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Thursday, May 16, 2002

what she said

"CAMBRIDGE - Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created the first realistic videos of people saying things they never said - a scientific leap that raises unsettling questions about falsifying the moving image."

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mothers little helper

"The reason for Celexa's stunning success is not science but marketing. Drug-industry consultants Scott-Levin say U.S. pharmaceutical companies spent about $10 billion last year on drug promotions. Most of that -- $9 billion -- went toward marketing to doctors (about $12,000 for each doctor in the U.S.). Drug makers command an army of more than 68,000 salespeople, one for every eleven doctors in the U.S. While pharmaceutical companies justify high drug prices by pointing to astronomical research and development costs, many who study the industry say drug companies spend more on marketing and promotions, especially for drugs like Celexa."

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go leafs

"Ground-breaking stuff. But this report, and Canada’s willingness to allow people to use marijuana for medical purposes, also seems to have raised the ire of the U.S. in a significant way. We’ve learned tonight that its drug czar is pressuring Canadian authorities not to loosen Canadian law and he's carrying a very big stick -- threatening trade sanctions if we don't do what he wants. Global National's Carl Hanlon has the exclusive details." (watch the report)

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preoccupatience

Jews Against the Occupation

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war cries

"Bush has declared it's war time all the time. After the massive bombing in Afghanistan, the escalation of intervention in Colombia, the brutal U.S.-backed Israeli invasion of the Occupied Territories of Palestine, the Bush administration has now declared they are preparing for a major ground and air war against Iraq. Tens of thousands will die unless we act now. The people of the world can stop this war before it starts. Join us Saturday, June 1 in New York City for a national day-long conference of panels and workshop discussions to plan a comprehensive anti-war strategy."

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togetherness

"Shoshanah Wolf, an organizer of the group from the Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, was asked by a man in his 80’s with a European accent whether she really believed the other side was capable of honoring a just peace. Yes, she said, she really did. The man said she was naïve and wrong and a traitor, and shouted at her over and over, "You ugly bitch!" Ms. Wolf (who, by the way, is very pretty) felt that it was her duty as a young woman with an elder to hear him out. Also, she sensed that he was a Holocaust survivor."

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Wednesday, May 15, 2002

pandoras boxing

some lids are better left uncracked.

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stratocaster

"It became an annual rite of my boyhood. Each spring, I'd anticipate the arrival of a package from a Long Island company called Strat-O-Matic, makers of a classic dice-based baseball simulation board game. Inside the mailing was the newly minted set of cards representing the real-life statistics of most every player to don a uniform the prior season."

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pocket lining

"Afghanistan hopes to strike a deal later this month to build a $2bn pipeline through the country to take gas from energy-rich Turkmenistan to Pakistan and India."

"The World Bank, the United Nations (news - web sites) Development Program and the Asian Development Bank believe $10.2 billion is needed for the reconstruction of Afghanistan over five years, of which $4.9 billion will be needed within the next 30 months."

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crimes and demeanors

"CANNES, France (Reuters) - Woody Allen rejected on Wednesday a call by American Jews to boycott France's Cannes film festival, saying that was the kind of protest the Nazis used before the Second World War."

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