button up · 1. To fasten all the buttons on a garment: He buttoned up the sweater. · 2. To stop talking: The students buttoned up when the principal walked past.
Definition of button up
transitive verb. 1 : to close tightly and securely a tank buttoned up and ready for action. 2 : to carry to completion button up an order or assignment. 3 : to bring to complete and final decision or irrevocable settlement.
Germany tries to calm waters with China after Dalai Lama visit
8 hours ago
BERLIN (AFP) — Germany moved on Monday to control damage to its diplomatic ties with China a day after Chancellor Angela Merkel angered Beijing by holding an historic meeting with the Dalai Lama.
China, Germany's top trade partner in the Asia-Pacific region, has cancelled two top-level meetings in apparent retaliation for the chancellor's talks with Tibet's exiled spiritual leader on Sunday.
Merkel signalled that she supported the Dalai Lama's quest for cultural autonomy for the Himalayan region, sticking to the course she steered during a visit to China in August in which she readily tackled human rights issues.
On Monday, Berlin announced that Beijing has called off a standing breakfast meeting between the countries' foreign ministers in New York on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly because of "scheduling difficulties."
German government spokesman Thomas Steg insisted that Germany valued its diplomatic and economic ties with China and believed that these would not suffer serious damage as a result of Sunday's unprecedented meeting.
"The government has a great interest in preserving and deepening its good relations with China," he told a press briefing, but added that Merkel believes "human rights cannot be sacrificed for economic reasons."
Steg said Merkel's foreign policy adviser had called the Chinese ambassador to Berlin on Monday to stress the importance of solid ties, but also to defend the meeting with the highly popular Buddhist leader.
Advisor Christoph Heusgen assured Ambassador Ma Canrong that outspoken support for Tibetan cultural autonomy did not mean that Berlin was pushing for independence for the region.
"He called the Chinese ambassador in Berlin today to inform him about the talks with the Dalai Lama but also to make clear that this conversation is something totally natural. It should be possible and it should be possible without harming German-Chinese ties," Steg said.
"We are not questioning China's territorial integrity. He made it clear that there is no change in Germany's policy towards China ... we trust that this will be relayed to Beijing."
Foreign affairs spokesman Martin Jaeger said Berlin is trying to find a suitable time for a meeting in New York between Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi this week still.
"We have heard from the Chinese side that this breakfast will not be able to take place this year because of time constraints," Jaeger said.
"We have taken note and we are trying to deal with it and I believe that we will manage. We are talking with our Chinese contacts to try and find another time to meet within the week."
Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries, who was stood up by Chinese officials on Sunday at a bilateral justice forum, said she was also trying to reschedule and mitigate diplomatic fallout.
"We hope that this dialogue will not suffer lasting damage," she said.
Frank Umbach, the head of the research unit on China at the German Council on Foreign Relations, told AFP that Beijing's indignant response could prove to be a storm in a teacup.
"It is very important for China to save face, and the reaction is hardly surprising if you take into account China's track record in such cases. We saw the same in the 1990s towards France when it sold weaponry to Taiwan."
"But I do not think we will see lasting damage. One cannot totally exclude that German companies may face more difficulties but not anything major."
Umbach said German business should draw comfort from the fact that other European countries that are home to competing companies were largely in line with Merkel's stance on China.
"Merkel has been very consistent and predictable on human rights towards China and also Russia. And over the past two years, there has been a 180 degree turn among European Union members and a new consensus has emerged."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) shows the way to the Dalai Lama after a meeting in the chancellery in Berlin, 23 September 2007. Germany moved on Monday to control damage to its diplomatic ties with China a day after Merkel angered Beijing by holding an historic meeting with the Dalai Lama.
be in deep water (ALSOget into deep water) to be in or get into serious trouble: The government is in deep water over its plans for tax increases.
fish in troubled watersUK to try to gain an advantage from a difficult situation or from someone else's problems pour oil on troubled watersUKto do or say something in order to make people stop arguing and become calmer: My husband's always arguing with my father, and I'm the one who has to pour oil on troubled waters. muddy the waters to make a situation more confused and less easy to understand or deal with test the water(s) to find out what people's opinions of something are before you ask them to do something Still waters run deep.SAYING said about a person who says little, but who might in fact know a lot
The time (for something to be done) is passing quickly; hurry up. For example, The clock is ticking on that project. This allusion to a stopwatch is often used as an admonition to speed something up.
An exhausted and emotionally drained Rafa Nadal walked gingerly towards an exercise mat in the players' gym at the Australian Open and collapsed on it in a heap.
But some such expressions are said to be dying out in communities hit by
the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. A study by Takashi
Kobayashi, professor of the history of Japanese language at Tohoku
University, found 143 expressions on the verge of obsolescence, with
hundreds more feared to eventually follow the same fate. Kobayashi
thinks the 2011 disaster has exacerbated the population drain that was
already occurring in those communities.
Tax Bill Appeals Take Rising Toll on Governments By JACK HEALY
Homeowners in the U.S. are challenging their property tax bills in droves as the value of their homes drop, threatening local governments with another big drain on their budgets.
Quote "Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die."
Clinton, Obama on Attack Clinton and Obama stepped up attacks on each other as both camps sought to woo superdelegates, who likely will sway the contest, a day after the Democrats' presidential-nominating marathon. Democratic leaders worry the nomination battle will drain the party of cash and unity.
Carlyle's 2005 purchase of Hawaiian Telcom has turned out to be a money drain for Carlyle and a headache for the customers of the phone company.
Some of Yahoo's 14,000 employees are
considering other opportunities as morale declines at the company,
which is bracing for a jump in departures following the holidays.
What is emotional exhaustion? Emotional exhaustion is a state of feeling emotionally worn-out and drained as a result of accumulated stress from your personal or work lives, or a combination of both. Emotional exhaustion is one of the signs of burnout.
drain(REDUCE)Show phonetics verb 1[I or T]to reduce or cause something to reduce: The long war had drained the resources of both countries. War drains a nation of its youth and its wealth (= uses them until they are gone).
2If the blood/colour drains from someone's face, or if their face drains (of blood/colour), they turn very pale, often because they are shocked or ill: The colour drained from his face/cheeks when they told him the results.
drain noun[S] something that uses more of your energy, money or time than you want to give: Having a big mortgage is a real drain on your earnings.
brain drainnoun[S] when large numbers of educated and highly skilled people leave their own country to live and work in another one where pay and conditions are better: Britain has suffered a huge brain drain in recent years. ━━ vt. 排水する （draw off）; （水を）はかせる ((away, off, out)); 排水［下水］設備を施す; かわかす; 飲み干す, からにする ((of)); 奪い去る ((of)); 精根を尽きさせる; 流出させる ((of)).
━━ vi. 流れ去る ((off, away)); （血が）引く ((from)); 注ぐ ((into)); からになる ((away, off)); しだいに減ってゆく ((away)); 排水する, かわく; （国外へ）頭脳が流出する ((away, off)). drain dry 枯渇させる, かわかす, かわく; 飲み干す. drain the cup of …の苦杯をなめる.
━━ n. 排水（みぞ）; 排水（管）; （pl.） 下水施設 （sewer）; 流失 ((on)); 出費; 負担 ((on)); 【電気】ドレイン ((トランジスターの電極の1つ)). down the drain 〔話〕 浪費して; 無益になって; なくなって. laugh like a drain 〔英〕 ばか笑いする.
sewer noun[C] 1a large pipe, usually underground, which is used for carrying waste water and human waste, such as urine and excrement, away from buildings to a place where they can be safely got rid of: a sewer pipe A complicated system of sewers runs under the city.
2open sewer a channel for carrying away waste water and waste from the human body which is above the ground and is not covered
sewage noun[U] 1waste matter such as water or human urine or excrement: Some cities in the world do not have proper facilities for the disposal of sewage. Raw/untreated sewage is being pumped into the sea, from where it pollutes our beaches.
2the system of carrying away waste water and human waste from houses and other buildings through large underground pipes or passages
A total of 330 confirmed and preliminary-positive cases have been detected across 12 of the 16 blocks, where 35,000 residents live.
SCMP.COM Fears grow on locked-down Hong Kong estate of Covid-19 cross-infection Infected family blames poor test arrangements a
"Clearly, Japan was defeated and preparing to surrender before the atomic bomb was used. Though the question of timing was in dispute, it is also certain that this was generally understood by the U.S. government at the time." --from THE DECISION TO USE THE ATOMIC BOMB by Gar Alperovitz
Controversial in nature, this book demonstrates that the United States did not need to use the atomic bomb against Japan. Alperovitz criticizes one of the most hotly debated precursory events to the Cold War, an event that was largely responsible for the evolution of post-World War II American politics and culture.
IBM agrees to $20M settlement of options-related lawsuit
3 hours ago
ARMONK, N.Y. (AP) — IBM Corp. has agreed to pay $20 million to settle a lawsuit by shareholders who claimed the technology company misled the public about employee stock-option expenses in 2005.
The settlement, disclosed Monday by lawyers for the plaintiffs ━━ n. 【法】原告., comes a year after the Securities and Exchange Commission determined that IBM's conduct had violated federal law. However, the SEC stopped short of finding that fraud had been committed, and it imposed no fine on IBM.
The shareholder lawsuit and the SEC investigation examined whether IBM manipulated expectations for its first-quarter earnings announcement in 2005.
Nine days before the company made the announcement, Chief Financial Officer Mark Loughridge indicated to analysts that accounting for stock options would cost 14 cents per share.
The cost turned out to be 10 cents per share, and some analysts complained that IBM originally gave the higher figure in order to artificially lower expectations for the quarter and cushion disappointing business results.
The lawsuit contended IBM knew the true figure when Loughridge provided the 14-cent estimate.
IBM spokesman Fred McNeese confirmed the settlement but said his company maintains that it did not misrepresent information to investors.
stop short of sth If you stop short of doing or saying something, you decide not to do or say it although you almost do: I stopped short of telling him the brutal truth, but only just.
IBM in Preliminary Pact to Settle Class Action Lawsuit for $20 Million
By Lauren Pollock : International Business Machines International Business Machines Corp. reached a preliminary settlement under which it will pay $20 million in cash to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging it made misrepresentations in 2005 that artificially inflated its share price.
In the litigation, plaintiffs alleged investors were damaged by "misrepresentations and omissions" in ...
Late 16th century: from Latinpraecursorius, from praecurs- 'preceded' (see precursor).
CNNMoney.com - USA By Joy C. Shaw TAIPEI -(Dow Jones)- Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp. plans to list shares as soon as the end of 2008, and is in preliminary talks with four ...
bourse
(bʊrs)
A stock exchange, especially one in a continental European city. ━━ n. （パリの）証券取引所.
[French, purse, bourse, from Late Latin bursa, bag. See bursa.]
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Clinton and Obama stepped up attacks on each other as both camps sought to woo superdelegates, who likely will sway the contest, a day after the Democrats' presidential-nominating marathon. Democratic leaders worry the nomination battle will drain the party of cash and unity.
