Word: grip
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...only one paying it. The dismantling of Media-Most has left Russia without any credible voice to challenge the information machine of an increasingly authoritarian government. And as Putin's grip on the media tightened last week, so did his control of Russian party politics. Otechestvo, a party headed by former Putin rivals Yuri Luzhkov and Yevgeni Primakov, announced that it would merge with the pro-Putin Yedvinstvo party in November; two more Duma factions threw their lot in with the new force, giving the government a 235-vote majority. Though the Kremlin maintains its actions are financially motivated, many...
...seats in parliament, leaving him easy prey to the political rivals who had previously helped him keep the more popular Megawati Sukarnoputri out of the presidency. In order to defuse popular anger at the time, Wahid had given Megawati the vice presidency, thereby forging a coalition in which his grip on power was always going to be tenuous. Now his rivals are withdrawing their support in what observers believe is mostly a power-play to get rid of an ailing president blasted by his critics for arrogance and incompetence...
...have warned the politicians to keep their differences off the streets. While there are no fears of an imminent coup, a long-term bout of political instability at the center amid an unraveling in the provinces would certainly raise the temptation among the generals to reassert a more direct grip on power. And right now it's hard to imagine any of the alternatives to Wahid escaping the chronic instability and infighting that has dogged his reign...
Today the people of Aceh are in a similar situation. They haven't been offered a chance to vote on their fate, but Wahid has an even weaker grip on the nation than Habibie did. Last year Wahid promised a political autonomy and economic package for Aceh. But under pressure from the military, nationalists and Vice President Megawati, Wahid last week issued a Presidential Instruction calling for local officials to reinstate public services and destroy separatist movements using any means necessary...
What evil force has Hollywood in its grip? Nothing as campy as what science fiction can envision, to be sure. The latest tempest in Tinseltown (and no, it’s not J. Lo’s increasingly warped fashion sense) is that the contracts which the WGA and the Screen Actors Guild of America (SAG) have with the television and film industry (represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) are set to expire on May 1 and June 30, respectively. These 14,000 WGA members and 135,000 SAG members constitute the brains and the brawn...