Word: whether
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
When George Bush proclaimed himself the environmentalist candidate in an outdoor campaign speech on Aug. 31, 1988, he had to mop his brow several times as he spoke. Last year was the hottest ever recorded, spurring a debate among scientists as to whether the mercury was registering proof of the "greenhouse effect." Carbon dioxide and other chemicals are spewed into the atmosphere by the burning of fossil fuels like coal and gasoline; the gases trap radiation that has come from the sun and that would otherwise escape into space. The result is global warming: over time, sea levels will rise...
When Gorbachev first spoke of "new thinking" in foreign policy, many in the West -- especially in the U.S. -- doubted his sincerity. The real test was whether Gorbachev would end the policy at the heart of the cold war: the subjugation of Eastern Europe. At the end of last year, in a speech at the United Nations, Gorbachev declared that he would. "Freedom of choice is a universal principle," he said. Yet the doubts lingered. They always seemed to come down to the question: Is Gorbachev for real...
...defense spending. This would not be naive pacifism but hardheaded self- interest. It could be a boon to the deficit-choked American economy as well as to perestroika. Rather than negotiating trims in a few weapons programs, Bush could propose demobilizing significant portions of each side's military, testing whether Gorbachev would go along with dismantling whole divisions and reconfiguring forces so as to create a less dangerous world...
Students of the American character will find plenty to chew on here, since the intrusive survey asks its recipients how old they were when they first made love (51% were under 18); whether they look behind the shower curtain or door when using someone else's bathroom (7% do); whether, if they found a diamond ring, they would attempt to locate the owner (79% would); and whether they eat corn on the cob side to side or in circles (for those who can't wait to find out, fully 80% eat it in circles...
Even so, few are rushing to catch the next plane east. In Santa Cruz, near the epicenter of the quake, county officials are awaiting the judgment of geologists as to whether homeowners should be allowed to rebuild on the fractured hillsides, where landslides may now become a perennial headache. Many residents are nonetheless eager to rebuild. True to their reputation for mellowness and impregnable cool, Californians are generally unfazed by the fault-line threat...