I can't know entirely what's at stake beforehand; you find out as you GO. I love to take a poem, for instance, that starts with something seemingly FRIVOLOUS or inconsequential and then grows in GRAVITY until by the end it's something very SERIOUS.

It's not just IRAQ - it's the ATLANTIC PARTNERSHIP which is at stake.

The passage of the American RECOVERY and Reinvestment Act - or stimulus bill, as it is often called - is a perfect EXAMPLE in which dire circumstances necessitate immediate action. But with such large amounts of taxpayer money at stake, a hastily DEVELOPED, under-thought-out PLAN could have been disastrous.

In my experience, most federal prosecutors, at EVERY level, are seeking to MAKE a name for themselves, and the best way to do that is by prosecuting some high-level PERSON. While COMPANIES that are indicted ALMOST always settle, individual defendants whose careers are at stake will often go to trial.

The floods and FIRES and storms and droughts that Australia has SUFFERED in the last few YEARS have left no doubt in many Australians' minds about just how much is a stake in a super-heated WORLD.

There's SOMETHING that goes on in a new-business meeting that's wonderful to watch. It's LIKE showtime. There are people who are nervous, and there are people who are jittery, and there's so MUCH drama and so much at stake.

Most TIMES, LIFE or death is the HIGHEST stake a person can PLAY for.

Each and EVERY DAY, ISRAEL's very EXISTENCE is at stake.