frazier was small for a heavyweight, weighing just 205 pounds when he won the title by stopping Jimmy Ellis in the fifth round of their 1970 fight at Madison Square Garden. But he fought every minute of every round going forward behind a vicious left hook, and there were few fighters who could withstand his constant pressure.
His reign as heavyweight champion lasted only four fights — including the win over Ali — before he ran into an even more fearsome slugger than himself. George Foreman responded to Frazier's constant attack by dropping him three times in the first round and three more in the second before their 1973 fight in Jamaica was waved to a close and the world had a new heavyweight champion.
Two fights later, he met Ali in a rematch of their first fight, only this time the outcome was different. Ali won a 12-round decision, and later that year stopped George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle in Zaire.
There had to be a third fight, though, and what a fight it was. With Ali's heavyweight title at stake, the two met in Manila in a fight that will long be seared in boxing history.
Frazier went after Ali round after round, landing his left hook with regularity as he made Ali backpedal around the ring. But Ali responded with left jabs and right hands that found their mark again and again. Even the intense heat inside the arena couldn't stop the two as they fought every minute of every round with neither willing to concede the other one second of the round.
"They told me Joe Frazier was through," Ali told Frazier at one point during the fight.
"They lied," Frazier said, before hitting Ali with a left hook.
Finally, though, Frazier simply couldn't see and Futch would not let him go out for the 15th round. Ali won the fight while on his stool, exhausted and contemplating himself whether to go on.
It was one of the greatest fights ever, but it took a toll. Frazier would fight only two more times, getting knocked out in a rematch with Foreman eight months later before coming back in 1981 for an ill advised fight with Jumbo Cummings.
"They should have both retired after the Manila fight," former AP boxing writer Ed Schuyler Jr. said. "They left every bit of talent they had in the ring that day."
One of the greats
Born in Beaufort, South Carolina, on 12 January, 1944, Frazier took up boxing early after watching weekly fights on the black and white television on his family's small farm. He was a top amateur for several years, and became the only American fighter to win a gold medal in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo despite fighting in the final bout with an injured left thumb.
"Joe Frazier should be remembered as one of the greatest fighters of all time and a real man," Arum told the AP in a telephone interview Monday night. "He's a guy that stood up for himself. He didn't compromise and always gave 100 percent in the ring. There was never a fight in the ring where Joe didn't give 100 percent."
After turning pro in 1965, Frazier quickly became known for his punching power, stopping his first 11 opponents. Within three years he was fighting world-class opposition and, in 1970, beat Ellis to win the heavyweight title that he would hold for more than two years.
A woman who answered Ellis' phone in Kentucky said the former champion suffers from Alzheimer's Disease, but she wanted to pass along the family's condolences.
In Philadelphia, a fellow Philadelphia fighter, longtime middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins, said Frazier was so big in the city that he should have his own statue, like the fictional Rocky character.
"I saw him at one of my car washes a few weeks ago. He was in a car, just hollering at us, 'They're trying to get me!' That was his, hi," Hopkins said. "I'm glad I got to see him in the last couple of months. At the end of the day, I respect the man. I believe at the end of his life, he was fighting to get that respect."
Defining fights
It was his fights with Ali that would define Frazier. Though Ali was gracious in defeat in the first fight, he was as vicious with his words as he was with his punches in promoting all three fights — and he never missed a chance to get a jab in at Frazier.
Frazier, who in his later years would have financial trouble and end up running a gym in his adopted hometown of Philadelphia, took the jabs personally. He felt Ali made fun of him by calling him names and said things that were not true just to get under his skin. Those feelings were only magnified as Ali went from being an icon in the ring to one of the most beloved people in the world.
After a trembling Ali lit the Olympic torch in 1996 in Atlanta, Frazier was asked by a reporter what he thought about it.
"They should have thrown him in," Frazier responded.
He mellowed, though, in recent years, preferring to remember the good from his fights with Ali rather than the bad. Just before the 40th anniversary of his win over Ali earlier this year — a day Frazier celebrated with parties in New York — he said he no longer felt any bitterness toward Ali, who suffers from Parkinson's Syndrom and is mostly mute.
"I forgive him," Frazier. "He's in a bad way."


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2010 Skyline Aljo 2755BStock #: D2149
Vehicle Summary | |
Chassis | N/A |
Generator | |
Engine | N/A |
Category | Fifth Wheels / Trailers |
Mileage | |
Slide Out | Slide-Out |
Fuel | N/A |
Condition | Used |
2010 Skyline Aljo 2755B Slide-Out Fifth Wheel Trailer.
Equipment Includes: Spare Tire • Pass Through Storage • Auto Patio Awning • Ducted Roof A/C • Maxx Air Vents • Stabilizer Jacks • CD Player • DVD Player • LCD TV in Living Area • Refrigerator • Oven • Microwave.
Floorplan Features: Slide-Out • Two Swivel Chairs • Fabric Hide-a-Bed Sofa • Booth Dinette • Private Toilet • Open Bath • Queen Bed.
Asking only $14,900! Item #4206 DeMartini RV Sales
Exterior Equipment
- Spare Tire
- Pass Through Storage
- Auto Patio Awning
- Ducted Roof A/C
- Stabilizer Jacks
Interior Equipment
- DVD Player
- LCD TV in Living Area
- Refrigerator
- Oven
- Microwave
Cockpit Options
- CD Player
Bedroom Layout
- Queen Bed
- Booth Dinette
- Swivel Chair
- Fabric Hide-a-bed Sofa
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In a very uncertain global economy, we're finally getting some certainty from the world's two largest economies – at least on the political front. In the U.S., the interminably long election season finally ended with the re-election of President Barack Obama. Meanwhile, halfway around the planet in Beijing, a congress of China's Communist Party, which begins today (EDS: Thursday), is expected to finally anoint Xi Jinping as the nation's next leader. The two political processes couldn't be more different – one politician fought for his job on CNN, the other maneuvered behind tightly sealed doors – but the outcome of each is equally important for the global economy. What happens with growth, jobs and investment around the world will depend to a healthy degree on the decisions taken by these two men.
The common perception is that one of these leaders faces a bigger economic headache than the other. Obama will have to resolve the fractious battle over how to close the government's yawning budget deficit before the nation falls off the fiscal cliff, bring down stubborn unemployment and recharge American competitiveness. Xi, meanwhile, seems to be sitting pretty. Growth in China has slowed, but to a rate that remains the envy of the world, while Chinese industry continues its march onto the world stage.
But in this case, looks can be deceiving. Sure, Obama has tremendous economic problems to resolve, but Xi's challenge is just as daunting – perhaps more so. Obama has to dig the U.S. out from the baggage of the last financial crisis, but Xi has to undertake sweeping reforms to ensure China doesn't fall into a crisis.
When I write about China potentially facing an economic crisis, I often get laughed at or verbally abused. The official People's Daily accused me of being a "China basher." This is part of China's problem. Any attempt to have an open and honest discussion of what is really happening inside the Chinese economy gets shouted down. But that doesn't solve the underlying flaws in the Chinese economy. It is easy to keep growth rates high when policymakers pump money into the economy to fund the grandiose schemes of state enterprises or to build more infrastructure. But such an investment-led growth model inevitably leads to a debt crisis. Money gets used inefficiently, debt levels rise, excess capacity gets created, and in the end, the system collapses.
(MORE: Beer Enters the Dark Ages)
There is no shortage of signs that China is experiencing these very problems. Wind farms have been erected but not connected to the electricity grid. Hundreds of solar cell makers will likely go under. Shopping malls get built where no one shops. HSBC analyst Zhiming Zhang, in a fascinating October study, showed how the problems of the steel industry encapsulate how China's growth model can be rotting at the core even as it continues to post high rates of growth. Despite record liabilities (of $445 billion for the top 80 mills in the first half of 2012) and massive losses, the industry keeps expanding. Here's a bit of Zhang's analysis:
China's enduring love affair with steel has serious implications for the whole country and beyond…It is also a case study of a fragmented state-owned industry, like others in China, that feels the need to keep expanding even when production and capacity levels are commercially unviable. Indeed, the steel sector is an example of the macro versus micro contradiction at the center of China's growth model. On the one hand, at the macro level it is positive for GDP growth. On the other, it highlights the overcapacity, overproduction, and debt at the company level in a sector that underpins national fixed-asset growth…State-owned steel companies can fund expansion through bank loans or the bond market; most are rated 'AA' or above – remarkable for an industry that is losing so much money…So the message is beware, macro numbers often don't tell the micro story.
Fixing these issues requires more than a tweak here or there. The reforms that Xi must undertake are no less fundamental than the ones started in 1979 by Deng Xiaoping. Back then, China was a closed, command economy. Deng opened China up to the world, rolled back the state and allowed the rise of private enterprise. Today, Xi needs to drastically alter the nature of the economy again. The state-led, investment-driven growth model is running on empty; the economy needs to become more balanced and more market-driven, with better rule of law. Do not think this is an easy transition. There are many powerful players benefiting from the current system – from SOEs to the bureaucracy – that will attempt to thwart such changes. Xi will need to show a ton of political will to push through the necessary reforms.
(MORE: 5 Credit Cards You Don't Want in Your Wallet)
And what are those reforms? Here's my must-do list for Xi:
Scale back state enterprises. Much of China's growth story has been a private sector story as Deng's reforms unleashed the entrepreneurial spirit of the country's massive populace. But in recent years, that trend has been somewhat reversed. State enterprises have gained in influence, especially since the massive stimulus program instituted by the government after the 2008 financial crisis. SOEs gobble up a large share of the available bank credit; they also receive subsidized land, energy and other inputs. The problem is that they are far less efficient than the private sector. Studies routinely show that SOEs are not as profitable as private companies. Take away their subsidies and their profits evaporate, one influential study proclaimed. That means the nation's resources are being consumed by an inefficient part of the economy. This situation can't continue. Xi is going to have to roll back the power of the SOEs and force them to become better performers. That means opening up more of the domestic economy to real competition.
Encourage the country's consumers. Though China is still a developing nation that requires a ton more infrastructure and apartment buildings, the economy as it stands right now is far too dependent on investment. Xi has to "rebalance" the economy to give it more engines of growth. That means finding ways of encouraging the nation's consumers to play a bigger role in the country's economy. To do that, the government has to provide a stronger social safety net – better healthcare, a more reliable pension system – to convince consumers that they don't need to save as much for the future. Policymakers also must liberalize interest rates. Right now, interest rates are controlled in ways that subsidize industrial investment but offer poor returns to the average saver. Freeing up interest rates would simultaneously make investment more rational and provide more disposable income for households.
Develop a real financial sector. Liberalizing interest rates, however, will also put pressure on China's banks. Right now, rates are set in a way that allows the banks an automatic profit. Ending that system would force the banks to compete and become more commercially oriented. That's good for the economy over the long term, but it will be destabilizing in the short run. Chinese banks are still not strong enough in credit analysis and still too directed by bureaucrats to operate soundly in a more open financial environment. If China wants to move forward, policymakers have to strengthen its banks and other financial institutions and better prepare them for a more competitive, more liberalized market. This will also help to ensure credit gets allocated more intelligently and alleviate the problem of excess capacity.
(MORE: 25 Best Inventions of the Year)
Strengthen rule of law. Chinese officials like to say that China is a "country of rules." There are a ton of regulations and rules to follow even on the simplest of matters. But having a lot of rules is very different from having rule of law. The fact is that bureaucratic decisions are erratic and inconsistent. Rules are not applied equally or fairly. Many regulations are left purposely vague to give bureaucrats more power. Officials pressure companies to follow government preferences that aren't actual rules on the books. The court system is a joke. This creates a level of uncertainty that hampers investment and gives the politically connected an advantage. All economies eventually fail on a lack of rule of law. China must fix this problem by fostering an environment in which regulations are clear and applied fairly.
Will any of these reforms actually happen? The hope is that Xi Jinping will be more reform-minded that his predecessor, outgoing President Hu Jintao. But the fact is that we know very little about Xi's true opinions on major economic issues (or, for that matter, on any significant issues). Xi has risen to the top by a process of consensus within the Communist Party, which means he has had to appeal to both its more liberal and more conservative elements. Yet the truth is that Xi must be a reformer. If not, the Chinese economy could be headed for something ugly. That's not good for Xi, China, or the world.
MORE: Behind the Story: TIME's Hannah Beech Discusses China's Next Leader, Xi Jinping


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NBA Finals: "Duncan Dynasty" continues. Is the day of Game 4 too early to crown the Spurs as champs? Please. Even if the Cavs win tonight, everyone knows this thing is over. I'd guess most fans simply WANT it to be over -- euthanizing the lamest NBA season anyone can remember.
So: Where does this dynasty rank among the various multiple-title champs of the last 30 years? I have a stand-alone post dedicated to it, coming later this morning. But I didn't want 400 words on one subject to get in the way of a good a.m. Quickie. (Hint: No. 2)
Selig to suspend Giambi? It's possible, if Giambi doesn't talk with George Mitchell. Of course, given that Giambi is on the DL for the foreseeable future, isn't a suspension just a gesture for the sake of making one? Yes, it tars Giambi's career.
MLB Stud, Pitcher: John Lackey, who became MLB's first 10-game winner of the season (with a little help from Vlad, who drove in 4 runs).
MLB Stud, Executive: Billy Beane, who got an extension with the A's that will keep him locked up through 2014, enough time to win a half-dozen more division titles without winning a World Series. He has been (and remains) MLB's gold standard for GMs.
MLB Stud, Team: The... wait a sec, this can't be right... Yankees? Eight straight wins and all of a sudden the mood is much brighter in the
MLB Dud: Elijah Dukes. I'm a day late, but with his latest "episode" (impregnating a 17-year-old girl living as a foster kid with Duke's relatives), Dukes is quickly becoming MLB's biggest crazy. And he's only 22! That puts him on pace to shatter the all-time crazy standard set by legends like Carl Everett and... um, Carl Everett.
All-Star Update: David Ortiz won't be in the Home Run Derby. He's put in his years (and not won), so he's got a very excused absence.
NFL: Are the Jaguars – "my" Jaguars* – the lead suitor for Daunte Culpepper? That doesn't bode well for my favorite Jags player, Byron Leftwich. Actually, Leftwich is my second-favorite player now, after first-round draft pick Reggie "F'ing" Nelson, but that doesn't kick in until the new season starts. (* - Yes: MY Jaguars... less than three months from my one-year anniversary as a Jags fan!)
NFL: Congratulations to 49ers coach Mike Nolan, who will get to wear suits on the sidelines, rather than official Reebok apparel, for all eight home games this season.
I always appreciated Reebok's interest in getting a return on their massive investment to have the NFL apparel rights, but it was ludicrous to suggest that coaches couldn't wear suits on the sidelines, particularly for a league constantly trying to button-up its image.
My only question: Isn't it uncomfortable? Why would you want to, when you can wear something a little more loose-fitting? The Jags' Jack Del Rio will also wear suits at home games.
(Follow-up question: Will the initiative to have fans wear suits and ties to the home opener go on? It was created as a protest to Nolan NOT getting to wear a suit. Does this let fans off the hook?)
NBA Trades: Try not to be overwhelmed by the deal to send Juwon Howard from the Rockets to the Timberwolves for Mike James.
Minor-league baseball gimmicks: "Billy Donovan Night" on June 20, when you get to renegotiate the price and location of your ticket (and even negotiate a buy-out). I love it.
Blogs and Media: What a week. From the early-week NCAA live-blogging snafu to this: The Islanders are setting up a "Blog Box" (h/t Deadspin), where indie bloggers can report from the game.
I default to O.G. sports-blog pioneer (and hockey's top blogger) Eric McErlain for his take, which is a must-read.
My take? I give the Islanders a lot of credit for at least thinking creatively about how to work with (some would say "use") independent bloggers. It's worth trying.
I could make the easy joke about how the NHL needs to be as innovative as possible about reaching its fans (and diversifying its channels), but this is something that ALL sports should follow closely. (Yes, even the NCAA.)
More NHL: I appreciate that there are hard-core NHL fans in
Varsity Dad Alert: Welcome Bryce Maximus James, son of LeBron, born at 12:51 this morning at a whopping 8 pounds 6 ounces and 21 inches. "Bryce James" has a nice ring to it, but there's no question you have to be LeBron James' son to pull off the middle name "Maximus."
Hot Blogger Bracket: I have advanced through Round 2 of the tournament, holding off a tough challenge from Signal to Noise, 55 percent to 45 percent out of 1,317 votes cast. It's only going to get tougher from here.
Apologies: Yesterday, I should have included a link to the John Hodgman segment on MMA from the Daily Show on Monday night. Here's the link. Hilarious.