Word: burnish
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...Most Burmese are devout Buddhists, and the junta tries to burnish its image by plastering state-controlled newspapers with articles about its contributions to religious causes. But no amount of merit-making can erase the image of regime goons massacring monks two years ago. Although a frightened hush followed that crackdown, Suu Kyi's sentencing has reignited speculation that the generals have gone too far - and that religious harmony has been disturbed. (Read "Burma Court Finds Aung San Suu Kyi Guilty...
...Amid all the behind-the-scenes recriminations, Britain's relationship with the U.S. feels that little bit less special. Gaddafi may have boosted his domestic popularity, but the affair has done little to burnish his image abroad. "Given the original intent [to anchor Libya more firmly in the international community], it will be interesting to see how Libya's relations with the world are affected," says former special adviser Owen. The star guests at the Sept. 1 celebration in Tripoli to mark the 40th anniversary of the coup that brought Gaddafi to power were two of the world's most...
...Tehran A Tap on the Glass Ceiling President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad plans to nominate three female Cabinet members--Iran's first in more than 30 years--in a move widely viewed as an attempt to burnish his image with women amid continuing turmoil over his June re-election. The nominees include two political hard-liners: gynecologist Marzieh Vahid Dastgerdi as Health Minister and Fatemeh Ajorlu as Welfare Minister...
...Iraqi politicians, getting the U.S. out would burnish their nationalism - even though the security situation remains fraught. It would be political suicide for the Iraqi government, at this point, to reverse itself and bring U.S. tanks back into cities. Al-Maliki celebrated SOFA's official inception on June 30, with U.S. forces relegated to their bases, as a kind of "national sovereignty day." Parades were staged and al-Maliki spoke of the reduced U.S. visibility as an Iraqi victory...
...same time, it's a win-win for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who gets to burnish his tough-guy credentials ahead of national elections early next year as well as please his allies, the ayatullahs. There's little love in Iraq for the MEK, which was welcomed by Saddam Hussein in the mid-'80s, when he was at war with Iran, and supplied with a training camp and armaments. The group is accused of repaying its benefactor by helping quash Kurdish and Shi'ite rebellions - charges the MEK has denied...