With growing unease surrounding the culture of mass personal data gathering, privacy watchdogs are worried the databases could become easy targets for government surveillance, identity theft and online scams, as well as marketing.

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There are flashpoints on the periphery (an Iran or Iraq gathering weapons of mass destruction), but the end of the cold war has made the Arab-Israeli conflict far less likely to cause a big explosion in world affairs.

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On marathon day, they joined a group of close friends who had met at Stoneham High School, gathering near the finish line to cheer another friend, a firefighter from Somerville, Mass.

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