Word: soften
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Howard wants the movie to be seen as faithful to the novel but not noxious to the faithful. "With something as controversial as this," says Howard, "if you try to soften the edges, you're kidding yourself. Either you're dealing with these ideas or you're not." Asked about the book's villainous cabal, he acknowledges, "Yeah, Opus Dei is in the movie." Then, moments later, "I don't say it in the movie one way or the other"--hinting that the society is described but not identified...
...first, and most optimistic, possibility is that under tremendous international pressure, Hamas will soften its platform and renounce terrorism in order to maintain the vital flow of almost a billion dollars in annual foreign aid. It may seem a stretch to assume that an organization committed to the annihilation of Israel and with a long history of brutally murdering innocent civilians is capable of such fundamental change. However, to draw an incomplete parallel, at the start of Ariel Sharon’s term as Prime Minister of Israel, no one would have ever predicted that he would advocate an Israeli...
...little guy - in a country where the vast majority are little guys - the former shoeshine boy and union leader had little formal education and no experience in government; what's more, he altered many of his long-held positions during the campaign to embrace free-market economics and soften his once leftist rhetoric. The one thing they didn't expect to see was Lula's Workers' Party (PT) - a party that built a reputation on clean government at municipal and state level - embrace the corruption, lies and cynicism it had spent two decades decrying...
...There are some signs that Jamaica may soften its approach. Jamaica's ruling party last month elected the nation's first female Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller, a progressive who gay-rights supporters hope will eventually move to decriminalize homosexuality. She hasn't yet said that, but Jamaica's beleaguered gays say they at least have reason now to hope their government will change its tune before their reggae stars ever...
...Olmert has refused to turn over $50 million in tax revenues Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinians and has ruled out negotiations with the government unless Hamas renounces terrorism and recognizes Israel. But the prospect of a humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territories may force Israel to soften its position on Hamas. Olmert told TIME he is meeting with aides "to see what we can do" to assist the Palestinians through nongovernmental organizations without giving money to Hamas. And Olmert might still face U.S. resistance to his plan to evacuate some West Bank settlements if it looks...