For their part, the unions are drawing a different lesson: that their capacity to mobilise protesters and public opinion has never been stronger.

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The object lesson worth drawing from this story is that just one instance of bad science given the blessing of recognized experts can lead to years of damaging lies that snowball out of control.

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Dine alternates among charcoal, India ink, litho crayon and other drawing tools, often on the same pieces, giving a lesson in the possibilities of tonal variation using implements that must have been high tech before the Renaissance.

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