Friday, June 26, 2009

印尼禁女傭來馬‧大馬急商對策

(雪蘭莪‧八打靈再也)內政部秘書長拿督瑪末阿當表示,停止送國民到大馬當傭是印尼政府的權力,而政府已就此事召開緊急會議商討對策。

他說,印尼政府只是指示當地職業介紹所“暫時”停止送國民來大馬當女傭,顯示事情還有商議的餘地。

他今日(週五,6月26日)接受《洲日報》訪問時說,內政部將在最短時間內列出解決方案,包括印尼政府要求大馬實行保護印尼女傭的措施。

受詢及政府是否會大量引進中國女傭,以取代印尼女傭時,他表示,目前有關建議仍未有最後的定案,因為政府必須與中國當局討論,商討有關建議的可行性。

他說,政府也必須考慮到相關各造的意見和立場,不能草率作出決定。

根據人力資源部最新數據顯示,大馬在過去3年來從印尼引進的印尼女傭人數雖逐年減少,但印尼女傭人數仍佔各國女傭的榜首,即每年約有26萬人。

在2007年,大馬從各國引進的女傭總數為31萬4295人,印尼女傭佔了93.8%;在2008年,印尼女傭佔國女傭總數91.9%(26萬9602人),2009年則減到91.6%(23萬零141人)。

另一方面,中國女傭在過去3年來平均只佔全國女傭總數的0.005%,人數可說是非常少。

民調顯示佔56.7%
國人傾向聘印尼女傭

大馬外國女傭代理協會的站投票結果顯示,大部份大馬人仍傾向聘請印尼女傭,巴仙率佔56.7%,其次為菲律賓女傭,佔總數的11.2%;只有9.8%的投票者有意聘請中國女傭。

詢及大馬人是否同意政府引進中國女傭時,在533名投票者當中,不同意者的聲浪比同意者大,其中有56.7%的大馬人不同意政府引進中國女傭。

印尼禁女傭來馬‧人資部長未接通知

(布城)儘管印尼政府暫停讓國民到大馬當傭的課題,已引起各界廣泛討論與關注,可是人資部長拿督蘇巴馬廉迄今未收到印尼的通知。

因此,內閣今日(週五,6月26日)沒有針對此課題進行任何討論。

人力資源部部長拿督蘇巴馬廉週五在其部門接受洲日報訪問時,重申他至今未收到印尼政府相關信件或通知。

他說,有鑑於此,內閣週五沒有討論這個事件。

他也表示,會在接獲印尼信件和通知時,才針對此事發表進一步談話和帶到內閣討論。

Qantas Scraps Orders for Boeing Planes

HONG KONG — Qantas Airways of Australia said Friday that it would scrap or defer orders for 30 of Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner aircraft, dealing a heavy blow to the American manufacturer and highlighting the intense pressure for cost savings at airlines around the world as the industry struggles to adjust to a sharp drop in passengers and freight.

Qantas, still the largest customer of the long-range, wide-body Dreamliner aircraft that is considered the key to Boeing’s future, is canceling orders for 15 of the 787s, in a move that it said would save the airline $3 billion. It is delaying delivery of 15 others by four years.

Alan Joyce, chief executive of the airline, said in a statement that Qantas’ decision was not linked to news Tuesday that the Boeing 787’s first flight had been delayed to allow further minor modifications to be made to what has been touted as the world’s most sophisticated plane.

Those problems were the latest in a series of delays in the Dreamliner project and ignited concerns about the possible effect on initial delivery schedules. The first delivery, to All Nippon Airways, was scheduled for the first quarter of 2010.

Qantas said it would retain orders for 50 of the new aircraft, including 15 for its low-cost subsidiary, Jetstar. A spokesman for Qantas, Simon Rushton, declined to comment on whether the airline would pay a penalty for the cancellation.

Analysts said the Australian flag carrier’s cancellation was one of the most significant such announcements to date, even in an industry that has already undergone major cost cuts and shake-ups.

“For Qantas to pull or defer deliveries is a major, major step,” said Derek Sadubin, an analyst at the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation, a consulting company in Sydney.

The Qantas decision takes the number of cancellations for the 787 from airlines around the world so far this year to 73, or about 8 percent of total orders for the aircraft, Mr. Sadubin said, adding that more cancellations — of aircraft of all types and makes — are probable.

Mr. Joyce, said, “Qantas announced its original B787 order in December 2005, and the operating environment for the world’s airlines has clearly changed dramatically since then.”

The global economic turmoil has taken a heavy toll on passenger and cargo traffic, with the latest figures from the International Air Transport Association showing passenger numbers in May were 9.3 percent below numbers from a year earlier, and freight demand was down 17.4 percent.

Falling volumes, combined with soaring oil prices last year, forced airlines around the world to reduce staff and flights, park planes and shelve investment plans, including aircraft orders.

Like many of its rivals, Qantas expects sharply reduced profits this year. In April, it announced it would shed 1,750 jobs, in addition to 1,500 job cuts announced last year, and warned it was exploring ways to reduce the number of aircraft it was to receive from Boeing.

“Qantas, like most airlines around the world, is clearly in survival mode,” Mr. Sadubin said.

“We are working Qantas to make changes appropriate to the current climate,” Jim Proulx, a Boeing spokesman in Seattle, told Bloomberg News.

Michael Jackson, Pop Icon, Is Dead at 50

LOS ANGELES — For his legions of fans, he was the Peter Pan of pop music: the little boy who refused to grow up. But on the verge of another attempted comeback, he is suddenly gone, this time for good.

Michael Jackson, whose quintessentially American tale of celebrity and excess took him from musical boy wonder to global pop superstar to sad figure haunted by lawsuits, paparazzi and failed plastic surgery, was pronounced dead on Thursday afternoon at U.C.L.A. Medical Center after arriving in a coma, a city official said. Mr. Jackson was 50, having spent 40 of those years in the public eye he loved.

The singer was rushed to the hospital, a six-minute drive from the rented Bel-Air home in which he was living, shortly after noon by paramedics for the Los Angeles Fire Department. A hospital spokesman would not confirm reports of cardiac arrest. He was pronounced dead at 2:26 pm.

As with Elvis Presley or the Beatles, it is impossible to calculate the full effect Mr. Jackson had on the world of music. At the height of his career, he was indisputably the biggest star in the world; he has sold more than 750 million albums. Radio stations across the country reacted to his death with marathon sessions of his songs. MTV, which grew successful in part as a result of Mr. Jackson’s groundbreaking videos, reprised its early days as a music channel by showing his biggest hits.

From his days as the youngest brother in the Jackson 5 to his solo career in the 1980s and early 1990s, Mr. Jackson was responsible for a string of hits like “I Want You Back,” “I’ll Be There” “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” “Billie Jean” and “Black or White” that exploited his high voice, infectious energy and ear for irresistible hooks.

As a solo performer, Mr. Jackson ushered in the age of pop as a global product — not to mention an age of spectacle and pop culture celebrity. He became more character than singer: his sequined glove, his whitened face, his moonwalk dance move became embedded in the cultural firmament.

His entertainment career hit high-water marks with the release of “Thriller,” from 1982, which has been certified 28 times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, and with the “Victory” world tour that reunited him with his brothers in 1984.

But soon afterward, his career started a bizarre disintegration. His darkest moment undoubtedly came in 2003, when he was indicted on child molesting charges. A young cancer patient claimed the singer had befriended him and then groped him at his Neverland estate near Santa Barbara, Calif., but Mr. Jackson was acquitted on all charges.

Reaction to his death started trickling in from the entertainment community late Thursday.

“I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news,” the music producer Quincy Jones said in a statement. “I’ve lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him.”

Berry Gordy, the Motown founder who helped develop the Jackson 5, told CNN that Mr. Jackson, as a boy, “always wanted to be the best, and he was willing to work as hard as it took to be that. And we could all see that he was a winner at that age.

Tommy Mottola, a former head of Sony Music, called Mr. Jackson “the cornerstone to the entire music business.”

“He bridged the gap between rhythm and blues and pop music and made it into a global culture,” said Mr. Mottola, who worked with Mr. Jackson until the singer cut his ties with Sony in 2001.

Impromptu vigils broke out around the world, from Portland, Ore., where fans organized a one-gloved bike ride (“glittery costumes strongly encouraged”) to Hong Kong, where fans gathered with candles and sang his songs.

In Los Angeles, hundreds of fans — some chanting Mr. Jackson’s name, some doing the “Thriller” dance — descended on the hospital and on the hillside house where he was staying.

Jeremy Vargas, 38, hoisted his wife, Erica Renaud, 38, on his shoulders and they danced and bopped to “Man in the Mirror” playing from an onlooker’s iPod connected to external speakers — the boom boxes of Mr. Jackson’s heyday long past their day.

“I am in shock and awe,” said Ms. Renaud, who was visiting from Red Hook, Brooklyn, with her family. “He was like a family member to me.”

Dreams of a Comeback

Mr. Jackson was an object of fascination for the news media since the Jackson 5’s first hit, “I Want You Back,” in 1969. His public image wavered between that of the musical naif, who wanted only to recapture his youth by riding on roller-coasters and having sleepovers with his friends, to the calculated mogul who carefully constructed his persona around his often-baffling public behavior.

Mr. Jackson had been scheduled to perform 50 concerts at the O2 arena in London beginning next month and continuing into 2010. The shows, which quickly sold out, were positioned as a comeback, with the potential to earn him up to $50 million, according to some reports.

But there had also been worry and speculation that Mr. Jackson was not physically ready for such an arduous run of concerts, and his postponement of the first of those shows to July 13 from July 8 fueled new rounds of gossip about his health. Nevertheless, he was rehearsing Wednesday night at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. “The primary reason for the concerts wasn’t so much that he was wanting to generate money as much as it was that he wanted to perform for his kids,” said J. Randy Taraborrelli, whose biography, “Michael Jackson: The Magic and the Madness,” was first published by Citadel in 1991. “They had never seen him perform before.”

Mr. Jackson’s brothers, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Randy, have all had performing careers, with varying success, since they stopped performing together. (Randy, the youngest, replaced Jermaine when the Jackson 5 left Motown.) His sisters, Rebbie, La Toya and Janet, are also singers, and Janet Jackson has been a major star in her own right for two decades. They all survive him, as do his parents, Joseph and Katherine Jackson, of Las Vegas, and three children: Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, born to Mr. Jackson’s second wife, Deborah Jeanne Rowe, and Prince Michael Jackson II, the son of a surrogate mother. Mr. Jackson was also briefly married to Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis Presley.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department said the department assigned its robbery and homicide division to investigate the death, but the spokesman said that was because of Mr. Jackson’s celebrity.

“Don’t read into anything,” the spokesman told reporters gathered outside the Bel-Air house. He said the coroner had taken possession of the body and would conduct an investigation.

At a news conference at the hospital, Jermaine Jackson spoke to reporters about his brother. “It is believed he suffered cardiac arrest at his home,” he said softly. A personal physician first tried to resuscitate Michael Jackson at his home before paramedics arrived. A team of doctors then tried to resuscitate him for more than an hour, his brother said.

“May our love be with you always,” Jermaine Jackson concluded, his gaze aloft.

In Gary, Ind., hundreds of people descended upon the squat clapboard house were Mr. Jackson spent his earliest years. There were tears, loud wails, and quiet prayers as old neighbors joined hands with people who had driven in from Chicago and other nearby towns to pay their respects.

“Just continue to glorify the man, Lord,” said Ida Boyd-King, a local pastor who led the crowd in prayer. “Let’s give God praise for Michael.”

Shelletta Hinton, 40, drove to Gary from Chicago with her two young children. She said they had met Mr. Jackson in Gary a couple of years ago when he received a key to the city. “We felt like we were close to Michael,” she said. “This is a sad day.”

As dusk set in, mourners lighted candles and placed them on the concrete doorstep. Some left teddy bears and personal notes. Doris Darrington, 77, said she remembered seeing the Jackson 5 so many times around Gary that she got sick of them. But she, too, was feeling hurt by the sudden news of Mr. Jackson’s death.

“He has always been a source of pride for Gary, even though he wasn’t around much,” she said. “The older person, that’s not the Michael we knew. We knew the little bitty boy with the big Afro and the brown skin. That’s how I’ll always remember Michael.”

Michael Joseph Jackson was born in Gary on Aug. 29, 1958. The second youngest of six brothers, he began performing professionally with four of them at the age of 5 in a group that their father, Joe, a steelworker, had organized the previous year. In 1968, the group, originally called the Jackson Brothers, was signed by Motown Records. The Jackson 5 was an instant phenomenon. The group’s first four singles — “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” “The Love You Save” and “I’ll Be There” — all reached No. 1 on the pop charts in 1970, a feat no group had accomplished before. And young Michael was the center of attention: he handled virtually all the lead vocals, danced with energy and finesse, and displayed a degree of showmanship rare in a performer of any age.

In 1971, Mr. Jackson began recording under his own name, while continuing to perform with his brothers. His recording of “Ben,” the title song from a movie about a boy and his homicidal pet rat, was a No. 1 hit in 1972.

The brothers (minus Michael’s older brother Jermaine, who was married to the daughter of Berry Gordy, Motown’s founder and chief executive) left Motown in 1975 and, rechristened the Jacksons, signed to Epic, a unit of CBS Records. Three years later, Michael made his movie debut as the Scarecrow in the screen version of the hit Broadway musical “The Wiz.” But movie stardom proved not to be his destiny.

A Solo Sensation

Music stardom on an unprecedented level, however, was. Mr. Jackson’s first solo album for Epic, “Off the Wall,” released in 1979, yielded four No. 1 singles and sold seven million copies, but it was a mere prologue to what came next. His follow-up, “Thriller,” released in 1982, became the best-selling album of all time and helped usher in the music video age. The video for title track, directed by John Landis, was an elaborate horror-movie pastiche that was more of a mini-movie than a promotional clip.

Seven of the nine tracks on “Thriller” were released as singles and reached the Top 10. The album spent two years on the Billboard album chart and sold an estimated 100 million copies worldwide. It also won eight Grammy Awards.

The choreographer and director Vincent Paterson, who directed Mr. Jackson in several videos, recalled watching him rehearse a dance sequence for four hours in front of a mirror until it felt like second nature.

“That’s how he developed the moonwalk, working on it for days if not weeks until it was organic,” he said. “He took an idea that he had seen some street kids doing and perfected it.”

Mr. Jackson’s next album, “Bad,” released in 1987, sold eight million copies and produced five No. 1 singles and another state-of-the-art video, this one directed by Martin Scorsese. It was a huge hit by almost anyone else’s standards, but an inevitable letdown after “Thriller.”

It was at this point that Mr. Jackson’s bizarre private life began to overshadow his music. He would go on to release several more albums and, from time to time, to stage elaborate concert tours. And he would never be too far from the public eye. But it would never again be his music that kept him there.

Even with the millions Mr. Jackson earned, his eccentric lifestyle took a severe financial toll. In 1988 Mr. Jackson paid about $17 million for a 2,600-acre ranch in Los Olivos, Calif., 125 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Calling it Neverland after the mythical island of Peter Pan, he outfitted the property with amusement-park rides, a zoo and a 50-seat theater, at a cost of $35 million, according to reports, and the ranch became his sanctum.

But Neverland, and Mr. Jackson’s lifestyle, were expensive to maintain. A forensic accountant who testified at Mr. Jackson’s molesting trial in 2005 said Mr. Jackson’s annual budget in 1999 included $7.5 million for personal expenses and $5 million to maintain Neverland. By at least the late 1990s, he began to take out huge loans to support himself and pay debts. In 1998, he took out a loan for $140 million from Bank of America, which two years later was increased to $200 million. Further loans of hundreds of millions followed.

The collateral for the loans was Mr. Jackson’s 50 percent share in Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a portfolio of thousands of songs, including rights to 259 songs by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, considered some of the most valuable properties in music.

In 1985, Mr. Jackson paid $47.5 million for ATV, which included the Beatles songs — a move that estranged him from Mr. McCartney, who had advised him to invest in music rights — and 10 years later, Mr. Jackson sold 50 percent of his interest to Sony for $90 million, creating a joint venture, Sony/ATV. Estimates of the catalog’s value exceed $1 billion.

Last year, Neverland narrowly escaped foreclosure after Mr. Jackson defaulted on $24.5 million he owed on the property. A Los Angeles real estate investment company, Colony Capital L.L.C., bought the note, and put the title for the property into a joint venture with Mr. Jackson.

A Scandal’s Heavy Toll

In many ways, Mr. Jackson never recovered from the child molesting trial, a lurid affair that attracted media from around the world to watch as Mr. Jackson, wearing a different costume each day, appeared in a small courtroom in Santa Maria, Calif., to listen as a parade of witnesses spun a sometimes-incredible tale.

The case ultimately turned on the credibility of Mr. Jackson’s accuser, a 15-year-old cancer survivor who said the defendant had gotten him drunk and molested him several times. The boy’s younger brother testified that he had seen Mr. Jackson groping his brother on two other occasions.

After 14 weeks of such testimony and seven days of deliberations, the jury returned not-guilty verdicts on all 14 counts against Mr. Jackson: four charges of child molesting, one charge of attempted child molesting, one conspiracy charge and eight possible counts of providing alcohol to minors. Conviction could have brought Mr. Jackson 20 years in prison. Instead, he walked away a free man to try to reclaim a career that at the time had already been in decline for years.

After his trial, Mr. Jackson largely left the United States for Bahrain, the island nation in the Persian Gulf, where he was the guest of Sheik Abdullah, a son of the ruler of the country, King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa. Mr. Jackson would never return to live at his ranch. Instead he remained in Bahrain, Dubai and Ireland for the next several years, managing his increasingly unstable finances. He remained an avid shopper, however, and was spotted at shopping malls in the black robes and veils traditionally worn by Bahraini women.

Despite the public relations blow of his trial, Mr. Jackson and his ever-changing retinue of managers, lawyers and advisers never stopped plotting his return.

By early this year, Mr. Jackson was living in a $100,000-a-month mansion in Bel-Air, to be closer to “where all the action is” in the entertainment business, his manager at the time, Tohme Tohme, told The Los Angeles Times. He was also preparing for his upcoming London shows.

”He was just so excited about having an opportunity to come back,” said Mr. Paterson, the director and choreographer.

Despite his troubles, the press and the public never abandoned the star. A crowd of paparazzi and onlookers lined the street outside Mr. Jackson’s home as the ambulance took him to the hospital.

Japan Orders Citigroup to Suspend Retail Operations

TOKYO -- Japan's financial regulator on Friday ordered Citigroup Inc.'s Citibank Japan Ltd. to suspend all sales activities in its retail banking division for one month as a sanction for lax compliance in preventing money laundering.

The suspension will start on July 15, and be applied to advertising and promotion for all products in its retail business, the Financial Services Agency said in a press release Friday. The bank, however, will be allowed to do business with customers who voluntarily contact the bank to purchase its products.

The agency said it has found "fundamental problems" with Citibank Japan's compliance and governance systems for detecting and monitoring suspicious transactions including money laundering. The bank also lacked a sufficient system to control dealings with "anti-social forces," a term used in Japan to describe organized crime groups.

The regulatory action is a blow to Citigroup as the retail banking business is to become the core of its Japanese operations following the sales of its other major business entities currently underway. As part of the global banking group's drive to sell assets to cover its huge mortgage-related losses, Citigroup has already agreed to sell its Japanese brokerage unit, Nikko Cordial Securities, to Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, and is in the final stage of negotiations to unload Nikko Asset Management, a mutual fund unit.

In addition to suspending retail operations, Citibank Japan was ordered to review and restructure its system for governance, internal control and business management, and ensure adequate staffing and a proper organizational structure. The bank will submit a business improvement plan to the government by July 31, and report the progress in implementing the plan every three months thereafter.

Citigroup has fallen foul of Japanese regulators before. In 2004 the FSA shuttered its private banking business for violations that ranged from failure to follow guidelines to prevent money laundering to overly aggressive sales tactics.

In a statement, Citibank Japan said it took the latest regulatory action"very seriously" and is "deeply apologetic" for not sufficiently resolving problems, including those raised in the 2004 action. "Citibank Japan is committed to focus all necessary resources to implement every necessary measure to prevent future occurrence," the bank said.

The bank said the latest regulatory action will not affect services for clients in its corporate banking business.

Death of a Pop Music Icon

LOS ANGELES -- Michael Jackson was pronounced dead at a hospital Thursday after suffering cardiac arrest at his Los Angeles home, marking a sad end to the life of a man who had been a global pop icon since childhood.

[Michael Jackson]
Associated Press

In a March file photo, U.S. singer Michael Jackson announces that he is set to play 10 live concerts at the London O2 Arena in July.

Mr. Jackson, age 50, was one of the most successful, visible and influential pop singers in history. His albums sold hundreds of millions of copies and his music videos helped define the medium.

He gained equal attention for his personal life. He was known for his flashy, theatrical dressing style, his repeated recourse to plastic surgery, which significantly altered his look over his career, and, in later years, two accusations of child molestation.

Mr. Jackson's 1980s habit of wearing a single white glove inspired a short-lived fashion trend, while his signature moonwalk dance became nearly as iconic as his music and look.

Mr. Jackson spent many years at his 2,600-acre ranch, Neverland, in Los Olivos, Calif., which was outfitted as a kind of playground for a child with an unlimited allowance, with carnival rides, a movie theater and two working railroad lines.

King of Pop Michael Jackson Dies

0:34

Pop star Michael Jackson has died at age 50 after being rushed to UCLA Medical Center.

His death fell on the eve of what was to be an ambitious and potentially lucrative rehabilitation of his career after several years of controversy during which he stopped performing or releasing new music. Mr. Jackson's last major moment in the spotlight had occurred in 2005, when he was acquitted of criminal child-molestation charges. But even before then, his career had been stuck in a holding pattern.

A profligate lifestyle and his massive legal fees had also left the singer with $500 million in debt, and he defaulted on a $24.5 million loan backed by Neverland. However, Mr. Jackson had made a few key business decisions early on that kept him afloat through the tabloid-fodder madness that eventually engulfed him. By acquiring and holding lucrative music-publishing he assets, including the rights to many Beatles songs, he was able to maintain a modicum of financial stability.

Nevertheless, by early 2009, Mr. Jackson was so overextended financially that he was in a panic about money, people close to him said.

In March, concert promoter AEG Live announced that Mr. Jackson would perform a series of shows at its O2 arena in London. Demand for tickets proved to be enormous, and the run was eventually extended to 50 concerts, with hundreds of thousands of tickets sold. The dates were spread over several months, starting in early July and stretching well into 2010.

Mr. Jackson's agreement with AEG Live, owned by Denver billionaire Phil Anschutz, included an option to extend the concert series even further into a world-wide tour over three years or more. All told the tour could have earned him $400 million.

In preparation for the London performances, Mr. Jackson had undergone a five-hour physical examination. AEG Live Chief Executive Randy Phillips said in March that Mr. Jackson had "passed with flying colors."

But signs of trouble arose even as the singer was preparing for the initial concerts. The first four dates were postponed, ostensibly because the singer needed more time for dress rehearsals in the venue. Some people close to the singer expressed doubt whether he would be able to pull off so many concerts.

Born in 1958 in Gary, Ind., Mr. Jackson was quickly pushed into the limelight. Even at a very young age he was the star of the Jackson Five, the singing group his father, Joseph Jackson, assembled with five of the Jackson sons.

The Jacksons quickly graduated from local talent shows to the national stage. They signed to Berry Gordy's Motown Records and enjoyed a string of hits that included "ABC" and "I Want You Back." But life under their hard-charging father and manager took its toll, and Mr. Jackson had anything but a normal childhood.

After striking out on his own, Mr. Jackson's fame grew. His 1982 "Thriller" is one of the best-selling albums in history.

Thursday afternoon, the sidewalks outside UCLA Medical Center were overflowing with people. Some onlookers burst into tears even before an official announcement of his death had been made. Other impromptu Michael Jackson memorials popped up around the country, including one outside Harlem's famed Apollo Theater.

In 1993, he faced a child-abuse investigation after a 13-year-old named Jordan Chandler accused the pop star of inappropriate behavior. The child's family sued Mr. Jackson for $22 million. The singer later paid a multi-million-dollar settlement while maintaining his innocence.

A brief marriage to Elvis Presley's daughter, Lisa Maria Presley, ended in divorce. Another marriage, to Debbie Rowe, produced two children but also ended in divorce. He had a third child, Prince Michael II, whose mother he never identified publicly.

In 2003, new problems began to surface for Mr. Jackson after he said during the filming of a British documentary that he shared his bed with boys. The next year, Jackson faced an arraignment in California after a teenage cancer survivor said that the pop star had gotten him drunk and molested him.

In 2005, a trial began in Santa Maria, Calif., where Jackson defended himself against charges of child molestation and providing alcohol to minors, and faced a possible 20-year prison sentence. Though he was acquitted on all counts, the three-month trial exposed many details of Mr. Jackson's personal life.

—Sabrina Shankman and Nicholas Casey contributed to this article.

林毅夫:人民幣成為國際貨幣要很長期間

中央社記者康世人新加坡26日專電)世界銀行首席經濟學家暨資深副總裁林毅夫昨天指出,人民幣要成為國際儲備貨幣需要很長一段時間,因為政府需要實現一些先決條件。

林毅夫昨天受邀出席「聯合早報」舉辦的名人演講活動時表示,人民幣要成為國際儲備貨幣必須符合三個條件,一是貨幣市場必須自由流通;二是中國國內資本市場必須發展到一定規模和深度;三是中國經常帳項目(Current account)應該維持一定的逆差。

林毅夫說,中國依然是個開發中國家,而且希望維持經常帳項目盈餘,但中國必須願意看到經常帳赤字,人民幣才可能成為儲備貨幣。

林毅夫說,即使採用世界貨幣作為外匯存底,也不一定能解決現今的問題。如果使用「特別提款權」(SDR)為國際儲備貨幣,因美元佔的比例最大,如果美國出事,人們還是必須一窩蜂趕去拯救美國,加印SDR。

由於不滿美國增印美元以拯救美國經濟,中國人民銀行行長周小川數月前建議以國際貨幣基金組織的SDR,逐步取代美元作為國際儲備貨幣。

巴菲特與得標者共進210萬美元慈善天價午餐

(中央社內布拉斯加州奧瑪哈25日美聯電)億萬富翁巴菲特(Warren Buffett)不太可能花210萬美元買午餐,因為他比較喜歡漢堡與櫻桃可樂。

不過,中國投資基金總經理趙丹陽則花了這麼多錢,標得與波克夏哈薩威投資公司(Berkshire Hathaway)總裁暨執行長巴菲特共進午餐的慈善拍賣。午餐於24日舉行。

素有「奧瑪哈先知」(Oracle of Omaha)之稱的巴菲特與趙丹陽一同用餐前,在紐約接受數場現場電視訪問。他對美國「國家廣播有線電視公司」(CNBC)開玩笑說,他希望飯後可以不用付10%的小費。

  每年,巴菲特都拍賣一次午餐約會,所得悉數捐給舊金山慈善機構格萊德基金會(Glide Foundation)。

該基金會專對舊金山的流浪漢與窮人提供社會服務。

  最新的午餐競標自21日開跑,預計26日截止。24日最高的出價為13萬5678美元,不過,拍賣結束前,金額必定會再成長。

  巴菲特24日說,經濟迄今尚未出現反彈,還要一段時間才能恢復。不過他也對政府過去一年為解決問題付出的心力多所稱許。(譯者:中央社張仲琬)

中油:明起汽油調漲0.3元 柴油漲0.5元

(中央社記者田裕斌台北26日電)中油公司今天宣布調漲國內汽、柴油批售價格,自明日零時起,92、95及98無鉛汽油及酒精汽油批售價格每公升調漲新台幣 0.3元,各式柴油批售價格每公升調漲0.5元。

調漲後,92無鉛汽油每公升28.3元、95無鉛汽油每公升29元、98無鉛汽油每公升30.5元、超級/高級柴油每公升25.5元。

中油指出,依據浮動油價調整機制作業原則,本週汽油每公升原應調降0.3元、柴油每公升應調降0.4元,加計目前汽、柴油中油先行吸收的0.8元及1.4元,汽、柴油每公升應分別調漲0.5元及1.0元。

中油表示,調漲後柴油稅前批售價較亞鄰最低價韓國高0.1元,為維持亞鄰競爭國最低價原則,本週柴油每公升可調漲0.9元,中油在考量目前經濟及社會現況後,決定這次汽、柴油每公升僅各調漲0.3元及0.5元。

中油表示,調漲後,中油仍吸收汽油每公升0.2元、柴油每公升0.5元,將等日後再予回補。

新加坡‧證券行1人受感染‧50交易員在家辦公

(新加坡)聯昌國際證券(CIMB-GK Securities)一名交易員感染A(H1N1)型流感,促使公司下令和他共事的50名交易員在家工作一週。

這名受感染的交易員於週二自行到陳篤生醫院就診,週四(6月25日)確診感染A流,目前的病況穩定。

被到夜店兒子傳染

據瞭解,這名交易員是被兒子傳染的。他的兒子曾經到過夜間場所Butter Factory。

公司的文告指出,受感染交易員的50名同事,週四起在家辦公,如果他們身體沒有出現異樣,下週二就可回公司上班。這些員工也必須在家裡檢查體溫。公司認為這樣的安排,不會對正常運作有太大影響。

文告也表示,繼續留在公司上班的員工都測量了體溫,週四並沒有發現公司有新的病例。

菲球員在新隔離期滿

上週六因有隊員患上A型流感而在阿羅哈度假屋隔離的菲律賓足球隊,今日(週五,6月26日)隔離期滿,將參加週五上午舉行的亞洲青年運會選手村開幕式。

美國‧共和黨寄望問鼎白宮大位‧2明日之星栽跟斗

國‧華盛頓)在週三(6月24日)因婚外情聲淚俱下發表道歉聲明的美國南卡羅來納州州長山福德,給人似曾相識的感覺。

一週前,參院共和黨政策委員會主席恩賽因,在17日坦承婚外情第二天后請辭。

兩人都是被共和黨寄望問鼎2012白宮大位的明日之,從恩賽因的情況來判斷,山福德的白宮之路已經阻絕。

共和黨目前真正該煩惱的,與其說是不倫戀對今年和明年期中選舉的負面影響,倒不如說是具有國性知名度的新面孔接連出局。

其他新面孔也各有問題

適逢共和黨努力尋找新生代對抗現任總統奧巴馬和民主黨主導的國會之際,49歲的山福德和51歲的恩賽因被抓包,實在不妙。其他新面孔也各自有問題,只是不像山福德和恩賽因這麼“色”。

前猶他州州長洪博培原先被共和黨寄予厚望,不料被奧巴馬延攬出任駐華大使。奧巴馬的競選幹部曾誇讚洪博培勇於說出共和黨應該走的方向,這一招被視為有“先發制人”的意味。

37歲的印度裔路易斯安納州共和黨籍州長金德爾,1月24日狠批奧巴馬的第一個預算演說,發表譁眾取寵的全國電視轉播談話,引來不少批評,聲勢頓挫。得州共和黨籍州長佩里主張得州應該獨立。這些共和黨州長看來並非共和黨策士吹捧的政壇老手。

把一手好牌打爛的最佳例證則是阿拉斯加州長佩林。2008年獲共和黨提名為副總統候選人,使她成為該黨最出名的州長,但也暴露了她的言行不當問題,包括公然與電視脫口秀主持人利特曼鬥嘴;與她大兒布莉絲托的前未婚夫詹斯頓之間的爭吵,愈吵愈兇,也給人不堪大任的感覺。

失蹤7天飛阿根廷會情婦
山福德痛哭認錯

當年前總統克林頓和實習生萊溫斯基發生緋聞案時,時任眾議員的山福德力主彈劾克林頓,還接受電視訪問說,克林頓違背了他對妻子的誓言,“這個誓言必須被非常非常嚴肅的看待”。如今回顧這段話,格外諷刺。

山福德自18日即失蹤,24日下午終於現身南卡州首府哥倫比亞市舉行記者會。失蹤這7天,原來他隻身飛到阿根廷和情婦密會。

山福德表示,他在8年前認識了一位阿根廷女子,兩人的關係本只是隨意的書信往返,不過大約1年前,當他帶領一個經濟訪問團赴阿根廷訪問,並和這名女子會面後,兩人的感情已超出友誼界線。桑福德說,妻子珍妮約於5個月前知道了這件事,兩人曾試圖解決問題。

山福德說,這段婚外情現已結束。他說,他過去幾天在阿根廷痛哭,“歸根究底,對妻子不忠,我錯了。”

珍妮願原諒丈夫

州長夫人珍妮稍後發表聲明表示,雖然她很丈夫,但兩週前曾要求丈夫離開這個家。不過珍妮說,丈夫贏得了破鏡重圓的機會,如果他真心懺悔,她願意完全原諒他,並歡迎他回家。

山福德原本政治前途看好,被認為是代表共和黨角逐2012年總統大位的人選,但此次曠職會情婦,又欺瞞幕僚的事件搞得滿城風雲,已有州議員要他辭職。

賢內助兼首席政治顧問
珍妮成就山福德事業

山福德承認婚外情,遭他背叛的妻子珍妮不只是他的賢內助,也是一手讓他登上州長寶座的首席政治顧問。

珍妮出身富豪家庭,她的家族開設機械公司致富。15年前山福德首次進軍政壇競選聯邦眾議員,就是由珍妮操盤選戰,隨後兩度連任眾議員並在2002年首度選州長獲勝,都是由珍妮主持選戰策略,還帶著孩子一起出席各種造勢場

兩人都在紐約華爾街展開事業。當時珍妮擔任一家專門從事併購業務的公司副總裁,山福德則在維吉尼亞大學拿到企管碩士學位後到高盛公司工作,20年前兩人結識並結婚後決定到南卡州發展,先做地產事業,後來進軍政壇。

山福德1995年首度進入眾議院,自稱是自由派共和黨人,有時會和共和黨黨鞭唱反調,有些不滿 他的共和黨人說他是黨內“孤鳥”。其實他和珍妮的確和一般政壇夫婦不同,珍妮很少在公開場合露面,山福德連參加共和黨全國代表大會都是悄悄的入場,他不喜 歡奢華,經常穿一件藍色舊運衣,珍妮雖然有錢,卻都到一般民眾常去的沃爾瑪平價賣場購物。

山福德露骨電子情書曝光

山福德不惜搞失蹤遠赴阿根廷會情婦,這位讓州長神魂顛倒的女子究竟是誰讓外界非常好奇。南卡州報獨家披露山福德與情婦“瑪麗亞(Maria)”的“電子情書”,兩人互稱dearest,my beloved,sweetest。

山福德去年7月10日寫給瑪麗亞的“電子情書”中表示,“你特殊的優雅和沉著,是我所仰慕的 ”、“你的聰明練達,和你的美麗搭配得如此天衣無縫”、“你溫柔的吻擁有巨大的威力”、“我深愛你那深褐色的線條,也或者說,我愛上你臀部的曲線,那種在 昏暗的夜光中,隱而不發的挑逗性感之美”。

夫是富商情婦有孩子

南卡州報找到瑪麗亞的家,並稱她是有小孩的有夫之婦。

此報記者循址找到瑪麗亞住在阿根廷首都布宜諾斯艾利斯一棟有14層樓高的公寓裡,但瑪麗亞獲知來人是記者身份後拒絕受訪。

此報稱瑪麗亞的丈夫是非常富有的商人,且有兩個正值青少年的兒子。瑪麗亞當過記者,因此有機會在2001年在紐約和山福德碰面。令人驚訝的是,瑪麗亞當初是因為求教山福德有關挽回婚姻的意見而成為朋友,想不到兩人日後卻雙雙背叛原有的婚姻。

美國州長風流賬
民主黨“勝”共和黨

遠征南美上演“阿根廷請為我哭泣”浪漫荒謬劇的山福德,其實只是重蹈前人覆轍。所謂“色字頭上一把刀”,近半世紀以來,因此栽跟頭的美國州長還不少,民主黨更以壓倒性優勢“勝”過共和黨。

最近一次是民主黨的紐約州州長斯皮策(2007-2008)。以肅貪口號贏得政權的斯皮策捲入召妓醜聞,砸下數十萬美元買春,成為應召女郎口中的“9號恩客”,最後黯然請辭。

再往前是民主黨的新澤西州州長麥葛維(2002-2004),他坦承與某男子發生同性戀婚外情後請辭,與妻子在去年8月離婚。

弗吉尼亞州州長懷斯(2001-2004)也是民主黨籍,2003年被一名男子指控與任職於州政府,關係不睦的妻子發生不倫戀後,懷斯坦承不忠,請求妻子與2名子女寬恕,2004年放棄競選連任。

還是民主黨籍州長,肯塔基州的巴頓(1995-2003),矢言拚教育和經濟的巴頓就任第7年被爆與某間老人院的女老闆發生過性關係。

從阿肯色州州長直接攻頂的美國前總統克林頓 (1979-1981,1983-1992),1992年參選總統時被電視記者傅勞絲指控兩人不倫戀長達12年。小克原本否認,後來承認兩人“做”過一 次。克林頓後來又被曾指控性騷擾州政府職員瓊斯,調查過程中,轟動全球的白宮實習生萊溫斯基曝光。

台灣‧聲明指扁未有效約束家人‧李遠哲參與救扁計劃

(台灣‧台北)民進黨主席蔡英文週四(6月25日)下午啟救扁計劃,找來前中研院院長李遠哲、扁前委任律師顧立雄等人,發表聲明呼吁停止羈押扁。

但為避免遭外界解讀為“挺扁救貪腐”,聲明也點出,扁未能及時有效約束家人行為,違反對選民的承諾,“行為確實讓社會失望”。

這份由蔡英文發動的連署聲明,連署人包括蔡英文本人、顧立雄、李遠哲等人。

在扁案爆發後,黨內名 中常委陸續呼吁黨中央,若要聲援扁人權,就必須對扁的行為有“歷史交代”;而在週四下午發佈的聲明中,則以幾句話說明民進黨對扁的態度,聲明指出,“陳前 總統未能有效約束家人行為,對於政治資金的募集和私人財務沒有分開管理,而其家人將資金匯至海外,違反了對於選民的承諾,這些行為確實讓社會失望。”

指羈押扁無正當理由

蔡英文調,這份聲明確實對扁有所批評,認為扁沒有約束家人、對政治獻金沒有分開管理,都是共同聲明人“可以接受的評價”,但這跟民進黨本身的評價是毫無關聯。

她指出,由於扁遭羈押缺乏正當理由,因此她主動發起連署,其中包括早前才指責“扁做錯事,應該向國人道歉”的李遠哲,蔡英文說,李遠哲也同意扁並沒有被羈押的必要性,因此決定站出來,一塊凝聚社會力量挺扁。

辦吁公平審判立即放人

針對此一連署行動,陳水扁辦公室晚間表示感謝,並呼吁司法應給陳水扁一個公平審判的機會,立即釋放扁。

扁辦表示,這份共同聲明不是結果而是開始,未來將會引發更多的關切與支持。扁辦也表示,陳水扁申辦護照是因一般護照將過期因此申請換新護照,此事為一年前的“舊聞”,若院檢擬以此舊聞當成“新事證”繼續押人,只是再次證明司法不公、議庭違法濫權。

中國‧中方:冰凍三尺非一日之寒‧“真誠互信解決朝核問題”

(中國‧北京)中國週四(6月25日)以“冰凍三尺,非一日之寒”,來形容朝鮮核問題。

中國外交部發言人秦剛當天在例行新聞發佈會上,回答有關朝鮮局勢問題的時候,除了重申中方的一貫立場之外,最值得注意的是,他引這句中國古話表示了中方的看法。

秦剛說,“至今在朝鮮半島上還存在冷戰凝結的堅冰,要融化這塊堅冰,要靠真誠、互信、作所凝聚的熱量,根本的解決辦法是要增進互信,加合作。有大程度的互信,就有多大程度的合作,朝鮮半島的無核化進程就有多大程度地推進。”

秦剛的話與常見的外交詞令有些不同,在相當程度上反映了中國對化解朝鮮核問題的一些想法。

再否認金正雲訪華

此外,還有記者再問秦剛有關朝鮮領導人金正日幼子金正雲訪問中國的事。日本《朝日新聞》堅稱他訪問了中國,並且會見了中國國家主席胡錦濤,但秦剛此前已經否認。

週四再有日本記者追問,秦剛回答說,“你提到的問題已經作出了澄清,你是信他的,還是信我的,你自己作出判斷和選擇。”

“朝日新聞沒有與我們聯繫此事。你提到的有關情況是不是007小說的續集啊?”

印度‧氣溫高達48度‧100人熱死

(印度‧新德里)印度廣泛地區遭猛烈熱浪侵襲,首都新德里上週氣溫更高達攝氏48度,連月來國已有至少100人死亡。由於傳統雨季仍未來臨,當局擔心死亡人數會繼續上升。

東部奧里薩州官員表示,當地自4月起最少有58人死於中暑。印度媒體報導,北部比哈爾及鄰近賈坎德州也分別有17及12人熱死。

北方州、中南部安得拉州亦有24人死亡。東部恰蒂斯加爾州政府需下令所有學校停課。

熱浪襲擊中國17省市

另一方面,中國全國週四(6月25日)共有17省市受到熱浪襲擊,預料高溫天氣將於週日消退,北京計劃發出高溫津貼給受天氣影響的市民。

從22日開始,高溫天氣炙烤著北方大地。中央氣象台稱,本次高溫天氣是今年以來中國範圍最大、最的高溫天氣。

截至週四,高溫涉及17個省市區,其中新疆、內蒙古、河南、河北、北京、天津等12個省市區受熱浪影響較大。北京、天津、石家莊等12個省會級大城市出現35℃以上高溫,其中11個城市氣溫創今年新高。

在北京,人力資源和社會保障局表示,在高溫天氣下露天工作,或者在室內工作但溫度超過33度的人,可以獲得每月不少於60元人民幣的高溫工作津貼,包括建築工人、清潔工人及無冷氣巴士的司機及售票員,都可以獲得津貼。

中國‧廉航要賣站票‧一架飛機可多載40%乘客

(中國‧北京)站著乘飛機,你敢嗎?

中國首家廉價航空公司春秋航空又有驚人之舉,聲稱有意嘗試賣站票,讓乘客站著乘飛機,最快可能年內就向民航局提出申請。

按春秋航空的想法,讓乘客換個姿勢,一架飛機至少可以載40%的旅客,公司成本能在現有基礎上再減20%,機票價格也有了更大的下調空間。

須獲民航局審批這項提議一出,立即引起爭議,因為民航法明確規定,在航班起飛、降落階段,所有人都必須坐在指定座位,並繫好安帶。

不過,上民意調查結果卻發現這個點子相當受歡迎,近60%的網友表示:“只要你敢賣,就敢站!”

春秋航空表示,倘若賣站票計劃成事,首先必須改裝機艙內的座椅,就像吧台椅一樣,人可以半坐著,也可以是直立的,但最重要的是安全帶還是要繫在腰上的。

春秋航空調,“賣站票”目前只是一個大膽的假設,前提是必須獲得民航局適航部門審批同意,以及飛機制造商提供技術支持。

新加坡‧追8樓剎妻‧少婦倒斃睡床‧夫被捕

(新加坡)皇鎮今日(週五,6月26日)早上發生驚人命案,妻子被殺,渾身浴血,橫屍睡床,丈夫當場被捕。

目擊者說,這名妻子在樓下與丈夫發生劇烈爭執,隨後遭揮刀冷血攻擊,一路從樓下追砍到8樓的一間單位里。

一陣拉扯糾纏後,少婦被發現身中刀,慘死在組屋單位的睡床上。

據瞭解,少婦身上下多處都挨刀,渾身浴血,在眾多刀傷之中,大腿上有一道長長的刀傷,深可見骨,十分駭人,而少婦的手臂及手背也有多處被劃傷,相信或許是自衛時所造成的。

少婦的上半身也有多處被砍傷,傷痕累累,相信死前曾經過一番頑的掙扎。

命案發生在女皇弄第23B座組屋。警方派出大批警員到場展開調查,封鎖範圍一路從組屋樓下延伸到8樓。

血路一直延伸至8樓

組屋樓下的血路一路延伸至8樓單位,相信少婦在樓下已經遇襲。

據記者觀察,組屋樓下出現一道顯眼的血路,從組屋樓下到樓梯口,一直延伸到8樓的單位。由於樓梯口離事發單位甚遠,走廊上可清楚看到斑駁血跡,甚為駭人。

一般相信,少婦在組屋樓下已經被砍傷,之後拖著流淌鮮血的身軀一路狂奔,逃回住家,豈料卻被人跟進屋內,接著被發現浴血死在床上。

居民報警助捉嫌犯

據記者探知,少婦身上遭人猛刺,挨了多刀之後,倒斃在住家單位的床上,中國籍的丈夫慌忙逃離現場,有居民發現後,即刻報警。

警方在接獲可靠的線索之後,第一時間在組屋的四周展開地毯式的搜索,並在附近找到丈夫,當場把他逮捕。

新加坡‧調查員懷疑假結婚‧要中國妻形容夫性器特徵

(新加坡)聲稱遭調查員打傷,子供稱調查員懷疑她和丈夫是假結婚,要她形容丈夫性器官的特征!

貪污調查局高級調查員梁祥龍(31歲)被控為中國女子林艷梅(42歲,中醫診所助手)錄口供時打傷對方,林艷梅今日(週五,6月26日)早上以控方證人身份,在副檢察司引導下供證。

她說,被告在為她錄口供時,一直指她和丈夫是假結婚,並要她說出丈夫性器官的大小,她於是形容丈夫性器官的特征,但被告不相信。

她表示,其實她和丈夫在婚前已發生性關係,婚後也有,只是由於自己和丈夫都上了年紀,不可能像年輕情侶般天天發生性關係。

她說,被告說她難看,所以帶著與前夫所生的16歲女兒到新加坡當妓女。她的前夫在女兒8個月大時去世。

女子否認假結婚

她形容,被告的脾氣火爆,一直大聲對她說話,要她承認自己假結婚,但她矢口否認。

梁祥龍面對兩項傳票,指他於去年1月14日下午,在貪污調查局盤問室,用腳踢桌子撞林艷梅的膝蓋。

他也被指同一天晚上在盤問室裡,把文件夾丟她的臉部,弄傷她的嘴唇和牙齒。

林艷梅的丈夫陳漢光週四(6月25日)供證完畢。兩人在2006年2月1日結婚,婚後住在金文泰,陳漢光是一名洗碗工人。

案件仍在審訊中。(人名譯音)

新加坡‧南大生墜樓案‧不知死者身有傷痕‧家屬斥校方不誠實

新加坡)墜樓南大生的哥哥黃必偉堅稱弟弟的死,疑點重重,還說如果他們知道弟弟身上有許傷痕,他們會把遺體運回印尼,讓印尼法醫進行第二次驗屍,以便找出真相。

案件週四(6月25日)繼續研訊,黃必偉(24歲)把矛頭指向南大,指校方不誠實。

他說,他們當天接到弟弟死訊,便飛來新加坡,南大的3名職員到機場接機。在開車前往南大途中,他們說弟弟刺傷副教授,然後割腕,再墜樓自殺。

未能第一時間看遺體

他說這是不可能的,他不相信,他要求看弟弟遺體,不過,對方表示還不是時候。

他說,他們抵達南大,與校長徐冠林和一些職員見面,他們說弟弟在有蓋橋廊割腕,並且說弟弟從第4宿舍拿了一把刀,還說有一個證人看見弟弟割腕。

他當時感到驚訝,弟弟死後不久,他們怎麼會有那麼多資料。之後,校方安排他們同一些印尼學生見面,一些學生告訴他們同樣的故事,他們說這是校長告訴他們的。

黃必偉聲稱校方試圖說服他們弟弟是自殺,但他們不相信。

他說,他們出庭旁聽研訊,並沒有弟弟割腕這方面的證據。

他說,他們隔天到驗屍房,只能隔著玻璃看弟弟的遺體。他們看見弟弟頸項貼著藥布,並且有血。

他們當時問查案人員蘇志安駐署長弟弟是否割腕,對方說那是不確實的,叫他不要相信,應等候警方調查。

不信傷人後割腕

陪同他們去的南大職員給他們壓力,要他們決定是否將弟弟遺體運回印尼埋葬,或火化。他們不知道弟弟身上有許多傷痕,便決定火化。

黃必偉指校方不誠實,他說,他們不相信弟弟傷人後割腕,有人撒謊,他們存有許多疑問。

要求見南大校長不果

黃必偉說,他們曾在4月間到新加坡,多次要求見徐冠林和陳及鹿副教授,但他們不肯見他。

死者黃必明(21歲)生前是南大電機電子工程系四年級學生,他被指在今年3月2日上午10時左右,在陳及鹿副教授(45歲)的辦公室內討論論文時,突然拿出刀子朝他背後猛刺。他過後跨過矮牆,走向有蓋橋廊,從橋頂墜下喪命。

本案研訊結束,驗屍庭展期7月29日下判。

新加坡‧魚尾獅變“獅頭魚”‧遊客逛深圳主題公園疑惑

(新加坡)魚尾獅到了中國,改名叫“獅頭魚”?

位於深圳灣畔的“世界之窗”主題公園裡,有一尊仿制的魚尾獅雕像,是園內130個世界景觀的其中之一,代表新加坡。

位于深圳灣畔的“世界之窗”主題公園里,有一尊仿制的魚尾獅雕像,是園內130個世界景觀之一。
位于深圳灣畔的“世界之窗”主題公園里,有一尊仿制的魚尾獅雕像,是園內130個世界景觀之一。


一名新加坡人3月17日到這個“世界之窗”遊玩時,在靠近入口處,看到了魚尾獅雕像,感到特別親切,可是,看到雕像旁的說明,卻又感到不解。

他週四(6月25日)將兩張在“世界之窗”拍到的魚尾獅照,上傳到STOMP站,提出了他的疑惑。

從照片看來,這尊魚尾獅望向前方,口中噴吐水柱,旁邊的中英文介紹說明,把它形容為“新加坡國家的標誌和守護神,傳說新加坡以前是獅子聚集的吉祥之地”。

介紹文字還指出,這個4米高的雕像是按新加坡的魚尾獅相同比例仿造。

網友對園區魚尾獅的這個介紹,提出3大疑問︰
1、魚尾獅是新加坡旅遊局構思出來的旅遊標誌,純屬虛構,為何會成新加坡的“守護神”?

2、Merlion的中文譯名是“魚尾獅”,為何到了“世界之窗”改名“獅頭魚”?

3、“獅頭魚”明明比正牌魚尾獅小得,為何說是按原來比例仿制?

網友也呼吁新加坡旅遊局與世界之窗的管理者交涉,糾正這些錯誤。

宣傳部:資料沒及時更新
“世界之窗”會做出修改

對此,深圳“世界之窗”主題公園宣傳部的工作人員郭小姐在受詢時解釋,園區在1994年開業,所有景觀包括代表新加坡的獅頭魚身像,都是經過深入的研究和考察才製作,但她坦言,有些介紹資料可能沒得到及時更新。

不過,她解釋︰“們是直譯英文的Merlion,稱之為‘獅頭魚身像´,而不是叫它‘獅頭魚´。”

她表示,會把新加坡網友指出的問題和園區的相關部門商討,做出必要的修改,包括把雕像的名稱改為新加坡人慣用的“魚尾獅”。

新加坡‧沒發過期藥物‧抗流感藥有效期7年

(新加坡)新加坡衛生部表示,政府發放給流感診所的抗流感藥物並沒有過期。衛生科學局審核了藥劑公司的數據,並對藥物進行化驗後,已在去年8月14日,將這批藥物的有效儲存期從5年延長到7年。

衛生部早前發放政府儲備的抗流感藥物特福敏(Tamiflu)給國450個流感診所。但有醫生指出,根據藥盒標明的日期,抗流感藥物似乎已超出有效期。

傳染病中心傳染病部門高級顧問醫生林寶蓮週四(6月25日)在記者會上表明,根據廠商羅氏(Roche)提供的資料,在攝氏25度以下、儲存長達7年的特福敏,藥效保持穩定。

儲存7年藥效仍穩定

衛生科學局評估了儲備7年的特福敏,發現藥物的效力、溶解程度和純淨度都達到標準。保存良好的達菲,經過7年儲存期後,活性成份的效力保持在90%至105%。

換句話說,一盒在2003年生產的特福敏,原本注明2007年12月為有效期,但在獲得當局評估及批准後,有效期延後到2010年12月。

衛生科學局調,儲存特福敏的倉庫保持在25攝氏的室溫和60%相對濕度,以妥善地保存藥物,確保不會質。

加歐洲也延長儲存期

林寶蓮表示,國際藥物監管機構,例如美國食品和藥物管理局(FDA)、加拿大健康署(Health Canada)、歐洲藥品評審局(EMEA)評估數據後,也將特福敏的儲存期,從5年延長至7年。

新加坡私人診所持有的特福敏,有效儲存期也在6月18日獲得衛生科學局批准,有效期同樣延長至7年。

Commentary: The pathology that is the 9/11 'truth' movement

Commentary: Following the terrorist murder of a security guard at the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. this week by a white supremacist, anti-Semite and 9/11 "Truther" I was curious to hear how the most prominent of the 9/11 "Truthers," Alex Jones, would try to explain it away. It turns out I shouldn't have wasted my time. The explanation he gave to Coast-to-Coast AM host George Noory was absolutely predictable, defiant of reason and exasperating, in complete harmony with both Jones past pronouncements and the 9/11 "Truth" movement since its inception.

According to Jones, there has never been a violent incident attributable to a 9/11 "Truther". Instead he offered his completely unsubstantiated theory that incidents of violence involving 9/11 "Truthers" would be manufactured. That is, of course, the one way the wackiest conspiracy theorist can always get out of any situation, simply manufacture a larger conspiracy. Disagree with the "Truthers"? Well then, according to Jones and his ilk, you must be a government agent, a Zionist or brainwashed.

Of course, Jones himself was involved in an incident, which he and his posse initiated that could easily have resulted in violence in Denver at the Democratic Convention, when he "confronted" Fox New's Michelle Malkin at the attempted levitation of the Denver Mint organized by ReCreate '68. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/991808/alex_jones_dnc_confrontation_with_michelle.html?cat=9
Assuming it has not been removed or tampered with video of the event is contained in a YouTube link at the end of the article.

That event was big for a couple of days in the news cycle, and to the unbiased observer should prove at least a couple of things. The first is the behavior of Jones and his posse (all of the YouTube footage of the incident that I could find was taken by Jones disciples), was boorish at best, definitely bullying of a diminutive Asian woman reporter and therefore an attempt to impose his opinions through verbal abuse and perhaps more. Whether or not it was Jones or just someone in the crowd that started the chant of "Kill Michelle Malkin," is not entirely clear from the video.

By the way one of the more annoying things about the 9/11 "truther" movement is how they hijacked the language and through the Goebbel's technique of constant repetition got to have themselves referred to as "truthers," when there is absolutely no truth whatsoever to their assertions. From here on out I will refer to them by a phrase which is a good deal more accurate and, unlike the term which they prefer, not an attempt to prejudge the veracity of their claims. I will refer to them, as I have before, as adherents to the 9/11 Grand Conspiracy theory.

That is, of course, because quite obviously 9/11 was a conspiracy. The only question outstanding is the identity of the conspirators.

According to any real evidence, including, videos where Al Qaeda spokesmen take quite clear credit for 9/11, even becoming testy to the point of accusing anyone who refuses to give them credit of being "Iranian" agents, the answer is quite clear. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/728809/what_should_be_the_last_word_on_the.html?cat=9That is, of course, the 19 hijackers and the others in Al Qaeda or allied organizations, including possibly, members of the Pakistani intelligence services, some rich adherents to radical Islam and others, some of whom are guests of the government at Guantanamo and others who are presumably residing in whatever degree of comfort in the tribal areas of Pakistan, or perhaps somewhere we haven't even thought to look.

To be fair there was a brief period when the Al Qaeda leadership did, in fact, deny responsibility for 9/11, prior to deciding that there was no point in denying their masterpiece. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/50427/911_conspiracy_theorists_echo_early.html?cat=16
I have since theorized that that position was based on Al Qaeda strategic thinking that was unsure of what the American response to 9/11 might be and hoping to thereby weaken that response. After the response was clear there was, at that point, no more use denying what was their most spectacular accomplishment.

Of course, the 9/11 Grand Conspiracist answer to videos where Al Qaeda takes credit for 9/11 is to claim that there is a bigger conspiracy at work, that the videos are made with actors made up to look like bin Laden or Al Zawahri. Of course, that would seem, to me at least, to raise the question of, if Al Qaeda is being falsely accused of orchestrating 9/11, why they are not all over the net protesting their innocence. It was a question I asked Jones when we "met" in Denver to which he had no answer and may have been at least part of the reason he decided to take his posse and run off.

One of the worst things about the 9/11 Grand Conspiracy theory is that it attacks that great sense of national solidarity so many of us felt the day after 9/11 and poisons the American psyche. Almost as bad is the fact that it has provided cover for a rogue's gallery of anti-Americans, anti-Semites, other sociopaths, the forever paranoid and the mentally-ill who insist on foisting their skewed outlook on the rest of us.

I first came into contact with the 9/11 Grand Conspirator's while doing a screenplay I had written entitled Remember Flight 93: A True Story of American Courage, which was based on a reconstruction of events aboard United Flight 93 (the hijacked plane that did not reach its target) on 9/11. While doing the research for the screenplay I interviewed a relative of one of the Flight 93 heroes, who had, tragically, in my opinion, been won over by Grand Conspiracists. In addition, to having me read the inane New Pearl Harbor, she now viewed the wonderful reception that the Flight 93 families had been given at the White House and Congress, not as a wonderful honor for the families but instead a contemptible act of duplicity.

For a conspiracy to be minimally credible it needs to offer a plausible, if not compelling motive, and a convincing method by which it would have been pulled off. The 9/11 Grand Conspiracy offers neither. The alleged motives offered by Grand Conspirators seem dubious at best. There is the argument that 9/11 was pulled off in order to subvert the Constitution and silence all dissent in the nation. Yet somehow Jones and his cohorts are allowed to continue their diatribes.

Then there is the theory that 9/11 would lead to the construction of an oil pipeline across Afghanistan. But the economics don't quite add up. In order to clear the way for a pipeline that would result in $100 billion gain at best, would an attack on the economy be orchestrated that ended up costing at least a trillion dollars, crippled air transportation for years to come and thus demand for airline fuel and so on?

Finally, there is the idea that after the fall of the Soviet Union, the American Military-Industrial complex needed a new enemy and decided that that enemy ought to be the Islamic world. Yet nothing could have been further from the agenda of "Bandar Bush," so named because of his family's close ties with the Saudi Arabian royal family. It also would fly in the face of years of pro-Islamic foreign policy including interventions in Bosnia, Kosovo, an attempt to stop starvation in Somalia and, of course, the arming of the Islamic rebels of Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation. Of course, the case can be made that 9/11 was, in fact, unintended blowback from that operation, the premise of an Annette Bening movie which now seems almost prophetic entitled The Siege.

As far as the means that the Grand Conspiracy could have been pulled off, the mind ought to be boggled at the notion that the Twin Towers could possibly have been wired for controlled demolition without anyone, not one tenant, not one security guard, not one police officer, no one, no one at all noticing. As far as addressing every contention of the Grand Conspiracists, that exercise would seriously tax the patience of my readers and exhaust me, especially when others have already done the job better. http://www.debunking911.com/
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military_law/1227842.html
ad nauseum.

Finally, if ever given the chance I would need to ask the Grand Conspiracists if they attribute all of the terrorist attacks attributed to Islamic terrorists to the US Government. If so that list would have to include the London Subway bombing, the Madrid train bombing, the Bali nightclub bombing, the horrific attack on the Russian schoolhouse, all of the suicide bombings that have occurred in Israel, Iraq, Pakistan and so on, the bombing of the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, the first World Trade Center attacks, the murder of Theo Van Gough in the Netherlands, the Achille Lauro, etc., etc., etc. If that is the case why hasn't a single individual ever had an attack of conscience and come forward? But of course if you were to attribute all of the attacks of Islamic terrorists to the United States government that argument would break up on the slopes of the Hindu Kush mountains.

The term Hindu Kush means Hindu death or Hindu slaughter and was created to memorialize or celebrate, depending on your point of view, the massacre of approximately 80 million Hindus, Buddhists and others by the Islamic armies that conquered Pakistan and Afghanistan for the crescent. Unfortunately for the Grand Conspiracists, that massacre occurred almost a thousand years prior to the existence of the US government.

About Cannon-Fodder and Sacrificial Lambs

China oil demand's good news, but can it be oil's savior?

TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- China's oil demand has grown even as its production declines but analysts question whether the nation's healthy appetite for crude will last, and cast doubt on whether its demand can single-handedly offset an expected global drop-off in consumption this year.

That's part of the reason why recent upbeat data on Chinese demand hasn't provided any lasting impression on the oil market or helped crude prices hold their ground above the $70-per-barrel level.

China, the world's second-largest consumer of oil and the fastest single-growing market, consumes a little more than 7 million barrels per day, according to Dave Ernsberger, senior editorial director for Asia at Platts.

With that in mind, "China is looked at as sort of the fortune cookie for the world right now," said Kevin Kerr, president of Kerr Trading International. "Demand is key if oil prices are going to get back above $75 or $80 and all eyes are on China as an indicator of when the global economic engine will begin firing again."

But with world oil demand down about 2 million barrels per day from last year's levels, "growth in Chinese demand can not alone make up for the overall fall in world demand," said Ernsberger.

China consumed 33.23 million metric tons of oil in May, up 6% from the same month a year ago, according to a recent Platts analysis of official data. One metric ton represents about 7.3 barrels.

"If China maintains strong year-on-year demand growth, it could cause oil prices to rise quickly, as it is bullish news on top of the present trend of funds coming back into oil as an asset class investment," said Robert "Tony" Nunan, an assistant general manager at Mitsubishi Corp. in Tokyo.

Oil traders aren't quite so convinced yet. Crude futures traded at a three-week low under $67 per barrel this week.

Demand from China may be up, but "global demand for crude is off 2.9% year over year, with U.S. demand down 4.9%," said James Bibbings, associate editor at Commodity News Center. The International Energy Agency forecasts global oil demand of 83.3 million barrels per day in 2009, down 2.5 million barrels per day from 2008.

"When demand in the U.S. is off nearly 5%, China's increases don't mean much," said Bibbings. So "although it might be popular and trendy to talk about China being the 'next big thing', the reality is that the tail cannot wag the dog no matter how much it tries."

"The United States, as the dog, is still the world's largest consumer of oil by far and should hold this position for the foreseeable future," he said.

And with the scope of global economic recovery in question, oil inventories still at a surplus and weakness in worldwide oil demand, analysts say China doesn't have quite the pull on the oil markets most everyone assumes. China's oil purchases are often attributed to mere stockpiling as opposed to actual usage.

Artificial use

China has been stockpiling various commodities, buying them with stimulus cash at prices well discounted from a year earlier. That would appear to be a smart move -- but has it been for all the right reasons, and will it last?

"China is sitting on tons of cash and it would not surprise me if China got back into commodities as soon as we see a good break in price," said Phil Flynn, a vice president at Alaron Trading.

The "question is whether or not the commodity-buying surge that we have seen in recent months is sustainable," he said.

On Monday, the World Bank said the global economy will shrink 2.9% this year, worse than the 1.7% contraction it predicted in March. China's economy is built on exports and with figures like those from the World Bank, "the ability of China to continue buying commodities is suspect," said Flynn.

At the same time, the markets have been assuming that the strength in Chinese oil demand hints at an economic turnaround in the nation.

The counter argument to that points out that "talk of resumed economic growth is premature," said Darin Newsom, DTN senior analyst.

If China began filling its reserves in the fourth quarter of 2008 because of lower-priced commodities, then the news is "relatively benign," he said.

But if the U.S. dollar index rallies, sending commodity prices lower from here, it's possible that, if reserves are full and prices move below what China paid, China could look to unload some of its reserves on the market, he said.

That could send prices reeling.

Keep in mind, as well, that higher imports into China "can either be from economic growth or from crude to fill [its] strategic petroleum reserve," said James Williams, an economist at WTRG Economics.

Bibbings said China is "not really increasing consumption," referring to the nation's demand as "artificial."

It's been "attempting to hoard commodity resources through speculative buying," he said, and given that, China "will not be able to affect oil prices indefinitely."

Peeking at the future

That said, expectations for oil demand and prices appear mixed for the short term, though the consensus for the longer term overwhelmingly points to stronger consumption and higher prices.

"With oil having nearly doubled in price over the past three months, it is hard to be bullish in the short term," said Sam Subramanian, editor of AlphaProfit Sector Investors' Newsletter. And "most economists do not forecast a synchronized global recovery as major European economies are expected to recover later than the U.S."

The U.S. is still too big a consumer to ignore, and while growth in China can't fully offset U.S. weakness in the short term, Chinese demand will be a factor in oil's next move in the long term, he said.

In July, oil will likely see higher prices, said John Person, president of Nationalfutures.com. And as China supports data of 6%-8% gross domestic product growth this year, "my take is we will be seeing crude oil back closer to $80 before the summer ends."

On the other hand, Bibbings said that fundamentals, as well as excessive speculation in the oil market, suggest that crude may be "ready to turn hard between now and July" -- to trade between $40 and $55 around mid summer to early fall.

For the longer term, China still has an integral part in oil's future.

"Peak oil is still coming, and China is part of the problem," said Sean Brodrick, a natural-resources analyst at UncommonWisdomDaily.com. "Practically every car sold in that country is to a new driver -- unlike car sales in the U.S., which are mostly replacement cars."

So as far as the crude market is concerned, "the current global contraction has been a gift in disguise," said Todd Hultman, president of Dailyfutures.com. Demand may not peak again until 2012 or after, "giving the market precious time to find solutions before supply problems re-emerge."

Myra P. SaefongBy Myra P. Saefong