Word: matter
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...ones. They may be terrorists, but politically, socially and economically, they are deeply integrated into their local societies in a way al-Qaeda is not. Our long-term goal should be to transform them from militias into political parties, which means giving them a seat at the table, no matter how odious their ideology, if they give up their guns...
Zion and a local entrepreneur, Eric Yellin, who is blogging and phoning peace-minded Gazans, are among the very few people in Sderot - and in all of Israel, for that matter - who opposed the 22-day offensive into Gaza, which ended on Jan. 18 in the shakiest of cease-fires. Lately, Zion has rarely gone out. When she did leave home, she was often forced to dive into the bunker of her suburban house - Sderot was hammered by 203 rockets during the fighting. And if, despite the risks, she got to Sderot's flag-festooned marketplace, she was often cursed...
...passing of the torch from one President to another. After all, it's "democracy's big day," as George Bush 41 called it in his unpretentious way: the orderly and peaceful transfer of power that is the foundation of the republic. Yes, it's mostly symbolic, but symbols matter...
Federal bureaucrats call it the "border fence." The residents along the Texas-Mexico border say it's a wall echoing the Cold War. And south of the Rio Grande, Governor Humberto Moreira of the Mexican state of Coahuila has dubbed it a "wall of hate." But no matter what the controversial barrier being constructed between Mexico and the U.S. is called, the $1.6 billion, 670-mile-long first phase is close to completion as President Barack Obama enters office...
...Some Presidents have a hard time being instantly shrink-wrapped on Inauguration Day. One minute he is the Leader of the Free World; the next, he's history. "What a great change can come to a man in a matter of moments," the departing Harry Truman told a friend after Dwight Eisenhower's swearing in. Adjusting to a sudden power outage can be a remarkable challenge. Eisenhower had to be taught how to dial the phone. Calvin Coolidge was frustrated that people didn't always realize he was no longer God. "People seem to think the presidential machinery should keep...