Word: backgrounder
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...make the mistake of giving these cases importance that they don't deserve. Or worse, don't jump to the conclusion that the CIA is overrun with misfits. CIA employees are still some of the most closely and routinely scrutinized workers in government. They endure regular and intrusive security background checks and polygraphs. Also, the CIA has a history of cleaning up its own messes. It was the CIA that caught Nicholson, as it did the notorious KGB mole Aldrich Ames...
...lockdown, sealing the borders, closing the airports and banning all but essential traffic in downtown areas. Thousands of Iraqi army soldiers and police officers stood watch as voters headed to the polls. American military patrols were also on the scene in Baghdad, but U.S. forces largely stayed in the background...
...senior years of high school. Standardized tests are only one factor among many in Harvard’s holistic admissions process. The Committee on Admissions has always taken into account the fact that test scores can be affected by such factors as schooling, intensive test preparation, and socioeconomic background. We have long been aware that the test-taking experience of students may be affected by their financial and educational resources. In particular, we recognize that students from modest economic backgrounds have a limited number of fee waivers for tests and may not be able to take them as many times...
Boyle says, "Slumdog is just a hybrid of the words underdog and slum. Some people found it insulting, when actually it's a triumph for a kid from that background and a vindication of his resilience...
...lines had been erased, blinding them to the harsh realities of the post-Civil War African-American experience. Now, as the first president with black heritage ascends to the White House, Americans are again quick to congratulate themselves for triumphing over prejudice. But, though Obama’s mixed background and encouragement of diversity are an essential first step in breaching racial divides, we should not be naïve enough to believe that racism no longer poses a problem in America...