Russia and Iran will probably not abandon al-Assad until they are part of the deal-making process about Syria's future government.

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Recognizing this, the likes of Abbas and Fayyad understand that no matter what they say or do, the West will probably not abandon them.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Playing Israel��s good hand

Current research suggests, though, that any risk to the ozone layer is probably not sufficient reason to abandon the idea.

ECONOMIST: Geoengineering

The fourth is that Iran's nuclear programs have now reached the stage where they can only be stopped through military strikes -- probably Israeli -- or an internal political decision to abandon them.

WSJ: Obama's Obsolete Iran Policy

True aficionados will abandon their families and travel to France, perhaps with tickets to games, but probably not, thanks to the French authorities and preferably not, in fact.

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One way, clearly, would be to make the relevant environment feel safer psychologically, for example, by encouraging dialogue, by physically de-ranking, by insisting on rank-blindness, by relating past accounts of courageous behavior in face of opposition, by welcoming "donkey questions", or questions that those doing the asking should probably know the answer to, and generally by helping team members see the merit of abandon.

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