1.   Because impeachment was not popular, overt criticism of any Clinton scandal, from lying under oath to illegal Asian fund raising, is taboo.

2.   His killing was understood to be a message to the independent press that overt criticism would not be tolerated during the war.

3.   Every new president deserves a fair hearing and, in most cases, a honeymoon from overt criticism of every word uttered and action taken.

4.   The Franco-German axis however is too important to Germany to be endangered by overt criticism over such a sensisitive issue as defence, diplomats here said.

5.   The official EU statement on the crisis avoided overt criticism of the tactics adopted by the Israeli military.