spartan, bile farming, gallbladder, barbarity

Robert Reich
I've always had a special place in my bile for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) -- a political front group for big corporations. Here, Atlanta investigative journalists went undercover at a secretive meeting of ALEC, showing how politicians are wined and dined behind closed doors by corporate lobbyists. Through ALEC, corporations can get their every wish: "right-to-work" laws that undercut labor unions, repeal of clean energy laws, blockage of minimum wage inc⋯⋯

取熊膽汁在越南甚嚴重

Folk Remedy From愛 Captive Bears Stirs Furor in China

By ANDREW JACOBS

Bile from the gallbladder of bears is believed to have medicinal benefits, but animal advocates are convincing some Chinese consumers of the barbarity of bile farming.

 中國養熊取膽汁方式引起保育人士抗議

bile

Pronunciation: /bʌɪl/

Definition of bile

noun

[mass noun]

• 1 a bitter greenish-brown alkaline fluid which aids digestion and is secreted by the liver and stored in the gall bladder.

• 2 anger, bitterness, or irritability:his response was full of bile and hatred

Origin:

mid 16th century: from French, from Latin bilis

spartan (SPAR-tn)

adjective: Lacking in comforts; marked by self-discipline or self-restraint.

[形]

1 ((しばしばs-))〈物・事が〉スパルタ式の, 〈生活などが〉厳格で簡素な；〈室内が〉質素な；〈人が〉勇敢な

Spartan simplicity
スパルタ式簡素

a Spartan lunch
簡素な昼食.

2 （古代）スパルタ（人）の.

━━[名]

1 スパルタ人.

Etymology
After Sparta, an ancient town in southern Greece whose residents were known for strict discipline. First recorded use: 1425.

Notes
Sparta was the capital of Laconia, which has given another word to the language: laconic. Also, there's a word coined after another town in Laconia: helot.

Usage
"Jens Jacob cooks and sleeps in the van, his mobile home, sometimes under the stars. It's a spartan existence for the man on the move." — Allan Jacob; On the Road to...; Khaleej Times (Dubai, UAE); Nov 5, 2010.