Should this happen, there will be no shortage of pain to go around.

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And if there's to be a "no" vote, what then would happen to the distribution of both powers and finances around the rest of the UK?

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"What will happen is that President Clinton will lay down the law to Chairman Arafat that there should be no violence in response to this project, " said Alan Makovsky of the Washington Institute Near East Policy.

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But with the president's luck there will be no need to spin the blame, because it probably won't happen not until Al Gore or John McCain (enjoy that thought while you can) has unpacked his bags.

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There are issues that would have to be worked out though, such as what would happen when the sprayed-on batteries no longer hold a charge.

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Mr Hoban said it would be "inappropriate" to speculate about what may or may not happen, given that there had been no formal request from Dublin for help.

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There is no excuse, however, for what is about to happen: American taxpayers are poised to be charged for the preparation of a follow-on conference that promises, if anything, to be even worse than what is now known as Durban I.

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