China re-opening tiger trade again?

According to the article on http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6745497.stm
China consideres a vague suggestion to reopen tiger trade again, which caused consternation all over the globe. Dissuading them from doing so appears to be imppossible since they have already launched a clear concept supported by facts and figures. Despite their claim that it is mainly for the sake of medicine, thus human future, they still plan to breed and house 5000 tigers on farms, which is more than the whole tiger population world-wide. As far as endangered species are concerned, I believe they should keep their beary ideas for themselves. What worries me is that once there is no official prohibition of tiger breeding, it might soon come that needy natives will want to take the biscuit in the struggle to survive.
As far as the credibility of the information is concerned, obvioulsy the politicians try to squelch the media due to the non-ubiquity of the tigers in the wildness.

jaywalking with the irish - the text

Jaywalking with the Irish

David Monagan, the narrator, explains why he had decided for uprooting his family and moving to Cork. Reasons are mainly of social nature – Americans are so busy working that they do not attain their highly regulated standard of living. Above all, they talk about casting aside their dreadful daily obligations, but never realize that. So Monagans are in quest for less programmed life. The problem is that David experienced “idyllic Ireland” as a student which has changed significantly due to the economic boom. Despite some bureaucratic problems at the beginning (unable to open a checking account, impossible to pay with a credit card in a grocery store, difficulties getting a phone line ...) the family settle down gradually. Obviously, Irish culture is not equal to the American which can be seen in the following incidents: neighbors simply stopping by whenever they like to and discuss whatever came to their minds, superstition and fairies playing an important role, not expressing their opinion directly as David is though in the pub, consequently one should always watch one’s back. Asking questions about your job are considered to be too straightforward if not even rude, on the contrary, the most common way to get a well-paid an influential post is by knowing the right people. That’s why Jamie fails to find a job despite her desperate search. Some other Irish features are shared pint-buying and procrastination as well as reckless drivers on the jammed roundabouts and wide highways.

The Monagan family often undertakes trips to different regions in order to get in touch with the culture and to avert kids from being homesick. They are introduced to the Irish attitude “the more the merrier”, which proves to be one of the leading ones when it comes to parties. There are people dropping in till the house is bursting at the seams.

When Irish lives were progressing on all cylinders, Monagans face another Irish phenomena: exponentially raising crime rates. A burglar broke into their home and their car is stolen during the night. Back in the fifties Ireland was the safest place to live in on the entire Globe, but now due to the radical changes in the economy which affected the social life, it is not like that anymore. Above all, young people under the influence of alcohol loose control and smash everything around them, beating up innocent people or committing other crimes. Monagans even file a formal complaint with the police against youth gone wild in their neighborhood.

In spite of their wish to stay in Ireland another year, things turn out differently in the end. Some family members in America are becoming ill, others have even died. Above all, Harris has failed his class and their renter has moved out of their house. Consequently, they chose to move back to America with a pleasant memory in their hearth about a country where they have been loved and accepted.

jaywalking with the Irish

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don't drunk and drive!

There was an article in the Slovene magazine Ona about the drunk youth who belts out in the streets at hight. This is a typical fodder of all public discussions on how to solve the aforementioned problem. The journalist tries to include some opinons of different celebrities from the political scene, but does not succeed. The first one is equicocating a lot abut what measures are going to be taken in order to tackle this and the written answer of the second politician is dotted with digressions.
I strongly believe that what causes the most consternation in the society are young teenagers under the influence of alcohol below the age of 12 or even 10. Despite the deviations to the norms is our society tolerated to the certain point, one must agree with me that everything has its limits, so does alchol consumption. Although we've heard about different useful measures to be taken ad nauseam, there is not enough put into practice. Th government always procrastinates with legislation, so do the bar owners with checking the IDs.

some vocab from the nerd's eye view

While reading some old posts on the blog I came across about some interesting vocab:
"They’re all a little damp around the edges but they look exhilarated, if a little tired." An euphemism for a little fat is a little damp around the edges.:)
Till now little did i know about snowshoeing - a winter sport :) which seems a mixutre of snowboarding and walking for me.

When you do something that does not makes sense or helps you achieve your goal, it is to no avail.

sailing ...

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reading other books

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I've read a criminal story, but I don't remeber either its title or its author. For more information contact Ivana, who lend me the book. So, there is an investigation on a susupicious murder in America. The police appreciates when private citizens come forth with information, but to avail. Nobady has reported any helpful information. On the basis od the witnesses' testimonies, the police could charge the suspect with murder. However, as long as the do not catch him it is difficult to sue him for anything. According to the victim's report, the suspect went beserk due to the long queue in the bank and they suspect he was a drug-addict, so probably after putting him behing bars, he will probably be given an opportunity to take part in a rehab programm.
In the end, this story becomes more and more complicated due to a girl who the suspect falls in love with. She's stuningly beautiful and rotten spoilt, but she always listen intently to him psychological problems. Despite the fact they are on different wavelenghts, they get on with each other. Finally, she manages to have him under hin thumb and help rebuild his life again - this time in the more acceptable way from the view of the today's society.
I would commend this book to anyone who likes whodunnit-stories.

ggg

gdfhdfhfd

voca from the nerd's eye view

other books I'm reading

other books I'm reading

other books

Bread and butter or enyoment?

An article about jobs in general and tipps on this topic intiate me to summon up some of the most important tipps.

Firstly, everybody should think deeeply about their personal traits as well as their wishes. What kind of businness would you like to do? Mainting law and order or doing the washing-up? Comparing facts and figures of the economic market with your own wishes will give you an idea how high are your chances of achieving whatever imaginative job you would like to do.

Secondly, entrepreneurship might seem attractive at first, but you have to consider all pros and cons and what way of life does that brings to you.

Thirdly, try to specialize in a particular field. It is even more promising if that is a field where experts are few and far between.

All in all, it is of major importance to do your best in achieving your success and remain grounded. Constantly doing somebody else a favour would not help you make aprofit. Good luck!

Martin Strel - Amazon 2007

A Slovene marathon swimmer Martin Strel has succeed in swimming more than 5000 km long Amazon river in approx. 70 days. Doctors declared he has returned from this extremely exhausting route safe and sound.

In my opinion, that kind of challenge demand your whole mind and soul as well as physical strength. Broadly speaking, you do not make any noticeable progress in the first few days. In addition, such ordeal is a real touch and go considering the great peril lurking in the river in the forms of crocodiles and piranhas. To top it all, you have to do your duty no matter what it takes once you start such expedition. I believe, he deserves everyboy's admiration.

Austrians

A saying: Birds of a feather flock together might come in handy when describing Austrians' main features. According to "The Xenophobe's guide to the Austrians" they strive to be one country when they can help themselves financially from the main Austrian budget, otherwise they are patriotic members of federal provinces.

Moreover, these are the characteristics that find common ground in Austria, no matter what their provenance is: miscegenation, devious, morose, time-serving, but on the other hand pleasure-loving as well as genial. Some federal provinces bordering on Swiss are deemed to have features, such as thrift, piety and stubbornness.

In historic terms, the whole nation was ruled with an iron fist. By the same token, here lies the root of Austrian ambivalent attitude to power. What is funny in my opinion, is the fact that Joseph II attempted to burry dead people in coffins already used for financial reasons.

A footling idea that European Union means living in England is the same as in Austria is not true. As a traditional nation, Austrians need time to be tampered with modernised way of live. Consequently, their religios holidays bespatter the calender and their workes get generous holiday allowances.

Austrians do not trust novelties for a simple reason;namely, they believe somebody will make money at their expences.

All in all, you cannot lump all Austrians together, cause each and every individual is beautiful and different.

irish characteristics

According to the article in our script some expertsarrived at a similar conclusion: What is typical Irish is their contrariness. It has also lodged in their minds that they are lucky, which is a nice characteristic in my opinion. One logical explanations for this luckiness could be found in the definite and great peril imposed on the Irish throughout the history (wars, famine...). Consequntly, they consider themselves lucky to have survived all the troubles and tribulations.

A remarkable factor which has a great effect on their life is the economic boom that is transforming the country beyond recognition.

The quintessential word in Irish vocabulary is "craic".Everything connected with conversation or having fun can be deemed a "craic". The spelling is probably phony. However, the term found itself so much in demand that it stayed in the language.
Broadly speaking, "Craic" is a vital word of Irish everyday life.


The second important symbol of Irishness is the shamrock can thrive only in Ireland.

types of human "sounds" and reactions

So, in the past days I was searching for some intersting vocab in our script and I came across some illustrative words, such as: stammer, snigger and squeak. A person who stammers is normally quite annoying to talk to, although you know it's not there fault to speak like that. To squeak reminds me of the door in our old house who squeaked open every time you entered the main room. Snigger is something I connect with my teenage schoolmates who did this each and every time a cute boy strolled aroung the corner.
A reaction which is typical for a half of my family is scowling - my father and my sister do this constatly when tired, bored or in the process of getting angry. Consequently, my father's forehead is an embodiement for wrinkles.

pharmacy lobbies

I' ve read an instructive article about pharmacy lobbies the other day and I managed to scribble the main points on a pice of paper. So, here it goes:
A lot of successful pharmacy companies are often implicated in financial scandals due to the fact that they pay their own scienties to "proove" their medicine to be in line with standards or that this medicine really cures a person's illness. What is more, nowadays it is almost impossible to acquire objective information as well as impartial advice on the topic of cancer due to pharmacy lobbies. In other words, the majority of information you pick up from everyday's news are đ misleading. So, therefore trying to be up-to-date in that way has really no intrinsic value. Sad, but true.

easter holidays

As one can see, I haven't touch my blog over the holidays. There is no explicit elucidation for that, just the fact that I sometimes need a incentive to start a computer over the holidays. The inherent part of my holiday's was writing seminars for my home university, which I considered enough of a contact with a stupid machine. So, now I'm back agains, full of energy and new ideas what to write about.

volunteering

When Rebecca first mentioned the volunteer project we were about to focus on in the next few weeks, it did not seem nothing particularly new to me. However, it has turned out to broaden my horizons on this particular topic although I was not physically present on the fair itself.
Firstly, I have gained a bunch of new information considering types and names of the organizations. Although I had done some quite intensive research on this topic in my home country a few years ago, I had missed some vital aspects – such as working in order to give aid somebody. As far as I remember, there was much more stress put upon the fact that you gain new experiences and learn a foreign language (in most cases this means English) than to draw the volunteer's attention to the simple humane characteristic – will to help.
Secondly, on account of working in a group I have managed to discover others' opinions and experience about that. I believe that majority has a positive view on volunteering and would join a group of volunteers one day. Nonetheless, one should still remain realistic about that – saying is not the same as doing.
All in all, volunteering might be a rich life experience for a young person, that is why it is certainly worth trying it out.

review on jaywalking

Jaywalking with the Irish by David Monagan
Order: USA Can
Lonely Planet, 2004 (2004)Paperback
Reviewed by Hilary Williamson
David Monagan and his wife Jamie, both of Irish descent, take their children (Laura, Harris and Owen) on 'safari to Ireland' because 'an inventory of achievements, possessions, and responsibilities revealed that certain intangibles had gone missing' in their comfortable U.S. life. They leave Connecticut's 'hermetically sealed' suburban worlds to seek 'adventure and renewal' in Hibernia, where both David and Jamie had traveled before. They settle in Cork, where 'chancers and dreamers and misfits' are valued.Readers share with Monagan bar friendships; the serendipities of meeting people all over the country with connections to others that he knew in past visits and to friends of his American relatives; musings on past tragedies, in particular the horrendous impact of the potato famine; and discoveries the family make as they explore the countryside around them, and find links to history everywhere, including some of 'more than 40,000 megalithic formations casually scattered about the Irish landscape, invariably with no fanfare or visible sign indicating their existence.'All is not idyllic however, even in County Cork where people 'laugh louder and longer ... than any other place on earth'. Local teen bullies persistently harrass the family; violence escalates in the city at night; the bureaucracy seems at times impenetrable; the culture, while ever friendly on the surface, is hard to break into, in terms of settling in and finding work; and Ireland's reaction to 9/11 includes 'heartless punditry' as well as a national day of mourning. Despite all, Monagan loves, and writes lyrically about, Eire and Cork, a 'small and irrepressible city fueled by grandiose visions, a little engine that could.'Having grown up in the north and traveled all over Ireland in the 70s, I was fascinated to read how the country has been changed, for better and worse, by strong economic growth. I enjoyed Jaywalking with the Irish for its presentation of very many quirky characters (Monagan quotes an old friend saying 'Every person I meet makes me larger'), but especially for its welcome, insightful, and clearly focused update on a country too often looked at through rose-colored North American lenses.

what´s jaywalking?

Jaywalking is a term used to describe when a pedestrian crosses the street without regard to traffic statutes. In common use, the term generally refers to someone crossing a major street outside of a designated crosswalk or intersection, in jurisdictions where this is illegal.

Almost all urban areas in the United States and Canada require pedestrians to cross at crosswalks or intersections and to obey pedestrian traffic signals. Jaywalking is considered an infraction or a misdemeanor in some locations. It typically carries a warning or modest fine or not more than one week in prison. In some areas (like New York City), although still illegal, jaywalking is so common that it is generally considered harmless, and police only detain jaywalkers if it is done dangerously or disruptively.
Penalties for jaywalking vary by municipality. For example, in Tempe, AZ, as of June 2006 jaywalking carried fines up to $118. A sampling of other U.S. cities found maximum fines ranging from $57 to $750. In Brisbane, Australia, fines of up to $A200 can apply, although very few people have ever received fines that high. In a recent blitz[2] jaywalkers were fined $30.
In Singapore, first offenders face a fine of S$500 (US$285) and three months of jail. Repeat offenders can be fined for up to $2000 fine or six months in jail.
In Taiwan administered by the Republic of China, Article 78 of the Act Governing the Punishment of Violation of Road traffic Regulations (zh:道路交通管理處罰條例) administratively fines jaywalkers 300 new Taiwan dollars since 1 July 2006.

facts from the first 40 pages

1. Once he was in Ireland - met a soldier form Iraq.
2. his family getting ready for a moving from the USA to Ireland, cork -
3. wife Jamie + 3 sons - Owen,
4. they have irish roots - jamie´s grandfather was irish, travelling in ireland, studying
5. the city of cork - everybody keeps peaking their nose into what is supposed not to be their own business
nice city
chaotic traffic rules - secret rules that only insider are aware about
6. meeting new neighbours - very open
It felt as if we were being welcomed into a village, rather than some annonymous foreign city.
7. irish potatoes
8. not able to pay with a american credit card
9. not able to open a checking account in the bank
10. they didn´t approve of the modern american way of life- antisocial, isolation, couples breaking up, future plans to move somewhere - merely wishes and words
11. 1973 rentes a bungallow in ireland
12. it´s the nature, tranqulity that attracts him
13. bun - housekeeper

some vocab

Green and pink does not match, does not go together.
women are afraid of not fitting into their fancy dress.
Blue colour suit me -as far as i know.
Red is not a fitting/appropriate/suitable colour for a funeral.
Watch out that your piece of bread does not crumble.
Clothes in the travel beg crumple. - zerknittern
Volunteering is a good opportunity to travel the globe at low costs.
My parents redid the kitchen, that´s why i do not find any single cooking item.
A cross-section pooved what we expected in our studies.
Living in China means no frills.
She´s out on a limb, cause she´s the only one in the class supporting Bush.
My friend from Ljubljana is a word perfect for German.
In order to adorn my room before Christmas i bought some decorations.

why i don´t like blogs?

stating my opinion on the internet and then allowing anybody to read it, is just not in accordance with my personal views. so, do not exepct me to write log essays about how i feel when...if...etc.
that´s what i use my paper diary for, which is owned only by myself and im also the only person who has access to its contents. i do not say that i have something against blog, bloggers or blogging culture in general, it is just the fact, that i belive it´s your own business what you think, feel, like, accept, criticize. followingly, my blog is written strictly for academical purposes. for now.

from school

1. in my home town, workers from the mine went od hunger strike, because they weren´t payed enough
2. slovenia still has a way to go when compared to the eu.
3. a lot relativers sent a letter of condolence when my grandmo died.

austrian school system

1. state law does not supersede the federal law - usa
2. so far, so goo.d
3. the drop-out rat at austrian universites is pretty high - the highstest at the faculty of economics.
4. grammar school schould do the couching at the end of their education due to the fact, that studies shown that majority of the teenagers have no idea what their future field of study is about.
5. some experts suggest to sit entrance exams, others oppose strongly. however, both point of views have positive aswell as negative effects. In slovenia, we used to have entrance exam, our high-school diploma is crucial - the points you get there decide, whether you´ll gona be a doctor, psycholigist or cleaning lady.

I´d like to do some more, but ....

well, i sometimes wonder if there is any activity left we do not do it on the internet or rather on comp?!!? not that i would´t like writting and reading blog, seanding, writting mails, skype entertainment, news on the internet, surveys, video clips .... etc, but at the moment it reached the top of my abilities, it´s already pouring across the boarder of the pot ... so, bye:)

few interesting phrases

I started reading the blog "the nerds eye vied" - came across few not so advanced but maybe useful words:
She speaks passable yet twangy German.
nerds are the people with the cool jobs. They’re nerdtastic
sauteeing the onions
hey, the woman has links of the might-be-difficult words with dict!! not bad:) here it is, what the urban dict says for snag:

Sensitive New Age Guy (S.N.A.G). Similar to the Metrosexual, but more timid and sensitive. Dense clusters of Snag's can be found at woman's issues rallies. Extreme examples have been known to experience regular menstrual cramps.
Phil Donahue (extreme example)
by Frknnutz Nov 4, 2003 email it

permalink:
del.icio.us
Send to a friend
your email:
their email:
send me the word of the day (it's free)

2.
Snag

69 up, 12 down

Australian for sausage.
"Buy a few snags and we'll have a beer and a BBQ."
by Diego Sep 4, 2003 email it
3.
Snag

55 up, 31 down

when your pantyhose gets caught on something sharp or pointy, causing it to tear and run.
Her: "Damn!! another snag!! that's the second one this week!! arrrgghhh!!!"Him: "relax, will you? it's only pantyhose. I mean, they can't be that expensive, can they?"Her: "they are if you have to buy a new pair every fucking day!!"
by Miss Boobs Nov 15, 2003 email it
4.
snag

38 up, 18 down

1) v. to catch unexpectedly and quickly.2) v. to steal.
1) check out this awesome Atari t-shirt I snagged on ebay!2) those sunglasses had been just laying there in lost and found for a month, so I snagged them.
by rolfsky Jun 23, 2003 email it
5.
Snag

28 up, 13 down

1.) Sensitive-New-Age-guy.Think kakai's, denim shirts and flower show on TLC. Can be either straight or gay. Also referred to as a "Stray" (see Stray Def.) Tends to drink wine and certain imported beers.
"Honey come look what this Snag has done with his flower bed hereon "while you were out on TLC"
by Sudoplatov Jul 17, 2003 email it
6.
Snag

21 up, 12 down

Sensative New Age GuyS.N.A.GOpposite to Caring Understanding Noshit ToughguyC.U.N.T
Hey fellas there's a snag (aka Hunter Tretheway!) fark he is buying flowers and has his ears pierced!
by The Antipodean Community Apr 28, 2004 email it
7.
snag

17 up, 14 down

"Sensitive new-age guy"
You kow Joe, he is a real snag.
by Argh Jul 6, 2003 email it

to be honest. ..

hmmm... to be hones, I didn´t get the book yet - the english book shop delivery is very slow - takes up to two weeks for one single book. don´t wanna think about the whole bunch of books they ahve there - it must have taken them for ages...:)
so, for the start i copied first 40 pages, i guess thatßs enough for a start.
more about the book next week:)
hey, actually i like this blogging - as fas as nobody starts criticizing it and destroying my self-esteem :)

OK, so, let´s write again what i did last week - i though lisa will forget about this task when i heard we are supposed to write blogs ..:)
I spent most od my time improving the skill called speaking :) reason? my new roommate is from rumania, can not say a word in german, but speaks fluently and quite advanced english, so we tend to speak a lot. above all, she´s the best roommate of all 4 of them, so we get on quite well.
on thursday evening, i came home at half past seven, exhaused from the whole day at school... but i still "had" to go to the english stammtisch, cause i was meeting dina, ivana und pia at nine... somehow i manage to summarize my energy and off i go ..:) however, it was worth going there - the atmosphere is nice, the pub is not packed at the office pub - consequntly also not that full of smoke - i actually managed to breath, which does not happen often nowadays.:)
so, for any of you still hesitating about going there, i warmly recommed it!
needless to say, i was doing homework - do i have to make a comment on that?!

BBC about Slovenia

While searching the web, I´ve found an article on the BBC about Slovenia. Even though it is not up-to-date . it was writtten in January, I belive it is worth reading it as there are not often articles about Slovenia published on the BBC - I guess this was the last one. so thea say Slowenia is a country with spectacular mountains, thick forests and a short Adriatic coastline, also enjoys substantial economic and political stability.
So some facts:Slovenia has a rumbling dispute with Croatia over sea and land borders dating back to the break-up of Yugoslavia.

FACTS
Full name: Republic of Slovenia
Population: 2 million (UN, 2005)
Capital: Ljubljana
Area: 20,273 sq km (7,827 sq miles)
Major language: Slovene
Major religion: Christianity
Life expectancy: 73 years (men), 80 years (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: Euro
Main exports: Machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, household goods
GNI per capita: US $17,350 (World Bank, 2006)
Internet domain: .si
International dialling code: +386
I like the fact, that life expectancy of women is higher that of men, cause consequntly I have more chances to get retired :) my boyfriend probably wont:)

What´s in the news?

I´ve read an article on the BBC, that the Iranian community in the US and Canada is very keen on e-petitions as a form of protest.
The latest issue to grip Iranian expatriates is the Hollywood blockbuster 300. According to the protesters, it projects an "irresponsible" and "distorted" image of ancient Persia. Iranian bloggers started their campaign against the film a week before its opening.
Iranian bloggers started their campaign against the film a week ahead of its opening.
Bloggers were offended at the way in which the Persians have been shown in the film and the way the battle of Thermopylae has been narrated.
The journalist also mentiones the fact, that some bloggers and commentators have opposed the petition against 300 on the grounds that there are bigger battles to fight.