Word: shrewd
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...that story, Mathers rode their trail, sank his roots into their grasslands and adapted to the big weathers and financial buffetings of the Great Plains. Storms natural and political have raged there forever, and another is blowing this summer. Mathers will survive as he always has, with hard work, shrewd calculation. He and those like him may be the future of this vast and troubled land, which seems to be stumbling back in time toward a recast frontier where grass will be king, some buffalo may actually roam again, and man will be in the minority...
Like those forebears, Saddam is by no means crazy. Rather, he is a man willing to do almost anything to get what he wants -- and he wants to dominate the Middle East much as Nebuchadnezzar once did. "He is an extremely shrewd, cold-blooded, clever thug," says a senior British diplomat who has dealt with him. "Human life means nothing to him." He plays the complex game of Middle East politics by the bareknuckle rules of the region. Says another diplomat: "He does what he thinks is expedient. He is not driven by ideology or whim. He coldly calculates every...
...construction worker who has never earned a college degree, has become the strongest leader of Israel's increasingly numerous and powerful Sephardic (Oriental) Jews. Many Israelis, in fact, suggest that the derision he has encountered reflects resentment of the Sephardim by long-dominant Ashkenazi Jews. He has proved a shrewd infighter in domestic posts, and though he is the first Israeli Foreign Minister who is unable to speak English, he is fluent in Arabic and French...
...chairman of the Russian parliament, Yeltsin is not an executive president, and with only a four-seat majority, he will have to bargain and compromise in order to pass legislation. On the eve of his election, in a shrewd move to broaden his appeal, he promised to form a power-sharing coalition with the more conservative factions. He said he had learned the "value and importance of political compromise." As a result, he will have to be diplomatic and conciliatory, which is not his natural style. His radical reform package, therefore, is not likely to become reality anytime soon...
...also represent the painter and muralist Michelangelo. As you know from Variety, he is just finishing the sketches for his big Sistine Chapel production. Mike has never before offered product placements in his works, so this is a rare opportunity for a shrewd advertiser. The ceiling will depict the moment of creation -- Adam and God with arms outstretched to each other and fingers touching. It's dynamite, I promise you. For $20,000, Adam could be wearing a Rolex watch; for $40,000, God could wear one; for $60,000, both. Although Mike is committed to the concept of Adam...