Word: joking
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Sharif's government in 1999 was welcomed by many citizens, but now the general has lost support. There is dissatisfaction among the masses because of Musharraf's actions, especially his ouster of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. In desperately trying to hold on to power, Musharraf is making a joke of democracy. Democracy is not about installing a puppet parliament by forming an alliance with a popular political party; it has to do with having sound institutions and freedom of expression. Musharraf has set Pakistan back many years and undone the past eight years of his rule. Sadly...
...everyone gets the joke. California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, waiting to address the Tory party conference by video link in September, watched in bewilderment as Johnson warmed up the crowd with a speech littered with characteristic digressions. "He's fumbling all over the place," hissed the Governator, unaware that his microphone was switched on. Wags in Westminster have since dubbed Johnson "the Fumbulator." He responds, with mock humility: "A man not famed for his eloquence found fault with my delivery and general mastery of public speaking. And these are things I obviously have to overcome...
However, some Palestinians expressed cynicism over the release. All of those just freed belonged to Abbas' own Fatah movement; detainees of other resistance groups were skipped over. One jailed Fatah leader, Marwan Barghouti, described the release as "a joke." He added: ""Israel can free thousands of prisoners, not just 400. Abu Mazen [Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas] requested the release of more prisoners but was denied by Israel." Israeli army officials grumbled publicly about the prisoners' release, especially those of 20 Palestinians headed back to Gaza. Militants based there are constantly shooting home-made rockets at Israel...
...thing I think is important is not to be coy or cute. People who are afraid of rejection tend to couch their expression of interest in a joke or try to make light of it. I think what they do is they leave themselves more open to misinterpretation. So I think being both subtle and direct is the best way to go. And you have to transmit through your tone, through your voice, and through your body language that you are absolutely willing to take no for an answer so that you both feel comfortable after a no might...
...joke. But that unguarded comment offered a rare glimpse at the split that has opened up between Bush and his hard-line Veep. Since 2001, Cheney has been against just the kind of U.S. involvement in Arab-Israeli affairs that Bush is embracing, arguing that the early creation of a Palestinian state could jeopardize Israel's security. And the peace talks are part of a larger trend. In the past two years, Bush has negotiated with the North Koreans over their nuclear weapons and offered the Iranians incentives to talk about their nuclear ambitions, sometimes directly overruling Cheney...