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Baghdad Fixer
by Ilene Prusher. Halban Books, 672 pages, £10
Daniella Peled

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini talking to the BBC: “Games here are always hard but today we played well while missing the last pass. We were too soft when we arrived near the box, you can play well like here and not win the game.

“We had the better chances, I think that we lost two points. We dominated the first half, but the second half was not quite like that.

“It was difficult for them [with the atmosphere about Rafael Benitez], but we played well. Last year we lost a good game, this year we took one point.

“I am not happy but I prefer this.”

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini talking to the BBC: “Games here are always hard but today we played well while missing the last pass. We were too soft when we arrived near the box, you can play well like here and not win the game.

“We had the better chances, I think that we lost two points. We dominated the first half, but the second half was not quite like that.

“It was difficult for them [with the atmosphere about Rafael Benitez], but we played well. Last year we lost a good game, this year we took one point.

“I am not happy but I prefer this.”

Posted: Saturday, November 24, 2012 9:10 pm
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Updated: 2:06 am, Sun Nov 25, 2012.

2 killed in tractor trailer crash in western Pa.

Associated Press |

I just read two sweeping reports on the state of income inequality in the U.S. (the second link focuses on state-level inequality) and other advanced economies. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been so ensconced in fiscal cliff discussions, but I was struck by how much more alarmed policy makers are by the budget deficit than by the inequality situation. There are reasons for that tilt — some good, some bad — but based on magnitudes of the problem, it’s far from clear that our current sole policy focus is warranted.

Findings:

The first link above finds the indispensable inequality researchers Piketty and Saez reflecting on the long income inequality time series data they and others have developed for the advanced economies. Their key findings are:

- The decline in income concentration in the U.S. over the great recession was due to cyclical capital losses, not a structural change in the underlying factors driving the trend. This can be seen quite clearly by a) taking capital gains out of the income data, revealing a steady upward trend, or b) by noting the increase in inequality (share of income going to the top 10% of households) in 2010, a return to trend.

- The fact

State launches safety programs

HARRISBURG – The state Department of Transportation has launched two voluntary safety programs designed to provide first responders with victims’ emergency contact or medical information during a crash or emergency.

Participants in the Yellow Dot program affix a yellow sticker to their car’s rear window to alert first responders that emergency contact, medical contact and medical information is in the glove compartment. Those with driver’s licenses or PennDOT-issued IDs can also participate in the Emergency Contact Information program, a secure database that lists two emergency contacts accessible only to law enforcement officials.

Information is available at www.yellowdot.pa.gov or www.dmv.state.pa.us.

With the looming departure of Parker Kligerman at Red Horse Racing for Kyle Busch Motorsports, RHR now has an empty seat.

Aug 4, 2012; Long Pond, PA, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver John Wes Townley (32) during qualifying for the Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

When the rumor of Kligerman leaving began to heat up, so did the rumor that John Wes Townley would be the man to replace him at Red Horse.

Now it is beyond me as to why anyone would want to put a man behind the wheel of their car that has a 99% guaranteed to crash rating is beyond me.

However, we all know just like RAB Racing, Red Horse is having a hard time with sponsors and we all know Townley’s father isn’t afraid to slap a Zaxby’s logo on the hood of any car to get his son a ride. He prematurely paid to sponsor FAS Lane Racing’s #32 Sprint Cup Car for John Wes, but that ended after JWT slapped the wall in an early practice session.

After racing in all but one race this year, Townley found himself sixteenth in the

A family of four fled in pajamas after a fire broke out Friday morning, destroying a brick, two-story home at 125 Lilac Avenue in Ross Township. The fire started shortly before 8 a.m. and took firefighters more than two hours to contain.

Ross fire marshal John Reubi said it appears the fire started in the rear of the home, where a deck off of the first floor collapsed.

“We just started the investigation, but the way the deck has been consumed, normally a fire on the inside doesn’t get out onto the deck,” Reubi said. “It’s all very preliminary, but it’s possible it started on the deck or under the deck.”

Ross Township police also responded to the scene, including Chief Robert Bellan and at least one detective. 

Our Newsletter subscribers heard this breaking news first.

Carole Popchock lives across the street and was among several neighbors to call the fire department.

“One of my neighbors a couple of doors up, I heard her yell call 9-1-1,” Popchock said. “I turned around, I saw my neighbor’s house with black smoke pouring out of the back of it. I ran into the house and called 9-1-1, while other neighbors were pounding on doors trying

Washington — Among the things for which Americans can, on this feast day, be thankful is Washington’s resolve to temper severity with mercy: It will seriously — this time we really mean business, we are not going to be Greece, or worse, Illinois — restrain spending but will not balance the budget on the backs of popcorn eaters. Growers of this essential snack may yet retain their subsidy, lest the price of a tub of the stuff at the movies soar by a nickel, even a dime. Can’t have that. Or this: “I,” said Terry List, “would not recommend to my pupils to become a teacher in Michigan” because a proposed pension reform would delay her retirement past age 47. Under Michigan’s mandatory evaluation system, all the teachers in Hazel Park School District were given the top rating — “highly qualified” — yet the high school was given an “F” for student achievement.

Ignoring William James’ admonition that one should do an unpleasant duty every day just to stay in moral trim, millions of voters did not dutifully vote. In a burst of ennui, turnout declined for the first time in 16 years. Who says you cannot make a