Word: shied
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...entered a perilous and unprecedented constitutional vacuum following the departure midnight Friday of the pro-Syrian president, Emile Lahoud, with no elected successor. The two rival factions - the Western-backed March 14 block, which holds a thin parliamentary majority, and the pro-Syrian opposition, spearheaded by the militant Shi'ite Hizballah - are locked in a tense standoff, both waiting for the other to make the first move...
With a vacuum looming, Lahoud, in a final act as president, charged the army with enforcing law and order, claiming that "risks of a state of emergency" prevailed over Lebanon. Lahoud, like the opposition, has refused to recognize the legitimacy of government since all five Shi'ite ministers walked out of the cabinet a year ago. But the office of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora swiftly responded by saying that Lahoud's move was unconstitutional and that the army would continue to follow the instructions of the government. So far, the leaders of both factions appear unwilling to risk further escalation...
...Kunqu opera The Peony Pavilion is one of the greatest masterpieces of all time [Nov. 5]. What a curiously mistaken notion that "witnesses to such a grandiose relic should worry less about falling asleep and more about slipping into a coma." I was lucky enough to see Chen Shi-Zheng's full 19-hour production and Pai Hsien-Yung's nine-hour production of the opera. Each time, when the performance ended, I wanted it to start all over again. Such is the power, beauty and fascination of Kunqu opera, even to a Westerner. The consummate skill required...
...Americans, Sauer says, could have responded with house-to-house searches and other heavy-handed tactics. But, he says, "That would be the exact example of what [the attackers] want me to do so they can turn the population back in their favor." Now, U.S. troops, not local Shi'ite militiamen, have the initiative and set the tone in this area of Baghdad. Sauer and his men have set to work pursuing leads to track down the militants behind the attack - a process more focused on analyzing evidence and gathering intelligence than on overt displays of force...
...Press 750 civilians were killed in October - still a high number, but down well over 50% from late last year. Much of that decline reflects the declining influence of the Sunni terrorist group al-Qaeda in Iraq, and a reduction in sectarian violence. But the tactics of choice for Shi'ite militia groups - rocket and mortar attacks and sophisticated roadside bombings - have also waned...