Word: deal
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...writing books like Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations, Franken didn't have to modulate his personality. Now he has cut way back on the joking and has become a little more boring than people are used to. Which wouldn't be a big deal - he's still funnier than any other candidate in American history - but voters here are so familiar with him that a little holding back erodes his authenticity. "Occasionally, I go, 'Oh, there's a kind of joke I don't do anymore.' I used to not care if a joke could...
...danger of becoming ostracized internationally. This should be a matter of considerable concern to Russia's new business élite, who are increasingly vulnerable to global financial pressure. Russia's powerful oligarchs have hundreds of billions of dollars in Western bank accounts. They would stand to lose a great deal in the event of a Cold War-style standoff that could conceivably result, at some stage, in the West's freezing of such holdings...
...difficult to overstate the importance of such a deal. If the legitimacy of its government were even partially restored, the world could re-engage Zimbabwe and help end the economic crisis that has seen inflation spiral out of control, ruined all but the regime's elite and sent millions of refugees into neighboring Botswana, Zambia and South Africa. Economists predict recovery would be quick: though its currency is worthless, its farms moribund and its industry largely mothballed, Zimbabwe retains good heavy infrastructure, such as roads, buildings and airports. A deal would also signal the passing...
...year-old table-tennis prodigy in eastern Shandong province told me quite cheerfully that she competes as an 11-year-old in provincial and regional age-ranked competitions. Her national identity card, she said, had been changed to reflect the false birth-date. "It's no big deal," she insisted. "Most of my friends do it, too." Her coach, who hadn't been present when I interviewed the girl, denied any age-fixing at the school, although he said he was quite sure it happened at other academies...
...thing about nightmare scenarios is that they rarely come true. Still, it bears watching. There are half a dozen pending arms deals between Russia and Iran on the table, including the Russian S-300, an air-defense system that would make an aerial attack on Iran very costly. If Russia, emboldened by a victory in Georgia, were to go ahead with the deal now, it would be a sign that imperial Russia is truly back on the move...