And then as the financial crisis hit with its full force, America faced a hard and once unimaginable reality, that two of the Big 3 automakers -- GM and Chrysler -- were on the brink of liquidation.

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Seven years later when he started looking for full-time work, he faced a problem: All his old contacts and job references were seven to 12 years old.

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The top two players in the world had not faced each other for a full 12 months since last year's Madrid final, which Federer won.

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Worford (who makes the fatal mistake of equating his salary with the cost of childcare, as many women do, even though it should really be calculated as a portion of both incomes) and his wife faced paying as much as a full salary to find childcare.

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Sure enough, when Sinn Fein leaders arrived for the first full-fledged talks on Monday morning, they faced a collection of empty chairs.

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Faced with that very question this month was the Half Full Triathlon in Maryland.

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Thaksinomics was plenty flawed itself, full of grand plans and dubious connections to the leader's own interests, but at least it faced outward to the world.

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The two sides, who have faced each other three times in six days, saved their best for last in a game that was full of drama from start to finish.

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