English Class 2009

'Crime and Punishment' and 'Lawyers' Kahlil Gibram, 'The Prophet"

Maggi Carstairs — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 02:15:55 GMT

Then one of the judges of the city stood forth and said, "Speak to us of Crime and Punishment." And he answered saying: It is when your spirit goes wandering upon the wind, That you, alone and unguarded, commit a wrong unto others and therefore unto yourself. And for that wrong committed must you knock and wait a while unheeded at the gate of the blessed. Like the ocean is your god-self; It remains for ever undefiled. And like the ether it lifts but the winged. Even like the sun is your god-self; It knows not the ways of the mole nor seeks it the holes of the serpent. But your god-self does not dwell alone in your being. Much in you is still man, and much in you is not yet man, But a shapeless pigmy that walks asleep in the mist searching for its own awakening. And of the man in you would I now speak. For it is he and not your god-self nor the pigmy in the mist, that knows crime and the punishment of crime. Oftentimes have I heard you speak of one who commits a wrong as though he were not one of you, but a stranger unto you and an intruder upon your world. But I say that even as the holy and the righteous cannot rise beyond the highest which is in each one of you, So the wicked and the weak cannot fall lower than the lowest which is in you also. And as a single leaf turns not yellow but with the silent knowledge of the whole tree, So the wrong-doer cannot do wrong without the hidden will of you all. Like a procession you walk together towards your god-self. You are the way and the wayfarers. And when one of you falls down he falls for those behind him, a caution against the stumbling stone. Ay, and he falls for those ahead of him, who though faster and surer of foot, yet removed not the stumbling stone. And this also, though the word lie heavy upon your hearts: The murdered is not unaccountable for his own murder, And the robbed is not blameless in being robbed. The righteous is not innocent of the deeds of the wicked, And the white-handed is not clean in the doings of the felon. Yea, the guilty is oftentimes the victim of the injured, And still more often the condemned is the burden-bearer for the guiltless and unblamed. You cannot separate the just from the unjust and the good from the wicked; For they stand together before the face of the sun even as the black thread and the white are woven together. And when the black thread breaks, the weaver shall look into the whole cloth, and he shall examine the loom also. If any of you would bring judgement the unfaithful wife, Let him also weight the heart of her husband in scales, and measure his soul with measurements. And let him who would lash the offender look unto the spirit of the offended. And if any of you would punish in the name of righteousness and lay the axe unto the evil tree, let him see to its roots; And verily he will find the roots of the good and the bad, the fruitful and the fruitless, all entwined together in the silent heart of the earth. And you judges who would be just, What judgement pronounce you upon him who though honest in the flesh yet is a thief in spirit? What penalty lay you upon him who slays in the flesh yet is himself slain in the spirit? And how prosecute you him who in action is a deceiver and an oppressor, Yet who also is aggrieved and outraged? And how shall you punish those whose remorse is already greater than their misdeeds? Is not remorse the justice which is administered by that very law which you would fain serve? Yet you cannot lay remorse upon the innocent nor lift it from the heart of the guilty. Unbidden shall it call in the night, that men may wake and gaze upon themselves. And you who would understand justice, how shall you unless you look upon all deeds in the fullness of light? Only then shall you know that the erect and the fallen are but one man standing in twilight between the night of his pigmy-self and the day of his god-self, And that the corner-stone of the temple is not higher than the lowest stone in its foundation. On Laws Then a lawyer said, "But what of our Laws, master?" And he answered: You delight in laying down laws, Yet you delight more in breaking them. Like children playing by the ocean who build sand-towers with constancy and then destroy them with laughter. But while you build your sand-towers the ocean brings more sand to the shore, And when you destroy them, the ocean laughs with you. Verily the ocean laughs always with the innocent. But what of those to whom life is not an ocean, and man-made laws are not sand-towers, But to whom life is a rock, and the law a chisel with which they would carve it in their own likeness? What of the cripple who hates dancers? What of the ox who loves his yoke and deems the elk and deer of the forest stray and vagrant things? What of the old serpent who cannot shed his skin, and calls all others naked and shameless? And of him who comes early to the wedding-feast, and when over-fed and tired goes his way saying that all feasts are violation and all feasters law-breakers? What shall I say of these save that they too stand in the sunlight, but with their backs to the sun? They see only their shadows, and their shadows are their laws. And what is the sun to them but a caster of shadows? And what is it to acknowledge the laws but to stoop down and trace their shadows upon the earth? But you who walk facing the sun, what images drawn on the earth can hold you? You who travel with the wind, what weathervane shall direct your course? What man's law shall bind you if you break your yoke but upon no man's prison door? What laws shall you fear if you dance but stumble against no man's iron chains? And who is he that shall bring you to judgment if you tear off your garment yet leave it in no man's path? People of Orphalese, you can muffle the drum, and you can loosen the strings of the lyre, but who shall command the skylark not to sing? http://activeenglishspeaking.com

"Clothes" and " Buying and Selling' By Kahlil Gibram

Maggi Carstairs — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:47:16 GMT

On Clothes Kahlil Gibran Your clothes conceal much of your beauty, yet they hide not the unbeautiful. And though you seek in garments the freedom of privacy you may find in them a harness and a chain. Would that you could meet the sun and the wind with more of your skin and less of your raiment, For the breath of life is in the sunlight and the hand of life is in the wind. Some of you say,"It is the north wind who has woven the clothes we wear." And I say, Ay, it was the north wind, But shame was his loom, and the softening of the sinews was his thread. And when his work was done he laughed in the forest. Forget not that modesty is for a shield against the eye of the unclean. And when the unclean shall be no more, what were modesty but a fetter and a fouling of the mind? And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. On Buying and Selling Kahlil Gibran To you the earth yields her fruit, and you shall not want if you but know how to fill your hands. It is in exchanging the gifts of the earth that you shall find abundance and be satisfied. Yet unless the exchange be in love and kindly justice, it will but lead some to greed and others to hunger. When in the market place you toilers of the sea and fields and vineyards meet the weavers and the potters and the gatherers of spices, Invoke then the master spirit of the earth, to come into your midst and sanctify the scales and the reckoning that weighs value against value. And suffer not the barren-handed to take part in your transactions, who would sell their words for your labour. To such men you should say, "Come with us to the field, or go with our brothers to the sea and cast your net; For the land and the sea shall be bountiful to you even as to us." And if there come the singers and the dancers and the flute players, buy of their gifts also. For they too are gatherers of fruit and frankincense, and that which they bring, though fashioned of dreams, is raiment and food for your soul. http://activeenglishspeaking.com Read by Marguerite Carstairs 2009

"Joy and Sorrow" by Kahlil Gibram, and "Houses"

Maggi Carstairs — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:36:18 GMT

On Joy and Sorrow Kahlil Gibran Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears. And how else can it be? The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven? And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives? When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight. Some of you say, "Joy is greater thar sorrow," and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater." But I say unto you, they are inseparable. Together they come, and when one sits, alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed. Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy. Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced. When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall. On Houses Kahlil Gibran Build of your imaginings a bower in the wilderness ere you build a house within the city walls. For even as you have home-comings in your twilight, so has the wanderer in you, the ever distant and alone. Your house is your larger body. It grows in the sun and sleeps in the stillness of the night; and it is not dreamless. Does not your house dream? and dreaming, leave the city for grove or hill-top? Would that I could gather your houses into my hand, and like a sower scatter them in forest and meadow. Would the valleys were your streets, and the green paths your alleys, that you might seek one another through vineyards, and come with the fragrance of the earth in your garments. But these things are not yet to be. In their fear your forefathers gathered you too near together. And that fear shall endure a little longer. A little longer shall your city walls separate your hearths from your fields. And tell me, people of OrphaIese, what have you in these houses? And what is it you guard with fastened doors? Have you peace, the quiet urge that reveals your power? Have you remembrances, the glimmering arches that span the summits of the mind? Have you beauty, that leads the heart from things fashioned of wood and stone to the holy mountain? Tell me, have you these in your houses? Or have you only comfort, and the lust for comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the house a guest, and then becomes a host and then a master? Ay, and it becomes a tamer, and with hook and scourge makes puppets of your larger desires. Though its hands are silken, its heart is of iron. It lulls you to sleep only to stand by your bed and jeer at the dignity of the flesh. It makes mock of your sound senses, and lays them in thistledown like fragile vessels. Verily the lust for comfort murders the passion of the soul, and then walks grinning in the funeral. But you, children of space, you restless in rest, you shall not be trapped nor tamed. Your house shall be not an anchor but a mast. It shall not be a glistening film that covers a wound, but an eyelid that guards the eye. You shall not fold your wings that you may pass through doors, nor bend your heads that they strike not against a ceiling, nor fear to breathe lest walls should crack and fall down. You shall not dwell in tombs made by the dead for the living. And though of magnificence and splendour, your house shall not hold your secret nor shelter your longing. For that which is boundless in you abides in the mansion of the sky, whose door is the morning mist, and whose windows are the songs and the silences of night. http://activeenglishspeaking.com Read by Marguerite Carstairs 2009

Work by Kahlil Gibram

Maggi Carstairs — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:20:31 GMT

From "The Prophet" On Work Kahlil Gibran You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth. For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life's procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite. When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music. Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison? Always you have been told that work is a curse and labour a misfortune. But I say to you that when you work you fulfil a part of earth's furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born, And in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life, And to love life through labour is to be intimate with life's inmost secret. But if you in your pain call birth an affliction and the support of the flesh a curse written upon your brow, then I answer that naught but the sweat of your brow shall wash away that which is written. You have been told also that life is darkness, and in your weariness you echo what was said by the weary. And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge, And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge, And all knowledge is vain save when there is work, And all work is empty save when there is love; And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God. And what is it to work with love? It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth. It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house. It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit. It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit, And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching. Often have I heard you say, as if speaking in sleep, "He who works in marble, and finds the shape of his own soul in the stone, is nobler than he who ploughs the soil. And he who seizes the rainbow to lay it on a cloth in the likeness of man, is more than he who makes the sandals for our feet." But I say, not in sleep but in the overwakefulness of noontide, that the wind speaks not more sweetly to the giant oaks than to the least of all the blades of grass; And he alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving. Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy. For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man's hunger. And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine. And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man's ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night. http://activeenglishspeaking.com

Your Children by Kahlil Gibram, The Prophet

Maggi Carstairs — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 23:51:10 GMT

On Children Kahlil Gibran Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let our bending in the archer's hand be for gladness; For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable. http://activeenglishspeaking.com

The Prophet by Kahlil Gibram Love and Marriage

Maggi Carstairs — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 07:01:43 GMT

Love and Marriage The prophet speaks his words of wisdom before he goes away Read by Maggi Carstairs http://activeenglishspeaking.com THEN said Almitra, Speak to us of Love. And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them. And with a great voice he said: When love beckons to you, follow him, Though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you yield to him, Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you. And when he speaks to you believe in him, Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden. For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning. Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun, So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth. Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself. He threshes you to make you naked. He sifts you to free you from your husks. He grinds you to whiteness. He kneads you until you are pliant; And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast. All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart. But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure, Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor, Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears. Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself. Love possesses not nor would it be possessed; For love is sufficient unto love. When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, "I am in the heart of God." And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course. Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself. But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires: To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night. To know the pain of too much tenderness. To be wounded by your own understanding of love; And to bleed willingly and joyfully. To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving; To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy; To return home at eventide with gratitude; And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips. THEN Almitra spoke again and said, And what of Marriage, master? And he answered saying: You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore. You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days. Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God. But let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

Brain is like Muscle...Use it or Lose it

Maggi Carstairs — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 23:39:18 GMT

If you don't want to lose your faculties, you need to keep your brain alive. People with active brains live longer. Being busy is not enough..many are busy but do not use their brain. Its not what you have but what you do with it that counts http://activeenglishspeaking.com

The Overlanders

Maggi Carstairs — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 08:53:09 GMT

Passage from The Great Treasury of Australian Folklore The Overlanders were the men who drove cattle long distances. They are commemorated at the Stockman's Hall of Fame and The Outback heritage centre at Longreach Queensland

Robo Boy Prototype Robot Child

Maggi Carstairs — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 23:59:25 GMT

Description: CB2, the Robo-Boy prototype of the next generation http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,25301664-5014239,00.html A BALD, child-like creature dangles its legs from a chair as its shoulders rise and fall with rythmic breathing and its black eyes follow movements across the room. It's not human - but it is paying attention. Below the soft silicon skin of one of Japan's most sophisticated robots, processors record and evaluate information. The 130cm humanoid is designed to learn just like a human infant. The creators of the Child-robot with Biomimetic Body, or CB2, say it is slowly developing social skills by interacting with humans and watching their facial expressions, mimicking a mother-baby relationship. "Babies and infants have very, very limited programs. But they have room to learn more," said Osaka University professor Minoru Asada, as his team's 33kg invention kept its eyes glued to him. The team is trying to teach the pint-sized android to think like a baby who evaluates its mother's countless facial expressions and "clusters" them into basic categories, such as happiness and sadness. With 197 film-like pressure sensors under its light grey rubbery skin, CB2 can also recognise human touch, such as stroking of its head. The robot can record emotional expressions using eye-cameras, then memorise and match them with physical sensations, and cluster them on its circuit boards, Prof Asada said. Since CB2 was first presented to the world in 2007, it has taught itself how to walk with the aid of a human and can now move its body through a room quite smoothly, using 51 "muscles" driven by air pressure, he said. In coming decades, Prof Asada expects science will come up with a "robo species" that has learning abilities somewhere between those of a human and other primate species such as the chimpanzee. And he hopes that his little CB2 may lead the way, with the goal to have the robo-kid speaking in basic sentences within about two years, matching the intelligence of a two-year-old child. By 2050, Prof Asada wants a robotic team of football players to be able take on the human World Cup champions - and win. Welcome to the cutting edge of robotics and artificial intelligence. More than a decade since automaker Honda stunned the world with a walking humanoid P2, a forerunner to the popular ASIMO, robotics has come a long way. Researchers across Japan have unveiled increasingly sophisticated robots with different functions - including a talking office receptionist, a security guard and even a primary school teacher. Electronics giant Toshiba is developing a new model of domestic helper, AppriAttenda, which moves on wheels and can fetch containers from a refrigerator with its two arms. Last month also saw the debut of Japan's first robotic fashion model, cybernetic human HRP-4C, which can strut a catwalk, smile and pout thanks to 42 motion motors programmed to mimic flesh-and-blood models. A Tokyo subsidiary of Hello Kitty maker Sanrio, Kokoro - which means heart or mind in Japanese - has also produced advanced talking, life-size humanoids. "Robots have hearts," said Kokoro planning department manager Yuko Yokota. "They don't look human unless we put souls in them. When manufacturing a robot, there comes a moment when light flickers in its eyes. That's when we know our work is done." http://Activeenglishspeaking.com http://Ladymaggic.podomatic.com

Spoken Words actually alter Physical Brain

Maggi Carstairs — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:58:10 GMT

The Learning Brain by Eric Jensen Words can be just as powerful as prescription drugs in behavior modification. Carefully chosen words can activate the same areas of the brain as highly prescribed drugs. The theraapeutic value of Language indicates that words can heal as well as motivate http://activeenglishspeaking.com

Italy Bids Farwell to Quake Dead

Maggi Carstairs — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 00:03:15 GMT

Italy Bids Farwell to Quake Dead http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/5491430/italy-bids-final-farewell-quake-dead/ L'AQUILA, Italy (AFP) - Italy bade a final farewell Friday to the nearly 300 people killed in the earthquake that devastated the central Abruzzo region, with thousands attending an emotional funeral. The families of 205 of the 290 victims laid them to rest after the ceremony, with top government and Catholic Church dignitaries among a throng of more than 5,000. Many broke into sobs at the sight of so many coffins covered with floral wreaths and arrayed on red carpets at a military college near the devastated Abruzzo capital L'Aquila nestled in a valley of the Apennine mountains. Small white children's coffins set atop brown ones holding adult victims deepened the sense of loss at the ceremony on Good Friday, the most sombre day of the Christian calendar marking the death of Jesus Christ . A toy motorcycle was attached to one of the baby coffins. Pope Benedict XVI told the mourners in a message: "In this tragic hour ... I feel spiritually close to you and share your anguish." The pontiff, who is expected to visit the region after Easter , wished for "rapid healing for the wounded and courage to have the strength to continue," in the message read out by his personal secretary Georg Ganswein. Many of the mourners had lost their homes in Monday's earthquake, and found their way to the funeral from one of the tent camps dotted around the area. More than 800 aftershocks have rattled the region since Monday, and did not even stop for the funeral. "It is with great mercy that we embrace with our thoughts the many victims torn from their families too soon by a cruel death," said Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone in his homily. "The day after tomorrow we will celebrate Easter , and it will be your Easter , an Easter that will once again be a rebirth from the rubble for a people who have already suffered so many times through history," said Bertone, the Vatican's number two. Imam Mohammed Nour recited prayers for the six Muslim victims "in the name of the one God", voicing his "solidarity and support for all those who survived." Flags few at half mast on the national day of mourning for the dead, and the funeral was broadcast live on several television networks, while all the country's airports observed a minute of silence. After the funeral, lines of hearses jammed the winding road leading up to a nearby hillside cemetery overlooked by snow-capped Apennine peaks. There, a woman grasped the marble slab covering the burial niche where her son was laid to rest, sobbing: "Francesco! Francesco! Why did you leave me? I want to be in there with you! You were only 24!" Some of the relatives prayed quietly by the tombs, others attached flowers and photographs of the departed to the slabs. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who comforted mourners along with President Giorgio Napolitano and other top Italian officials, said later Friday that he would open his homes to quake survivors. "Many people have already offered up their houses to help the homeless from the earthquake and I too will do what I can by offering some of my residences," said the self-made billionaire, who owns at least four luxury villas around Italy. Officials say nearly 40,000 people lost their homes, with a large chunk -- 24,000 -- scraping by in tent villages with a dearth of hot water, showers and electricity. The earthquake, the worst in nearly 30 years, turned the area around the medieval walled city of L'Aquila into a disaster zone and flattened surrounding villages. President Napolitano, while touring region on Thursday, blamed "widespread irresponsibility" for the collapse of many modern buildings and called for an "examination of conscience" by those responsible. "How is it possible that essential standards were not applied, and why were the necessary inspections not carried out?" he asked. The Italian government says billions of euros will be needed to repair or rebuild some 10,000 buildings damaged in the quake, and Berlusconi has said he expected European Union funds of up to 500 million euros (650 million dollars) over the next three years. Read by Maggi Carstairs http://activeenglishspeaking.com

The Online Virtual Classroom

Maggi Carstairs — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:35:02 GMT

http://activeenglishspeaking.com The Online Virtual English Class Thousands of Koreans attend English Classes everyday trying to learn to speak a Language that is now deemed essential. All teachers of English in Korea are expected to be able to Speak English by 2010. Schools, Colleges, Universities and a myriad of tiny after-school centers pay enormous fees for native speaking teachers to become their English Presence. Millions of bored students sit and waste their fees, not learning a language they are suddenly expected not only to learn, but to gain a speaking fluency in. Technology has now made the Online Virtual Classroom available, where anybody wishing to learn to speak English can now tune into their Computer and take a lesson. For the month of January, the daily English lesson is free on Active English Speaking.com, as a marketing promotion, and also while the teachers train in learning effective teaching online, where not only is their English teaching skill on public display, but also the skills and abilities of their students. This provides a valuable research tool for those seeking to document the way students apply themselves and learn a language, and also provides a learning tool for students of English who have progressive English lessons for review and replay. In what other situation can a student replay a lecture? As a student we used personal voice recorders for the more difficult or the lectures we missed. Today the whole lesson is fully documented and available for replay. Parents can review the lesson and see how their own child participated in class, and also join in the lesson and study English with their family. More than one person can view and attend the lesson. A whole family or group can watch and learn together from one lesson. A whole Class or University can attend the lesson, and follow the lesson as a review or replay as the lesson is recorded and the recording available, at no charge, to the attendees. This is bringing the classroom into the home, school and world, and making Education an International Experience. The Online English Lesson is fully interactive. Students can introduce themselves and talk to each other and the teacher, in the open chatline, without disturbing the lesson once it is in progress. Students can walk in ad out of the virtual classroom as they choose, and the student who chooses to watch and read, can do so, without the constant disturbance of classroom noise. Total immersion in the lesson is possible for those needing to concentrate. They can repeat words and speak out without fear of embarrassment, and they can practice their words as they choose, and repeat every word the teacher says, to learn the correct pronunciation and phrasing. They can also request clarification or the meaning of a word by asking the question on the chat. Questions can be answered by other students as well as the teacher. More than one student can respond at a time, and variety of responses can be elicited simultaneously and recorded. Everyone has equal opportunity to participate. You do not ask permission, you simply type in your question or response. If you are not fluent with typing, after a series of lessons, you will learn how to type and thus write, as interaction depends on the student having the ability to write and type. The whiteboard means that the student can write a response in their own language, if they choose to still be a part of the lesson, without having English writing skills. The student always has the opportunity to constantly respond and react, and it is their choice. A student can sit and type every word he hears, or choose to ignore the chatline and concentrate on the teacher and her voice. Students who constantly write, type, repeat words, and respond, benefit the most. Active learning is always being alert and interested and involved in a lesson. The student who attends and listens does not always get the same benefit as the student who responds. In the Virtual field, the student can be anonymous, and participate as they choose, without fear of being itemized or victimized in any way. The Prime Minister of a country could be a student in the class, along with a 5 year old, and a University professor; or a whole classroom or congregation of a church or Club. There is no way of identifying the age, race, social status of a student, or even the number of people attending, unless they choose to identify themselves. The students are here to learn to speak English, and the only common factor is the fact that they have chosen to attend the Virtual Classroom and be a member. The added bonus of the Online Interactive Virtual Classroom is the variety of students and their backgrounds. Students can learn about other cultures by interacting online with the students. In one class, students attend from Korea, China, Japan, Brazil, Czechoslovakia, Saudi Arabia, America and England. It is a whole International Classroom, and at the end of the lesson, relationships have been formed. The final 15 minutes gives students the chance to get to know each other and share their personal details and comments. Students link with each other and a Class Community has been formed. Students look forward to the next class, knowing that they now have friends they have made, and that they are part of an Online Classroom. The Oral session where the student feeds back information from the lesson, or chooses to speak as they wish, gives the class and teacher the student voice, and face, if they have a webcam. Students are able to view the student who is speaking and see their speaking ability and hear their speaking voice. Only the teacher is constantly available on webcam, and only one student can be visible and vocal at a time. This focuses the lesson on the teacher and the teacher voice, and the model is there for the student’s learning. The students do not get distracted with other voices and accents, and learn incorrect pronunciation of words, as they may do in the real classroom by focusing on vocal students instead of the teacher. The text of the lesson is presented in Power Point, which also has interactive features that can be responded to without disturbing the flow of the speaker’s words. Students given whiteboard access can ask questions or clarification on the whiteboard, as well as on the chat. The Power Point Presentation is Powerful, as it provides the illustrations and images that may be necessary for clarification. The teacher also has at her control, her own bank and collection of photos, images and documents that can be downloaded during the lesson if needed. The teacher presents the lesson with ready access to a whole Library and also the internet. A new Window can be opened if required, and made available to the students, as well as Youtube videos, movies and slideshows. You could say, the teacher teaches with the whole Internet and computer at her fingertips. It is Powerful Teaching and even more powerful learning. The lessons can be one-off, or they can be progressive. The value is there for the student who attends every session, as each lesson builds on the last session, and is progressive as well as being cumulative. A student can join in and review the past lessons, or start with the current lesson, and progress at that level and from that Point. The lessons become a continuing conversation and students increase their ability and skills with every lesson and session, according to their input and level of activity. A student, who joins in actively, will have a very good basic level of English, within three months, good with six months and excellent with a year of instruction. Beginner lessons and Lessons on other topics will commence as they are created. Active English Speaking will provide a full days instruction with English Speaking, Writing, Science, Mathematics, Art and Music,. The future is providing specialist Courses in learning Korean, Chinese, Arabic, and Japanese, and other areas as requested. International Teachers will run their own sessions from Active English Speaking in the areas of their own specialist teaching. The World of the Virtual Classroom is extending to areas as teachers join and create their own Virtual Classrooms. Free English Classes are available every day until 20 January. You can see the sessions and join in by registering at Activeenglishspeaking where the next lesson is featured on the FrontPage. Details and membership are available from Maggi Carstairs Maggi_carstairs@yahoo.com Don’t just read about it…come and participate in the lessons …every evening at 9.30PM Seoul Time. Details available at Activeenglishspeaking.com Marguerite Carstairs 2008©

Change and Openness Set in Our Ways

Maggi Carstairs — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 04:00:07 GMT

http://activeseniormates.ning.com/profiles/blogs/set-in-our-ways-the-age-of http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=set-in-our-ways&sc=WR_20081223 Personality can continue to change somewhat in middle and old age, but openness to new experiences tends to decline gradually until about age 60. After that, some people become more open again, perhaps because their responsibilities for raising a family and earning a living have been lifted. The Age of Openness Psychologists have long identified openness to new experiences as one of the “Big Five” personality traits, which also include extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness and neuroticism. Considerable disagreement exists about how much these personality traits change after age 30, but most research suggests that openness declines in adulthood. “Clear age trends are observable,” says psychologist Peter Borkenau of Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in Germany. “People tend to become more reliable and agreeable with age, but their openness to novelty drops at the same time.” In a comprehensive survey of more than 130,000 participants published in 2003, psychologist Sanjay Srivastava, now at the University of Oregon, and his colleagues assessed the Big Five traits in 21- to 60-year-olds using standard psychological tests on the Internet. They found that openness increased modestly up to age 30 and then declined slowly in both men and women. The survey results suggest that men begin adulthood slightly more open to new experiences than women but decline in openness during their 30s at a faster rate than women. Age 30 is not a magical turning point, however. Openness declines gradually over many years, often beginning in the 20s. As the years wear on, novelty becomes less and less stimulating, and the world outside someone’s own private and professional sanctums becomes increasingly less attractive. This change happens to almost everyone, regardless of individual personality. That does not mean that everyone reaches the same level of openness in later life, however. Some toddlers love to go back to the same playground day after day, whereas others get bored after a day or two of digging in the same sandbox with the same shovel. Children who are less open to new experiences than their peers are will continue in adulthood to cleave to the conventional more than their more adventurous childhood friends will. As psychologist Richard W. Robins of the University of California, Davis, showed in a longitudinal study, those who begin life with a more open personality remain relatively more open in their later years. .......................................................................................................................................... This is an interesting study....I know that many English Teachers in Korea and China,many in their mature years, have left the security of their homes, families, friend, and countries to live and work in another country and culture, and there are other people in other occupations either working or doing voluntary tasks enjoying the freedom of being able to live without the responsibilities of younger ages. I plan to return to my own country next year to work, but still within the freedom to change and travel that I found in Asia, and now with a new direction. The Online Virtual Classroom has widened my horizons, and made living anywhere in the world, and still working at the Virtual Online School, a huge possibility, because the Power of Internet has brought the world to me, and I am the International Entrepreneur with a potential International clientele. We have moved into a New World which is smaller and smaller, as now the whole world is our marketplace and potential clients. When I opened my first Florist Shop, I serviced local people. Then I became the first Intertel Florist, where I could theoretically service anyone in the world by having them respond to my Yellow Page and other advertising, and order flowers from anywhere, to be sent anywhere. Then I developed a series of Florist contacts by searching the web, and gave them orders, and had them return orders when they needed flowers in Australia. It was the 'Daisy Chain' that got Interflora concerned, but they decided I was not going to be a threat, and let me run my InterWorld Floral service. The limitation then was that I could reach the market I advertised to, and was dependent on the orders I received from local people, who were very international, as my shops were in Balaclava, Caulfield and Glenhuntly, a very International Community. Today, the concept of the Online Virtual Classroom is the same as the World linked florist shops. The only difference is that it is 20 years later that this has become possible through the modern technology that has made it possible. The potential was always there, but not with the ease and comfort today, and the wonderful thing is, this Virtual Classroom is not restricted to Education. You can use the same technology to run a Shop, a service business, an Art Gallery, Advice and Assistance, and even a medical service. The presenter is visible to the client, the client can see the product through the camera, through photos and files, and communication is the same as being with the person, except you are anywhere in the world. Furthermore, you can share the session with up to 500 people if you wish, and give them the same privileges. The Social Chat sessions I have organised is a prime example of the Power of the Internet to bring a group of people together from all over the world into one Room. Take a look at the Classroom in Action in the two sessions, one public, and the other by invitation from one of my links. You need the link to access the Session, and remember, this is a potential for you to run an online business using this powerful tool. Christmas Day Around the World 25 December by Maggi Carstairs Get your own Virtual Classroom Change is not relegated to young people. Change that brings enormous changes in life styles are possible with people of any ages, of any culture, of any denomination, if they are free from responsibility. You can create change in your life by simply taking the first step. Change always involves risk, so this is a part of that change. You cannot break up a marriage and follow a dream expecting everything to fall into place, as you move on. Its not that easy. If you want to break up a marriage and find a new partner, you make the change, and accept the consequences of that change. There will be upset ex's and children missing the other parent. There will be friends who get very angry because you are destroying something they perceive as wonderful, and see you as irresponsible. The new partner may not accept you as readily and there will be adjusting stages. You will see the responsibilities you left are still there, and you now have new ones. Change is not easy, but if it what you desire, you should take the step, and make the changes in your life, and accept the consequences and complications, and become the new change. Change is more stressful than dying. One is an end to life as we know it. The other is adjusting to a whole new life, while still transiting from the previous. Many people cannot lose the previous life, and tango with both, trying to make two worlds work together. A woman with an ex-husband and a new partner and lover, still has the haunts of the ex-husband, the presence of children who cannot fully understand what and why this has happened, and then the new aspects...a new partner, new routines, new events all trying to meld and fit into the known. It is not easy as all those who have taken this step know. But, staying with the old because of fears of the new, is where most people are today. You have to take the change if you desire the change. People who complain endlessly about a situation and do not change it, have only themselves to blame. No-one demands that you stay in your current job if it is not what you desire. No-one insists you stay lonely, if you need to make new friends, and no-one makes you do anything that you do not choose to do. This rule applies to Teaching. It is virtually impossible to teach someone who does not want to learn. Teaching is not assimilation, nor a rub off because of attendance. Effective teachers know that they have to make the student want to learn what they are teaching, and then learning happens. We do not do anything because we have to do it. On the contrary. People have been known to make wrong choices, because they did not wish to take the choice someone else made for them. Life is change. Every time you learn something new, you change. Alvin Toffler, wrote about adapting to change more than 50 years ago, and yet we still do not listen. Is it because we are not ready to learn? Life is change and constantly we are exposed to changes, some of which we do not like. Some are major and life challenging,and others are small issues like what to eat for dinner tonight. Whatever the choice, we consciously make the decision and act accordingly. We are constantly making choices. You choose to do it, or not do it, or, you choose to ignore the choice. I do not go with the research that claims people have different levels of change factor, and that this is determined from birth. I believe we all have the same powers, but some develop them more strongly, and individuals make their choices, and live the lives they choose to live from the moment they are born. Babies know what is acceptable behavior from the start. The baby who cries for attention gets it. If constant crying gets constant attention, he becomes a crier. He learns from the very beginning to manipulate his environment, and the people he starts manipulating is his mother and his family. They have the choice to be manipulated, and they accept that they will constantly be giving in to the demanding baby. He has learnt that this is his way of creating change, and he grows up doing the same thing in the world where he finds others who will do what he wants. From the day he was born, he had the choice to cry or not cry, and he made the choice and accepted the consequences. What is your choice? What is your change? Do you want to change something in your life? If you do, don't talk about it, do it. Talk is not action, or even potential action. Make it happen. Create your own change, and be the change you want to be in the world. Maggi Carstairs 2008 http://activeseniormates.ning.com/profiles/blogs/set-in-our-ways-the-age-of http://activeenglishspeaking.com

Dictionary or Translator

Maggi Carstairs — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 01:28:43 GMT

Dictionaries and Translators http://english4koreans.pbwiki.com/Dictionary-and-Translators Yahoo! Babel Fish You do not need to carry a dictionary around with you when you are talking to a Westerner. What you need is to let the westerner explain the word to you, and you to try and understand. It is easy to refuse to understand and look blank. That does not help the Teacher who is prepared to slowly explain the word to you. Many times you do not have a Dictionary to help, so you have to let the teacher explain the word, and try and work it out together. Many Koreans can read. Write down the word and work it out together. Walking away or refusing to try is not the answer in a situation where you have to deal with a westerner on your staff or workplace. Every time you understand a new word, you learn a new word, and that is how you learn to speak English....by using English Many Koreans use Korean Dictionaries. It is better to use an English Dictionary. Remember, you already have English....this is teaching you to use the English you already have. This is what I do with my University classes...I do not go through a repetition of Grammar and teaching reading as the students already know that, I have the students start using the English they already know. I teach them to speak what they already know. You use a dictionary or a translator to give you a meaning to a word you do not know. babelfish.yahoo.com/ http://english4koreans.pbwiki.com/Dictionary-and-Translators

Hunger For English

Maggi Carstairs — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:41:12 GMT

A Hunger for English Lessons http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/03/24/news/english.php?page=1 A timid junior high school student, stood before her English teacher fidgeting. The smiling teacher held up a green pepper and asked in clear, enunciated English: "What is this?" "Peemang!" the South Korean teenager blurted out, then covered her mouth with a hand as if to stop - too late - the Korean word that had left her mouth. Mortified, she tried again. Without looking the teacher in the eye, she held both her hands out and asked, this time in English: "May I have green pepper?" Kim took the vegetable with a bow, and darted back to her giggling classmates - beaming and feeling relieved that she had successfully taken a small first step toward demolishing what South Koreans consider one of their biggest weaknesses in global competitiveness: the fear of speaking in English to Westerners. ….. With few natural resources, South Korea realized early on that it must push exports and produce high-quality work forces. Education is an obsession. Mastering English is a nationwide quest from kids to office minions in corporate giants like Samsung and Hyundai. "It's funny because Koreans know English," said Jeffrey Jones, former president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea who heads the Paju complex. "They spend a lot of time learning English. They can read, probably better than I can. But they have trouble speaking." Jones, a longtime resident of South Korea, says that when many Koreans see a Westerner coming their way on the street, they detour or run away. "They are afraid that they might have to speak English," Jones said. "So one of the things we do here is to break the wall of fear. And students come away not being afraid of foreigners and Westerners particularly." South Korea has become one of the most aggressive countries in Asia at teaching English to its citizens. The language is taught from the third year of school; beginning in 2008 it will begin in the first year. Outside the school system, parents are paying an estimated 10 trillion won a year to help their children learn English at home or abroad. Yet many college graduates falter in chats with native speakers. South Korean officials are often accused of grouping together in international conferences, afraid to mix with native English speakers. That, linguists say, is a result of a national school system that traditionally stresses reading and rote memorization of English grammar and vocabulary at the expense of conversation. In Korea University of Seoul, 30 percent of all classes are now in English. There is also growing pressure at home. South Korean mothers have been instrumental in sending their children to language classes or international schools in the United States and, when immigration rules there tightened, to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and even Fiji and Togo. The mothers often go with them, while the fathers stay home to finance a phenomenon known as an "overseas expedition to master English." Speaking English with a native accent has become such a status symbol that some parents reportedly put their children through the clinically questionable surgery of snipping the thin tissue under the tongue to make it longer and supposedly nimbler, helping the children to pronounce the R sound better. http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/03/24/news/english.php?page=1 http://english4Koreans.pbwiki.com

Obana Versus McCain...VP Choice for McCain

Maggi Carstairs — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:25:59 GMT

Obana versus McCain...the VP Choices http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080829/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_convention_rdp Republican John McCain shook up the presidential race with his surprise choice of little-known Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate on Friday. Democrat Barack Obama, entering a crucial stage of the campaign fresh off his historic nominating convention, began a tour of battleground states. Obama left the convention city of Denver as the first black man to be nominated for president by a major political party. The 47-year-old Illinois senator won over the party faithful — even some die-hard backers of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton — but the broader electorate awaits. McCain, who turned 72 on Friday, worked to grab the spotlight with his selection of Palin, 44, the first woman to be a Republican vice presidential nominee. "I have found the right partner to help me stand up to those who value their privileges over their responsibilities, who put power over principle, and put their interests before your needs," McCain said at a raucous rally in the swing state of Ohio. The Republican presidential nominee-to-be stunned some party officials by choosing the self-styled hockey mom and political reformer, who has been governor of her state for less than two years, over several more prominent prospects including Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge. "It turns out that the women of America aren't finished yet," she said, praising Clinton, "and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all." Seizing on themes Obama has made trademarks of his candidacy, she added, "If you want change in Washington, if you hope for a better America, we're asking for your vote." Democrats quickly pounced on Palin as inexperienced; noting that Republicans have argued Obama is not ready to be president. "John McCain has made his candidacy about a single argument — experience — and Sarah Palin doesn't have it," Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said in a statement. McCain and his newly minted running mate were to make a midday appearance at a rally in swing-state Ohio and continue to rallies in Pennsylvania and Missouri in the run-up to the Republican National Convention, which starts Monday in St. Paul, Minn. Polls show a tight race between Obama and McCain, with some two months before the election and three high-stakes debates. Neither contender can allow the other to jump out to a big post-convention lead. Obama was flying to Pittsburgh, where he and running mate Joe Biden will kick off a bus tour of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan. Their goal is to maintain the buzz of a convention that culminated Thursday night with Obama addressing an energetic, flag-waving crowd of 84,000 packed into Denver's pro football stadium. "Change happens because the American people demand it — because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time," Obama told the adoring crowd at Invesco Field. "America, this is one of those moments." In the jam-packed football stadium, Obama promised an end to eight years of "broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush" and argued that McCain "doesn't get it." He pledged to cut taxes for nearly all working-class families, end the war in Iraq and break America's dependence on Mideast oil within a decade. Portraying a McCain administration as a continuation of the current Bush White House, Obama said, "On Nov. 4, we must stand up and say: 'Eight is enough.'" Obama accepted his party's nomination on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. He alluded to the historic parallel — and its promise — toward the end of his 44-minute speech. "What the people heard ... people of every creed and color, from every walk of life — is that in America, our destiny is inextricably linked. That together, our dreams can be one," Obama said. In Ohio Friday, McCain and Palin both noted that he was choosing her as his vice presidential running mate the week of the 88th anniversary of women's suffrage. Palin has a strong anti-abortion record, and her selection was praised warmly by social conservatives whose support McCain needs to prevail in the campaign for the White House. "It's an absolutely brilliant choice," said Mathew Staver, dean of Liberty University School of Law. "This will absolutely energize McCain's campaign and energize conservatives." Palin has five children, the youngest born in April with Down syndrome. Read By Marguerite http://Activeenglish.biz

Lovers Infiniteness By John Donne

Maggi Carstairs — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:10:39 GMT

IF yet I have not all thy love, Dear, I shall never have it all ; I cannot breathe one other sigh, to move, Nor can intreat one other tear to fall ; And all my treasure, which should purchase thee, Sighs, tears, and oaths, and letters I have spent ; Yet no more can be due to me, Than at the bargain made was meant. If then thy gift of love were partial, That some to me, some should to others fall, Dear, I shall never have thee all. Or if then thou gavest me all, All was but all, which thou hadst then ; But if in thy heart since there be or shall New love created be by other men, Which have their stocks entire, and can in tears, In sighs, in oaths, and letters, outbid me, This new love may beget new fears, For this love was not vow'd by thee. And yet it was, thy gift being general ; The ground, thy heart, is mine ; what ever shall Grow there, dear, I should have it all. Yet I would not have all yet. He that hath all can have no more ; And since my love doth every day admit New growth, thou shouldst have new rewards in store ; Thou canst not every day give me thy heart, If thou canst give it, then thou never gavest it ; Love's riddles are, that though thy heart depart, It stays at home, and thou with losing savest it ; But we will have a way more liberal, Than changing hearts, to join them ; so we shall Be one, and one another's all. http://activeenglish.biz/moodle/mod/glossary/view.php?id=1048&mode=letter&hook=L&sortkey=&sortorder=&fullsearch=0&page=1

Floods hit cyclone ravaged Mayanmar

Maggi Carstairs — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:51:45 GMT

Floods Hit Cyclone Ravaged Myanmar August 21 2008 http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/08/16/myanmar.floods.ap/index.html#cnnSTCText Severe flooding triggered by torrential rains has struck areas of Myanmar still recovering from a cyclone that killed more than 84,000 people, a state-run newspaper said Saturday. Flooding has also hit parts of Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. In Laos, at least four people died from their injuries in landslides triggered by flooding after levels in the Mekong River reached record highs. In Myanmar, the floods hit areas of Yangon and the Irrawaddy delta, where Cyclone Nargis left a swath of devastation early May, as well as other regions of the country, the Myanmar Ahlin newspaper said. No casualties were reported. Residents fled from their homes, schools were closed and rice fields submerged in regions ranging from Karen and Mon states in the southeast to Mandalay in central Myanmar. The water quickly receded and damage to rice fields was not reported, the newspaper said. In Laos, Foreign Ministry spokesman Yong Chanthalansy said Friday that four people died outside the capital, Vientiane, after being injured in landslides triggered by the flooding. The state news agency KPL said one of the dead was a child. Speaking by telephone from Vientiane, Yong said that there were reports that the flooding was receding Friday after water levels in the Mekong had reached 44.8 feet, beating the previous record high of 40.61 feet in 1966. The flooding also cut electricity in some parts of the old royal capital of Luang Prabang, a popular tourist destination, the Web site reported. It added that the main road between Vientiane and Luang Prabang had been cut off by a landslide. Thailand's national news agency said areas of three northeastern provinces bordering the Mekong River and Laos were badly affected, with flooding causing damage to dikes and thousands of acres of farmland. In Nong Khai province, more than 1,000 houses were flooded, with some villagers evacuating. Two hospitals were hit and patients and medical supplies were moved to higher ground, the Thai News Agency said. Some 128,000 people in Nakhon Phanom province were also affected Http://Activeenglish.biz

Phenomenal Woman Maya Angelou

Maggi Carstairs — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:33:57 GMT

PHENOMENAL WOMAN http://activeenglish.biz/moodle/mod/glossary/view.php Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size But when I start to tell them, They think I'm telling lies. I say, It's in the reach of my arms The span of my hips, The stride of my step, The curl of my lips. I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me. I walk into a room Just as cool as you please, And to a man, The fellows stand or Fall down on their knees. Then they swarm around me, A hive of honey bees. I say, It's the fire in my eyes, And the flash of my teeth, The swing in my waist, And the joy in my feet. I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me. Men themselves have wondered What they see in me. They try so much But they can't touch My inner mystery. When I try to show them They say they still can't see. I say, It's the arch of my back, The sun of my smile, The ride of my breasts, The grace of my style. I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me. Now you understand Just why my head's not bowed. I don't shout or jump about Or have to talk real loud. When you see me passing It ought to make you proud. I say, It's in the click of my heels, The bend of my hair, the palm of my hand, The need of my care. 'Cause I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me. M. Angelou

41 Milion Credit cards Hacked by Wireless

Maggi Carstairs — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:20:02 GMT

41 Million Credit Cards Hackers uses wireless Hacking See the video http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/indexFP.php?rn=3906861&cl=9141470&ch=4226721&src=news Eleven people were indicted and accused of stealing more than 41 Million credit cards. Top stores in America were attacked by Hackers who took advantage of the wireless Network System used by the Department stores.

The Road less Travelled by Robert Frost

Maggi Carstairs — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 02:40:04 GMT

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that, the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I marked the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost

Cloned Dog Claimed as First by Korean Firm

Maggi Carstairs — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 02:27:24 GMT

Cloned Dog Claimed a First by Korean Firm 6 August 2008 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7542338.stm Scientists in South Korea say they have successfully completed the world's first commercial cloning of a pet dog. Bernann McKinney, from the US state of California, stumped up $50,000 (£25,000) for five identical copies of Booger, her beloved pit bull terrier. The puppy clones were unveiled at a press conference in the South Korean capital, Seoul, on Tuesday. "Booger was my partner and my friend," Ms McKinney said, as she appeared with the five identical copies of her pet. Scientists at Seoul National University created a number of embryos from preserved skin cells taken from Booger's ear tissue before he died. The embryos were then implanted into two surrogate mother dogs and, three months later, the puppies were born. Among the scientists involved in the project was Professor Lee Byeong-chun, who was part of the team that created the world's first cloned dog - Snuppy the Afghan hound - in 2005. Difficult Process "They are perfectly the same as their daddy. I am in heaven here. I am a happy person," The former beauty queen, from Hollywood, recalled how Booger once saved her life by chasing off another dog that had attacked her, leaving her with serious wounds. She said: "Booger had a kindness in his heart and I believe that kindness is something that can be, I don't want to use the word reproduced, but the best way Dr Lee explained it is we can give him his body, you are going to give him the love and environment to recreate the original Booger's personality." She said she was considering training some of the puppies to help the handicapped or elderly after they are delivered to her in the US in September. It is not the first time that scientists have cloned a dog, but the process is notoriously difficult and the Korean team say this is the first commercial success, says the BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul. The company which arranged the cloning, RNL Bio, says it is now open for future bookings. As the technology improves, the price is expected to drop. Chief executive Ra Jeong-Chan told AFP news agency that RNL Bio could clone up to 300 dogs next year for wealthy pet lovers. He added: "For my next project, I will consider cloning camels for rich people in the Middle East." Ms McKinney said at a televised press conference, with tears in her eyes. http://Activeenglish.biz

Andys Gone with Cattle Now: Henry Lawson Poetry

Maggi Carstairs — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 13:04:30 GMT

Andy's Gone With Cattle Henry Lawson 1888 Our Andy's gone to battle now 'Gainst Drought, the red marauder; Our Andy's gone with cattle now Across the Queensland border. He's left us in dejection now; Our hearts with him are roving. It's dull on this selection now, Since Andy went a-droving. Who now shall wear the cheerful face In times when things are slackest? And who shall whistle round the place When Fortune frowns her blackest? Oh, who shall cheek the squatter now When he comes round us snarling? His tongue is growing hotter now Since Andy cross'd the Darling. The gates are out of order now, In storms the "riders" rattle; For far across the border now Our Andy's gone with cattle. Poor Aunty's looking thin and white; And Uncle's cross with worry; And poor old Blucher howls all night Since Andy left Macquarie. Oh, may the showers in torrents fall, And all the tanks run over; And may the grass grow green and tall In pathways of the drover; And may good angels send the rain On desert stretches sandy; And when the summer comes again God grant 'twill bring us Andy.

Wear Ox Pendant to Avoid rat Clashes 2 August 2008

Maggi Carstairs — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 12:46:58 GMT

Wear Ox Pendant to avoid Rat Clashes…2 August 2008 http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080802/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_olympics_astrology Astrology expert Raymond Lo has a word of warning for China's Olympic leaders -- they should wear an ox pendant to ward off bad karma at the Olympics. The Beijing Games open at eight minutes past eight o'clock in the evening on the 8th day of the 8th month in 2008, a time that traditionally offers the perfect combination of good luck and prosperity. The Olympics are being staged in the Year of the Rat but, according to Chinese animal astrology, that could spell trouble for anyone born in the Year of the Horse. Lo, a noted exponent in Hong Kong of the ancient art of feng shui, said "The clash between the Rat and the Horse is a serious clash between water and fire. "For people born in the Year of the Horse, it is recommended that they wear a pendant of an ox which will help to attract away the Rat so as to minimise the influence of the clash." He pinpointed the birthdays of China's leaders -- President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao were both born in 1942, the Year of the Rat in the 12-year cycle of Chinese animal astrology. In a telephone interview from Hong Kong, Lo explained: "The traditional belief is that you need an animal to attract away the rat." AUSPICIOUS DAY But he was full of optimism for China's big day on the world stage on 8/08/2008. For the number eight is lucky in Chinese as it is pronounced like the word "Fa" which is part of the expression meaning "to get wealthy". "According to the calendar it is an auspicious day. There is nothing wrong with choosing this date, it still represents a positive energy." Marriage registration offices in Beijing are predicting that more than 9,000 couples will tie the knot on August 8. "If you pick a good day, this indicates a smooth beginning to the marriage," Lo said. But, as China has learnt to its cost in a turbulent 2008, not all is positive energy in the Year of the Rat, which also symbolises the turbulent relationship between earth and water. China was hit by crippling blizzards at the start of the year, rioting erupted in Tibet which prompted worldwide protests surrounding the Olympic torch relay and then the Sichuan earthquake struck. Those grim milestones for China had an intriguing symmetry. The snowstorms struck on 25/01. 2+5+1=8. The Tibet riots erupted on 14/03. 1+4+3=8. The earthquake struck on 12/05. 1+2+5=8. That was also 88 days before the start of the Olympics. "The number eight can be negative as well," Lo warned -- and the worst may not be over. "You can see water trouble will be stronger in the second half of the year because of these seasonal elements," he said. "For example the Tsunami took place in December in 2004. Usually water is more powerful in the months after August."

The Ghost by Henry lawson : Poetry

Maggi Carstairs — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 02:44:34 GMT

The Ghost by Henry Lawson Down the street as I was drifting with the city's human tide, Came a ghost, and for a moment walked in silence by my side -- Now my heart was hard and bitter, and a bitter spirit he, So I felt no great aversion to his ghostly company. Said the Shade: `At finer feelings let your lip in scorn be curled, `Self and Pelf', my friend, has ever been the motto for the world.' And he said: `If you'd be happy, you must clip your fancy's wings, Stretch your conscience at the edges to the size of earthly things; Never fight another's battle, for a friend can never know When he'll gladly fly for succour to the bosom of the foe. At the power of truth and friendship let your lip in scorn be curled -- `Self and Pelf', my friend, remember, is the motto of the world. `Where Society is mighty, always truckle to her rule; Never send an `i' undotted to the teacher of a school; Only fight a wrong or falsehood when the crowd is at your back, And, till Charity repay you, shut the purse, and let her pack; At the fools who would do other let your lip in scorn be curled, `Self and Pelf', my friend, remember, that's the motto of the world. `Ne'er assail the shaky ladders Fame has from her niches hung, Lest unfriendly heels above you grind your fingers from the rung; Or the fools who idle under, envious of your fair renown, Heedless of the pain you suffer, do their worst to shake you down. At the praise of men, or censure, let your lip in scorn be curled, `Self and Pelf', my friend, remember, is the motto of the world. `Flowing founts of inspiration leave their sources parched and dry, Scalding tears of indignation sear the hearts that beat too high; Chilly waters thrown upon it drown the fire that's in the bard; And the banter of the critic hurts his heart till it grows hard. At the fame your muse may offer let your lip in scorn be curled, `Self and Pelf', my friend, remember, that's the motto of the world. `Shun the fields of love, where lightly, to a low and mocking tune, Strong and useful lives are ruined, and the broken hearts are strewn. Not a farthing is the value of the honest love you hold; Call it lust, and make it serve you! Set your heart on nought but gold. At the bliss of purer passions let your lip in scorn be curled -- `Self and Pelf', my friend, shall ever be the motto of the world.' Then he ceased and looked intently in my face, and nearer drew; But a sudden deep repugnance to his presence thrilled me through; Then I saw his face was cruel, by the look that o'er it stole, Then I felt his breath was poison, by the shuddering of my soul, Then I guessed his purpose evil, by his lip in sneering curled, And I knew he slandered mankind, by my knowledge of the world. But he vanished as a purer brighter presence gained my side -- `Heed him not! there's truth and friendship in this wondrous world,' she cried, And of those who cleave to virtue in their climbing for renown, Only they who faint or falter from the height are shaken down. At a cynic's baneful teaching let your lip in scorn be curled! `Brotherhood and Love and Honour!' is the motto for the world.'

Worlds Most Expensive Cities July 30 2008

Maggi Carstairs — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 02:26:52 GMT

http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/105443/World%27s-Most-Expensive-Cities In 1998, Moscow was in crisis. More than 100,000 Russians took to the streets as a slew of banks--and the life savings of millions of citizens--went bust. But just a decade later, the global commodities boom has made Russia flush with cash, and Moscow has become a pricey place to live. http://Activeenglish.biz http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/105443/World%27s-Most-Expensive-Cities That's the finding in Mercer's 2008 Worldwide Cost of Living Survey. Moscow tops the list with a score of 142.4, up 6% from last year--and 42% higher than New York, the most expensive city in the U.S. The Russian capital is followed by Tokyo; London; Oslo, Norway; and Seoul, South Korea. New York fell from No. 15 to No. 22, thanks to the dollar's protracted woes. Los Angeles is the second-priciest city in the U.S., but Hollywood's denizens can't cry poverty just yet: At No. 55, Los Angeles is cheaper than the best neighborhoods of Lagos, Nigeria (No. 30); Almaty, Kazakhstan (No. 44); and Zagreb, Croatia (No. 49). The survey covers 143 cities across six continents and measures the relative cost of over 200 items in each place, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. The survey is used to help American government agencies and multinational companies determine living costs for their expatriate employees, who usually demand a relatively high quality of life. As for Moscow, prices in the Russian capital show no signs of dropping. The global commodity boom continues to fatten the pockets of local tycoons, and the ruble has appreciated 8% against the dollar since January. Moscow is home to 74 billionaires, the most of any city in the world. Its three wealthiest citizens (Oleg Deripaska, Vladimir Lisin and Roman Abramovich) each possess fortunes in excess of $25 billion. And Russia's super-wealthy are just getting started: 13 of the country's billionaires are under the age of 40. Founded by the Romans nearly 2,000 years ago, No. 3 London is an ancient stalwart when it comes to pricey cities. Though it slipped from last year's No. 2 spot, it remains extremely expensive--even a ride on one of the city's vaunted double-decker buses costs $5.89. And while Japan's economy is stagnating, Tokyo is as expensive as ever. For American travelers, the city's real estate prices are the highest in the world--a two-bedroom luxury apartment costs over $5,100 per month, about $600 more than a comparable pad in Moscow or New York.

August Birthdays for Obama and McCain July 27th

Maggi Carstairs — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 13:21:03 GMT

August Birthdays for Obama and McCain http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-07-27-candidates-age-gap_N.htm?csp=34 John McCain and Barack Obama are approaching August birthdays that will highlight the biggest-ever age gap between major American presidential candidates. Obama will be 47 on Aug. 4. McCain will be 72 on Aug. 29. Their 25-year gap, and the questions it inherently raises about experience and vitality, is part of a powerful generational subtext of the 2008 campaign. This is the first presidential contest to substantially involve the emerging "millennials," a generation that some political and social scientists predict will be the most politically active and powerful of any since the "GI Generation" that won World War II. McCain comes from what social scientists call the "Silent Generation," those tucked between the "GI Generation" and the baby boomers that followed the war. McCain's generation fought in Korea and Vietnam and has been split over baby boomer politics since the 1960s. http://Activeenglish.biz

Barney Take me Home by Henry Lawson

Maggi Carstairs — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 12:24:51 GMT

Australian Short Story...Barney Take Me Home by Henry Lawson

The Loaded Dog by Henry Lawson

Maggi Carstairs — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 12:15:09 GMT

Australian Short Story

Thieves Sell on Internet: Ebay Sales: 23 July 2008

Maggi Carstairs — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 03:34:28 GMT

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/technology/chi-bold-thefts_glantonjul22,0,923780.story At first it seemed like ordinary shoplifting — stuffing a few pairs of jeans into an oversize bag and walking out of the store. But the thieves got bolder. They began showing up in groups of five or six in the middle of the day, spraying store clerks with mace and knocking customers out of the way as they gathered armfuls of clothes. Sometimes they tossed a brick through the glass. Sometimes they drove a truck through the front door. The thieves aren't looking for just any kind of jeans. They're snatching high-end designer duds that sell for $150 to $350. The "bluejean bandits" have hit more than two dozen stores in the Atlanta area since January, stealing more than $1 million in goods and selling them everywhere from online auctions to high school parking lots. Smash-and-grabs have long been popular among thieves. But in the past five years, authorities said, there has been a proliferation of retail robberies involving rings of thieves who have gotten more aggressive, more specific in what they are looking for and better organized in carrying out the crimes. Related links How you can spot stolen goods Organized retail crime Graphic According to the FBI, these robbery rings have increasingly turned to the Internet to fence their goods, making it tougher to catch them. "They've moved from flea markets to the Internet," said Richard Hollinger, a criminology professor at the University of Florida who compiles the National Retail Security Survey. "They sell a lot of merchandise on the Internet with the price tag still on them. Some might say, 'If I got a pair of jeans that didn't fit for a gift, I might sell them on eBay.' But who would have 50 pairs in different sizes?" Craig Sherman, spokesman for the National Retail Federation, said selling online can boost the thieves' profits. "When a thief sells something on a traditional street corner or pawnshop, he might get 30 cents on the dollar," Sherman said. "But if he sells it online, he gets as much as 70 percent on the value." In a survey this year by the federation, 85 percent of retailers said they had been the victim of organized robbery rings, a 7 percent increase in three years. Retailers estimate that they lose more than $30 billion a year to organized retail crime. In Illinois, retailers said they lose $1.3 billion a year, costing the state $82.3 million in lost sales tax revenue. http://Activeenglish.biz

Murray River will Leave 1 Million Thirsty: Drought: 21 July 2008

Maggi Carstairs — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 02:04:41 GMT

Dry Murray will leave 1m Thirsty: July 21 2008 http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24049714-421,00.html AUSTRALIA'S worst fears about the drought-stricken Murray River have been confirmed again with available drinking water supplies plummeting to record lows. The diabolical forecast for the Murray-Darling Basin - the nation's food bowl which is supposed to sustain thousands of farmers and irrigators - showed a rapid deterioration of water between March and June this year, the joint report by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and state governments warned. However, the damning report card by senior officials - which is predicting more dry weather - said work was continuing to remedy the river, including water-sharing agreements between states, to protect critical water needs for the next year if the drought persisted. Governments would also need to consider how to allocate water early to protect "critical human needs" for 2009-10, the report said. Climate Change Minister Penny Wong said water for households, irrigators and the environment was at record low levels across much of the basin. "More than one million people draw their drinking water from the Murray, so it's essential that we continue to make critical human needs our No. 1 priority," she said. "Longer-term, tackling the problems in the Murray-Darling Basin requires serious action on climate change." Opposition climate change spokesman Greg Hunt said the latest report highlighted why Labor state governments were irresponsible after spending 18 months playing "political football" with the Murray. "They deliberately deferred any action on the Murray until after last year's election," Mr Hunt said. "Even today the Rudd Government still has no plans for immediate action." Senator Wong said the report showed that "yet again we are in real trouble" in the Murray-Darling Basin. "We've had very low inflows, we've had a very dry June and the focus has to be critical human needs, that is the needs of the million-plus people who rely on the basin for drinking water," she said. This month, the federal and state governments signed a historic agreement to establish an independent authority to manage the river, ending years of mismanagement and blame shifting. Farmers have warned that prices of food grown in the basin are skyrocketing due to the state of the river. A recent CSIRO report predicted there could be 40 per cent less water in the region by 2030. http://Activeenglish.biz http://Activeenglishspeaking.com

Chinas Urbanisation Boom: July 20th 2008

Maggi Carstairs — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 01:47:23 GMT

http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,27753,24043730-462,00.html AUSTRALIA must capitalise on the Chinese economic boom with large structural and economic changes or risk becoming nothing more than a branch office to the world's largest mining houses, says BHP Billiton chairman Don Argus. Mr Argus says the Chinese economic boom has created a once-in-a-century political, social and economic change similar to the Industrial Revolution. He says Australia is well-placed to benefit from the runaway growth, which he predicts will continue for many years, but says we need to act now on numerous fronts. Mr Argus said in Brisbane late Thursday that BHP Billiton (bhp.ASX:Quote,News) directors had made a conditional offer for Rio Tinto (rio.ASX:Quote,News) to create a global resources company with scale to compete with China's industrialisation that was changing the world. China's staggering growth would be the greatest urbanisation in history. Mr Argus said China had a plan to build 400 new cities by 2020 and was already building a city the size of Sydney every six weeks, consuming 50 per cent of the world's concrete. "This industrialisation and urbanisation is still in the early stages and we need to capitalise on it," Mr Argus said http://Activeenglish.biz http://Activeenglishspeaking.com

Illegal Trade Indonesian Markets Putting Wild Animals in Danger

Maggi Carstairs — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:57:13 GMT

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080717/sc_afp/indonesiaenvironmentspecies_080717040502 Tiger skins and rare caged primates openly sold at markets in the heart of Indonesia's capital are the most brazen and visible aspect of a thriving illegal wildlife trade. Indonesia is struggling to take on a multi-million-dollar industry that is stripping the archipelago nation's vast forests of endangered species for enormous profit by selling them to buyers around the world. Activists and the government estimate Indonesia loses at least 80 million dollars a year through the illegal trade, with rare animals -- dead and alive -- being sold at huge mark-ups once they get to overseas markets. What's interesting is that an orangutan caught in Kalimantan (on Borneo island) costs no more than three million rupiah (327 dollars) and is sold in Jakarta for five million rupiah," said Asep Purnama from the non-government organisation ProFauna. "Once they get to Taiwan they will sell for around 100 million rupiah and in Europe they'll sell for 400 million," he said, adding that an estimated 100 orangutans are taken every year from Kalimantan's forests alone. Purnama's group estimates around 10,000 animals found only on Sumatra island were poached in 2007 to supply the illegal trade. Peddlers sell slow lorises, a rare bug-eyed primate from Sumatra's forests, for less than 10 dollars each as pets for middle-class families. Most buyers likely don't know trade in the seemingly cute animals is illegal -- or that they usually die within weeks from the stress of captivity -- but the sellers do, and they are extremely camera shy. A few hundred metres (yards) away in Jatinegara's gem market, however, one trader selling tiger skins was happy to show off her wares. The skins are from tigers killed more than a decade ago, she said... http://Activeenglish.biz

Made in Australia...Exporting to Asia

Maggi Carstairs — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 01:10:06 GMT

Made in Australia, Exporting to Asia http://business.theage.com.au/made-in-melbourne-exporting-to-asia-20080705-3273.html ONE look at the soaring profits of mining companies is enough to show how important exports to China and other emerging markets are to the success of domestic companies. But it is not just the vast multinationals such as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto that are making their presence felt across South-East Asia. Thousands of Australian businesses, many of them small or medium sized, now export to the region. "Of the Australian companies doing business in the region, only about 10% would be the huge corporations that are well-known names," says Tim Harcourt, chief economist with Austrade, the government body that helps domestic firms find foreign markets. "The vast majority are smaller firms. That said, about 90% of the business is done by that top 10% of exporters." While the resources sector has been at the vanguard of the exporting game, the burgeoning middle classes in South-East Asia are behind a boom in Australian-produced goods and services. The expertise of engineers, architects, lawyers and educators has been much sought after, and top-end manufactured goods and foodstuffs. Victorian-based outdoor clothing specialist Wilderness Wear has bucked the trend of importing clothing from Asia by selling their garments to Korea, Japan and Taiwan. And founder Philip Endersbee is hoping to add China to that list in the coming year. "We've sent products to possible clients in China and they're very interested, as there's a middle class emerging there who are wanting to do things like bush trekking and climbing and can afford to buy high-quality gear," he says. Mr Endersbee believes Australian companies can achieve success in South-East Asia even when competing in areas where these countries have large exports. "If you think about your brand and product and produce high-end goods, which they don't do so well, then you can find a niche in the market," he says. "Also, it helps if you can address all those things which make dealing with China such a headache, such as long lead times, large minimum order quantities and lack of flexibility. If you can make these your strengths, then you can be certainly be competitive overseas." There are more than 4250 domestic businesses exporting to China alone; more than 3000 of them have offices there. Tim Harcourt believes that future growth in the country, especially for small and medium-sized companies, may well be focused on the second- and third-tier cities such as Kunming, Chengdu, Qiangdao and Chongqing as opposed to Beijing and Shanghai, which have been penetrated by foreign companies for many years

California Wildfires: July 03 2006

Maggi Carstairs — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:15:51 GMT

Entire Town of Big Sur, California, Evacuated for Fire… July 03 2008 BIG SUR, Calif. - Authorities ordered the remaining residents of this scenic coastal community to leave Wednesday because an out-of-control wildfire, one of hundreds in California, had jumped a fire line and was threatening more homes. Flames raged in the hills above and ash fell from orange skies as evacuees in packed cars streamed north along Highway 1, the only major road out of Big Sur. "The fire is just a big raging animal right now," said Darby Marshall, spokesman for the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services. The blaze near Big Sur is one of more than 1,100 wildfires, mostly ignited by lightning that has scorched 680 square miles, and destroyed 60 homes and buildings across northern and central California since June 20 New mandatory evacuation notices were issued Wednesday for a 16-mile stretch along Highway 1. Authorities have closed a total of 25 miles of the scenic roadway, The blaze had destroyed 16 homes and charred about 81 square miles of forest since it was started by lightning on June 21 in the Los Padres National Forest. It was only about 3 percent contained. The new evacuation notice means that all of the roughly 850 residents who live along the Big Sur coast from Andrew Molera State Park to Limekiln State Park have been ordered to leave Helicopters hauling large containers of water droned loudly overhead as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, R. David Paulison, visited Big Sur on Wednesday. "This is a very dangerous fire right now because of the wind and because of how dry things are and how early in the year it is," Paulison said Drought, heat and lightning storms have contributed to more than 1,100 separate fires that have blackened 680 square miles of land statewide in the past two weeks. The blazes have destroyed 60 homes and other buildings while threatening thousands more, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Federal fire managers predict an increase in severe wildfire activity in northern California through October due to the unusually hot, dry weather and scant rain. In Southern California, a fire in the southern extension of the Los Padres National Forest north of Santa Barbara prompted mandatory evacuations of about 45 people in the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains. Officials said that fire had burned 350 acres of heavy brush Wednesday, and that a wind shift was pushing it Wednesday night closer to canyon homes. In the Sequoia National Forest east of Bakersfield, crews struggled to contain a 13,500-acre blaze. Powerful gusts and choking smoke traveling up the steep canyons hampered their progress, and residents of neighboring towns were ordered to evacuate. Rough terrain in the Santa Ynez area hampered firefighters, said Santa Barbara County spokesman William Boyer. "It's mostly an aerial battle," he said. Elsewhere, a wildfire threatened 15 homes and the Okanogan tribal bingo casino near Okanogan, Wash., and some residents had been evacuated, said Ron Bowen of the state fire marshal's office. The blaze had covered 1,500 acres — just over 2 square miles — and the state sent people and equipment to help Bureau of Indian Affairs firefighters, officials said. Firefighters near Crown King, Ariz., were hacking away at brush and trees and burning back land near the town on Wednesday to try to quell a blaze that had burned nearly 12 square miles of land. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080703/ap_on_re_us/wildfires_68

Spain wins first Major in 44 Years: 29 June 2008

Maggi Carstairs — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 05:54:27 GMT

Spain wins First Major in 44 Years: 29 June 2008 http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=ap-euro2008final&prov=ap&type=lgns A championship 44 years in the waiting is worth a special celebration. Spain made sure it didn’t disappoint any of its fans Sunday night, both during its 1-0 victory over Germany to win the European Championship, and after it. Fernando Torres scored in the 33rd minute and the Spaniards never backed down against such a formidable opponent. Their last significant title came in the 1964 Euros at home. “It is to me the most important day in Spanish football in many, many years,” Torres said. Against the highly accomplished Germans, the Spaniards weren’t intimidated. They got the one goal they needed and set off chants of “ES-PANA!” and “Ole, Ole!” at the final whistle. The entire Spanish squad ran over to the huge rooting section of red and gold, exchanging hugs, while many of the spent Germans collapsed to the turf. When Spain goalkeeper and captain, Iker Casillas, accepted the trophy on a stage, the Spanish fans began chanting the melody to their national anthem, which has no words. Thousands of camera flashes went off as the players jumped in place, then headed onto the field to show off their prize. … “We have won in a brilliant way,” coach Luis Aragones said. “We will be able to start saying we can win a European championship as well as any other thing.” In beating a team that makes a habit of appearing in championship finals, the Spaniards put to rest a reputation for underachieving. …That all changed at these Euros, where the Spaniards swept their first-round games, eliminated World Cup champion Italy in a penalty-kicks shootout in the quarterfinals, then routed Russia 3-0 in the semifinals. “We played the best for the entire tournament and we beat some great teams,” Torres said. “We beat Italy, the World Cup champion, and we beat Russia and now Germany. That is how you become champion.” Germany has won three Euros and three World Cups, but was no match in this final. “We had a great tournament, but made one mistake too many,” Ballack said. “We were lacking of power against a great Spanish team. We couldn’t keep up with them.” Torres, who had 33 goals for Liverpool this season but has been invisible in Euros, came through off a brilliant feed from Xavi Hernandez. Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, at 38 the oldest player in the competition, charged from his net when he saw that defender Philipp Lahm was beaten on the right side. But Torres chipped the ball over the sliding Lehmann and into the gaping goal. The crowd of 51,428 at Ernst Happel Stadium, split almost equally between Germany and Spain, might have expected the Spaniards to go into a protective shell. Instead, and even without leading scorer David Villa (leg injury), they continued to carry the attack and were far more dangerous than Germany the rest of the way. Indeed, Lehmann, who helped the Germans to third place in the 2006 World Cup, kept it close with several tough saves. This was the last game for 69-year-old Aragones, the oldest coach to win the Euros. “The most important thing about our team, perhaps, is the manager,” Torres said. “He has confidence in us and he lets us play. We have brought him the championship in his last game for Spain and we are very happy we could make this history for him and for us.” “Spain played very well during the whole tournament. and they were technically excellent,” Loew said. “They fully deserve victory.” A crowd of about 68,000 packed Vienna’s downtown fan zone to watch the final, police said. In Germany, flags fluttered from balconies and car antennas across the country. In Berlin, an estimated 400,000 fans watched the game on large outdoor screens. Spain has never made a World Cup final and was in one other Euros final, aside from the 1964 triumph. That was a loss to France in 1984. With two of the world’s top clubs, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, the nation has tons of talent. What it has lacked is fortitude. No one can say that anymore. http://activeenglish.biz

The Buck Jumper by Henry Lawson: Australian Short Story

Maggi Carstairs — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 05:00:57 GMT

There were about a dozen Bush natives, from anywhere, most of them lanky and easy-going, hanging about the little slab-and-bark hotel on the edge of the scrub at Capertee Camp (a teamster's camp) when Cob & Co.'s mail-coach and six came dashing down the siding from round Crown Ridge, in all its glory, to the end of the twelve-mile stage. Some wiry, ill-used hacks were hanging to the fence and to saplings about the place. The fresh coach-horses stood ready in a stock-yard close to the shanty. As the coach climbed the nearer bank of the creek at the foot of the ridge, six of the Bushmen detached themselves from verandah posts, from their heels, from the clay floor of the verandah and the rough slab wall against which they'd been resting, and joined a group of four or five who stood round one. He stood with his back to the corner post of the stock-yard, his feet well braced out in front of him, and contemplated the toes of his tight new 'lastic-side boots and whistled softly. He was a clean-limbed, handsome fellow, with riding-cords, leggings, and a blue sash; he was Graeco-Roman-nosed, blue-eyed, and his glossy, curly black hair bunched up in front of the brim of a new cabbage-tree hat, set well back on his head. 'Do it for a quid, Jack?' asked one. 'Damned if I will, Jim!' said the young man at the post. 'I'll do it for a fiver--not a blanky sprat less.' Jim took off his hat and 'shoved' it round, and 'bobs' were 'chucked' into it. The result was about thirty shillings. Jack glanced contemptuously into the crown of the hat. 'Not me!' he said, showing some emotion for the first time. 'D'yer think I'm going to risk me blanky neck for your blanky amusement for thirty blanky bob. I'll ride the blanky horse for a fiver, and I'll feel the blanky quids in my pocket before I get on.' Meanwhile the coach had dashed up to the door of the shanty. There were about twenty passengers aboard--inside, on the box-seat, on the tail-board, and hanging on to the roof--most of them Sydney men going up to the Mudgee races. They got down and went inside with the driver for a drink, while the stablemen changed horses. The Bushmen raised their voices a little and argued. One of the passengers was a big, stout, hearty man--a good-hearted, sporting man and a racehorse-owner, according to his brands. He had a round red face and a white cork hat. 'What's those chaps got on outside?' he asked the publican. 'Oh, it's a bet they've got on about riding a horse,' replied the publican. 'The flash-looking chap with the sash is Flash Jack, the horse-breaker; and they reckon they've got the champion outlaw in the district out there--that chestnut horse in the yard.' The sporting man was interested at once, and went out and joined the Bushmen. 'Well, chaps! what have you got on here?' he asked cheerily. 'Oh,' said Jim carelessly, 'it's only a bit of a bet about ridin' that blanky chestnut in the corner of the yard there.' He indicated an ungroomed chestnut horse, fenced off by a couple of long sapling poles in a corner of the stock-yard. 'Flash Jack there--he reckons he's the champion horse-breaker round here--Flash Jack reckons he can take it out of that horse first try.' 'What's up with the horse?' inquired the big, red-faced man. 'It looks quiet enough. Why, I'd ride it myself.' 'Would yer?' said Jim, who had hair that stood straight up, and an innocent, inquiring expression. 'Looks quiet, does he? YOU ought to know more about horses than to go by the looks of 'em. He's quiet enough just now, when there's no one near him; but you should have been here an hour ago. That horse has killed two men and put another chap's shoulder out--besides breaking a cove's leg. It took six of us all the morning to run him in and get the saddle on him; and now Flash Jack wants to back out of it.' 'Euraliar!' remarked Flash Jack cheerfully. 'I said I'd ride that blanky horse out of the yard for a fiver. I ain't goin' to risk my blanky neck for nothing and only to amuse you blanks.' 'He said he'd ride the horse inside the yard for a quid,' said Jim. 'And get smashed against the rails!' said Flash Jack. 'I would be a fool. I'd rather take my chance outside in the scrub--and it's rough country round here.' 'Well, how much do you want?' asked the man in the mushroom hat. 'A fiver, I said,' replied Jack indifferently. 'And the blanky stuff in my pocket before I get on the blanky horse.' 'Are you frightened of us running away without paying you?' inquired one of the passengers who had gathered round. 'I'm frightened of the horse bolting with me without me being paid,' said Flash Jack. 'I know that horse; he's got a mouth like iron. I might be at the bottom of the cliff on Crown Ridge road in twenty minutes with my head caved in, and then what chance for the quids?' 'You wouldn't want 'em then,' suggested a passenger. 'Or, say!--we'd leave the fiver with the publican to bury you.' Flash Jack ignored that passenger. He eyed his boots and softly whistled a tune. 'All right!' said the man in the cork hat, putting his hand in his pocket. 'I'll start with a quid; stump up, you chaps.' The five pounds were got together. 'I'll lay a quid to half a quid he don't stick on ten minutes!' shouted Jim to his mates as soon as he saw that the event was to come off. The passengers also betted amongst themselves. Flash Jack, after putting the money in his breeches-pocket, let down the rails and led the horse into the middle of the yard. 'Quiet as an old cow!' snorted a passenger in disgust. 'I believe it's a sell!' 'Wait a bit,' said Jim to the passenger, 'wait a bit and you'll see.' They waited and saw. Flash Jack leisurely mounted the horse, rode slowly out of the yard, and trotted briskly round the corner of the shanty and into the scrub, which swallowed him more completely than the sea might have done. Most of the other Bushmen mounted their horses and followed Flash Jack to a clearing in the scrub, at a safe distance from the shanty; then they dismounted and hung on to saplings, or leaned against their horses, while they laughed. At the hotel there was just time for another drink. The driver climbed to his seat and shouted, 'All aboard!' in his usual tone. The passengers climbed to their places, thinking hard. A mile or so along the road the man with the cork hat remarked, with much truth-- 'Those blanky Bushmen have got too much time to think.' The Bushmen returned to the shanty as soon as the coach was out of sight, and proceeded to 'knock down' the fiver. THE END From "Joe Wilson and his Mates" by Henry Lawson Photograph of Original Painting by Glenn Harkins from Gemfields, Queensland, Australia http://Activeenglish.biz

Clancy of the Overflow: Banjo Paterson

Maggi Carstairs — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:42:23 GMT

Clancy of the Overflow I had written him a letter which I had, for want of better Knowledge, sent to where I met him down the Lachlan, years ago; He was shearing when I knew him, so I sent the letter to him, Just 'on spec', addressed as follows: 'Clancy, of The Overflow'. And an answer came directed in a writing unexpected, (And I think the same was written with a thumbnail dipped in tar); 'Twas his shearing mate who wrote it, verbatim I will quote it; 'Clancy's gone to Queensland droving, and we don't know where he are.' In my wild erratic fancy visions come to me of Clancy Gone a-droving 'down the Cooper' where the Western drovers go; As the stock are slowly stringing, Clancy rides behind them singing, For the drover's life has pleasures that the townsfolk never know. And the bush hath friends to meet him, and their kindly voices greet him In the murmur of the breezes and the river on its bars, And he sees the vision splendid of the sunlit plains extended, And at night the wondrous glory of the everlasting stars. I am sitting in my dingy little office, where a stingy Ray of sunlight struggles feebly down between the houses tall, And the foetid air and gritty of the dusty, dirty city Through the open window floating, spreads its foulness over all. And in place of lowing cattle, I can hear the fiendish rattle Of the tramways and the buses making hurry down the street. And the language uninviting of the gutter children fighting, Comes fitfully and faintly through the ceaseless tramp of feet. And the hurrying people daunt me and their pallid faces haunt me As they shoulder one another in their rush and nervous haste, With their eager eyes and greedy, and their stunted forms and weedy, For townsfolk have no time to grow, they have no time to waste. And I somehow rather fancy that I'd like to change with Clancy, Like to take a turn at droving where the seasons come and go, While he faced the round eternal of the cashbook and the journal - But I doubt he'd suit the office, Clancy, of the 'Overflow'. http://home.iprimus.com.au/crothwell/poetry.html#Clancy%20of%20The%20Overflow

New Rules for Teachers after China Earthquake

Maggi Carstairs — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:20:38 GMT

New Rules for Teachers after China Earthquake http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080627/ap_on_re_as/china_quake_teacher_2 China is requiring more ethical responsibility from teachers following the highly publicized case of a high school teacher who fled his classroom during last month's earthquake without making sure his students were safe A draft of revised ethics regulations for primary and secondary school teachers explicitly states for the first time that teachers have a moral responsibility to protect their students. The revision, placed on the Ministry of Education's Web site this week for public comment until Monday, was apparently fueled by the case of Fan Meizhong, a high school teacher in Dujiangyan, one of the worst-hit cities in the May 12 quake. Fan ignited a storm of public criticism after he wrote about his experience on a popular Internet forum and defended his instinct for self-preservation. "At a life-or-death moment like this, only my daughter's life might make me consider sacrificing myself. As to other people, I would ignore them, even if it was my mother. ... At such a critical moment, its escape that counts," he wrote. Nearly 70,000 people died in the 7.9-magnitude quake, including thousands of schoolchildren killed when their classrooms collapsed. Fan's school ultimately escaped major damage and all his students survived, but his actions drew a barrage of attacks — and now an official government response. The new guidelines would add, "Guarantee your students' safety," to a list that includes: "Love your career as a teacher. Love students. Set a good example."

Don't Quit Poem: Many a failure, turns About

Maggi Carstairs — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 06:39:57 GMT

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, When the road you're trudging seems all uphill, When the funds are low and the debts are high, And you want to smile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest, if you must, but don't you quit. Life is queer with its twists and turns, As every one of us sometimes learns, And many a failure turns about, When he might have won had he stuck it out; Don't give up though the pace seems slow-- You may succeed with another blow. Often the goal is nearer than, It seems to a faint and faltering man, Often the struggler has given up, When he might have captured the victor's cup, And he learned too late when the night slipped down, How close he was to the golden crown. Success is failure turned inside out-- The silver tint of the clouds of doubt, And you never can tell how close you are, It may be near when it seems so far, So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit-- It's when things seem worst that you must not quit. - Author unknown http://activeenglish.biz/moodle/mod/glossary/view.php

Drug Dealers sentenced to Death and executed in China 25 June 2008

Maggi Carstairs — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 06:34:14 GMT

Drug Dealers sentenced to Death- Executed in China: June 25 2008 http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/6436382.html Five drug dealers were sentenced to death and three others were executed ahead of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in China. Courts in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Fuzhou and Hefei gave verdicts on more than 20 drug trafficking cases on Monday and Tuesday. "As the number and scale of drug dealing cases have been increasing in recent years, the court has raised its strength to crack down," said Zhang Zhijie, deputy chief judge of the Second Intermediate People's Court of Shanghai Municipality. The court handed down sentencing on four drug dealing cases Monday. Three dealers were sentenced to death, including Wang Qihai, Gu Jun and Hu Chaoqiang. Wang, an unemployed young man, came to Shanghai in 2007 from the southeast Fujian province. He directed others to transport drugs from his home province to his new residence. His downstream dealer was caught with more than one kg of drugs at a highway station and Wang himself was caught with another dealer while holding 3.5 kg of drugs. Another seven cases were sentenced in Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province. In the same case, two dealers, Zhuang Junwei and He Shihong, were given death penalties by the Intermediate People's Court of Shenzhen Municipality on Monday. The two had bought more than 20 kg of drugs and sold some of them after processing from October to November in 2001. They were caught on November 20 that year. The police found about 16 kg of drugs and processing tools at their factory. The Supreme Court of Fujian Province announced sentences to 105drug dealers. Three were executed, including Tseng Fu-wen from Taiwan. The court in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province, handed down the death penalty to another dealer named Chen Kangsheng, head of a big family drug factory. Chen's factory made more than 260 kg of drugs between July 2005and early 2006. He colluded with a dealer from Taiwan surnamed Wang who was in charge of material supply and sales. Chen's family factory produced 194 kg of drugs and earned 590,000 yuan (about 85,500 U.S. dollars) from drug processing during the half year. Chen was sentenced death in late 2006 and the penalty was authorized by the Supreme People's Court recently. The court of Heifei, capital of Anhui province, also judged four cases Tuesday. Fifteen dealers received penalties, including two death sentences. Dealers named Zhang Wenxian and Yan Hongbao were sentenced for dealing 400 grams of drugs. "New challenges have been rising as new types of drugs are increasing. The mass sentence aims at increasing public awareness," said Tang Yigan, the Intermediate People's Court of Hefei Municipality deputy chief judge. Source: Xinhua

Lightning Sparks 800 wild fires in California...June 22 2008

Maggi Carstairs — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 04:55:19 GMT

Lightning Sparks 800-plus Fires in California http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080624/ap_on_re_us/wildfires Firefighters from neighboring states arrived to help Monday after an "unprecedented" lightning storm sparked more than 800 wildfires, from Big Sur to wine country to Humboldt County. Thousands of firefighters battled the blazes on the ground and from the air and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he was alarmed by the number of fires that kept erupting. He said he was told late Sunday evening that the state had 520 fires, and he found it "quite shocking" that by morning the number had risen above 700. Moments later, a top state fire official standing at Schwarzenegger's side offered a grim update: The figure was actually 842 fires, said Del Walters, assistant regional chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. All but a couple were in the northern part of the state. "This is an unprecedented lightning storm in California, that it lasted as long as it did, 5,000 to 6,000 lightning strikes," Walters said. "We are finding fires all the time." The assistance, mostly firefighting aircraft, arrived Monday from Nevada and Oregon after being requested over the weekend. Schwarzenegger said he had enlisted the help "because you can never prepare for 500 or 700 or 800 fires all at the same time." Part of the reason for the swelling number of wildfires was that local and state officials were still counting after the fierce thunderstorm Friday night that touched off the blazes. "We didn't get real lucky with this lighting storm," Walters said. "It wasn't predicted — which often happens with these storms that come in off the Pacific, there's no history of the weather as it approaches the shore — and so we got hammered." In Mendocino County alone there were 110 fires, with just 17 contained. Two of the biggest fires had each charred nearly 6 square miles. One started in Napa County and quickly moved into Solano County, and threatened about 250 homes about 40 miles southwest of Sacramento, said Kevin Colburn, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. It was 60 percent contained Monday. The other was in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, about 160 miles north of Sacramento, and threatened about 1,200 homes. The largest of the fires threatened about 1,200 homes, and several youth camps and forced evacuations. The governor declared a state of emergency in Monterey and Trinity Counties on Monday. Along the coast in the Los Padres National Forest, a 2,000-acre wildfire burning south of Big Sur since Saturday forced the evacuations of 75 homes and businesses, destroyed one house and threatened hundreds of others. It also led to an emergency airlift Sunday of eight endangered California condors. U.S. Coast Guard helicopters transported the seven juveniles and one adult bird from a wildlife center to the Monterey Airport. A second fire in the Los Padres burned more than 57,000 acres and has injured nine firefighters. Two blazes about 25 miles south of San Jose had forced hundreds of residents to flee over the weekend, but most were being allowed to return Monday. One fire was 90 percent contained and the other 50 percent. In southern Arizona, two new human-caused wildfires were burning Monday but not threatening homes. A 700-acre fire in the Rincon Mountains east of Tucson was fully contained. Lightning sparked that fire. http://Activeenglish.biz http://Activeenglishspeaking.com

The Idiot: by Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Chapter 2

Maggi Carstairs — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:34:49 GMT

Page 36-43 Myshkin visits General Yepanchin and gets interrogated by the very conservative and arrogant servant who is curious about this strange visitor and not sure about him at all.

Color of the Wind: Pocohontas

Maggi Carstairs — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:23:33 GMT

Colors of the Wind: Pocahontas You think you own whatever land you land on The earth is just a dead thing you can claim But I know every rock and tree and creature Has a life, has a spirit, has a name You think the only people who are people Are the people who look and think like you But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger You\'ll learn things you never knew you never knew Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon Or asked a grinning bobcat why he grinned? Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain? Can you paint with all the colours of the wind? Can you paint with all the colours of the wind? Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest Come taste the sun-sweet berries of the earth Come roll in all the riches all around you And for once, never wonder what they're worth The rainstorm and the river are my brothers The heron and the otter are my friends And we are all connected to each other In a circle, in a hoop that never ends Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon Or let the eagle tell you where he's been? Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain? Can you paint with all the colours of the wind? Can you paint with all the colours of the wind? How high does the sycamore grow? If you cut it down, you'll never know And you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon For whether we are white or copper-skinned We need to sing with all the voices of the mountain Need to paint with all the colours of the wind You can own the earth and still All you'll own is earth until You can paint with all the colours of the wind

Chinas Censorship of the Web Unacceptable

Maggi Carstairs — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:09:42 GMT

China’s Censorship of web Unacceptable http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080620/wr_nm/eu_china_censorship_dc_1 EU's telecoms chief Viviane Reding said on Friday that China's censorship of the Internet was "unacceptable" and that the Beijing Olympics were a chance for the country to show its commitment to free flow of information. Reding, who is the European Commissioner for Information Society and Media said she regards the Internet as a free medium for expression and any curtailment of that is limiting the citizen's right to information. "People should be free to receive information, we do not think blocking of sites for political reasons is the right way to proceed," Reding told Reuters. "We say, for instance, to the Chinese very clearly that their blocking of certain Internet content is absolutely unacceptable to us," she said. Reding was in Singapore to launch the European Union Centre to create greater awareness of EU affairs. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, China remains the world's leading jailer of journalists and writers. Beijing also exerts control over its fast-growing Internet sector, seeking to weed out porn and subversive websites. However, the International Olympic Committee has said it is confident that China will deliver on its commitment to allow freedom to report in line with that enjoyed at previous Games. "We will see during the Olympic games, when the world is going to look at Beijing (whether) Beijing is going to utilize this opportunity to have a free information flow," Reding said. With 21,600 journalists accredited for the 2008 Olympics and up to half that number expected to descend on and report from the city without International Olympic Committee credentials, the Beijing Games promise to be the most intensely scrutinized Olympics in history http://Activeenglish.biz http://Activeenglishspeaking.com

The Idiot: by Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Chapter 1 p 32 -35

Maggi Carstairs — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 01:08:19 GMT

Roghozhin shares the story of how he misappropriated ten thousand roubles from his father to buy diamond earrings the size of walnuts for Natassya Fillippovna. They arrive at their destination and Prince Myshkin offers Rogozhin clothes, a fur coat and money.

Episode Threats: June 16 2008 : The English Voice

Maggi Carstairs — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 00:23:18 GMT

Blogging: Becoming More Professional June 16 2008 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080614/ap_on_hi_te/citizen_journalism;_ylt=Ap6qFs7Tcdi9wRmMPknBU2dk24cA Miami real estate agent Lucas Lechuga began blogging to share his knowledge of the local market. He didn't bargain for a $25 million defamation lawsuit when he wrote that a Miami developer had gone bankrupt decades ago In Lake Geneva, Wis., commodities trader Gary Millitte registered the Internet domain name LakeGenevaNews.com eight years ago, but is so worried about the legal boundaries of writing online that he still hasn't started the ultra-local news site. Non-journalists entering the world of blogs, online feedback forums, online videos and news Web sites provide information that newspapers and other media can't or don't. But many are now turning to professional journalists for help with dilemmas they're facing: When is something libelous? What's the difference between opinion and news? And how do you find public documents? ………..Lechuga said training could be a good idea. Having jumped into the world of online publishing with a finance degree, he said the claims against him — which are still pending — arose from a question of semantics, and he would have chose his words differently if he had a second chance. "It would definitely have been something that would be worthwhile and I'd (have) been able to prevent this," said Lechuga. "I think that what we're moving toward is some king of positioning between amateur and professional," Clark said. Amateurs have long contributed to professional news reports, including the film of John F. Kennedy's assassination and photos from the Virginia Tech massacre last year, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the tsunami in Southeast Asia in 2004, Clark said. Now, many distribute their content on their own, and some have gotten into trouble, said Clint Brewer, the national president of SPJ. Geoff Dougherty, editor of the Web site ChiTownDailyNews.org and a presenter at the SPJ program, is trying to prevent that by offering his reporters online training. With a $340,000 Knight News Challenge, he's creating a team of 77 to report on the smallest of meetings in every city neighborhood — gatherings that mainstream news organizations don't cover. "I see us in five years as the go-to source for Chicago news," said Dougherty. "It's a big goal." Robert Cox, president of the Media Bloggers Association, said more than 100 judgments valued at $17 million have been handed down against bloggers over the last three years — about 60 percent for defamation, 25 percent for copyright infringement and 10 percent involving privacy. "It's the tip of the iceberg," Cox said. "Bloggers are being asked to write checks. The threats against bloggers are very real. The costs are very real." Other groups offer help, including NowPublic.com — a site that gathers photos, video and news tips from the public and distributes them to news organizations, including The Associated Press. NowPublic, funded with venture capital, offers resources for contributors and helps them learn to police themselves, said co-founder Michael Tippett. "A lot of our members are aspiring journalists," Tippett said. "They'll get half of it right. We'll push them to getting all of it right." MJ Tam, who has blogged about motherhood for eight years, said she worried about how far she could go in rating baby products. "I just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing," said Tam. "How far can I take criticism? What's considered libel? I need those basics." http://Activeenglishspeaking.com

4,104 Chinese Children named "Olympic Games" : June 14 2008

Maggi Carstairs — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 05:10:10 GMT

June 14 2008: 4,100 Children in China Named ‘Olympic Games” http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23852628-13762,00.html More than 4000 babies in China have been named Aoyun, which means "Olympic Games", since China first applied to host the Games. According to the BBC, more than 92 per cent of the 4104 Aoyuns are boys, pronounced "Owl-yoon". About 680 Aoyuns were registered in 1992, the year China first applied to host the Games. It’s not uncommon for children to be named after events or slogans, such as Defend China, Build the Nation and Space Travel. Apparently there are 290,798 children called Civilization in China. The first surge in Aoyuns came in 1992, when China applied to host to the 2000 Games. About 680 Aoyuns were registered at the time. In 2002 another 553 Aoyuns were named, after China was chosen to host the 2008 Games. The BBC's Chinese service says that in recent week’s babies have also been given names such as Hope for Sichuan, to show solidarity with earthquake victims http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7448363.stm http://Activeenglish.com Do you know of unusual or different English Names used by Chinese? Email Maggi_carstairs@yahoo.com with your names. Best Entry will win a T-shirt from http://www.cafepress.com/ladymaggic Add your Entry to the Ch-english Forum at Active EnglishSpeaking/Ch-english http://Activeenglishspeaking.com

The Idiot: by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Maggi Carstairs — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:52:44 GMT

Chapter 1 of 'The Idiot' by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. To young men travelling in a Train meet and start talking. One is Prince Lev Nikolayevitch Myshkins, and the other is Parfyon Rogozhins. The third passenger is an older man, a functionary, who likes to think he knows everbody and everything.. They get to know some details about each other.... (Page 25-30) Read by Marguerite

Bank Staff in China Quake Misappropriates Quake Donations

Maggi Carstairs — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:26:55 GMT

Bank Staff in China quake Zone spend $4,100 Donations on themselves…June 13 2008 http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080613/wl_asia_afp/chinaquakecorruptionrelief_080613060256 Staff at a bank in China's quake zone used relief funds to buy themselves US brand runners, the country's audit office said Friday after probing for instances of aid money going astray. A branch of ICBC, the biggest bank in China, in quake-hit Mianyang city bought 56 pairs of Nike runners for its workers, the audit office said in a statement posted on its website. The branch used 28,500 yuan (4,100 dollars) to buy the shoes at the end of May, and faked the receipts to say it had bought raincoats, rubber boots and umbrellas, the report said. "After the audit investigation revealed this problem, the bank returned the 'special earthquake funds' that were inappropriately used," the report said. Another investigation by the audit office revealed that in some areas, text messages about the quake were sent en masse, and were suspected of cheating mobile phone users into donating money into bank accounts, the report said. "According to our investigation, there are some people who already put earthquake donations into the fundraising accounts," the report said. Those accounts had been frozen, according to the audit office, which did not reveal how much money was involved. Misappropriation of funds allocated to help in the wake of the 8.0-magnitude earthquake -- which has killed nearly 70,000 and left another 17,500 missing -- is of huge concern in a country where graft is endemic. Corruption is rampant both in government ranks and throughout society, as the country ploughs through its development boom without a free press or an independent judiciary. President Hu Jintao has repeatedly warned that corruption is one of the biggest threats to the legitimacy of the ruling Communist Party. More than six billion dollars in aid from home and abroad has been donated for quake relief and the government has insisted it is doing all it can to ensure the money is spent in the correct manner. This is so bad when people have helped, and the disaster victims are still homeless. In fact, sending clothes and items is better than money as it is so easy for money to be misappropriated here. These people should lose their jobs and responsibilities as this is what makes donors angry. We gave funds for those affected by the quakes, not for the funds to be embezzled on luxury items for Fat Cats…Yes, it happens all the time and this is China’s Tragedy… What a dreadful situation this is when people steal from the needy. Shame on you…shame!!!! http://Activeenglish.biz

Bank Staff in China Embezzle Quake Donations

Maggi Carstairs — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:13:34 GMT

Relief as China Lake drains at Speed: June 10th 2008

Maggi Carstairs — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 09:49:15 GMT

Relief as China Lake Drains at Speed: June 10 2008 http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080610/ts_nm/china_quake_dc_8 JIANGYOU, China (Reuters) - Floodwaters crashed out of a dangerously unstable "quake lake" in southwest China on Tuesday after soldiers blasted open a sluice, significantly easing the threat of disaster for hundreds of thousands of people downstream. Water from the Tangjiashan lake, the largest of the more than 30 formed by the devastating May 12 earthquake in Sichuan province, turned into a torrent after troops used explosives to blow away rocks, mud and other rubble blocking its path. The muddy brown water picked up clumps of trees, cars, fridges and other debris, swamping low-lying areas of the devastated town of Beichuan nearby, washing away remains of corpses, family mementoes and valuables left under the rubble. The Tangjiashan lake, created when landslides triggered by the quake blocked the flow of the Jianjiang River, has so far prompted the evacuation of more than 250,000 residents downstream in case the mud-and-rock dam bursts. "The flow downstream has increased dramatically, but the dam hasn't collapsed," Zhou Hua, spokesman for the lake relief operation, told Reuters. "The channel has widened but this isn't a collapse. "... So far everything is happening within expectations. As things are, we don't expect to have to evacuate any more." The water level behind the dam had dropped by more than 16 meters (53 ft) on Tuesday as 90 million cubic meters of water was released, Xinhua news agency said. "The danger has been further reduced," it added. It attributed the abrupt increase in water discharged from the lake to "two massive blasts on Monday evening which broke through the bottleneck" in a sluice opened by soldiers. The torrents had further widened and lowered the sluice. ROARING WATERS Further downstream near Mianyang, the river had widened to several hundred meters across, bursting banks in places. In Jiangyou, a city sandwiched between Beichuan and Mianyang, trees, barrels, televisions, fridges and the occasional dead bodies of quake victims washed by in the roaring waters, Xinhua said. Mianyang hosts tens of thousands of quake refugees from Beichuan, where more than 15,000 people died in the tremor. Road blocks kept traffic away from nearby Jiangyou, but it was not clear if the whole town was cut off. The army has set up rocket launchers at several points along the route of the floodwaters to defuse the threat posed to dams and bridges, including a key railway bridge, by any big drifting particles in the water, state television said. Rescuers meanwhile found a relief helicopter, carrying 19 quake survivors, medical workers and crew, that crashed near the epicenter of the quake on May 31. There were no survivors. Tuesday's flooding brought more heartache to people displaced by the earthquake in which nearly 87,000 people either died or are missing. Many said valuables were now lost for good. "It began flooding early this morning," said shop assistant Zhu Yunhui, 37, who lost loved ones in the quake and said she had kept many tens of thousands of yuan in her home. "Now we can never go back. This is heartbreaking." A 5.2-magnitude earthquake jolted Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Tuesday, Xinhua said. There were no immediate reports of casualties. http://Activeenglish.biz

China's Other Face: June 06 2008: Voice in China

Maggi Carstairs — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 03:31:55 GMT

China’s Other Face June 6 2008 http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080519/cm_csm/echinaquake Is he the face of a new China? Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, a bespectacled former geologist, was quick to show on-the-scene compassion following the May 12 giant earthquake in Sichuan, even shouting to one trapped student: "This is Grandpa Wen Jiabao, hang on child, we will rescue you!" His hands-on control of the rescue effort in the earthquake area – and openness to foreign recovery experts – stands in contrast to the pitiless response of Burma's junta to that country's May 2 cyclone Both disasters left tens of thousands dead, but Burma's secluded leader, Gen.Than Shwe, hasn't even taken a call from the UN secretary-general, let alone allow foreign aid agencies to work directly with millions of survivors and stave off a possible post-cyclone tragedy. Even for China's Communist Party, Mr. Wen's empathic reaction to the quake is unusual. At first, party officials instinctively imposed media controls and blocked foreign reporters from reaching Sichuan. But as the scale of the 7.9 magnitude temblor became known – and perhaps because it was not man-made – even state-run media broke the rules of presenting only "positive" stories. Wen's own instincts may have played a role in the party's turnaround in being open, compassionate, and effective in its response. During the 1989 pro-democracy protests, Wen stood beside a reformist premier, Zhao Ziyang, who pleaded with students to leave Tiananmen Square before a military crackdown and even wept over the pending tragedy. And during floods in 1998, Wen again showed leadership in his response. Last winter, when snow halted train travel and left millions of Chinese stranded during holidays, he wielded a bullhorn at the stations, apologizing for government ineptitude and pushing solutions. Chinese leaders have little choice but to learn from past mistakes. Being unelected, their hold on power is tenuous. Since 2003, a new leadership has jettisoned a quarter-century-long policy of pell-mell economic growth and is trying to implement a policy of "putting people first." It isn't easy for them. Until three years ago, death tallies from disasters were deemed to be state secrets. But after being faced with the SARS epidemic and bird-flu threat in recent years, the party learned that hiding bad news can backfire. And in March, the party at first tried to go easy on Tibetan protesters but ultimately imposed a ruthless crackdown. In the run-up to the Olympics that start in Beijing Aug. 8, China's leaders could be struggling to find a new identity that goes beyond knee-jerk nationalism and raw power. A wealthier China with better-educated people doesn't need as much top-down control. People in rural areas are demanding better local leadership – one reason that a prime minister needs to take charge in a tragedy. Keeping China cohesive and stable even as it quickly changes and relies more on the outside world will take new skills among its leaders. Wen's public example of compassion may be a small part of that shift. He has been dubbed "the people's premier." His actions have helped impel millions of Chinese to take civic action and assist the earthquake survivors, especially orphans. If this is the new China, the world can only applaud it. Http://Activeenglish.biz http://Activeenglishspeaking.com

Lost in translation: The Chinese English Translator

Maggi Carstairs — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 01:53:57 GMT

http://Activeenglishspeaking.com 'Lost in Translation" by Marguerite Carstairs Here are some of the things I learnt in China, from Translators who work as Translators translating Chinese into English. You can see some of their published Public efforts on "Lost with Translation" Forum at ActiveEnglishSpeaking...AES Don't crack a joke. Its taken seriously and you end up with an hurt person who feels they have lost face because you laughed. eg 'Oh!!! You really are being silly...' is taken to mean, 'you are silly' Don't try to correct their English. Because they translated it, it has to be correct. Don't try and explain a joke. You get into more hot water than its worth, and they do not think its funny. Don't correct 'bad english' as they do not see the inaccuracies and think you are weird, or even crazy, or that you don't really know the language you were born to and that you are here to teach. Don't expect thanks if you do correct something they have asked you to proofread. They only ask you to proofread so they can show you how clever they are to have translated all this by themselves. You are expected to say, 'very good' and 'well done' and nod your head many times. They do NOT want your proof corrections, and will not even acknowledge them. If you see an error in a Newspaper or Magazine, and point it out, they will take it personally as a slur on their translating ability. They will not understand the error and feel slighted because you have pointed it out. They get very upset if shown an error in translation...anywhere. Even on a Road sign or shop front. They take engrish errors personally. They get even more upset after you explain the error as you have now caused them to lose face because they still do not understand what you are talking about, and they never will, even when they say they do, because they can't. Do not correct a translator in front of her Boss or peers, as they do not understand her English anyway and think she is good because she speaks words they do not understand...and neither do you because the words are wrong and don't make sense. Never try and explain your mistake to a translator for her to translate to your Boss. The message is always opposite to what you said, and you have no idea what has been said, and believe me, it will not be in your favor. I asked her to tell my male boss next time to send the wine to my room, instead of presenting it to me at the Table, and he was there the next night with wine and a big smile. I still wonder what she told him but it wasn't what I said. Do not ask a translator to translate something that has multiple or compound sentences and expect it to read correctly. Never laugh at a meaning, especially if you know its right out of a Chinese Dictionary and is totally wrong....like the word 'founded'...Who founded the Company? Grin!!! Never argue with a Translator. If she says Strawberries are cherries, you should simply nod and smile. Correcting only causes her to lose face, as the others around her don't understand 'Strawberry' or 'Cherry' so what they heck!!! She knows Engrish....If she says its a cherry, its a cherry. Correcting her when she insists she is right, is a serious mistake. Always smile....it covers your confusion and distress. Don't ask her to translate the menu...she has no idea what the fish is called in English, nor the Engrish word for broadbeans cooked with salted pigs ears and feet. Insisting she must know is very bad. Just nod your head and eat what she chooses...even if you hate tomatoes and egg, raw sliced potato or seaweed soup...which seem to be the translators specials. Don't ask her the price of an item. She really does not know how to calculate your share of the Account. Its better to let her pay, rather than cause her to lose face at being given a task she cannot handle, which is work out the bill. When she has done something wrong, give her another task, and never point out that this was wrong. eg when page 32 was copied instead of 34 and 35, and done 24 times instead of 12, pointing this out is not acceptable. Shut up and give the task again, and say thankyou for the first mess up and circle-file it discreetly. Be patient. Learn to say something six times in varying degrees of speed and ease until the message is smilingly understood. Never imply that she is not as competent as she is thought to be by those above her who don't have any Engrish and never will. When she gets offended by your lack of tact, remember to smile becomingly and revise everything you said, until all around know that you are the Clot, and she is the sensitive word perfect translator who is being pushed to extreme stress because of the foreign devils lack of charm and finesse Last but not least, don't throw the English Dictionary at her and tell her to read it. The Chinese Dictionary gets used tactfully when no-one is watching, and thats where she gets the wrong translations from. She will not listen to what you are trying to tell her about the meanings of words, so Give up and work it out yourself. Don't expect her to be even slightly sympathetic or empathetic or even understanding. You are the Foreign Devil and she is the Chinese martyr having to work under you and work out your words best as she can. Any mistake is yours, as you said it. She simply translated your words. Telling her to speak slowly is a waste of time. She has learnt that fluent Engrish is spoken fast, and as no-one else understands it either, she is having great face by her fast speed of communication. So what if you don't understand, and as no-one else can understand her words, and expressions, picked up from movies and bad CD taped programs, they are still expected to be impressed by her speaking skills and so are you. Smileeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! Its your safe guard. the moment you stop smiling, you are out of favor...as then she knows you are not happy with her, and that is bad Joss and even worse Karma. Marguerite Carstairs June 2008 http://newyork.broowaha.com/article_published.php?id=3676

Voice in China :Lost in Translation and Ebooks: AES News

Maggi Carstairs — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 01:27:01 GMT

Lost in Translation Voice in China Number 8, 4 June 2008 Welcome to June. Here it is a very hot summer and in Hefei we have been experiencing some uncomfortable days and nights, which without an air conditioner would be oppressive and uncomfortable. However, the excessive pollution and smog we are experiencing here, has brought on some amazing ‘smogged’ sunsets, like fogged but now smogged. I watch the blanket sunsets from my classroom window, and dream about clear sky sunsets with fluffy clouds lined with fire. Welcome to June…..and soon it will be the shortest/longest day of the year…depending where you are located. That is June 22nd, so keep that day free to remember. Two new websites have now started. Membership is required. • E-books http://Activeenlishspeaking.com/ebooks • Learn to speak English http://Activeenglishspeaking.com • AES…ActiveEnglishSpeaking, “Lost with Translation: The Chinese English Translation”. You are invited to send photos of any Translations that make you smile, or scratch your head. I have started a collection which will soon become an E-Book. I collected the idea from a site called http://www.engrish.com He focuses on Japanese translations. Lost with Translation will focus on Chinese and English, so please send any photos or writings you have. I will add extracts from Newspapers and writings and some articles about Translations. If you are visiting China, maybe for the Olympic Games or to teach, here is an article on Etiquette for Translators. They are vitally important as often they are the link between you and the Company, and their words can make or break your relationships with the Chinese. http://newyork.broowaha.com/article_published.php?id=3676 Quote of the Day "Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them: A desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill." - by Muhammad Ali Motivational and Inspirational quotes is brought to you from http://www.motivationalquotes4u.com

May 30 2008: Olympic Torch in Hefei Anhui Province

Maggi Carstairs — Fri, 30 May 2008 05:47:40 GMT

May 30 2008: Torch in Hefei and Anhui Province The relay started in Anhui Exhibition Center, passing Prosperity Avenue, Jade Road, Politics Square, Hidden Hill road, Friends Road before reaching the destination Hefei Sports Complex. The highlight landmarks en route includes Anhui Garden, College City, Politics Building, Swan Lake along the 10.8-km relay. Li Na, 24, the Olympic diving champion, was the first torchbearer. She was handed the torch at 8:10 am local time from Sun Jinlong, the provincial party secretary. The oldest torchbearer the day was 90-year-old Zhang Taisheng, who had been an army official in 1951-1954 Korean War. "I hope the Olympic flame can light up the confidence of rebuilding homeland in disaster area. I hope the whole nation gives a hand to the quake region and I hope people there can live back to normal life in near future," said Zhang. The Wushu world champion Fan Xueping, 34, was honored to light the cauldron at 10:20 in the morning and the Olympic flame left for Huainan at 12:30 on noon for next relay. Hefei is a prefecture-level city and the provincial capital of Anhui province, China. Located in central Anhui, it borders Huainan to the north, Chuzhou to the northeast, Chaohu to the southeast and Lu'an to the west. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/torch/2008-05/28/content_6718031.htm

Shocks Claim 42,000

Maggi Carstairs — Wed, 28 May 2008 04:32:46 GMT

Shocks Claim 420,000 homes: May 28 2008 New aftershocks have toppled 420,000 houses and injured dozens in southwest China, heaping destruction and fear on a region struggling to recover from the country's worst earthquake in decades. The houses collapsed when a 5.4 magnitude aftershock rocked Sichuan province's Qingchuan county, injuring 63 people, six critically, Xinhua news agency said. Another tremor, 5.7, hit neighboring Ningqiang County in Shaanxi province… No deaths had been reported. The aftershocks struck the mountainous region as soldiers worked non-stop to dig a giant drain to ease pressure on a swelling "quake lake", and the planned evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people to avert a new disaster continued. The official death toll from the 7.9 magnitude quake that struck Sichuan province on May 12 was raised on Tuesday to 67,183, but it was certain to rise as 20,790 were listed as missing. The quake injured nearly 362,000 people Soldiers and police trekked to the Tangjiashan Lake carrying dynamite to blast mud and rubble that has blocked a river and created the largest of 35 quake lakes formed when landslides triggered by the massive tremor blocked streams and rivers. Some 30,000 people living below the lake in and around Beichuan have been evacuated as a precaution. In Mianyang, which includes Beichuan town, 150,000 people will have been evacuated, in line with a contingency plan should the lake's 300 million cubic meters of water burst the barrier, Xinhua reported. The massive relief effort, which involves providing food, tents and clothing for millions, some in isolated villages and the reconstruction of housing and infrastructure are expected to take up to three years http://Activeenglish.biz

May 26th 2008: After Shock Quake destroys 70,000:Voice in China

Maggi Carstairs — Mon, 26 May 2008 02:52:49 GMT

May 26th 2008: Voice in China A strong aftershock has jolted southwestern China, killing at least two people, destroying 70,000 homes and rattling millions still reeling from the massive earthquake two weeks ago. Yesterday's aftershock - the strongest to hit Sichuan province since the devastating May 12 quake - came as the death toll from the initial tremor topped 62,500, and as more foreign aid poured into the disaster zone. Relief workers raced to reach those in need as the already tough conditions for millions of survivors living in makeshift camps worsened, with rain falling throughout the day and forecasters predicting heavy downpours overnight. Yesterday's aftershock measured 6.4 on the Richter scale, an official with the Sichuan Earthquake Bureau said - making it the strongest since the 8.0 quake that destroyed large swaths of Sichuan two weeks ago. The US Geological Survey put the magnitude of yesterday's aftershock at 5.8. Two people were killed and more than 480 injured, 41 of them seriously, in the aftershock, with the city of Guangyuan, north of the provincial capital, Chengdu An earthquake relief official in Guangyuan, Wang Fei, was quoted by Xinhua as saying about 71,300 homes had collapsed there, and more than 200,000 others were in danger of collapsing. The quake - which struck mid-afternoon was centered about 250km northeast of Chengdu - sent people fleeing from buildings. "Houses started to shake and everybody went out into the street," Chengdu resident Lou Taiyi said. "We were thinking (May 12) was behind us but it is continuing." The aftershock compounded fears of further destruction stemming from the May 12 disaster - the worst earthquake in China in more than 30 years. The government said the quake had left 69 dams in danger of bursting and created "dangerous situations" at hundreds of others. E Jingping, vice-minister of water resources, said in Beijing that authorities had taken a number of steps to alleviate the danger; including draining or lowering the water levels at hundreds of reservoirs. The death toll continued to rise, with the government putting the figure today at 62,664, with another 23,775 listed as missing. Aid continued to pour into the region for the more than 5.4 million homeless survivors and more than 11 million people who China says are expected to be evacuated from quake-hit areas to temporary camps. A Russian military transport plane carrying tents, blankets, field hospitals and other supplies landed in Chengdu, state media reports said - one of 12 Russian aid flights expected. A French medical team also arrived in Chengdu and headed for Guangyuan to help treat quake victims there, members said. On the home front, President Hu Jintao urged workers at a factory making pre-fabricated housing in central Hubei province to "go all out and complete the order early, so as to support the earthquake relief work", Xinhua said. Although state media reported an 80-year-old man was pulled from the rubble on Friday, rescue teams have admitted the search for survivors was over, with the focus now on clean-up and reconstruction operations. "I think we have a lot of work to do today, but it will be only finding dead bodies. I don't think there are any more survivors," Saad Attia, a member of a Dutch team combing through the rubble in the town of Hanwang, said. Grief turned to anger for about two dozen parents of children killed in the quake, who staged a rare protest today demanding a probe into whether shoddy school construction was to blame for the deaths of their children. State media has said 9000 teachers or schoolchildren were among the dead and missing. The government has vowed to investigate and punish anyone found responsible http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23757861-401,00.html http://Activeenglish.biz

Meaning of Flowers: Lotus or Water Lily: The Voice

Maggi Carstairs — Sun, 25 May 2008 10:15:04 GMT

Meaning of Flowers: Lotus: Water Lily The Lotus flower is symbolic of rebirth, but in addition to its religious meaning, the lotus is also a symbol of all that is true, good and beautiful, representing good fortune, peace and enlightenment. Lotuses or water lilies are often portrayed in Chinese and Japanese art and traditional woodblock prints. Indian art and carving also, has the lotus flower as a prominent reoccurring design motif. Lotus flowers have strong symbolic ties to many Asian religions especially in India. Within Hinduism and Buddhism the lotus flower has become a symbol for awakening to the spiritual reality of life. The meaning varies slightly between the religions, but essentially both religious traditions place importance on the lotus flower. In modern times the meaning of a lotus flower links closely with the religious symbolism and meaning. A lotus represents life in general. As the lotus flower grows up from the mud into an object of great beauty, people also grow and change into something more beautiful. So the symbol represents the struggle of life at its most basic form Lotus flower symbols are also popular for people who have gone through a hard time and are now coming out of it. Like the flower they have been at the bottom in the muddy pond, but have risen above this to be an object of beauty or represent a life of beauty as the case might be. Thus a lotus flower or blossom can also represent a hard time in life that has been overcome. Lotus flower and peonies are also two flowers that are very popular among Japanese and Chinese artists, and they make a great compliment to Koi Fish patterns. Two koi fish and lotus flowers can often be found in the same pond in front of a temple. The Koi fish is a symbol typically for strength and individualism. Wear a Lotus for Good Luck and as a Symbol Life. http://www.cafepress.com/Flowerworld

Travel China...Tianzhu Mountain...Anhui Province...China

Maggi Carstairs — Sat, 24 May 2008 02:16:20 GMT

http://www.cafepress.com/ladymaggic Tianzhu Mountain is also known as the Wan Mountain. It is located in the Qianshan County, in the Anhui Province of China. The highest peak is called “Tianzhu Peak”, because it’s like a giant pillar soaring into the sky. In 106 BC, Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty named Tianzhu Mountain as “the Southern Mountain” after he had climbed it. The name was changed by the Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty to “Ancient Southern Mountain” The Mountain was called Mountain Wan and the river was called River Wan. So “Wan” is a short name for Anhui Province. The main scenic area of 82.46 square kilometers is divided into eight major scenic areas. In these areas, the peaks are all magnificent, the stones are all odd, the caves are tranquil, and the rivers are serene. It is rich in natural scenery. The mountain has the majestic beauty of the northern mountains and the elegance of the southern mountains. Tianzhu Mountain was listed as one of the China’s main Scenic Spots in 1982, and listed as a National Forest Park in 1992. There are many famous landscapes such as Mysterious Valley which was listed as “the China’s No. 1 Secret Place of Granite Caves”. Tianzhu is the Third Patriarch Temple of the Third Generation Chan Patriarch, the World Famous Ancient Boulder Hole with cliff carvings, and the path of the Qian River called the first drift of Jianghuai. It was the location for the story “Peacocks flying south and East” which created some beautiful imagery and unforgettable memories. You will understand the meaning of “cut a bold and successful figure” when you come to the red well where sisters of Joes dressed their hair and clothing in the Dynasty of the Three Kingdoms. This area was the inspiration to many famous men of literature and writing: Wang Anshi, Su Shi and Huang Tingjian. It is the hometown of the founder of Beijing Opera ¨Cheng Changgeng, the famous writer of traditional Chinese novels-Zhang Henshui, the acrobatic queen-Xia Juhua and the new star of Huangmei Opera -Han Zaifen. The landscape of Tianzhu Mountain is extraordinarily unique and beautiful. Every Peak is odd, every stone is unusual, every cave is tranquil, and every river is elegant. The landscape is Natural and created by Nature with uniqueness that is unsurpassed. The Natural setting provides some unique places for contemplation and delight. The great poet of the Tang Dynasty Bai Juyi once praised the scenery in one of his poems: “the heavenly pillar reaches the sun and the moon and the cave that’s thousands of feet wide blocks thunders.” The famous poet Li Bai also said that: “After my alchemy is finished successfully, I want become a recluse in the mountain.” Su Dongpo said that: “I love the local conditions and customs of Shu State best all my life, I want be a recluse here when I am old.” They all considered the mountain as an inspiration and an ideal place to live in. The mountain both has a magnificent pillar-like shape with 45 marvelous peaks. It is rich in exotic pine trees, queer stones, flowing waterfalls, valleys, tranquil caves, strategic passes and old forts. The third-largest artificial alpine lake “Alchemy Lake” is also located in this area. The eye cannot take it all in—too many things for the eye to see and too beautiful to be absorbed all at once. http://Activeenglish.biz http://www.cafepress.com/ladymaggic

Chine Post Quake Challenge:5 Million Homeless: Voice in China:21 May 2008

Maggi Carstairs — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:20:33 GMT

China Post Quake Challenge: 5 Million Homeless RED CROSS APPEAL To help thousands of people affected by the Chinese earthquake and the Burmese cyclone, please visit the American Red Cross China is grappling with the next massive task in the aftermath of its earthquake — how to shelter the 5 million people left homeless. The government issued an urgent appeal Tuesday for tents and brought in the first foreign teams of doctors and field hospitals, some of whom were swapping out with overseas search and rescue specialists…in the response to China's worst disaster in three decades from an emergency stage to one of recovery — and for many, enduring hardship. The May 12 earthquake's confirmed death toll rose to more than 40,000, with at least 10,000 more deaths expected, and officials said more than 32,000 people were missing. The State Council, China's Cabinet, said 80 percent of the bodies found in Sichuan province had been either cremated or buried. Rescues — becoming more remarkable by the hour — continued on the eighth day since the quake, but the trickle of earlier days had slowed to a drip. A 60-year-old woman was pulled from the rubble of a collapsed temple in the city of Pengzhou 195 hours after the quake, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Wang Youqun suffered only a hip fracture and bruises on her face during her eight days in the rubble, Hong Kong-based Phoenix Satellite Television reported, citing air force officer Xie Linglong. Jiang said 5 million people were homeless and that the government was setting up temporary housing for victims unable to find shelter with relatives. He said nearly 280,000 tents had been shipped to the area and 700,000 more ordered and that factories were ramping up to meet demand. Sichuan's governor said 3 million tents were needed. In the An Xian camp, more people are expected to show up in the next few days as more survivors make their way down from the mountains, Yang said. Some 500 people are either dead or missing from the Chaping area's main town, which still has about 1,800 survivors living in the mountains, he said. Many of them, like Chen, made the 10-hour-plus hike down from the mountains with only the clothes they were wearing. The clinic is staffed by eight physicians and six nurses — all volunteers with China's Red Cross. Running from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., the medical staff sees about 1,000 patients a day, said Dr. Ye Mao, a surgeon from Guangdong province. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080520/ap_on_re_as/china_earthquake

May 19th 2008: Earthquake AfterShocks: Death toll 32,477

Maggi Carstairs — Mon, 19 May 2008 03:32:57 GMT

May 19th 2008: Today's News: A Voice in The World Troops Hike to Quake-Buried Chinese Villages The confirmed death toll from China's earthquake rose Sunday to 32,477, the state-run Xinhua news agency said, citing the government's disaster relief headquarters. The search for survivors in the rubble of China's powerful earthquake grew bleak Sunday, with rescuers in some areas no longer listening for trapped victims. - A powerful aftershock rattled China's southwest early Sunday, hampering frantic efforts to find earthquake survivors and help nearly five million people facing the risk of disease and flood. The region has suffered at least 24 aftershocks of 5.0 or above on the Richter scale since last Monday's initial 7.9-magnitude quake http://Activeenglish.biz http://Activeenglishspeaking.com http://M-carstairs.com/ebooks http://M-carstairs.com/desertart http://Ladymaggic.podomatic.com Quote for the Day: "It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in an argument"

May 16th 2008: Quake Toll 50,000: A Voice in China

Maggi Carstairs — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:04:38 GMT

May 16th 2008: A Voice in China Quake Death toll could more than double to 50,000 Troops dug burial pits in this quake-shattered town and black smoke poured from crematorium chimneys elsewhere in central China as priorities began shifting Thursday from the hunt for survivors to dealing with the dead. Officials said the final toll could more than double to 50,000 As the massive military-led recovery operation inched farther into regions cut off by Monday's quake, the government sought to enlist the public's help with an appeal for everything from hammers to cranes and, in a turnabout, began accepting foreign aid missions, the first from regional rival Japan. Millions of survivors left homeless or too terrified to go indoors faced their fourth night under tarpaulins, tents or nothing at all as workers patched roads and cleared debris to reach more outlying towns in the disaster zone Fears about damage to a major dam in the quake zone appeared to ease. The Zipingpu dam had reportedly suffered cracks from the disaster, but there was no repair work or extra security at the dam … indicating the threat to the structure had likely passed. Public criticism grew over the number of childred killed or missing because their school buildings were destroyed in the quake. Education and housing officials took questions online from angry Chinese citizens. The government also said it would investigate why so many school buildings collapsed and severely punish anyone responsible for shoddy construction. Experts said hope was quickly fading for anyone still caught in the wreckage of homes, schools, offices and factories that collapsed in the magnitude-7.9 quake, the most powerful in three decades in quake-prone China. Generally speaking, anyone buried in an earthquake can survive without water and food for three days," said Gu Linsheng, a researcher with Tsinghua University's Emergency Management Research Center. "After that, it's usually a miracle for anyone to survive." Thick black smoke streamed from the crematorium's pair of chimneys as families cleaned and dressed the dead in funeral clothes, including fresh socks and sneakers for children. Fireworks were set off every few minutes and families burned incense, candles and spirit money. Such traditions meant to send the dead peacefully into the afterlife were once banned by the communist authorities but have revived in recent years with free-market reforms and rising prosperity. Burial, which likewise the government once tried to stamp out, has become common in the countryside, although still difficult for people in crowded cities. In an appeal posted on its Web site, the Ministry of Information Industry called on the Chinese to donate rescue equipment including hammers, shovels, demolition tools and rubber boats — 100 cranes were also needed, it said. After initially refusing offers of foreign aid workers, China welcomed a Japanese rescue team. Made up of firefighters, police, coast guard and aid officials, the first half of the team arrived in Beijing on Thursday and would head to the disaster area Friday…Russian, South Korean and Singaporean teams would join soon. http://Activeenglish.biz http://Activeenglishspeaking.com

May 15th 2008: Myanmar Death Toll: Child Traffickers

Maggi Carstairs — Wed, 14 May 2008 23:30:50 GMT

May 15th 2008: News Happens: A Voice in China Myanmar Cyclone Death Toll as high as 128,000 The Red Cross estimated Wednesday that the cyclone death toll in Myanmar could be as high as 128,000 — a much higher figure than the government tally. The U.N. warned a second wave of deaths will follow unless the military regime lets in more aid quickly. Heavy rains drenched the devastated Irrawaddy River delta, disrupting aid operations already struggling to reach up to 2.5 million people in urgent need of food, water and shelter. Myanmar's government issued a revised casualty toll Wednesday night, saying 38,491 were known dead and 27,838 were missing. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, however, said its estimate put the number of dead between 68,833 and 127,990. The Geneva-based body said the range came from a compilation based on other estimates from 22 different organizations, the Myanmar Red Cross Society, and on media reports. The Red Cross estimated the number of people needing help after cyclone surged over the low-lying delta on May 3 at between 1.64 million and 2.51 million. But the junta still refused to accept help from foreign aid experts. The World Food Program would need 55,000 tons of rice to feed 750,000 people for three months, but they had been able to ship in only 361 tons so far Traffickers target Child Cyclone Survivors Two suspects have already been arrested. The children, among up to two million people struggling to survive without enough clean water, food or shelter in the aftermath of the storm, were approached last week in Rangoon by recruiters. Child traffickers are targeting the youngest and most vulnerable survivors of Burma's children, who had been separated from their parents, and who were possibly orphans, were now facing the threat of violence on top of the everyday struggle to find enough food and water Traffickers can easily get hold of unaccompanied or separated children and tell them they'll lead a better life or be safe.'' Another unconfirmed report of people looking in camps to recruit girls to work as domestic workers - a typical ruse for traffickers - was being investigated by a church organization today http://Activeenglish.biz http://Activeenglishspeaking.com

May 15th 2008: Thousands buried alive in China Earthquake

Maggi Carstairs — Wed, 14 May 2008 23:24:29 GMT

May 15th 2008: A Voice in China: Today in News Thousands Buried alive in China’s Earthquake • 7.8 magnitude earthquake hits southwest China • Buildings collapse, thousands killed • YouTube clips show quake's fury • China earthquake: Devastation in pictures CHINA has mobilized more than 50,000 soldiers to help victims of the country's worst earthquake in 30 years, with tens of thousands dead, missing or trapped under crushed houses, schools and factories. Video Shows the China Earthquake Exclusive footage shot by John Dkar, a Peruvian resident of Chengdu, and obtained by AP Television News shows the terrifying first moments of Monday's quake as he motorbiked with friends in the hills outside the city. China Quake shows Flaws in Buildings Modern apartment buildings and schools crumbled, smoothly paved highways buckled and bridges collapsed — their flimsy construction no match for the awesome forces of nature. As the death toll soars from the powerful earthquake that ravaged central China's Sichuan province, the scale of the devastation is raising questions about the quality of China's recent construction boom. "This building is just a piece of junk," one newly homeless resident of Dujiangyan yelled. Her family salvaged clothing and mementos from their wrecked apartment, built when their older home was razed 10 years ago…. as the widespread devastation from Monday's quake shows, the pell-mell pace has led some builders to cut corners, especially in outlying areas largely populated by the very young and the very old. "China has been taking earthquake safety very seriously in the past 10 to 20 years," said Susan Tubbesing, head of the California-based Earthquake Engineering Research Institute. "From what I understand, the codes China has adopted in the past 20 years have been good, solid, seismic codes." Chinese building codes are designed according to the level of shaking expected from a major temblor, said Claire Souch, senior director of model management at the consulting firm Risk Management Solutions, which is working with the Chinese to assess the damage. In Sichuan province, new buildings are built to withstand a shaking level of 7, Souch said. But the magnitude-7.9 quake produced a shaking intensity of 10 near the epicenter, which usually results in total collapses. http://Activeenglish.biz http://Activeenglishspeaking.com

Troops Hike to Quake-Buried Chinese Villages: May 14th 2008:A Voice in China

Maggi Carstairs — Wed, 14 May 2008 01:23:42 GMT

May 14th 2008: Troops Hike to Quake-Buried Chinese Villages Soldiers hiking over landslide-blocked roads reached the epicenter of China's devastating earthquake Tuesday, pulling bodies and a few survivors from collapsed buildings. The death toll of more than 12,000 is certain to rise as the buried are found Rescuers worked through steady rain as they searched wrecked towns. Tens of thousands of homeless spent a second night outdoors. Mianyang with 700,000 people — home to the headquarters of China's nuclear weapons industry — was turned into a refugee camp, with residents sleeping outdoors. The first wave of 200 troops entered the town of Wenchuan, across damaged roads and over mudslides. Reports from soldiers said one nearby town could account for only 2,300 survivors out of 9,000 people. At least 12,012 deaths occurred in Sichuan alone while another 323 died in five other provinces. That toll will rise as rescue teams reach affected towns. The devastation has strained local governments. Food was low on the shelves of the few stores that remained open. Gasoline was scarce, with long lines outside some stations and pumps marked "empty." Buses carried survivors away from Beichuan, which was flattened — a few buildings standing amid piles of rubble in a narrow valley with more than 10,000 people packed in Mianyang's Gymnasium. "I saw rocks and earth rolling down the hill, and they destroyed whatever they hit below," said a farmer, from the village of Leigu. In the provincial capital of Chengdu, FM-91.4 all-traffic radio station operated around the clock, reading text messages sent by survivors of stricken areas to let relatives know they are alive. The government's high-gear response aimed to reassure Chinese. Although the government said it welcomed outside aid, officials said that the assistance would be confined to money and supplies, not to foreign personnel. As Prime Minister Wen Jiabao traveled the disaster area and relief efforts, 20,000 soldiers and police arrived, with 30,000 more to come "We will save the people," Wen said through a bullhorn to survivors in Shifang, where two chemical plants collapsed and buried more than 600 people. "As long as the people are there, factories can be built into even better ones, and so can the towns and counties." The Finance Ministry said it had allocated $123 million in quake aid. At the world famous Wolong National Nature Reserve, all 86 pandas were reported safe. A group of 31 British tourists panda-watching in the preserve also returned safely to Chengdu, but there was no word as yet on 12 missing Americans on a World Wildlife Fund tour. Hopes for survivors in the quake zone were low. 58 people were pulled from demolished buildings to date. Weeping parents held a vigil in a steady outside a collapsed school in the town of Juyuan, where more than 900 high school students were trapped. Only one survivor was found: a girl pulled free by rescue team. Bowing to public calls, Beijing Olympics organizers scaled down the ongoing torch relay, saying Wednesday's leg in Ruijin will begin with a minute of silence. People along the route scheduled for next month, will be asked for donations. In the areas around Mianyang, more than 7,300 people died and another 18,000 were believed trapped in rubble, most in Beichuan. CCTV showed the six-story Beichuan Hotel with half its first story collapsed. Medical teams tried to treat the wounded in dirty courtyards littered with broken furniture and concrete. Though Wen and others called for air drops of emergency supplies to hard-to-reach areas, rain impeded efforts for a second day, and Xinhua said a group of Para-troopers called off a rescue mission. Strong aftershocks — one of magnitude-6 hit Chengdu, the region's busy commercial center. Expressions of sympathy and offers of help poured in from Japan and the European Union. Russia was sending 30 tons of relief supplies. Chinese President Hu Jintao discussed the disaster by phone with President Bush. The U.S. is offering an initial $500,000 in relief in anticipation of an appeal by the International Red Cross. While welcoming the support, the Chinese government suggested that aid should be confined to supplies and money, not foreign personnel. "We welcome funds and supplies. We can't accommodate personnel at this point," Wang Zhenyao, the Civil Affairs Ministry's top disaster relief official, told reporters in Beijing. The Dalai Lama offered prayers for the victims. The epicenter skirts the Tibetan highlands, where some communities staged anti-government protests in March. Seismologists said the quake was on a level the region sees once every 50 to 100 years. The region's last strong quake was in 1933, when a magnitude 7.5 quake killed more than 9,300 people. Monday's quake was triggered by built up stress. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080513/ap_on_re_as/china_earthquake Quake survivors dismayed CNN http://Activeenglishbiz http://Activeenglishspeaking.com

China Earthquake Death Toll 8,700: Voice in China: 13 May 2008

Maggi Carstairs — Mon, 12 May 2008 23:36:23 GMT

May 13th 2008: Today: English Voice from China China quake death toll rises above 8,700 A powerful earthquake toppled buildings, schools and a chemical plant Monday in central China, killing more than 8,700 people and trapping untold numbers in mounds of concrete, steel and earth in the worst quake in three decades The 7.9-magnitude quake devastated a region of small cities and towns set amid steep hills north of Sichuan's provincial capital of Chengdu. Striking in midafternoon, it emptied office buildings across the country in Beijing and could be felt as far away as Vietnam. In the town of Juyuan, south of the epicenter, a three-story high school collapsed, burying as many as 900 students and killing at least 50....Buried teenagers struggling to break free from the rubble, "while others were crying out for help," Families waited in the rain near the wreckage as rescuers wrote the names of the dead on a blackboard In Chengdu, it crashed telephone networks and hours later left parts of the city of 10 million in darkness. 8,533 people died in Sichuan alone and 216 others in three other provinces. In Beichuan county, 80 percent of the buildings fell, and 10,000 people were injured, aside from 3,000 to 5,000 dead. The quake was the deadliest since one in 1976 in the city of Tangshan near Beijing that killed 240,000 — although some reports say as many as 655,000 perished — the most devastating in modern history. A 1933 quake near where Monday's struck killed at least 9,000, according to geologists. http://Activeenglish.biz http://Activeenglishspeaking.com http://M-carstairs.com/ebooks http://M-carstairs.com/desertart http://Ladymaggic.podomatic.com

May12th 2008: English Voice in China: Viral Infection

Maggi Carstairs — Mon, 12 May 2008 02:57:28 GMT

English Voice in China: 12 May 2008 Virus Infection in China: US Offer to Help BEIJING - The United States is offering to help China in its fight against a viral infection that has killed 34 children, and sickened thousands of others. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, is making a trip to Beijing next week and plans to discuss health issues with Chinese officials, with the outbreaks of hand, foot and mouth disease expected to feature prominently. The scope and volume of infections brings to mind the SARS epidemic of 2003, when China was criticized internationally for trying to conceal the emergence of the disease. American health experts have previously helped study and control infectious diseases like SARS. Chinese officials have said the outbreaks will not affect the Beijing Olympics in August. The latest deaths occurred in the hardest-hit central province of Anhui, where 22 children have died of hand, foot and mouth disease. Fuyang city is where the first wave of outbreaks was recorded. As of late Thursday, the number of reported cases countrywide jumped to 24,932, up 25 percent from 19,962 a day earlier. Health experts have said they expect the number of reported infections to rise as a result of a Ministry of Health order this week requiring health care providers to report infections within 24 hours. The disease is expected to peak in the hot months of June and July. http://Activeenglish.biz

Mothers Day Gift: Prayer Garden: China Recipes

Maggi Carstairs — Sun, 11 May 2008 07:43:00 GMT

May 11th 2008: Today: English Voice from China http://Activeenglish.biz http://Activeenglishspeaking.com http://M-carstairs.com/ebooks http://M-carstairs.com/desertart http://Ladymaggic.podomatic.com This has been a very exciting week. I have started writing E-Books again and have 2 for you to view on my website, which I cannot view in China but which you can view if you are out of China. There are two new books added Easy to Cook: China Quotes: For the Thinking Man http://M-carstairs.com/ebooks Happy Mothers Day for all those with Mothers or who are Mothers My gift to you is “The Prayer Garden”… shared by Mary from Texas It is also on the Inspirations Forum at ActiveEnglish if you need it at any time. ActiveEnglishSpeaking is now in action with a few starting lessons and you can learn both English and Chinese. The lessons are progressive and you can work at your own pace and take your own time. There will be 12 lessons per unit and a total of 48 lessons per course, with a text book published at the end of the lessons…once they have been written. You are invited to share these links with anyone wishing to learn to speak English or Chinese. Korean, Dutch and Spanish lessons will be added at a later stage…when I find the teachers. If you wish to teach these languages, or any other, please contact me. It’s Ilona’s Birthday this week…Happy Birthday Ilona. If you want me to remember your birthday, please add it to this free link Click on the link below and please enter your birthday for me. I am creating a birthday list of all my friends and family. http://www.birthdayalarm.com/dob/65580016a207038596b363 Quote: Happy is the Man who can forget what Cannot be altered

May 6th News: English Voice in China

Maggi Carstairs — Tue, 06 May 2008 13:11:14 GMT

May 6th2008: News Headlines: English Voice in China YANGON, Myanmar - The death toll from the cyclone that battered Myanmar last weekend rose above 22,000, as the international community prepared to rush in aid. News broadcast on government-run radio said that 22,464 people have now been confirmed dead from Cyclone Nargis, which tore through the country's rice bowl and biggest city of Yangon early Saturday. The broadcast added that thousands more are missing. Relief efforts for the stricken area, mostly in the low-lying Irrawaddy River delta, have been difficult, in large part because of the destruction of roads and communications outlets by the storm. Saturday's vote on a military-backed draft constitution would be delayed until May 24, in 40 of 45 townships in the Yangon area and seven in the Irrawaddy delta, which took the brunt of the weekend storm…It indicated that the balloting would proceed in other areas as scheduled. The U.N. World Food Program, which was preparing to fly in food supplies, offered a grim assessment of the destruction: up to a million people possibly homeless, some villages almost totally destroyed and vast rice-growing areas wiped out. "We hope to fly in more assistance within the next 48 hours," WFP spokesman Paul Risley said in Bangkok. "The challenge will be getting to the affected areas with road blockages everywhere." Based on a satellite map made available by the United Nations, the storm's damage was concentrated over about a 11,600-square-mile (30,000-square-kilometer) area along the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Martaban coastlines — less than 5 percent of the country. But the affected region is home to nearly a quarter of Myanmar's 57 million people. Quote: "Enthusiasm spells the difference between mediocrity and accomplishment." - Norman Vincent Peale

April 29th 2008; English Voice in China: News

Maggi Carstairs — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:46:24 GMT

April 29th 2008 News Headlines: English Voice in China Olympic Torch in Vietnam …Chinese officials are holding China’s flag to welcome the torch in Ho Chi Minh City IOC president Jacques Rogge told Western countries to stop hectoring China over human rights in the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Games…You don't obtain anything in China with a loud voice," Rogge said. "That is the big mistake of people in the West wanting to add their views. To keep face is of paramount importance. All the Chinese specialists will tell you that only one thing works -- respectful, quiet, firm discussion. The inquiry into the constitutionality and propriety of the joint marine seismic undertaking, (JMSU) the Philippines entered into, with China and Vietnam, around the Kalayaan islands in the South China Sea may have to wait Hundreds flee raging fires…At least 400 homes were evacuated near Los Angeles and a wedding party was trapped at a campsite Train Collision …Two passenger trains collided in Eastern China's Shandong Province Monday morning, killing at least 70 and injuring 420…One train on its way from Beijing to Qingdao, a city in eastern China, derailed and crashed into a train which was traveling from the Shandong city of Yantai to Xuzhou Copyright Target…The Bush administration is accusing China, Russia and seven other nations of failing to protect American producers of movies, computer software and other copyrighted material from widespread piracy Quote of the Day: “ Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein." -- H. Jackson Brown Newsletter Number 7: Today Today: English Voice in China Number 7, 27 April 2008 News Headlines http://Activeenglishbiz http://Ladymaggic.podomatic.com Radio Show Interview: Listen to the Interview of Maggi Carstairs by Liu Hengyi http://www.ahradio.com.cn/fm955/system/2008/04/14/000020396.shtml Photos of China: National Geographic Images of the Great Wall of China Free E-Books Download: Download our free audio book of the month for April: the Book of Proverbs. Dare to Dream: Follow Your Goals: This week's edition of Dare To Dream I'd like to share with you an important strategy that will help you to follow through on your goals. To read the full article please visit: http://www.anthonyfernando.com/2008/04/16/slip-dont-fall/ Basketball Slideshow: April 27th 2008 http://picasaweb.google.com/Ladymaggic/BasketballApril27thHefei New English Teaching Website… http://Activeenglishspeaking.com Subscribe for learning both English and Chinese Please share the link with those you know are looking to learn English or Chinese online. The Course will feature Robot teachers for 24 hour conversation, and self paced lessons. "If you don't see yourself as a winner, then you cannot perform as a winner." by Zig Ziglar

25th April 2008: News Headlines: English Voice in China

Maggi Carstairs — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:33:18 GMT

April 25th 2008: News Headlines: English Voice in China Thousands of people have gathered at Anzac Day dawn services around the country this morning, to mark the 93rd anniversary of Australian and New Zealand troops landing at Gallipoli. http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/413551/1693587 Australia’s last World War 1 Digger in for a quiet day…Australia's last surviving World War I soldier, Jack Ross, will be enjoying a quiet Anzac Day with his daughter at his nursing home in Bendigo, Victoria, this Friday…Mr. Ross, turned 109 in March Baby selling in Vietnam… brokers were scouring villages for babies, hospitals selling infants, and a grandmother giving away her grandchild… more than 1,200 Vietnamese children adopted over the 18 months ending March 31. In 2007, adoptions surged more than 400 percent from a year earlier, with 828 Vietnamese children adopted by American families You need to talk to your baby…up to 17,000 words a day...higher IQ…watch the video… http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?cl=7518708 France wants European Union to decide about boycotting the Opening Games ceremony…Sarkozy said he could boycott the ceremony in response to China's crackdown on demonstrators in Tibet last month, but he has softened his tone since protests broke out last weekend in front of French-owned supermarkets throughout China The Torch in Japan... arrived in an airbus with the slogan, ‘Journey of Harmony’…athletes will ceremoniously run the torch through Nagano, the site of the 1998 Winter Olympics Cloned sniffer dogs being trained in Seoul…The dogs were born five to six months ago after being separately cloned from a skilled drug-sniffing canine in active service. Cloning work was conducted by a team of Seoul National University scientists who in 2005 created the world's first known dog clone, an Afghan hound named Snuppy…led by Professor Lee Byeong-chun Quote: Lest We Forget In Flanders Fields Lieut-Col John McCrae, 1915 In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amidst the guns below. http://Activeenglish.biz http://Activeenglishspeaking.com

In Flanders Fields: Poetry Recording : Anzac Day

Maggi Carstairs — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 02:39:51 GMT

http://www.ladymaggic.mastersitebuilder.com/page/page/5802371.htm In Flanders Fields In Flanders Fields the poppies blow Between the crosses row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders Fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders Fields. http://Activeenglish.biz

April 23rd 2008: News Headlines: English Voice in China

Maggi Carstairs — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 01:59:37 GMT

April 23rd 2008: News Headlines: English Voice in China Olympic Torch lands in Australia ready for the torch relay through Canberra tomorrow China Re-educates to counter “Dalai Clique”… Tibet Daily, an official newspaper, heralded the launch of a two-month campaign "to fight separatism, maintain stability and promote development". Clinton wins Pennsylvania primary…defeats Barrack Obana and gains support World Oil Prices jump to record $119 peak in response to the weak US dollar HE Euro hit a record high of $US1.5993 today after weak US housing market data added to concerns over the US economic outlook ALL television networks will receive a live feed of Anzac Day's Gallipoli Dawn Service at the same time on 25th April…The Gallipoli dawn service will be screened on ABC1 at 1pm (AEST) on Friday. Veterans' Affairs minister Alan Griffin said he was glad the matter had been resolved so that young Australians could learn about the Anzac legend. JAPAN'S famed cherry trees have carried the hearts of a nation for centuries but they will soon enjoy another honor - their seeds being blasted into outer space Global Warming Help Needed for Sinking Maldives Islands …Maldives President says, “My people are blessed with one of the most beautiful settings that nature has to offer... To many people across the world, our shores have indeed become an earthly paradise. This paradise, though, is endangered,'' Quote: Success is failure turned inside out-- The silver tint of the clouds of doubt http://Activeenglisah.biz http://linkup.activeenglish.biz

Gift of The Magi:O'Henry:Short Story

Maggi Carstairs — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 04:57:08 GMT

http://www.auburn.edu/~vestmon/Gift_of_the_Magi.html One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one's cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty- seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas. There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. So Della did it. Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating. While the mistress of the home is gradually subsiding from the first stage to the second, take a look at the home. A furnished flat at $8 per week. It did not exactly beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the lookout for the mendicancy squad. In the vestibule below was a letter-box into which no letter would go, and an electric button from which no mortal finger could coax a ring. Also appertaining thereunto was a card bearing the name "Mr. James Dillingham Young." The "Dillingham" had been flung to the breeze during a former period of prosperity when its possessor was being paid $30 per week. Now, when the income was shrunk to $20, though, they were thinking seriously of contracting to a modest and unassuming D. But whenever Mr. James Dillingham Young came home and reached his flat above he was called "Jim" and greatly hugged by Mrs. James Dillingham Young, already introduced to you as Della. Which is all very good. Della finished her cry and attended to her cheeks with the powder rag. She stood by the window and looked out dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard. Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim a present. She had been saving every penny she could for months, with this result. Twenty dollars a week doesn't go far. Expenses had been greater than she had calculated. They always are. Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Her Jim. Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him. Something fine and rare and sterling--something just a little bit near to being worthy of the honor of being owned by Jim. There was a pier-glass between the windows of the room. Perhaps you have seen a pier-glass in an $8 flat. A very thin and very agile person may, by observing his reflection in a rapid sequence of longitudinal strips, obtain a fairly accurate conception of his looks. Della, being slender, had mastered the art. Suddenly she whirled from the window and stood before the glass. her eyes were shining brilliantly, but her face had lost its color within twenty seconds. Rapidly she pulled down her hair and let it fall to its full length. Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride. One was Jim's gold watch that had been his father's and his grandfather's. The other was Della's hair. Had the queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him pluck at his beard from envy. So now Della's beautiful hair fell about her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters. It reached below her knee and made itself almost a garment for her. And then she did it up again nervously and quickly. Once she faltered for a minute and stood still while a tear or two splashed on the worn red carpet. On went her old brown jacket; on went her old brown hat. With a whirl of skirts and with the brilliant sparkle still in her eyes, she fluttered out the door and down the stairs to the street. Where she stopped the sign read: "Mne. Sofronie. Hair Goods of All Kinds." One flight up Della ran, and collected herself, panting. Madame, large, too white, chilly, hardly looked the "Sofronie." "Will you buy my hair?" asked Della. "I buy hair," said Madame. "Take yer hat off and let's have a sight at the looks of it." Down rippled the brown cascade. "Twenty dollars," said Madame, lifting the mass with a practised hand. "Give it to me quick," said Della. Oh, and the next two hours tripped by on rosy wings. Forget the hashed metaphor. She was ransacking the stores for Jim's present. She found it at last. It surely had been made for Jim and no one else. There was no other like it in any of the stores, and she had turned all of them inside out. It was a platinum fob chain simple and chaste in design, properly proclaiming its value by substance alone and not by meretricious ornamentation--as all good things should do. It was even worthy of The Watch. As soon as she saw it she knew that it must be Jim's. It was like him. Quietness and value--the description applied to both. Twenty-one dollars they took from her for it, and she hurried home with the 87 cents. With that chain on his watch Jim might be properly anxious about the time in any company. Grand as the watch was, he sometimes looked at it on the sly on account of the old leather strap that he used in place of a chain. When Della reached home her intoxication gave way a little to prudence and reason. She got out her curling irons and lighted the gas and went to work repairing the ravages made by generosity added to love. Which is always a tremendous task, dear friends--a mammoth task. Within forty minutes her head was covered with tiny, close-lying curls that made her look wonderfully like a truant schoolboy. She looked at her reflection in the mirror long, carefully, and critically. "If Jim doesn't kill me," she said to herself, "before he takes a second look at me, he'll say I look like a Coney Island chorus girl. But what could I do--oh! what could I do with a dollar and eighty- seven cents?" At 7 o'clock the coffee was made and the frying-pan was on the back of the stove hot and ready to cook the chops. Jim was never late. Della doubled the fob chain in her hand and sat on the corner of the table near the door that he always entered. Then she heard his step on the stair away down on the first flight, and she turned white for just a moment. She had a habit for saying little silent prayer about the simplest everyday things, and now she whispered: "Please God, make him think I am still pretty." The door opened and Jim stepped in and closed it. He looked thin and very serious. Poor fellow, he was only twenty-two--and to be burdened with a family! He needed a new overcoat and he was without gloves. Jim stopped inside the door, as immovable as a setter at the scent of quail. His eyes were fixed upon Della, and there was an expression in them that she could not read, and it terrified her. It was not anger, nor surprise, nor disapproval, nor horror, nor any of the sentiments that she had been prepared for. He simply stared at her fixedly with that peculiar expression on his face. Della wriggled off the table and went for him. "Jim, darling," she cried, "don't look at me that way. I had my hair cut off and sold because I couldn't have lived through Christmas without giving you a present. It'll grow out again--you won't mind, will you? I just had to do it. My hair grows awfully fast. Say `Merry Christmas!' Jim, and let's be happy. You don't know what a nice-- what a beautiful, nice gift I've got for you." "You've cut off your hair?" asked Jim, laboriously, as if he had not arrived at that patent fact yet even after the hardest mental labor. "Cut it off and sold it," said Della. "Don't you like me just as well, anyhow? I'm me without my hair, ain't I?" Jim looked about the room curiously. "You say your hair is gone?" he said, with an air almost of idiocy. "You needn't look for it," said Della. "It's sold, I tell you--sold and gone, too. It's Christmas Eve, boy. Be good to me, for it went for you. Maybe the hairs of my head were numbered," she went on with sudden serious sweetness, "but nobody could ever count my love for you. Shall I put the chops on, Jim?" Out of his trance Jim seemed quickly to wake. He enfolded his Della. For ten seconds let us regard with discreet scrutiny some inconsequential object in the other direction. Eight dollars a week or a million a year--what is the difference? A mathematician or a wit would give you the wrong answer. The magi brought valuable gifts, but that was not among them. This dark assertion will be illuminated later on. Jim drew a package from his overcoat pocket and threw it upon the table. "Don't make any mistake, Dell," he said, "about me. I don't think there's anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less. But if you'll unwrap that package you may see why you had me going a while at first." White fingers and nimble tore at the string and paper. And then an ecstatic scream of joy; and then, alas! a quick feminine change to hysterical tears and wails, necessitating the immediate employment of all the comforting powers of the lord of the flat. For there lay The Combs--the set of combs, side and back, that Della had worshipped long in a Broadway window. Beautiful combs, pure tortoise shell, with jewelled rims--just the shade to wear in the beautiful vanished hair. They were expensive combs, she knew, and her heart had simply craved and yearned over them without the least hope of possession. And now, they were hers, but the tresses that should have adorned the coveted adornments were gone. But she hugged them to her bosom, and at length she was able to look up with dim eyes and a smile and say: "My hair grows so fast, Jim!" And them Della leaped up like a little singed cat and cried, "Oh, oh!" Jim had not yet seen his beautiful present. She held it out to him eagerly upon her open palm. The dull precious metal seemed to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent spirit. "Isn't it a dandy, Jim? I hunted all over town to find it. You'll have to look at the time a hundred times a day now. Give me your watch. I want to see how it looks on it." Instead of obeying, Jim tumbled down on the couch and put his hands under the back of his head and smiled. "Dell," said he, "let's put our Christmas presents away and keep 'em a while. They're too nice to use just at present. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs. And now suppose you put the chops on." The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men--who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. O all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.

April 21st 2008: News Headlines:English Voice in China

Maggi Carstairs — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 04:29:16 GMT

April 21st 2008: News Headlines: English Voice in China Fresh protests broke out across China on Sunday in reaction to the Western media's coverage of China's handling of Tibet ahead of the Beijing Olympics. The latest demonstrations came after thousands of Chinese rallied Saturday in support of their country, with branches of the French retailer Carrefour heavily targeted. Carrefour has been hit by boycott calls following anti-Chinese protests on the Paris leg of the torch relay China trying to rein in a growing nationalistic fervor, urging its citizens to be "calm" and "rational" in the face of anti-Western protests against French retailer Carrefour. People's Daily newspaper, the official mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist Party, called on people to cherish patriotism "while expressing it in a rational way. As citizens, we have the responsibility to express our patriotic enthusiasm calmly and rationally and express patriotic aspiration in an orderly and legal manner," Thousands protest anti-China remarks outside CNN. Up to five thousand people gathered Saturday in front of the Hollywood offices of CNN to protest disparaging remarks about China made by one of the channel's commentators…pro-China protests were held across the world against what they see as disinformation of the Western media over China's recent crackdown in Tibet Poppy Theft in New Zealand…THIEVES in New Zealand have stolen more than 6000 poppy emblems that would have raised about $10,000 in Anzac Day collections in a theft that has disgusted and angered war veterans. Teams of university scientists backed by U.S. government funds hope to grow new skin, ears, muscles and other body tissue for troops injured in Iraq and Afghanistan… Over 900 people, men, some women with amputations of some kind or another since the start of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq Blood Pressure metabolism geographically mapped…already identified four such compounds that can be linked with blood pressure differences. Quote It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge. http://Activeenglish.biz http://Ladymaggic.mastersitebuilder.com http://Ladymaggic.typepad.com/news

April 19 2008: News Headlines: English Voice in China

Maggi Carstairs — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 23:25:43 GMT

April 19th 2008 News Headlines Pope Benedict XVI warned diplomats at the United Nations in New York, that international cooperation is needed to solve urgent problems…"crisis" because decisions rest in the hands of a few powerful nations. He said that respect for human rights, not violence, was the key to solving many of the world's problems Map of the Route of the Torch Torch is in Thailand…Thailand's Crown Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn looks at the Olympic torch during a ceremony in Bangkok April 18, 2008. Thailand's prime minister said Friday that Thais should be honored the Olympic torch is passing through their country Chinese youths protest outside a Carrefour hypermarket in Qingdao in east China's Shandong province Friday, calling for a boycott of French retail giant Carrefour… part of a nationalistic counterattack against protests that marred the Beijing Olympics' torch relay in Paris Taiwan’s Opposition Leader wins Taiwan Presidency setting the stage for warmer relations with China. The Nationalist Party's Ma Ying-jeou, won 58% of the Vote. Ma has promised to seek a peace treaty with Beijing and has called for an economic "common market" with the mainland. Polygamous Sect Belief in Texas is abusive…The belief system at a polygamous sect is abusive. Many of the women had children when they were minors, some as young as 13usive and teen girls do not resist early marriages because they are trained to be obedient and compliant The first typhoon to threaten China this year turned toward the southern island province of Hainan on Friday, forcing about 120,000 people to evacuate fish farms and low-lying areas. Neoguri, which means "raccoon" in Korean, was packing winds of up to 75 mph as it swirled across the South Sea and approached Hainan. The center of the typhoon was spotted 620 kilometers southeast of Sanya City in southern Hainan at 2 p.m. Wednesday, with winds of up to 119 km per hour Quote "Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." - Winston Churchill http://Activeenglish.biz http://Ladymaggic.podomatic.com

April 17th 2008 : News Headlines : ActiveEnglish Voice in China

Maggi Carstairs — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 04:45:46 GMT

http://Activeenglish.biz April 17 News Headlines: Active English Voice in China Torch Arrives in New Delhi despite tight Security and was carried off a plane by Suresh Kalmadi, the chief of the Indian Olympic Association. A total of 70 torch-bearers, including 45 current and former athletes, will carry the torch A blacktop road leading to the Mount Everest base camp was completed Wednesday and will be used when the Olympic torch is taken to the peak of the world's tallest mountain. The ascent to Everest's 29,035-foot summit is considered a highlight America…government plans to begin collecting DNA samples from anyone arrested by a federal law enforcement agency — a move intended to prevent violent crime…DNA would be collected through a cheek swab Olympic Stadium, the Birds Nest, gets a Modest Opening…The final touches on the $450 million, 91,000-seat stadium won't be completed until next month. Its unusual design was created by twisted steel beams that wrap around the exterior to resemble silver twigs binding a nest together. The icon of the Beijing Games, it's been called the best work produced by Switzerland-based architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron. East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta returned home Thursday to be greeted by huge crowds and tight security two months after nearly being shot dead in a rebel attack. Elders have sacrificed a pig and let loose a red-feathered rooster, which is running free in the large villa compound South Korea’s President Lee Myung Bak arrived in the U.S. on Tuesday, his first overseas trip since being elected president in December. Staff at the Sydney Opera House Wednesday sang "Happy Birthday" to Jorn Utzon, the Danish architect who created the famous harbourside building, to celebrate him turning 90. Utzon began work on the Opera House in 1957…The relationship between the man and the building has extended for more than 50 years Quote for the Day: “Recognition is the greatest motivator."

April 15 2008: Headlines: ActiveEnglish Voice in China

Maggi Carstairs — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:29:43 GMT

April 15 2008: News Headlines: Active English Voice in China Taiwan's President-elect Ma Ying-jeou received a huge gift over the weekend — support from China's leader for two of Ma's proposals that could boost tourism and the island's economic growth…opening up Taiwan to more Chinese tourists and allowing weekend charter flights. North Korean women who flee to China end up in a bureaucratic trap where their children are denied access to public education unless they are willing to risk breaking up their families…when Chinese and North Koreans register their children, they run the risk of exposing the mother, who then faces arrest and deportation Thousands cheered and some danced with traditional daggers along the Olympic torch's path through Oman's capital Monday, a festive greeting that contrasted with disrupting protests elsewhere on the flame's global journey People wait to watch the Olympic torch relay in Muscat April 14, 2008. The banner reads: "A lasting China-Oman friendship". How Hunger can Topple Regimes…Unrest over food prices in countries like Haiti is proving again the role of hunger in fomenting revolution. The headlines of the past month suggest that skyrocketing food prices are threatening the stability of a growing number of governments around the world. Quake in California…California faces an almost certain risk of being rocked by a strong earthquake by 2037…New calculations reveal there is a 99.7 percent chance a magnitude 6.7 quake or larger will strike in the next 30 years Two 19th century rhino horns stolen from a South African museum could be deadly if sold as a popular aphrodisiac because they are drenched in poison. Before the mid-twentieth century, taxidermy mounts were prepared by being soaked in arsenic and preserved from insect infestation through regular applications of DDT, both highly toxic poisons that retain their toxicity over time, Quote: “You cannot move forward unless you let go of where you are” http://Activeenglish.biz http://Ladymaggic.mastersitebuilder.com

April 14th 2008 : News Headlines

Maggi Carstairs — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 03:00:18 GMT

April 14 2008: News Headlines: English Voice in China Quentin Bryce from Queensland to be Australia’s first Female Governor General “Why won’t West Try to Understand China” asks Chinese Ambassador…She said that protests against the torch run had prompted younger Chinese to "begin a collective rethinking about the West." Argentina - Runners flanked by rows of security carried the Olympic torch past thousands of jubilant Argentines on Friday as China supporters in red windbreakers tried to reverse weeks of bad publicity for the host of the Summer Games Coal Mine Blast kills 14 in North East China Taiwan-China meeting between China’s President and Taiwan’s Vice President Elect, is seen as major ice-breaker and will pave the way for Trade and Transit links Local dancers perform in heavy rain during the Olympic torch relay in Dar es Salaam April 13, 2008. The Indian Ocean port hosted the Tanzanian leg of the Olympic torch relay this weekend The Olympic torch is expected to get a rare protest-free outing Monday in a parade through the capital of the Sultanate of Oman on the Middle Eastern leg of its journey to Beijing. The flame arrived in Muscat from Tanzania at 5.30am, and 80 athletes will relay the flame in a 12 mile run China’s Loyal Youth…Educated young Chinese, far from being embarrassed or upset by their government’s human-rights record, rank among the most patriotic, establishment-supporting people you’ll meet Iraq's government moved Sunday to restore discipline within the ranks of the security forces, sacking more than 1,300 soldiers and policemen who deserted during recent fighting against Shiite militias in Basra Quote: You never get a second chance to create a first impression http://Activeenglish.biz http://Ladymaggic.podomatic.com http://Ladymaggic.mastersitebuilder.com

Barney Take me Home Again: Henry Lawson Short Story

Maggi Carstairs — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 09:08:10 GMT

BARNEY, TAKE ME HOME AGAIN" THIS is a sketch of one of the many ways in which a young married woman, who is naturally thick-skinned and selfish--as most women are--and who thinks she loves her husband, can spoil his life because he happens to be good-natured, generous, sensitive, weak or soft, whichever you like to call it. Johnson went out to Australia a good many years ago with his young wife and two children, as assisted emigrants. He should have left his wife and children with her mother, in a street off City Road, N., and gone out by himself and got settled down comfortably and strengthened in the glorious climate and democratic atmosphere of Australia, and in the knowledge that he could worry along a while without his wife, before sending for her. That bit of knowledge would have done her good also, and it would have been better for both of them. But no man knows the future, and few can prescribe for their own wives. If we saw our married lives as others see them, half of us would get divorced. But Johnson was sentimental, he could not bear to part from his wife for a little while. Moreover, man is instinctively against leaving his wife behind; it may be either a natural or a cowardly instinct--but we won't argue that. I don't believe that Johnson was a coward in that direction; I believe that he trusted his wife implicitly, or rather that he never dreamed of such a thing--as is the way with most married men. Sentiment is selfishness, perhaps, but we won't argue that, such arguments come to nothing. I heard from a fellow-passenger of Johnson's that he had "a hell of a voyage" because of his young wife's ignorant selfishness and his own sensitiveness; he bribed stewards for better food and accommodation for his wife and children, paid the stewardess to help with the children, got neither rest, nor peace, nor thanks for himself, and landed in Sydney a nervous wreck, with five pounds out of the ten he started with. Johnson was a carpenter. He got work from a firm of contractors in Sydney, who, after giving him a fortnight's trial, sent him up-country to work on the railway station buildings, at the little pastoral mining and farming town of Solong. The railway having come to Solong, things were busy in the building line, and Johnson settled there. Johnson was thin when he came to Solong; he had landed a living skeleton, he said, but he filled out later on. The democratic atmosphere soothed his mind and he soon loved the place for its unconventional hospitality. He worked hard and seemed to have plenty of energy--he said he got it in Australia. He said that another year of the struggle in London would have driven him mad. He fished in the river on Saturday afternoons and Sundays, and, perhaps for the first month or so, he thought that he had found peace. Johnson's wife was a rather stout, unsympathetic-looking young woman, with the knit of obstinacy in her forehead; she had that stamp of "hardness" on her face which is the rule amongst English and the exception amongst Australian women. We of Solong thought her hard, selfish and narrow-minded, and paltry; later on we thought she was a "bit touched;" but local people often think that of strangers. By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector's wife in the bush. She whined about the climate. "It will kill the children! It will kill the children! We'll never rear them here!" She whined about the "wretched hole in the bush" that her husband had brought her to; and to the women whom she condescended to visit--because a woman must have a woman to talk to--she exaggerated the miseries of the voyage until the thing became a sing-song from repetition. Later on she settled down to endless accounts of her home in London, of her mother and sisters, of the way they lived. "And I'll never see it any more. I'll never see them any more." The Solong climate was reckoned the best in Australia; the "wretched hole" was a pretty little town on the banks of a clear, willow-bordered river, with vineyards on the slopes, and surrounded by a circle of blue hills and peaks. We knew nothing of London, so she had her own way there. "She'll feel a bit lonely at first, but she'll soon get used to Australia," said Johnson. He seemed to me to go out of his way to excuse his wife. Johnson had had a few contracts in England at one time; they had been in "better circumstances"--that was the time she looked back to in England; the last two years of bitter, black struggle at "home" seemed a blank in her mind--but that's how women jump over facts when they have a selfish fad. Johnson rented a cottage and garden on the bank of the sunny river. He said he took the place because there was ivy growing on the cottage, and it might cheer his wife; but he had lost sight of the fact that, while he had been born in an English village, his wife had been born and bred in London, and had probably never noticed ivy. She said it was worse than living in a slum. Johnson was clever at his trade, and at many other things, but his wife didn't seem aware of it. He was well liked, he grew to be popular, but she didn't seem proud of the fact; she never seemed interested in him or his prospects. She only wanted him to take her home again. We mustn't forget that while he had a rush of work to occupy his mind she had not. But Johnson grew stouter and prospered in spite of his wife--for a year or so. New schools were being built in the district and the town was practically re-built. Johnson took contracts for brickwork, plumbing and house-painting, as well as carpentering, and had at one time as many as ten men in his employ. He was making money. I was working at my trade then, house-painting, and worked for Johnson. I lodged at his cottage for a while, but soon got tired of hearing about London, and Mrs Johnson's mother and sisters, and the house they lived in, and the street it was in, and the parks where they used to take their babies, and the shopping on Saturday afternoon. That woman was terrible. She was at Johnson all the time about taking her home. "We'll surely be able to go home this year, Will." "You promised to take me home by the end of the year." "Mother says in her last letter that Jack says there's more building going on about London than ever." "You'll do just as well in London as you'll do here." "What chance have the children got in a hole like this?" And the rest of it--every night. When he took a new contract, it would be, "What did you want to take that new contract for, Will, when we're going home? You know you promised me you wouldn't take any more contracts." First he'd try to cheer her, then he'd argue; but she'd only sit with the knit in her forehead deep, looking as obstinate as a mule. Then she'd sit down to a little harmonium he'd bought her and play and sing "Barney, take me Home again," and "The Old Folks at Home," and "Swannie Ribber," till I felt like hanging myself--and I wasn't an exile. Sometimes Johnson would flare up and there'd be a row and he'd go to the pub. Gentle persuasion, argument, or swearing, it was all the same with her. Bosses and men were different towards each other in Solong to what they are in London; besides, when I wasn't Johnson's sub-contractor I was his foreman--so we often had a few drinks together; and one night over a beer (and after a breeze at home, I think) he said to me: "I can't make it out, Harry; there was nothing but struggle and worry and misery for us in England, and London was smothering me, my chest was bad and the wife was always in ill-health; but I suppose I'll have to take her home in the end or else she'll go melancholy mad!" And he drew a breath that was more like a gasp than a sigh. "Why not send her home for a trip, or a year or so, boss?" I asked. "As likely as not she'll be just as eager to get back; and that will be the end of it." "I couldn't do that, Harry," said Johnson. "I couldn't stay here and work alone. It would be like beginning life again; I've started twice and couldn't start the third time. You'll understand when you're married, Harry." Well, in the end, she wore Johnson out--or wore into him rather. He drank more, and once or twice I saw him drinking alone. Sometimes he'd "round on us" at work for nothing at all, and at other times he'd take no interest in the jobs--he'd let the work go on anyhow. Some thought that Johnson was getting too big for his boots, that's how men are misjudged. He grew moody and melancholy and thin again. Johnson was homesick himself. No doubt it was the misery of his domestic life in Australia that made him so. Towards the end of the third or fourth year Johnson threw up a couple of contracts he had on hand, sacrificed a piece of land which he had bought and on which he had built a cottage in the short time he had been in Solong, and, one lovely day in June, when the skies were their fairest, the hills their bluest, the river its widest and clearest, and the grass was waving waist high after rain--one blue and green and golden day the Johnsons left Solong, with the trunks they had brought out with them, for Sydney, en route for smoky London. Mrs Johnson was a woman transformed--she was happy and looked it. The last few weeks she had seemed in every way the opposite of the woman we had known: cheerful, kind to neighbours in sickness and trouble, even generous; she made many small presents in the way of mantelshelf ornaments, pictures, and house-linen. But then it was Johnson who had to pay for that in the end. He looked worn and worried at the railway station--more like himself as he was when he first came to Solong--and as the train moved off I thought he looked--well, frightened. That must have been nearly twenty years ago. London last winter. It was one of those days when London's lurid sun shows up for a little while like a smoky danger signal. The snow had melted from the house-tops and the streets were as London streets are after the first fall of snow of the season. But I could stand the flat no longer, I had to go out and walk. I was sun-sick--I was heart-sick for the sun, for the sunny South--for grassy plains, blue mountains, sweeps of mountain bush and sunny ocean beaches. I walked hard; I walked till I was mud-splashed to the shoulders; I walked through the squalid, maddening sameness of miles of dingy, grimy-walled blocks and rows of four-storied houses till I felt smothered--jailed, hopelessly. "Best get home and in, and draw the blinds on it," I said, "or my brain will turn." I was about to ask a policeman where I was when I saw, by the name on a corner of the buildings, that I was in City Road, North. All the willow-fringed rivers and the sunny hills of Solong flashed before me at the sight of the name of that street. I had not been able to recall the name of the street off City Road in which the Johnsons lived, though I had heard it often enough in the old days from the tongue of Mrs Johnson. I felt it would be a relief to see anyone who had been in Australia. "Now," I thought, "if I walk along City Road and see the name of that street I'll remember it"--and I did. It was a blind street, like the long, narrow yard of a jail, walled by dark houses, all alike. The next door but one to that at which I knocked to inquire was where the Johnsons lived; they lived in a four-storied house, or rather a narrow section of a four-storied terrace. I found later n that they paid the landlord, or nearly paid him, by letting lodgings. They lived in one room with the use of the parlour and the kitchen when the lodgers weren't using them, and the son shared a room with a lodger. The back windows looked out on the dead wall of a poorhouse of some kind, the front on rows of similar windows opposite--rows of the same sort of windows that run for miles and miles in London. In one a man sat smoking in his shirtsleeves, from another a slavey leaned out watching a fourwheeler that had stopped next door, in a third a woman sat sewing, and in a fourth a woman was ironing, with a glimpse of a bedstead behind her. And all outside was gloom and soot and slush. I would never have recognized the Johnsons. I have visited them several times since and their faces are familiar to me now, but I don't know whether any traces of the old likenesses worked up in my memory. I found Johnson an old man--old and grey before his time. He had a grizzly stubble round his chin and cheeks towards the end of the week, because he could only afford a shave on Saturday afternoon. He was working at some branch of his trade "in the shop" I understood, but he said he felt the work come heavier on him every winter. "I've felt very poorly this last winter or two," he said, "very poorly indeed." He was very sad and gentle. Mrs Johnson was old and thin-looking, but seemed cheerful and energetic. Some chest trouble kept her within doors most of the winter. "I don't mind so long as I can manage," she said, "but Johnson gets so depressed." They seemed very kind towards each other; they spoke little of Australia, and then only as an incident in their lives which was not of any importance--had long been past and done with. It was all "before we went to Australia" or "after we came back from Australia," with Mrs Johnson. The son, whom I remembered as a bright, robust little fellow, was now a tall, white-faced, clean-shaven young man, a clerk on thirty shillings a week. He wore, on Saturday afternoons and Sundays, a tall hat and a frock coat and overcoat made cheaply in the latest fashion, so he couldn't afford to help the old folk much. "David is very extravagant," said the old man, gently. "He won't wear anything when once the gloss is off it. But," with a sad smile, "I get the left-off overcoats." He took me across to see his daughter. She had married a tradesman and they were having a hard struggle in three rooms in a workman's dwelling. She was twenty-five, thin, yellow, and looking ten years older. There were other children who had died. "I think we might have done better for the children in Australia," said the old man to me, sadly, when we got outside, "but we did our best." We went into a hotel and had a drink. Johnson had treated last time--twenty years before. We call treating "shouting" in Australia. Presently Johnson let fall a word or two of Australian slang, and brightened up wonderfully; we got back out into Australia at once and stayed there an hour or so. Being an old man, Johnson's memory for the long ago was better than mine, and I picked up links; and, in return, I told him what Solong was like now, and how some men he knew, who were going up, had gone down, and others, who were going to the dogs in his time, had gone up--and we philosophized. About one he'd say, "Ah, well! who'd have thought it! I never thought that boy would come to any good;" about another, "Ah, well! and he might have been an independent man." How familiar that expression sounded!--I think it is used more often in Australia than in any other country: "He might have been an independent man." When I left Johnson I felt less lonely in London, and rather humbled in spirit. He seemed so resigned--I had never seen such gentle sadness in a man's eyes, nor heard it in a man's voice. I could get back to Australia somehow and start life again, but Johnson's day had been dead for many years. "Besides, assisted emigration's done away with now," he said, with his sad, sad smile. I saw the Johnsons again later on. "Things have been going very sadly with us, very sadly indeed," said the old man, when we'd settled down. He had broken down at the beginning of the winter, he had dragged himself out of bed and to work and back again until he could do so no longer; he had been laid up most of the winter. Mrs Johnson had not been outside the door for months. "It comes very hard on us," she said, "and I'm so poorly, and David out of work, too. I wouldn't mind if I could get about. But," she went on in her energetic manner, "we've had the house full all the winter; we've had very good luck with the lodgers, all respectable people, and one of them answers the door and that keeps me away from the draught--so it might be worse, mightn't it! But Johnson doesn't seem to mend at all, and he gets so terribly depressed. But the warm weather coming on, etc." They and the Lord only knew how they managed to live, for they are honest people and the lodgers scarcely pay the rent of the house. There was only David between them and the poorhouse, as far as I could see. Johnson came out with me a piece and we had a drink or two together--his was gin hot. He talked a good deal about Australia, but sadly and regretfully on this occasion. "We could have done well in Australia," he said, "very well indeed. I might have been independent and the children well started in life. But we did things for the best. Mrs Johnson didn't like Australia, you know. It was a pity we didn't stay there, a great pity. We would have done far better than in England. I'd go out again now if I had the money, but I'm getting too old." "Would Mrs Johnson go out?" I asked. "Oh, yes. But I'm afraid she wouldn't stand the voyage. . . . Things have been very sad with us ever since we came back to England, very sad indeed." And after a while he suddenly caught his breath. "It takes me that way sometimes," he said. "I catch my breath just as if I was going to lose it."

April 12th 2008 : Voice in China: World News

Maggi Carstairs — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 08:26:41 GMT

April 12th 2008: Voice in China: News Headlines Human Footprint…is the mark we make in the world. See how you can lessen the size of your footprint and help wildlife The former Communist Party chief of China's financial capital was sentenced Friday to 18 years in prison for his role in a massive corruption scandal involving a third of the city's pension funds The first torch runner, Argentine champion windsurfer Carlos Espinola, holds the flame at the start the Olympic torch relay across Buenos Aires. Runners surrounded by rows of security carried the Olympic flame past thousands of jubilant Argentines on Friday in the most trouble-free torch relay in nearly a week. The German parliament voted Friday in favor of relaxing legislation on stem cell research. Scientists say stem cell therapy holds great medical promise, including the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases Surveillance cameras could start monitoring test-taking students in Britain as early as this summer in an effort to deter cheating The humanitarian situation in Somalia is deteriorating with the number of people in need of emergency aid reaching nearly a half million Samsung Chief to consider resigning over the corruption scandal in South Korea The Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, said on Friday he did not support a boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games Quote One of the most fundamental secrets of life, is: whatsoever you want in yourself, start creating it. http://Activeenglish.biz http://Ladymaggic.podomatic.com http://360.yahoo.com/ladymaggic