It took some time for the silent revolution to show concrete results.

New cities are constantly ripening like so many cherries on a tree, drawing people away from older, original cities.

Russia will mature much more slowly in isolation than it will if it is integrated into European institutions.

Both the government and the opposition need to grow up and stop putting narrow personal interests above those of the country and its people.

Europe must grow up and develop the capacity to defend its own interests, because the day is fast approaching when others will be less able and willing to do this for us than they once were.

To delay negotiations until Palestinian democracy matured would only persuade Palestinians that diplomacy was a ruse and give many a reason to turn to violence.

Given the need for Europe s leadership and commitment to multilateralism in a post American world now catalyzed by the crises just to its south European foreign policy must grow up fast.

It took some time for the silent revolution to show concrete results. But by 2006, both German exports and GDP were growing faster than in France and Italy.

Unisexual male and female flowers on the same plant may not appear or mature at the same time, or pollen from the same plant may be incapable of fertilizing its ovules.

Forced marriage and marriage of children are forms of gender violence hindering girls' abilities to control their sexuality and entailing pregnancy and childbirth before their bodies are sufficiently mature.

But can Web activism mature into a full blown campaign for free speech without being manipulated by the government or blindfolded by Western media? The answer may prove to be mixed.

With this understanding should come recognition that Europe s current policy of demanding that Russia mature as a condition for cooperation is counterproductive. Russia will mature much more slowly in isolation than it will if it is integrated into European institutions.