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最后发表： xblues
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JERUSALEM – Israel's bruising war on the Islamic militants who control Gaza has moved online, where sites like YouTube and Facebook are the new battlegrounds.
                        Israelposted video of its attacks on militants firing rockets over the pastfive days on a new YouTube channel to try to show the world the threatagainst it.
                        YouTube temporarily yankedthe clips on Tuesday after viewers, apparently supporters of Hamas,flagged it as objectionable and asked that it be taken down. Thevideo-sharing Web site restored the video a few hours later, labelingit inappropriate for minors.
                        Supporters of Gaza's Hamasrulers, meanwhile, have posted images of the devastating Israelioffensive on both YouTube and Facebook and on blogs, uploading imagesof the carnage and suffering in the tiny seaside territory.
                        Themilitants themselves regularly update their Web sites in Arabic andEnglish. In addition, they broadcast images of masked, uniformedfighters on Hamas TV, which was bombed by Israeli warplanes butcontinues to broadcast from a mobile unit.
                        "Theblogosphere and the new media are basically a war zone" in a battle forworld opinion, an Israeli military spokesman, Maj. Avital Leibovich,said Wednesday.
                        Gideon Doron, formerchairman of the Israeli agency that oversaw the privatization of thecountry's television and radio services, said today's warfare includesfighting through the media.
                        "Many of the victories of modern warfareare mediated by the media," Doron said. "We have Internet and all kindsof modern communication, and the Israeli military apparently decidedthat it has to broadcast its message through these tools."
                        Leibovichsaid the new YouTube channel and a new blog the military is launchingare an important part of Israel's attempt to explain its actions abroad.
                        One of the aerial surveillance videos Israelposted shows about a dozen figures that the military says are militantsloading rockets onto a truck. They are eventually targeted by anair-launched missile and disappear in a white cloud as the truckexplodes.
                        "We were saddened on Dec. 30,2008 when YouTube took down some of our exclusive footage," themilitary wrote on its YouTube channel page. "Fortunately, due toblogger and viewer support, YouTube has returned the footage theyremoved."
                        In the past, YouTube has beenpressed to take down videos depicting violence. The site has noautomatic review, however, so anything posted runs until a viewer flagsit and asks that it be taken down.
                        YouTube,which is owned by Google Inc., said it counts on community members toflag content that violates the community's guidelines.
                        "Wereview all flagged content quickly, and if we find that a video doesviolate the guidelines, we remove it, on average in under an hour,"Victoria Grand, Head of Policy at YouTube, said in a statement.
                        "Occasionally,a video flagged by users is mistakenly taken down. When this is broughtto our attention, we review the content and take appropriate action,which may include restoring videos that had been removed."
                        YouTube said it would not comment on individual videos or answer questions on the Israeli postings.
                        In May, Sen. Joseph Lieberman complained that the process was flawed because al-Qaida recruitment videos could still be seen on the site.
                        The Israeli military says its clips have attracted more than 230,000 views since going online Monday.
Israel launched the air assault on Saturday in response to rocket barrages launched from Gaza at Israeli towns. Hundreds of airstrikes across the Palestinian territory have caused huge damage and Gaza officials say some 390 Palestinians have been killed. Hamas says some 200 were members of its security forces, and the U.N. says at least 60 were civilians.
Militant rockets have reached farther into Israel than ever before, killing three Israeli civilians and a soldier.
____
On the Web:
[url=http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_re_mi_ea/storytext/ml_israel_palestinians_youtube/30411652/SIG=112dj9h87/*http://www.youtube.com/idfnadesk]http://www.youtube.com/idfnadesk[/url]
____
Associated Press Business Writer Andrew Vanacore contributed to this report from New York.

最后发表： MacroJ
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这几个兵毁了……

最后发表： 我爱猫眯
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Reporting from Dongguan, China -- Growing up in the Chinese countryside with only an elementary school education, Yang Yanjun had never heard of Christmas until she landed a job painting pink-cheeked cherubs to decorate trees.
But Christmas proved to be a miraculous holiday that would utterly transform her life. Over a decade, she worked in factories producing ornaments and toys that foreign children were told came from Santa's workshops. She earned up to $200 a month, unimaginable riches that allowed her to build a house for her family back home.  
Now the Christmas miracle has gone bust.
The financial meltdown that has thrown so many American families into crisis might be even worse on this side of the world. The precipitous drop in consumer demand has translated into a wave of factory closings that have spit millions of Chinese workers out into the ranks of the unemployed. The fallout is most obvious in Dongguan, a southern Chinese city that, despite its palm trees and sultry climate, may be the real-life North Pole.
Until recently, Dongguan had 3,800 toy factories, producing a staggering 30% of the world's toys. The Dongguan Trade Assn. estimates that 1,800 of them have closed or will close in the coming months.
The 37-year-old Yang lost her job making hairpieces for Barbie dolls in October, when Smart Union Toys abruptly closed down. A major supplier to Mattel Inc. and Disney Co. with 7,000 workers, it had been one of the largest employers in town. Now there are only a few security guards who watch over a courtyard strewn with empty toy boxes and soggy plush dolls, a scene looking like the morning after a Christmas party gone awry.
Most of the workers, migrants like Yang who came from central China, have gone home. Houses are empty, shops shuttered. The neighborhood looks like a ghost town. But Yang has stayed on looking for work, desperate for money to support her 13-year-old son and elderly parents who live near the city of Chongqing.
Every morning and every afternoon she goes out, walking past the padlocked gates hoping to find a factory still in business and perhaps hiring.
Notices are taped to some of the gates, but with too many people chasing too few jobs, employers are picky. The notices specify young workers with high school educations and computer skills. Some require that men be at least 5 feet 9 and women at least 5 feet 1. Height is one of a number of obsessions in the workplace here.
"No, nothing for somebody like me," says Yang, a ruddy-faced woman whose toothy smile stretches wide across her face, even as she peers at another notice saying job applicants must be younger than 30.

After the toy factory closed, she got a job at a shoe factory. But she was fired after five days when the boss realized she needed to wear eyeglasses. Then a job at a handbag factory lasted only 12 days before it closed because of a lack of orders.

"In the past, you didn't need skills to get hired. The factories just needed workers and they would take anybody," Yang said.

China has not released figures on job losses, but the influential magazine Caijing quoted an unnamed Labor Ministry official saying that 10 million migrant workers had lost jobs this year through November. Nearly 5 million of those workers had already returned to their hometowns.

Dongguan's residents, most of whom came from elsewhere to reap the rewards of the manufacturing boom, liken the situation to a wave that has spread around the globe.

"First, you had banking problems in the United States, then factories closed, and now we have lost our jobs. It is an economic tsunami that has now hit us," said Han Guoren, 24, a laid-off toy factory worker who was selling Santa Claus hats (salvaged, he said, from a closed factory) in downtown Dongguan.

The entire Pearl River Delta, the manufacturing hub that extends from Hong Kong to Shenzhen and Guangzhou, is suffering. But toys are particularly vulnerable. Even before the downturn, the industry was reeling from product recalls. Toys are almost entirely an export industry, with 90% of the product shipped overseas. Profit margins are tight and consumers fickle.

"Nobody is doing well at the moment, but toys are really hurting," said Christopher Devereux, a British business consultant whose company, China Savvy, is in Guangzhou. He says that many of the toy manufacturers, faced with rising costs and mounting losses, decided to pull out.

"This is a city of not only migrant workers, but migrant entrepreneurs," Devereux said. "They literally disappear into the night."

Even larger factories went poof. Smart Union employees had been working overtime to fill Christmas orders when they learned that the top managers had fled to Hong Kong. The municipal government had to fork out more than $2 million to pay the wages they were owed.

"Nobody could find the bosses," Yang said.
Other migrant workers were not so lucky. When their factories went bust, they were left without their final pay and without lodging, if they had been boarding in a company dormitory. In some cases, they lacked the money to get home.

"Let us help you go home," read giant red billboards around Dongguan erected by a private company that is helping migrants raise train fare.
If anything, industry insiders predict that next year will be worse. The orders for this Christmas season came in months before the impending financial debacle was obvious.
"Toys are a happiness business," said Leung Chung Ming, managing director of Lung Cheong International Holdings, a company with a large factory in Dongguan that specializes in remote-control toys. "If there is no good news, if the market situation is tough, people don't want to buy a $99 toy for their child."

The Chinese government has promised to take measures to spur domestic consumer spending, with the hope that it will help pick up the slack. But Chinese consumers are unlikely to bail out the beleaguered toy industry.
Although many Chinese have come to love Christmas, decorating trees and windows, piping the ubiquitous carols into elevators and stores, one thing they don't do is shop. The big consumer holiday here is the lunar New Year -- and parents buy clothing and shoes for their children, not toys.
"All these toys we make are for the foreign children," said 40-year-old Long Sunjun, who runs a small shop near the closed Smart Union factory. She says that even the children of the toy factory workers seldom were given toys other than squirt guns or balls.
"Chinese kids can make their own toys. Besides, they should be studying, not playing with toys."

最后发表： 创价
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加拿大的一早就HOLD了一批的申请了，管它什么年度配额，各位可以安然度假，暂时别把移民当一回事了，呵呵呵呵

最后发表： naughtybaby
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thanks for sharing, yet I also donated directly to the ARC instead of chinese organisations. Just dont trust 'em...

最后发表： naughtybaby
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Gordon Ramsay Restaurant to Open in Melbourne
November 13, 2008 - 8:56AM




Foul-mouthed celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay's renowned Maze restaurant is to open in Australia at Melbourne's Crown Casino!

The award-winning Maze restaurants, located in London, New York and Prague, offer French-based cuisine with Asian influences.
Crown chief executive David Courtney said Maze would be a major drawcard for local, interstate and international visitors.
"Gordon Ramsay and Maze fit extremely well within the positioning of our new hotel as Maze has become renowned for being stylish, contemporary and providing an innovative food offer," Mr Courtney said in a statement.

Ramsay said the new restaurant presented an "exciting and challenging opportunity".
"This is our first step in bringing the Gordon Ramsay brand to Australia," he said.

The restaurant is due to open in February 2010.

最后发表： 采薇子
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我贴出来……

Hello, Chicago.  芝加哥的市民们，你们好！

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer. It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.
如果还有人对在美国是否凡事皆有可能这一点存疑，还有人怀疑美国奠基者的梦想在我们所处的时代是否依然鲜活，还有人质疑我们的民主制度的力量，那么今晚，这些问题都有了答案。这是设在学校和教堂的投票站前排起的前所未见的长队给出的答案；是等了三四个小时的选民所给出的答案，其中许多人都是有生以来第一次投票，因为他们认定这一次肯定会不一样，认为自己的声音会是这次大选有别于以往之所在。

It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled – Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.
这是所有美国人民共同给出的答案－－无论老少贫富，无论是民主党还是共和党，无论是黑人、白人、拉美裔、亚裔、原住民，是同性恋者还是异性恋者、残疾人还是健全人－－我们从来不是“红州”和“蓝州”的对立阵营，我们是美利坚合众国这个整体，永远都是。

It’s the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
长久以来，很多人一再受到告诫，要对我们所能取得的成绩极尽讽刺、担忧和怀疑之能事，但这个答案让这些人伸出手来把握历史，再次让它朝向美好明天的希望延伸。

It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.
已经过去了这么长时间，但今晚，由于我们在今天、在这场大选中、在这个具有决定性的时刻所做的，美国已经迎来了变革。

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he’s fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward toworking with them to renew this nation’s promise in the months ahead.
我刚刚接到了麦凯恩参议员极具风度的致电。他在这场大选中经过了长时间的努力奋斗，而他为自己所深爱的这个国家奋斗的时间更长、过程更艰辛。他为美国做出了我们大多数人难以想像的牺牲，我们的生活也因这位勇敢无私的领袖所做出的贡献而变得更美好。我向他和佩林州长所取得的成绩表示祝贺，我也期待着与他们一起在未来的岁月中为复兴这个国家的希望而共同努力。

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.
我要感谢我在这次旅程中的伙伴－－已当选美国副总统的拜登。他全心参与竞选活动，为普通民众代言，他们是他在斯克兰顿从小到大的伙伴，也是在他回特拉华的火车上遇到的男男女女。

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support ofmy best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation’s next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the White House. And while she’s no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.
如果没有一个人的坚决支持，我今晚就不会站在这里，她是我过去16年来最好的朋友、是我们一家人的中坚和我一生的挚爱，更是我们国家的下一位第一夫人：米歇尔•奥巴马(Michelle Obama)。萨莎(Sasha)和玛丽亚(Malia)，我太爱你们两个了，你们已经得到了一条新的小狗，它将与我们一起入驻白宫。虽然我的外祖母已经不在了，但我知道她与我的亲人肯定都在看着我，因为他们，我才能拥有今天的成就。今晚，我想念他们，我知道自己欠他们的无可计量。

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics – you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you’ve sacrificed to get it done.
我的竞选经理大卫•普劳夫(David Plouffe)、首席策略师大卫•艾克斯罗德(David Axelrod)以及政治史上最好的竞选团队－－是你们成就了今天，我永远感激你们为实现今天的成就所做出的牺牲。

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to – it belongs to you.
但最重要的是，我永远不会忘记这场胜利真正的归属－－它属于你们。

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn’t start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington – it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.
我从来不是最有希望的候选人。一开始，我们没有太多资金，也没有得到太多人的支持。我们的竞选活动并非诞生于华盛顿的高门华第之内，而是始于得梅因、康科德、查尔斯顿这些地方的普通民众家中。

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation’s apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.
我们的竞选活动能有今天的规模，是因为辛勤工作的人们从自己的微薄积蓄中拿出钱来，捐出一笔又一笔5美元、10美元、20美元。而竞选活动的声势越来越大则是源自那些年轻人，他们拒绝接受认为他们这代人冷漠的荒诞说法；他们离开家、离开亲人，从事报酬微薄、极其辛苦的工作；同时也源自那些已经不算年轻的人们，他们冒着严寒酷暑，敲开陌生人的家门进行竞选宣传；更源自数百万的美国民众，他们自动自发地组织起来，证明了在两百多年以后，民有、民治、民享的政府并未从地球上消失。这是你们的胜利。

I know you didn’t do this just to win an election and I know you didn’t do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime –two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they’ll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor’s bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.
我知道你们的所做所为并不只是为了赢得大选，我也知道你们做这一切并不是为了我。你们这样做是因为你们明白摆在面前的任务有多艰巨。因为即便我们今晚欢呼庆祝，我们也知道明天将面临我们一生之中最为艰巨的挑战---两场战争、一个面临危险的星球，还有百年来最严重的金融危机。今晚站在此地，我们知道伊拉克的沙漠里和阿富汗的群山中还有勇敢的美国士兵醒来，甘冒生命危险保护着我们。会有在孩子熟睡后仍难以入眠的父母，担心如何偿还按揭月供、付医药费或是存够钱送孩子上大学。我们亟待开发新能源、创造新的工作机会；我们需要修建新学校，还要应对众多威胁、修复与许多盟国的关系。

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America – I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you –we as a people will get there.
前方的道路会十分漫长艰辛。我们可能无法在一年甚至一届任期之内实现上述目标，但我从未像今晚这样满怀希望，相信我们会实现。我向你们承诺---我们作为一个整体将会达成目标。

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can’t solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it’s been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years – block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
我们会遭遇挫折和不成功的开端。对于我作为总统所做的每项决定和政策，会有许多人持有异议，我们也知道政府并不能解决所有问题。但我会向你们坦陈我们所面临的挑战。我会聆听你们的意见，尤其是在我们意见相左之时。最重要的是，我会请求你们参与重建这个国家，以美国221年来从未改变的唯一方式---一砖一瓦而成、胼手胝足相续。

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek – it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.
21个月前那个寒冬所开始的一切不应该在今天这个秋夜结束。今天的选举胜利并不是我们所寻求的改变---这只是我们进行改变的机会。而且如果我们仍然按照旧有方式行事，我们所寻求的改变不可能出现。没有你们，也不可能有这种改变。

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers – in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.
因此，让我们发扬新的爱国精神，树立新的服务意识和责任感，让我们每个人下定决心全情投入、更加努力地工作，并彼此关爱。让我们铭记这场金融危机带来的教训：我们不可能在金融以外的领域备受煎熬的同时拥有繁荣兴旺的华尔街---在这个国家，我们患难与共。

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House – a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, “We are not enemies, but friends…though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.” And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn – I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.
让我们抵制重走老路的诱惑，避免重新回到令美国政治长期深受毒害的党派纷争和由此引发的遗憾和不成熟表现。让我们牢记，正是伊利诺伊州的一名男子首次将共和党的大旗扛到了白宫。共和党是建立在自强自立、个人自由以及全民团结的价值观上，这也是我们所有人都珍视的价值。虽然民主党今天晚上赢得了巨大的胜利，但我们是以谦卑的态度和弥合阻碍我们进步的分歧的决心赢得这场胜利的。林肯在向远比我们眼下分歧更大的国家发表讲话时说，我们不是敌人，而是朋友……虽然激情可能褪去，但是这不会割断我们感情上的联系。对于那些现在并不支持我的美国人，我想说，或许我没有赢得你们的选票，但是我听到了你们的声音，我需要你们的帮助，而且我也将是你们的总统。

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world – our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down – we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security – we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright – tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.
那些彻夜关注美国大选的海外人士，从国会到皇宫，以及在这个世界被遗忘的角落里挤在收音机旁的人们，我们的经历虽然各有不同，但是我们的命运是相通的，新的美国领袖诞生了。那些想要颠覆这个世界的人们，我们必将击败你们。那些追求和平和安全的人们，我们支持你们。那些所有怀疑美国能否继续照亮世界发展前景的人们，今天晚上我们再次证明，我们国家真正的力量并非来自我们武器的威力或财富的规模，而是来自我们理想的持久力量：民主、自由、机会和不屈的希望。

For that is the true genius of America – that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.
这才是美国真正的精华---美国能够改变。我们的联邦会日臻完善。我们取得的成就为我们将来能够取得的以及必须取得的成就增添了希望。

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing – Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.
这次大选创造了多项“第一”，也诞生了很多将世代流传的故事。但是今天晚上令我难忘的却是在亚特兰大投票的一名妇女：安•尼克松•库波尔(Ann Nixon Cooper)。她和其他数百万排队等待投票的选民没有什么差别，除了一点：她已是106岁的高龄。

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons – because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.
她出生的那个时代奴隶制度刚刚结束；那时路上没有汽车，天上也没有飞机；当时像她这样的人由于两个原因不能投票－－一是她是女性，另一个原因是她的肤色。

And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America – the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.
今天晚上，我想到了她在美国过去一百年间所经历的种种：心痛和希望；挣扎和进步；那些我们被告知我们办不到的世代，以及那些坚信美国信条---是的，我们能做到---的人们。

At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.
曾几何时，妇女没有发言权，她们的希望化作泡影，但是安•尼克松•库波尔活了下来，看到妇女们站了起来，看到她们大声发表自己的见解，看到她们去参加大选投票。是的，我们能做到。

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and anew sense of common purpose. Yes we can.
当30年代的沙尘暴和大萧条引发人们的绝望之情时，她看到一个国家用罗斯福新政、新就业机会以及对新目标的共同追求战胜恐慌。是的，我们能做到。

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.
当炸弹袭击了我们的海港、独裁专制威胁到全世界，她见证了美国一代人的伟大崛起，见证了一个民主国家被拯救。是的，我们能做到。

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, abridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.” Yes we can.
她看到蒙哥马利通了公共汽车、伯明翰接上了水管、塞尔马建了桥，一位来自亚特兰大的传教士告诉人们：我们能成功。是的，我们能做到。

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.
人类登上月球、柏林墙倒下，世界因我们的科学和想像被连接在一起。今年，就在这次选举中，她用手指触碰屏幕投下自己的选票，因为在美国生活了106年之后，经历了最好的时光和最黑暗的时刻之后，她知道美国如何能够发生变革。是的，我们能做到。

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves – if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?
美国，我们已经走过漫漫长路。我们已经历了很多。但是我们仍有很多事情要做。因此今夜，让我们自问---如果我们的孩子能够活到下个世纪；如果我们的女儿有幸活得和安一样长，他们将会看到怎样的改变？我们将会取得怎样的进步？

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can.
现在是我们回答这个问题的机会。这是我们的时刻。这是我们的时代---让我们的人民重新就业，为我们的后代敞开机会的大门；恢复繁荣发展，推进和平事业；让“美国梦”重新焕发光芒，再次证明这样一个基本的真理：我们是一家人；一息尚存，我们就有希望；当我们遇到嘲讽和怀疑，当有人说我们办不到的时候，我们要以这个永恒的信条来回应他们：是的，我们能做到。

Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.
感谢你们。上帝保佑你们。愿上帝保佑美利坚合众国。

最后发表： naughtybaby
回复内容：
----Thx Coredump~Here a relevant script is also rendered for language learning purposes.



Remarks of President-elect Barack Obama

November 15, 2008

Today, the leaders of the G-20 countries -- a group that includes the world's largest economies -- are gathering in Washington to seek solutions to the ongoing turmoil in our financial markets. I'm glad President Bush has initiated this process -- because our global economic crisis requires a coordinated global response.

And yet, as we act in concert with other nations, we must also act immediately here at home to address America's own economic crisis. This week, amid continued volatility in our markets, we learned that unemployment insurance claims rose to their highest levels since September 11, 2001. We've lost jobs for ten straight months -- nearly 1.2 million jobs this year, many of them in our struggling auto industry. And millions of our fellow citizens lie awake each night wondering how they're going to pay their bills, stay in their homes, and save for retirement.

Make no mistake: this is the greatest economic challenge of our time. And while the road ahead will be long, and the work will be hard, I know that we can steer ourselves out of this crisis -- because here in America we always rise to the moment, no matter how hard. And I am more hopeful than ever before that America will rise once again.

But we must act right now. Next week, Congress will meet to address the spreading impact of the economic crisis. I urge them to pass at least a down-payment on a rescue plan that will create jobs, relieve the squeeze on families, and help get the economy growing again. In particular, we cannot afford to delay providing help for the more than one million Americans who will have exhausted their unemployment insurance by the end of this year. If Congress does not pass an immediate plan that gives the economy the boost it needs, I will make it my first order of business as President.

Even as we dig ourselves out of this recession, we must also recognize that out of this economic crisis comes an opportunity to create new jobs, strengthen our middle class, and keep our economy competitive in the 21st century.
That starts with the kinds of long-term investments that we've neglected for too long. That means putting two million Americans to work rebuilding our crumbling roads, bridges, and schools. It means investing $150 billion to build an American green energy economy that will create five million new jobs, while freeing our nation from the tyranny of foreign oil, and saving our planet for our children. It means making health care affordable for anyone who has it, accessible for anyone who wants it, and reducing costs for small businesses. And it also means giving every child the world-class education they need to compete with any worker, anywhere in the world.

Doing all this will require not just new policies, but a new spirit of service and sacrifice, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. If this financial crisis has taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers -- in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people. And that is how we will meet the challenges of our time -- together. Thank you.

最后发表： coredump
回复内容：
FROM: http://blog.csdn.net/g9yuayon/archive/2008/10/18/3093688.aspx

强大的告别信。这里登的：http://www.portfolio.com/views/b ... r-goodbye-and-f-you。

写信的人叫Andrew，是加州对冲基金Lahde Capital的基金经理。去年做空次贷，使得他的基金年回报高达866%。今年他决定牛放桃林，马勒戈壁，关掉基金回家追寻逝水流年，就写了这封言辞激烈的信。嘿嘿，慢慢欣赏吧。



Dear Investor:
Today I write not to gloat. Given the pain that nearly everyone is experiencing, that would be entirely inappropriate. Nor am I writing to make further predictions, as most of my forecasts in previous letters have unfolded or are in the process of unfolding. Instead, I am writing to say goodbye.
Recently, on the front page of Section C of the Wall Street Journal, a hedge fund manager who was also closing up shop (a $300 million fund), was quoted as saying, “What I have learned about the hedge fund business is that I hate it.” I could not agree more with that statement. I was in this game for the money. The low hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale, and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking. These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government. All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy, only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America.
There are far too many people for me to sincerely thank for my success. However, I do not want to sound like a Hollywood actor accepting an award. The money was reward enough. Furthermore, the endless list those deserving thanks know who they are.
I will no longer manage money for other people or institutions. I have enough of my own wealth to manage. Some people, who think they have arrived at a reasonable estimate of my net worth, might be surprised that I would call it quits with such a small war chest. That is fine; I am content with my rewards. Moreover, I will let others try to amass nine, ten or eleven figure net worths. Meanwhile, their lives suck. Appointments back to back, booked solid for the next three months, they look forward to their two week vacation in January during which they will likely be glued to their Blackberries or other such devices. What is the point? They will all be forgotten in fifty years anyway. Steve Balmer, Steven Cohen, and Larry Ellison will all be forgotten. I do not understand the legacy thing. Nearly everyone will be forgotten. Give up on leaving your mark. Throw the Blackberry away and enjoy life.
So this is it. With all due respect, I am dropping out. Please do not expect any type of reply to emails or voicemails within normal time frames or at all. Andy Springer and his company will be handling the dissolution of the fund. And don’t worry about my employees, they were always employed by Mr. Springer’s company and only one (who has been well-rewarded) will lose his job.
I have no interest in any deals in which anyone would like me to participate. I truly do not have a strong opinion about any market right now, other than to say that things will continue to get worse for some time, probably years. I am content sitting on the sidelines and waiting. After all, sitting and waiting is how we made money from the subprime debacle. I now have time to repair my health, which was destroyed by the stress I layered onto myself over the past two years, as well as my entire life — where I had to compete for spaces in universities and graduate schools, jobs and assets under management — with those who had all the advantages (rich parents) that I did not. May meritocracy be part of a new form of government, which needs to be established.
On the issue of the U.S. Government, I would like to make a modest proposal. First, I point out the obvious flaws, whereby legislation was repeatedly brought forth to Congress over the past eight years, which would have reigned in the predatory lending practices of now mostly defunct institutions. These institutions regularly filled the coffers of both parties in return for voting down all of this legislation designed to protect the common citizen. This is an outrage, yet no one seems to know or care about it. Since Thomas Jefferson and Adam Smith passed, I would argue that there has been a dearth of worthy philosophers in this country, at least ones focused on improving government. Capitalism worked for two hundred years, but times change, and systems become corrupt. George Soros, a man of staggering wealth, has stated that he would like to be remembered as a philosopher. My suggestion is that this great man start and sponsor a forum for great minds to come together to create a new system of government that truly represents the common man’s interest, while at the same time creating rewards great enough to attract the best and brightest minds to serve in government roles without having to rely on corruption to further their interests or lifestyles. This forum could be similar to the one used to create the operating system, Linux, which competes with Microsoft’s near monopoly. I believe there is an answer, but for now the system is clearly broken.
Lastly, while I still have an audience, I would like to bring attention to an alternative food and energy source. You won’t see it included in BP’s, “Feel good. We are working on sustainable solutions,” television commercials, nor is it mentioned in ADM’s similar commercials. But hemp has been used for at least 5,000 years for cloth and food, as well as just about everything that is produced from petroleum products. Hemp is not marijuana and vice versa. Hemp is the male plant and it grows like a weed, hence the slang term. The original American flag was made of hemp fiber and our Constitution was printed on paper made of hemp. It was used as recently as World War II by the U.S. Government, and then promptly made illegal after the war was won. At a time when rhetoric is flying about becoming more self-sufficient in terms of energy, why is it illegal to grow this plant in this country? Ah, the female. The evil female plant — marijuana. It gets you high, it makes you laugh, it does not produce a hangover. Unlike alcohol, it does not result in bar fights or wife beating. So, why is this innocuous plant illegal? Is it a gateway drug? No, that would be alcohol, which is so heavily advertised in this country. My only conclusion as to why it is illegal, is that Corporate America, which owns Congress, would rather sell you Paxil, Zoloft, Xanax and other additive drugs, than allow you to grow a plant in your home without some of the profits going into their coffers. This policy is ludicrous. It has surely contributed to our dependency on foreign energy sources. Our policies have other countries literally laughing at our stupidity, most notably Canada, as well as several European nations (both Eastern and Western). You would not know this by paying attention to U.S. media sources though, as they tend not to elaborate on who is laughing at the United States this week. Please people, let’s stop the rhetoric and start thinking about how we can truly become self-sufficient.

With that I say good-bye and good luck.

All the best,
Andrew Lahde”

最后发表： xblues
回复内容：
Spending on China's credit cardfrom BBC NEWS | James Reynolds' China by James Reynolds  (BBC News)
Nationalholidays this week in China (1 October is the anniversary of the 1949revolution which brought the Communist Party to power).
The holidays mean that the Shanghai stock exchange is closed. So, we won't know how the markets here will react to the US non-bail-outtill the exchange opens again on 5 October. But this country is keepinga close eye on the financial crisis currently hacking its way throughthe United States and Europe.
Asit stands right now, the first wave of this crisis doesn't appear tohave hit China too badly. Chinese banks didn't get hugely involved insub-prime mortgages. Reports say that this country's financialinstitutions have stacked up about 4.3 billion dollars in losses (outof more than $500bn worldwide).
But, in the longer term, the crisis is bound to affect China muchmore directly. One simple reason explains it: if the world's biggestconsumer, the United States, can no longer afford to buy as much, Chinawill no longer be able to sell as much.
That's important, because China's recent growth is based on itsexports and on its engagement with the world - the United States inparticular. If the world scales down what it can buy, that will have ahuge impact here.
If people in Pennsylvania can't afford new DVD players or newmicrowave ovens, manufacturers in China will have fewer people to sellto and may have to shut down. The downturn in the States has alreadyaffected businesses in Shenzhen in southern China which would normallyexport in bulk to the US.
And there's another, crucial way in which China and the US arelocked together. In simple terms, America's been having a great timespending on China's credit card. Consumers in the US have been able tobuy homes, cars and occasional yachts partly because China's beenwilling to invest its own savings in US debt.
The background: China has huge amounts of foreign exchange reserves- or what you or I would call savings. China didn't want to keep all ofit under a mattress, so it scouted around for a place to keep it safe.It chose US Treasury bonds - low yield, but low risk - based on thebelief that the US economy is its safest long-term bet. So far, Chinahas invested several hundred billion dollars in these bonds.
Butnow - because of the financial crisis - America's having to look prettyclosely at its spending. And it's uneasy with the fact that so much ofits buying has been financed by a country which may become its greatestglobal rival. The subject was mentioned by both presidential candidatesduring their first debate...
"One of the major reasons why we're in the difficulties we are intoday is because spending got out of control. We owe China $500bn." -Senator John McCain.
"We've got challenges, for example, with China, where we areborrowing billions of dollars. They now hold a trillion dollars' worthof our debt." - Senator Barack Obama.
(It may be slightly worrying to find that the two men differ by$500bn as to how much the US owes China - one would imagine thatChina's keeping a slightly more accurate count of its money.)
I haven't come across any suggestion at the moment that China willstop investing its savings in the US economy. But here's a question forthe future - what happens if China decides to invest its moneysomewhere else?
PS. I'll be away during October. Please have a look at our Asia-Pacific index for news about China. See you back here in November!

最后发表： naughtybaby
回复内容：
"What’s best for the country?" Not, "What do I think my religious beliefs are?" Because you can only live with your own religious beliefs; you can’t ask other people to bend to them.

---Indeed.

最后发表： xblues
回复内容：
http://www.youtube.com/v/PiD1X8baE9Q&hl=en&fs=1

昨晚连日来被媒体大量负面报道的美国共党08总统大选副总统提名人Sarah Palin在经久不息的掌声中庄严宣布接受副总统提名, 她的演讲生动活泼, 不仅打动了听众, 也让"媒体的代表"觉得应该为先前负面报道向她道歉, 呵呵...另外, 她还回敬欧巴马对她的轻视, 她说:欧巴马领导个社区在行, 当国家领导还需磨练, 呵呵...在她演讲之前, 原纽约市长朱利安尼也这么说欧巴马来的, 逗得观众哄堂大笑, 呵呵...

最后发表： coredump
回复内容：
这张照片看起来比新闻上的很气质

最后发表： xblues
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原文链接
http://gawker.com/5041594/the-obama-celebrity-cabinet

今天开始为期三天的民主党代表大会上将群星荟萃, 除了图片中欧巴马的"名人内阁"人物之外, Dave Matthews, Kanye West和 Sheryl Crow届时将有精彩的表演, 另外, Ben Affleck, Josh Brolin, Annette Bening, Spike Lee, Anne Hathaway, Susan Sarandon和Charlize Theron也将出席党代表大会, 还有Obama讲演时, Bruce Springsteen和Jon Bon Jovi将一先一后演唱助兴



Dave Matthews, Kanye West, and Sheryl Crow are all performing like monkeys for VIPs in Denver this week. Also expected to be skulking around Denver this week are Ben Affleck, Josh Brolin, Annette Bening, Spike Lee, Anne Hathaway, Susan Sarandon and Charlize Theron, according to AFP. Oh, and Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi are performing before and after Obama's acceptance speech, at that stadium! Soooo many celebrities! Because America loves its celebrities, except that it also despises and resents them.

You know how most of America's problems are caused not by the disastrous failure of government over the last like 30 years but by, uh, Tim Robbins? Yes, of course you do! So do Republicans, who learned long ago that the only thing America loved more than obsessively consuming pop culture object is loudly decrying the creators of those objects as unAmerican queers. The fact that Hollyweird (along with the music and television weird-ustries) caters directly and scientifically to every desire of every American demographic does not mean that anyone actually likes famous people, because, obviously, they are misanthropic wealthy blinkered assholes whose lives bear no resemblance to the lives of their audiences.

Which is true! They are! Just like politicians and their constituencies! Except no one knows who their Representative is, and everyone knows who Ben Affleck is. He is the Vince Vaughan who isn't funny!

And then it gets really odd, because even someone like Bruce Springsteen—who is unreservedly beloved by basically all white people older than 30—suddenly becomes a loathed example of garish flashy wealth when he sings a song for a Democrat. But, you may say, if you actually like Bruce Springsteen it is patently obvious that he has always sang bleeding heart songs about losers betrayed by their countries! But he also sings about cars which cause the Global Warming, which is a myth except when liberal celebrities have big houses, and then it is real.

So. Now Obama has to "stay away" from these famous people, except for the ones singing to him on TV, and also George Clooney has issued a press release announcing that he's never texted Barack Obama. George Clooney, in case you are unfamiliar with him, is basically the single most well-liked man in America, which is why his support for Barack Obama is the kiss of death.

Of course, if you are a Republican, you get to have the support of shitty country acts who are massively, hugely, insanely popular across the entire country except in the places where journalists live, so they don't count as "celebrities."

Get it?

最后发表： xblues
回复内容：
  Not necessarily!

最后发表： woody81
回复内容：
maybe a joke,who knows! but some likes we need respect more important thing even than happyness

最后发表： xblues
回复内容：
雪梨前锋晨报(Sydney Morning Herald)的网站上昨日发布了中宣部要求中国记者报道奥运会时严格遵守的21点纪律, 望其它国家的记者也要遵守.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world ... /1218307016317.html

The 21 edicts from the Chinese Government's propaganda unit

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August 14, 2008
Other related coverage

    * Censors make news in public relations battle

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THE 21 EDICTS FROM THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT'S PROPAGANDA UNIT


1. The telecast of sports events will be live [but] in case of emergencies, no print is allowed to report on it.

2. From August 1, most of the previously accessible overseas websites will be unblocked. No coverage is allowed on this development. There's also no need to use stories published overseas on this matter and [website] operators should not provide any superlinks on their pages.

3. Be careful with religious and ethnic subjects.

4. Don't make fuss about foreign leaders at the opening ceremony, especially in relation to seat arrangements or their private lives.

5. We have to put special emphasis on ethnic equality. Any perceived racist terms as "black athlete" or "white athlete" is not allowed. During the official telecast, we can refer to Taiwan as "Chinese Taipei". In ordinary times, refer to Taiwanese athletes as "those from the precious island Taiwan....." In case of any pro Taiwan-independence related incident inside the venue, you shall follow restrictions listed in item 1.

6. For those ethnic Chinese coaches and athletes who come back to Beijing to compete on behalf of other countries, don't play up their "patriotism" since that could backfire with their adopted countries.

7. As for the Pro-Tibetan independence and East Turkistan movements, no coverage is allowed. There's also no need to make fuss about our anti-terrorism efforts.

8. All food saftey issues, such as cancer-causing mineral water, is off-limits.

9. In regard to the three protest parks, no interviews and coverage is allowed.

10. No fuss about the rehearsals on August 2,5. No negative comments about the opening ceremony.

11.No mention of the Lai Changxing case.

12.No mention of those who illegally enter China.

13.On international matters, follow the official line. For instance, follow the official propaganda line on the North Korean nuclear issue; be objective when it comes to the Middle East issue and play it down as much as possible; no fuss about the Darfur question; No fuss about UN reform; be careful with Cuba. If any emergency occurs, please report to the foreign ministry.

14. If anything related to territorial dispute happens, make no fuss about it. Play down the Myanmar issue; play down the Takeshima island dispute.

15. Regarding diplomatic ties between China and certain nations, don't do interviews on your own and don't use online stories. Instead, adopt Xinhua stories only. Particularly on the Doha round negotiation, US elections, China-Iran co-operation, China-Aussie co-operation, China-Zimbabwe co-operation, China-Paraguay co-operation.

16.Be very careful with TV ratings, only use domestic body's figures. Play it down when  rating goes down.

17. In case of an emergency involving foreign tourists, please follow the official line. If there's no official line, stay away from it.

18. Re possible subway accidents in the capital, please follow the official line.

19.Be positive on security measures.

20. Be very careful with stock market coverage during the Games.

21.Properly handle coverage of the Chinese sports delegation:

A.don't criticise the selection process

B.don't overhype gold medals; don't issue predictions on gold medal numbers; don't make fuss about  cash rewards for athletes.

C.don't make a fuss about isolated misconducts by athletes.

D.enforce the publicity of our anti-doping measures.

E. put emphasis on  government efforts to secure the retirement life of atheletes.

F. keep a cool head on the Chinese performance. Be prepared for possible fluctations in the medal race.

G. refrain from publishing opinion pieces at odds with the official propangada line of the Chinese delegation.

最后发表： xblues
回复内容：
  读起来不如中文省力，可是翻起来才真的费劲呢！

最后发表： xblues
回复内容：


一段带有歪曲AO-YUN-HUI五环标志的视频出现在youtube上, 在AO-WEI-HUI的压力下youtube被迫采取YouTakenDown行动, 据介绍:该视频是自由XI-ZANG学生组织上周四晚上在曼哈顿中国驻纽约领事馆大楼墙壁上放的幻灯片, 不过这里还可以收看到, 警告:该视频含有血腥场面, 图片截取自该视频.

http://vimeo.com/1494443
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/ ... et.protest.john.ray

去看看也没啥坏处，收集多方信息，自己判断嘛。

[ 本帖最后由 xblues 于 14-8-2008 03:17 编辑 ]

最后发表： 我爱猫眯
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Athletes competing at the Beijing Olympics will face bigger mental issues than physical problems coping with China’s pollution, Netherlands soccer coach Foppe De Haan said on Monday.
De Haan told a news conference his players had undergone a rigorous training programme to get themselves in the best physical shape to handle the heat and humidity.
But he said nothing could prepare them for the psychological challenge of playing under a thick blanket of haze.“This is not a physical problem, this is a mental thing,” he said. “I heard today that you can’t see the (Beijing) stadium from 500 metres away. That’s awful I think, but there is no point complaining, it is the same for everyone.”The Dutch, who are playing a warm-up tournament in Hong Kong with the United States, Cameroon and Ivory Coast, were given a stark warning of the potential problems they face.De Haan ordered all the players to undergo a month of intense physical training, including spending time in humidity chambers that replicated the climate in Beijing, and two players, who had never had any previous problems with asthma, started to develop symptoms.
“We did a three-week programme with a lot of work on aerobic fitness,” De Haan said. “We took all the players to a hospital in The Hague for tests and most of them were fine but two players started to show signs.”De Haan said the two unidentified players had reported their conditions to the International Olympic Committee in case they needed to take any medication during the Games.
Cameroon coach Martin Mpile said he had no major concerns about the pollution although he conceded the humidity could force some of the more athletic teams to curb their natural instincts to conserve their energy.That’s why we have come here early, to adapt to the conditions,” he said. “I don’t know how the other teams will (cope) but we’re going to try and play our own game.U.S. coach Peter Nowak said he did not expect the conditions would make it any easier for his team to upset some of the top countries.There are no more miracles in soccer anymore,” he said. “Anyone can beat anyone on any given day. The conditions are the same for everyone. It’s not going to be easy, but we know that.”

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BRUSSELS, Belgium -- International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge expects up to 40 athletes to be caught doping at the Beijing Olympics, compared to 26 at the 2004 Athens Games.
Rogge based his prediction on the increased testing and the improved quality of urinalysis, according to an interview published in the weekend edition of the De Standaard daily.
At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, there were 12 positive doping results from 2,500 urine tests. Rogge said at Beijing there will be 4,500 tests.
"How many positive cases will there be in Beijing? More than in Athens," Rogge said. "Based on the number of doping tests in Beijing, you can expect 30 to 40 positive cases."
In other comments, Rogge said he believes the Beijing Games have led to more media and personal freedoms in China as well as a tightening of child labor laws, but that there are limits to the Olympic movement's powers of generating change within the country.
"The IOC is not authorized and has no means to interfere in sovereign matters," he said. "China's relations with Taiwan, the situation in Tibet, those are matters over which the IOC has no authority and must be addressed by other institutions."
Rogge denied the Olympics legitimizes the Chinese government, which is widely accused of rights violations, saying the games "hold up a mirror [and] show what's happening" in the country.
"We bring the media to the games," he said. "I firmly believe the games have a positive effect."

最后发表： xblues
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Yes, show the best in front of our guests.

最后发表： 我爱猫眯
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Australia's most profitable bank has signalled deepening concern about the impact of the global credit crisis on its earnings.

Like its other major bank peers in Australia, National Australia Bank is recognised as having a far more limited exposure to the ructions on global capital markets than US and European institutions.

However, in March it revealed it had a portfolio of $US1.1 billion in so-called collateral debt obligations.

At the time, it said it was setting aside $180 million for potential losses.

Now it says the economic environment has deteriorated further and there's a risk that further provisioning will be needed.

At the same time, National Australia Bank has announced it's in talks to possibly buy the Australian and New Zealand operations of ABN Amro.

最后发表： 我爱猫眯
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Fiji's Attorney General says a South Korean company's plan to manufacture electric cars in Fiji could reduce the country's reliance on fuel.

The company, C and T, makes electric cars and golf carts, and recently won a contract to supply cars for next month's Beijing Olympics.

It's looking for investors for a new assembly plant for electric cars, in Fiji.

Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says the investment could bring in export dollars to Fiji.

"It also has the potential of an export market, because we have very competitive labour rates particularly in comparison to Australia and New Zealand and we are only about three or four hours away from Australia and New Zealand.

"So it has the potential to also earn us some foreign dollars too," he said.

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The Australian Government is facing fresh warnings that planned changes to the Medicare surcharge threshold will increase public hospital waiting lists by 200,000.

Catholic Health Australia says it's reached the figure by analysing private health insurance data, and the Government's Treasury estimate that the changes will lead 485,000 people to drop private cover.

The legislation to raise the threshold is currently before a Senate committee.

But the group's Chief Executive, Martin Laverty says an increase in public waiting lists will affect low income earners the most, and the government should reconsider the changes.

"We don't think the proposal to lift the threshold from $AU50,000 to $100,000 for individuals or to $150,000 for couples is appropriate," Mr Laverty said.

"We've asked the Government to give reconsideration to the needs of low-income earners around Australia because after all, it was low-income earners that this change in threshold was actually meant to help."

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Cycling Australia says Chris Jongewaard should find out today if his appeal against being left out of the Beijing Olympic team has been successful.

The mountain biker, who's facing charges over an alleged hit and run, has been excluded from the squad announced last month.

Cycling Australia spokeswoman, Gennie Shear, says the appeals tribunal deciding Jongewaard's fate reserved its decision, and plans to release it today.

The organisation has said the court case would mean the cyclist may not pass the Australian Olympic Committee's ethical standards requirement.

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A new report by Australia's peak science body, the CSIRO, has warned the cost of petrol could rise to as high as $AU8 a litre in the next 10 years.

The Fuel for Thought study by the Future Fuels Forum says that would be the worst-case scenario if oil production doesn't keep up with increasing demand.

Dr John Wright from the CSIRO says the study also suggests that such an oil shock would have a greater impact than a carbon emissions trading scheme.

"If we end up as a result of an emissions trading scheme price of carbon dioxide credit at something like $40 per tonne which is reasonably likely, that would increase the price per litre of fuel by about 10 cents," Dr Wright said.

Engineer Phil Hart from the Australian Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas, believes it won't be long before the demand for oil will outstrip supply.

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A South Korean tourist has been shot dead by soldiers at a holiday resort inside North Korea.

Our North Asia correspondent, Shane McLeod, reports the 53-year-old woman was walking on the beach at the Mount Kumgang resort in North Korea when she was shot.

North Korea says she had strayed into a prohibited area and that she ran when soldiers ordered her to stop.

She was shot in the chest and leg and died shortly afterwards.

Tours to the popular resort area have been suspended, and South Korea's government says the incident is deeply regrettable.

South Koreans have been able to visit the resort since 1998 - it's one of two cross-border projects developed by the south to boost economic ties between the two countries.

最后发表： 127
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finally winter shows up...

最后发表： 127
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Gee...we should always remember, when snowing or raining, never step the brake to completely stop the car in one stroke, 'cos that will cause u lose control of the car on slippery ground.

release the gas first, then step on the brake in a series of strokes. as u can't stop immediately as when the driving conditions are good, drive at a lower speed in such conditions.

Good luck, mate...

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看新闻，学英语(77)缅甸风灾

作者：David Lee

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各位读者好：

灾难新闻是新闻英语最容易切入的主题，全世界经常有不同的灾难在不同的时空下发生。Cyclone（气旋）是在印度洋发生的tropical storm（热带风暴），在太平洋发生的则是我们所熟知的typhoon（台风），在大西洋发生的，则称为hurricane（飓风）。


Hit By Severe Cyclone, Burma Accepts Help.
强烈气旋侵袭后，缅甸接受援助


【新闻关键字】

1. death toll：死亡总数
2. delta：三角洲
3. eradicate：完全清除


Asian countries have sent aid to Burma, where the cyclone death toll has hit over 22,000 with more than 40,000 missing.
亚洲国家已送援助到缅甸，强烈气旋的死亡总数已超过22,000人，并且有超过40,000人失踪。

According to the World Food Program (WFP), one million people may be homeless after Cyclone Nargis hit the Irrawaddy river delta of Burma. WFP said some villages have been almost totally eradicated.
根据世界粮食组织WFP说，在纳吉斯气旋侵袭缅甸的伊洛瓦底藏布江三角洲之后，可能有100万人无家可归。WFP说一些村落几乎已完全被摧毁。

4. devastating：重创性的
5. Bangladesh：孟加拉
6. survivor：生还者

This has been the most devastating cyclone in Asia since 1991 when a storm killed 140,000 in neighbouring Bangladesh.
这已是自从1991年来亚洲最俱重创性的气旋，1991年时暴风雨侵袭临近的孟加拉，造成14万人死亡。

Singapore, a close neighbour, sent boxes filled with medical supplies, drinking water, emergency food and tents. Australia will be sending aid to Burma as well.
邻国新加坡递送了一箱箱装有医疗补给品、饮用水、紧急食物与帐蓬。澳洲也将送援助到缅甸。

Disease, hunger and thirst pose as major threats to hundreds of thousands of survivors of Cyclone Nargis. In one town alone, Bogalay, 10,000 people were killed.
疾病与饥渴是造成对纳吉斯暴风成千上万的生还者的主要威胁。单单在波格雷城，就有1万人死亡。

7. rip：撕开
8. sturdy：坚固的
9. shanty：简陋的

In Yangoon, roofs were ripped off even sturdy buildings, suggesting severe damage to the shanty towns that lie on the outskirts of the city, where five million people live.

在仰光，甚至连坚固住宅的屋顶都被掀开，那么在城市周围简陋乡镇的损害就更为严重，而有五百万人住在那些地区。

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看新闻，学英语(79)悉尼大桥上的婚礼

作者：David Lee

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各位读者好：

这是一则轻松而浪漫的新闻。现代人求新求变，绞尽脑汁以最特别的方式来完成终身大事。有去过悉尼吗？David老师在2000年奥运的时侯也曾爬上过这座悉尼港口大桥喔！


Marriage on The Sydney Harbour Bridge
在悉尼大桥上的婚礼

【新闻关键字】
1. tie the knot：结婚
2. Iconic：有表征意义的
3. long-span：跨径
4. steel arch bridge：钢拱桥
5. climbing suits：登山装
6. just in case：以防万一
7. become engaged：订婚

Anchor：
A British couple became the first to officially tie the knot on the iconic Harbour Bridge. The Sydney Harbour Bridge is famous for being the world's widest long-span bridge and its tallest steel arch bridge. Let’s have a look.
新闻主播：一对英国夫妇成为第一对正式在具有表征意义的港口大桥上结婚的夫妇。悉尼海港大桥以世界最宽与最高的钢拱大桥而闻名。

STORY:
Just 134 meters above the harbour, 27-year-old Stephen Tierney and 28-year-old Claire Tullan from Scotland, climbed 1437 stairs. They braved the wind and rain to get married. They dressed in special climbing suits with harnesses for safety. Even the ring was attached to a rope, just in case.
新闻内容：就在港口上方134公尺处，来自苏格兰27岁的史蒂芬．提尔尼与28岁的克莱儿．杜兰攀爬了1437层阶梯。他们勇敢地在风雨中结婚了。为了安全，他们穿着特殊带有安全带的登山装。甚至戒指都绑上了绳子，以防万一。

The marriage ceremony brought Tullan’s dream to life.
这项结婚仪式带给杜兰对人生的梦想。

[Claire Tullan, Bride]: "I always wanted somewhere unusual to get married and this was the first place, somewhere I've always wanted to visit and I thought it would be amazing to do it. I'm so excited I don't believe I've actually done it."
新娘杜兰说：“我一直想要在一个不寻常的地方结婚，而这是第一个我一直想要来的地方，我认为在这儿结婚是很令人惊艳的。我非常的兴奋，我无法相信我已经实际做到了。”

After the climb, the newlyweds signed their marriage certificates and spent their wedding night at a five-star hotel.
在攀爬之后，这对新人签署了他们的结婚证书，并且在一家五星级旅馆度过他们的新婚之夜。

It is estimated that over 1700 couples have become engaged on the Sydney Bridge.
据估计，超过1700对夫妇在悉尼大桥上订婚。

Celebrities such as Will Smith, Matt Damon, Nicole Kidman and Kylie Minogue, among others have climbed the bridge as well.
名人如威尔史密斯、尼可基曼、凯莉米洛等，也都曾经爬上这座大桥。

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看新闻，学英语(80)油价调涨

作者：David Lee

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各位读者好：

大家知道有许多老外到台湾来学中文，那些国语说很好的，你问他怎么学的？他会告诉你每天都会拿起中文报纸来朗读，这样很多时事就会说了。因此，想要学好英文，秘诀之一就是每天拿起英语新闻来朗读朗读。

Taiwan Raising Its Fuel Prices
台湾提高燃料价格

【新闻关键字】
1. cabinet:内阁
2. petrol station:加油站
3. Asian economies:亚洲经济体
4. bucket:桶
5. double blow:双重打击
6. inflation:涨价、通膨
7. psychological impact:心理冲击

Anchor:A surprise announcement by the country’s cabinet has Taiwanese crowding petrol stations around the island to fill up before the government raises fuel price.
新闻主播：台湾内阁突然宣布提高油价，使得台湾人蜂拥至全岛的加油站，为了在政府提高油价之前加油。

STORY:Taiwan’s decision to raise fuel prices marks the latest move by Asian economies, such as Indonesia and Sri Lanka who are doing the same.
新闻内容：台湾决定提高燃料价格，代表亚洲经济体的最新行动，像是印尼与斯里兰卡也正在这么做。

[Kaohsiung Resident]:"I have trucks capable of 20 tons, five tons and three tons, but these buckets will only last about three weeks."
一位高雄居民说：“我有20吨、5吨与3吨的卡车，但这些桶油仅能够持续用约三个礼拜。”

Taiwan is among many Asian countries facing the double blow of slowing economic growth and rising inflation.
台湾是在许多亚洲国家之列，同时面临经济成长迟缓与通膨上升的双重打击。

[Liu Chao-shiuan, Taiwan Premier]:
"We are only reflecting the cost of international oil gas prices and to avoid the psychological impact of inflation, the inflation will become effective starting from midnight of May 28."
台湾阁揆刘兆玄说：“我们仅仅是反映国际油价成本，并且避免涨价的心理冲击，调涨将会自5月28日深夜起升效。”

Economists expected May's Consumer Price Index to climb by 4.4 percent from a year earlier, higher than April's figure, and has a current forecast of 2.8 percent for the full year.
经济学家预期五月份消费者物价指数，比四月份的数字高，较去年同期上扬4.4个百分点，目前预测全年的指数是2.8个百分点。

The government will also lift power prices on July 1st.
台湾政府也将在7月1日提高电费价格。

最后发表： chubbycat
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看新闻，学英语(81)台湾爆发肠病毒

作者：David Lee

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Intestinal Virus Outbreak in Taiwan
台湾爆发肠病毒

【新闻关键字】
1. infect: v.感染
2. enterovirus: n.肠病毒
3. intestinal virus: n.肠病毒
4. epidemic: n.流行病
5. intensive care unit : n.加护病房
6. general ward: n.普通病房
7. discharge: v. 出院
Anchor:
In Taiwan, severe cases of people infected with enterovirus are increasing. The outbreak of this intestinal virus comes abruptly and spreads fast.
主播：在台湾，感染肠病毒的严重案例不断在增加中。这次肠病毒的爆发来的很突然，并且散播很快。

According to the Taiwan Infectious Disease Control Department, in just last week there were 27 new cases. Most are children younger than 6 years of age.
据台湾感染性疾病管制局说，单单在上周就有27个病例。大部份是六岁以下的儿童。

STORY:
To date, a total of 203 people in Taiwan are infected with the intestinal virus, seven have died already. The epidemic tends to spread from the south to the north.
新闻内容：到目前为止，台湾总共有203人感染肠病毒，有7个人已经死了。这项流行性疾病的趋势是从南向北扩散。

Deputy Director of Taiwan's Disease Control Department, Zhihao Zhou, gives this analysis of the epidemic.
台湾疾管局副局长周志豪对此次流行病作了以下的分析。

[Zhihao Zhou, Deputy Director, Infectious Disease Control]:
"Until this morning, we confirmed 203 severe cases of the enterovirus infection, most are children younger than 5 years of age. Most cases are in Kaohsiung County, and then in southern Tainan County, and then in the central Changhua County. There are more cases in the northern counties than in other areas."
“直到今天早上，我们确认了203起严重的肠病毒感染病例，大部份是五岁以下的孩童。大部份的病例在高雄县，然后是南部的台南县，南后是中部的彰化县。北部县市有比其他地区更多的病例。

The deputy director says that among the 27 newly infected children, there are ten who are still in the intensive care unit. One child was transferred to a general ward, and 15 were discharged from the hospital.
副局长说，在27位新近感染的儿童中，有十位仍然在加护病房，有一位孩童转送至普通病房，有15位已经出院。

最后发表： chubbycat
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看新闻，学英语(82)股市惨跌



各位读者好：

指涉股市下跌的用字很多，记者会使用fall, dive, dip, drop, plunge, plummet, tumble, topple, collapse, lose, lose ground, depreciate 等。

在走势图中，以开盘点价格为基准，其上的部位称为positive territory，其下的部份则是negative territory。

woe的用法也很生动，financial woe就是财务困难，traffic woe就是交通阻塞之意。

Market Report - Stocks Tumble on Inflation Woes
市场报导：股市因忧虑通膨而下跌

【新闻关键字】
1. tumble:崩跌
2. woe：苦恼、忧虑
3. stark warning: 明显的警告
4. prompt:促使
5. credit squeeze: 信用紧缩
6. contain:围堵、遏制
7. refiner：炼制者

Anchor: Asia stocks tumbled on Tuesday with a pile of bad news on inflation and credit woes sweeping across the region.
在一连串横扫亚洲的通膨与信用危机的利空消息中，周二亚洲股票惨跌。

Japan's benchmark Nikkei fell 1.1 percent after starting the session in positive territory.
在开盘时上扬之后，日经指数下跌1.1个百分点。

A stark warning on containing inflation by the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve prompted investors to price in rate hikes ahead. And a profit warning by U.S. bank Lehman Brothers also reminded many that the global credit squeeze has yet to be contained.
美国联准会主席抑制通膨的警告，促使投资者认为未来利率会提高。由美国雷曼兄弟银行的获利警告，也提醒许多人全球信用紧缩尚未被遏制。

Financial shares were among the worst performers with major banks such as HSBC losing ground.
由于主要银行像是汇丰下跌，金融股跌幅最大。

In China oil plays also fell sharply. Asia's largest refiner Sinopec fell on reports that Beijing was unlikely to remove price controls on refined oil products, despite the soaring cost of crude.
在中国石油股也巨幅下跌，亚洲最大的炼油公司中石油下跌，因为北京不可能移除对炼油产品的价格管制，虽然原油成本一直上扬。

In Taiwan, tech stocks took a hit with major computer plays such as Acer losing steam.
在台湾，随着电脑大厂如宏基下跌，科技股受创。

Investors worry that the combination of rising oil prices and inflation will slow demand from the United States.
投资者担心，不断攀升的油价与通膨的结合，将会迟缓美国的需求。

Even major exporters such as Honda lost ground in the overall negative session.
在整体上都是下跌的情势下，甚至大出口商像是铃木的股价也都滑落。

最后发表： nizi
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June 25, 2008
SYDNEY'S M5 East tunnel has been closed because of an electrical fault with its safety computers, leaving traffic banked up for kilometres in each direction.

Technicians are now trying to fix the problem with the computers, which control safety systems in the motorway tunnel at Bexley North, in Sydney's south.

The New South Wales Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) has urged motorists to avoid the area as they try to fix the technical glitch.

All eastbound traffic has been diverted onto King Georges Road, while westbound traffic has been funneled onto General Holmes Drive, the RTA said.

最后发表： nizi
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BRAZIL'S President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva criticized wealthy nations as xenophobic today and urged them to show more solidarity after the European Union adopted tougher immigration policies last week.

EU lawmakers ruled that illegal immigrants can be detained for up to 18 months and face a re-entry ban of up to five years, measures condemned by human rights groups.

"The cold wind of xenophobia is again blowing its false answers to economic and social challenges," Mr Lula said to a group of business leaders in Sao Paulo.

"What is the big problem we have in the developed world today? It's prejudice against immigration. It's fear of losing status quo, jobs. It's an extremely serious problem in all of Europe today," Mr Lula told a conference on corporate governance.

Last week Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez also criticized the EU measures and threatened to stop selling it oil.

Mr Lula, a former union leader who has championed the fight against global hunger, urged wealthy nations to share.

"Today with unemployment, hunger and financial (market) instability, we need more co-ordination between nations and more solidarity between peoples," said Mr Lula.

Europe should not bar entry to the poor but aid the development of their countries, Mr Lula said.

Brazil complained earlier this year that Spain mistreated citizens barred from entry.

High-level talks ended the diplomatic row and reduced the number of incidents.

Immigration from Latin American countries has been particularly strong in Spain, Portugal and Italy.

最后发表： nizi
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US house prices dropped 22.8 per cent over the last three months as American consumer confidence slumped.

Wall Street economists described the statistics as "incredibly awful" and indicated that the likelihood of the US Federal Reserve raising interest rates tomorrow was very remote.

The numbers will come as a severe blow to Washington which had hoped that its $US150 billion ($157 billion) tax rebate program would lift the US economy out of the gloom.

However, the housing recession - which shows no sign of abating - record petrol prices and rising food costs have conspired to offset the impact of the fiscal stimulus package.

According to the S& Case-Shiller house price index, considered as the most authoritative measure of US property values, the price of the average American home fell 1.4 per cent in April from March, and by almost 23 per cent over a three month period.

The rate of the April fall however, had slowed, with the index recording 2 per cent monthly declines in the past. The index measures house prices in 20 metropolitan areas in the US - last month, Miami and Phoenix were the worst performing cities both down 3 per cent.

At the same time, Washington published official figures measuring US consumer confidence in June.

The data showed that Americans had the least confidence in their finances since records began in 1967. If borne out, Wall Street expects the lack of confidence to translate into a 3 per cent slide in overall consumption.

Consumer demand is critical to the US economy, accounting for around two thirds of growth.

The June consumer confidence index dropped to 50.4 from 58.1, well below the consensus of 56.0.

Ian Shepherdson, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics, said: "This is incredibly awful. Even as some people spend their tax rebates - chain store sales growth hit a nine-month high last week - the majority appear to be overwhelmed by the surge in gasoline and food prices, and the drop in stock and home prices.

"Talk of higher rates probably isn't helping either. This is what's coming when the rebates are spent. Rate hike? You're kidding, right?"

The US central bank is facing a dilemma as its interest rate setting committee meets today and tomorrow. On the one hand, the bank wants to leave rates low - they are at 2 per cent - to help stimulate a recovery, but on the other, the Fed is anxious to contain inflation which is being stoked by food and fuel prices.

The Times

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FAMILY First senator Steve Fielding has hardened his opposition to the alcopop tax, saying the Government is hiding behind a "tax grab".

The Government must look at non-tax policies to rein in binge drinking, he said.

A Labor dominated Senate inquiry into ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages yesterday released recommendations supporting the 70 per cent alcopop tax hike, which came into effect on April 27 this year via regulation.

The Government must have supporting legislation passed by April next year for the $3.1bn rise to stand.

It will need to secure the support of Senator Fielding, all five Greens senators and incoming Senator Xenophon.

"You can't just hide behind a billion dollar tax grab,'' Senator Fielding said ABC Radio.

"Family First has thought that the best way of tackling binge drinking and creating a culture of responsible drinking is to put a range of non-tax measures in place.

"Things like putting health warning labels on alcohol products, things like closing the crazy loophole that allows alcohol ads to appear on television anytime of the day.''

Blatantly putting up taxes by 70 per cent on one category without looking at other issues or looking at the tax across the board did not make sense, Senator Fielding said.

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No, mankind should just accept the fate - even if they will go extinct on Earth.