Word: fends
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...Switzerland's one step further along. In an effort to fend off the threat of deflation, the Swiss National Bank announced March 12 it would dump francs in the first such move by a major central bank for years. The move was enough to cut 3% off the currency's value against the euro; since then, the franc's fallen further still. Even the greenback, which rallied in recent months, stands at its lowest level against the euro since early January following the Fed's announcement last week that it would spend some $1.2 trillion on government and mortgage bonds...
...with Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, Jordan, Turkey and Kuwait. It's a tough - and nosy - neighborhood, populated by regimes jostling for influence among the various internal factions in Iraq. The key issue is Baghdad's ability to cobble together a semblance of national unity that will enable it to fend off its neighbors. The fear is that Iraq will become a new Lebanon, a multisectarian country whose diversity is both its blessing and its curse. Will Iraq's people be able to put the savagery of the past behind them and truly reconcile, or will they, like the Lebanese, keep...
...winter, her staff members hand out coats, mittens and hats. Year-round, they find free medical clinics to treat earaches and provide dental services. School social workers take kids to get glasses and vaccinations. Many high schools offer laundry or shower facilities for teenagers - who are often left to fend for themselves when a family becomes homeless - as well as a secure locker for their belongings. "We've seen students put their whole lives in those lockers," says Elena Shaw, MPS's high school support liaison. (See pictures of a diverse group of American teens...
...requires only one decision: by what uniform percentage principal should be reduced. And unlike all of the other plans out there, it does not require significant government spending. It is also politically palatable, as it does not discriminate and does not rescue certain institutions while leaving others to fend for themselves. Homeowners get the most direct benefit, and the solution is efficient because of its flat-tax-like nature. Just about everybody wins...
...During the final siege of the city, the attackers burrowed beneath the walls in order to breach the Roman defenses; the Romans heard this and started digging a countermine to fend off the assault. But the Persians, James told TIME, "prepared a nasty surprise," pumping lethal fumes from a brazier burning sulfur crystals and bitumen, a tarlike substance, with bellows into the Roman tunnels. The brazier was only doused, James suggests, "when the screaming stopped." Afterward, the Persians stacked the Roman corpses in a wall to prevent any reprisal, then lit the scene on fire...