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Squeezing miners may be the president's only chance of raising the funds he desperately needs to stay in power
Squeezing miners may be the president's only chance of raising the funds he desperately needs to stay in power
Washington Post 都分享了 1 條連結。
Britain Livid on Spying Claim, but Trump Isn’t Apologizing
- White House aides scrambled to deal with an unusual rupture after suggesting that former President Barack Obama used a British spy agency to wiretap Donald J. Trump during the campaign.
- At a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Mr. Trump made clear that he felt the White House had nothing to retract.
"Everybody I asked said that they have never clicked on those ads, as they were considered quite 'spammy' and instead they usually click on the first few search results in Google. After hearing this, I decided to pull the pin on Google AdWords and continue with our alternative marketing strategies."
When Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, gave a belligerent anti-Western speech in Munich seven years ago he was tense and angry. But on October 24th he was reportedly relaxed and happy as he delivered his most anti-American diatribe so far. What lies behind this latest rant? http://econ.st/1nTzYO7
The great revolutions of history typically produce written works celebrating their achievement. The French Revolution, however, was immortalized by a denunciation. Edmund Burke's "Reflections on the Revolution in France" appeared in 1790, when Britons were still welcoming the Revolution as a blow to Bourbon tyranny. Burke's dissent has resounded through the ages. No reactionary diatribe, the "Reflections" promoted a "manly, moral, regulated liberty" and a cautious reform of the decadent French monarchy. But it lividly denounced the "short-sighted coxcombs of philosophy" seeking to remake France as a radical utopia, as if the "constitution of a kingdom be a problem of ...
In his case, the distinction is blurred because he also penned three non-fiction diatribes against Jews — “Trifles for a Massacre” (1937), “School of Corpses” (1938) and “The Fine Mess” (1941) — which sold well precisely because he was a famous author. For his admirers, however, all that counts is his literature.
OVIE REVIEW |'BABIES'
Awwwwww, Ewwww, Who’s a Good Baby?
By A. O. SCOTT
“Babies,” a documentary by Thomas Balmès, chronicles the first year in the lives of four far-flung infants.
O'Brien: Google Wave is like e-mail, only way more complicated
San Jose Mercury NewsBy Chris O'Brien Before I launch into a diatribe about how insanely complex Google Wave is, I want to preface my thoughts with a story about how dumb I am. ...
When a quiet word beats sending e-mail
By Luke Johnson 2009-07-03E-mail might just be responsible for the productivity increases that economists tell us are the key to rising prosperity. But it could also be sending us all mad.
The truth is that business is generally best done face to face, and if that is impossible, then speaking via the phone. But too many of us now hide behind silent, typed communications. The trouble is that the recipient of an e-mail does not hear a tone of voice or see a facial expression; nor can the sender modify their message halfway through, sensing that it is causing offence. When you read an e-mail you cannot tell the mood of the e-mailer.
A permanent written form is deadly if you are feeling impetuous and emotional. Too often I have made the mistake of sending an irritable response, which will have festered and angered the other end much more than a difficult telephone exchange. Spoken words fade; but e-mail is forever. I have learned that if I receive a really nasty e-mail – as I do occasionally about Channel 4 programmes, or a bad meal in one of my restaurants – then the best policy is simply to delete it immediately.
It is a rare week that I do not witness or participate in some foolish misunderstanding triggered by wrong interpretations of e-mail. Every so often, I vow to always call or meet people rather than send them electronic monologues (or perhaps diatribes). But convenience and laziness seize me, and I lapse.
It is so much easier to be tough via e-mail, or to get away with weak excuses, or to make things up, or to say no. Almost invariably, it is more human and serious to have a real discussion rather than a bizarre online conversation. I know employees who have been fired for sending abusive e-mails, or who have faced severe legal consequences for writing something they should have just said verbally.
Most of us are running our working lives like Richard Nixon ran the Oval Office – forgetting that the tapes are running. I recently had to chair a meeting and discovered monstrous microphones in the middle of the room, recording every word, which had apparently been the previous custom because of disputes about minutes. I insisted they were switched off, and the atmosphere lightened right away and became more conducive to open debate. I do not want to spend my time in a corporate version of the Big Brother house.
And, of course, everyone in business finds their inbox is almost swamped every day with spam. I notice I spend longer and longer sorting out the e-mails that matter from all the junk. It has become, I'm afraid, a dangerously corrupted medium. Large companies suffer chronic overuse of “reply to all”.
Moreover, e-mail can be a terrible distraction, especially if you use a BlackBerry. I was recently reprimanded for peeking at mine during a board meeting – a gross form of hypocrisy on my part, because I once threatened to sling out of the window any PDA-type devices being used in meetings I chaired. I have now vowed to switch off both BlackBerry and mobile in all meetings – anything less is uncivil.
It must be admitted that e-mail is hard to beat as a transmitter of documents and data. It forces the sender to carefully think through their arguments and express themselves logically. It allows you to reply swiftly to a host of different questions when time is short. You don't have to worry about journey times or travel costs, unreliable postage or engaged phones or voicemail.
E-mail is a marvellously economical tool for keeping in touch with far-flung commercial contacts; you can send them a note at your leisure, 24 hours a day.
It is also is a terrific method of discreetly and directly pitching to someone powerful. It certainly beats trying to get a meeting or even reach them on the phone.
Like it or not, I could not do my job without e-mail. Meanwhile, I know a senior financier, an ex-chair of a FTSE company, who still has his secretary print out his e-mails for him to read so he can then dictate replies for her to e-mail back. Now that really is mad.
经济学家告诉我们，提高生产率是社会致富的关键。电子邮件或许恰恰是提高生产率的秘诀，不过，它也可能把我们都逼疯。
实际上，谈生意一般最好是面对面，如果做不到，那就通过电话谈。但如今，我们有太多人躲在电脑后面，一言不发的敲着键盘，以这种方式来沟通。问题在 于，电子邮件的收件人既听不到发件人的语气，也看不到发件人的表情；而且，若发件人感到其邮件会冒犯别人，一旦发送他们也无法修改邮件内容。当你阅读一封 电子邮件时，你是读不出邮件作者的心情的。
如果你正情绪激动，那么以永久书面形式发泄怒气的后果将极为严重。我就时常犯这样的错误：发出的邮件令收件人火冒三丈，其受刺激的程度远胜于一次艰 难的电话通话。说出的话会渐渐被人遗忘，但电子邮件却可永久保存下来。我已懂得，如果收到一封的确恼人的邮件——我偶尔会收到这类邮件：点评第四频道 (Channel 4)的电视节目，或称我旗下一家餐馆的饭菜糟糕——上上之策就是立刻删除它。（译者注：本文作者为英国第四频道董事长，并管理着PizzaExpress 连锁餐馆。）
几乎每个星期我都会看到、甚至陷入某些因错误解读电子邮件而引起的愚蠢误会中。我时常发誓，要永远与人们通过电话或面对面沟通，而不向他们发送电子化的“独白”（抑或是责难）。但是，便捷和懒惰令我身不由己，我还是食言了。
通过电子邮件，你更容易表达强硬的态度、以无力的借口逃避惩罚、编造故事或拒绝他人。几乎毫无例外的是，实实在在的讨论要比古怪的网上交谈更有人情 味、也更严肃。据我了解，有的员工因在邮件中侮辱他人而遭解雇，有的员工则因写下本应通过口头表达的内容而面临严重的法律后果。
我们大多数人在职场的处事方式，都与理查德•尼克松(Richard Nixon)在白宫总统办公室(Oval Office)的处事方式相仿——忘记录音磁带在转动。最近，我在主持一次会议时发现，会议室中间摆着一些奇形怪状的麦克风，与会者说的每个字都被录音。 这显然是以往为了避免会议记录引起争执而定下的规矩。在我的坚持下，麦克风被关掉了，会议气氛立刻轻松下来，这有利于与会者进行开诚布公的辩论。我可不想 在公司版的“老大哥屋”（Big Brother House，译者注：Big Brother是英国一部电视真人秀节目）里浪费时间。
可以肯定的一点是，每位商界人士都会发现，他们的收件箱几乎每天都被垃圾邮件淹没。我注意到，我从垃圾邮件中寻找重要邮件的时间越来越长。电子邮件这一交流媒介恐怕已遭到严重污染。大公司长期受到员工滥用“回复所有人”功能之苦。
此外，电子邮件可令你严重分神，尤其是你使用黑莓(BlackBerry)的话。最近，我因在开董事会时偷看我的黑莓而受到斥责——我这种行为可谓 彻头彻尾的虚伪，因为我曾威胁道，若有人在我主持的会议上使用任何PDA设备，我就会把它们扔到窗外。我现已发誓，要在所有会议上把黑莓和手机都关掉—— 做不到这一点确实很没教养。
必须承认的是，在传输文档和数据这一点上，电子邮件难觅对手。它迫使发件人仔细思考自己的论点并条理清晰的表达出来。它让你能在时间紧迫之时，迅速答复一系列不同的问题。你不必为行程时间、旅行费用、令人狐疑的邮费、电话或语音邮件占线而操心。
就与相隔遥远的商界熟人保持联系而言，电子邮件可谓一种极其经济的工具；一天24小时里，你可在任何方便的时候给他们发邮件。
它还是一种既慎重又直接的向权重人士进行推销的绝妙方式。与试图同这些人面谈甚至打电话找到他们相比，这种方式无疑效果更佳。
无论喜欢与否，离开电子邮件我恐怕无法完成工作。与此同时我了解到，一位资深的金融家、富时指数(FTSE)成份股公司的前董事长，仍旧让秘书把发给他的邮件打印出来供其阅读——然后他向秘书口述回复邮件的内容。这种做法才真的荒唐。
本文作者是英国第四频道(Channel 4)董事长，并经营着私人股本集团Risk Capital Partners
译者/汪洋
Terry Gou’s Diatribe Against Democracy
By J. Michael Cole
Hon Hai’s chairman says that democracy doesn’t put food on the table. That may be so, but democracy gives people the freedom to decide what to eat.
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livid
ADJECTIVE
- 1Furiously angry.‘he was livid that Garry had escaped’
- 2Dark bluish grey in colour.‘livid bruises’
Origin
Late Middle English (in the sense ‘of a bluish leaden colour’): from French livide or Latin lividus, from livere ‘be bluish’. The sense ‘furiously angry’ dates from the early 20th century.
spam
Pronunciation: /spam /
Definition of spam in English:
[ MASS NOUN]
[ WITH OBJECT] Back to top
NOUN
1Irrelevant or unsolicited messages sent over the Internet, typically to large numbers of users, for the purposes of advertising, phishing, spreading malware, etc.
VERB
Origin
1930s: apparently from sp(iced h)am. The Internet sense appears to derive from a sketch by the British ‘Monty Python’ comedy group, set in a cafe in which every item on the menu includes spam.
Pronunciation: /ˈspami /
Definition of spammy in English:
ADJECTIVE ( spammier, spammiest)
informal
Denoting, relating to, or constituting Internet spam:in the past, the tactics that worked for Internet marketers were ‘in-your-face’ advertisements and spammy emails
- 1
spamminess
NOUN
coxcomb
Pronunciation: /ˈkɒkskəʊm/
Definition of coxcomb
noun- 1 archaic a vain and conceited man; a dandy.
Derivatives
diatribe
Pronunciation: /ˈdʌɪətrʌɪb/
Definition of diatribe
noun
n.━━ n. 痛烈な非難, 酷評.A bitter, abusive denunciation.
[Latin diatriba, learned discourse, from Greek diatribē, pastime, lecture, from diatrībein, to consume, wear away : dia-, intensive pref.; see dia- + trībein, to rub.]
WORD HISTORY Listening to a lengthy diatribe may seem like a waste of time, an attitude for which there is some etymological justification. The Greek word diatribē, the ultimate source of our word, is derived from the verb diatrībein, made up of the prefix dia-, "completely," and trībein, "to rub," "to wear away, spend, or waste time," "to be busy." The verb diatrībein meant "to rub hard," "to spend or waste time," and the noun diatribē meant "wearing away of time, amusement, serious occupation, study," as well as "discourse, short ethical treatise or lecture, debate, argument." It is the serious occupation of time in discourse, lecture, and debate that gave us the first use of diatribe recorded in English (1581), in the now archaic sense "discourse, critical dissertation." The critical element of this kind of diatribe must often have been uppermost, explaining the origin of the current sense of diatribe, "a bitter criticism."
far-flung
(fär'flŭng')
adj.
adj.
- Remote; distant.
- Widely distributed; wide-ranging.
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