21.   Ajami points to Algeria, where the specter of an Islamic electoral victory led the government to cancel an opening to democracy.

22.   But many State Department officials favor stepping up economic pressure and oppose any opening to Cuba when they say Castro has done little lately to deserve it.

23.   But neither does it want to jeopardize the slow and delicate diplomatic opening to Havana begun last year.

24.   But now I think the time is coming that a stronger middle class is emerging and there is an opening to culture.

25.   But the Lebanese chaos gave an opening to a deadlier conflict, providing Syria and Israel the space to fight another war.

26.   But the opening to the cargo bay is so small that a large ice chest, much less a surfboard, may be out of the question.

27.   Coinciding with an opening to imports, the strong currency has pushed Brazil from enjoying a fat trade surplus into watching a trade deficit run for three months straight.

28.   Consider Wednesday night in the first quarter, when Anderson saw an opening to the hoop with Jason Kidd hanging on his jersey.

29.   Contacts have increased and it seems clear that some influential factions in Iran have an interest in improved relations while others oppose any opening to Washington.

30.   Debate centers more around the cost of the carrots to be offered to lure Pyongyang to what the South hopes is an ultimately self-destructive opening to the real world.