We finally have MRT in Kaohsiung, HOORAY!! Though it is not as convenient as MRT in Taipei since we only have one route now, I am still quite happy about that.
Several stations were designed as art works. This is one of them named 'Central Park'. Later on I will take photos of other characteristic stations.
Presidential election comes this Saturday. I myself will definitely vote for the one I support firmly.
The reason to stand for him is simple: I love Taiwan, and I certainly don't want China to get involved too much in our domestic affairs. Moreover, allow me to remind those who think Taiwan is part of Mainland China: Taiwan is never a part of China if you carefully read and understand history of China.
Relationship with China makes the election more clear. I don't really buy the promises from both side, and I don't even like both them. But I will choose the one who precisely show China we Taiwan's standpoint. It's not something making friends. Too friendly at the very beginning will leas us to an embarrassing situation. As a result, China wants more and more.
Though the one I want to vote for seems not having the election in his pocket, I will still pray for him. :p
Congratulation on Kosovo's declaration of independence though this new state still has a long way to go.
The government sent to congratulate. However, mainland China claimed that Taiwan is not qualified to recognize Kosovo since it is not a recognized state.
It takes time and effort to fight for what we are supposed to be. Keeping going, my beloved Taiwan!
Hello all my dear friends!! I haven't posted something new for a while, but I promise you that I will try to write something at least twice a week!!
First of all, I think it would be fun to tell you what I am doing now (hope you all are interested). I passed the entrance exam in June, and I am studying in graduate school right now. I major in linguistics now and I think I will focus on syntax, including a bit morphology and semantics, for my master thesis. Does it sound like Martian? Well...I know it's not as popular as IE or genetic something, but it is still a lot of fun to work on it.
Also, I am thinking about going abroad for PhD. So this is something I also focus on at the same time.
I intended to introduce Taiwan on this blog. However, it seems that I won't have much time to take pictures about Taiwan. As a result, I think I will write something about myself as well as Taiwan from time to time. Well...if it sounds boring for you, I am sorry!!
I will just stop here. And please let me know if you have any comment. I would be appreciate much.
Do you still remember the storyline of FINAL DESTINATION 3? In the beginning of the movie, a girl foresaw a going-to-happen accident right in the rollar coaster. It seemed something impossible, but it happened yesterday in Japan.
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News source: The Japan Times
A woman died and 19 other passengers were injured, one seriously, in a roller coaster accident Saturday at an amusement park in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, police and firefighters said.
The six-car Fujin Raijin II roller coaster at Expoland, on which passengers stand through the course of the ride, derailed and hit a guardrail around 12:50 p.m. after a wheel axle on one of the cars broke, the park operator said.
The coaster, which can travel up to 75 kph, was in the last half of the 1,050-meter-long course when the accident occurred.
The attraction is about 40 meters high and the ride can carry 24 people. It was carrying 20 passengers at the time of the accident.
Yoshino Kogawara, a 19-year-old company worker from Higashi Omi, Shiga Prefecture, died after her head struck the guardrail. Her friend, Sayuri Furukawa, 20, sustained serious injuries.
Saburo Yamada, president of the operator of Expoland, said he was "at a loss as to what to say to apologize" for "causing such an accident on Children's Day."
The operator of Expoland said the accident was caused when a wheel axle — 5 cm in diameter and 40 cm long — on the second car broke just before the coaster entered a circular section of the course. Part of the broken axle fell to the ground.
The coaster ran about 300 meters farther before finally coming to a halt, with the second car tipped toward its left and hitting the guardrail. One of the wheels of the car was later found on the ground below the ride.
The axle was not among the parts checked in regular daily or monthly inspections and had not been serviced since February 2006. The operator said the axle had not been replaced since the roller coaster was introduced in March 1992.
Kogawara was riding in the front left side of the second car. She died instantly when her head hit the guardrail after the car derailed, according to the firefighters. Furukawa was directly behind Ogawara in the same car.
Eighteen other riders aboard sustained minor injuries.
Some industry officials pointed to the possibility of faulty maintenance.
Expoland said it disassembled the coasters on the ride in annual detailed inspections normally held in February. But this year, it did not disassemble them — and the axle went unchecked — because it could not find sufficient work space, the operator said.
The amusement part shut down after the accident, which occurred just as the Golden Week holidays were coming to a close. There were about 5,000 visitors at the park at the time of the accident.
The park was to remain closed Sunday.
"The roller coaster was swinging to the left and right," said Nobuko Handa, 70, from Hirano Ward, Osaka, who witnessed the accident.
"Just as I was thinking it might fall off, I heard a scraping sound followed by people screaming," she said. "It came to a halt at last after a sound that I can hardly describe in words. My legs trembled."
A female junior college student who saw the accident after coming out of a restaurant with a friend said, "We walked out after hearing the sound of iron objects hitting each other and found the second car stranded with people not moving."
A woman who took the ride about 20 minutes before the accident said, "I sensed a stronger-than-usual feeling of almost being thrown out."
Expoland opened in 1972 as part of Expo Park, which sits on the venue of the 1970 World Exposition.
There was another accident involving a roller coaster Saturday afternoon — at an amusement park in Sakai, Fukui Prefecture, in which four people were slightly injured. A two-man car collided with another that was stationary at the Wonderland amusement park at around 2:45 p.m., the Fukui Prefectural Police said.
Meanwhile, the Mitsui Greenland amusement park in Kumamoto Prefecture said it conducted an emergency checkup of its Fujin Raijin roller coaster — the original type of the roller coaster involved in the fatal accident at Expoland — and has found no irregularities.
Mitsui Greenland officials said it will stop operating the ride until the cause of the accident in Osaka is confirmed.
wow...I know the law protects consumers very much in the USA. But it seems a bit too much... What do you guys think about this?
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News Source: CNN
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A missing pair of pants has led to one big suit.
A customer got so steamed when a dry cleaner lost his trousers that he sued for $65 million. Two years later, he is still pressing his suit.
The case has demoralized the South Korean immigrant owners of the mom-and-pop business and brought demands that the customer -- an administrative law judge in Washington -- be disbarred and removed from office for pursuing a frivolous and abusive claim. (Watch people shake their heads over the case of the missing pants )
Jin Nam Chung, Ki Chung and their son, Soo Chung, are considering moving back to Seoul, seven years after they opened their dry-cleaning business in the nation's capital, said their lawyer, Chris Manning.
"They're out a lot of money, but more importantly, incredibly disenchanted with the system," Manning said. "This has destroyed their lives."
The customer, Roy L. Pearson Jr., who has been representing himself, declined to comment.
According to court documents, the problem began in May 2005 when Pearson became a judge and brought several suits for alterations to Custom Cleaners in Washington. A pair of pants from one suit was missing when he requested it two days later.
Pearson asked the cleaners for the full price of the suit: more than $1,000.
But a week later, the Chungs said the pants had been found and refused to pay. Pearson said those were not his pants, and decided to take the Chungs to the cleaners and sue.
Manning said the cleaners have made three settlement offers to Pearson: $3,000, then $4,600, then $12,000.
But Pearson was not satisfied and expanded his calculations beyond one pair of pants. Because Pearson no longer wanted to use his neighborhood dry cleaner, he asked in his lawsuit for $15,000 -- the cost of renting a car every weekend for 10 years to go to another business.
Manning said Pearson somehow thinks he has the right to a dry cleaner within four blocks of his apartment.
The bulk of the $65 million demand comes from Pearson's strict interpretation of Washington consumer protection law, which imposes fines of $1,500 per violation, per day. Pearson counted 12 violations over 1,200 days, then multiplied that by three defendants.
Much of Pearson's case rests on two signs Custom Cleaners once had on its walls: "Satisfaction Guaranteed" and "Same Day Service." He claims the signs amount to fraud.
The case is set for trial June 11.
Sherman Joyce, president of the American Tort Reform Association, has asked that Pearson be denied a renewal this week of his 10-year appointment.
The association, which fights what it considers abusive lawsuits against small businesses, has also offered to buy Pearson the suit of his choice.
Chief Administrative Judge Tyrone Butler had no comment on Pearson's reappointment prospects.
Melvin Welles, former chief administrative law judge with the National Labor Relations Board, wrote to The Washington Post to say that if he were the judge in the case, he would throw out the lawsuit and order Pearson to pay the Chungs for their legal expenses and their mental suffering. He also called for Pearson's ouster and disbarment.
"The manifest absurdity of it is too obvious to require explanation," Welles wrote.
To the Chungs and their attorney, one of the most frustrating aspects of the case is their claim that Pearson's gray pants were found almost right away, and have been hanging in Manning's office for more than a year. Pearson claims in court documents that his pants had blue and red pinstripes.
But Manning said: "They match his inseam measurements. The ticket on the pants matches his receipt."
Deadly earthquake hits Indonesia.
Magnitude 6.3. hit Sumatra. 70 people had been killed so far.
May all the people you know and care about over there safe and sound.
Ivory Coast peace plan agreed. Glad to read the news. There is no place in the world supposed to suffer from war, battle, or any artificial disaster.
Are you ever wondering: why is there so much hatred around the world? How could it happen?
Race, religion, history, and politics all help cause hatred more or less.
When it comes to religion, we all agree that every religion helps us seek for peace inside hearts, look for and work for a better future (sometimes even life after). However, I don't think one of these religions allow its followers killing or hating other people with different religions for a better future. And, of course, most people around the world, no matter what religion he/she believes, are not willing to do things like this.
So it is not really a matter of religion. How about the impact of history, especially in Jerusalem? It's hard to tell which single reason causes situation in that area. Religion, race, historic matter, and some other tiny reasons which people would like to keep it secret.
Race is also a decisive reason. I don't think I have to talk about it too much. All of us are not in a nation-state. We all have seen something like racial discrimination before. As political stuff, it's more complex though sometimes we know it’s just because of benefit for some individuals.
Is it possible to leave hatred behind? Could it happen? It's very hard and it takes time. But I still wish a brave new world.
Muhammad Yunus, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, announced the foundation of a new party call "Citizens' Power" on February 18, 2007 (this is not the final decision on the name of the party).
I guess most of my friends have read the introduction to him on my Chinese blog. And for those who did not, I believe you've also known something about this respectable gentleman. The successful application of the concept of microcredit helped, and will still help, improve the situation of the poor.
Now I am torn between respecting him as usual and not respecting him that much since his decision to get involved in politics.
I care about what happens around the world, but politics would be the last stuff I am interested in. Most politicians forget what they have promised to people when they get more and more power but seek for their own interest. What they described about the better future is just a piece of s**t.
Take president of Taiwan, Chen. He was trusted and loved from bottom of many Taiwanese' hearts, but his wife and son-in-law were both accused of corruption charges now. Meanwhile, the ex-leader of the opposite party, Ma, was also indicted on the same charges for allegedly embezzling over NT10 million in government expenses during his term as Taipei mayor.
Guess what their supporters do? These people just laugh at the other case and pretend nothing bad really happened on their side. Also, they refuse to believe those accusations are TRUE.
That's why I choose to believe these politicians only after they have really done something for the benefit of people.
However, on the other hand, there are also great statesmen such as Washington who refused to pursue a third term and made it the enduring norm that no U.S. President should seek more than two. This is just an excellent lesson for those who look for power. (about this part, if you guys know more about great statesmen, please share with me, I would appreciate.)
So, I think I am supposed to be optimistic as much as I can. Will Yunus be a politician or statesman? Time will tell.
http://twitter.com/
This is a very interesting place. You will see what people online are doing. I found it quite fun.
Will it be popular? I guess so. First, you don't need to have a blog, and you don't have to post an article. (an article?! could be scary!!) And then, maybe most important of all, it satisfies our desire to peep. Also, telling people what I am doing seems like I am a superstar!!
I am still on twitter and "peeping" what other people doing. What are you waiting for? Just register!! :p
