Word: joking
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...year forays abroad, American consultants are largely motivated by avarice, arrogance and adventure. Perhaps their most high-minded justification is the contention that teaching the effective use of TV allows democratic leaders to communicate with the voters and mobilize political support. But this brings to mind the old joke about the small-town attorney who was going broke until another lawyer showed up, and they both got rich suing each other. Similarly, one media adviser in a foreign country may be a boon for democracy, but bring in a rival and you create that lucrative state known as consultant gridlock...
...refugees testify to a disillusionment with the rigid rule of East German President Erich Honecker, 77, who seems to offer no hope of future change. Most of them are young people, skilled workers or university-trained specialists. As yet, Honecker has done nothing to stanch the flow. One joke making the rounds last week asked, "Why will Honecker abolish East German identity cards by 1990?" The answer: "Because by then, Honecker will be personally acquainted with all the remaining citizens...
...mass exodus is no joke. In the past, the trickle of legal refugees primarily involved senior citizens, which was East Germany's way of palming off some of its pension burden on the capitalist West. But the loss of so many young professionals presents East Germany with the prospect of a serious brain drain...
...Thailand DEA agents and consular officials based in the northern city of Chiangmai said the U.S. should seriously consider shutting down an antidrug program. Reason: official corruption had gone so far that heroin was sometimes being transported in Thai police vehicles or even army helicopters, making the program a joke. The embassy, however, decided to live with the problem because it could see no alternative...
...folks at Cliffs Notes can't seem to take a joke. Last week the purveyor of the plot summaries so dear to lazy students won a court battle to prevent Doubleday from distributing Spy Notes, a Spy magazine parody...