Word: defectives
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...pass into our vocabulary as a synecdoche, a symbol for something larger. The victims cannot be dismissed as mere crazies: many were poor, elderly blacks, but a number were well-educated younger people from seemingly comfortable backgrounds. What united them was partly a fear of freedom, partly a defect in will that led them to surrender blindly to any powerful leader, any strong faith - things they somehow were not able to find in U.S. society and so rejected it. They did so even though the leader was a charlatan, and the faith insane...
...diplomats began telling jokes about Chavez's tale, saying it was a CIA propaganda ploy to induce more Russians to defect. Another diplomat quipped that perhaps there should be a new bumper sticker proclaiming: DEFECTORS HAVE MORE FUN. In Washington, the CIA saw less to be amused about. Director Stansfield Turner explained that while Shevchenko "is receiving compensation from the CIA commensurate with his services and value to the U.S.," he is getting nothing for a "female companion." Jimmy Carter got into the act by observing at his press conference that sums such as those reported by Chavez "would...
...agency handled the case "like a bunch of Keystone Kops." It is also quite possible that the CIA has been relatively lax with Shevchenko because he has been far less valuable as an intelligence source than had been anticipated. Although one of the highest-ranking Soviets ever to defect, he had little knowledge of the inner workings of current Soviet policies or intelligence operations. His reputation at the U.N. for heavy drinking and a weakness for shapely women may have led the Kremlin to cut his access to sensitive information long ago. It is even possible that he decided...
...comparison with what some Far Eastern countries pay defectors, Uncle Sam is a piker. Early this month, when a lowly antitank gunner, Corporal Kwon Chong Hun, 20, defected to Seoul from North Korea, he was celebrated as an "antiCommunist gladiator" and given the equivalent of $20,000. Seoul also provided him with free housing and his choice of a college scholarship or free farm land. He received several job offers. An association of Seoul businessmen whose ancestors came from Kwon's home province is trying to find him a bride. Observes Kwon, understandably: "My decision to defect...
...easily proved, but more horrifying, damage to the people of Vietnam. Although long-term scientific studies of Agent Orange's effect on Vietnam's population are still underway, Vietnamese doctors have reported significant increases in liver tumors, miscarriages and deformed children--especially those born with cleft palates, a birth defect observed with lab animals. Professor Ton That Tung, director of the Viet Duc hospital in Hanoi, published papers documenting a high incidence of chromosome damage among people in sprayed areas...