French labor unions are planning a nationwide strike on Thursday to call on the government to raise taxes on the rich, as France sags deeper into recession.

By STEVEN GAINES
Reviewed by CARL HIAASEN

A lively chronicle of sleaze and vapidity in Miami Beach, from the era of Capone to Sinatra and Madonna.

Bons Mots and Bêtes Noires

CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS

Published: September 19, 2008

The election of Nicolas Sarkozy to the presidency of the French Republic, on a ticket of the Gaullist and centrist right, was marked by two kinds of defection from the left. In advance of the vote, a number of former Marxist Parisian intellectuals like André Glucksmann announced their intention of voting for Sarkozy and against the rather vapid and temperamental quasi-spousal Socialist party team of Ségolène Royal and her significant other, François Hollande. And then, once the victory of Sarkozy had been assured — probably rather more by the votes of former rightists than former leftists — the new president offered some plum jobs to prominent Socialists like Bernard Kouchner, the ex-Communist and cofounder of the campaigning internationalist outfit Doctors Without Borders, who is now foreign minister, before himself proceeding to give new meaning to the term “husband and wife team” by marrying the former supermodel Carla Bruni in the Élysée Palace itself.

bon mot

(bôN mō')

n., pl. bons mots (bôN mō', mōz').
A clever saying; a witticism.

[French : bon, good + mot, word.]

A French term meaning "good word". A bon mot is a witty remark or clever observation. Charles Lamb and Oscar Wilde are celebrated for their witty bon mots. Two examples by Oscar Wilde stand out: (1) "All women become their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his". (2) "A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies".

seize up phrasal verb INFORMAL
to stop being able to move or work in the normal way:
The washing machine totally seized up on Thursday.
The traffic had seized up for miles because of the roadworks.

Come to a halt, as in The peace talks seized up and were not rescheduled. Originally, from about 1870 on, this term was applied to a machine of some kind that jammed or locked, owing to excessive heat or friction. Its figurative use dates from about 1950.

Japan's farm minister resigns in rice scare

17 hours ago

TOKYO (AFP) — Japan's farm minister resigned Friday in a spiralling scare over pesticide-laced rice, which was served to hospital patients and schoolchildren and led to thousands of recalls.

Seiichi Ota quit just days before he would be out of a job anyway due to the resignation of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, whose government's approval rating stands at rock-bottom.

"In consideration of the large social impact that the tainted rice has had, I have resolved to resign as farm minister," Ota said at a press conference.

The resignation "will show who is responsible," said Ota, declaring responsibility for failing to address the public's concerns.

The scandal emerged when Osaka-based company Mikasa Foods earlier this month admitted to selling imported pesticide-tainted rice to snack makers and ordering company employees to go ahead with the sales.

Public anxiety heightened as hundreds of food companies including major breweries were hit by the scandal and the rice was also distributed to hospitals and schools.

Ota, known for his outspoken remarks, had been under fire for comments suggesting that he was reluctant to handle the situation.

The reselling of the tainted rice "does not have any impact on health. That is why I am not really making a big deal out of it," he said when the scandal emerged, causing uproar among consumers and lawmakers.

Last month he said Japanese consumers were too "fussy" over food safety.

Ahead of Ota's resignation, the farm ministry's number two had also quit, assuming responsibility for mishandling the food scandal.

"The government is regretful and sorry that this issue has increased people's worries over food safety," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura, who will serve as acting farm minister for government's final days.

Machimura -- who has said he unknowingly drank liquor with the tainted rice -- promised that the government was "making its utmost efforts" to address the scare.

Senior opposition leader Yukio Hatoyama said that the resignation came too late.

"He should have quit sooner," Hatoyama told reporters. "And the one who appointed a person like him should be held responsible too."

The opposition is hopeful it can oust the Liberal Democratic Party, which has been in power for all but 10 months since 1955, in the next elections.

The Liberal Democrats meet on Monday to pick Fukuda's successor, with conservative stalwart Taro Aso seen as the front-runner. The next premier is expected to take office on Wednesday.

Japan imported the rice in the scandal from China, Vietnam and other countries under its international commitment to open its tightly protected agricultural market.

Authorities set aside rice that was contaminated but sold it to companies for industrial use, such as making glue. Mikasa Foods admitted it passed the rice off as edible to cash in on the huge price difference.

Farm minister is a coveted position in Japanese politics but holders of the post have been a bete noire for the prime minister.

Fukuda's predecessor Shinzo Abe went through four farm ministers including one who hanged himself as a probe loomed into dirty money allegations. Two other farm ministers under Abe left office over financial wrongdoing.

PROFESSIONALIZATION is hardly a panacea. No one would argue that lawyers, doctors and accountants are immune from wrongdoing or poor judgment, and they have long been taking certification exams and promising to act ethically. It is also unclear who would monitor continuing education and what kind of certification would be required.

considered a panacea for
《be 〜》〜への万能薬｛ばんのうやく｝と考えられる
not a panacea for
《be 〜》〜の万能薬｛ばんのうやく｝［に対して万能｛ばんのう｝］ではない
panacea for economic revival
経済再生｛けいざいさいせい｝の特効薬｛とっこうやく｝
provide a panacea for Japan's current economic problems
現在｛げんざい｝の日本｛にほん｝の経済問題｛けいざいもんだい｝に解決策｛かいけつさく｝を与える
seen as a panacea for
《be 〜》〜の万能薬｛ばんのうやく｝を思われる

Living Planet | 21.08.2008 | 04:30
Zero Tillage Reduces Water Consumption in Farming

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Zero tillage requires special machines like this one that still function even when plants are left on the fields

Zero tillage is a method where fields are cultivated without turning over the soil. Experts hope that it will reduce water consumption, fuel costs and soil erosion.

According to WWF estimates most water – about 70 to 80 percent -- gets used – and wasted – in agriculture. One aspect you might not have thought about is ploughing. Today, most fields are ploughed. Farmers in temperate latitudes invented the plough to fight weeds.

But some experts say ploughing actually wastes water in dry areas through evaporation and leads to more soil erosion. And modern ploughing also uses up a lot of petrol. That’s why some agricultural researchers these days are advocating what’s known as „zero tillage“, meaning farming without turning over the fields.

But a better yield and less water consumption doesn’t mean the method’s a panacea.

Report: Gabor Paal/ Kateri Jochum

Verizon Ups FiOS Speeds

Verizon is boosting the speed of its FiOS Internet service in 10 states, adding plans that nearly double speeds in some areas and ratcheting up competition with cable providers.

Google quietly launches AdSense for Feeds
CNET News - San Francisco,CA,USABits and pieces of Google's acquisition of Feedburner continue to seep out. Friday marked quiet "public" launch of AdSense for Feeds, a service that was ...

But the New York exhibition could be considered the peak of Mr. Saint Laurent’s career, for after that he settled into a classical mode of reinterpreting his earlier successes. The boy wonder had turned into the elder statesman. He said in an interview in 1983: “A woman’s wardrobe shouldn’t change every six months. You should be able to use the pieces you already own and add to them. Because they are like timeless classics.”
Yet because so many of his early designs seeped into the public domain of fashion (and into many other designers’ collections), he managed to retain his stellar position in the world of fashion through his retirement in 2002.

seep adverb or preposition]
to move or spread slowly out of a hole or through something:
Pesticides are seeping out of farmland and into the water supply.
FIGURATIVE Given the intense secrecy of the arms business, information only seeps out in company literature.

seepage [U]
Oil spills and seepage from refineries are common.

up (HIGHER) Show phonetics
adverb
1 towards a higher position; towards a higher value, number or level:
Put those books up on the top shelf.
A gravel road leads through the jungle and up into the Andes.
Pushing the number of unit sales up every quarter can't be continued indefinitely.
The water was up to/had come up to the level of the windows.

2 out of the ground:
He spent the afternoon digging carrots up.

up Show phonetics
preposition
to or in a higher level or position:
We followed her up the stairs to a large meeting room.

up Show phonetics
adjective
1 moving up:
an up escalator
See also upper (HIGHER).

2 If a level or amount is up, it has increased:
The cost of car insurance is up, but not very much.
Last year the company's turnover was $240 billion, up 3% on (= compared with) the previous year.

3 If someone's long hair is up, it is arranged on the top or back of their head:
You look lovely with your hair up.

up Show phonetics
verb [T] -pp- INFORMAL
to increase something such as a price:
We won't be able to make a profit on the deal without upping the sale price.
It looks like tax rates are going to be upped again.

up (INCREASE) Show phonetics
adverb
to a greater degree; in order to increase:
The fire heats the room up (= makes it warmer) within minutes.
Grandma always turns the TV up really loud because she can't hear very well.
Try not to get worked up (= increasingly excited or angry), I'm sure we can sort the problem out.
panacea Show phonetics
noun [C usually singular]
1 DISAPPROVING something that will solve all problems:
Technology is not a panacea for all our problems.

2 something that will cure all illnesses
名万能薬｛ばんのうやく｝、〔あらゆる問題｛もんだい｝の〕解決策｛かいけつさく｝
・It is not necessarily a panacea for everyone. それがすべての人の万能薬［解決策］とは限らない。