Mica has been pushing for airports to ditch the TSA and hire private contractors to conduct screenings, a move allowed under federal law. (In the past 13 years, Mica has received almost $81,000 in campaign donations from political action committees and executives connected to some of the private contractors, according to The Associated Press.) Air Jordan 13 Air Jordan 23 "All commercial airports are regulated by TSA, whether the actual screening is performed by TSA officers or private companies. TSA sets the security standards that must be followed and includes the use of enhanced pat-downs and imaging technology, if installed at the airport," TSA spokesman Greg Soule told ABC News. Of the more than 450 commercial airports in America, there are currently 16 airports using private screening staff, the largest being San Francisco International Airport and Kansas City International Airport. Those screeners have to follow the same standards as TSA employees and are still overseen by the TSA. Air Jordan 11 Air Jordan 12 So even with private screeners, passengers at those airports would be subject to the exact same screenings, including pat-downs and full-body scanners. The TSA says the guidelines for its new pat-down are clear. A screener of the same sex will examine your head, shirt collar and waistband, and the screener can use either the front or back of their hand to feel your body, including the buttocks, between the legs, and feeling up to the top of the thigh. Some women may be asked to remove their skirts in a private screening area, and they will be given a towel or gown to put on. But across the country, passengers are stepping forward to say that the TSA's new pat-down procedures have scared or even violated them as they moved through the airport. The American Civil Liberties Union has received some 400 complaints from travelers, many of whom say they feel like victims of sexual assault after going through a pat-down. Air Jordan 9 Air Jordan 4

Leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have approved U.S. President Barack Obama's proposal for a new, expanded missile defense system for Europe. The agreement is a victory for the president, after a series of foreign policy setbacks.Air Jordan 3 Air Jordan 4 President Obama says Friday's approval by NATO's main decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, will make Europe and the world more secure. "For the first time, we have agreed to develop missile defense capability that is strong enough to cover all NATO European populations, as well as the United States," he said. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says the system is expected to cost $273 million over the next ten years. He will ask Russia, which had originally opposed the idea of European missile defense, to cooperate on the project. Air Jordan Fusion Air Jordan 1 The NATO agreement is one of the most important foreign policy achivements for Mr. Obama since he took office two years ago. On his trip to Asia recently, Mr. Obama had failed to get a free-trade agreement with South Korea or enough support from other countries to persuade China to change the way it handles its currency. The leaders of all 28 NATO countries, meeting in the Portuguese capital, agreed Friday on a new strategic concept for the alliance. The new mission statement is intended to address new kinds of threats and challenges. For that reason, Rasmussen is calling this one of the most important summits in NATO's 61-year history. "We will develop modern capabilities to defend against modern threats. We will reach out to partners around the globe. We will make a fresh start in our relations with Russia, with the aim of building a strategic partnership," he said. President Obama said substantial progress was made in the summit's first day, and he expects more to be made in Saturday's meetings on the future of the war in Afghanistan. "Tomorrow our NATO allies, ISAF partners and the Afghan government will work to align our approach on Afghanistan, particularly in two areas: our transition to full Afghan lead between 2011 and 2014, and the long-term partnership that we are building in Afghanistan," he said. Air Jordan Q4 Air Jordan 9 NATO plans to phase out combat operations in Afghanistan by the end of 2014, and continue training and humanitarian missions beyond that time. Afghan President Hamid Karzai will be among those attending the session on Afghanistan. Relations with Russia will be another focus of Saturday's meetings. Mr. Obama again called Friday for Republicans in the U.S. Senate to drop their objections and pass the New START nuclear reduction treaty, which he and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed in April. "But just as this is a national security priority for the United States, the message that I have received since I have arrived from my fellow leaders here at NATO could not be clearer: New START will strengthen our alliance and it will strengthen European security," he said. NATO, which was founded to confront the perceived threat from the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact era, is trying to improve its relations with Russia. President Medvedev will take part in the NATO-Russia meeting, and will meet one-on-one with Mr. Obama.Air Jordan 2010 Air Yeezy

A settlement in New York City will pay out hundreds of millions of dollars to ground zero workers exposed to toxic debris after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, lawyers said Friday.Air Jordan 4 New Jordan Shoes Plaintiffs narrowly approved the deal after facing a Tuesday night deadline that required 95 percent of some 10,000 people who worked at ground zero to approve the measure, according to Marc Berns, an attorney for the plaintiffs. In March, U.S. District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected an earlier settlement, saying that it did not do enough to address the workers' ailments. air jordan shoes cheap jordans Friday's agreement concludes a seven-year fight between the city and first responders, who have said they were not properly outfitted for rescue and cleanup efforts after the 9/11 attacks, leaving them exposed to toxic dust that later prompted respiratory health issues. The deal paves the way for at least $625 million in city payouts. "It's a fantastic deal for everybody," Berns said. "Is it perfect? No. Is there a perfect deal? No. But this is as good a deal as you're going to get." Former New York City Police Department Detective John Walcott, who has leukemia, was less enthusiastic. "There's too much risk and no guarantees," and he rejected the settlement because he did not trust how the funds were going to be allocated, he said. Kenny Specht, a former firefighter suffering from thyroid cancer, said he signed on to the settlement to avoid continued litigation. "I supported the settlement because it was the only game in town," he said. "What you're being offered is not everything you deserve, but your case won't get dismissed." air jordans air jordan 2010 New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the deal "a fair and just resolution of these claims, protecting those who came to the aid of this city when we needed it most." "We will continue our commitment to treatment and monitoring of those who were present at ground zero," Bloomberg said on Friday. Congressional reaction to the announcement came quickly. "The agreement reached today on the 9/11 settlement is a positive step for many ailing first responders -- but the problem isn't over," New York Reps. Jerrold Nadler, Peter King and Carolyn Maloney said in a joint statement. "Nearly everyone agrees that the settlement does not provide adequate funding to fully compensate those who are injured among the more than 10,500 plaintiffs in this case, nor does it cover the tens of thousands of 9/11 responders and survivors who are injured but have not filed lawsuits." Air Jordan 2009 Air Jordan 9

But despite these milestones, NATO has struggled to adapt to the post–Cold War era. Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, committing each member state to consider an attack against one state as an attack against all, was invoked for the first time after Sept. 11. That led to Afghanistan, a massive operation that has placed a huge strain on the alliance and fueled tensions on whether its future focus should be on distant missions or closer to home. Air Jordan 6 air jordan shoes Earlier this year, a specially commissioned panel of experts called on NATO to become more versatile and efficient to cope with modern challenges including terrorism, cybercrime, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The panel, led by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, also said it must be better at communicating its achievements, or risk losing public support. But as well as new security threats, NATO has had to cope with the new timidity of European nations when it comes to putting troops on the line, as the war in Afghanistan has revealed. Daniel Keohane, a senior research fellow at the E.U. Institute for Security Studies in Brussels, says Europe's public support is falling in part thanks to the draining Afghanistan campaign and the unpopular Iraq war. "Many Europeans no longer want to follow the U.S. on military operations if their core security interest is unclear or if they think they have little say over strategy," he says. That is mirrored in dwindling defense spending. Even with their Afghan commitments, total defense spending among NATO's European members fell from $311 billion in 2001 to $272 billion in 2009. Air Jordan 9 Air Jordan 5 (See pictures of Afghanistan's dangerous Korengal Valley.) In March, Rasmussen, a former Danish Prime Minister, cautioned that Europeans could not take the transatlantic alliance with the U.S. for granted. He said the E.U., which moved to establish a stronger defense and security policy under last year's Lisbon treaty, "will remain a paper tiger if it is not followed up by concrete contributions when we need concrete military contributions." U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has regularly warned about the "demilitarization" of Europe. "My worry is that the more our allies cut their capabilities, the more people will look to the United States to cover whatever gaps are created," Gates said in Brussels last month. At the same time, as the U.S. looks to Iran, the Middle East and the rise of China, "it has ceased to be full-time European power," says Mark Leonard, co-author of "The Spectre of a Multipolar Europe," a report published last month by the European Council on Foreign Relations. "Washington sees Europe as essentially 'fixed,' and thinks it is time for Europeans to step up to provide their own security." Air Jordan 3 Air Jordan 4 Despite these existential questions, NATO has never been busier. There are some 120,000 international troops attached to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. NATO troops only left Bosnia in 2004, and they still turn out together for peacekeeping duty in Kosovo. And last year, NATO warships mounted anti-piracy patrols off Somalia. (See pictures of Somali pirates.) But all that might still not be enough. The question for Obama and the other leaders gathering in Lisbon will be whether they really mean what they say in their invigorating new mission statement or whether these recent NATO operations represent the last twitches of an ambivalent alliance. Air Jordan Fusion Air Jordan 1

"The physical pain from that car accident has long healed," he wrote. "But the pain in my soul is more complex and unsettling; it has been far more difficult to ease -- and to understand. But this much is obvious now: my life was out of balance, and my priorities were out of order. ... I hurt the people whom I loved the most. And even beyond accepting the consequences and responsibility, there is the ongoing struggle to learn from my failings."air jordan shoes cheap jordans Woods added that after much soul-searching, he has learned painful lessons. "Golf is a self-centered game, in ways good and bad. So much depends on one's own abilities. But for me, that self-reliance made me think I could tackle the world by myself. It made me think that if I was successful in golf, then I was invincible. Now I know that, no matter how tough or strong we are, we all need to rely on others." 'IDOL' PLANS CHANGES, ANGRY MOBS ARE READY: "American Idol" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe says that in addition to new judges Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, other changes are coming to the show, which opens its 10th season Jan. 12. air jordans air jordan 2010 For one thing, he's abandoning the Top 24 concept. "I didn't think (the top 24) were very good, I was bored with them by the time they got there," Lythgoe told TVGuide.com. So, the series will focus its advancement rounds starting with the best 12 singers. Also, theme weeks will focus on decades, rather than individual artists, Lythgoe said. DOWNSIZING: In a move that might strike some as entirely unpatriotic, VH1 is retouching its promotional ads for the Dec. 5 "Divas Salute the Troops" special, to, um, add nuance to Katy Perry's breasts. The original photo shows the singer posed like a pinup girl and parachuting while wearing a form-fitted camouflage jumpsuit. But apparently Perry's own reps were unhappy with the image(s) and demanded the ads be redone to make her "vocal chords" less prominent. In September, Perry's cameo on "Sesame Street" was yanked after parent groups complained that she showed too much cleavage. Air Jordan 2009 Air Jordan 9 TODAY IN HISTORY Today is Friday, Nov. 19, the 323rd day of 2010. There are 42 days left in the year. 1600: King Charles I of England was born in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. 1831: The 20th president of the United States, James Garfield, was born in Orange Township, Ohio. 1863: President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address as he dedicated a national cemetery at the site of the Civil War battlefield in Pennsylvania. n 1919: The Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles by a vote of 55 in favor, 39 against, short of the two-thirds majority needed for ratification. 1959: Ford Motor Co. announced it was halting production of the unpopular Edsel. 1969: Apollo 12 astronauts Charles Conrad and Alan Bean made the second manned landing on the moon. 1977: Egyptian President Anwar Sadat became the first Arab leader to visit Israel. 1985: President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev met for the first time as they began their summit in Geneva.Air Jordan 13 Air Jordan 23 1990: The pop duo Milli Vanilli were stripped of their Grammy Award because other singers had lent their voices to the "Girl You Know It's True" album. BIRTHDAYS Actor Alan Young (91), talk show host Larry King (77), talk show host Dick Cavett (74), broadcasting and sports mogul Ted Turner (72), TV journalist Garrick Utley (71), fashion designer Calvin Klein (68), sportscaster Ahmad Rashad (61), actress Kathleen Quinlan (56), newscaster Ann Curry (54), former NASA astronaut Eileen Collins (54), actress Allison Janney (51), actress Meg Ryan (49), actress-director Jodie Foster (48), actor Jason Scott Lee (44), Olympic gold medal runner Gail Devers (44), singer Tony Rich (39), dancer-choreographer Savion Glover (37), Olympic gold medal gymnast Kerri Strug (33). Air Jordan 11 Air Jordan 12

I should point out that there's another type of full-body scanner being used in some airports that many experts prefer over the backscatter machine.Air Jordan 6 air jordan shoes It's called a millimeter wave scanner; it doesn't use X-rays, and as far as experts can tell it has no known safety issues associated with it, says biophysicist David Brenner, director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. Of the 385 imaging units at 68 U.S. airports, about half are millimeter wave scanners and half are backscatter machines. But the government isn't interested in only purchasing millimeter wave scanners, since it considers both technologies equally safe, says Kimball. We want competition-driven innovation, he adds, which would be lost if only one company was given a lucrative government contract. The TSA has a list of airports that currently employ the new imaging technology, but the list doesn't indicate which airport has which type of scanner. For that information, passengers would need to ask airport security personnel directly. Air Jordan 9 Air Jordan 5 Overall, an individual's risk of going though a full-body scanner once or twice a year is miniscule, Brenner says. Still, the risk could be more significant, he says, for pilots, flight attendants, and other frequent fliers who pass through security hundreds of times a year, upping their cumulative radiation exposure. Like the UCSF scientists, Brenner adds that he'd like to see more independent analyses of the radiation doses involved, since there is fairly convincing evidence that the FDA is underestimating the radiation dose delivered by these scans. The U.S. Airline Pilots Association has voiced concerns about radiation exposure from the scanners and has asked the TSA to exempt pilots from the scans. For now, those who seldom travel through airports shouldn't be too concerned about radiation exposure from backscatter scanners. Frequent flyers, though, might want to follow Bricker's lead and opt for pat downs if they aren't too averse to them—at least until more is known about the radiation risks. Air Jordan 3 Air Jordan 4

Search and rescue teams on Wednesday spotted what appears to be the wreckage of an Air Force fighter jet that went missing during a nighttime training mission over Alaska, officials said. air jordans air jordan 2010 The fate of the pilot, whose name has not been released, remained uncertain, and Air Force officials held out hope that he might have survived. The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor disappeared from radar as the aircraft and another jet were heading back to base at about 7:40 p.m. local time on Tuesday. The pilot of the second plane searched Tuesday night for the missing jet without success. The probable crash site was spotted Wednesday morning about 100 miles (160 km) north of Anchorage by an Alaska National Guard helicopter crew, said Colonel Jack McMullen, commander of the Air Force 3rd Wing. Air Jordan 2009 Air Jordan 9 The National Guard crew was unable to land, but a second helicopter team was en route and attempting to land, he told reporters at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. "We have not confirmed that he is with the plane," McMullen said of the pilot. "We're going to continue looking for him until we have confirmation." He added that the pilot was "arctic trained" to survive in the harsh climate. "He's got the gear on. He's got stuff in his survival kit so that he can hunker himself down." Teams from the Alaska Air National Guard and Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks using HH-60 helicopters and an HC-130 search and rescue aircraft took part in the search. The Raptor, a single-seat, twin-engine fighter equipped with stealth technology, was assigned to the 3rd Wing at Elmendorf. (Writing by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Eric Walsh) Air Jordan 13 Air Jordan 23

They also set up a 750 billion-euro rescue fund to help countries get out of a Greek-style crisis. air max 180 air max 2009 “It sounds terrible but it might speed things up,” said David Malone, 40, who runs his own corporate communications company in Dublin. “It can’t get any worse. We’re on this road for two years now and there’s still no sign we’re at the end.” While Ireland says it has the funds to avert an immediate bailout, its cash may run out by the middle of next year unless the country can sell bonds. In September, Ireland canceled bond auctions scheduled for October and November. Yields, Swaps The cost of insuring Irish debt rose the most of the so- called euro peripherals -- Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy -- during the past month as the government struggles to convince investors it won’t be the next Greece. Shox R3 air jordans The difference in yield, or spread, between 10-year Irish bonds and German bunds of similar maturity climbed 207 basis points since German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Oct. 29 that bondholders should foot part of the bill in a new mechanism for rescues being drafted by EU leaders, rankling the Irish. “It’s not helpful to suggest Europe is going to restructure other countries’ debts,” Lenihan said on Nov. 3. “Ireland has made it very clear we’ll honor our debt and obligations. There is no question of restructuring our debt.” The spread stood at a record 647 points yesterday, up from 205 basis points on May 3, the day after the terms of the Greek package were announced. Two years ago, it was 84 points. Shox R2 Shox R2 Women The cost of protecting Irish debt against non-payment for five years using credit-default swaps was 597 basis points yesterday, lower than the 876 points for Greece, though higher than Portugal at 475 points and more than twice Spain’s cost at 277 points, according to prices from data provider CMA. ‘Humiliating’ Erik Nielsen, chief European economist at Goldman Sachs, said Nov. 8 on Bloomberg Television that there is a “big possibility” that Ireland will need to seek aid from the EU and IMF “unless the markets suddenly calm down.” That would be “humiliating,” according to Eoin McDevitt, 43, a government worker in Dublin who says he earns 110 euros a week less after two pay cuts. Shox OZ Shox OZ Women “Bond yields have risen on issues that aren’t relevant to what we’ve done,” McDevitt said. “We’d involuntarily be giving up control of our own economy to the EU, albeit a friendly body. The IMF makes no secret of not being friendly.” For Montgomery, it’s time for the Irish to pull together and make sure they keep control of their finances, even if that means enduring higher taxes like the Greeks. “If there was a general consensus and we all tried to get ourselves out of this mess, we are more than capable,” he said. “We have plenty of ingenuity.” Shox NZ Shox NZ Women

The Irish have endured a bust-to-boom-to-bust economy. The country was the one of the poorest in Europe when it joined the EU in 1973 along with Britain, which went to the IMF three years later. Even with European subsidies, unemployment in the mid- 1980s averaged 16 percent, driving 228,000 people abroad. Shox 2011 Shox 2011 Women Export Drive In the 1990s, companies such as Pfizer Inc. and Microsoft Corp. helped Ireland export its way into becoming the “Celtic Tiger” and drawing people back to the country as the jobless rate sank to 3.9 percent by 2001. In the decade through 2006, Ireland’s economy grew at an average annual rate of about 7 percent, the fastest among countries that adopted the euro. “You are smart and stubborn people,” EU Commissioner Rehn said this week. “Time and again, you have proved you can overcome adversity.” Shox 2010 Shox 2010 Women Things went wrong as global credit markets froze in late 2007 and banks struggled to fund their business. Prices for residential property have sunk 36 percent since 2006, based on an index compiled by Irish Life & Permanent Plc and the Economic & Social Research Institute in Dublin. GDP fell 17 percent. The unemployment rate doubled to 13.6 percent, with companies such as U.S. computer maker Dell Inc. shedding jobs. The Irish government nationalized Anglo Irish Bank Corp. in January 2009 as loan losses spiraled. The government also has taken a 36 percent stake in Bank of Ireland Plc and is preparing to take a majority stake in Allied Irish Banks Plc. Paying Debts Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings have cut their credit ratings for Ireland since August amid the mounting cost to bail out the nation’s lenders. Moody’s Investors Service said Oct. 5 that the country’s Aa2 rating may be reduced. nike shox nike shox shoes Ireland “recognizes one of the things about being an independent country is if you borrow, you pay your way,” John Bruton, prime minister between 1995 and 1997 and the former EU envoy in Washington, said in an interview in his farmhouse north of Dublin. “I don’t think Irish people want that not to be the case in the decade we are 100 years as an independent state.” Montgomery said he volunteered for an unpaid week of work at Britvic and has given up overtime to keep his job. His wife stays home to look after their child. He said he has stopped paying the premium on his life assurance policy and his family has curtailed vacations and eating out. air jordan air jordan

Officials from the EU were in Dublin this week to review the nation’s deteriorating finances as the government, led by Prime Minister Brian Cowen since May 2008, prepares to push its latest package of spending cuts through parliament in December. air jordan 2010 air jordan 23 EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said Nov. 8 that the country hadn’t asked for a bailout and he expected it to beat the crisis. The IMF also hasn’t received any request for financial help from Ireland and it is following the situation “very closely,” Carlo Cottarelli, director of the fund’s fiscal department, said on Nov. 5. air jordan 23 air jordan 19 ‘Sovereign Country’ “We are a sovereign country and we would hope that our political leaders and masters would have been able to get us out of this mess,” said James Geoghegan, 28, a nurse at University College Hospital in Galway who reckons his monthly paycheck has been reduced by “a couple of hundred” euros. air jordan 6 air jordan 13 Beginning in 2008, Ireland cut public-sector pay by about 14 percent, lowered welfare payments for the unemployed and parents, and raised taxes. The approach initially won praise from investors before signs emerged that the country’s financial-services industry may bankrupt the nation. Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said in September that the final cost of rescuing the banking system may be close to 33 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Ireland now is preparing to cut its budget by 6 billion euros in 2011 and then by another 9 billion euros over the next three years, to narrow the deficit to 3 percent of GDP from 12 percent this year. The figure is 32 percent when bank rescue costs are included. Ireland has made 14.5 billion euros of cost savings since 2008, Cowen said Oct. 27. air jordan 3 coach handbags ‘Devil You Know’ Declan O’Hara, a 49-year-old taxi driver in the Irish capital, wants to stick with a domestic solution. “It may be better the devil you know than the one you don’t,” O’Hara said. “Going to the IMF would be unknown territory. Times are already very tough. They might say hand over all your possessions. At least now, we call the shots.” O’Hara was driving down Dublin’s south quays, the site of dozens of derelict and empty buildings, a legacy of the real- estate bonanza, which abruptly ended in 2008. About 36,000 Irish mortgage holders are in arrears and the country has about 2,800 so-called ghost estates, according to government statistics. air jordan 1 flight air jordan 1