mardi 11 août 2009

About Winston Churchill

Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
Born November 30, 1874Bleinheim Palace, Woodstock, England
Died January 24, 1965London, England
British Prime Minister 1940-1945, 1951-1955.
The repository contains 18 quotes from Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

Classics • History
Let us brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say: “This was their finest hour.”
Classics
I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.
Courage and Fear
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.

Truth
This truth is incontrovertible. Panic may resent it; ignorance may deride it; malice may distort it; but there it is.

Optimism and Pessimism
The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

Miscellaneous
If a thing is worth doing, it’s worth doing badly.

Miscellaneous
You will make all kinds of mistakes; but as long as you are generous and true and also fierce you cannot hurt the world or even seriously distress her. She was meant to be wooed and won by youth.

Courage and Fear
Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result.

Miscellaneous
Everyone has his day, and some days last longer than others.

Opinion
A fanatic is someone who can’t change his mind, and won’t change the subject.

Comebacks
Upon being informed by a fellow Member of Parliament that his fly was open:
It is of no account; after all, the old bird does not fly far from his nest.

Comebacks
Upon being told by Lady Astor, "If you were my husband, I'd put poison in your tea.":
If I were your husband, I’d drink it!

Comebacks
Upon being told, "Must you fall asleep while I'm speaking?":
No, it’s purely voluntary.

Comebacks
To Liverpool socialist MP Bessie Braddock, who told him, "Winston, you're drunk.":
Bessie, you’re ugly. And tomorrow morning I’ll be sober, but you’ll still be ugly.

Politics and Government
The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.

Success and Failure
Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.
Truth There are a terrible lot of lies going about in the world, and the worst of it is that half of them are truth Politics and Government
A politician needs the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn’t happen

Shakespeare's quotes

All's Well That Ends Well, I:2
Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.

From Romeo and Juliet, II:2
Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow.

Twelfth Night, II:5
Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em.

Merchant of Venice, III:1
If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?

Hamlet, I:5
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

MacBeth, I:3
If you can look into the seeds of time, and say which grain will grow and which will not, speak then to me.

Twelfth Night, III:1
Love sought is good, but given unsought is better.

Antony & Cleopatra, III:4
If I lose mine honour, I lose myself.

Midsummer Night's Dream, V:1
It's not enough to speak, but to speak true.

jeudi 30 juillet 2009

34 hospitalized after co-worker sprays perfume

FORT WORTH, Texas – At first, fire officials suspected that carbon monoxide or some other toxic fumes had sickened almost 150 people at a Texas bank call center. It turned out that perfume was to blame. MedStar ambulance spokeswoman Lara Kohl says 34 people were taken to hospitals, 12 by ambulance, after reporting dizziness and shortness of breath Wednesday at a Bank of America call center in Fort Worth. An additional 110 were treated at the scene.
Fort Worth fire Lt. Kent Worley said the incident started with two people complaining about dizziness after a co-worker sprayed perfume. Others reported being sick when an announcement was made that anyone with similar symptoms should exit the building. Investigators do not know what type of perfume was sprayed.

mercredi 29 juillet 2009

Teen escapes jail over bomb hoax

LONDON (Reuters) – A British teen-ager who phoned the White House and claimed as part of a "drunken prank" that there was a bomb in the center of New York, escaped jail on Monday. Thomas Hutchinson, 19, from Sheffield, northern England, made a "giggling" call to the White House switchboard after drinking with friends at a barbecue last May, and claimed there was a bomb in Madison Square Garden.
The operator pressed a malicious call trace button and it was found to have been made in Britain. Prosecutor Stephen Acaster said there was great concern when the call was first received but it was soon realized it was a hoax and Madison Square Garden was not evacuated.
Hutchinson was tracked down following an investigation involving the American secret service, the FBI, the New York City Police department and British counter-terrorism police. He initially denied the charge when he was interviewed by police but later pleaded guilty, the Press Association reported.
At Sheffield Magistrates Court Monday, he was given a six-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work. "One minute's thoughtlessness by you, one moment of madness, one drunken prank, all had very serious consequences," Judge Tony Browne said.
"The reaction to a bomb hoax involving central New York is understandably taken initially very seriously." Hutchinson's lawyer Geoff Flemming said it was unlikely Hutchinson would be a "welcome visitor" to the United States in the future.
"What happened is evidently a young man of good character, who was at the time 17, in the company of his friends, has far too much to drink and does something which is breathtakingly silly," he said.

mardi 28 juillet 2009

Man sleeping in dumpster gets picked up with trash

TAMPA, Fla. – Authorities said a man, who had been sleeping in a Dumpster, sustained minor injuries after he was picked up by a garbage truck along with the trash. Authorities said that when firefighters and paramedics arrived, they heard Kevin Hallaran, 52, banging on the metal sides of the sanitation truck asking for help.

Hallaran had been sleeping inside a Dumpster behind a restaurant Sunday night and had been unknowingly dumped along with the garbage from restaurants and other businesses into the truck early Monday.

A sanitation department employee had not yet activated the truck's compactor after he mistakenly dumped Hallaran inside.

Authorities said the compactor would most likely have killed Hallaran.

jeudi 23 juillet 2009

Phrasal verb list

this is a good list of phrasal verbs you can print out.

http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/phrasal-verbs-list.htm

mardi 21 juillet 2009

Apollo 11, 40 years later

English preposition list

• aboard
• about
• above
• across
• after
• against
• along
• amid
• among
• anti
• around
• as
• at
• before
• behind
• below
• beneath
• beside
• besides
• between
• beyond
• but
• by
• concerning
• considering
• despite
• down
• during
• except
• excepting
• excluding
• following
• for
• from
• in
• inside
• into
• like
• minus
• near
• of
• off
• on
• onto
• opposite
• outside
• over
• past
• per
• plus
• regarding
• round
• save
• since
• than
• through
• to
• toward
• towards
• under
• underneath
• unlike
• until
• up
• upon
• versus
• via
• with
• within
• without

Black scholar's arrest raises profiling questions

BOSTON – Police responding to a call about "two black males" breaking into a home near Harvard University ended up arresting the man who lives there — Henry Louis Gates Jr., the nation's pre-eminent black scholar. Gates had forced his way through the front door because it was jammed, his lawyer said. Colleagues call the arrest last Thursday afternoon a clear case of racial profiling.
Cambridge police say they responded to the well-maintained two-story home after a woman reported seeing "two black males with backpacks on the porch," with one "wedging his shoulder into the door as if he was trying to force entry." By the time police arrived, Gates was already inside. Police say he refused to come outside to speak with an officer, who told him he was investigating a report of a break-in.
"Why, because I'm a black man in America?" Gates said, according to a police report written by Sgt. James Crowley. The Cambridge police refused to comment on the arrest Monday. Gates — the director of Harvard's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research — initially refused to show the officer his identification, but then gave him a Harvard University ID card, according to police.
"Gates continued to yell at me, accusing me of racial bias and continued to tell me that I had not heard the last of him," the officer wrote. Gates said he turned over his driver's license and Harvard ID — both with his photos — and repeatedly asked for the name and badge number of the officer, who refused. He said he then followed the officer as he left his house onto his front porch, where he was handcuffed in front of other officers, Gates said in a statement released by his attorney, fellow Harvard scholar Charles Ogletree, on a Web site Gates oversees, TheRoot.com
He was arrested on a disorderly conduct charge after police said he "exhibited loud and tumultuous behavior." He was released later that day on his own recognizance. An arraignment was scheduled for Aug. 26. Gates, 58, also refused to speak publicly Monday, referring calls to Ogletree. "He was shocked to find himself being questioned and shocked that the conversation continued after he showed his identification," Ogletree said.
Ogletree declined to say whether he believed the incident was racially motivated, saying "I think the incident speaks for itself." Some of Gates' African-American colleagues say the arrest is part of a pattern of racial profiling in Cambridge. Allen Counter, who has taught neuroscience at Harvard for 25 years, said he was stopped on campus by two Harvard police officers in 2004 after being mistaken for a robbery suspect. They threatened to arrest him when he could not produce identification.
"We do not believe that this arrest would have happened if professor Gates was white," Counter said. "It really has been very unsettling for African-Americans throughout Harvard and throughout Cambridge that this happened."

vendredi 17 juillet 2009

Staying Connected

Tom and Jess talk about e-mail, social networking sites and time on the computer.

Tom: Jess, usually when I see you, you're sitting at the computer checking your e-mail. How many times a day do you check it?

Jess: I honestly don't count, but many, many times. Definitely more than twenty times a day. It's not really necessary. It's not like I have millions of e-mails coming into my account every day, but I'm very impatient and I hate waiting for responses or waiting for something that I'm expecting so I'll check my e-mail so that I can receive it as soon as it's sent. How about you? Do you check your e-mails often?

Tom: I suppose I check once a day, and if I have any mail, it will be one or two weeks before I reply to it. I'm really bad at keeping in touch. I've got accounts at facebook and my space and hi5, all these social networking sites, but I almost never log on and people .... I got a message the other day, a friend telling me, I'm a boring facebooker. It's official because I haven't updated my profile in so long.

Jess: Why don't you? Is it that you haven't got enough time?

Tom: I have got so much free time. I think it's just because I'm very lazy. I take photos. I meet people. I do things. I just don't feel the need to tell everyone about it at the end of the day. My family have kind of gotten used to it now. They know that I'll get in contact they'll likely to see me in the next few months, or I'll get in contact if there's a birthday or a baby, but apart from that, I really don't keep in touch very well.

Jess: Apart from e-mail, neither do I. I did join Facebook a couple of years ago when all of my friends did and everyone was sending me links to join, and I created my profile, but to be honest, it's too much for me to have more than one thing to check that many times a day, so usually I stick to e-mail for communication. Yes, I do check it a lot, but I think if I started checking Facebook as regularly, I wouldn't have time to do the things I need to every day.

Listen to the audio of this conversation here: http://www.elllo.org/english/0951/T973-Tom-Connecting.htm

mardi 23 juin 2009

French president: Burkas not welcome here

* Story Highlights
* Sarkozy says the burka is an issue of women's freedom, not religion
* Debate is raging in France about Muslim women wearing the traditional garment
* Some French lawmakers are calling for a ban on burkas
* Sarkozy makes his comments before a joint session of parliament

PARIS, France (CNN) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy condemned the wearing of burkas on Monday, saying the traditional Muslim garment that covers women from head to toe was a "sign of subservience" and was not "welcome in France."

In a speech before a joint session of parliament, Sarkozy said, "The problem of the burka is not a religious problem. This is an issue of a woman's freedom and dignity. This is not a religious symbol. It is a sign of subservience; it is a sign of lowering. I want to say solemnly, the burka is not welcome in France."

Sarkozy's statement comes as debate rages in France about Muslim women wearing the covering, with some French lawmakers calling for a ban on them.

"We cannot accept in our country women trapped behind a fence, cut off from social life, deprived of any identity. This is not the idea that we have of a woman's dignity," the president said.

He urged parliament to further debate the issue.



What do you think about this issue? Does the goverment have a right to interfere?

Bob Dylan- Hurricane

jeudi 18 juin 2009

U2- Sunday Bloody Sunday with lyrics



Who is the lead singer of U2? If you can answer the question you win half an hour of free english in Aula Cero (Madrid)

Current News June 18th

North Korea qualifies for 2010 World Cup

* Story Highlights
* Australia top Group 1 of Asian qualifying with 2-1 win over Japan
* Bahrain clinch playoff spot from Group 1 with 1-0 win over Uzbekistan
* Korea take second qualifying spot in Group 2 with 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia

(CNN) -- North Korea qualified for the 2010 World Cup finals by battling to a 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia on Wednesday night.

The point saw them edge into second place in Asian qualifying Group 2 ahead of Saudi Arabia on goal difference.

It means both group winners South Korea and neighbors North Korea will both go play in the finals in South Africa.

The home draw sees Saudi Arabia finish in third place to go into the playoffs where they will face Bahrain.

The winners will play New Zealand for a place in the finals.

But Iran will miss out after finishing fourth in Group 2.

Earlier on Wednesday, they were denied a victory in Seoul as Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-Sung scored a late equalizer to give South Korea a 1-1 draw.

Iran took the lead from an own goal early in the second half against the group winners, but Park popped up to score a brilliant 81st minute goal as he beat several men before firing home.

In Group 1, Tim Cahill scored twice as Australia came from behind to beat Japan 2-1 to clinch top spot in the section.

The result was academic as both teams had already sealed automatic qualification for the World Cup finals in South Africa.

Japan went ahead in front of a big crowd of nearly 70,000 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) as Marcus Tulio Tanaka headed home a Kengo Nakamura corner in the 40th minute.

But the Socceroos, who went through qualifying unbeaten, hit back in the second half.

Everton's attacking midfielder Cahill again worked his scoring magic to secure the victory.

He was on target in the 59th and 76th minutes to take his tally to 16 in 33 internationals.

"This is a step forward for us, it's great to finish top of the group," Cahill told www.fifa.com after the win, while captain Lucas Neill paid tribute to their opponents.

"They really played the game with intensity and they were running us ragged for a bit and we couldn't get ourselves in the game," Neill said.

Bahrain later clinched third spot in the group and their playoff spot with a 1-0 win over Uzbekistan.

A 74th minute goal from Mahmood Abdulrahman from a free kick gave his side a crucial three points.

lundi 15 juin 2009

Current news- June 15th

Media group asks nations not to recognize Iran results

* Story Highlights
* Reporters Without Borders cites censorship and crackdown on journalists
* France-based media rights group says four reporters arrested, others missing
* Foreign news sites, such as the BBC, are blocked; Al-Arabiya bureau closed for week
* Independent observers were not allowed to observe the voting in Iran on Friday

(CNN) -- Media rights group Reporters Without Borders is urging nations to not recognize the results of Iran's presidential election, citing censorship and a crackdown on journalists.

The nongovernmental group, which advocates freedom of the press, said it has confirmed the arrest of four reporters by Iranian authorities, including one who won the organization's press freedom prize in 2001.

In addition, the France-based group said, it has no information on 10 other reporters who have either gone into hiding or have been arrested.

"A democratic election is one in which the media are free to monitor the electoral process and investigate fraud allegations, but neither of these two conditions has been met for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's supposed re-election," the group said Sunday in a statement.

Independent observers were not allowed to observe the voting on Friday, and foreign reporters have been blocked from covering the ensuing demonstrations by supporters of Ahmadinejad's rival Mir Hossein Moussavi, who are claiming ballot fraud.

Foreign news Web sites, such as that of the BBC, have been blocked, and the satellite broadcast of the Voice of America partly jammed, the group said.

Reporters for an Italian station, RAI, and for Reuters were beaten by police in the capital, Tehran. A CNN producer was also hit with a police baton.

Iranian authorities closed Al-Arabiya's Tehran bureau for a week without explanation, the Arabic network said Sunday. Two reporters were attacked outside Moussavi's headquarters on Friday, according to Reporters Without Borders.

The Web sites of pro-opposition supporters are inaccessible, and the government also has periodically shut down access to social networking sites, making it difficult for information to reach the outside world.

"An election won by means of censorship and arrests of journalists is not democratic," the group said.

Papa don´t preach- Madonna

vendredi 12 juin 2009

Current news June 12th

Source: N. Korea may be preparing for new nuclear test

* Story Highlights
* Washington has "indications" that N. Korea may be planning test, official says
* Test of a nuclear weapon would be North Korea's third since 2006
* Most recent test was on May 25; U.N. Security Council debating sanctions

(CNN) -- North Korea may be preparing for a new atomic bomb test a month after its last test, a U.S. official said Thursday.

The official, who is not authorized to speak on the record, told CNN that Washington has "indications" that North Korea may be planning another test, which would be its third since 2006. The official would not provide any details, however.

The possible preparations come as the U.N. Security Council debates whether to impose additional sanctions on the communist state in response to its May 25 test of a nuclear device, as well as several subsequent missile tests. Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Wednesday that North Korea "must pay a price" for its defiance of the international community, which has demanded Pyongyang halt those tests.

In July 2008, U.S., Russian, Chinese, Japanese and South Korean negotiators reached an agreement with North Korea for it to resume the disablement of its nuclear facilities. But the deal has faltered over plans to allow the other parties to verify whether Pyongyang has revealed all of its nuclear secrets.

North Korea has since threatened to restart its nuclear fuel plant at Yongbyon.

Stephen Bosworth, the Obama administration's special representative for North Korea, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday that all parties -- including China, long North Korea's major ally -- have agreed to "coordinated steps" to get North Korea to reverse its recent moves away from the six-party agreement.

"On our recent trip, we find that China shared a deep concern about North Korea's recent actions and a strong commitment to achieve denuclearization," Bosworth said. "Our challenge now is to work with China to turn that commitment into effective implementation of the U.N. Security Council resolutions."

But Victor Cha, the former Asia director at the U.S. National Security Council, told the committee that additional sanctions could result in a new North Korean test.

"When the Bush administration undertook some of these financial measures, many people argued it led to North Korea's first nuclear test," Cha said. "And the question arises whether these financial measures will then lead North Korea to their third nuclear test. And I don't think we know the answer to that."

Earlier this month, the eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, in a rare television interview, shed some light on who might eventually take over the secretive Communist nation. Kim Jong Nam told TV Asahi, a Japanese television network, in Macau that he does not care about politics or about succeeding his father.

Kim Jong Il is widely reported to have suffered a stroke in August and has been absent from many public functions in recent months. In April, he named his son, Kim Jong Un, and brother-in-law, Jang Song Thaek, to the country's powerful National Defense Commission, suggesting his third son may be his heir.

"I hear that news in the media," Kim Jong Nam said. "I think it's true ... however, it is my father's decision. So once he decides, we have to support him."

Black Eyed Peas- Boom Boom Pow