Athens, Greece - Iraq is the heart of a regional jigsaw puzzle. The pieces are intersecting, distinct ethnic and religious groups. They are linked by conflicting historical grievances but divided by their aspirations.

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Athens, Greece - Every society is obsessed with sex and politics. The two are always near one another, whether in dictatorships or democracies, whether government curbs sexual behavior or avoids it.

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Athens, Greece - Living in a part of the world -- the Balkans -- where the United States directly has influenced history over the past 50 years, I cannot expect a change of the majority in the U.S. Congress to lead to any great changes in U.S. foreign policy.

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Athens, Greece - Societies that accept homosexual marriages have citizens who see those who are "different" as equals. This is why acceptance of homosexuality appears to be a very new phenomenon -- very different from the dominant mentality of groups for thousands of years. Yet as it stands complete acceptance looks like it will be reached only in the future.

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Athens, Greece - There often comes a time in a war of liberation or revolution in which compromises can be made -- indeed, have to be made -- so that gains can be consolidated and the people can get some respite. Oppressed people usually win their struggle when their cause can be tied to the interests of greater powers, when they incur massive debts to help finance their fledgling institutions, when, in other words, they begin to act like a state. This inevitably entails huge compromises, but wars cannot be won on dreams alone.

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