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Culture Crit

READ THIS! It's not what ad agencies used to call the soft sell. No subliminal advertising here. "Smoke this," demands a new Winston Cigarettes ad. Smell This is the unsubtle brand name of a new fragrance. Taste This, urges Ellen DeGeneres' latest CD. Rock This! insists Chris Rock's recent tome. So what gives? It's part of the continuing evolution of louche street slang into the mainstream. And, if you buy this, consumers just like to be told what to do.

--Margaret Feldstein

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MICHAEL BREEN, vice president of the Truman Project, a national security leadership institute, on the possible outcome of the U.S. and Israel's tough stance on Iran's nuclear program
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