And Mr Bush had previously said deficits would be merely a passing phase, a claim that looks increasingly dubious.

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Recent governmental and intergovernmental activity in these areas is not a passing phase.

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We now know that oak seedlings rarely thrive under mature oaks (which rain caterpillars on them), so the oak climax was just a passing phase.

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Arguably, the present passion for executing murderers is a passing phase: America has dropped it in the past, and some dozen states and the District of Columbia do not have a death penalty.

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Pakistan, he says, is passing through a critical phase and the national interest demands that he retain his powers as head of the army.

ECONOMIST: Pakistan

"I agree we are passing through a challenging phase, but we are the owners of this country... and fortunately, we will show to the world that we can protect our country, " said President Karzai.

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The first is that American politics is passing through a highly unusual phase.

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So I think it is part of the natural evolution but clearly going towards that passing the torch phase, which most people miss, can be a fantastic capstone to a long career.

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At the time, some on Wall Street complained that he was passing up a potential shortcut to approval by not conducting midsized trials, or so-called phase-II trials (the second of three usual phases of trials).

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