A Record-Setting Seaweed Blob Is Headed for Florida. See What It Looks Like.
Scientists said they spotted more than 13 million tons of Sargassum in the Atlantic Ocean last month, a record for March.
（德國之聲中文網）最新一期德國《明鏡周刊》的封面故事聚焦中國爆發的新型冠狀病毒疫情，在封面上可見的標題是"冠狀病毒--中國製造--當全球化帶來死亡危險"（Corona-Virus Made in China Wenn die Globalisierung zur tödlichen Gefahr wird）。其中"中國製造"幾個字被特別放大，以黃色呈現。
這篇封面故事在周刊內的實際主標題是"恐懼病菌"（Keim der Angst），副標題是"中國的新型冠狀病毒在全球範圍蔓延--給人類帶來危險的後果"。
這篇由九名作者聯合執筆的文章在開頭寫道："中國新型冠狀病毒迅速蔓延，使全球許多人不安。它令民眾、醫療人員、政治家和經濟學家面臨挑戰，並使現代的生活方式受到質疑。這一威脅觸及這個全球化世界的最敏感的地方。"
最新一期《明鏡周刊》的封面
文章接著從武漢的一名年輕醫生去年12月30日發布的一條群消息後被約談說起，提到新冠病毒的最新感染數據。文章作者寫道："疫情令科學家、政治家和企業家不安，造成股市下挫，它已開始改變我們的日常和商業生活以及我們的旅遊習慣。恐懼席捲全球。體育盛事遭遇推遲，預計今年參加紐倫堡國際玩具展的中國人將少於往年。英國航空和德國漢莎最先取消旗下航空公司飛往中國的航班。為避免病毒擴散，香港國泰航空停止在機上供應枕頭、毛毯和雜誌。接下來還會發生什麼？"
不只關乎中國
《明鏡周刊》的作者直言，新型冠狀病毒的事不只和醫藥以及中國有關，"它是一個有關我們這個世界日益交織的教訓"，"一個有關危險全球化的故事"。
這篇長達三萬餘字的長文還注意到，世界衛生組織（WHO）總幹事譚德塞（Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus）週二與中國國家主席習近平在北京會面並盛讚其"領導力"一事。文章就此指出："對於北京的領導人而言這是喜聞樂見的支持。以下說法聽起來可能有些自相矛盾：這場危機為中共政權提供了一個機會，證明其製度具有其認為的優越性。他們的宗旨是：你們西方可能認為我們的措施殘酷，但我們稱之為有效。"
《明鏡》的文章繼續寫道："實際上，中國現在對其公民的要求在任何一個其他國家都是難以想像的。對於歐洲人而言，不禁讓人想到一部災難片。約5000萬人被困在湖北，這比西班牙的總人口都多。"
In every city you see them. The young men with nowhere to go and nothing to do. They are not unique to London, or Paris or Rio; they are the world's problem demographic
Empathy and Angst in a German City Transformed by Refugees
Christmas edition archive: The downsized male. Agonising about the male predicament has become a fashionable hobby for both men and women. Just reading the dizzying list of titles devoted to the subject is enough to provoke anxiety. With a big dollop of generalisation, male angst can be reduced to three grievances http://econ.st/1fInQYa
378 people bought coffee for a stranger.
Hundreds of Strangers at This Starbucks Paid for Each Others' Coffee for a Day
Remember that ho-hum movie with Kevin Spacey, "Pay It Forward"? Well it sort of happened in real life in Florida
TIME.COM
The Blob in Eindhoven
On ’18 September Square’ in the old city centre of Eindhoven, you will find a futuristic building that stands out among its neighbours. It is called 'The Blob' and was designed by the Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas. The organically shaped glass and steel structure serves as the entrance to the wonderful 'The Admirant' shopping mall.
More information: http://bit.ly/1gU4Yuf
Chinese workers swap angst for anger
The Blob in Eindhoven
On ’18 September Square’ in the old city centre of Eindhoven, you will find a futuristic building that stands out among its neighbours. It is called 'The Blob' and was designed by the Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas. The organically shaped glass and steel structure serves as the entrance to the wonderful 'The Admirant' shopping mall.
More information: http://bit.ly/1gU4Yuf
He was chewing betel from a lacquered box on the table, and thinking about his past life.
focus (sth) on/upon sb/sth
Lenovo Refocuses on China With New Leadership
Lenovo is replacing American CEO Amelio with Chairman Yang and bringing back co-founder Liu to head the board, putting the struggling personal computer maker firmly back in the hands of Chinese executives.
focus (sth) on/upon sb/sth phrasal verb
to give a lot of attention to one particular person, subject or thing:
Tonight's programme focuses on the way that homelessness affects the young.
When the kitchen is finished I'm going to focus my attention on the garden and get that sorted out.
dollop
Syllabification: (dol·lop)
Pronunciation: /ˈdäləp/
nounverb (dollops, dolloping, dolloped)
[with object]Origin:
late 16th century (denoting a clump of grass or weeds in a field): perhaps of Scandinavian origin and related to Norwegian dialect dolp 'lump'音節
- be • tel
- 発音
- bíːtəl
betel nut
- [C][U]ビンロウジ（檳榔子）：ビンロウの果実. ▼インド・東南アジアでの風習で, これをキンマの葉で包んでかみ, 唾液とともに吐く.
- betel palm
- 《植物》ビンロウ, ビンロウジュ（檳榔樹）：熱帯アジア産のヤシ科の高木.
angst
n.
A feeling of anxiety or apprehension often accompanied by depression.
[German, from Middle High German angest, from Old High German angust.]
angst
Syllabification: (angst)
Pronunciation: /aNG(k)st, äNG(k)st/
nounOrigin:
1920s: from German, 'fear, anxiety'Sexy 'betel nut beauties' push addictive snack, boosting age-old industry and raising debate
Feb 02, 2009 04:30 AM
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TAIPEI–Lee sits on a bar stool in a Plexiglas box near a highway off-ramp in central Taiwan. It's late afternoon and the 29-year-old is dressed in a red negligee, a fake rose planted between her breasts.
"I work from noon to midnight, and it's psychologically tiring," she says. "Furthermore," she adds, pointing to her husband a few metres away, "he takes all the money."
Lee isn't selling her body. In fact, she's using her body to sell a spicy, addictive snack called betel nuts.
Lee, who won't give her first name, is a "betel nut beauty," one of thousands of women along Taiwan's highways who sell the datelike fruit of the areca palm to truckers and mostly working-class customers.
The practice has been cheered by male customers, condemned by feminist groups, decried by health professionals and studied by sociologists keen to understand the island's "betel nut culture."
The aggressive sales tactics are credited with jump-starting a ho-hum industry: After rice, betel nuts have supplanted sugar cane as Taiwan's second-largest crop.
Chewed in parts of Southeast Asia, India, Pakistan and the South Pacific, the betel nut is a stimulant popular as a hunger suppressant, breath freshener, tobacco substitute or for delivering a mild buzz similar to cigarettes.
On the downside, chewing betel nuts can lead to red-stained teeth, drooling, red-splotched sidewalks and oral cancer.
The nut's history dates to China's Six Dynasties period (A.D. 220-589), when it was a gift for royalty. Taiwan has moved this royal indulgence down-market to include betel nut soap, liquor and chicken feed.
But the main seller is on the roadside, where packages of betel nuts go for a dollar or two.
"Basically, men are randy," says taxi driver Cheng Chunho, dipping into a plastic bag of "Hi Class Beetle Nut Crispy & Tasty."
"I don't even like the stuff. But after a long day of driving, buying it provides a bit of excitement."
Outsiders often think the betel-nut industry is a cover for prostitution. Some cases might exist, but pulling 12-hour shifts in a plastic box isn't conducive to the world's oldest profession, amply served by barber shops and escort services.
Most betel nut stands feature glaring neon lights and a mirror to draw attention to the women.
Many women recruited by booth owners are school dropouts, single parents or runaways from lower socio-economic backgrounds, says Christian Wu, an artist and scholar and unofficial "Minister of Betel Nut Beauties," declared by Taiwan's Art Critic magazine for her long-standing work with the community.
"The average age is 14 to 17," Wu says. "By 20, you're often too old."
The businesses are legal, but many are owned by gangsters who bribe police to alert them to raids, allowing them to hide underage workers.
A commission system allows the women to decide how they want to dress, and some earn $50,000 (U.S.) a year. This has prompted a debate over whether the industry empowers women or exploits them.
Betel nut beauties say owners give new recruits basic tips on how to dress and act, but, ultimately, the women develop their own style. Competition gets fierce, but selling is about more than just looks.
"If a new girl with a beautiful face shows up but she's stupid, there isn't much competition," says a former seller. "But there are a fixed number of drivers coming by. And if she's got good sales skills, she can steal away 50 per cent of the business."
The origin of betel nut beauties is uncertain. According to one story, in the early 1990s, two good-looking sisters started selling nuts on the roadside, wearing sleeveless outfits. They sold more than their older competitors and spurred copycats.
In 1997, Wu travelled to central Taiwan, looking for the sisters. "But wherever I went and asked, everyone there claimed they were the original beauties," she says.
As the industry has become more successful – by some estimates earning hundreds of millions of dollars annually and employing 2.5 million people – it has drawn more criticism and calls for regulation.
"There used to be a lot more betel nut girls," says a seller in a black bikini. "But two years ago the police started cracking down on us for wearing too little."
Health concerns also have grown: Oral cancer cases in Taiwan rose to 4,750 in 2004 from 1,790 in 1994, an increase the government blames on betel nut use.
A study by the World Health Organization in 2003 linking betel nut use to cancer prompted officials to call for warnings on packages. Today, some bags have warnings, but the rule is not always enforced.
Critics also worry about moral implications.
"There's an element of treating women like toys," says Wang Julu, a sociologist at National Tsing Hua University.
Others counter that scantily clad women sell things everywhere, including designer clothes.
"These things exist in any society," says Hwang Shu-ling, a sociologist at Taipei's National Defense Medical Center. "After all, the U.S. has topless bars.
"The thing that makes Taiwan's betel nut industry different is that it's more extreme and it's all out in public."
All the gawking can also create problems, Cheng says. "Guys are so busy looking, they crash."
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