Word: fruitlessness
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...current hostilities between family-firsters and gay activists because, in many respects, the feud is self-perpetuating: a revolting action by one side provokes an even more offensive gesture by the other. Although the conflict can claim deep historical roots, by now it has degenerated into a fruitless exercise in competition as both camps swap insults and accusations...
...their bodyguards were obliged to check their handguns at the door. The gun toters all went home later in one piece, but that was more than could be said for the state of the nation. As of last week, leaders of Yugoslavia's six contentious republics had held four fruitless rounds of talks in an effort to resolve a fateful drive toward secession, and the roiling crisis is tearing the country apart. The only question is whether the process of dismemberment can be achieved without civil war, and if so, how -- if at all -- the republics can survive as separate...
...sooner or later, these presidents realized how fruitless such pursuits were. By the end of their terms, most were convinced that America's only stable and reliable ally in the Middle East is the only democracy in the Middle East--Israel...
...appear more pious as the gulf conflict heats up. Just after Hussein grew the beard, he appointed members of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood to his Cabinet, thereby including that group in the government for the first time. Others see the beard's purpose differently, concluding that months of fruitless diplomacy have caused the King's stress-induced skin rash to act up again...
...they definitely have no patience for singing cops. Also: even well-done family sitcoms, like NBC's Parenthood, are apt to get lost in the current oversupply of cute TV clans. And pouring big money into shows to compete with CBS's Sunday-night powerhouse 60 Minutes is a fruitless exercise. NBC, at least, seems to have learned that lesson: in February it will introduce Sunday Best, a shamelessly cost-efficient variety show that will feature highlights from the previous week's NBC shows...