Word: strongman
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Asep, a Jakarta parking-lot attendant, rejoiced in 1998 when Indonesian strongman Suharto was overthrown after three decades of authoritarian rule. But democracy hasn't proved to be quite the boon he and so many other Indonesians expected. In some ways, says Asep, his life is worse now than ever before. Under Suharto, he says, at least he only had to bribe one person?a stadium security officer?for the right to manage the lot at Senayan Stadium. But now, Asep complains, he is routinely approached by people claiming to be policemen, soldiers, sports department officials and political-party officers...
...that seized control of Burma in 1962, Sein Lwin was behind some of the army's bloodiest massacres of civilians. These included the killings of hundreds of students protesting the 1962 coup and of an estimated 3,000 people in street demonstrations in 1988, during which Sein Lwin replaced strongman Ne Win as President. But he was unable to quell the political agitation and stepped down after only 18 days in office...
...POPEYE is not on 'roids. The cartoon strongman and his hulking nemesis BLUTO have been buffed up by 3-D CGI for a Fox TV special due next fall. Though the movie celebrates the sailor's 75th anniversary, he has been well preserved by a life of "no coffee, a lot of spinach and that sea air," says Mad About You's Paul Reiser, who is co-writer and producer. In Popeye's Voyage: The Search for Pappy, the updated Popeye will hunt for his dad and confront relationship issues. For example, Reiser asks, "with a woman in his life...
...polls. In Slovakia, the governing coalition's main presidential candidate lost out to hard-line nationalist and former Prime Minister Vladimír Meciar, who's the favorite going into the final round of voting this weekend. Although the post is largely ceremonial, the return of the controversial strongman would complicate relations with its new E.U. partners, says Grigorij Meseznikov, head of the Institute for Public Affairs in Bratislava. "It's not good for the country," he says. "Our image abroad will suffer." Governments in the Czech Republic and Poland are also struggling. Support for the Czech Republic's ruling...
...Karzai government has attempted to rein in recalcitrant warlords. Most recently Karzai appointed Kandahar strongman Gul Agha Sherzai, a U.S.-installed warlord who has been dogged by accusations of corruption and nepotism, to a Cabinet position in Kabul as a way of keeping him under close watch. But Afghan officials say Karzai is wary of cracking down too hard for fear that the warlords will lash back. In Kabul alone, militias loyal to former President Burhanuddin Rabbani and current Defense Minister Mohammed Qasim Fahim number nearly 50,000. That's enough to overwhelm, if they wanted...