The Economist week 3 Feb 2007 - Asia

Asia: Coming up from the bottom; Afghanistan's Hazaras

The present regime has made things a bit better for Afghanistan's underclass.

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Asia: Encountering reality; Kashmir

India's security forces own up to a few abuses in Kashmir

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Asia: In need of help to douse the flames; Thailand and Malaysia

Malaysia has offered help to tackle the violent separatist insurgency on their mutual border. But no end to the violence is in sight

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Asia: Ma on the charge; Taiwan

Indicted? Run for president

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Asia: Simian agonistes; Delhi's monkey menace

The capital's street life under threat?

The judiciary seems minded to make the city not just a bit more orderly, but much more boring.

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Asia: Something to cry about; Inflation in India

Rising food prices are part of a broader inflationary threat

To sustain India's current growth, longer-term measures, such as cutting subsidies and building infrastructure, are needed. But that takes too long to win the votes of those whose most pressing concern is the price of onions.

Literary expressions 1

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1. A bitterness crept into her face.
2. The aristocracy
3. A conscienceless and callous brute (-> brutal (a))
4. A calm and premeditated prudence
5. A calmness settled on his spirit

6. A carefully appraising eye
7. A ceaselessly fleeting sky
8. A charming air of vigor and vitality
9. A childish belief in his own impeccability (impeccable(a) flawless, incapable of sins)
10. A curious and inexplicable uneasiness

11. A curious vexation fretted her
12. A dandified pretty-boy-looking sort of figure (dandified(a) extremelyelegant in dress and manner)
13. A dark and relentless fate (relentless(a) cruel >< lenient, merciful or continuous >< intermitten, short-lived)
14. A day monotonous and colorless
15. A deep and brooding resentment

16. A dazzling completeness of beauty
17. A delicious throng of sensations (throng(n) a great no of things crowded or considered together)
18. A deliciously tantalizing sense (tantalizing(a) tormenting with smth desired but out of reach)
19. A detached segment of life
20. A dire monopoly of bookish idiom

21. A dishevelled and distraught figure (di'shevelled(a) untidy and disarranged, distraught(a) deeply agitated, esp from emotions)
22. A face singularly acute and intelligent (singularly(adv) particularly, extremely, extraordinarily, exceptionally)
23. A faint accent of reproach
24. A faint, transient, wistful smile lightened her brooding face (transient(a) temporary, wistful(a) longing, yearning by 'mela/u/ncholy)
25. A faint tremor of amusement was on his lips

26. A fever of enthusiasm
27. A fiery exclamation of wrath and disdain (wrath(n) strong, stern and fierce anger)
28. A figure full of decision an didgnity
29. A firm and balanced manhood
30. A first faint trace of irritation

31. A fitful boy full of dreams and hopes (fitful(a) irregular, capricious, changeable, flickering (moving fitfully, wavering), flunctuating, impulsive, inconstant, intermitten, on-again-off-again, periodic, random, restless, sporadic, unstable, variable)
32. A fleeting and furtive air of triumph (furtive(a) marked by quiet caution and secrecy)
33. A flood of pride rose im him
34. A fortuitous series of happy thoughts (fortuitious(a) accidental, lucky, fortunate)
35. A glittering infectious smile

36. A gloom overcame him (gloom(a) state of melancholy or depression, low spirits)
37. A golden summer of marvellous fertility
38. A graceful readiness and vigor
39. A gush of entrancing melody (entrancing(a) delightful, enchanting)
40. A half-uneasy, half-laughing compunction

41. A half-breathless murmur of amazement
42. A harassing anxiety of sorrows
43. A helpless anger simmered in him
44. A hot uprush of hatred and loathing
45. A late star lingered, remotely burning

46. A laugh of jovial significance
47. A light of unwonted pleasure in her eyes (unwonted(a) unusual)
48. A lukewarm and selfish love
49. A man of imperious will (imperious(a) arrogantly domineering)
50. A man of matchless modesty and refinement

51. A manner bright with interest and interogation
52. A manner nervously anxious to please
53. A melancholy monotone beat on one's heart
54. A mere exhibition of fussy diffuseness (fussy(a) picky, particular abt small details)
55. A murmur of complacency

56. A mystery everlastingly impenetrable
57. A nameless sadness
58. A new doubt assailed her
59. A new marvel of the sky (marvel(n) smth that causes wonder, admiration)
60. A painful thought was flooding his mind

61. A patience worthy of admiration
62. A perfect carnival of fun
63. A perfect crime of clumsiness
64. A powerful agitation oppressed him
65. A prevailing sentiment of uneasy discontent

66. A prey to listless uneasiness (listless(a) languid, spiritless, indifferent)
67. A profound and absorbing interest
68. A profound and eager hopefulness
69. A profound and rather irritating egotist by nature
70. A prop for my faint heart (prop(n) a support to stay)

71. A queer, uncomfortable perplexity began to invade her
72. A quick flame leaped in his eyes
73. A quiver of resistance ran through her
74. A random gleam of light
75. A rare and dazzling order of beauty

76. A sad inquiry seemed to dwell in her gaze
77. A satisfied sense of completeness
78. A secret sweeter than the sea or sky can whisper
79. A sensation of golden sweetness and delight
80. A sense of desolation and disillusionment overwhelmed me

81. A sense of infinite peace brooded over the place
82. A sense of repression was upon her
83. A sentiment of distrust in its worth had crept into her thoughts
84. A shimmer of golden sun shaking through the trees (a subdued (conquered) tremulous (timid, timorous, fearful), faint light or gleam)
85. A shiver of apprehension (>< confidence, reassurance, tranquility) crisped her skin

86. A sigh of large contentment
87. A skeptism which prompted rebellion
88. A smile full of subtle charm (subtle(a) delicate or faint and mysterious, skillful, intelligent or ingenious)
89. A solemn utterance of destiny
90. A somewhat melancholy indolence (indolence(a) inactivity due to dislike of work)

91. A somewhat sharp and incisive voice
92. A smile of exquisite urbanity
93. A sonorous voice bade me enter (sonorous(a) loud and deep voice, bid - bade - bid/bidden)
94. A sort of stunned incredulity
95. A soothing and quieting touch was gently laid on her soul

96. A sort of eager, almost appealing amiability
97. A soundless breeze that was a little more than a whisper
98. A spacious sense of the amplitude of life's possibilities
99. A strange compound of contraditary elements
100. A stream of easy talk

101. A strong susceptibility to the ridiculous
102. A sudden and stinging delight
103. A sudden gleam of insight
104. A superrefinement of taste
105. A swift knowledge came to her

106. A swift unformulated fear
107. A thousand evanescent memories of happy days
108. A tone of ardous admiration
109. A torn and tul'multuous sky
110. A tulmultuous rush of sensations

111. A twinge/j/ of embarassment (twinge(n) sharp pain)
112. A vague and wistful melancholy
113. A vast sweet silence crept through the trees
114. A vivid and arresting presentation
115. A waking dream overshadowed her

116. A well-bred mixture of boldness and courtesy
117. Absorbed in a stream of thoughts and reminiscences
118. Absorbed in the scent and murmur of the night
119. After a first moment of reluctance
120. Agitated (disturbed or excited emotionally, aroused) and enthralled (captivated) by day-dreams

121. All the magic of youth and joy of life was there
122. All was a vague jumble of chaotic impressions
123. All was incomprehensible
124. All was instictive and spontaneous
125. Ambitions shivered into fragments

126. Amid distress and humiliation
127. Amid the direful calamities of the time
128. An air of stern, deep, and irredemmable gloom hung over and pervaded all
129. An answering glow of gratitude
130. An assumption of hostile intent

131. An awe crept over me
132. An eternity (infinite time) of silence oppressed him
133. An ignoring eye
134. An intense and insatiable hunger for light and truth
135. An uncomfortable premonition of fear

136. An unfailing sweetness and unerring perception
137. An utter depression of soul
138. Animated by noble pride
139. Appealing to the urgent temper of youth
140. Ardent words of admiration

141. Before was the open malignant sea (malignant(a) dangerous, highly injurious, pernicious)
142. Black inky nights
143. Blithe with the bliss of the morning
144. Buried hopes rose from their ignorance
145. By a happy turn of thinking

146. Cold gaze of curiousity
147. Collapse into a dreary and hysterical depression (hysterical(a) uncontrollably emotional, irrational due to a emotional shock -> hysteria(n))
148. Crystellize about a common nucleus
149. Dark with unutterable sorrows
150. Darkness oozed out from between the trees

151. Dawn had broken
152. Days that are brief and shadowed
153. Delicious throng of sensations
154. Dim opalescence (smth having a milky brightness and play of colors on the surface) of the moon
155. Disguised itself as chill critical impartiality

156. Distinguised by hereditary rank or social position
157. Diverting her eyes, she pondered
158. Doubt tortured him
159. Drear twilight of reality (drear(a) dreary, sad, dull, boring; twilight(n) Dim or diffused illumination. A period or condition of decline following growth, glory, or success: in the twilight of his life)
160. Drowned in the reticence (reluctance) of the sea

161. Easily moved to gaiety and pleasure
162. Endearing sweetness and manner
163. Endeavoring to smile away his chagrin
164. Endowed (to be furnished, provided) with life and emphasis
165. Expectation darkened into anxiety

166. Exquisite graciousness of manner
167. Familiar and endearing intimacy
168. Fathomless depths of suffering
169. Flunctuations of prosperity and adversity
170. Forever echo in the heart

171. Forever sings itself in memories
172. Fragments of most touching melody
173. Freedom and integrity of soul
174. Full of majestic tenderness (majestic(a) grand, splendid, noble, magnificient >< base, mean)
175. Haste makes waste

The Economist week 1 Feb 2007

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Scientific research has a lot to give to Africa, and it is just starting to do so

ONCE upon a time, not so many centuries ago, there was a poor continent. Its name was Europe. Then it discovered three things: the free market, the rule of law and science-based technology. Now it is rich. A little simplistic perhaps, but the same thing happened in North America, with the same consequences, and it is now happening in Asia. What about Africa?

for the first time in its history the African Union, meeting this week in Addis Ababa, put science and technology close to the top of the agenda.

African science is still a young and fragile plant, but it is now being genetically modified to fit its environment. Let it grow.

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As a token of China's growing interest in Africa, its president, Hu Jintao, began an eight-country, 12-day tour of the continent. Attention will be focused on his trip to Sudan where he will discuss international efforts to make peace in Darfur.

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India cannot run as fast as China without further reform

Over the past year the Indian economy has grown by an impressive 9.2%, not far behind China's 10.4%. At some point this year India's growth rate could even outpace China's; and if you measure things by purchasing power parity, India should soon overtake Japan and become the third-biggest economy, behind only America and China.

there are so many alarming signs of overheating (see pages 77-79). Across India prices are rising fast, factories are at full capacity, loans are piling up. Yes, the economic reforms of the early 1990s spurred competition, forced firms to become more productive and boosted India's trend--or sustainable--rate of growth. But the problem is that this new speed limit is almost certainly lower than the government's one. Historic data would suggest a figure not much above 7%--well below China's 9-10%.

Inflation has risen to 6-7% (compared with 2.8% in China);

So far, reform in India has focused on setting its inventive private sector free from the world's most fearsome bureaucracy. This has unleashed entrepreneurial talent, but more change is needed. Now is the time to tackle the public sector itself. Infrastructure, such as roads and power, and public services, such as education and drinking water, are woefully inadequate and limit growth. Even as the economy has been booming, many public services have worsened.

Around half of all Indian women are illiterate, compared with a ratio of around one in seven in China.

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Why China should insist on UN peacekeepers for Darfur, Sudan

All over Africa a commodity-hungry China is winning friends by building roads, ports and railways

For China not only buys about 80% of the oil exports that are making parts of Sudan rich. It also shields Sudan from being held to account in the UN Security Council for one of the largest atrocities of recent times: the killing of some 300,000 people and the uprooting of more than 2m in Darfur

many ways China's growing involvement in Africa has been good for all. In exchange for the oil and raw materials that are fuelling its economic rise, China has been building up Africa's neglected infrastructure. One thing that has added to China's popularity throughout the continent is that, unlike the Western helpers who append a miscellany of irksome conditions, the Chinese say they will not interfere in Africa's politics

Invest in the future, too

That is because the fighting in Darfur is not just a humanitarian disaster that should rend the conscience of the world (though it should). It is also a threat to the newly established peace in the south of the country, and therefore to Sudan's future as a dependable supplier of oil and other commodities both to China and to the wider world. As it happens, most of Sudan's best oilfields are in disputed areas between the north and the south. As China's economic interests and dependencies spread, it is going to have to learn the need to invest in peace as well as pipelines. Sometimes that will require it to put unwelcome pressure on its trading partners.

Right now, Chinese pressure on Sudan could make all the difference to the prospects of inserting UN peacekeepers into Darfur. Such pressure will not be welcome in Khartoum. But the rest of Africa is repelled by the slaughter of Darfuris and by the circles Mr Bashir has run round the UN and the African Union. In Khartoum Mr Hu has a rare opportunity to combine self-interest with statesmanship. He should grab it.

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Asia: Royal gala performances; Thailand's film industry

Thailand's film industry is ahead in their political predictions

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Asia: Old soldiers who refuse to fade away; Indonesia, causing difficulties for Indonesia democracy

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Asia: Colonial yokes are not bad for all; India's rickshaws

Indians would rather laboring on rockshaws than having no jobs at all

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Asia: Still Tibetan after all these years; Tibet

Tibetans insist on their Tibet citizenship, working for Chinese govt only for the maximum salary they can get, but without internal acceptance

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Asia: Weird but wired; North Korea and the internet

Kim Jong Il trusts in the advancement of technology though still hindering his people from a wide range of World wide webs

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Britain: A rough patch for the special relationship; Bagehot

While caring for the relationship with America, British leaders lose confidence with his own people

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Can anything revive Detroit after its long, depressing slide?

CALL it a tale of two bars. When Sean Harrington opened the Town Pump Tavern in the mid-1990s, downtown Detroit was going through some of its worst times yet. The urban population had already fallen from 1.8m in 1950 to less than 1m in the 1990s, and the tax base with it, after decades of middle-class flight (both black and white) to the suburbs. The American economy was booming, but Detroit's prospects were grim. Poverty, high unemployment, crime, racial tensions and an air of abandonment all seemed unfixable in a city that was tied to domestic carmakers, shrinking rapidly and written off by suburbanites.

Detroit is heading in the right direction, but it has only gone a little way along what is clearly a long and difficult path. To outsiders, that may not seem much worth celebrating. But to some locals, who know how bleak life was before, it is a good enough reason to enjoy a few martinis and go and see a show.

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IT MAY come to be seen as the Motorola shock. The world's second-largest maker of mobile phones seemed to have been restored to health last year, thanks to its RAZR and other slimline handsets. But it stumbled badly in the last three months of 2006. In January it said its operating profits had fallen by 56% in the quarter compared with a year earlier, and operating margins had narrowed sharply. And this week the pressure intensified on Ed Zander, Motorola's boss. Carl Icahn, a renowned activist investor, said he had taken a 1.4% stake in the company, and demanded that Motorola start disgorging cash to shareholders.

Apple has produced something truly new, whereas Motorola is merely making incremental improvements.

words to learn

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deja vu (n) Psychology. the illusion of having previously experienced something actually being encountered for the first time.

04/02/2007

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It reminds me of so so much similarity.. here comes my old-fashioned conception again.. dear friend, and dear life :)

Yes, and everyone should meet the fittest guy of her life, isn't it? Just that I'm wondering, how long will it take till the point? Time obsession, I'm in!