believe in anything

Decades ago, hiring policies ensured that the ranks of flight attendants remained young. Stewardesses faced mandatory retirement by 32. If they married or became pregnant, they were out. In 1966, a New York Times classified ad for stewardesses at Eastern Airlines listed these requirements: “A high school graduate, single (widows and divorcees with no children considered), 20 years of age (girls 19 1/2 may apply for future consideration). 5’2” but no more than 5’9,” weight 105 to 135 in proportion to height and have at least 20/40 vision without glasses.”

Stewards like Mr. Akana were not subject to quite as strict regulations. In 1963, he married a fellow flight attendant, Elizabeth Ann Ebersole. They met on Waikiki Beach six months earlier when a colleague played matchmaker. He continued to fly. She promptly quit.

“In those days, you had to,” she said. “There was no way I could be sneaky about it.”

But insurgent commanders say most of their weapons come from the very army they’re fighting, either seized or purchased in a thriving illicit trade. Intermediaries such as a merchant known as Abu Hussein arrange arms deals between the two sides.

Abu Hussein described how the rebels will shoot a few times at a government checkpoint, giving soldiers the cover to fire off their weapons. If the troops expend 200 bullets, Abu Hussein said, they may tell their superiors that 400 bullets were fired. The remaining 200 bullets will be sold to the rebels, typically for 150 Syrian pounds (about $2.50) per bullet.

A combination of intelligence and beauty is very attractive advertisement in women chess. Don’t you think that the rules, adopted by the ECU, which forbid the wearing of mini-skirts, can decrease the attention paid to women chess?

I have to admit that the players I saw here with short skirts looked very nice. So, in a way they are making chess more attractive for spectators. On the other hand for many years I’ve been in the chess world as a player, an arbiter, etc. Once, when I was working as an arbiter, I warned one player, even though there were no any rules at that time, because she kept coming to the playing hall dressed like someone who was going to the beach. I think it’s good that we have started to do something with dress code, and it’s very important for the image of chess. In fact these rules will be more useful during men events. In general, women take care about their looks and what they wear. There is not a lot of trouble with women – and in fact and I’m sure there will be no trouble at all in the future as well. With men the situation is a little bit different. Anyway the European Championship for men will start in twenty days, and we’ll see what will happen there.

Schiff, 46, is facing another kind of jam this year: Paid a lower bonus, he said the $350,000 he earns, enough to put him in the country’s top 1 percent by income, doesn’t cover his family’s private-school tuition, a Kent, Connecticut, summer rental and the upgrade they would like from their 1,200-square- foot Brooklyn duplex.

“I feel stuck,” Schiff said. “The New York that I wanted to have is still just beyond my reach.”

[…]

“People who don’t have money don’t understand the stress,” said Alan Dlugash, a partner at accounting firm Marks Paneth & Shron LLP in New York who specializes in financial planning for the wealthy. “Could you imagine what it’s like to say I got three kids in private school, I have to think about pulling them out? How do you do that?”