“Barack Obama to unveil 2011 budget plans”

“Barack Obama to unveil 2011 budget plans”



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8490522.stm


In recent article on February 1 in 2010 says that US President Barack Obama is due to unveil a $3.8tn (£2.4tn) budget which includes increased spending for job schemes, but cuts in other areas. This “other areas” include the space vision, and to be specific, Nasa's Moon base project will be scrapped altogether.


I like the idea of spending the budget for job schema. The Obama administration wants to spend more money on things like green technology to create jobs, while on the other it is trying to scale back spending to shrink the deficit. Because it is a world economic depression nowadays, and the U.S. is not an exception for depression, so, it is right that Obama makes jobs top US priority.



On the other hand, when I look at the budget cut of Nasa’s Moon base project, I don’t think that is a right choice. The reason why I don’t disagree with the U.S. budget for the moon is perfectly my personal opinion. The movie which I like most is “Apollo 13”. I had no interest for space or the moon till I watched this movie. After I watched this movie, I really surprised to know that the incident which Apollo 13 showed had really occurred. And also, the moon project that NASA has continued is the great achievements that U.S.A. can be proud of, I think. Therefore, I have an earnest wish that the Moon base project will be continue. However, Nasa’s plans to return astronauts to the moon is dead. This is sad story for me.

“Ministers aim to halve number of people smoking by 2020 ”

“Ministers aim to halve number of people smoking by 2020 ”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8490490.stm



Today’s theme of blog is concerned with smoking in England. The number of smokers in UK has fallen by a quarter in the past decade to 21% and the target of ministers is to lower this number to 10% by 2020. This number (10%) is as the result of the removing branding from packets and banning cigarette vending machines, and this sensible approach to the smoking problem will happen in Scotland in 2011. However, smokers’ lobby group Forest criticized the proposals. Their say is that the removing branding from packets and banning cigarette vending machines will be eroding people’s ability to make lifestyle choices.

On the other hand, Health charity Ash also has opinion to the thing which will happen in Scotland next year. That is, Health charity Ash supported the plans in principle but there was a need for more detail and strong pledge. For me, the complaint that smokers’ lobby group Forest said is ridiculous. Because smoking is not good for body health of smoking people, moreover, the smoke of cigarette have more bad influence to no smoking people. I think they don’t know that the recent current flow of the world of the attitude to smoking obviously faces no smoking. On June 22 in 2009, the president of US, Obama, signed an anti-smoking bill in the Rose Garden.

However, it is also a fact that I don’t feel this recent current flow of anti-smoking in Japan. My friends in college were almost all smokers, and for example, while I attend to the wedding party, the almost all male attendant were smoking. Therefore, it is difficult for me to feel anti-smoking atmosphere in Japan.

I want to appreciate a national commitment for anti-smoking which the government of UK is trying to. The government strategy includes a commitment to try to stop young people taking up smoking by cracking down on illegally imported cheap cigarettes. And also there will be a review of smoking legislation, which could see public bans extended to places such as the entrances of buildings.

Human-like fossil find is breakthrough of the year

“Human-like fossil find is breakthrough of the year”



On October this year(2009), the 4.4 million year old creature, that may be a human ancestor, was first described in a series of papers in the journal Science. That 4.4 million year old creature was discovered in Ethiopia which is on the south part of Africa, and it is the first fossils of the species. the official name is Ardipithecus ramidus, however, it has now been nicknamed “Ardi”. Ardi is the first fossils of the species, and fossils were unearthed in 1994. When Ardi was discovered, scientists recognized the importance immediately. But the very poor condition of the ancient bones meant that it took researchers 15 years to excavate and analyze them. The most important thing to emerge from that excavation was the partial skeleton of a female creature. It has now been recognized by the journal's editors as the most important scientific accomplishment of this year. Therefore, the discovery of a fossilized skeleton that has become a "central character in the story of human evolution" has been named the science breakthrough of 2009.

Another article says that Ardi is a female who is 120cm tall. Also, Professor Suwa who used to work at Tokyo University in Japan discovered a tooth in 1992, and the existence of Ardipithecus ramidus became clear, and a skelton was found from head to foot afterwards. It was 1994 that a fossil was discovered, but 47 researchers ran more than ten years and analyzed it in detail. The journal Science appreciates the persistent efforts of study.

Their careful examination of its skull, teeth, pelvis, hands and feet revealed that Ardi shared a mixture of "primitive" traits shared with its predecessors, and "derived" features, which it shared with later hominids, or human-like creatures. It shared some of these derived features with humans.

Professor Tim White from the University of California, Berkeley in the US, was one of the lead scientists working on the project.
"This is not an ordinary fossil. It's not a chimp. It's not a human. It shows us what we used to be," he told Science Magazine at the time the research was published.
One of his team's key conclusions was that Ardi walked upright. This was based on the painstaking reassembly of its very badly crushed pelvis, which the scientists said had a shape that would have allowed Ardi to balance on one leg at a time.

There is more specific information on the internet webpage (http://genkinagochan.blog.ocn.ne.jp/doranyanko/). Ardi’s capacity of the brains is more than 300cc such as the regular chimpanzee. Ardi spent long time on a tree, and from that, a way of our far-off ancestral living was evolved. From the leg bone, it can see that Ardi had an ability to catch a branch with fingers, and to move trees. Ardi has a long arm, and it is considered that the long arm was used for to move on from tree to tree. The scientists’ team collected the fossil of the animals and plants which amounted to about 150,000, and the team discovered that Ardi lived in the forest.

I already know that the previous study demonstrates that the bipedalism evolved first, and then, upsizing of the brain advanced later. This time, however, the human who had begun to move a foothold of the life from the on a tree to the ground appeared at last.

“Tiger Woods admits 'I have let my family down' ”

“Tiger Woods admits 'I have let my family down' ”



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8391350.stm



World number one golfer Tiger Woods made a statement about his car accident and his private thing to his official homepage on December 2nd. In his official homepage, he stated about some of his privates, and in that statement, he firstly apologized to his family about his affair. Right after a U.S. weekly reported that Tiger Woods had an affair with the waitress in Los Angeles for about 2 years and six month, he carried the statement on his official homepage. He denied rumors that physical violence played any role in the incident, saying they were "utterly false and malicious". On the other hand, he didn’t state precisely about the news about his affair, but he made a statement as if he admitted about the affair.

The waitress, who is considered to be a partner of the affair, testified to the U.S. weekly that she met Woods at the nightclub in Las Vegas when Tiger’s wife, Erin, was going to have a first baby in two months. Moreover, the waitress made the voice mail public which was left in her cell phone. It was left in her cell phone on three days before when he had a car accident near his house. In that voicemail, Tiger Woods begging the waitress to take her name off her voicemail greeting in order to hide their affair. The caller's identity has not been verified.

To be frank, I do not understand the truth. Possibly the woman may say a lie for a purpose to get money. However, his clean images of mine that “He treasures the family” and “He is the symbol of good father” have certainly collapsed. Also in his statement he said as below; "Although I am a well-known person and have made my career as a professional athlete…”. I think that he should have done a right action as common one human being if he understood what he wrote in his statement.

In his statement, he referred to the privacy. I deeply agree to his opinion. Although he is a well-known person, he and his family should be protected from the invasion of privacy.

Finally I will tell you a splendid word of my father. He said, “The women may be the most difficult than any kind of sports”. I really laughed at what my father said, but this may be true for Tiger Woods.

“At Obama’s First State Dinner, the First Crashers”

“At Obama’s First State Dinner, the First Crashers”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/27/us/politics/27party.html?ref=politics



There was a middle-aged couple who pretended to be an invited guest to the official dinner that U.S. President Obama sponsored. The couple was Michaele Salahi and her husband, Tareq. They are Virginians who have been auditioning for a possible role in a different housewives TV franchise: “The Real Housewives of Washington.”

A White House official confirmed that the Salahis had not been invited nor seated for dinner. Edwin M. Donovan, a spokesman for the Secret Service, said Wednesday night that “initial findings identified a Secret Service checkpoint which did not follow proper procedures,” allowing the couple to gain access to the festivities, even though their names were not on the invitation list.

The surprising thing is that the Salahis posted photographs of themselves at the dinner on their Facebook page, and said: “Honored to be at the White House for the state dinner in honor of India with President Obama and our First Lady!”

I was just relieved that affair such as president’s assassination had not occurred. However, I just want to say that they are bad for carrying his trick too far. Also, recently in Colorado, “the balloon boy hoax incident” had occurred and it also related to the reality program on TV, and that case has just developed into a criminal case. People, such as Michaele Salahi and her husband, Tareq, should know the importance of the thing and should feel deep regret.

In addition, the security will be strengthened, and a further tax will be poured by such a case. In other words, by the action of the people who are some fools, society bears a burden. I feel that this structure is much the same in any case and in country.

“China Approves Disney Theme Park in Shanghai”

“China Approves Disney Theme Park in Shanghai”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/business/global/04disney.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=China%20Disney&st=cse

The Walt Disney Company has won approval from the central government of China to build a Disneyland-style theme park in Shanghai. It would be a little bigger than Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and on par with the parks in Paris and Tokyo. Shanghai Disneyland will be a Magic Kingdom-style theme park which has a mix of shopping areas, hotels. Also it will sprawl across 1,000 acres of the city’s Pudong district and the theme park occupying about 100 of those acres. Analysts estimate the initial park, Shanghai Disneyland, - not including hotels and resort infrastructure – will cost $3.5 billion. The new Disneyland in Shanghai is expected to open in five or six years, around 2014.

The reason that Disney tried to make a Disneyland in Shanghai is to expand the consumption in Shanghai. Because China has been changed from the world's factory to the market, Disney appreciate the potential of consumption which center of consumption, China, have.

Mr. Iger, the president of Disney, called the approval “a very significant milestone” in a statement, taking care to praise China as “one of the most dynamic, exciting and important countries in the world.”

However, interesting is that the timing of China approves Disneyland in Shanghai. It is speculated that the timing involved President Obama’s inaugural visit to China later this month. In my opinion, this approval may be politically motivated.

One more interesting point is that Disney has opened a chain of language schools in Shanghai, taking care to promise that the goal is to teach children to speak English. This fact looks very interesting. Because China has advanced rapidly in the field of economy and has been changed to the world’s market, the capability of using Chinese is the key to success in recent times when we see the world of business. In spite of this fact, Disney is still trying to expand the power of English.
However, I think this approval and building the new theme park is good for Asian economy and I hope that good influence would come to Japanese economy.

Thanks for the Memories, Andy Warhol

“Thanks for the Memories, Andy Warhol”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/arts/design/30vogel.html?pagewanted=1&sq=Cathy%20Naso&st=cse&scp=1

There was a lady who called Cathy Naso from Brooklyn. When she was a college student in 1965, she worked at Andy Warhol’s legendary Factory as a receptionist. She worked there for two years after school, on weekends, and during vacations. Because she worked hard in this Fatory, Warhol gave her the biggest present. The most important souvenir Ms. Naso has from those years is a 1965 self-portrait that Warhol gave her as a reward for her hard work. But now, more than 40 years later, she has decided to part with the painting. Sotheby’s is selling it on Nov. 11 at its evening sale of contemporary art, where experts there estimate it will fetch $1 million to $1.5 million.

She had been kept for a time in her kitchen in Connecticut. But then she grew afraid that it might be stolen, so she carefully secreted it away in a closet. “I didn’t put it in the closet because I’m a crazy person, but because I’ve treasured it,” Ms. Naso said. “It was Andy and it was his portrait.” However, if so, why did she make up her mind to part with it? Answer to this question is in Ms.Naso’s words on the article. She said; “I would love to keep it forever, but it really belongs to the art world,” and also she said, “I’ve treasured it. And I want whoever ends up owning it to treasure it too.”

I like her idea that she wants to keep it forever and also wants to convey Warhol’s grand achievement in history. However, on the other hand, the self-portrait was a personal present to her. If I were Andy Warhol, it would be sad and shocking that the present which I give will be sold. In addition, if the seller get vast property, I think that it is still more a shock.