Word: grips
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...This standoff, and the planned demonstration, is a problem for Putin, although not a big one. It's not going to shake his grip on Russian public opinion, but he's in a no-win situation. If he uses strong-arm tactics to close the network down, that will create a messy political situation. But if he doesn't, he'll look like he's unable to follow through on his threats. Of course Putin's modus operandi is to deny any knowledge that these things are even going on, but in reality the NTV standoff presents him with...
...bother other burakumin that Nonaka doesn't want to be a poster-boy for their cause. After all, they haven't been his staunchest supporters, either. Burakumin have traditionally backed socialist and communist parties, while the conservative Nonaka staked his early career on chipping away at the communists' grip on power in Kyoto. "If he becomes Prime Minister," says Kanto, "it won't really change much for us. It would be more difficult for him to do things for us, because at the top, he would have to deal with too many other issues...
This latest unrest came at an especially bad time for the Communist Party, as it prepares for its twice-a-decade general congress. Already anxious about maintaining their grip on power, officials sent in army troops who crushed the revolt and quickly sealed off the highlands. At least 30 protesters were arrested. When foreign media were allowed in briefly last week, they were closely followed by a white van filled with local police. Officials blocked reporters' access to protest participants and downplayed the troubles, blaming it on Vietnamese exiles bent on toppling the Hanoi regime. "The extremists tried to trick...
ZIMBABWE Press Crackdown The Zimbabwe government sacked the editors of two state-controlled newspapers and rejected a Commonwealth plan to send a delegation to Harare, as President Robert Mugabe seeks to tighten his grip ahead of elections next year. The chairman of Zimpapers, the government-controlled company that publishes the Herald and Sunday Mail, was dismissed two weeks ago; earlier this year a bomb destroyed the printing press of the opposition Daily News. U.K. Foreign Secretary Robin Cook warned that Zimabwe risked isolation from the Commonwealth by refusing to cooperate with the proposed ministerial visit...
...daily toll on the Russian forces there continues. Moscow's grip on Chechnya is not as strong as it would like. If I were to guess, though, I'd say these hijackers are not likely to have been sent by Khattab or Shamil Basayev, the best-known leaders of the rebel forces. Those guys have had plenty of opportunity for grandstanding acts of terror throughout Russia, but it hasn't really been their style for the most part. They're more focused on the daily grind of guerrilla warfare, making the Russian forces pay a heavy price for being...