美国媒体上周末报道，接受了联邦政府巨额援助的AIG决定向公司金融产品部门的高层管理人员支付总额超过1.6亿美元的奖金。而这一部门正是导致AIG在2008年秋天陷入严重财政危机的“罪魁祸首”。一边享受政府的援助款，一边给高管发巨奖，AIG的做法引发轩然大波，不少美国民众谴责这样的行为简直是无耻。据美国媒体报道，当地时间3月16日，美国总统奥巴马痛斥美国国际集团(AIG)向其高管发放巨额奖金的做法“鲁莽且贪婪”，并发誓要阻止这一行为。他在发表上述立场时一度因愤怒说不出话。

CNN) -- Insurance giant AIG will have to return to the Treasury Department the $165 million it just paid out in executive bonuses, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Tuesday in a letter to congressional leaders.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said AIG will have to return $165 million in bonuses for executives.

executive bonuses 行政津贴（奖金）Executive bonuses are commissions for managers who exceed a sales quota. For example, 2% of the total company sales revenue may go to a bonus pool that is shared monthly pro rata to managers who exceed $10,000 in that month.

   executives / ɪgˈzekjutɪv; ɪɡˋzɛkjʊtɪv/ 这里的executive 是名词 指的是企业中的行政领导，经理。。。person or group in a business organization,trade union,ect with the administrative or managerial power.

"We will impose on AIG a contractual commitment to pay the treasury from the operations of the company the amount of the retention awards just paid," Geithner wrote. "In addition, we will deduct from the $30 billion in assistance an amount equal to the amount of those payments."

That would be a double payment, essentially a $165 million penalty on AIG for issuing the bonuses.

The move comes after New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo confirmed in a letter to Congress that this year, after receiving federal bailout money, AIG paid 73 employees bonuses of more than $1 million each.

Cuomo also wrote that 11 of the employees no longer work for the company. The largest bonus paid was $6.4 million; seven other people also received more than $4 million each.

AIG is under fire for awarding the bonuses while being kept afloat by more than $170 billion from the U.S. government's financial bailout.

contractual commitment 合同承担、合同约束。。

发放奖金 用了 issue the bonuses                受攻击 under fire：under attack

afloat 这里是 out of debt or difficulties,无债，无困难。。。在美国政府1700亿美元的救助下AIG才能处于这种afloat的状态。

On Tuesday, two key senators also announced a plan to impose a hefty tax on retention bonuses paid to executives of companies that received federal bailout money or in which the United States has an equity interest.

Sens. Max Baucus, D-Montana, and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, are the chairman and top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, respectively. They said companies would not be allowed to restructure the payments to those executives through deferred compensation to avoid the tax.

Grassley and Baucus said all retention bonuses would be subject to a 35 percent excise tax for excessive compensation to be paid by the company and an additional 35 percent tax to be paid by the individual.

hefty:large and heavy 。...       impose a hefty tax on retention bonuses 。。从这些retention bonuses中征收高额的税款。

retention bonuses 保持力奖金 不知道具体意思，，，专业了点。。。

deferred compensation 延迟的补偿金。   如果改用这种方式发放。。 可以逃税吧。。。。

excise tax 货物税 [税收] 特许权税 [税收] 消费税 [税收] 营业税 [税收]

Excise or Excise tax (sometimes called an excise duty), is a type of tax charged on goods produced within the country (as opposed to customs duties, charged on goods from outside the country).

"Millions of Americans are losing their jobs -- millions. And to some degree, they're losing their jobs because of actions taken by some of these firms," Baucus said. "At the same time, they're giving themselves bonuses. I mean, give me a break. What are these people thinking? That's part of the problem. They're not thinking."

All other nonretention bonuses of more than $50,000 would be subject to the same tax, the senators said.

"We're trying to address what I think taxpayers would say is salt in their wounds," Grassley said. "The taxpayers are bearing a great deal to get this economy going, help get these corporations turned around, and I think taxpayers are willing to help.

"But when they see the lack of sensitivity on the part of corporate directors -- by giving these bonuses and doing other outrageous things -- there's just so much that the taxpayers of this country are going to stand for."

The provisions would apply to bonuses paid out after January 1, 2009, so it would affect the AIG bonuses in question.

"We should not be here. We should not be in this position," Baucus said. "AIG should not have promised those payments to retain those employees, and the Treasury should have blocked the issuance of the checks. It did not. And employees themselves should not have cashed them in. We should not be here, but unfortunately we are."

Senior Finance Committee aides said the senators had not yet worked out whether individuals would pay income tax on the bonuses as well as the proposed excise tax, or if a combination of the two would be used.

"You'll have to wait to see when we introduce the legislation," one of the aides said.

"If our bosses had made a decision, we'd tell you what it was," said another.

On Monday, President Obama said he planned to attempt to block bonuses to executives at ailing insurance giant AIG, payments he described as an "outrage."

Obama said he asked Geithner to "pursue every single legal avenue to block these bonuses and make the American taxpayers whole." Obama said he would work with Congress to change the laws so that such a situation cannot happen again.

The president spared AIG CEO Edward Liddy from criticism, saying he got the job "after the contracts that led to these bonuses were agreed to last year."

But he said the impropriety of the bonuses goes beyond economics. "It's about our fundamental values," he said.

Under pressure from the Treasury, AIG scaled back the bonus plans and pledged to reduce 2009 bonuses -- or "retention payments" -- by at least 30 percent. That has done little to temper outrage over the initial plan, however.

Liddy will face intense questioning about the bonuses when he testifies Wednesday before the House Financial Services subcommittee on capital markets.

outrageous [aut'reidʒəs] very offfensive or immoral暴虐的，令人不可容忍的 。。。。His treatment of his wife is outrageous

收回 scale back

temper outrage 缓和愤怒    v    moderate or soften the effects of sth 减轻，调和 。。。。Justice must be tempered with mercy.

洛哥外交部6日突然发表公报宣布，摩洛哥决定自6日起断绝与伊朗的外交关系，以抗议其针对巴林王国主权发表的“不适当言论”。今年2月，伊朗最高领袖哈梅内伊的顾问、前议长努里在一次演讲中说，巴林在1970年以前是伊朗的第14个省。

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iran said Saturday that Morocco's decision to cut diplomatic ties between the two countries harms Muslim unity, state media reported.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki says soldiarity in Islamic world needed to support Palestinians.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that at the present juncture when the unity and solidarity of Islamic countries is necessary for supporting the Palestinian people, this act of Morocco harms unity of the Muslim world," Iran's Foreign Ministry said in a written statement, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.

Morocco decided to cut diplomatic ties with Iran Friday, blaming Tehran's "inadmissible attitude" against the African country as a reason for the decision for the move, Moroccan Press Agency said.

The move ratchets up a feud between Sunni Morocco and Shiite Iran.

外交关系 diplomatic ties       伊斯兰世界 Islamic world

Morocco   [mə'rɔkəu] 摩洛哥

摩洛哥国旗非洲北部国家。面积：458,730平方千米。人口：约29,237,000(2001，包括西撒哈拉)。首都拉巴特。阿拉伯化的柏柏尔人是该国最大的语言文化群体，有法国人、西班牙人和贝都因人等少数民族。语言：阿拉伯语(官方语言)、柏柏尔语。宗教：伊斯兰教(国教)，多数为逊尼派。货币：迪拉姆。摩洛哥境内多山，平均海拔800米。

Muslim Unity is a term that refers to establishing a good and peaceful relations among the various Islamic denominations, and usually refers to political unity in the form of a Caliphate some sort of federalism between Muslim nations.

solidarity / ˏsɔlɪˈdærətɪ; ˏsɑləˋdærətɪ/ 团结 一致。。unity and agreement resulting from the shared interests,feelings,actions,sympathies,etc 看个句子吧 solidarity is strength 团结就是力量

ratchet up ['rætʃit]   增加 渐进 。。。。激化   feud   / fjuːd; fjud/ 很好的单词， long and bitter quarrel between two people,families and group（两人﹑ 家族或团体间的）长期不和, 世仇Because of a family feud, he never spoke to his wife's parents for years. 由於两家不和, 他已多年不与岳父母说话。

Sunni Morocco and Shiite Iran 〈伊斯兰〉逊尼派教徒，什叶派教徒。

On February 25, Morocco recalled its inerim tcharge d'affaires from Tehran for a week of consultations, the statement said.

Morocco has demanded that Iran explain "unacceptable" language in a statement it issued after Morocco expressed its solidarity with Bahrain, the statement said.

Bahrain, a tiny Persian Gulf archipelago, embodies the Sunni-Shiite divide. With a majority Shiite population and a Sunni ruler, Bahrain has become a point of contention between Morocco and Iran, said Sandra Mackey, a Middle East analyst and author of "The Iranians."

Mackey said Bahrain's government has not allowed its Shiite majority into the political and economic power structure, "so Iran has an interest in egging on this Shia foment in Bahrain -- in order to raise Iran's stature in the Persian Gulf."

Morocco has ambitions to raise its stature among Arab states, and "it would make some sense that they would jump on this," she said.

"They're far enough away where it's not going to impact on them directly," Mackey added.

Mackey said other emirates would likely be more cautious about confronting Iran, she said, "but the Moroccans can do it without posing any serious threat on their doorstep."

There is potential for conflict within Bahrain, she said.

"The Shia are really pushing against this Sunni government and the Sunni government, I think, is in a fairly significant amount of trouble," she said.

Bahrain:

巴林国旗君主立宪制国家。由巴林岛和约30多座小岛组成，位于波斯湾内阿拉伯半岛沿海。面积：661平方千米。人口：约701,000(2001)。首都：麦纳麦。人民多为阿拉伯人。语言：阿拉伯语(官方语言)。宗教：伊斯兰教(什叶派和逊尼派)。

contention: | kən'tenʃn] 争论, 所持的论点,争辩 angry disagreement.    This is not the time for contention..这不是争论的时候。

raise its stature,提升自己的名望。。。stature/ ˈstætʃə(r); ˋstætʃɚ/ 很好的单词。。。 the importance and reputation gained by ability and achievement 。       a scientist of international stature.有国际声望的科学家。an actress of considerable stature

怂恿 煽动。。。就是用这个 egg on... foment/ fəuˈment; foˋmɛnt/ ...引起/增加。。不满

酋长国 emirates [e'mir·ate ||

   国际刑事法院曾指控苏丹总统巴希尔在达尔富尔地区犯有“战争罪行”，并请求法院向巴希尔发出逮捕令。巴希尔要求所有的救援组织撤出他们的国家，让他们自己解决这些问题。

Story Highlights

ICC issued the warrant over war crimes and crimes against humanity

(CNN) -- Officials of U.S. President Barack Obama's administration have met with non-governmental organizations currently operating in Darfur, after the Sudanese president announced all aid groups must leave the country.

Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir waves to supporters in Khartoum.

"U.S. officials listened to the concerns of the NGOs, particularly regarding humanitarian needs that will go unmet in the wake of the expulsion of aid groups," acting State Department Spokesman Gordon Dugiid told reporters.

The move by the Sudanese government to throw out all aid groups comes a day after the International Criminal Court at The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for a five-year campaign of violence in Darfur.

NGO : None Government Organization(或者Non-govermental Organization) 公益性组织

人道主义者, 人道主义的。。 Humanitarian   [hju(:)ˌmæni'tɛəriən]   humanitarian deeds,ideals,work 人道主义行为，理想，工作。。。        人道主义Humanitarianism

expulsion...[iks'pʌlʃən] action of expelling or being expelled....驱逐，开除。。。

救援组织。。。用group ...aid groups

ICC 国际刑事法庭 International Criminal Court

warrant:/ ˈwɔrənt; US ˈwɔːr-; ˋwɔrənt/   授权命令。。。 Issue a warrant for sb's arrest 。。新闻中是issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President...发出逮捕苏丹总统的逮捕状。。。

The United Nations estimates that 300,000 people have been killed in the conflict in western Sudan's Darfur region, and 2.5 million have been forced to flee their homes.

Duguid said that at Thursday's meeting administration officials explained U.S. efforts to get the government of Sudan to reconsider its decision.

"The officials expressed deep concern that if carried out, the Sudanese threat could prompt a humanitarian crisis of staggering proportions in Sudan," Duguid said.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Thursday warned that the Sudanese move could cause "irrevocable damage to humanitarian operations" in the country.

"The operations of these agencies are key to maintaining a lifeline to 4.7 million Sudanese people who receive aid in Darfur," a statement issued by the U.N. said.

人道主义危机 。。humanitarian crisis.... 什么是staggering proportions：staggering 这里是astonishing/so large,shocking and surprising that it is difficult to believe看个例子吧 the variety of goods that the peddlers sold is staggering小商贩们卖的商品种类繁多。   proportions :size or dimension 规模 大小。。。

irrevocable damage: 无法挽回的破坏。。  [ir·rev·o·ca·ble | 不可变更的 。。。that can't be changed or revoked

"These organizations provide humanitarian assistance to those who need it in a neutral and impartial manner."

Both the United Nations and the United States, along with the rest of the international community, are urging the Sudanese government to reconsider the decision.

Meanwhile, a defiant al-Bashir was seen smiling, dancing and speaking to a huge crowd of supporters Thursday.

The streets of the capital, Khartoum, were filled with people who raised their hands in the air to cheer al-Bashir, who raised both fists defiantly in the air.

The crowd was filled with posters and banners featuring al-Bashir's face or the flag of Sudan. The one banner written in English read, "We are all with al-Bashir."

人道主义援助 humanitarian assistance   

中立和公正的态度 neutral and impartial manner     (an open, fair and impartial manner 公开、公平、公正)

国际社会 international community ...要用community 这个词 真好用哈。。。

defiant :知道defy这个单词吧disobey or refuse to respect (sb, an authority, etc) 就是 漠视，藐视。。。挑衅 。违抗。defy the government or law...defiant：[di'faiənt] 目中无人。。defiant manner,look or speech...

Al-Bashir gave a fervent speech to the crowd, denouncing the United States, its Western allies and Israel. At one point, the crowd repeated in English, "Down, down, USA!"

Music before and after the speech got everyone moving, including the president, who smiled broadly and raised his walking stick in the air. A camouflaged helicopter swooped over the crowd.

Angry but peaceful demonstrations took place in cities throughout Sudan on Wednesday after the warrant was announced, according to the United Nations.

Government air and ground forces conducted what the United Nations called a "show of force" in parts of Darfur, where the situation was "calm but unpredictable."

Sudan has angrily rejected the accusations and the indictment. Kamal Obaid, Sudan's state minister of information and communications, called the ICC a "white man's tribunal" and the arrest warrant "an insult.

fervent: ['fə:vənt] passionate ,showing warmth and sincerity of feeling.热诚的 热情的。。a fercent farewell speech ..热情的告别演说。

denounce:谴责 。。公然批判。。。say that sb/sth is wrong

White man's tribunal 白人的法庭。。就是受那些白人控制的法院。。。tribunal:[tri·bu·nal || 陪审团。。特别法庭。。

苏丹愤怒的否决了国际法庭的控告，起诉。。。reject the accusations and the indictment..

Omar Hassan al-Bashir 苏丹总统    奥马尔-哈桑-艾哈迈德-巴希尔

奥马尔·哈桑·艾哈迈德·巴希尔 (Omar Hassan Ahmed El-Bashir) １９４４年１月１日出生于苏丹北部的尼罗河省，曾就读于瓦迪西纳军事学院及苏丹行政管理学院，并获有苏丹指挥参谋学院及马来西亚国家军事学院军事学硕士学位。自１９６６年起他一直在军队工作，曾任第八步兵旅旅长。１９８９年６月出任苏丹救国革命指挥委员会主席，兼任政府总理、武装部队总司令和国防部长，１９９３年１０月改任苏丹共和国总统，仍兼任政府总理。２０００年１２月再次当选总统。２００５年７月宣誓就职总统。２００５年１１月，巴希尔再次当选苏丹全国大会党主席。

Gordon Brown has arrived in the United States for his first meeting with new President Barack Obama.

The UK prime minister said the effects of the two countries' economic bailout packages would be "magnified" if they worked closely together.

Mr Brown told TalkSport radio he was "impressed" by Mr Obama, with whom he will hold talks on Tuesday.

The prime minister will be the first European leader to meet Mr Obama since he became president in January.

Mr Brown will become the fifth prime minister to address Congress on Wednesday.

magnify:exaggerate ...夸大（事物）magnify the dangers,risks,uncertainties,etc夸大危险性，冒险，易变性。。等

talkSPORT is one of the United Kingdom's three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio broadcasters, offering a commercial sports and talk

Speaking on TalkSport, Mr Brown said: "I think first of all to meet him [Mr Obama] as a person, you cannot but be impressed by his demeanour, his determination, not just his fluency, but his sympathy for the causes he represents.

"I think the impression he has given of America to the world is transformative, because he is a black man who has won the presidency, who is living in the White House that was built by slaves."

He added: "I think people's view of America is changing as a result of that."

Although talks will be dominated by the recession, the two leaders are also expected to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.

demeanour / dɪˈmiːnə(r); dɪˋminɚ/ :way of behaving,conduct 行为 举止    这是个比较高级的正式的词。。。I can not but impressed by his demeanour 我不禁被他的举止所吸引。。。His demeanour has always been that of a perfect gentlman.他的举止始终是属于正人君子的模样。The girl has a quiet and modest demeanour.这个女孩子的态度娴静而谦逊。

transformative..有改革能力的。。起改造作用的。。Thomas Hill Green is a transformative scholar in the history of liberalism .托马斯·希尔·格林(Thomas Hill Green)是自由主义思想史上一个转折性的人物。

Protectionism fear

Mr Obama was facing "very difficult" economic decisions after taking office in the middle of a crisis and "doing similar things to what we are doing in Britain", Mr Brown said.

Following an EU summit at the weekend, the prime minister said he would take a "clear message" from European leaders that "bold global action" was needed to tackle the economic crisis.

His address to Congress is expected to compare the battle against the global recession to the fight against European fascism in the 1940s.

Former assistant secretary of state, James Rubin, said one of the current fears was protectionism.

"Everyone who's an international economist is worried about this sort of thing," said Mr Rubin.

Protectionism贸易保护主义。。。现在世界各国都处于经济危机当中。。。任何国家都想用保护主义，不让其他国家的产品进入自己的市场。。而希望别人购买自己的产品。。美国的下面的一条“Buy American" clause 就体现这种保护主义。关于钢铁。。。当然其他国家肯定会对此作出回应。。。中国这次的欧洲之行的采购其实也正是一种对美国的警告。。。

EU summit 欧盟峰会。。。欧洲理事会（英语：European Council，法语：Conseil européen，德语：Europäischer Rat），也被称为欧盟首脑会议

应对 。。。这个词很好用 tackle .. .tackle the economic crisis

"But everyone who's a politician knows that people are going to have to take care of their own in a time of crisis.

"That doesn't mean there isn't going to be plenty of trade and plenty of international economic cooperation. But when you have a crisis like this people have a tendency to look first to their own constituents."

The EU and Canada have warned that a "Buy American" clause in the US economic recovery package could promote protectionism.

It seeks to ensure that only US iron, steel and manufactured goods are used in construction work funded by the bill - but has included a pledge to respect international trade obligations.

Mr Brown's meeting with Mr Obama comes ahead of the G20 summit of the world's biggest economies in London next month - in which Mr Brown has said it is vital that world leaders "take the big decisions necessary to secure our economic future

take care of their own..管好自己的事情。。。 you should take care of your own business..

constituent   [kən'stitjuənt] :component part 成份 构成物。。。如果世界经济是一块大蛋糕，那么每个国家都有自己的一份了。。。看个例子吧 Do you know the constituent of the mixture...你知道这种混合物的成份吗？

经济救助计划 有几个名称 recovery package......economic bailout package...

"Buy American" clause 购买美国产品条款 ：美国最终版本的“购买美国货”条款规定，经济振兴配套所资助的公共工程和建筑项目，只能使用美国制造的产品，包括钢和铁

Mr Brown arriving for his meeting with Mr Obama in Washington

一篇有趣的新闻。。富婆的pet dog，得到了2 millons dollars

US fortune 'not solely for dogs'

A judge reduced the $12m Leona Helmsley left to her dog Trouble

The fortune left by late real estate tycoon Leona Helmsley can go to charities other than those solely related to dogs, a US court has ruled.

A New York City judge said that Helmsley's legal documents allowed her estate's trustees "sole discretion" in donating the money to charity.

When Helmsley died in 2007 it was widely reported that she wanted her $8bn fortune spent only on canines.

She was dubbed the "Queen of Mean" during a trial in 1989 for tax evasion.

tycoon /taɪˋkun/（企业界）巨头 大亨            an oil tycoon 石油大亨

charity 慈善团体(此时可数）:society or organization for helping the needy 。。。。看个例子吧many charities sent money to help the victims of the famine。 与这个词有关的一个常见谚 语，Charity   begins at home,which means a person's first duty is to help his own family and care for his family..慈善先惠及家人。   

trustee 托管人 保管人（当然是你trust的人，才会让他帮你保管东西）

sole discretion 全权决定。。自行决定。。。sole 是唯一的。。。discretion 其中一个意思就是 the freedom to decide for oneself what should be done..“自行决定自由”    看个例子吧 Don't keep asking me what to do;use your won discretion.

canine   /'keɪnaɪn/ 狗 a dog 如果把那么多钱给一只狗，怎么发啊？ 8 billion dollars ，，，BTW，slumdog millionaire 太好看了。。

逃税 漏税。 tax invasion    呐个有钱，还逃税 漏税 不愧是 Queen of Mean   不正是印证了一句话   。。。生不带来，死不带走。。。看来当时她是挣钱晕昏了头。。。

dub 被称为。。。

Manhattan probate court judge Troy Webber ruled that Helmsley's legal documents allowed the trustees to "apply trust funds for such charitable purposes and in such amounts as they may, in their sole discretion, determine".

The spokesman for the trustees said that they would announce the first grants in March.

"In the hope that this would be the court's decision, the trustees have been diligently working to identify potential grantees so the trust's funds would be put to optimal use as soon as possible in such areas as health care, medical research, human services, education and various other areas," Howard Rubenstein said.

probate court 遗嘱检查法院 。。a court with the power to probate will and settle estates.

接收人 grantee .....我们知道 grant 本来是 give 的意思。。。。凡是...ee都是动作的承受人，像employee 员工(被employed 的人）。。。。 上面的trustee （被trust的人） 还有收信人adressee....好多 。。。

optimal 最理想的 ['ɔptiməl] most desirable and satisfactory..     .   例子。The funds would be put to optimal use... 用最佳的方式使用这些资金。。

Animal rights groups had reacted gleefully at the reports last year that all of Helmsley's fortune would go to the care of dogs.

Charities had said the money could be used to rescue dogs from disaster zones and to tackle dog fighting, rabies in China and India as well as the canine over-population problem.

It is not clear now if any dog-welfare organisations will receive any of the funds.

Helmsley also left $12m to her pet dog, Trouble, while explicitly leaving out two of her grandchildren.

A Manhattan judge later reduced the trust fund for the nine-year-old Maltese to $2m and the grandchildren received $6m each.

gleefully 愉快的 。。听这个单词的发音 就是愉快的单词了。。。像pleased....很长的元音   happy because of sth you have done or sth bad that has happened to someone else.

gleeful laugh 愉快的笑声。。  

explicitly 明确又详细 explicit。 。。clearly and fully expressed    看个例子   They gave explicit reason for leaving..他们明确说出要离开的原因。。

Maltese 马耳他狗。。一种玩赏狗。由马耳他岛而得名，可能在2,800年前左右已育成。外形美观纤巧，体壮，温顺，活泼，一度是富人和贵族的宠物。毛长，柔滑，纯白，耳悬垂，身体壮实，尾羽状，卷于背上。高约13厘米，体重可达3千克。

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former GOP presidential nominee John McCain warned Wednesday that the United States is losing the war in Afghanistan.

Sen. John McCain recommended expanding the Afghan army to between 160,000 and 200,000 troops.

GOP美国共和党的别称 grand old party (Republican)

The Arizona senator, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that while he approved of President Obama's recent decision to send 17,000 more troops to the country, he believed an additional allied military and civilian surge would be necessary to prevent it from once again becoming an al Qaeda safe haven.

The Obama administration is conducting a review of overall U.S. policy in the troubled Islamic republic, the president said in his joint address to Congress on Tuesday.

"With our friends and allies, we will forge a new and comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan to defeat al Qaeda and combat extremism," Obama said Tuesday. "Because I will not allow terrorists to plot against the American people from safe havens halfway around the world. We will not allow it."

senate armed services committee 参议院军事委员会The Committee on Armed Services is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military。。

挺久没有发下新闻了。。新学期开始了，这项事情也要继续。  

有句话说“瑞士家家有杆枪”，听起来很恐怖，但却是实情。由于全民防务政策，瑞士人家中有几个现役成年男子，就拥有几支枪。对于瑞士这样一个200年无战争的国度，如此高的武器占有率，对百姓的生活会产生怎样的影响；这种状况会不会给瑞士社会治安带来问题。。。。如果禁止了 家庭枪支储藏，那么与枪支有关的谋杀，自杀案例会减少吗？

A coalition led by the country's Social Democrat party and the Greens has collected nearly 120,000 signatures to force a national referendum on whether the weapons should be stored at military bases.

coalition: [ˌkəuə'liʃən] “联盟”就是这个单词   the two parties have united into a coaliton.这两个党已结成联盟

the Greens 绿党：

1979年西德环境保护者组成的政党。大约由250个生态和环境保护团体的联合支持而成立。该党谋求得到公众的广泛支持，以期控制核能，并控制空气污染和水源污染。1980年在西德成为全国性的政党。他们通过的党纲包括呼吁解散华沙条约组织和北大西洋公约组织，使欧洲非军事化等。1983年在联邦议会中首次赢得胜利。绿党中的左翼与该党比较注重实际的派系之间常有观念上的冲突。西德建立的绿党是第一个绿党。20世纪80年代末期，几乎欧洲每个国家都出现了绿党或有类似名称的政党。

referendum:/refə'rendəm/    公民投票     the question was decided by referendum.这个问题由全民投票决定的。。。

The coalition of 74 groups says the weapons are involved in too many suicides and murders in the country and tighter controls are needed.

Switzerland's armed forces consist of just a few thousand permanent full-time staff, with the rest essentially a militia.

Service in the militia is compulsory for men aged between 19 and 31 and in between call-ups they store their weapons at home. There are currently around 220,000 conscripts.

However, a 2007 law change banned the storage of ammunition in homes. The coalition is looking to extend this, control the purchase of military weapons and set up a national gun register.

essentially:实质上 。。。本来 。。。basically,fundamentally...我们平常说的“本质”就是essence这个单词/ ˈesns; ˋɛsns/ :   the two matters are diffenrent in essence.这两件事有本质上的区别。。the essence of language is communication.语言的本质是沟通

militia| mɪ'lɪʃə] 民兵部队 (civilians trained as soldiers but not part of the regular army)。。。

people gathered to form a militia to protect their town.人们聚集起来，组成国民自卫队来保卫他们的城镇

conscript:/ kənˈskrɪpt; kənˋskrɪpt/ person who has been consripted.被徵入伍者; 应徵人员. He is a conscript.他是一名应征士兵。这个主要用于British English，在美语中用draftee.

ammunition./æmjəˋnɪʃən/.军火 弹药。。we have a liitle ammunition...

Green lawmaker Josef Lang said more than 1.5 million unused weapons were kept in Swiss homes.

Lang said their presence "at the heart" of the population could not be justified.

He said a national register had to be created to keep track of the weapons, something police had long been seeking.

Lang said the weapons had to be "banished" from homes.

Barbara Weil, of the Swiss Medical Association, said it had been scientifically proven that if the guns were less freely available the number of suicides would drop.

The studies had also shown that other methods of suicide did not increase in countries who had brought in stricter gun controls.

The coalition estimates that 300 deaths annually are connected to gun use.

更严格的控制。。。bring in stricter gun control....    /    tighter control are needed....

it had been sicentifically proven that :科学证明。。。怎样怎样了 。。。。很好用。。。

与。。。有关联。。。    be connected to 。。。

Editor's note: Ruben Navarrette Jr. is a member of the editorial board of the San Diego Union-Tribune and a nationally syndicated columnist. Read his column here.

Ruben Navarrette Jr. says some provisions in the stimulus bill will spend money but not boost the economy.

条款 。。。provision:[prə'viʒən]   condition or stipulation in a legal document 规定 条款。。。

推动经济 boost the economy :   boost 提升 增加 to make sth increase or become better or more successful

SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- So much for the new bipartisanship.

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed President Obama's $819 billion economic stimulus bill pretty much along party lines, with the exception of 11 Democrats who voted against the plan.

After the vote, Obama said he hoped to "continue to strengthen" the bill as it made its way through the Senate.

I'd settle for removing more of the ridiculous items that House Democrats slipped into the legislation to advance their sociopolitical agenda. Like $350 million for child care on military bases. Or $335 million to prevent sexually transmitted diseases.

In normal economic times, there might not be anything wrong with this. But these aren't normal times. And these politically motivated giveaways do nothing to fight the recession.

bipartisanship (bi=two)...两党合作。。

bill : draft of proposed law, to be discussed by a parliment （提交议会讨论的）法案。。。

along party lines坚持（各自）政党路线。。。

社会政治的   socialpolitical   

settle for : if you settle for sth , you accept or choose it,especially that's not what you really want but there is nothing else available 勉强接受。。。

赠品   giveaway 这里指的是那些对经济刺激作用不大的条款，这些条款都是（politically motivated） 由政治目的出发的。

Another such item, which was removed from the bill, was a plan to spend more than $200 million on birth control funding as a way of stimulating the economy.

Who could possibly defend such a thing? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi concocted an argument that was ridiculous and offensive. In fact, the argument was so bad that it might have single-handedly led to the demise of the funding, which some conservatives considered a giveaway to Planned Parenthood.

When ABC's George Stephanopolous asked Pelosi to explain how birth control helps the economy, here's what the speaker said: "The family planning services reduce cost. They reduce cost. The states are in terrible fiscal budget crises now, and part of what we do for children's health, education and some of those elements are to help the states meet their financial needs. One of those -- one of the initiatives you mentioned, the contraception, will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government."

concoct : [kən'kɔkt] 编造 。。捏造 。。。invent ( a story ,an excuse)

demise: [di'maiz] death 的文语。。。很正式 。。。常是比喻 the end or failure of (a enterprise,ect)停业 倒闭 the demise of the business...

计划生育 planned parenthood

财政预算 fiscal budget ....很常见的短语 。。。 fiscal :   ['fiskəl] of or related to government money or public money,usu taxes 国库的。。 财政的。。。

避孕 contraception ...preventing of conception... 受精 conception ....   tra:一般是相反的 。。。

You know the nation's cupboard is bare when politicians propose limiting the number of births as a way of improving the economy. That's a conversation we shouldn't be having.

There is nothing more private -- that is, none of the government's business -- than the personal decision that a family makes about how many children to have. Besides, Pelosi's comments had an ugly ring to them.

For a minute, it sounded as if the House speaker was channeling the ghost of Margaret Sanger. The 20th-century birth control advocate is a hero to those who worship at the altar of reproductive freedom. She even founded the American Birth Control League, which became Planned Parenthood.

But there is more. Sanger also embraced birth control as a means of social engineering. She was a leader in the eugenics movement, which had a number of influential supporters.

Many in that school of thought considered immigrant groups like Jews, Italians and Irish to be inferior genetically, and they felt that these groups were having too many children, a trend they believed needed to be stopped -- by forced sterilization if necessary.

In an article she wrote in 1932 for Birth Control Review, a publication she founded, she spelled out her "Plan for Peace," which included having "Congress set up a special department for the study of population problems and appoint a Parliament of Population" whose main objectives would include keeping "the doors of immigration closed to the entrance of certain aliens whose condition is known to be detrimental to the stamina of the race such as ... [those] barred by the immigration laws of 1924." Those laws were mainly intended to stop the immigration of Italians, Greeks and Jews.

channel :引导 Margaret Sanger：桑格夫人 。。。美国节制生育运动的先驱。她曾在纽约市下东区实习产科护理业务，体会到了贫穷、无控制生育、婴儿及产妇高死亡率之间的关系

人类生殖自由 reproductive freedom...所以那些提倡控制生育（birth control) 的倡导者（ advocate) 是对于这些崇尚人类生育自由来说，真是英雄。

优生学： eugenics [ju:'dʒeniks] （这个单词发音和意思很相近） eu:good。。。gen: birth 生。。。（generate:产生）        ics: 一般是学科名的结尾。。。（physicis,mathimaticis..)

inferior genetically 基因上就是低等的。。。

detrimental 有害的 [ˌdetri'mentl]   。。obviously harmful...

stamina ; ['stæminə] the physical or mental strength that enables you to do sth difficult for long perild of time 精力 活力。。

Nice. There are still people who believe that stuff. The only difference is that, in this century, the folks under attack are more likely to be Hispanic or African-American.

When you make the argument that contraception is a cost-saving measure for state and federal government, some might think what you're implying is that the babies who would otherwise have been born were destined to become dependent on welfare and other public services.

And for those who think wrongly that welfare dependents only come in two colors -- black and brown -- it's easy to see which births need to be controlled. That's how you connect the dots.

Now, maybe that isn't where Pelosi was headed with her comments. It doesn't matter. She shouldn't have said what she said. Imagine if these remarks had come from a conservative Republican from a red state instead of a liberal Democrat from a blue state. The left-leaning media would have gone nuts.

Either way, Pelosi's comments apparently didn't go over splendidly at the White House. After the interview, Obama urged congressional leaders to pull the plug on the funding for birth control, which they did.

From now on, President Obama should be more clear about what he wants from Democrats in Congress and what he will not tolerate.

And the same goes for the American people. After all, they're the ones getting stuck with the tab for all this.

保守共和党 conservative republican   自由民主党 liberal democrat  

red state    blue state 奥巴马的获胜演讲中有提过 。。。we are not just a collection of blue states and red states。。。       红州A state where people tend to vote for the Republican Party. 蓝州:当然就是支持民主党的州了。。。

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ruben Navarrette Jr.

冰岛社会民主联盟和左翼绿色运动组成的新执政联盟在获得关键的政治支持后，预计2月1日将在危机重重的冰岛走马上任。社会民主联盟成员约翰娜-西于尔扎多蒂出任新总理，成为冰岛的第一任女总理，也是世界上第一个公开承认同性恋身份的领导人。

(CNN) -- Johanna Sigurdardottir was sworn in as Iceland's prime minister on Sunday, becoming the world's first openly gay premier and the first woman to take the post in Iceland.

Johanna Sigurdardottir is a former flight attendant and union leader.

Sigurdardottir, 66, took office less than a week after the Cabinet resigned amid fallout from Iceland's financial collapse.

A former flight attendant who entered politics via the union movement, Sigurdardottir was minister of social affairs and social security in the outgoing Cabinet, which resigned Monday.

Iceland has been in political turmoil since October, when its currency, stock market and leading banks collapsed amid the global financial crisis. The island nation's Nordic neighbors sent billions of dollars to prop up the economy, as did the International Monetary Fund in its first intervention to support a Western European democracy in decades.

outgoing:有个常用的意思是 friendly and sociable.外向的      不过这里是 going out/leaving office 即将离任的。。

turmoil   ['tə:mɔil] 新闻里很常见的一个单词 great disturbance, a state of great anxiety,confusion and uncertainty动乱，骚动。

prop up 见过的单词 support sth that would otherwise fail.

But weekly demonstrations -- some verging on riots -- finally forced Prime Minister Geir Haarde and his coalition to resign en masse on January 26.

The country's president turned to the Social Democratic Alliance party to form a new government, and they selected Sigurdardottir to lead it.

She has been a member of Iceland's Parliament for 30 years, and was in her second stint as minister of social affairs. She started her career as a flight attendant for the airline that became IcelandAir. She was active in the flight attendants' labor union during her 11 years with the airline, according to her official resume.

She briefly led her own political party, which merged with other center-left parties to form the Alliance party.

Sigurdardottir is Iceland's first female prime minister, although not the North Atlantic nation's first female head of state -- Vigdis Finnbogadottir became its fourth president in 1980.

Sigurdardottir lists author and playwright Jonina Leosdottir, 54, as her spouse on her ministry Web site. She has two children from an earlier marriage.

与。。合并 merge with 公司合并也可以用这个短语。。We had no offers to merge with other companies, either American or foreign

verge on sth : very close to sth/very similiar to sth 非常接近某物。。。濒临。。。（verge 边缘）

stint 这里是“任期”的意思a period of time you spend working somewhere or at a certain activity   :同义： term of office / tenureerge .

playwright:    ['pleirait] a person who writes plays for theatre,television or radio 剧作家。

Her prime ministership may be short-lived. The government she is forming is only due to last until the next elections, which must take place by May and could be held in April.

A statement posted by the new government on Iceland's Web site promised elections "as soon as circumstances allow," and said the interim government "will base itself on a very prudent and responsible policy in economic and fiscal matters."

The statement added that the government will treat as priorities "the principles of sustainable development, women's rights, equality and justice."

Stonewall, a leading British gay and lesbian rights group, welcomed Sigurdardottir's appointment as a milestone.

"It really does matter. It is helpful" to have an openly gay prime minister, said Gary Nunn, a Stonewall spokesperson.

"We are trying to foster the ambition that young people can be anything they want to be."

short-lived: 短暂的 not living or lasting very long

临时政府 interim government    ['intərim] existing in force only for a short time/temporary 临时的 暂时的

可持续发展 sustainable development

里程碑 划时代的事件 milestone: a significant point in development; a very important event or stage in the development of sth

过年了，博客好几天没有更新了。发篇正在举行的09达沃斯世界经济论坛年会的相关文章吧，今天是论坛的第四天了。有兴趣的朋友可以一起关注下。下面是来自cnn的文章，为什么普京会在他的主题致辞中提到"Financial crisis is 'perfect storm' " 金融风暴，怎么会用perfect这个词来形容。应该是有两种理解吧，首先perfect有个意思:complete,absolute.(a perfect fool),还有可能是一种讽刺--“完美的风暴”，意在评判了像美国这些国家的经济体制，造就了过多的经济泡沫。希望世界金融体系在风暴下，有所改革。

DAVOS, Switzerland (CNN) --

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called Wednesday for the complete reform of the world's financial systems during keynote speeches at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the financial crisis constituted a "perfect storm."

The global economic meltdown dominated the agenda on the opening day of the annual meeting of powerbrokers and opinion formers, with Putin telling delegates that the crisis constituted a "perfect storm."

While economists and analysts could -- and should -- have predicted the crisis, Putin said, instead it had "come unexpectedly, just as winter comes unexpectedly to Russia every year."

"Just a year ago, American delegates speaking from this rostrum emphasized the U.S. economy's fundamental stability and its cloudless prospects. Today, investment banks, the pride of Wall Street, have virtually ceased to exist," Putin commented.

主旨发言/主题发言 keynote speech          世界经济论坛 World Economic Forum(WEF)

constitute:组成，构成   ['kɔnstitju:t] form,make up. If something constitutes a particular thing,it can be regarded as being that thing

meltdown: a sudden and completer failure of a company,organization, or system.本意是溶解，融化。

powerbroker: A person or group that has the ability to influence important decisions,esp in public policy,politics and business.中文意思可以是“政治掮客”，可能贬义的“权利玩家”

opinion former ： are people who have great influence over what public think about things 指对公众的思考方式有很大影响力的人(意见领导者，企业界意见团体）

rostrum: ['rɔstrəm]   raised platform from which public speeched are made 演讲台，讲坛。登上演讲台，用动词mount. mount the rostrum.

cloudless prospects: cloudless:clear 晴朗无云的。。。prospect : a picture of the mind or imagination,esp the future of an event.前景，展望。

But he said Russia wished U.S. President Barack Obama's new administration success in tackling the country's economic problems and said Moscow was ready to join international efforts to address the crisis.

"We expect all our partners in Europe, Asia and America, including the new U.S. administration, to show interest in further constructive cooperation in dealing with all these issues," Putin said.

He said it was time to "do away with virtual money" and establish an "economy of real values" grounded in a "just and efficient global economic architecture."

Earlier, Chinese Premier Wen called for greater cooperation between developed and developing nations in tackling the global financial crisis and building a new world economic order.

address the crisis address非常常用的单词,这个用法也常见 以前见过adress the problem ........~ (yourself to) sth (formal) ： to think about a problem or a situation and decide how you are going to deal with it

共同努力... join the efforts to do sth

He also warned that further action was needed internationally to "restore market confidence" and protect world economic growth.

"Political leaders must be forward-looking," Wen told delegates. "They should be responsible to the entire international community as well as to their own countries and people."

Wen admitted that the economic crisis had severely affected China's businesses, notably because of falling demand for Chinese exports. But he said the fundamentals of China's economy remained in "good shape," predicting 8 percent growth in 2009, following 9 percent growth in the previous 12 months.

He called for a raft of measures to be implemented to address the root causes of the crisis and create a "new international financial order."

They included the reform of supra-national financial institutions to grant more power to developing nations and the establishment of a multilateral trading regime.

国际社会，international community 经常用的短语。

a raft of :us口语 a large number or amount 大量，许多

implement:   ['implimənt] put sth into effect ... carry out 实施，实行。。

grant sth to sb: to give sth to sb formally or legally

multilateral trading regime: 多边贸易体制   regime:政体 制度。。。 method or system of a government or administration (esp in business)

"In tackling the crisis, practical cooperation is the effective way," Wen said. "The financial crisis is a test of the readiness of the international community to enhance cooperation and a test of our wisdom."

Earlier, several dozen pro-Tibetan demonstrators gathered peacefully in Davos about a kilometer from the conference venue to protest over Wen's presence at the annual meeting of powerbrokers and opinion formers.

More than 2,500 participants from 96 countries are attending this year's meeting, including 40 heads of state or government.

readiness准备就绪 (of sb)....the state of being willing to do sth    readiness( for sth ) the state of being ready or prepared for sth

加强合作 enhance cooperation

会议地点 conference venue   venue : place where people agree to meet (esp for sports,contest or match)

相关：

1 世界经济论坛

世界经济论坛(World Economic Forum--WEF)是一个非官方的国际组织，总部设在瑞士日内瓦。其前身是现任论坛主席、日内瓦商学院教授克劳斯·施瓦布1971年创建的“欧洲管理论坛”。1987年，“欧洲管理论坛”更名为“世界经济论坛”。论坛因每年年会都在瑞士的达沃斯召开，故也被称为“达沃斯论坛”。世界经济论坛是以研讨世界经济领域存在的问题、促进国际经济合作与交流为宗旨的非官方国际性机构，西方媒体把达沃斯年会称为非官方的经济最高级会议。随着论坛影响的不断扩大及与会者层次的提高，世界经济论坛已被认为是“非官方的国际经济最高级会谈”，是世界政要、企业界人士以及民间和社会团体领导人研讨世界经济问题最重要的非官方聚会场所之一。

企业如果希望成为世界经济论坛成员，必须满足相应的条件，并获得论坛的邀请。企业除了需要认同和遵循世界经济论坛“致力于改善全球状况”这一宗旨外，还应满足以下三个基本条件：

一、企业必须是其所在行业或国家的顶尖企业。二、企业的活动应具有全球性色彩。
三、企业能够在决定某一行业或某一地区未来发展方面发挥领导作用。

2004年1月21日至25日，第34届年会在瑞士达沃斯举行。　

2005年1月26日至30日在瑞士达沃斯举行世界经济论坛，本届年会共有来自近百个国家的2000多名代表参加，黄菊副总理应邀出席本届年会，并在年会全体会议上发表特别致辞。  

2007年1月24日至28日，世界经济论坛2007年年会在瑞士达沃斯举行，论坛年会以“变化中的力量格局”为主题，来自约90个国家和地区的2000多名政要和各界人士就2007年世界面临的挑战以及对策进行研讨。
   2008年年会于1月23日至27日在达沃斯举行，有27位国家元首或政府首脑、110多位政府部长以及众多知名企业领导人和政界人士共2500多人出席。年会以“合作创新的力量”为主题，分别就全球关注的金融市场动荡、经济前景的不确定性、气候变化、能源形势、食品供应安全等问题进行了辩论。
    2009年年会于1月28日在瑞士滑雪胜地达沃斯拉开帷幕，为期5天的会议着重探讨如何应对当前席卷全球的金融危机，拯救世界经济。除金融和经济危机外，这次年会还持续关注一些长期话题，如气候变化，能源、粮食和水资源安全等。

2 投资银行：