Latest News Clips 2013.04.22

1.      It can happen anywhere CNN   April 16, 2013

Grand Rapids, Michigan (CNN) -- If September 11, 2001, was the day everything changed, then April 15, 2013, serves as another reminder of that change, of our frailties and of a new reality in which "it can't happen here" has been replaced by "it can happen anywhere."

When initial reports came out of Boston about two explosions occurring near the finish line of the 116th marathon -- a marathon that began with 26 seconds of silence in honor of the 26 victims of the Newtown massacre -- we held our collective breaths and hoped it was a freak infrastructure accident.

Or compromised electrical wiring.

Or a gas leak.

Anything other than ...

President Barack Obama did not say the word "terrorism" in his brief address, perhaps waiting until more facts are learned. We don't know how many are responsible, we don't know motive, if any, and we don't know whether it's domestic or foreign. But we do know the FBI said the explosions were well-planned. We know the Boston Marathon is seen around the world. And we know three people are dead, including an 8-year-old boy, more than 100 are injured, and countless lives have been scarred.

So if September 11, 2001, was the day our innocence was taken, then April 15, 2013, is the reminder that it is never coming back.

It is felt each time we have to take off our shoes at the airport, have an TSA officer pat us down, throw away a tube of toothpaste because it's over the allotted 3.4 ounces. The FAA temporarily restricted flights over the bombing site while security was increased in cities as far away as Miami and Los Angeles.

I was in central London earlier this month and was having a difficult time finding a garbage can whenever I had something to discard. Finally, I asked some of the residents why it was so hard to find one and was reminded that the Irish Republican Army hid bombs in garbage cans during the 1990s and as a result they are still seen as a security threat.

This is what happens when evil like the kind experienced in Boston takes away our innocence.

frailty脆弱
religion freak 宗教狂熱者

fitness freak 健身狂熱者
massacre 大屠殺
motive動機
innocence (名詞)純真 naive <=> innocent
discard 丟棄
allot => distribute分配
scar, scarred scarred =>心靈創傷

2.      Quake Kills More Than 100 in Sichuan

The Wall Street Journal  April 20, 2013

This aerial photo released by China's Xinhua news agency shows destroyed houses after a powerful earthquake hit Lushan County in Ya'an on Saturday.

BEIJING—A strong earthquake killed at least 113 people and injured hundreds more Saturday, state media said, striking an area roughly 50 miles from the epicenter of the devastating 2008 quake that killed some 80,000.

Saturday's quake struck China's southwestern Sichuan province—in Lushan county near the city of Ya'an—just after 8 a.m. with a magnitude of 7.0, according to the China Earthquakes Network Center. The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude of the quake at 6.6, downgraded from an initial reading of 6.9.

"My first response was 'I am going to die,' " said Li Zhizhu, one of a group of university students from the provincial capital of Chengdu who were traveling in the countryside outside Ya'an. He said he was asleep in a lodge when the quake struck and woke to see tiles falling from the ceiling. "It was very scary. There were aftershocks every few minutes. We had no phone reception and people were crying."

Hundreds of people were injured in the quake, according to state media reports. The death toll rose steadily throughout the day, suggesting it would grow.

Criticized for being slow and opaque in their handling of previous disasters, Chinese authorities were quick to announce the mobilization of rescue teams. The People's Liberation Army dispatched 2,000 soldiers and two helicopters to the region from the nearby Chengdu Military Area Command, according to state media. The paramilitary People's Armed Police had dispatched nearly 4,000 officers and soldiers with heavy machinery, including loaders and excavators, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.

aerial photo:空照圖
devastating:毀滅性的
struck: strike
lodge:小屋,旅社
suggesting: 暗示
 

3.      H7N9 flu transmission studied

China Daily   2013-04-20

The World Health Organization's China representative said on Friday there are "quite a few" cases in which the many hundreds of people in close contact with H7N9 flu 

patients fell ill as well.

Such contacts include caregivers, family members and neighbors, said Michael O'Leary.

The family cluster involving a father and son both infected with the virus in Shanghai might be a case of one person passing the virus to another — in other words 

person-to-person transmission, he acknowledged.

It is also possible that both of them were exposed to the same source of infection, he added. "We cannot say for certain and investigations are still going on."

But O'Leary said that even though the virus could spread among humans, transmission would not be easy.

"Otherwise we would see many such cases. We've not seen easy and sustained person-to-person transmission so far,"he said.

But he also said it is hard to clearly verify whether it is human-to-human transmission in cases involving close family members.

caregiver:護理人員(在家幫忙照顧親屬皆屬)

4.      Boston reminds us of best and worst of humanity By Michael Oren , Israel's ambassador to the United States,Special to CNN CNN   April 19, 2013

 (CNN) -- The purpose of terror is to terrorize. Though questions remain about those responsible for the attack, the horrendous bombing attack on the Boston Marathon sought to instill paralyzing fear, inflict debilitating trauma and force us to forfeit our freedom. We cannot let terror win.

We -- Americans and Israelis -- live in open societies that enable us to celebrate our freedom. Whether in arts festivals, sporting events, craft fairs or merely playing with our kids in the park, we are upholding those liberties in the face of those seeking to deny them.

At the same time, we know that our freedoms must be defended, sometimes by men and women in uniform but most poignantly by people refusing to succumb to fear. We beat terror by refusing to submit.

The people of Boston, who on the day of the bombing were celebrating liberty's birthday, will not submit. Our experience in Israel has taught us that communities and caregivers, police and security forces, elected leaders and volunteers can unite at such times and block the terrorists from achieving their objectives. While taking all possible measures to prevent further loss of life, we adamantly refuse to forfeit our way of life.

Anyone who has suffered the agony of terror knows the pain of the victims and their families as well as the radius of the emotional damage inflicted on countless citizens. We know that at such times, communities can band together and help bind the psychological and physical wounds. When first responders rush through the smoke, risking their own lives to assist the fallen, the healing process begins.

And the people of Boston will heal. Still, the democratic liberties that Americans and Israelis enjoy cannot be taken for granted. American security forces and policy-makers face complex challenges. We must appreciate their successes in thwarting many attacks. We will continue to embrace freedom, but we will remain vigilant and resolute.

This attack in Boston reminds us of both the worst and best in humanity. In an act of terror, those responsible destroyed and forever altered the lives of hundreds of people. But, stories of the heroic first responders, the athletes who ran to the hospital to donate blood and the countless other acts of selflessness remind us of the American spirit and its capacity to overcome terror and emerge stronger.

We comfort the bereaved, tend to(take care of) the hurt and take all precautions. We remember the victims but, standing together, refuse to be victimized.

terrorize恐嚇
horrendous可怕的
instill灌輸洗腦
paralyze  vt.癱瘓
inflict => suffer 
The war inflicted severe damage on the nation's economy
debilitating  衰弱的
trauma 心理創傷(感情)
forfeit 喪失
uphold 維護
poignantly 令人惋惜地
succumb屈服
succumb to temptation 擋不住誘惑
submit屈服
adamantly堅定地
remain adamant 不為所動
band together團結
wound 創傷(身體)
still然而
vigilant警覺
 tend to =>take care of

5.      The Price of Gold Is Crashing. Here's Why

Business Week    April 15, 2013

A chart of the crashing price of gold looks like a wedding ring rolling off a table. Gold futures for June delivery closed at $1,361 an ounce on the Comex in New York today, a drop of more than $200 in two sessions. Gold’s fall of 13 percent since April 11 was the biggest two-session decline since 1980.

Why is gold plunging? The most important factor is that global inflation is falling, reducing gold’s value as a hedge against rising prices. Gold bugs who were betting on an outburst of inflation are scrambling to reverse their bets and exit their gold positions at any price.

For consumers struggling to make ends meet, it may seem hard to believe that inflation is falling. But the evidence is clear fromJPMorgan Chase’s (JPM) global consumer price index, which covers more than 30 countries that collectively represent more than 90 percent of world economic output.

According to the JPMorgan index, global inflation peaked at 4 percent in 2011 and has fallen steadily since. Global prices in February were up only about 2.5 percent from a year earlier, the bank’s index says.

JPMorgan has two scenarios for what happens next. Its main one is based on a “bottom-up” collection of analysts’ forecasted price trends sector by sector around the world. That shows inflation rising very slightly from its current level for the rest of 2013. In contrast, JPMorgan’s “top-down” analysis, which is prepared by the banks’ economists and takes into account prices of commodity futures contracts, among other factors, shows inflation moving down closer to 2 percent in the second half of 2013.
 Gold futures黃金期貨
 inflation, deflation通膨,通縮
 as a hedge against 以避免
 make ends meet 靠微薄收入為生