Word: ironic
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Reinvigorating the special relationship with the U.S., she became Reagan's closest ally in placing new nuclear missiles in Europe to counter Soviet deployments in the early 1980s. Moscow christened her the Iron Lady, a title she savored. Playing an intermediary role between the superpowers, she realized more quickly than Reagan that Mikhail Gorbachev really meant it when he called for the healing of Europe. She affixed her seal of approval during a Gorbachev visit to England in late 1984, before he became leader of the Soviet Union. "I like Mr. Gorbachev," she said. "We can do business together...
Headlines such as Time's "The Iron Lady Bows Out" are not particularly kind, but underneath the cliches of Thatcher's tough image, public opinion has been a little gentler. Thatcher received praise from almost every corner--from Ronald Reagan to even Neil Kinnock, the leader of the rival Labour Party...
...cold war was near absolute zero, the Korean War was raging, and the West could almost hear the Soviet tanks gunning their engines on the other side of the Iron Curtain. The U.S. and its European allies were determined not to be caught as unprepared as they had been when the Nazis invaded. So in the early 1950s they began training "stay behind" networks of volunteers. If the Soviet army rolled west, the groups were to gather intelligence, open escape routes and form resistance movements...
...solid as cement yet as light as foam cushion, or sturdy like steel but pliable like rubber. Because of their superior properties, advanced materials are rapidly replacing ordinary steel, aluminum and plastics in everything from cutlery to cars. Scientists have high hopes of conserving natural commodities such as iron, wood and rubber. Says Robert Newnham, a professor of solid-state science at Pennsylvania State: "At one time, we had to settle for whatever Mother Nature gave us. Now if we're not satisfied we can go out and create our own materials...
Turkey finds itself in a particularly painful bind. Exporters had expected to sell Baghdad $600 million worth of goods, mainly iron, steel and food products. Since the U.S. and most European countries impose strict quotas on some of these imports and the markets for others are saturated, Ankara estimates that 75% of the products destined for Iraq will effectively be rendered worthless: no other foreign importer will be able to buy them...