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Synecdoche, New York

It’s notable that the women maintain an identity in relation to men, with the synecdochic use of “man” to mean humanity. It is significant that the first sentence of the declaration defines women in negation rather than a positive assertion of womanhood.

They are, in their words, members of the “family of man,” suggesting, at least linguistically, a sort of inferiority.

And yet this may have been a strategic move, to bring their readers into a sort of acquiescence before making their demands. That such linguistic strategy could be required shows the extremity of circumstances.

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Here the group departs from the overtly revolutionary language of the Declaration, which reads,

It is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…

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More than a century later, the Black Panthers would similarly include this passage from the Declaration of Independence to conclude the group’s 10-point Program.

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This may not have been in order to defame or otherwise degrade Snowden’s character but, rather, to conceal the extent of the United States' cyber capabilities. The New York Times reported in June 2013:

Infrastructure analysts like Mr. Snowden, in other words, are not just looking for electronic back doors into Chinese computers or Iranian mobile networks to steal secrets. They have a new double purpose: building a target list in case American leaders in a future conflict want to wipe out the computers’ hard drives or shut down the phone system.

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Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai face each other in a runoff on June 7, after succeeding an eight-candidate pack in the April 5 election.

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No, Snowden sought Cuba as a waypoint for his eventual asylum in South America. ““I had a flight booked to Cuba and onwards to Latin America,” he says during the very Brian Williams interview to which Secretary Kerry is referring. A number of Latin American nations antagonistic to Washington invited Snowden, especially Bolivia.

The pressure against those countries was so great that the president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, had his return flight from Moscow grounded by Washington, causing an outrage in the region.

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It’s still U.S. military, though. The term “military advisor” calls to mind the lead-up to the Vietnam war. The U.S. sent thousands of “advisors,” eventually granted the right to fire if fired upon. By the end of 1963, the U.S. military had 16,000 advisors in Vietnam.

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Afghans appeared to reject extremist threats and by midday on election day voter participation had already nearly reached that of 2009, despite nearly 40 suicide bombings in the months leading up to the contest.

That said, Kabul was under tight security on election day. Below, a military chopper prowls above streets that would ordinarily be bustling with activity.

Photo: New York Times

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Yahya, leader of Malaysian Muslim group Perkasa Selangor, announced a jihad against the popular chocolate maker on Tuesday, May 27, 2014, after it was discovered that traces of pig DNA were found in the company’s chocolate.

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The NATO coalition in Afghanistan totaled 50 nations, with 48 nations still contributing.

Compare to the Iraq invasion and occupation, which enjoyed far less international assistance, and whose support diminished more quickly.

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