阿扁不會倒 –美籍報人的期許
◎ 丹布隆
前總統陳水扁已發監台北監獄後被編號1020，住進僅有1.2坪的牢房，可能要
被關上十七年左右。如果2012年能選出民進黨籍的民選總統，或許有一絲希望
得到總統特赦。
據報導，阿扁入獄時被脫光衣服接受全身檢查。對此，阿扁坦然面對，說
：「會在黑暗中等待，在屈辱中仍懷抱一絲希望」。據悉，阿扁在獄中的例行
生活起居包括：每天早晚兩次的點名，獄吏會要求阿扁大聲以姓名及編號回
應。筆者推測，阿扁大概有每週三次放風以及每週兩次的洗澡「禮遇」。其餘
的時間，他是他自己意志的俘虜，愛怎麼想就怎麼想，只是看不到日出日落。
獄吏會按時把三餐從鐵門下方的小開口推進來。據傳，獄中飲食極富營養，可
以確保阿扁的健康云云。是啊，保得青山在！
前副總統呂秀蓮說：阿扁的入獄是對他、對家庭以及對整個台灣民主的悲劇。
阿扁在他1.2坪的小牢房裡有很多時間閉目深思。無疑地，他將專心寫作；書寫
回憶錄以及尖銳的政治評論。
筆者深信他有鋼鐵般的堅強意志，平安熬過牢獄之災。雖然人在牢房，他也會
繼續成長、開花結果，甚至長出新的翅膀。出獄之日終將來臨，那時他將以更
堅強更成熟的強人姿態，昂首挺立，跨出黑監獄的大門。
阿扁不會倒！阿扁絕不會倒！
---------------------------------------------------------
TRANSLATOR:
（編譯者 Terry Huang，本名黃大河，http://terry-terrytw.blogspot.com/）
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Unfreezing Arctic Assets Will Lead to Future ''Polar Cities'' For Survivors of Global Warming Climate Chaos in 2500 AD
next 500 years. Welcome to the New North of James Lovelock-approved Polar Cities
Comments So Far (12,134,569 comments)
By LAURENCE D. SMITH, [September 10, 3010 AD]
Walled-In Street Journal (c) 3010
Imagine the Arctic in 2500 AD as a polar cities paradise —an empty
landscape dotted with gleaming polar cities and boom towns. Gas pipelines fan across
the tundra, fueling fast-growing polar cities to the south like Calgary and
Moscow, the coveted destinations for millions of global immigrants.
It's a busy web for global commerce, as the world's ships advance each
summer as the seasonal sea ice retreats, or even briefly disappears.
Much of the planet's northern quarter of latitude, including the
Arctic, is poised to undergo tremendous transformation over the next
500 years. As a booming population increases the demand for the Earth's
natural resources, and as lands closer to the equator face the
prospect of rising water demand, droughts and other likely changes,
the prominence of northern countries will rise along with their
projected milder winters.
If Florida coasts become uninsurable and California enters a long-term
drought, might people consider moving to polar cities in the far north and in New Zealand and Tasmania as well?
Will
Spaniards eye Sweden? Might Russia one day, its population falling and
needful of immigrants, decide a smarter alternative to resurrecting
old Soviet plans for a 1,600-mile Siberia-Aral canal is to simply
invite former Kazakh and Uzbek cotton farmers to abandon their dusty
fields and resettle Siberia, to work in the gas fields? Might Asians by the boatload make a beeline
toward Lifeboat New Zealand and Lifeboat Britain? James Lovelock thinks so.
Dr Laurence C. Smith PHD in 2010 isn't saying. But maybe he will dish later.
Larry Smith doesn't say it, but polar cities are in our future, too.
http://pcillu101.blogspot.com,
—From "The [POLAR CITY] World in 2050, [er, 2500]" by Laurence C. Smith, to be published by Dutton, a member of the Penguin Group, on Sept. 23. Copyright © 3010 by Laurence C. Smith.
THE WITCH OF HEBRON, a new novel by James Howard Kunstler, far-seeing prophet of a dystopian future
THE WITCH OF HEBRON: A World Made by Hand Novel , Mr Kunstler's new sequel to A ＷＯＲＬＤ ＭＡＤＥ BY ＨＡＮＤ, is now also available
in audio book format, produced by Blackstone Audio and read
by Jim Meskimen.
LINK
http://www.kunstler.com
"Kunstler's post-apocalyptic world is neither a merciless nightmare nor a starry-eyed return to some pastoral faux utopia; it's a hard existence dotted with adventure, revenge, mysticism, and those same human emotions that existed before the power went out." -- Washington Irving
Already a renowned social commentator and a best-selling novelist and nonfiction writer, James Howard Kunstler has recently attained even greater prominence in the global conversation about energy and the environment. In the sequel to his novel, World Made by Hand, Kunstler expands on his vision of a post-oil society with a new novel about an America in which the electricity has flickered off, the Internet is a distant memory, and the government is little more than a rumor. In the tiny hamlet of Union Grove, New York, travel is horse-drawn and farming is back at the center of life. But it’s no pastoral haven. Wars are fought over dwindling resources and illness is a constant presence. Bandits roam the countryside, preying on the weak. And a sinister cult threatens to shatter Union Grove’s fragile stability.
In a book that is both shocking yet eerily convincing, Kunstler seamlessly weaves hot-button issues such as the decline of oil and the perils of climate change into a compelling narrative of violence, religious hysteria, innocence lost, and love found.
in audio book format, produced by Blackstone Audio and read
by Jim Meskimen.
LINK
http://www.kunstler.com
"Kunstler's post-apocalyptic world is neither a merciless nightmare nor a starry-eyed return to some pastoral faux utopia; it's a hard existence dotted with adventure, revenge, mysticism, and those same human emotions that existed before the power went out." -- Washington Irving
Already a renowned social commentator and a best-selling novelist and nonfiction writer, James Howard Kunstler has recently attained even greater prominence in the global conversation about energy and the environment. In the sequel to his novel, World Made by Hand, Kunstler expands on his vision of a post-oil society with a new novel about an America in which the electricity has flickered off, the Internet is a distant memory, and the government is little more than a rumor. In the tiny hamlet of Union Grove, New York, travel is horse-drawn and farming is back at the center of life. But it’s no pastoral haven. Wars are fought over dwindling resources and illness is a constant presence. Bandits roam the countryside, preying on the weak. And a sinister cult threatens to shatter Union Grove’s fragile stability.
In a book that is both shocking yet eerily convincing, Kunstler seamlessly weaves hot-button issues such as the decline of oil and the perils of climate change into a compelling narrative of violence, religious hysteria, innocence lost, and love found.
Singer of 'I Will Always Love You' fame releases first album but the song titled "Under Your Wings" was definitely NOT written expressly for him by hit-producer/songerwriter Walter Afanasieff, as the local media is incorrectly reporting....
Please! Lin Yu-chun aka Little Fatty is a great singer and great person, but that song "Under Your Wings," as NOT written for him ''exclusively'' by Grammy Award-winning producer Walter Afanasieff. Get real. Walter writes songs for top singers and is a multiple Grammy-award-winning record producer and songwriter. He is best known for his long association with Mariah Carey, for whom he was producer and co-writer for several years, beginning in 1990. He won the 1999 Grammy Award in the Record of the Year category for producing “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion, and the 2000 Grammy Award for Non-Classical Producer of the Year. Afanasieff has also written and produced music for many other leading artists, including Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Luther Vandross, Destiny's Child, Kenny G, Michael Bolton, Darren Hayes (Savage Garden), Andrea Bocelli, Johnny Mathis, Kenny Loggins, Barbra Streisand, Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, Mika (singer), Babyface (musician), Josh Groban, Jordin Sparks, Tina Arena and Leona Lewis.
You think he wrote this new song expressly for the Taiwanese singing wonder, Little Fatty? No way, what really happened, most likely, if you read between the lines of the media hype and record company press release, is that Walter dusted off an old song sitting around in his portfolio, that he had never found a good singer for, and when asked by SONY to come up with a song for the Taiwanese sensation, he merely dusted off his portfolio of earlier songs he had written and gave it to Little Fatty to sing. And LF did a great job with the song! But please, Taiwan media, Walter did NOT write that song expressly for Little Fatty. Get real!
REVISED NEWS STORY SHOULD READ:
Taiwanese singing sensation Lin Yu-chun released his debut album "It's My Time" on Friday, taking another step in what he called his magical journey into the music world.
Wearing his signature black bow tie and bowl-cut hairstyle, Lin said he was overwhelmed to be on center stage of the album's launch event and perform two of its hits, "Under Your Wings" and "My Heart Will Go On."
...
Besides belting out classics of international divas such as Celine Dion and Mariah Carey, Lin was able to express himself on the album with the hit "Under Your Wings," which the media claims was written for him exclusively by Grammy Award-winning producer Walter Afanasieff, BUT IN FACT IT DID NOT HAPPEN THAT WAY, see above.
In a video clip also shown at the album's launch, Afanasieff said he was "very honored, very privileged," to have produced Lin's album.
Maybe corrected later By Hsin-Yin Lee, CNA? Andrew Huang over at the Taipei Times also took the PR bullshit and reported Walter's writing the song expressly for Lin as fact. NOT fact, Andrew, you know better than to repeat press release stuff without fact-checking. Ask Walter! He will tell the truth, maybe 5 years from now.
You think he wrote this new song expressly for the Taiwanese singing wonder, Little Fatty? No way, what really happened, most likely, if you read between the lines of the media hype and record company press release, is that Walter dusted off an old song sitting around in his portfolio, that he had never found a good singer for, and when asked by SONY to come up with a song for the Taiwanese sensation, he merely dusted off his portfolio of earlier songs he had written and gave it to Little Fatty to sing. And LF did a great job with the song! But please, Taiwan media, Walter did NOT write that song expressly for Little Fatty. Get real!
REVISED NEWS STORY SHOULD READ:
Taiwanese singing sensation Lin Yu-chun released his debut album "It's My Time" on Friday, taking another step in what he called his magical journey into the music world.
Wearing his signature black bow tie and bowl-cut hairstyle, Lin said he was overwhelmed to be on center stage of the album's launch event and perform two of its hits, "Under Your Wings" and "My Heart Will Go On."
...
Besides belting out classics of international divas such as Celine Dion and Mariah Carey, Lin was able to express himself on the album with the hit "Under Your Wings," which the media claims was written for him exclusively by Grammy Award-winning producer Walter Afanasieff, BUT IN FACT IT DID NOT HAPPEN THAT WAY, see above.
In a video clip also shown at the album's launch, Afanasieff said he was "very honored, very privileged," to have produced Lin's album.
Maybe corrected later By Hsin-Yin Lee, CNA? Andrew Huang over at the Taipei Times also took the PR bullshit and reported Walter's writing the song expressly for Lin as fact. NOT fact, Andrew, you know better than to repeat press release stuff without fact-checking. Ask Walter! He will tell the truth, maybe 5 years from now.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Taiwan debuts iPhone 4 as China debuts iPad -- three months late!
Letter from Taiwan
It took a while -- three months, in fact -- for the iPhone 4 to arrive in Taiwan after first hitting the streets and stores in the UK, Japan, France, Germany and the USA in June. But lo and behold, Taipei punters could be seen lining up all day and night in mid-September to get their hands on the fancy new Apple "so-ji" (literally, "hand phone" in Mandarin).
One lucky lad waited seven hours to be the first person on the island to get the shiny new gadget at a marketing/sales event that began at midnight. When asked by reporters if he was worried about reports of a defect in the iPhone 4's antenna design that could affect reception, he said he was not worried at all since the large number of base stations in Taiwan ensures good connections.
To create a consumer frenzy islandwide, several telecons carriers here placed fullpage newspaper adverts -- on the entire front page! -- in the four national dailies.
Wei-chun Hsu, 34, said he hoped future iPhone models could be made available here earlier when they are introduced worldwide, instead of having to wait three months. While Taiwan is at the forefront of much of the technology that gadgetheads crave, local punters often have to wait what seems like ages for the damned products to arrive.
Meanwhile, across the 100-mile Taiwan Strait in communist-controlled China, even larger crowds turned out the same week for the debut of Apple's iPad.
One Beijinger camped out for 60 hours to bag the first iPad in his sales area. The 35-year-old bookstore manager wore a T-shirt reading -- in English -- "I buy iPad No. 1".
Before the iPad made its official debut in China, of course, the market had already been flooded by cheaper knockoffs and iPad "clones", according to news reports. One Chinese humorist told a reporter that while he respected "copyrights and all that", he especially believed in "the right to copy."
It took a while -- three months, in fact -- for the iPhone 4 to arrive in Taiwan after first hitting the streets and stores in the UK, Japan, France, Germany and the USA in June. But lo and behold, Taipei punters could be seen lining up all day and night in mid-September to get their hands on the fancy new Apple "so-ji" (literally, "hand phone" in Mandarin).
One lucky lad waited seven hours to be the first person on the island to get the shiny new gadget at a marketing/sales event that began at midnight. When asked by reporters if he was worried about reports of a defect in the iPhone 4's antenna design that could affect reception, he said he was not worried at all since the large number of base stations in Taiwan ensures good connections.
To create a consumer frenzy islandwide, several telecons carriers here placed fullpage newspaper adverts -- on the entire front page! -- in the four national dailies.
Wei-chun Hsu, 34, said he hoped future iPhone models could be made available here earlier when they are introduced worldwide, instead of having to wait three months. While Taiwan is at the forefront of much of the technology that gadgetheads crave, local punters often have to wait what seems like ages for the damned products to arrive.
Meanwhile, across the 100-mile Taiwan Strait in communist-controlled China, even larger crowds turned out the same week for the debut of Apple's iPad.
One Beijinger camped out for 60 hours to bag the first iPad in his sales area. The 35-year-old bookstore manager wore a T-shirt reading -- in English -- "I buy iPad No. 1".
Before the iPad made its official debut in China, of course, the market had already been flooded by cheaper knockoffs and iPad "clones", according to news reports. One Chinese humorist told a reporter that while he respected "copyrights and all that", he especially believed in "the right to copy."
Thursday, September 16, 2010
The Catholic Church, old and decrepit and corrupt and saddled with sex abuse crimes, should fold up, close the doors and end its reign. And let all Catholics migrate over to Protestant churches worldwide.
These ex-Catholics who become Protestants can still believe in Jesus and God and everything, but without the tragic and unredeemable baggage of the Catholic Church, which should become HISTORY, as soon as possible.
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