blatant, settlement, Act of Settlement, double-dip

Biden’s student loan transfer is illegal and will make inflation worse. I’m glad that Republican-led states are suing the Administration over this blatant bribe.

~ Mike Pompeo

彭博商業周刊 / 中文版

【全體總辭】香港民主派立法會議員總辭
4名民主派立法會議員遭香港政府褫奪議員資格，現任民主派立法會議員宣布全體總辭抗議。民主派會議召集人胡志偉批評人大常委會做法極其荒謬，反映中央徹底放棄《基本法》：「一國兩制到今天正式宣告死亡。」
胡志偉又指，政權出手將立法會變成一言堂，破壞香港的核心價值。民主黨立法會議員涂謹申表示，辭職為了抗議中央政府迫害香港的立法會議員，又批評中央企圖將香港立法會變成人大常委會：「由黨指揮一切。」
立法會現有62名議員，非建制派佔21名，包括19名民主派議員、熱血公民鄭松泰和醫學界陳沛然。

Beijing has said that pro-democracy lawmakers quitting is a blatant challenge to the central government's power and the authority of the Basic Law.

Authorities warned democrats that it would be an unwise move if they wanted to mobilise crowds to mass protests or appeal for foreign intervention with their resignation

Last week, in The Times and on my blog, I've been ranting about one particularly blatant money-grab by U.S. cellphone carriers: the mandatory 15-second voicemail instructions.

7 references to settlement in this book

1.	on Page 8:
	" ... failed to do. Many contemporaries hoped fora radical revision of the Church settlement of the 166os"
2.	on Page 9:
	"important to maintain the substance of the Restoration Settlement. The Prayer Book of 1662 was to remain the liturgical basis of Anglican worship until the twentieth century"
3.	on Page 14:
	" ... than they need have been, and generally threatened to reshape the Revolution settlement"
4.	on Page 43:
	"laws of settlement provided for compulsory residence in the parish of birth for those not occupying a house worth at least E1o per annum, a not insubstantial sum"
5.	on Page 82:
	"reinforced by settlement in Canada and the Floridas, would form a vast, loyal market for British manufactures, a continuing source of essential raw materials"
6.	on Page 97:
	"given a settlement which was to endure, albeit uneasily, until 1867. In many ways, Pitt's supremacy had a very traditional appearance"
7.	from Back Matter:
	"Act of Settlement settles the royal succession on the descendants of Sophia of Hanover 1702 Death of William III"

Dialogue | 23.01.2009 | 05:30

Some ancient laws in Britain concerning inter-religious relations are up for change

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Old traditions are hard to get rid of

In Britain, it is not always easy to change ancient traditions

In Britain a new attempt is being made to change ancient laws which bans the monarch from marrying a Catholic. The Act of Settlement, introduced by King William III in 1701 states anyone who marries a Catholic cannot become king or queen. It also gives legal precedence to male heirs in the line of succession, and it is these two aspects that a British lawmaker wants to change. Dr Evan Harris, from the country's third political party the Liberal Democrats says this blatant religious and sex discrimination is outdated and must go.

(Report: Catherine Drews)

1.	on Page 15:
	"new king's foreign policy caused severe strains by its blatant use of England's naval power to secure Hanover's Baltic ambitions. There was also ... "

blatant 明顯的

djective describes something bad that is very obvious or intentional: a blatant lie The whole episode was a blatant attempt to gain publicity. 

  blatantly 

adverb It was blatantly obvious that she was telling a lie.

【大公網訊】迪拜近日爆發的債務危機引發了全球金融市場的恐慌，英國自然也不例外。一項新的調查統計數據顯示，在迪拜總計達600億美元的債務中，英國所持有的債權總額就占到了一半。

據了解，蘇格蘭皇家銀行集團是迪拜世界最大的債權人。市場投資者目前普感恐慌，他們認為一旦該債務無法收回，納稅人將會面臨嚴重的損失。早前，為了挽救蘇格蘭皇家銀行，英國財政部共計向其註入了將近455億英鎊的救助資金。

摩根大通今天引述Dealogic的數據在一份報告中表示，作為英國最大的政府控制的銀行，蘇格蘭皇家銀行自2007年1月起安排了23億美元，或17%迪拜世界的貸款。

不 僅如此，市場還擔心，隨著迪拜債務危機的蔓延，那些由迪拜控制的企業里數千名英國員工將面臨著十分殘酷的現實。英國最大的主題公園奧爾頓塔(Alton Towers)、倫敦眼(London Eye)、英國鐵行(P&O)、Travelodge連鎖旅館以及倫敦證券交易所集團公司（London Stock Exchange Group PLC，簡稱倫敦證交所）里都是迪拜投資的對象。

據悉，迪拜在英國市場上的投資至 少在59億英鎊以上。而英國在迪拜市場上的投資有將近46億英鎊。就連英國著名廚師戈登拉姆塞(Gordon Ramsay)以及加里·羅德斯（Gary Rhodes）都在此次迪拜債務危機中損失慘重，而英國著名足球明星大衛貝克漢姆也在迪拜擁有房產。為了緩解因迪拜危機而引發英國市場上對明年出現雙底經 濟衰退(double-dip recession)的恐懼，英國首相布朗也立即在27日發表講話，以期穩定市場信心。布朗表示：「如果這局域性的問題，那麽事件很快就會平息，而我堅 信，此次迪拜的債務危機就是這種性質。」

受到迪拜世界債務重組的影響，世界各地的股票近兩天已經大幅下跌。市場擔心，如果繼續持有這類銀行個股，可能會遭受更大的虧損。因此市場上拋售情緒漸甚。作為此次債務危機最大的的受害者，英國的銀行業股票在兩天時間里資產蒸發了140億英鎊。

雖 然有投資者擔心迪拜政府無力還債有可能會引發多米諾骨牌效應，拖累尚未站穩復蘇腳步的全球經濟。但也有分析師認為，同為阿聯酋聯邦成員的阿布達比不會見死 不救，讓迪拜鬧出自2001年阿根廷違約以來，全球最大主權基金違約事件。不過這種不確定性仍上市場上的投資者慌亂不已，近兩日全球股市完全籠罩在恐慌的 陰影中。

分析師認為，英國是此次危機中受害最嚴重的國家，國際結算銀行(Bank for International Settlements)的數據顯示，英國銀行阿聯酋的貸款總額達到了300億英鎊，其中絕大部分都投資於迪拜。相對而言，美國以及法國的銀行對其債權低 於70億英鎊。摩根大通的數據顯示，蘇格蘭皇家銀行集團是迪拜世界最大的債權人，而匯豐控股（ HSBC Holdings Plc ）擁有在阿拉伯聯合酋長國（United Arab Emirates）的最大的債權風險。福克斯銀行分析師戴維·威廉姆斯（David Williams）表示：「市場對暴露於迪拜危機所帶來的風險敞口是非常緊張的，蘇格蘭皇家銀行的名字已經與此關聯成為迪拜的債權人和帳簿管理人，人們擔 心它會產生新一輪的損失，迪拜是推動目前一切的市場催化劑。」

來源：騰訊財經

set・tle・ment

━━ n. 身を落ち着かせる［固める］こと, 定住, 定着; 植民［居留］（地）; 解決, 決定; 【法】（紛争・裁判での）和解, 示談; 返済, 決算; 贈与（財産）; 【法】遺産の配分確定; 【法】（英国での）継承的財産設定（証書）, 継承的不動産処分（証書）; セツルメント, 社会福祉事業（団）; （建物などの）沈下; 澄むこと, 沈殿（物）. Act of Settlement　【英史】王位継承法. settlement day　【株】決算日, 決済日. ⇒settle¹