| 嫌峰會帶來麻煩 倫敦人抱怨連連 |
| 2009-3-31 |
【大公網訊】「G20給我們帶來的只有麻煩。」從希斯羅機場出關時，工作人員一邊蓋下了入境許可章一邊向記者抱怨說。G20峰會的召開確實讓本來就十分擁擠和忙碌的倫敦有些不堪重負。 根據當地媒體報道，在接下來的幾天里，倫敦將迎來２５００名注册記者，１０００名保鏢和翻譯人員，以及來自不同國家的５００名代表，這顯然是對倫敦警力、交通及各方面協調能力的一次考驗，但也不失爲是對這個即將在2012年舉辦奧運會的城市的一次預熱。 G20意味著什麽？它代表著全球90%的GDP，80%的世界貿易以及64%的世界人口。爲了確保萬無一失，英國從全國抽調警力，儘管正式會議只有一天，但英國警方安排了10500個輪班，很多警察不得不取消了假期。 G20 峰會London Excel會展中心已經被關閉。在4月1日、2日兩天時間里，會場附近的三個地鐵站也將關閉，出租車將不能進入會場附近的區域。記者居住的酒店就在離會展 中心大概200米的地方，酒店服務人員告訴記者，届時停車場將被封閉，因爲無法進行投遞，酒店將停止郵寄及洗衣服務。在將房卡遞給記者的時候，服務員非常 認真地囑咐道：「請一定保管好這張房卡以及外面的封套，幷將它們和你的護照出示給警察，否則你很可能沒法回到這里了。」 來源：環球時報 |
2009年3月31日 星期二
嫌峰會帶來麻煩 倫敦人抱怨連連
Jane's Information Group
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Put away the cloak and dagger. Jane's has the intelligence you crave - without your having to resort to spying. Jane's Information Group is a print and electronic publisher of defense and security information (handbooks, magazines, summaries, and other publications) for global military, government, and corporate decision-makers, as well as academics. The company uses independent sources (journalists, researchers, correspondents) to gather its intelligence. Jane's online catalogs are available in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Russian, in addition to English. Jane's also offers consulting services in such areas as security threats and risk assessment. It is a subsidiary of technical document publisher IHS.
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2009年3月28日 星期六
G20 ,2009
Biden appeals to G20 protesters
 Joe Biden (R) asked protesters to give G20 leaders a fair hearing |
US Vice-President Joe Biden has called for G20 protesters to give governments a chance to tackle the economic crisis.
At a G20 warm-up meeting in Chile, Mr Biden said heads of state would agree proposals to remedy the crisis at next week's meeting in London.
As they spoke, tens of thousands of protesters marched in the UK capital and in Germany, France and Italy.
US billionaire George Soros told the BBC the G20 meeting was "make or break" for the world economy.
"Unless they do something for developing world there will be serious collapse in that part of the world," Mr Soros said.
Massive security operation
At a news conference in Vina del Mar, Mr Biden said he hoped the protesters would give the politicians a chance.
"Hopefully we can make it clear to them that we're going to walk away from this G20 meeting with some concrete proposals," he said.
 | G20 LONDON SUMMIT  World leaders will meet next week in London to discuss measures to tackle the downturn. See our in-depth guide to the G20 summit. The G20 countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the US and the EU.  |
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he understood why people were demonstrating in the UK.
"We will respond to [the protest] at the G20 with measures that will help create jobs, stimulate business and get the economy moving," he said.
But Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told the Chile meeting that everyone was suffering from the recklessness of those who had turned the world economy into "a gigantic casino".
"We are rejecting blind faith in the markets," he said.
In London on Saturday, demonstrators demanding action on poverty, jobs and climate change called on G20 leaders to pursue a new kind of global justice.
Police estimated 35,000 marchers took part in the event.
A series of rallies are planned for Wednesday and Thursday by a variety of coalitions and groups campaigning on a range of issues from poverty, inequality and jobs, to war, climate change and capitalism.
There have been reports that banks and other financial institutions could be targeted in violent protests.
British officials have put a huge security operation in place.
'We won't pay'
Before the London summit, Mr Brown has been visiting a number of countries trying to rally support for his economic plans.
In Chile on Friday he said people should not be "cynical" about what could be achieved at the summit, saying he was optimistic about the likely outcome.
But in an interview, German Chancellor Angela Merkel dampened expectations of a significant breakthrough.
She said one meeting would not be enough to solve the economic crisis and finish building a new structure for global markets.
In Berlin, thousands of protesters took to the streets on Saturday with a message to the G20 leaders: "We won't pay for your crisis."
Another march took place in the city of Frankfurt. The demonstrations attracted as many as 20,000 people.
In the Italian capital, Rome, several thousand protesters took to the streets.
In Paris, around 400 demonstrators dumped sand outside the stock exchange to mock supposed island tax havens.
2009年3月26日 星期四
In London, Admiration for an Old Foe
In London, Admiration for an Old Foe
Steve Forrest for The New York Times
“Le Corbusier — The Art of Architecture” has drawn crowds to the Barbican Center in London, part of a complex designed in a Brutalist vein that Le Corbusier inspired. More Photos >
LONDON — It’s odd to think that the Modernist architect Le Corbusier has had a bigger influence on housing in Britain than in any other European country.
Odd because he never designed a building here, and also because so many Britons have long held him in particular contempt. Since the 1970s he has been about as popular around here as the French national soccer team, and more than a few concrete, Corbu-style projects, large numbers of which were constructed after the war to ease a convalescing nation’s housing shortage, have since been torn down or fallen into disrepair.
But as Peter Rees, a longtime city planning officer in London, put it recently, about the whole range of such projects, “They were either blown up, or they’re now loved.”
Loved may be an exaggeration. But there is at least fresh debate about whether to preserve what used to be regarded simply as bad Corbu-derived architecture. Occasionally a cultural figure provides a little window into a nation’s shifting identity, and in Britain the self-regarding Swiss-born, Paris-based architectural genius who died in 1965, at 77, may now be one such figure.
An excellent traveling overview of his work, at the Barbican Center here, has turned out to be, of all things, popular. Big crowds have been visiting the gallery, itself a sign of some Corbu revisionism in that the Barbican, opened in 1982 near St. Paul’s Cathedral and designed by the British firm Chamberlin, Powell & Bon in a Brutalist vein that Le Corbusier partly inspired, has always been a place Londoners loved to hate. They voted it the city’s ugliest building in a poll in 2003, and have long moaned about its inscrutable labyrinth of concrete walkways and underpasses.
But Corinna Gardner, an assistant curator for the exhibition there, said that smart Londoners have actually been moving into the Barbican Estate and Golden Lane Estate, vast concrete apartment complexes that, with the Barbican Center, make up what Mr. Rees described as the largest Corbusian-inspired urban development in all of Europe. Likewise the refurbished Brunswick Center, near Russell Square, another Brutalist behemoth, with a ziggurat design, once an infamous example of failed council housing, has become fashionable. Well-heeled Londoners promenaded through its fancy shopping mall the other day.
Ms. Gardner added that “ladies who lunch” have even been turning up at the Le Corbusier show, when not long ago most wouldn’t have been caught dead at the Barbican. That hardly proves a national cultural volte-face, but just three years ago a survey of modern design at the Victoria and Albert Museum provoked an angry passel of letters in local newspapers, which singled out Le Corbusier for a special caning. His problem, it seems, wasn’t only that a generation or two of modern British architects latched onto his urban plans to devise their own concrete, modular apartment blocks, which often weren’t very good.
There was also something, well, un-British about him.
“We have always thought in terms of living in homes, not apartments, and we tend to be very traditional,” Ms. Gardner explained. At that moment she was standing before a model of Corbu’s proposal to demolish a swath of central Paris and replace it with a suite of concrete towers. Across the gallery was his plan, also never realized, to wreak similar havoc in Algiers.
Mr. Rees, contemplating those sweeping schemes in his office at Guildhall, elaborated. “Corbu said, ‘I am to be worshiped,’ which is very French, to see architects on a higher plane.” Mr. Rees spoke like a true Englishman, although he made clear that he is Welsh.
“Architects are seen here more as public servants rather than as gods,” he continued. “We value individuality in Britain and resist being told how to live. The Romans tried to plan London, but what they did was quickly undone. We’ve been added to by waves of immigrants, from the Normans and Vikings on, bringing with them different cultural ideas. We’re a mongrel people. More than 300 languages are spoken by children in London today, and if you live in London for three months, you’re a Londoner. You will never be a Parisian unless your grandparents were Parisians.”
I tried that chestnut about British individualism on Peter Mandler, a Cambridge historian. “It’s a self-regarding British myth that we’re special and that there is something foreign out there called the Continent; that we’re the land of liberty, and here the Englishman’s home is his castle, never mind that most people in Britain never lived in houses with their own gardens. By the ’60s more Britons lived in apartment blocks than anyone else in Europe.
“But there was during the 1920s and ’30s a visceral reaction here against Continental culture, and Paris was beginning to be seen not as a healthy rival but as something dangerous. It had to do with ‘othering’ the French who, unlike the British, the British liked to tell themselves, lived in bee hives. After the war this same attitude was predicated on nostalgia for Britain’s last moment of greatness, around 1940, and so the story had lingering cachet into the ’60s and ’70s. We’re not talking, in other words, about a timeless narrative but about a powerful one implicating Le Corbusier, which gained a purchase on British thinking during the high water mark of modernism.”
In truth, only about 7 percent of the British population today is black and Asian, much of that demographic in London. The benign melting pot myth itself goes back to imperial days.
But stories people tell themselves, whether true or not, can be as good as true to the people who tell them. Visiting Tate Britain after seeing the Corbu show one morning, I stopped into the “Van Dyck and Britain” exhibition, and noticed an oil sketch by Rubens and two Van Dyck portraits that the Tate had recently bought: pictures by foreigners who worked here, acquired by a museum for British art. Upstairs, in the permanent galleries, on loan from Andrew Lloyd Webber, there was also a view of London by Canaletto, hanging not far from a painting by Samuel Scott, an English artist and follower of Canaletto’s.
All of which is to say that the canon of British art seems to be expanding along with Britain’s view of itself, and maybe this helps to account for some small change in the climate around Le Corbusier. And of course then there is the simple matter of fair play, a British obsession.
“The problem with so many apartment developments built in the U.K.,” Mr. Rees said, “was that there was no taking into account the vital French ingredient of the concierge.” He didn’t literally mean French buildings all have concierges, obviously. He meant British housing wasn’t planned with long-term maintenance in mind, and Le Corbusier became a scapegoat for what resulted.
The show, a large and elegant affair, reminds us instead of the many beautiful buildings he designed and of his paintings. Like other groundbreaking figures, he wanted to be admired for something he didn’t actually do very well. He imagined Picasso and Mondrian to be his peers.
On the other hand, he left us the Unité d’Habitation in Marseille, the modular housing project that became the model for countless bad imitations. It’s a remarkable building. An old black-and-white photograph of the roof, devised as a public square with parapets tall enough to block a view of the city and frame the mountains beyond, shows children playing in the sunshine.
On the barren concrete patio outside the Barbican it happened to be warm and springlike when I left the show.
Usually almost nobody’s out there. But what do you know?
That day there were children playing in the sunshine.2009年3月21日 星期六
"Think London" for the rest of us
七萬五奧運項目虛位以待 中企投資英國最佳時機
2009-03-21 05:39:00
(本報記者董婷婷報道)倫敦投資局（Think London）日前為到訪的中國貿易投資促進團舉辦了迎接酒會和一系列商業活動。投資局透露，倫敦奧運仍有75000個項目工程虛位以待，中國企業應把握 倫敦奧運和英鎊低迷的契機，投資英國從而進一步打開國際市場。
應倫敦投資局和倫敦市長邀請，來自中國機電設備、輕工、食品等行業的35個中國企業代表 親訪倫敦，體驗這裏所蘊藏的商機。中國商務部早前曾透露，此次投資促進團訪英主要目的是考察「企業收購和併購」。
倫敦投資局發言人向本報記者透 露，35家受邀企業大部分有意參與倫敦奧運工程，其中至少8家公司曾參與北京奧運項目。雖然50%的倫敦奧運工程已經招標，但這些大型場館基建項目外，還 有媒體中心、工程材料、支援性工程等75000個項目虛位以待，即大約有7000合約仍待批出，已經歷北京奧運的中國企業很有機會獲得這些合約。該發言人 又表示，倫敦投資局已安排這些企業家參觀了倫敦奧運工地，並舉辦奧運機遇研討會，為中國企業家詳細介紹奧運工程招標、競標程序、競標要求等相關信息。此 外，倫敦投資局還將為到訪中國企業家舉辦二十餘項商業活動，其中包括與倫敦市長會面，參觀倫敦證券交易所，匯豐銀行講座，以及如何利用倫敦為基地開拓歐洲 業務等研討會。
42億商機吸引中國投資
倫敦投資局首席執行官喬麥克（Michael Charlton）表示，此次「倫敦之旅項目」（Connect to London Programme）是倫敦投資局和其主要合作者在去年北京奧運期間，以及去年秋季在中國11個城市所展開歷時3個月商務宣傳的進一步延伸。他又表示，倫 敦投資局與市長辦公室、德勤（Deloitte）、倫敦發展署（LDA）、倫敦奧運組委會（LOCOG）、倫敦奧運發展署（ODA）以及英國貿易投資署 （UKTI）在四個月時間裏，接觸眾多中國公司，向他們介紹了2012年奧運相關的42億鎊商機，包括從倫敦奧運會址到橫跨倫敦的Crossrail交通 工程。
此外，倫敦不僅擁有最優秀的國際人才，還是世界金融中心，倫敦投資局還能為中國企業提供全球化所需的全部信息，而英鎊貶值又有助大幅降低經營成 本。因此，目前應是中國企業投資倫敦的最佳時機。已有95家的機構正考慮未來兩年內投資倫敦，其中9家中國公司已定在12月內在這此設立業務。
2009年3月20日 星期五
英國圖書館事業綜論/ 中英圖書館事業比較研究
英國圖書館事業綜論 薛理桂著 台北:文華1993
"本書主旨在介紹英國圖書館事業，其內容自國家圖書館、公共圖書館、大學圖書館、合作制度、圖書館教育、專業組織、乃至於網路系統和索引制度。內容豐富、資料新穎，使人讀後對英國圖書館事業獲有一完整的觀念。"
中英圖書館事業比較研究
" 藉由我國與英國圖書館事業比較，了解彼此間之異同，擷其所長，去其所短，以作為我國圖書館事業之借鑑。"
找我自己的gmail 檔案
《中國星象圖全球最古老》【蘋果日報2004/5/3中英對照 劉瑞芬╱譯自美聯社】
該圖可追溯至西元第七世紀，並精確地描繪出天象，準確度直至文藝復興時期才有人能出其右。專家的分析結果將於今天（周一）公布。這張令人驚嘆的星象圖是全球最古老的星象圖手稿，也是天文學中最具價值的寶物之一。
【AP】A Chinese star chart thought to date from the 7th century AD which maps the heavens with an accuracy unsurpassed until the Renaissance period, according to French experts who carried out the first detailed analysis of the chart, which will be released Monday May 3, 2004. The spectacular Dunhuang star chart is the oldest manuscript star map in the world and is one of the most valuable treasures in astronomy.
【 hc評論：Dunhuang要翻譯；準確性（accuracy）的可運作的天文學定義要弄清楚。
這翻譯基本上都抓到了意思，可惜翻譯者如果能作點「研究（internet圖書館查詢）」，應該知道：這是根據大英博物館的敦煌檔案的詳細科學研究（這 資料在學界早為人所熟知，譬如說，網路摘要The Ancient Roots of Modern Science--from the Babylonians to the Maya By Dick Teresi 。不過，數量化評估其準確性（accuracy），這回可能是頭一遭。2004年，英國圖書館（British Library, London） 從5月7日到從9月12日舉辦Trade, Travel, War and Faith 展覽，有這檔案的古今投影法星象圖的對照展。】
*****
"Sacred" - an exhibition at the British Library in London shows what the three monotheistic religions share
Sacred texts are an essential part of all religions. Sometimes they are supposed to be the word of God, sometimes the writings of an holy figure such as a prophet. Because of the importance of these texts they have often been presented in lavish and ornamental ways. It's without question that some of the most valuable books ever made contain religious texts. Such beautiful objects are the inspiration for an exhibition currently being held at the British Library in London. The exhibition "Sacred" lets the public enjoy such wonders as a priceless fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls and one of the oldest surviving texts of the Torah, but more than that, the exhibition uses these texts to show something more - how much the three main monotheistic religions - Islam, Judaism and Christianity - have in common. (Report: Martin Vogl)
2005/6/30
"本書主旨在介紹英國圖書館事業，其內容自國家圖書館、公共圖書館、大學圖書館、合作制度、圖書館教育、專業組織、乃至於網路系統和索引制度。內容豐富、資料新穎，使人讀後對英國圖書館事業獲有一完整的觀念。"
中英圖書館事業比較研究
" 藉由我國與英國圖書館事業比較，了解彼此間之異同，擷其所長，去其所短，以作為我國圖書館事業之借鑑。"
找我自己的gmail 檔案
《中國星象圖全球最古老》【蘋果日報2004/5/3中英對照 劉瑞芬╱譯自美聯社】
根據率先對這張中國星象圖進行細部分析的法國專家表示，
【AP】A Chinese star chart thought to date from the 7th century AD which maps the heavens with an accuracy unsurpassed until the Renaissance period, according to French experts who carried out the first detailed analysis of the chart, which will be released Monday May 3, 2004. The spectacular Dunhuang star chart is the oldest manuscript star map in the world and is one of the most valuable treasures in astronomy.
【 hc評論：Dunhuang要翻譯；準確性（accuracy）
這翻譯基本上都抓到了意思，可惜翻譯者如果能作點「研究（
*****
Google Scholar除提供簡單的檢索介面外，也提供進階檢索功能 (advanced scholar search)，使用者可以針對特定的學科範圍、 | |
| Google Scholar自2004年11月成立以後，其內容不斷地增加， |
"Sacred" - an exhibition at the British Library in London shows what the three monotheistic religions share
Sacred texts are an essential part of all religions. Sometimes they are supposed to be the word of God, sometimes the writings of an holy figure such as a prophet. Because of the importance of these texts they have often been presented in lavish and ornamental ways. It's without question that some of the most valuable books ever made contain religious texts. Such beautiful objects are the inspiration for an exhibition currently being held at the British Library in London. The exhibition "Sacred" lets the public enjoy such wonders as a priceless fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls and one of the oldest surviving texts of the Torah, but more than that, the exhibition uses these texts to show something more - how much the three main monotheistic religions - Islam, Judaism and Christianity - have in common. (Report: Martin Vogl)
2005/6/30
--
Publishing makes shift to digital
The vast majority of UK research material will be available in electronic form by 2020.
According to a study commissioned by the British Library, 90% of newly published work will be available digitally by this time.
Only half of this will also be available in print form, with just 10% of new titles available only in print.
It represents a "seismic shift" in the world of publishing said British Library chief executive Lynne Brindley.
For its part, the British Library aims to spend the next three years developing the infrastructure necessary to store, manage, preserve and provide access to digital material.
Preserving blogs?
| Part of our collection of so-called ephemera includes labels from food tins and old theatre tickets. This provides valuable social information and it may be that blogs play that sort of role in future British Library spokesman |
"In many ways digital material is more fragile than physical material and if we don't manage it effectively it won't survive for future generations," said Ms Brindley.
The new collection will include both items "born digital" and those that have been digitised, such as Shakespeare's Quartos and newspapers from the 19th Century.
The British Library's collection already covers every information format from oracle bones to kilobytes and it is determined to provide the same infrastructure for holding a national collection of digital items as it does for its 160 million strong collection of books, manuscripts, sound recordings, patents, stamps and maps.
The system for digital storage has been designed to be tamper-proof. There will be at least three copies of everything. An offline copy will be stored separately in case of a catastrophic system failure.
Part of the move towards a digital collection will involve the archiving of websites and there is a challenge here for the library to decide what to preserve and what to leave to cyberspace.
"We need to identify websites of national significance, such as those of the main political parties at general election time," said a spokesman for the British Library.
Down the line the archive could include blogs as well, he said.
"Part of our collection of so-called ephemera includes labels from food tins and old theatre tickets. This provides valuable social information and it may be that blogs play that sort of role in future," he said.
In 2003 the British Library secured legislation that ensured its legal right to a copy of every book and periodical published in the UK was extended to non-print media, which includes CD-ROMs and electronic journals.
2009年3月17日 星期二
Curbs on risky banking proposed
英國金融服務業監管機構預計週三將推出金融法規改革藍圖﹐英國政府目前正對該國金融監管法規作十多年來最為激進的反思。
radical 根本的な; 徹底的な
radical 根本的な; 徹底的な
Curbs on risky banking proposed
 Lord Turner's proposals have been eagerly awaited by many |
Proposals aimed at overhauling the rules governing UK banking and stopping a repeat of the financial crisis are to be unveiled by the City watchdog.
The Financial Services Authority will put forward new rules on lending and seek to restrict the ability of banks to take excessive risks.
The plans will aim to stop banks lending too much during boom years, which may include limits on home loans.
Banks may also be required to build up reserves in healthier economic times.
'Less trusting'
The proposals will be unveiled by FSA chairman Lord Adair Turner.
BBC business editor Robert Peston said: "He will say that banks should be forced to hold more cash or liquid investments, to make them less vulnerable to collapse when other sources of finance dry up."
|  The tragedy, perhaps, is that it's required financial calamity to bring about an outbreak of common sense  BBC business editor Robert Peston |
Lord Turner will also recommend that banks publish more and clearer information in their accounts about the risks they are running.
And a proposal to form a new pan-European body will be mooted, to set standards for other regulators to follow.
"Most significantly Lord Turner will repeat his pledge that the FSA will become less trusting that banks are usually doing the right thing; the FSA will abandon the prevailing dogma of the past 30-odd years that the market is always right," said our correspondent.
"In a way, little of this is terribly surprising. The tragedy, perhaps, is that it's required financial calamity to bring about an outbreak of common sense."
Lord Turner has already said his plans will amount to "a revolution".
A shake-up in the relationship between the FSA, the Bank of England and the Treasury is also set to be proposed.
It comes after John Varley, chief executive of Barclays, told the House of Lords economic affairs committee that responsibility for the banking industry "somewhat fell through the cracks".
"We should take advantage of the calamity of the last two years and ensure we do learn and have in place a structure of supervision to spot these risks," Mr Varley said.
"There was misplaced confidence and we all made mistakes," he added.
'Systematic failure'
Last month, Lord Turner told a Treasury committee that the FSA's failure to spot the banking crisis in advance had been partly due to the style of regulation, with a "light touch" approach seen as politically preferred.
The tripartite arrangement, in which the three authorities have different roles, has been widely blamed for the events which led to the nationalisation of Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley, and the huge losses at the likes of Royal Bank of Scotland.
| The problem for the FSA is that the [banking] industry is global - but the FSA is local Bob Penn, Allen & Overy |
Critics of the system - introduced by then-chancellor Gordon Brown in 1997 - say that regulation had become confused.
This meant that none of the key players fully knew who was overseeing the UK's financial system, meaning that flawed banking models, such as that at Northern Rock, fell through cracks in the regulatory network.
Last year the Treasury committee accused the FSA of "systematic failure" for not spotting the Rock's "reckless" business plan.2009年3月15日 星期日
Foreign Press Association
Welcome to the Foreign Press Association
The independent professional body representing foreign journalists working in the UK. Based in the heart of London, only minutes away from Whitehall and Buckingham Palace, the FPA provides the ideal location for foreign correspondents working in the UK. Whether you need to file a story, attend a special briefing or just enjoy a cup of coffee between meetings, the FPA is the first port of call for new correspondents as well as those who know their way around.
Wed Mar 11 16:12:23 2009
Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, today addressed the Foreign Press Association in London in anticipation of the G20 Finance Ministers meeting on 14 March. He outlined how he intended to deal with the current economic problems, emphasising the need not only to tackle existing problems, but also to plan for recovery. A substantial question and answer session with the foreign press then followed. [Click To Download Audio File] 這個周末「二十國集團」（G20）的財政部長們聚集在倫敦，共商如何因應當前全球金融危機大計，以期為四 月初即將在英國召開的「二十國集團」高峰會議鋪路。 上周三，英國財相達林（Alistair Darling）特別就周末的「二十國集團」財長會議，在倫敦外籍記者協會（FPA）舉行 ...
2009年3月12日 星期四
UK Job Losses Close Doors For Immigrant Labor
In this Northern England harbor town, 70 Italian workers spend their downtime on a former military barge moored behind a tall steel fence.
The Italians are employed expanding an oil refinery near here -- a situation that would have gone unnoticed during a 15-year span in which Britain relied on foreign companies and workers to fuel a remarkable economic boom. But after recent protests by British workers, the Italians are bused to and from the barge, where they are ushered back on board by a guard.
On Wednesday U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown addressed the U.S. Congress, striking an antiprotectionist note. But with the U.K. in a deepening recession, the British appear to be undergoing a mood swing when it comes to globalization. The small band of Italians became the focus of wildcat strikes last month by an estimated 2,000 workers at power plants and refineries across the U.K. Their message: British jobs for British workers.
'If you're sat at home unemployed with a house full of kids to feed and there is a power station going up, then course you are not going to like' seeing foreign workers take jobs, said Billy Bones, a British pipe fitter who works at the refinery, over a drink at the Jolly Miller pub.
The U.K. has far from slipped into widespread xenophobia. But sentiment is shifting in a country that prides itself on openness to foreign labor and investment.
U.K. government bank bailouts come with demands to lend at home. Public anger over a plan to sell a large stake in the U.K.'s postal service has been compounded by the fact that two foreign companies, one Dutch and one Danish, are being touted as likely buyers. In a recent survey, immigration was seen as the country's third-biggest concern, after the economy and crime, say pollsters Ipsos MORI, leapfrogging unemployment this month.
All this presents a difficult balancing act for Mr. Brown, long a proponent of globalization. In Washington, he addressed a Congress that recently raised trade worries around the world by inserting 'Buy American' provisions into the $787 billion economic stimulus bill. Mr. Brown said: 'So should we succumb to a race to the bottom and a protectionism that history tells us that, in the end, protects no one? No. We should have the confidence that we can seize the opportunities ahead and make the future work for us.'
Unemployment in the U.K. hit 6.3% in the fourth quarter of 2008, up from the boom's low of 4.7% in 2005. Projections from forecasting firm IHS Global Insight show it climbing as high as 10.5% in early 2011.
Government figures indicate the number of British workers in the country declined by 234,000, to 27 million, in the last quarter of 2008 from the year-earlier period, while the number of foreign workers climbed 175,000, to 2.4 million.
That's why seemingly routine events now can provoke outrage in some quarters, like the recent award by the government to a Japanese-led consortium of a contract to build and maintain a fleet of high-powered trains. Bob Laxton, the member of Parliament for Derby, the city with the U.K.'s last train manufacturer, called it 'a crass decision which gives the Japanese an opportunity of getting into the U.K. market.' The government says parts of the train will be manufactured in the U.K.
For the past decade, Mr. Brown's Labour Party continued the work of the previous government by removing obstacles to investment and foreign ownership. From 2004 to 2007, foreign investment accounted for 7.4% of the U.K.'s gross domestic product, compared with 1.4% in the U.S. and 1.6% in Germany, according to data from a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
Immigration to the U.K. has tripled under the Labour government as the country made it easier to get work visas and other measures. The U.K. became one of only three European Union countries to allow workers from 10 new, mainly East European members of the EU.
Now, Mr. Brown is trying to manage the downturn by injecting government cash into domestic industries and guaranteeing lending -- but without raising barriers to open markets. While Mr. Brown has made it clear that British banks need to pump money into the local economy, he said in a recent interview that he doesn't want this to be protectionist.
Any protectionist campaign here -- such as a 'Buy British' effort -- would face another problem: There isn't as much left to protect in a country where manufacturing accounts for 14.3% of the economy, compared with 21.6% in 1995. There are, for instance, few British makers of toys or consumer electronics, and no significant British-owned car makers left.
In Germany, Europe's largest economy, manufacturing accounts for almost 24% of output. In the U.S., it accounts for even less than in the U.K., at 11.7%.
It is also harder to be protectionist in the modern world, with countries bound in trade groups such as the World Trade Organization and the EU. In the 15 states that have been members of the EU since 1995, every citizen has the same legal rights in applying for a job.
Last month, the U.K. said 104,000 people lost their jobs in the last three months of 2008, the highest figure since comparable records began in 1995.
As the government spends billions on bailouts, some taxpayers are demanding the money be spent at home. 'Of course the cash should be kept in Britain,' says Trevor Oliver, who runs Oliver Construction Ltd. in Immingham. 'You can't be a global family, you look after your own family.'
Alistair MacDonald
這 些意大利人是被僱來擴建附近一家煉油廠的。在過去15年里﹐這種情況很平常﹐不會引起任何人的注意。在這段時期內﹐英國大量借助外國公司和工人的力量﹐推 動了經濟顯著繁榮。但最近﹐在英國工人提出抗議後﹐這些意大利人在駁船和工作地點之間要乘坐巴士往返﹐要由保安帶回到船上。
週 三﹐英國首相布朗(Gordon Brown)在美國國會發表講話﹐表達了反對保護主義的論調。但在經濟衰退正在深化的英國﹐英國人對全球化的情緒似乎正在發生動搖。上個月﹐全英國大約有 2,000名發電廠和煉油廠工人未經工會同意舉行了罷工行動﹐這小批意大利人成了罷工的焦點。他們傳遞出的信息是﹕英國的工作給英國人幹。
在Jolly Miller酒吧﹐在一家煉油廠做管道安裝工的英國人伯恩斯(Billy Bones)說﹐如果你失業在家﹐面對一屋子等著吃飯的孩子﹐而正有一家發電廠在建設﹐那麼你當然不願意看到外國工人搶了這些工作。
英國目前遠沒有出現普遍的仇外風潮。但在這樣一個以對外國勞工和投資敞開大門而自豪的國家﹐人們的內心正在發生變化。
英 國政府實施的銀行救助計劃要求增加國內的貸款。公眾本來就對出售英國郵政機構大筆股份的計劃不滿﹐而輿論稱有兩家外國公司（分別是荷蘭和丹麥企業）可能會 成為買家﹐這更讓英國人怒火中燒。據民意調查機構Ipsos MORI說﹐在最近進行的調查中﹐這個月移民問題超過失業﹐成為排在經濟和犯罪之後的英國人關心的第三大問題。
所 有這些給長期支持全球化的布朗提出了如何平衡的艱巨任務。週三他在美國國會發表了講話。美國國會最近提出將“購買美國貨”的條款加到總規模7,870億美 元的經濟刺激計劃里﹐此舉在世界上引發了對全球貿易的擔憂。布朗反問道﹕我們是不是應該屈從於通過逐底求得競爭力和實行保護主義呢（歷史告訴我們﹐保護主 義保護不了任何人）﹖不。我們應該有信心認為﹐我們能夠抓住前面的機會﹐讓未來服務於我們。
2008年四季度﹐英國失業率達到6.3%﹐而經濟繁榮期時的低點是2005年創下的4.7%。經濟預測機構IHS Global Insight預計﹐到2011年初﹐英國失業率將高達10.5%。
政府數字顯示﹐2008年四季度英國的本國工人人數為2,700萬人﹐較一年前減少了234,000人﹐而外籍勞工人數增加175,000人﹐達到240萬。
在 這樣一種形勢下﹐一些本來看似平常的行為如今在某些群體中間卻引發了強烈不滿﹐比如近期政府將一個建造和維護高速列車車隊的合同給了一家日本人牽頭的財 團。在英國最後一家機車製造廠所在地德比市﹐市議會成員萊克斯頓(Bob Laxton）稱上述舉動是“一項不明智的決定﹐它讓日本人有機會進入英國市場”。英國政府稱﹐機車的某些部件將在英國製造。
過去十年來 ﹐布朗所在的勞工黨一直致力於延續前任政府在消除投資和外資所有權障礙的努力。據聯合國貿發會議(United Nations Conference on Trade and Development)的數據﹐2004-2007年﹐外國投資相當於英國國內生產總值(GDP)的7.4%﹐而美國、德國的這個指標分別是1.4%和 1.6%。
在這輪勞工黨執政時期﹐由於較易獲得工作簽證和其他手續﹐進入英國的外籍勞工增加了兩倍。目前歐盟只有三個國家允許歐盟10個新成員國（多為東歐國家）的工人前往打工﹐英國就是其中之一。
眼下﹐布朗政府正試圖通過向國內產業注資和為貸款提供擔保等措施應對眼下的經濟下滑﹐但政府並未提高市場開放的門檻。儘管布朗明確表示英國銀行業需要向本國經濟領域注入資金﹐但他在最近接受採訪時表示﹐他不希望這變成一種保護主義的做法。
英 國的任何保護主義做法──諸如“購買英國貨”──還將遇到另外一個問題﹐那就是在一個製造業僅佔經濟總量14.3%的國家﹐已經沒有多少東西可保護。 1995年時這個比例是21.6%。舉例來說﹐現在英國幾乎沒有生產玩具或消費電子產品的廠家﹐也沒有英國人是東家的大型汽車廠家。
在歐洲最大的經濟體德國﹐製造業佔經濟總產出的比重是24%。不過﹐美國的比重比英國還低﹐只有11.7%。
在現代社會﹐保護主義的做法也不是容易的事﹐各國都加入了這樣那樣的貿易團體﹐比如世界貿易組織(World Trade Organization)和歐盟。自1995年以來﹐歐盟成員國的公民在15個成員國享有平等的申請就業的權利。
英國上個月說﹐2008年四季度有104,000人失去工作﹐是1995年有可比記錄以來的最高水平。
在政府拿出數十億資金用於救助計劃的時候﹐一些納稅人要求將錢用在本國。位於伊明赫姆的Oliver Construction Ltd.的負責人奧利佛(Trevor Oliver)說﹐錢當然應該留在英國。你不能是全球一個大家庭﹐你應該照顧自己的家庭。
Alistair MacDonald
The Italians are employed expanding an oil refinery near here -- a situation that would have gone unnoticed during a 15-year span in which Britain relied on foreign companies and workers to fuel a remarkable economic boom. But after recent protests by British workers, the Italians are bused to and from the barge, where they are ushered back on board by a guard.
On Wednesday U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown addressed the U.S. Congress, striking an antiprotectionist note. But with the U.K. in a deepening recession, the British appear to be undergoing a mood swing when it comes to globalization. The small band of Italians became the focus of wildcat strikes last month by an estimated 2,000 workers at power plants and refineries across the U.K. Their message: British jobs for British workers.
'If you're sat at home unemployed with a house full of kids to feed and there is a power station going up, then course you are not going to like' seeing foreign workers take jobs, said Billy Bones, a British pipe fitter who works at the refinery, over a drink at the Jolly Miller pub.
The U.K. has far from slipped into widespread xenophobia. But sentiment is shifting in a country that prides itself on openness to foreign labor and investment.
U.K. government bank bailouts come with demands to lend at home. Public anger over a plan to sell a large stake in the U.K.'s postal service has been compounded by the fact that two foreign companies, one Dutch and one Danish, are being touted as likely buyers. In a recent survey, immigration was seen as the country's third-biggest concern, after the economy and crime, say pollsters Ipsos MORI, leapfrogging unemployment this month.
All this presents a difficult balancing act for Mr. Brown, long a proponent of globalization. In Washington, he addressed a Congress that recently raised trade worries around the world by inserting 'Buy American' provisions into the $787 billion economic stimulus bill. Mr. Brown said: 'So should we succumb to a race to the bottom and a protectionism that history tells us that, in the end, protects no one? No. We should have the confidence that we can seize the opportunities ahead and make the future work for us.'
Unemployment in the U.K. hit 6.3% in the fourth quarter of 2008, up from the boom's low of 4.7% in 2005. Projections from forecasting firm IHS Global Insight show it climbing as high as 10.5% in early 2011.
Government figures indicate the number of British workers in the country declined by 234,000, to 27 million, in the last quarter of 2008 from the year-earlier period, while the number of foreign workers climbed 175,000, to 2.4 million.
That's why seemingly routine events now can provoke outrage in some quarters, like the recent award by the government to a Japanese-led consortium of a contract to build and maintain a fleet of high-powered trains. Bob Laxton, the member of Parliament for Derby, the city with the U.K.'s last train manufacturer, called it 'a crass decision which gives the Japanese an opportunity of getting into the U.K. market.' The government says parts of the train will be manufactured in the U.K.
For the past decade, Mr. Brown's Labour Party continued the work of the previous government by removing obstacles to investment and foreign ownership. From 2004 to 2007, foreign investment accounted for 7.4% of the U.K.'s gross domestic product, compared with 1.4% in the U.S. and 1.6% in Germany, according to data from a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
Immigration to the U.K. has tripled under the Labour government as the country made it easier to get work visas and other measures. The U.K. became one of only three European Union countries to allow workers from 10 new, mainly East European members of the EU.
Now, Mr. Brown is trying to manage the downturn by injecting government cash into domestic industries and guaranteeing lending -- but without raising barriers to open markets. While Mr. Brown has made it clear that British banks need to pump money into the local economy, he said in a recent interview that he doesn't want this to be protectionist.
Any protectionist campaign here -- such as a 'Buy British' effort -- would face another problem: There isn't as much left to protect in a country where manufacturing accounts for 14.3% of the economy, compared with 21.6% in 1995. There are, for instance, few British makers of toys or consumer electronics, and no significant British-owned car makers left.
In Germany, Europe's largest economy, manufacturing accounts for almost 24% of output. In the U.S., it accounts for even less than in the U.K., at 11.7%.
It is also harder to be protectionist in the modern world, with countries bound in trade groups such as the World Trade Organization and the EU. In the 15 states that have been members of the EU since 1995, every citizen has the same legal rights in applying for a job.
Last month, the U.K. said 104,000 people lost their jobs in the last three months of 2008, the highest figure since comparable records began in 1995.
As the government spends billions on bailouts, some taxpayers are demanding the money be spent at home. 'Of course the cash should be kept in Britain,' says Trevor Oliver, who runs Oliver Construction Ltd. in Immingham. 'You can't be a global family, you look after your own family.'
Alistair MacDonald
2009年 03月 09日 07:12
英國失業加劇 質疑開放經濟
在
英格蘭北部海港小鎮格里姆斯比﹐一艘退役軍用駁船停泊在一排高高的鐵柵欄後面﹐70名無工可做的意大利工人正在船上消磨時間。這 些意大利人是被僱來擴建附近一家煉油廠的。在過去15年里﹐這種情況很平常﹐不會引起任何人的注意。在這段時期內﹐英國大量借助外國公司和工人的力量﹐推 動了經濟顯著繁榮。但最近﹐在英國工人提出抗議後﹐這些意大利人在駁船和工作地點之間要乘坐巴士往返﹐要由保安帶回到船上。
Benjamin Thomas for The Wall Street Journal
在英國伊明赫姆港口﹐一些工人正在等待一艘來自
西班牙的商船入港卸貨。這個港口是英國最大的商
業港口﹐不過經濟衰退引發的貿易下滑最近令這裡
的業務大幅縮水。
西班牙的商船入港卸貨。這個港口是英國最大的商
業港口﹐不過經濟衰退引發的貿易下滑最近令這裡
的業務大幅縮水。
在Jolly Miller酒吧﹐在一家煉油廠做管道安裝工的英國人伯恩斯(Billy Bones)說﹐如果你失業在家﹐面對一屋子等著吃飯的孩子﹐而正有一家發電廠在建設﹐那麼你當然不願意看到外國工人搶了這些工作。
英國目前遠沒有出現普遍的仇外風潮。但在這樣一個以對外國勞工和投資敞開大門而自豪的國家﹐人們的內心正在發生變化。
英 國政府實施的銀行救助計劃要求增加國內的貸款。公眾本來就對出售英國郵政機構大筆股份的計劃不滿﹐而輿論稱有兩家外國公司（分別是荷蘭和丹麥企業）可能會 成為買家﹐這更讓英國人怒火中燒。據民意調查機構Ipsos MORI說﹐在最近進行的調查中﹐這個月移民問題超過失業﹐成為排在經濟和犯罪之後的英國人關心的第三大問題。
所 有這些給長期支持全球化的布朗提出了如何平衡的艱巨任務。週三他在美國國會發表了講話。美國國會最近提出將“購買美國貨”的條款加到總規模7,870億美 元的經濟刺激計劃里﹐此舉在世界上引發了對全球貿易的擔憂。布朗反問道﹕我們是不是應該屈從於通過逐底求得競爭力和實行保護主義呢（歷史告訴我們﹐保護主 義保護不了任何人）﹖不。我們應該有信心認為﹐我們能夠抓住前面的機會﹐讓未來服務於我們。
Benjamin Thomas for The Wall Street Journal
工人結束一天的工作離開煉油廠。
政府數字顯示﹐2008年四季度英國的本國工人人數為2,700萬人﹐較一年前減少了234,000人﹐而外籍勞工人數增加175,000人﹐達到240萬。
在 這樣一種形勢下﹐一些本來看似平常的行為如今在某些群體中間卻引發了強烈不滿﹐比如近期政府將一個建造和維護高速列車車隊的合同給了一家日本人牽頭的財 團。在英國最後一家機車製造廠所在地德比市﹐市議會成員萊克斯頓(Bob Laxton）稱上述舉動是“一項不明智的決定﹐它讓日本人有機會進入英國市場”。英國政府稱﹐機車的某些部件將在英國製造。
過去十年來 ﹐布朗所在的勞工黨一直致力於延續前任政府在消除投資和外資所有權障礙的努力。據聯合國貿發會議(United Nations Conference on Trade and Development)的數據﹐2004-2007年﹐外國投資相當於英國國內生產總值(GDP)的7.4%﹐而美國、德國的這個指標分別是1.4%和 1.6%。
在這輪勞工黨執政時期﹐由於較易獲得工作簽證和其他手續﹐進入英國的外籍勞工增加了兩倍。目前歐盟只有三個國家允許歐盟10個新成員國（多為東歐國家）的工人前往打工﹐英國就是其中之一。
眼下﹐布朗政府正試圖通過向國內產業注資和為貸款提供擔保等措施應對眼下的經濟下滑﹐但政府並未提高市場開放的門檻。儘管布朗明確表示英國銀行業需要向本國經濟領域注入資金﹐但他在最近接受採訪時表示﹐他不希望這變成一種保護主義的做法。
Benjamin Thomas for The Wall Street Journal
工人正在拆除格里姆斯比碼頭上的一個廢棄的漁場
建築﹐這裡曾是歐洲最大的漁業碼頭。新清理出來
的空地將用來存放進口的木材。
建築﹐這裡曾是歐洲最大的漁業碼頭。新清理出來
的空地將用來存放進口的木材。
在歐洲最大的經濟體德國﹐製造業佔經濟總產出的比重是24%。不過﹐美國的比重比英國還低﹐只有11.7%。
在現代社會﹐保護主義的做法也不是容易的事﹐各國都加入了這樣那樣的貿易團體﹐比如世界貿易組織(World Trade Organization)和歐盟。自1995年以來﹐歐盟成員國的公民在15個成員國享有平等的申請就業的權利。
英國上個月說﹐2008年四季度有104,000人失去工作﹐是1995年有可比記錄以來的最高水平。
在政府拿出數十億資金用於救助計劃的時候﹐一些納稅人要求將錢用在本國。位於伊明赫姆的Oliver Construction Ltd.的負責人奧利佛(Trevor Oliver)說﹐錢當然應該留在英國。你不能是全球一個大家庭﹐你應該照顧自己的家庭。
Alistair MacDonald
2009年3月9日 星期一
Original Bard portrait unveiled
2009/3/10 讀許多英國發現的「所謂莎士比亞」（四十六歲）之真畫像之報導。 Jonathan Jones 先生在 guardian.co.uk,撰文，就算它是真蹟（許多人懷疑），它還是啞口無言，無法說出莎士比亞的英文氣象萬千，所以還是依他的同伴Ben Jonson 說的，「讀者，看像無所獲，不如讀其書詩。」
畫于莎翁46歲那年
這名宣稱擁有莎士比亞在世時唯一一幅畫像的男子叫阿列克·科比，是英國的一位大師級藝術品修復者，曾參與修復和鑒定提香等著名畫家的畫作。
從 18世紀早期起，科比家族就擁有一幅畫于1610年的畫像，但是沒人清楚畫中的男子究竟是誰。2006年，一個偶然的機會讓科比開始懷疑這幅肖像畫就是莎 士比亞的畫像，3年來經過各種方式的不斷鑒定，科比終於認定這幅畫像就是莎翁本人的畫像，畫于莎翁46歲那年，也就是他逝世前6年。
科 比的說法得到了世界上最權威的莎士比亞研究專家之一——斯坦利·威爾斯的肯定。威爾斯是英國伯明翰大學莎士比亞研究專業的名譽退休教授，任牛津大學出版社 莎士比亞著作系列總編已有30年。目前，斯坦利·威爾斯已經在畫像後背書，確認這幅畫中的主人公就是莎翁本人。
經過多次比較鑒定
2006年，科比前往英國國家肖像畫廊參觀題為《尋找莎士比亞》的展覽。這期展覽展出了幾幅被認為是莎士比亞本人肖像畫的畫作。科比發現，一幅由17世紀佛蘭德畫家詹森所畫的莎翁肖像，和自己家族所收藏的那幅肖像畫人物簡直一模一樣。
之後，科比又拿這幅畫像跟兩件已得到認可的有莎翁形象的物品進行對比，結果發現也十分相像。
當 今世上存在兩件跟莎士比亞肖像有關的物品，被莎士比亞研究專家們普遍認為是出自莎翁同時代人之手。其一是莎翁的埋葬地、位於莎翁故鄉的聖三一教堂的莎翁半 身像，這尊半身像在他死後不久就被立在那裏；其二是1623年出版的莎翁著作“第一對開本”封面上所刻印的莎翁形象。
人物介紹
莎 士比亞生於1564年4月，卒于1616年4月23日，享年52歲。他是英國文藝復興時期傑出的戲劇家和詩人，是歐洲文藝復興時期人文主義文學的集大成 者，代表作有四大悲劇《哈姆雷特》、《奧賽羅》、《李爾王》、《麥克白》；四大喜劇《第十二夜》、《仲夏夜之夢》、《威尼斯商人》、《皆大歡喜》等。
莎士比亞是“英國戲劇之父”，被本·瓊斯稱為“時代的靈魂”，被馬克思譽為“人類最偉大的天才之一”。
這個陶器是在倫敦東部Shoreditch地區的一次考古挖掘工作中被發現的。這個考古地點400多年前曾經是一家劇院的所在地，莎士比亞曾作為演員在這個劇院演出，並且在此上演一些他早期的劇作。
去年夏天，考古學家在這個遺址進行挖掘時發掘出都鐸王朝的建築物，巧合的是，倫敦正打算在這個遺址上建造一個新劇院。雖然目前沒有任何證據能證明陶器碎片上的面孔就是莎士比亞的，但是人們依然為這個發現感到振奮。
Put a face on Shakespeare? You may as well try to personify the English language. reaches a disconcerting conclusion in the First Folio. Yes, he says, it would be marvellous if the engraver could have portrayed Shakespeare's wit –
But since he cannot, reader, look
Not on his picture, but his book.
Original Bard portrait unveiled
 The portrait is believed to have been painted in 1610 |
A portrait of William Shakespeare thought to be the only picture made of the playwright during his lifetime has been unveiled in London.
It is believed the artwork dates back to 1610, six years before Shakespeare's death at the age of 52.
The newly-authenticated picture was inherited by art restorer Alec Cobbe.
The portrait will go on show at The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-upon-Avon from 23 April, the author's birthday.
The painting has been in the Cobbe family for centuries, through its maritial link to Shakespeare's only literary patron, Henry Wriothesley, the 3rd Earl of Southampton.
'Very fine painting'
Mr Cobbe realised the significance of the painting after visiting an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery where he saw a portrait that had until 70 years ago been accepted as a life portrait of Shakespeare.
He immediately realised that it was a copy of the painting in his family collection.
Professor Stanley Wells, chairman of The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, said: "The identification of this portrait marks a major development in the history of Shakespearean portraiture. This new portrait is a very fine painting."
There has long been controversy over the accuracy of some of the portraits claimed as likenesses of Shakespeare.
Experts generally agree the most accurate depictions are a bust of the playwright originally put up in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon and an engraving made for the title page of the first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays.
Both are thought likely to be accurate as they were created or commissioned shortly after his death in 1616 by people who had actually met him.
畫于莎翁46歲那年
這名宣稱擁有莎士比亞在世時唯一一幅畫像的男子叫阿列克·科比，是英國的一位大師級藝術品修復者，曾參與修復和鑒定提香等著名畫家的畫作。
從 18世紀早期起，科比家族就擁有一幅畫于1610年的畫像，但是沒人清楚畫中的男子究竟是誰。2006年，一個偶然的機會讓科比開始懷疑這幅肖像畫就是莎 士比亞的畫像，3年來經過各種方式的不斷鑒定，科比終於認定這幅畫像就是莎翁本人的畫像，畫于莎翁46歲那年，也就是他逝世前6年。
科 比的說法得到了世界上最權威的莎士比亞研究專家之一——斯坦利·威爾斯的肯定。威爾斯是英國伯明翰大學莎士比亞研究專業的名譽退休教授，任牛津大學出版社 莎士比亞著作系列總編已有30年。目前，斯坦利·威爾斯已經在畫像後背書，確認這幅畫中的主人公就是莎翁本人。
經過多次比較鑒定
2006年，科比前往英國國家肖像畫廊參觀題為《尋找莎士比亞》的展覽。這期展覽展出了幾幅被認為是莎士比亞本人肖像畫的畫作。科比發現，一幅由17世紀佛蘭德畫家詹森所畫的莎翁肖像，和自己家族所收藏的那幅肖像畫人物簡直一模一樣。
之後，科比又拿這幅畫像跟兩件已得到認可的有莎翁形象的物品進行對比，結果發現也十分相像。
當 今世上存在兩件跟莎士比亞肖像有關的物品，被莎士比亞研究專家們普遍認為是出自莎翁同時代人之手。其一是莎翁的埋葬地、位於莎翁故鄉的聖三一教堂的莎翁半 身像，這尊半身像在他死後不久就被立在那裏；其二是1623年出版的莎翁著作“第一對開本”封面上所刻印的莎翁形象。
人物介紹
莎 士比亞生於1564年4月，卒于1616年4月23日，享年52歲。他是英國文藝復興時期傑出的戲劇家和詩人，是歐洲文藝復興時期人文主義文學的集大成 者，代表作有四大悲劇《哈姆雷特》、《奧賽羅》、《李爾王》、《麥克白》；四大喜劇《第十二夜》、《仲夏夜之夢》、《威尼斯商人》、《皆大歡喜》等。
莎士比亞是“英國戲劇之父”，被本·瓊斯稱為“時代的靈魂”，被馬克思譽為“人類最偉大的天才之一”。
這個陶器是在倫敦東部Shoreditch地區的一次考古挖掘工作中被發現的。這個考古地點400多年前曾經是一家劇院的所在地，莎士比亞曾作為演員在這個劇院演出，並且在此上演一些他早期的劇作。
去年夏天，考古學家在這個遺址進行挖掘時發掘出都鐸王朝的建築物，巧合的是，倫敦正打算在這個遺址上建造一個新劇院。雖然目前沒有任何證據能證明陶器碎片上的面孔就是莎士比亞的，但是人們依然為這個發現感到振奮。
Archaeologists add fragment to Bard puzzle
- The Guardian, Tuesday 10 March 2009
- Article history
As the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust unveiled its portrait of the Bard painted during his lifetime, archaeologists were yesterday claiming to have beaten them to it.
A team working on the site of the long-lost venue known as The Theatre, in Shoreditch, east London, where Shakespeare acted and staged his first plays, unveiled a piece of 16th-century pottery depicting what looks like his face discovered on the site. There is no proof that the face on the fragment of Beauvais pottery is the Bard's, but insiders are excited. "We knew we'd be somewhere near Shakespeare's theatre when we got this site for our new building, and that was thrilling enough," said Penny Tuerk, a director of the Tower Theatre Company. The face may be from an ale mug sold in The Theatre's souvenir shop, she said - and might be reused when the new theatre opens in 2012.
James Burbage, father of Shakespeare's friend and business partner Richard Burbage, built The Theatre in 1576. It was just outside the walls of London among taverns and slum houses. The Burbages fell out with their landlord, and in 1598, supposedly with Shakespeare's help, they dismantled the building and took it across the Thames to Bankside where it rose again as a far more famous theatre: the Globe.
Fletcher (1579-1625)
Rare portrait of playwright saved
 Fletcher's renown rivalled William Shakespeare's during his lifetime |
A spokesman said on Monday the gallery had collected the £218,000 needed to save the piece, the work of an unidentified artist, for the nation.
The National Gallery now has a month to collect all the pledged funds.
Fletcher, born in Rye, East Sussex, was one of the most prolific playwrights of his era.
Sandy Nairne, the director of the National Portrait Gallery, said: "He's looking pretty fine, he's looking not quite pleased with himself, but he's looking terrific and very strong.
"So it happens to be a very good condition and wonderful portrait, and one very important to acquire for the national collection."
Collaborative writings
In November the gallery received a £50,000 grant from the Art Fund charity towards the portrait.
Fletcher (1579-1625) wrote three of his plays jointly with Shakespeare, The Two Noble Kinsman and Henry VIII which survive, and Cardenio which is now lost.
He also collaborated on numerous works with Francis Beaumont, among them The Maid's Tragedy and Philaster, or Love Lies a-Bleeding.
The National Portrait Gallery's collection of 16th and 17th century poets already includes likenesses of Shakespeare, Ben Jonson and John Donne.Killers Sanple
Brown says murders will not kill N.Irish peace
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said the killing of two soldiers by dissident republicans in Northern Ireland will not be allowed to derail the peace process in the British-ruled province. An Irish Republican Army splinter group called The real IRA has claimed responsibility for shooting two British soldiers dead at a British army barracks west of Belfast. Leaders are trying to ensure that the attack will not reverse progress made since the 1998 Good Friday peace deal.
Killer slipped through safety net
 Ismail Dogan's family was isolated by both language and cultural barriers |
A mentally ill man who killed a stranger in a stabbing rampage "slipped through the safety net", a report into his treatment has found.
The independent review into the care of Ismail Dogan, a paranoid schizophrenic, was commissioned by NHS London.
Ernie Meads, 58, was killed by Dogan in Edmonton, north London, in December 2004. Five others were badly injured.
Dogan, 33, admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility and is being held indefinitely in Broadmoor.
The report examined the actions of the Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust and the Haringey Teaching Primary Care Trust, relating to Dogan's care between 2000-2004.
Dogan stopped taking his medication in June 2004 and shortly afterwards began talking to himself and behaving oddly.
| Yet again, the warnings and pleas of family members went unheeded, with fatal consequences Marjorie Wallace, Sane |
The report found that key opportunities to stabilise Dogan's condition were missed by the health system and that the various professionals responsible for his care in the hospital and in the community did not share vital information.
Turkish-born Dogan, who had been released from a psychiatric hospital in 2001, told psychiatrists in Broadmoor that a bird had spoken to him telling him to carry out attacks on English people.
The report also found that Dogan's parents were afraid of him and tried at least five times to get help for their son.
There was also evidence that the care co-ordinator responsible for Dogan altered notes after his violent attacks, the report found.
'Serial blunders'
That person has since been suspended.
Marjorie Wallace, of the mental health charity Sane, said the review detailed a catalogue of errors.
"This report highlights a familiar litany of serial blunders, mismanagement and miscommunication.
"Yet again, the warnings and pleas of family members went unheeded, with fatal consequences."
Ms Wallace reiterated Sane's call for a "red alert" system to be created that allows authorities and police to respond quickly should a family raise the alarm about loved ones' deteriorating mental health.
In a joint statement, the trusts involved said lessons had been learned from the Dogan case and new mental health procedures were in place.
"In the years since 2004 we have made significant changes to improve clinical governance and risk assessment, care co-ordination and inter-agency communications."
2009年3月6日 星期五
British Criminal Justice System in Crisis
British Criminal Justice System in Crisis
Overcrowding in British prisons puts strain on both inmates and staff.
The DW-WORLD Article
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=ew0denI44va89pI1
Overcrowding in British prisons puts strain on both inmates and staff.
The DW-WORLD Article
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/
The O2 arena, Mandelson custard attack probed , Political sliming,
美國的流行音樂巨星麥可傑克森（Michael Jackson）5日宣布，他定於7月在倫敦舉行系列復出演唱會，這將是他超過10年來首次舉行大型演出。 作風古怪的麥克傑克森已經50歲，4年前曾因讓他聲名狼籍的虐童案受審。他在5日證實，將自7月8日起在倫敦宏偉的02體育場（02 Arena） ...
The O2 arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located at the centre of The O2, a large entertainment complex on the Greenwich peninsula in south-east London, England. It is the first American style arena in London.[1] With a capacity of up to 20,000 depending on the event, it is one of the largest indoor arenas in Europe.[2]
political sliming, gunge, goo
Political sliming
- Posted by Paul Evans
- 06 March 2009
Politicians ought to be used to having things hurled at them by now. Purple powder at Blair, shoes at Bush, an egg at John Prescott. This week, Lord Mandelson became the latest victim of wordless but eloquent protest – and was drenched in green gunge.
Leila Deen was angry at Mandelson's support for the Heathrow expansion, according to Plane Stupid's Richard, whose blog documents some of the other stunts that the anti-aviation group has pulled.
*****
Mandelson custard attack probed
Police have said they are investigating an incident in which an environmental campaigner threw green custard at Business Secretary Lord Mandelson.
No complaint has yet been made against Leila Deen after she confronted Lord Mandelson before he was due to take part in a low-carbon summit in London.
But former ministers and opposition parties have condemned the incident.
Lord Mandelson said the issue was a matter for the police but said people should not "overreact" to it.
'Unacceptable'
The police are not obliged to investigate an incident of this kind unless a formal complaint has been made.
However, former deputy prime minister John Prescott has said it would be "totally unacceptable" for the matter not to be investigated and has urged that Ms Deen be arrested.
Mr Prescott - who punched a protester who attacked him in 2001 - said public figures should be able to go about their business without fear of being attacked.
A member of the Plane Stupid campaign group, Ms Deen said she had targeted Lord Mandelson because of his support for a new runway at Heathrow airport.
Lord Mandelson: "Was it guacamole or mushy peas?"
She described the move as a "last resort", arguing that critics of the controversial runway plan had been excluded from the democratic process.
She said the peer was unaccountable to the public and had sided with big business against the interests of the public.
Lord Mandelson has attempted to play down the incident, saying he would have preferred to talk to critics face to face.
He said he did not want to go back to a situation where he had to have 24-hour police protection as he did when he was Northern Ireland secretary.
The Conservatives said environmental campaigners had not "advanced their cause" by acting in such a way and should seek other ways to influence the democratic process.
Ms Deen, who works for an anti-poverty group, has taken part in a series of anti-runway protests including one against Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon at the same London venue on Thursday.
'Direct action'
She justified this latest "direct action" as the best way of bringing about change.
"When democracy is failing you have to resort to any means necessary as long as it is peaceful and does not harm other human beings," she said.
Lord Mandelson dismissed the protest as a "crude" stunt but said he was grateful that the substance concerned was not "nastier".
He rejected Ms Deen's claims about the third runway, approved by the government last month despite opposition from residents and many MPs, saying he was accountable to Parliament.
He said the incident had merely brought attention to the UK's need for a greener economy.
"I suppose in a democracy people are entitled to have their say but I would rather people said it to my face rather than throw it," he joked.
Ms Deen was arrested in 2005 after she climbed up a 150ft crane in Edinburgh to draw attention to third world debt and government aid policies during the G8 summit at Gleneagles.16世纪的沉船大炮
沉船大炮再现英国海上辉煌
 |  |
| 大炮“模样”难看，但已算是16世纪的高科技武器 |
几门16世纪的沉船大炮，却证明了伊丽莎白时代英国海上军力之强。
虽然模样十分原始，但这门被誉为英国第一种“大规模杀伤性武器”的大炮（cannon），却是当年英国夺取海上霸权的最好见证。
这种大炮发射的炮弹能以接近声速的速度飞行，其打击力度足以击毁敌人100英尺开外的实心橡木船板。
考古学家指出，这门大炮是从一艘于1592年沉没的英国战舰“伊丽莎白”号上被发现的，它不仅装备有铸铁打造的枪械，就连使用的弹药也是高标准的。
1977年，一名渔夫在出海捕鱼时打捞到了一杆毛瑟枪。在锁定了沉船地点后，海洋考古学家们历经了数十年，直到去年才打捞出了船上的三门大炮。
海上霸权
英国索尔福德大学（University of Salford）的海军史学家艾瑞克·格雷夫（Eric Grove）说，这门大炮的发现证明了战争商业化的开始。
牛津大学海洋考古学家曼森·邦德（Mensun Bound）说，伊丽莎白时代的英国海军建立了统一规格的大炮，这些大炮能同时发射杀伤力极强的排炮。
即便200年后纳尔逊将军在海战中，仍然在使用这种大炮。
可以说，伊丽莎白时代的英国海军实现了人类在海上作战的飞跃，并使英国的海上作战能力大大超越了当时其他海上强国。
英国历史学家索尔·戴维（Saul David）说，有了这样新型武器，英国才能在与西班牙无敌舰队的战争中占有胜算。
2009年3月5日 星期四
The man on the Clapham omnibus
omnibus (TRANSPORT) Show phonetics
noun [C] OLD USE
a bus
the man/woman on the Clapham omnibus UK OLD-FASHIONED
an imaginary person whose opinions or ideas are considered to be typical of those of ordinary British people:
The man on the Clapham omnibus probably knows nothing about Rwanda.
noun [C] OLD USE
a bus
the man/woman on the Clapham omnibus UK OLD-FASHIONED
an imaginary person whose opinions or ideas are considered to be typical of those of ordinary British people:
The man on the Clapham omnibus probably knows nothing about Rwanda.
The man on the Clapham omnibus is a descriptive formulation of a reasonably educated and intelligent but non-specialist person — a reasonable man, a hypothetical person against whom a defendant's conduct might be judged in an English law
The first reported legal quotation of the phrase is in the case of McQuire v. Western Morning News[1] a libel case, in which Sir Richard Henn Collins MR attributes it to Lord Bowen, who had died nine years earlier.
It is derived from the phrase the bald-headed man at the back of the Clapham omnibus, coined by the 19th century journalist Walter Bagehot to describe the normal man of London, so used because Clapham in south London at the time was a non-descript commuter suburb and was seen to represent "ordinary" London. Omnibus is a now archaic expression for a public bus, but would have been common usage amongst the judiciary at the beginning of the 20th century.
This expression has also been incorporated in Canadian patent jurisprudence, notably Beloit v. Valmet OY (1986), C.P.R. (3d) 289[2] in its eloquent discussion regarding the test for obviousness.
In Australia, the "Clapham omnibus" expression inspired a local equivalent, "the hypothetical person on a hypothetical Bondi tram"[3]
References
- ^ [1903] 2 KB 100 (CA) at 109 per Collins MR
- ^ The Beloit-Valmet saga continues
- ^ Papatonakis v Australian Telecommunications Commission (1985) 156 CLR 7 at 36 per Deane J
Yes, Prime Minister, British sitcom
The state of the Chinese nationYes, prime minister
Yes, prime minister
Yes, Prime Minister
Plot
This 16-episode "Britcom" was a sequel to the popular BBC comedy series Yes, Minister. Paul Eddington reprised his role as dimwitted Member of Parliament Jim Hacker, who on this occasion had rather incredibly been elected Prime Minister of Great Britain. Alas, Hacker was still plagued with subordinates who flaunted their intellectual superiority over him, notably scheming undersecretary Sir Humphrey Appleby (Nigel Hawthorne).這本書 香港有翻譯本
*****
A British sitcom is a situation comedy produced in the United Kingdom. Like sitcoms in most other countries, they tend to be based around a family, workplace or other institution where a group of contrasting characters are brought together each episode. A common factor is the exploration of social mores, often with a mix of satire or pathos, in contrast to the sometimes uplifting sentiments of many classic American sitcoms. British comedies are typically produced in series of six episodes each. More recently, the portmanteau term "Britcom" has been used by American commentators to distinguish the British idiom of situation comedy from its other (particularly American) counterparts.
2009年3月4日 星期三
Ampleforth Abbey
Ampleforth Abbey, North Yorkshire, is a monastery of Benedictine Monks in the English Benedictine Congregation. It claims descent from the pre-Reformation community at Westminster Abbey through the last surviving monk from Westminster Sigebert Buckley. The current Abbot is Fr. Cuthbert Madden. 
HistoryThe Abbey was founded in a house given to Father Anselm Bolton by Lady Anne Fairfax. This house was taken over by Dr. Brewer, President of the Congregation, 30 July, 1802. The community, since leaving Dieulouard in Lorraine, where its members had joined with Spanish and Cassinese Benedictines to form the monastery of St. Lawrence, had been successively at Acton Burnell, Tranmere, Scholes, Vernon Hall, and Parbold Hall, under its superior Dr. Marsh. On its migration to Ampleforth Lodge, Dr. Marsh remained at Parbold and Father Appleton was elected the first prior of the new monastery. Shortly afterwards Parbold was broken up and the boys of the school there transferred to Ampleforth. The priory was erected into an abbey, in 1890, by the Bull "Diuquidem". and has an important and flourishing college attached to it. John Cuthbert Hedley, Ampleforth CollegeThe monastery set up a school at Ampleforth in 1802. It is now the co-educational independent boarding school Ampleforth College, with around 600 students. ParishesIn addition to the work at Ampleforth, some of the monks are sent as parish priests to parishes, mostly in Lancashire. St Benet's Hall, OxfordAmpleforth has a Permanent Private Hall at Oxford, primarily for the purpose of training priests and religious, but which also accepts some undergraduate students. Saint LouisAmpleforth set up a sister priory at St Louis, Missouri in 1955. The priory gained independence in 1973 and became a monastery in its own right in 1989. ZimbabweIn 1996, Ampleforth set up the community of Christ the Word in Zimbabwe. NotesExternal linksThis article incorporates text from the entry The Abbey of Ampleforth in the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913. 深山探古寺 入世谈宗教 | |||||||||||
开春了，基督徒年度极为重视的复活节等宗教性节日也距离不远了。 虽然像英国这样的基督教国家都官方把这些宗教性节日定为公共假日，但是现代西方社会中到底有多少人还相信宗教呢？ 在一个很大程度上被拜金主义和消费至上主义统治的国度里，虔诚的教徒还有生存空间吗？ 带着这些问题，BBC记者最近走访了英格兰北部约克郡一处历史悠久但僧众已经为数不多的修道院。 据统计，在2008年整整一年中，全英国只有13人进入寺院成为僧侣。对于人口约6,000万的国家来说，这绝不是一个大数字。 记者来到北英格兰安波尔福斯（Ampleforth）镇附近幽静山谷中的一个全英格兰已经为数不多的圣本笃修道院（Ampleforth Abbey - St Benedict's Monastery）。 深谷探幽 圣本笃教派是罗马天主教中比较独特的一个宗教派支，讲究清贫隐居深山，劳作、修道。 处身山谷的鸟语花香中，赤足蒙着黑褐色斗篷的修道院长老Bede对清晨草地的阴湿和空气中凉意似乎毫不介意。 他指着周边的难得景致向记者介绍说：“不少游客初到此处都会问上一句：‘请问，你觉得天堂会不会就是这个样子？’” “我的回答一般都是：‘那你看呢？’”
“修道院带有周边2000顷的北约克郡山谷，说实话，从山口开车进来都要一段时间呢。” Bede长老是这座修道院中现有78名僧人中的一员。 虽然乍听上去好像人数还不少，但对直到1960年代还有数百名僧侣的修道院来说，昔日的兴旺景象早已不在。 后继无人？ 也许正因为如此，培训刚刚加入修道院的三名修道士的任务就显得格外重要。 新的修士们要学习依照严格教规每天早起、劳作、修道的作息，而且要恪守誓言过一辈子虔诚、清贫的生活。 前去采访的BBC记者不禁问，在当下人人讲个人、讲舒适、讲求消费的社会，为什么还会有人前来这里修隐呢？ Bede长老有自己的看法。 他说：“拿我自己为例。我是自己参透了才决定投身修道院的。” “很多人来时都问，为什么决定终身清贫修道？我觉得这种问题每个人思想境界不同，不大可能给出别人能明白的答案。” Bede长老也同时承认，在人生经历许多事情后，即使心诚，也会不时有所疑惑。 “有个新加入的修士问我，‘终生修道为的是百年后进天堂、见上帝。如果死后发现没有上帝，又当如何？’” “我说，嘿，那可就气死人了。” 静 圣本笃教派的寺院中平时最引起到访者注意的就是其中之肃静。 修道士们除了每日六次集体祷告时需要合唱祷告曲外，几乎每天绝大多数时间都在宁静中度过的。 他们每天都要长时间面壁、打坐、参心。吃饭的时候不得出声。入夜，更要静。 然而，这种宁静偶尔也会有些热闹。 一些附近学校的学生们，长年以来定期来寺院接受修道士们的功课辅导。 尽管上一次有学校毕业生加入修道院都是30多年前的事情了，修道院与附近学校仍然保持着长期合作关系。 衡量标准 一位资深的修道士承认，修道院中僧侣的平均年龄已经不小，寺院近年来很难吸收到新成员。 不过，他不认为这种现状有什么可以担心的。 “我不同意一般人的看法。修道院是否可以维持下去，完全仰仗上帝的意志。我们的任务就是潜心修行。” 他顿了片刻接着讲到：“修道院中人数翻番，不一定表示我们变成一个更好的修道院。现在人数不多，但是修道有成效。因此这件事情并不那么简单。” 新加入的修士Cedd也表示，人们认为愿意成为僧侣的人少了就意味着宗教开始衰亡了，这是一种片面理解。 “宗教是不能以以生产力、效率这些量性概念衡量的，”他说。 “一个修道院是否成功，不可以简单用僧侣多少来判断。创建修道院的宗旨是给那些希望远离红尘的人的一个清心去处。不论大小，只要追寻这一宗旨就是成功。” 圣本笃教派的修道院从最早出现至今已有1,500多年的历史了，也许正是依靠这种不以世俗观念为转移的理念，得以传世至今。 | |||||||||||
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