Word: formalisms
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...fact, establishing diplomatic relations with Iran would allow the US to use the rising price of oil to its advantage. Currently, Iranian oil production is barely 60 percent of what it was in 1977. This fall in production has been largely attributed to a lack of foreign investment. Without formal diplomatic relations, US companies cannot effectively do business in Iran. Similarly, US diplomats are unable to make credible promises. If the US re-establishes official relations, American oil companies—who have some of the most advanced petroleum extraction technologies in the world—could easily increase Iranian...
...course, some supporters of Israel may see the re-establishment of relations as a threat to the Israeli state. However, the truth is a bit more complicated. The re-establishment of formal relations will open diplomatic channels by which the US can help Iran to reconcile its differences with Israel and other Middle Eastern states. The present situation leaves the United States in a bind, unable to effectively mediate between two hostile parties and forced to resort to bullying and bellicose language. Opening relations with Iran will at least put negotiation on the table...
...pressure the Bush Administration put on Beijing to increase the value of the renminbi (RMB), which increases the price of Chinese-made goods in export markets and thus in theory should help diminish China's massive trade surplus, the U.S. Treasury has never formally cited China for currency manipulation. Doing so under U.S. law would compel the White House to open formal negotiations with China over its currency policy. Trade hawks in Congress, pushed by union allies and some manufacturing lobbies in Washington, have long pined for this. But the Bush Administration resisted, preferring to fold the currency issue into...
Emanuel is a relatively recent addition to Obama's formal brain trust. Torn between his loyalty to the Clintons and the fact that his home-state Senator was running, he stayed on the sidelines during the long and contentious Democratic primary race between Obama and Hillary Clinton, though many observers suspected his sympathies lay with the Chicagoan. Once that battle was over, Emanuel quickly established himself as one of Obama's closest advisers. "He was very helpful," Axelrod recalls. "They have a really candid but respectful relationship. [Obama] knows he can count on Rahm for unvarnished advice." By midsummer, Axelrod...
...Some say formal hats went out of fashion when J.F.K. delivered his Inaugural Address without one. Others blame their demise on the rise of the automobile, which meant that fewer men had to spend time out in the cold walking or waiting for the bus. But in the past two or three years, thanks to popular musicians like Justin Timberlake and Usher, formal hats like the fedora and the pork-pie have become popular again. (See pictures of the fashion of Michelle Obama...