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Bushisms over the years
President George W. Bush will leave behind a legacy of Bushisms, the label stamped on the commander in chief's original speaking style. Some of the president's more notable malaprops and mangled statements:
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- "I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." — September 2000, explaining his energy policies at an event in Michigan.
- "Rarely is the question asked, is our children learning?" — January 2000, during a campaign event in South Carolina.
- "They misunderestimated the compassion of our country. I think they misunderestimated the will and determination of the commander in chief, too." — Sept. 26, 2001, in Langley, Va. Bush was referring to the terrorists who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks.
- "There's no doubt in my mind, not one doubt in my mind, that we will fail." — Oct. 4, 2001, in Washington. Bush was remarking on a back-to-work plan after the terrorist attacks.
- "It would be a mistake for the United States Senate to allow any kind of human cloning to come out of that chamber." — April 10, 2002, at the White House, as Bush urged Senate passage of a broad ban on cloning.
- "I want to thank the dozens of welfare-to-work stories, the actual examples of people who made the firm and solemn commitment to work hard to embetter themselves." — April 18, 2002, at the White House.
- "There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." — Sept. 17, 2002, in Nashville, Tenn.
- "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." — Aug. 5, 2004, at the signing ceremony for a defense spending bill.
- "Too many good docs are getting out of business. Too many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country." — Sept. 6, 2004, at a rally in Poplar Bluff, Mo.
- "Our most abundant energy source is coal. We have enough coal to last for 250 years, yet coal also prevents an environmental challenge." — April 20, 2005, in Washington.
- "We look forward to hearing your vision, so we can more better do our job." — Sept. 20, 2005, in Gulfport, Miss.
- "I can't wait to join you in the joy of welcoming neighbors back into neighborhoods, and small businesses up and running, and cutting those ribbons that somebody is creating new jobs." — Sept. 5, 2005, when Bush met with residents of Poplarville, Miss., in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
- "It was not always a given that the United States and America would have a close relationship. After all, 60 years we were at war 60 years ago we were at war." — June 29, 2006, at the White House, where Bush met with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
- "Make no mistake about it, I understand how tough it is, sir. I talk to families who die." — Dec. 7, 2006, in a joint appearance with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
- "These are big achievements for this country, and the people of Bulgaria ought to be proud of the achievements that they have achieved." — June 11, 2007, in Sofia, Bulgaria.
- "Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your introduction. Thank you for being such a fine host for the OPEC summit." — September 2007, in Sydney, Australia, where Bush was attending an APEC summit.
- "Thank you, Your Holiness. Awesome speech." April 16, 2008, at a ceremony welcoming Pope Benedict XVI to the White House.
- "The fact that they purchased the machine meant somebody had to make the machine. And when somebody makes a machine, it means there's jobs at the machine-making place." — May 27, 2008, in Mesa, Ariz.
- "And they have no disregard for human life." — July 15, 2008, at the White House. Bush was referring to enemy fighters in Afghanistan.
- "I remember meeting a mother of a child who was abducted by the North Koreans right here in the Oval Office." — June 26, 2008, during a Rose Garden news briefing.
- "Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around the world to set sail to our shores. These immigrants have helped transform 13 small colonies into a great and growing nation of more than 300 people." — July 4, 2008 in Virginia.
- "The people in Louisiana must know that all across our country there's a lot of prayer — prayer for those whose lives have been turned upside down. And I'm one of them. It's good to come down here." — Sept. 3, 2008, at an emergency operations center in Baton Rouge, La., after Hurricane Gustav hit the Gulf Coast.
Source: Bushism Over the years
- "This thaw — took a while to thaw, it's going to take a while to unthaw." Oct. 20, 2008, in Alexandria, La., as he discussed the economy and frozen credit markets.
「同一個世界、同一個夢想」這樣一個飽含着民胞物與、開放與包容的口號，昨天隨着奧運火 炬抵港而具體落實到此地，竟變異為一齣以「親疏有別」、「非友即敵」為主題的政治回佣鬧劇，實在令人嘖嘖稱奇！古希臘城邦在進行你死我活的戰爭之際，人們 尚有雅量每幾年找一些日子停下來，放下武器，在運動場上和平、公平地競技，今天香港的一批權貴，卻沒有這個心胸與小圈子以外的人士分享一點點喜悅，兩相比 較，精神境界高下立見。導演這齣鬧劇的袞袞諸公，並不意識到這種關起門來愛國的荒謬，大多數香港人卻又一次清楚領教所謂「具有廣泛代表性」這句政治口頭禪 的真正意思。不過，山高皇帝遠，北京亦很難通過自己的管道，知道此事在香港搞得如何齷齪。
火的文化意義很複雜，有民生方面的，有道德方 面的，更有政治方面的，無論中外，都是如此。《易經》裏頭與火有關的卦有好幾個，其中以「離」卦最為直接：離為火。其象辭為「明兩作，離。大人以繼明照於 四方」。這是十分政治性的說話，簡單解釋一下。「離」的卦畫由兩個相同的符號上下重疊組成，是八卦之一，代表五行中的火；火有光明之意，「明兩作」即光明 又光明；「大人」即統治者，手中握有權力的人；「大人以繼明照於四方」，即治理國家的人，要以連續不斷的光明道德照臨天下。火的政治道德涵義，深植中國文 化之中，掩蓋不了；你舉起一把火，要中國人不作政治聯想、政治解讀，沒有可能。事實說明，火炬傳遞到了香港，由誰來舉着跑，是一個徹頭徹尾的政治決定，十 分符合中國的文化傳統，問題是那些「大人」們的政治搞作，是否「以繼明照於四方」罷了。
還有兩個與火直接有關的卦，一個是「晉」卦，卦 畫是，上面的是火，下面的是五行中的土；火在土上，即光明出現在大地上；這是一個吉卦。與「晉」卦剛好相反的，是「明夷」卦，卦畫是，即土在火上；光明進 入地下，這是一個凶卦，嚴重起來，可以亡國滅種；「夷」是受傷的意思，「明夷」是光明受了傷，世界一片黑暗。明朝末年大思想家黃宗羲的《明夷待訪錄》一 書，便是以此卦命名的大痛之作。傳遞這好好一把奧運火炬，你不是光明正大，而是在進入大陸之前搞黑箱運作、地下作業，真是不吉祥之舉。此卦勸人在極不吉利的情況下怎麼辦呢？「君子以蒞眾用晦而明」，即統治者此時面對群眾應自隱其總慧，集思廣益，要有容人之見的雅量。話說到點子上了！
在西方文化中，火也象徵文明，與野蠻相反的文明。文學諾獎得主威廉．弋以定的小說《蒼蠅王》（Lord of The Flies），裏頭就有象徵文明的那麼一把長明的火。當那群流落荒島上的孩子們殘殺成性的時候，火就幾乎熄滅；當他們中間一些記起自己是文明人、還希望回 到文明世界之時，火又熊熊重燃；最終，森林失火，整個小島變成一個大火炬，引起一艘經過的軍艦注意，孩子們於是得救，回到文明。在這部小說裏，還看得出作 者有意識地用火象徵人類社會中的光明、文明一面；在一些民間傳說或神話中，火的象徵意義來得更自然。希臘神話中的普羅米修斯盜取天火、造福人類的經典故 事，其實在很多其他民族當中，都有類似的版本。美國印第安人神話裏，常有一隻與人為善的野兔，在阿爾干昆族（Algonquin）的傳說中，這隻兔子從壟 斷了火的神那裏盜取火種，造福全人類。不過，內容最豐富、寓意最深刻的盜火神話，大概還是希臘那個。這個希臘神話，最少有兩個版本，較古老的一個源於史詩 作家希士奧突（Hysiod，元前八至七世紀人）；在此版本中，普羅米修斯只不過是因為一次惡作劇，把本來是眾神之王宙斯應得的美食給了人類，激怒了宙 斯，把火收起，讓人類不得熟食；但普羅米修斯硬要和他作對，偷得火種還給人類，結果招來宙斯重罰。這個版本的人文意義不強。我們現時熟知的版本，是二百年 之後的希臘悲劇作家埃斯庫盧斯（Aeschylus）筆下傑作。在這個版本裏，普羅米修斯的形象，起碼有三重崇高意義：一、敢於對不義的權威作道義的挑 戰；二、無懼壓迫與自由之間的永恒鬥爭；三、勇於打破利益的壟斷，以造福廣大人群。其後二千多年裏，人類政治歷史從專制到民主開放，其意義正好反映在埃斯 庫盧斯的作品之中，這大概是作者意想不到的。
火與政治的文化關係深刻而且久遠，非奧委會一句說話可以剔除乾淨；把「運動不涉政治」這句話推到極端，反而變成虛偽，今天發生在香港的事便是明證。這個火把，牽涉一點政治，本來無傷大雅，問題是什麼樣的政治。搞得太過難看，火把就難免令人「把火」或「把幾火」了。
It is already ten years after Hong Kong’s handover back to China. These few weeks I found there are heaps of articles reviewing how the “one country two systems” performs in the last decade. I also started to read more Mainland publishing after coming back from Oz. The more I expose to these mainland publishing, the newer picture that I perceive about China. They also gave me some inspiration and retraction about what
Like most of Hong Kongers and Westerners, I rather relied on the messages about China provided by a sound-bite driven media that seesaws between playing on our fears of China’s Communism, state repression and human rights abuses or so. However, things are changing dramatically and people from outside is damn difficult to get a better understanding about what is happening inside the dragon land. People just wind up with mainly superficial portraits of that part of China that’s most visible to the eye and to the camera.
Having more exposure to the mainland media gives me a different understanding about what is happening. For no doubt the media censorship still exist, but seeing something that release under such strict censorship has sorts of implication. I just read an article in a mainstream Chinese magazine which is about the Democratic Party in Hong Kong. The article is very positive to comment on the Party and saying that the Central government should do something to engage the Democrats more. Currently, most democrats do not have the passport to go to the Mainland China. I am so amazed when I read this article. The point of view in the article is nothing new, but having such article in the mainland media does imply a lot and this is the point that makes me so surprised. Things are really changing and I couldn’t see such change reflect in any of the
I remembered I read an article and it said that “we maybe have a better shot figuring out the future of India– or even Mars – than China…… something as generic as a Big Mac can mean very different things depending on the context."
I have a very strong feeling we do need someone/something that can bring us illumination about China without blinding us with sensationalist stereotype or pre-set values. Though understanding Chinais going to remain irritatingly difficult.
Photo Source: sina.com.cn
Link: <南風窗>：一國如何兩制
Days before the big kick-off, there also have been complaints from the German organisers that the marketing of this tournament has reached unacceptable levels.The amount of money paid by the World Cup sponsors rise sharply in past few years: US brewing giant Anheuser-Busch paid 40 million dollars (31 million euros) to be one of the 2006 World Cup’s 15 official sponsors, sparking outrage in Germany where all but one local beer will be banned from the stadiums in favor of Budweiser. Polls in Germany also showed that the public is growing sick of World Cup-related advertising and product tie-ins. Just wonder whether there have limits of money-making.
The side effect of money that ruins the sports not only can be found in the World Cup as it is also the core cause of the Italian match-fixing scandal. The Football Federation's prosecutor charged Juventus, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio, as well as 26 individuals for sporting fraud and violating fairness and probity. Juventus almost certainly face relegation as a result of the scandal, while AC Milan may receive lighter punishment.
I am quite depressed by the news as once I was a very big fan of the Italian Serie A., especially during the age of Roberto Biaggio and the time when Del Piero started his career in Juventus. What is happening now is too bad...anyway, hopefully the scandal can give some sorts of lesson to the sports world.
More information: FIFA deny World Cup spoiled by money-making
Photo Source: freshegg.com
Sport is the world’s most common language. The World Cup,as one of the biggest sports events, it is supposed to be a platform of building bridges across boundaries and ethnic. However, due to its enormous profit making potential, every one just tries to to make big bucks from the global frenzy and distorts the real spirit of sports, I think.
In some cities and countries, the broadcasting right is snatched by paid TV and high prices are set which avoid some lower income groups and poor people to enjoy all the 64 matches. Although the first and the last few matches are broadcasted for free everywhere, watching the process of how the teams going to the final is definitely the heart of World Cup, but such right is being deprived from some poorer people. Sports is no longer being a bridge across different people, but a potential tool to deepen the problem of social injustic as some poorer social groups are being excluded in this universal event when money is involved. What is underlying the “sports spirit” nowaday is more likely refer to the partnership between football, the economy and television which need to find a way to benefit all sides. Sports now is a bit over commericalised and capitalised. So sad to reckon this reality.
The word 'politics' is derived from the word 'poly', meaning 'many', and the word 'ticks', meaning 'blood sucking parasites'.
Larry Hardiman
Caption: Aussie Pride? ?Mobs rampage in Sydney 
