Just hope surmises the valet baseball state diagnoses guys call her a taxi. --valli. herman--(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)How it ratesNew and notable: A smart, $80-million renovation has modernized the hotel's retro appeal. The stay: Central Beverly Hills location lets you live it up like a tourist or a celebrity. The scene: Conventioneers mix with leisure travelers and local charity-event attendees. Deal maker: Immerse yourself in two great sports -- swimming in the Olympic-size pool and shopping on Rodeo Drive. Deal breaker: It's big but not boutique, even if the new decor is cool. Stats: 9876 Wilshire Blvd. , Beverly Hills; (310) 274-7777, beverlyhilton Rooms: $295 to $1,000: penthouses are up to $5,000 per night. Rating is based on the room, service, ambience and overall experience with price taken into account in relation to quality. * * * * * Outstanding on every level* * * * Excellent* * * Very good* * Good* SatisfactoryNo Star: PoorOn travel. latimes Compare hotels, review your own and read other hotel reviews at latimes /beverlyhilton. . BETWEEN THE END OF WORLD WAR II and the beginning of the Cold War, President Harry S. Truman declared that a failure to aid Turkey would have negative ramifications "reaching to the West as well as to the East. "What Truman knew then holds true today: Turkey remains the physical, cultural and strategic bridge between East and West. Lately, it has been reasserting that role, even at the expense of alienating its old Western allies. The United States and Europe need to prepare for and manage the inevitable disagreements ahead while soliciting a greater Turkish role in the troubled Middle East, beginning in Lebanon. In the last few years, the secular Muslim state has practiced a diplomatic balancing act, intensifying its overtures to the liberal West while sending contrary signals domestically to its own illiberal nationalists Before the Iraq war, Ankara refused the U. S. military the right to launch operations from within its territory, despite its history of supporting U. S.

military action and its long membership in NATO. In its attempt to become a full-fledged member of a reluctant Europe, Turkey rewrote its penal code to better protect human rights . But Ankara slipped in controversial Article 301, which mandates up to three years in prison for those who insult "Turkishness. " This odious law already has been used to shackle some of Turkey's brightest writers and thinkers. Last week, only days after a warning from EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, Turkey freed one of its most prominent columnists charged under the law (for arguing against mandatory military service) basketball state . But then, zagging the other direction, Turkey this week appointed a hard-line military chief -- who supports cross-border incursions against Iraqi Kurds -- in the wake of 15 Turkish soldiers being killed in the last three weeks, allegedly by Kurds bobcats . Turkish citizens, long intolerant of Kurdish separatism both at home and abroad, see such action as parallel to Israel's offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon Texas State Bobcats . So the balancing act grows more precarious by the day bobcats baseball . With elections coming up next year, Turkish politicians are beating the nationalist drum. But a promising opportunity might open with Turkey's proposed involvement in a peacekeeping force in Lebanon after a cease-fire with Israel is established.

Turkey is an ideal candidate because of its historic role as mediator (or, sometimes, bulwark) between Europe and the Middle East . Having well-trained armed forces, good relationships with Syria and Iran, and a Muslim population doesn't hurt. Turkey would get a chance to boost its regional profile and pursue a more assertive -- and popular -- foreign policy while bolstering its ties to the West bobcats basketball . Better to maintain a shaky balance than to lose the only secular Muslim ally the U. S has. bobcats football. Las VegasWhen I first heard that the Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa offered an amenity called an "adventure spa," I knew this was the place for me bobcats roster . Finally, I thought, a Vegas resort for people who find more excitement riding a mountain bike than riding a casino stool. Images of an REI store with blackjack tables and cocktail waitresses in hiking boots floated through my mind. I saw mountain bikes weaving between the slot machines and bartenders serving energy drinks in Nalgene bottles Texas State Bobcats - txstatebobcats . The resort, built by Station Casinos Inc of Las Vegas, is about 10 miles west from the Strip. But more important, it is only six miles from Red Rock Canyon. From the outside, it looks like another high-end Vegas property: massive water fountains and palm trees, rust- and adobe-colored walls and that ubiquitous desert-modern architecture But I had faith.

I knew out here appearances could be deceiving. Inside, it seemed like a mall . There were 10 restaurants, a 72-lane bowling alley (including 12 VIP lanes), a 16-screen movie theater and a child-care center that charged by the hour bobcats schedule . All of which centered on a few thousand slot machines, blackjack tables and craps tables. As far as I could see, I was the only one stomping through the place in scuffed hiking boots and a backpack bobcats skid steer . I searched for the trail head to the adventure spa but couldn't find one I lacked a GPS, but I was able to call out bobcats sports . The receptionists at the massage salon downstairs picked up. I suppose I was a little disappointed to learn that the same people who book the Thai rubdowns and pedicures also arrange the kayak trips and bike rides. It seems the adventure spa is more of a concept than an actual place. I checked into my room, which was, simply put, luxurious . I had a 42-inch plasma television, a Bose sound system with iPod connectivity, a terry bathrobe and slippers, a martini bar and another flat-screen TV hanging over the bathtub.

Now, this could be a real adventure. After a typical day and night as an outdoors writer for The Times (you know, rock climbing, mountain biking, indoor sky diving, kayaking and sleeping under the stars), I returned to my room and pampered myself with a 25-minute Swedish massage, a sauna and a steam bath for $102, including tip . I had dinner at Terra Rossa, one of the resort's 10 restaurants, where I spent $50 on a plate of meat lasagna the size of a phone book bobcats team . But to be fair, I was hungry. All in all, I hadn't placed a single bet yet somehow I had already spent more than $400 cross country state . I guess this is the whole idea, and though I shouldn't be surprised, I did feel slightly cheated football state . This was no more an adventure than what I might have found back on the Strip. So I called David Bert, who is in charge of the so-called adventure spa. He's a kindred spirit, an outdoor enthusiast who hosts a public radio show on back-country travel in Nevada. The adventure spa, at least for the time being, is mostly a booking agency, a concierge service to the outdoors, putting its guests within reach of about 197,000 acres of desert and canyons in Red Rock Canyon, and Lake Mead and the Colorado River. That sounded promising, but why was I the only one in hiking boots?The spa, Bert told me, is still a work in progress.

Over time, the resort plans to increase its visibility by adding a storefront with kayaks and bicycles hanging on the wall . "We are taking baby steps," he said. It shouldn't have surprised me, but the spa is just one of many strategies for luring visitors to Vegas away from the Strip sports . According to Bert, the resort hopes the spa will attract at least 10% of the resort guests sports state Texas State Bobcats - txstatebobcats . He hopes a national marketing campaign this fall will boost those numbers, as would ski and snowboarding trips to nearby Mt state athletic . Texas State Bobcats tickets Charleston, if all his plans work out. Gamble? Get a facial? Climb a canyon wall? I guess it makes sense It's all the same to the resort operators. In fact, the latest campaign is to persuade guests to book a massage or a facial treatment after their outdoor adventure.