zizihuang

 

replica coach handbagsFirefighters across the southwestern United States on Sunday have faced some of the

worst weather conditions of the season for battling blazes currently raging across the region.

The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for most of Arizona, all of New Mexico, much of north Texas and portions of Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas

and Utah for Sunday. A red flag warning means weather conditions -- mainly high heat, low humidity and strong winds -- pose an extreme fire risk.

"The winds certainly will be very gusty and strong," said Ken Daniel, weather service meteorologist in Flagstaff, Arizona. "Any new fire starts would have

the potential to have explosive growth."

The forecast calls for winds of 30 mph or more in some areas, with gusts of up to 50 mph, Daniel said.

There are currently dozens of active wildfires burning in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, according to InciWeb, an online interagency database that tracks

fires, floods and other disasters.

Air MaxNationwide, wildfires have burned almost as many acres in the first half of 2011 as were

recorded by the National Interagency Fire Center for all of 2010. The agency reports on its website that 3.1 million acres in the United States had been

ignited by wildfires as of May 31, compared to 3.2 million burned acres cited in the organization's year-end report in November 2010.

One Arizona blaze that started May 29 has mushroomed into a historically large wildfire. Known as the Wallow fire, it has burned 511,118 acres and was 44%

contained as of Sunday.

Residents of Luna, New Mexico, were ordered to evacuate Saturday afternoon after the blaze jumped containment lines along U.S. 180, according to InciWeb.

cheap nike shoes storeBut fire public information officer Rich Szlauko had some good news, telling CNN that in

terms of bringing the Wallow fire under control, "everything is starting to look pretty good."

Some 3,600 people continue to battle the blaze, in the face of winds Sunday measuring 20-30 mph, he said.

Meanwhile, a smaller but fast-moving wildfire is raging in the southeastern corner of Arizona.

That blaze, the so-called Monument fire, has emerged as "the number one priority" for firefighters nationwide, according to the chief of the U.S. Forest

Service.

"The conditions that we're dealing with here are as bad as we can get," said Tom Tidwell, head of the U.S. Forest Service, of the combination of high

temperatures, low humidity, ample fuel and strong winds. "It just can't get any worse."

Gordon Van Vleet, a spokesman for the Joint Information Center, said no cause has been determined for the Monument fire, which has spread across the Huachuca

Mountains and burned 20,956 acres as of Sunday afternoon. He said authorities likely won't state a cause until the blaze is more under control.

"We know where it started and when it started, but (the specific cause) is under investigation," Tidwell said.
Coach Wallets "When we do have that information, we will share it."

U.S. Sen. John McCain blamed illegal immigrants for starting unspecified fires in the area at a press conference Saturday. However, the Arizona Republican

did not provide evidence to back up the accusation, which prompted rebukes from Latino civil rights leaders.

While a fire at the U.S. Army's Fort Huachuca is 100% contained, according to Van Vleet, the Monument fire was 27% contained as of Saturday afternoon -- an

improvement over the 15% figure in the morning, but certainly dangerous given the inordinately dry and windy conditions.

"This has been the number one priority in the country for a couple of days," Tidwell said. "That means this will receive resources before anyone else."

The Monument fire, just south of Sierra Vista, Arizona, has destroyed 44 homes, fire officials say.

People living in Sierra Vista were ordered to leave Sunday while firefighters conducted burn-out operations in an attempt to stop the fire moving that way,

CNN's Thelma Gutierrez reported from the area.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has issued emergency declarations for the Monument fire and another blaze, Horseshoe II, making Cochise County eligible for $100,000

toward response and recovery expenses.

Meanwhile, residents of the eastern Arizona community of Alpine were able to return home, according to fire spokesman John Helmich.
Nike Air Max 97 The community has a population of about 300, but many more

seasonal visitors were forced to leave earlier this month because of the Wallow fire.

Tidwell said earlier Saturday that he was "very optimistic" that damage from future wildfires could be minimized by thinning forests and clearing out biomass

-- which did occur, to some extent, in parts of eastern Arizona. He noted that 3.2 million acres were "treated" nationwide last year.

Coach OutletA few days before the 2010 midterm elections, Mitt Romney opened with this joke at a GOP event in New Hampshire: “It’s nice to be so warmly recognized. I’m not always recognized where I go by the way. The other day I made a phone call. I was trying to dial for dollars, trying to help some of our friends around the country. I called a big executive’s office. His assistant answered the phone. I said, ‘I’m Mitt Romney, can I talk to’ what-his-name-was. And she said, ‘What’s the name of your company?’ ‘Well,’ I said, ‘I’m currently unemployed.’ “ There was laughter all around. Today, in Florida, Romney repeated the joke, while introducing himself to a group of unemployed workers. “I should tell my story,” he said. “I’m also unemployed.” Again, people laughed.Air Max Shoes Outlet Online But under the pressure cooker of a presidential campaign, the reaction since then has been different. The New York Times’ Jeff Zeleny posted the comment at 11:55 a.m. By 12:55, the Democratic National Committee had already sent out an indignant press release. “Being unemployed, Mr. Romney, is not a joke – not to my constituents in Florida or to millions of Americans across the country,” pounced DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Shultz, who hails from Florida. hermes birkin“Folks in my home state and across the country, who are struggling every day to make ends meet, do not need someone making light of their situation. Equating his run for the presidency with the difficulties of these honest hard-working Americans is shocking and is a reflection of his inability to comprehend the struggles of the American people. ” Oh, the outrage. The outrage. The phony, phony outrage. As Zeleny’s report makes clear, the unemployed workers who heard Romney’s joke were not offended. They got it. Romney, a rich guy, was making fun of himself, not people out of work. But he wasn’t speaking in a comedy club. He was speaking in a high stakes campaign. And as the campaign progresses, I would bet that Romney’s sense of humor becomes an issue. In private, Romney’s aides say he is a very funny guy, who loves to tell jokes. In public, Romney tends to be a very hokey guy, who loves telling jokes. Coach New ArrivalsDana Milbank, the Washington press corps’ resident funny man, recently wrote an entire story about Romney telling jokes in New Hampshire. He called the story, “A day of awkwardness with Mitt Romney.” Among the zingers: 1. “I saw the young man over there with eggs Benedict, with hollandaise sauce. And I was going to suggest to you that you serve your eggs with hollandaise sauce in hubcaps. Because there’s no plates like chrome for the hollandaise.” 2. “Oh, this is the Hooters equivalent.” (When he noticed no guy waitresses at a diner.) 3. “Okay, so what do you do about mosquito control? . . . This has been a mosquito-infested year with all the moisture. They flew away with my dog.” He also pretended to have his butt pinched by someone who was taking a picture with him. Then he said, “Oh my goodness gracious!. . . . Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. ” These sort of jokes are cute, in their way, the sort of earnest, simple, joyful humor that you would expect from Ward Cleaver. But the modern media culture is far more Richard Pryor than Henny Youngman, more Stephen Colbert than Bob Hope. Sometimes the discordance between Romney’s good-natured, earnest delivery and his environment is so striking that one can’t help but cringe. To wit: In the end, all of this will make for a great Saturday Night Live sketch. Nike Air Max 2011 Romney can be played by Michael Scott from The Office. But how does it play out in the campaign? Well one way is that his humor can be misconstrued by his foes to mean something that it doesn’t. Another way is that Romney might appear to be trying too hard on the trail, which can feed the narrative that he is a phony. But the bad jokes are not all downside. There is a clear advantage to not holding back with the humor. This corny guy who tells bad jokes is, after all, who Romney actually is. He tried to pretend to be otherwise in 2008 and it didn’t work. Over time, the American people are sure to get used to his bad jokes, and they will come to understand that this he is someone who thinks its funny to make egg-inspired puns with “home” and “chrome.” Maybe it’s awkward, but at least it helps to dismiss the notion that their is no core to the Romney political enterprise.

 replica coach handbagsI agree with the rapidly emerging CW on the debate: Bachmann did quite well, Mitt is unscathed, Newt is still a non-starter and Tim Pawlenty made a mistake in starting a fight before the debate that he wasn’t prepared to wage in the debate. That said, it is still way too early — even in New Hampshire — for this debate to have much real impact on actual voters. New Hampshire and Iowa voters love to change their minds and plenty of future debates will give them that chance. So did this debate mean anything at all in the real context of the race? Yes, but not for voters. The impact was under the surface. Like a torpedo. (See the top 10 debate flubs of all time) Nike Air MaxRight now there is a fierce underground battle being waged over high dollar campaign donors. If you can’t raise money now, before the voters care, you will not have the resources you need to communicate with them when they do tune in. Organizing multiple states, waging straw polls, flying around raising money and running loads of TV and radio is all very expensive. Without constant fuel, a campaign locomotive grinds to a halt. For lesser known candidates like Tim Pawlenty this can create a cruel feedback loop; you need money to buy your way up in the polls, yet without good poll numbers it is very hard to raise money. hermes birkin handbagsEarly debates are important because if you get good media reviews, you can aggressively peddle those to old and new donors to raise money. (How Romney skated to victory) Like weary troops or early investors in Broadway musicals, donors to candidates registering at 5% in the polls live on hope. Good early process reviews provide that hope. Donor phones come alive. Coach Madison Collections“We’re staring to move up in… IA/NH/The North Barneyville straw poll!!” Sadly for Pawlenty, he did not get the clips he needed last night. Worse, his donor machine will get bad news instead of good. That’s a terror weapon for Huntsman and Romney. I’ll bet Mitt might be making a few calls to top Pawlenty donors today, thanking them for watching, expressing respect for their deep and touching loyalty to his good friend Tim and letting them he know he’d be happy to be their second choice… just in case things, well, don’t work out. We do need to unify, to beat Obama… Donors take those calls. Nearly every big donor has a plan B. Enthusiasm lags. Less pounding on the donor’s business contacts in Detroit or St. Paul for that extra check. The money wheels slow down and the bank account gets thin, just as the Iowa straw poll ramp-up costs start to mount. (What you missed while not watching the debate) It’s cruel, but national politics is not for the faint-hearted. Nike Air Max T-Zone LE No doubt Tim Pawlenty is still a formidable candidate. Other candidates are going to have bad debates and feel pain. Some are already dead men walking, while Pawlenty is certainly alive. But he needs money now and deep under the surface of the campaign noise, in the essential bone and muscle of the his fund-raising organization, that faint noise you can hear today is one rib quietly cracking.

  Luxury Coach OutletRepresentative Michele Bachmann used Monday night’s CNN-WMUR debate among GOP presidential hopefuls as an unconventional venue to make it official: she’s running for President. “I just want to make an announcement here for you, John, on CNN tonight,” Bachmann told the debate’s moderator, John King. “I filed today my paperwork to seek the office of the presidency of the United States today, and I’ll very soon be making my formal announcement. So I wanted you to be the first to know. ” Her statement was followed, minutes later, by an e-mailed press release, making it official that Bachmann will not seek re-election to Congress, but instead aspires to the highest office in the land. “Our country needs a leader who understands the hardships that people across America have been facing over the past few years and who will do what it takes to renew the American dream. We must become a strong and proud America again, and I see clearly a better path to a brighter future,” she said in the statement.Nike Air Max “For these reasons, earlier this evening I instructed my team to file the necessary paperwork to allow me to seek the office of President of the United States.” (More on TIME.com: See a recap of the GOP presidential debate.) nike dunk shoesBachmann had pledged to make her decision in Iowa — and her formal announcement will likely still be there — but in announcing it at the debate, she captured headlines and buzz. In many ways, the Minnesota Congresswoman stole the show. As the only woman on the same New Hampshire stage where in 2008 then Senator Barack Obama quipped condescendingly to Hillary Clinton, “You’re likable enough,” Bachmann outcharmed her male rivals. She slapped Newt Gingrich on the wrist playfully when he said he preferred American Idol over Dancing with the Stars (a subtle dig at Sarah Palin?), with a cackling laugh that sounded eerily like Clinton’s. She gushed when asked to choose between Elvis and Johnny Cash, and finally said, “Both.” And she underlined her biography, mentioning her 30-plus-year marriage, five biological children and 23 foster kids three times. She smartly threw Obama’s words back at him on the debt ceiling, saying someone “far more eloquent than I” had once made the case to vote against it. Obama voted against raising the debt ceiling as a Senator in 2006 — a vote he says he now regrets. She spoke convincingly of her impassioned pleas to the House GOP conference and then Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to block TARP in 2008. She spoke forcefully of her pro-life bona fides. And she showed surprising foreign policy chops as the newest member of the House Intelligence Committee in articulating her opposition to U.S. action in Libya. “That sound you hear is millions of jaws hitting the ground by Bachmann’s stellar answer on Libya,” tweeted RedState.com’s Erick Erickson. “She just did very well with that.” Less than an hour into the debate, “Bachman” [sic] was trending on Twitter. (More on TIME.com: In GOP New Hampshire Debate, Bachmann Provides Fireworks as Romney Escapes Unscathed) Bachmann benefitted from low expectations. “She was as good in this debate as she was awful in her alternative response to the State of the Union address,” says Larry Sabato, a presidential scholar at the University of Virginia. “I can see why she might do better than expected in Iowa and beyond.” And she showed that she is, actually, quite media savvy. She didn’t make the announcement of her candidacy in her opening remarks, as that was precious time she could use on her biography, instead waiting for her first question on a proposed repeal of financial regulation to do it. She was poised and relaxed. She even impressed some Democrats. Coach Colettle Collections“[Former Massachusetts governor Mitt] Romney’s polish was perhaps to be expected,” tweeted Washington Post liberal blogger Ezra Klein. “But Bachmann is much newer to politics than much of the field. Her ease is impressive.” Bachmann used the debate to speak directly to the audience at home. She was one of the few candidates who looked at the camera, often addressing it rather than the audience in front of her. And her big announcement wasn’t her only proclamation of the night. “I want to make a promise to everyone watching tonight,” she said, underlining the fact that she was the first congressional member to introduce a bill to repeal Obamacare. “As President of the United States, I will not rest until I repeal Obamacare. It’s a promise. Take it to the bank; cash the check. I’ll make sure that that happens.” And on answering a question about the Tea Party, she added a direct plea to all Republicans: “We need every one of us in the three-legged stool. We need the peace-through-strength Republicans; we need the fiscal conservatives; we need the social conservatives. We need everybody to come together, because we’re going to win. Just make no mistake about it. I want to announce tonight, President Obama is a one-term President!” she yelled over cheers and applause. “We ’ll win!” A strong Bachmann candidacy could spell trouble for former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, who is betting on Iowa. Bachmann, with her 23 foster kids, has a natural appeal to the Hawkeye State’s powerful home-schooler and Evangelical voting blocs. Her ascendancy could also spell trouble for Sarah Palin, if the former Alaska governor is indeed thinking of running. The two women would compete to appeal to similar voters and donors. (More on TIME.com: Pawlenty’s Poor Debate Showing Risks Donor Flight) Nike Air Max 1The firebrand Bachmann — who once labeled AmeriCorps a dangerous example of Big Government, rather than a volunteer program; accused Obama of spending $200 million on a trip to India by bringing 2,000 staff members and 34 warships with him — a charge the Pentagon labeled “comical”; and accused the Census Bureau of spying on Americans by asking for too much information — was toned down during the debate. The only hint at her Tea Party roots came when she called for the abolition of the Environmental Protection Agency, which she said should be renamed “the job-killing organization of America.” Of course, Bachmann remains relatively untested. “Media is going to hunt down and check out all 23 foster kids if she wins Iowa,” tweeted GOP strategist Mike Murphy. She is just entering her third term, and with only five years in Congress, she can’t employ the familiar GOP criticism of Obama that he is too green and unqualified for the job.

  coach factory outletReal estate markets are somewhat inefficient. This shortcoming allows me to make my living, because as an agent, I can add value with a keen sense of pricing. However, the imperfect market also allows room for scams. Meet the newest one: “flopping.” As detailed by Lew Sichelman, a long-established real estate writer, flopping involves selling an asset at less than market price (to a friendly party, of course) and then reselling it to market. The property that is bought low and resold high generates a profit, which is split among the parties — generally, the original seller and his non-arm’s- length buyer. Air Max Outlet“But wait,” you say, “didn’t that original seller lose a lot of money when he sold his property at a depressed price?” The answer is: Not if that original transaction went off as a so-called short sale, meaning the property was sold for less than what was owed to the bank, with the bank’s permission. In that case, the bank, not the original seller, eats most of the loss. Let’s walk through an example. hermes birkinHarry buys a house for $700K at the height of the bubble, putting 10 percent down, and taking out a $630K mortgage. Four years later, that house is worth 20% less, or $560K. The mortgage hasn’t amortized very much, so Harry still owes the bank $610K. So Harry’s underwater. He could hold and wait for the markets to recover. Or he could sell and pay the bank the balance owed on the mortgage out of his pocket. Or he could convince the bank to approve a “short sale” for less than what’s owed on the mortgage–in which case the bank, to cut its losses, generally forgives the difference between what’s owed and the sale price. Those are all legitimate choices. The transaction becomes a “flop,” however, when Harry gets greedy. Nike outletSay Harry decides to convince the bank that prices have actually declined 30 percent. In that case, it might approve a short sale at $490K. Harry’s friend Barry could buy the house for that, and then months later sell it for the true market price of $560K. Harry and Barry can split the profit of $70K, minus transaction costs; and of course somewhere there is a happy real estate agent who has earned two quick sales commissions. The protectors against this kind of nonsense used to be real estate appraisers, who even in an inefficient market were seen as the guardians of value. A 10 percent price swing is fine, and hard to prove, but there were at least professionals who knew the submarkets well and could help zero in on that pricing. Unfortunately, we hamstrung our own watchdogs. After the housing bubble popped, appraisers were scapegoated and reforms were put in place that made sure the least biased parties in the transactions were paid less money. The Home Valuation Code of Conduct, for instance, was a “reform” meant to insure that appraisers didn’t simply do the bidding of real estate agents, but it instead had the effect of making life tougher for appraisers, who faced the prospect of covering larger market areas and doing more paperwork for lower fees. Now, of course, we have to pay the price. Coach Colettle Collections A study released this spring by CoreLogic, a market research firm, estimates the cost of flopping will exceed $375 million this year, up 20 percent from 2010. Scarier, to me, is the idea that nearly 2 percent of short sales (1 out of 52) are what CoreLogic would call “suspicious.” It’s a shame that these scammers are tarring the process of short-selling, which for most parties involved is simply a painful attempt to mark their properties to market, get out from crushing financial burdens, and start afresh. Nike Air Max LeBron 8If you’re buying a short-sale property, read your contract carefully. In an effort to prevent flopping, your lender may block you from reselling for a certain period of time. Usually these clauses aren’t too restrictive (especially given that the CoreLogic study found many flops were resold within a day), but you always want to know what you’re getting into.

 Coach SunglassesSeven people died Sunday in fighting in the town of Dafniya, Libya, near the besieged city of Misrata, according to a hospital spokesman. The deaths include a woman who died when a Grad rocket landed in her home, said Khaled Abu Falgha of Misrata's Hekma hospital. Elsewhere, 15 rebels and about 100 Gadhafi forces were killed Sunday in fighting in Zawiya, according to Ahmed al-Hawary, rebel spokesman in Zawiya. Dafniya was quiet Sunday evening, said Ibrahim Beit-elmal, a spokesman for the Misrata military committee. coach outlet On the southern front of Abdul Rauf, the rebels were able to capture 10 Gadhafi forces and a few vehicles after an ambush was set for them, he said. Also Sunday, rebels in Misrata released a document they claim is a battle plan confiscated last month from forces loyal to longtime Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. CNN obtained the 15-page document -- titled, in part: "Battle plan to cleanse the city of Misrata from militant gangs" from rebels in the city Sunday. The words "top secret" is written at the top of every page. The name of Gadhafi's son, Khamis Moammar Gadhafi, appears on page 10 as commander of the theater. CNN could not independently verify the authenticity of the document. The rebels said it was confiscated from a high-ranking official near Misrata between May 18 and May 20. cheap hermes birkin"This document was very useful but only for a short period of time because as soon as Gadhafi brigades found out that we confiscated them, they tried to change their plans," said Abdallah al-Kabeir, a rebel spokesman. The documents says Misrata is to be "attacked from six different directions with 11,350 fighters, 4,000 of whom are organized troops, (the rest volunteers). The six directions cover the east and the south." The "mission" is stated as: "To destroy mercenary elements and deceive youth in Misrata using nine brigades. ..." Al-Kabeir called portions of the document "exaggerated." "I think the number of troops and equipment mentioned in the document are definitely exaggerated because they wanted to lift their soldiers' low morale. nike dunk shoesAlso, our intelligence on the ground indicated that Gadhafi forces have a lot less people than what this document says." The Libyan government has not acknowledged the document. Government spokesman Musa Ibrahim told reporters Sunday that reports rebels were gaining control of some areas were incorrect, although he said "pockets of violence" remain. About 130 miles (209 kilometers) east of Tripoli, Misrata has been the scene of some of the bloodiest fighting in Libya's civil war. Coach ScarvesSince the conflict began in early February, the death toll is believed to be more than 1,000 people in Misrata, including hundreds of civilians, Dr. Khaled Abu Falgha, a spokesman at Misrata's Hekma hospital, said earlier this month. In April, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Tim Hetherington and photojournalist Chris Hondros were killed in Misrata. The town has been under siege for months from Gadhafi's forces, who have cut off all land acesss, leaving the sea as the only escape route. On May 11, rebels said they seized the Misrata airport. Heavy shelling has been reported in Misrata in recent days as Gadhafi's forces wage a campaign to seize the town back. Ibrahim said Sunday that bombardment from the sea and air were the only things preventing Gadhafi forces from declaring victory in Misrata.