With its simple assertion that "Things Fall Apart," Achebe's now classic 1958 novel took Yeats's horrified imaginings of Christian Europe's apocalyptic end and made them resonate within the space of precolonial black Africa.
That information, they said, stands separate and apart from the assertions made about Clemens by his former personal trainer, Brian McNamee, who contends that he injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone from 1998 to 2001.
"When I make a speech now, it is broadcast around the world in an instant, and there are entire blogs devoted to picking apart every factual assertion that is being made, and people expect a level of accuracy and understanding that wouldn't have been the case in 1961 or '62".
They would not reveal details of the new Pettitte affidavit or of the new information obtained apart from McNamee's assertions.
They didn't look askance when their supporters prattled on about "taking my country back", though they are educated enough to have recognised in such assertions the sort of brutal nationalism that tore Europe apart last century.
Dr Rowan Williams' assertion that "there is not systematic persecution of Christians, apart from certain sects" tacitly permits the Chinese government to continue in their practices and attitudes towards organised religion.
Apart from the Colombian tourism authority's snappy assertion that "The only risk is wanting to stay", the main concern is of theft when out and about in big cities.
For most people, creationism is not a biological explanation, but an assertion that there is something special about humans which sets us apart from all other animals.
If there is sometimes a tension between script and production, it is generally a healthy one, apart from poor Emma Cunniffe's hideous frocks that belie Nora's assertion that she looks good in anything.
Apart from questions of the constitutionality of N.S.A. warrantless telecommunications monitoring, why should Americans accept assertions that our intelligence communities are capable of interpreting and assessing in real time the data they collect?
