Faure 年輕時的作品，一切盡在不言中！

 苦難眾生，或可藉此發抒一下心底深藏的憂抑！

The AP (6/26, Stobbe) reports, "Swine flu has infected as many as one million Americans, US health officials said Thursday, adding that six percent or more of some urban populations are infected." The estimate "was no surprise to the experts who have been closely watching the virus." Lyn Finelli, a flu surveillance official with the CDC "made the one million estimate in a presentation to the vaccine panel," using "mathematical modeling, based on surveys by health officials." At the meeting, CDC officials also "made projections about flu vaccines expected to be available to protect against both seasonal and swine flu this fall," suggesting that "more than 25 million doses of seasonal flu vaccine should be available by early September."

The Los Angeles Times (6/26, Maugh) notes that Finelli told the vaccine advisory committee in Atlanta that "standard models of viral spread indicate that many times" the reported figure of 28,000 "have been infected. Although one million seems like a high number, between 15 million and 60 million Americans are infected by the influenza virus during a normal flu season." Nationwide, "at least 3,065 of those infected in this country have been hospitalized and 127 have died. The very young are most likely to be infected, Finelli said, but older patients seem to suffer more. The average age of swine flu victims is 12, the average age of hospitalized patients is 20 and the average age of those who have died is 37, she said."

Bloomberg News (6/26, Randall) reports, "Swine flu is responsible for about 98 percent of the influenza cases tested in the US, overshadowing other strains in a population with little natural resistance to the new virus, a US study found." The CDC reported that "the new flu, H1N1, is widespread across 11 states and circulating in parts of 19 others." Bloomberg also quotes Lyn Finelli saying, "So far it doesn't look like transmission is declining at all."

Michigan says it will stop providing H1N1 information to public. The Detroit News (6/26, Stolarz) reports, "The swine flu has claimed two other Michigan residents, putting the state's death toll at seven, according to state health officials." However, "more information was not available as the state is no longer releasing information to the public." Michigan Department of Community Health spokesman James McCurtis said, "Now, as we accumulate more deaths, which is unfortunate, we're leaving it up to the local county health departments to funnel that information out." So far Michigan has 655 confirmed and probable cases of H1N1.

結論是可以不用防了，因為防不勝防，無從防起！飲食正常，保持健康最重要！

That's why they offer life-long guarantee in US.

NHTSA investigates Hyundai Sonata for extreme corrosion 04/30/2008, 12:26 pm

BY DREW JOHNSON

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched an investigation involving 1999 to 2002 model year Hyundai Sonatas. The investigation is a result of 40 complaints that the vehicles suffer from extreme corrosion, both in the vehicles' frame and engine cradle.

According to the NHTSA, some consumers have reported "fist-sized holes in the frame" that can lead to "wheel collapse or separation, half shaft detachment resulting in sudden vehicle disablement and or steering anomalies." The NHSTA believes that road salts could be to blame, as most of the cases are from "salt belt" states.

While some Sonata owners have noticed the corrosion during routine maintenance, the majority of complaints allege that the problem wasn't notice until the suspension system completely failed, says Consumer Affairs. While no injuries have been linked to the defect, several accidents have been reporting — including owners traveling at 65 mph when a wheel suddenly falls off or the suspension fails. The NHSTA website tells of one such accident that "resulted in the vehicle becoming disabled in the traffic lane at night with the driver and child stuck in the car" while "passing traffic swerved around the vehicle at high speeds."

With a pending recall this serious, we expected Hyundai to chime in on the investigation very soon.

My personal opinion about the H1N1 swine flu. Just like this song.

又少了一家熟悉的店，不知在美國的朋友有無搶到便宜貨？

中央社╱中央社 2009-03-06 08:12 （中央社記者顏伶如波特蘭5日專電）

曾經是全美第二大電子零售商的Circuit City，聲請破產之後找不到買主接手，將於8日全面結束營業。 位於波特蘭地區一家Circuit City分店，今天在門口貼出「最後3天」的倒店大拍賣海報，希望在結束營業之前吸引最後一波顧客上門，部份商品折扣更是壓低到兩折或一折。 原本排名全美第二大電子零售商、分店達560多家的Circuit City，向法院聲請破產之後一直找不到買主接手，在全球經濟嚴重蕭條的此時，終於難逃熄燈落幕的命運。 總部位於維吉尼亞州Richmond的這家電子零售商，先前估計倒店大拍賣可望持續進行到3月31日。然而，由於不少消費者上門撿便宜，使得各分店庫存量迅速消化，Circuit City也將提前關門。 全美各地的Circuit City分店8日關門，3萬4000多名員工將面臨失業。

By Rob Stein Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, February 25, 2009; Page A01

For years, many women have been buoyed by the news about one of life's guilty pleasures: That nightly glass of wine may not only take the edge off a day but also improve their health. Now it turns out that sipping pinot noir might not be such a good idea after all. A new study involving nearly 1.3 million middle-aged British women -- the largest ever to examine alcohol and cancer in women -- found that just one glass of chardonnay, a single beer or any other type of alcoholic drink per day increases the risk of a variety of cancers. "That's the take-home message," said Naomi E. Allen of the University of Oxford, who led the study being published March 4 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. "If you are regularly drinking even one drink per day, that's increasing your risk for cancer." Understandably, the study may leave many women scratching their heads, given all the talk about red wine being something akin to a fountain of youth. "I thought drinking wine was good for you," said Mirella Romansini, 27, of Chevy Chase, outside Paul's liquor store in Northwest Washington. "Now they are saying it increases your risk for cancer? Yes, I would say I'm surprised." Romansini is hardly alone. At least half of U.S. women drink sometimes, and even the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the government's official bible on what we should be putting into our mouths, says alcohol can have "beneficial" effects, allowing women as much as one drink a day (men get two, of course). Confused? It turns out the guidelines were never intended to recommend that anyone drink for his or her health. Yes, it's true that studies have indicated that moderate drinking may cut the risk of heart disease and other ailments. And researchers have identified a substance in red wine (remember resveratrol?) that could offer a host of benefits. But officials have long worried about sending the wrong message, giving people who take extraordinary risks if they drink -- young people, pregnant women, those prone to alcoholism -- permission to abuse alcohol. As a result, officials have long tried to walk a fine line between acknowledging the possible benefits of alcohol and encouraging people to start drinking or to abuse it. The guidelines were intended to set an upper limit on what might be safe, not a recommended daily dose. "It's a level of consumption that generally has been found in scientific studies to be associated with a relatively low risk of harms," said Robert D. Brewer of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "But low risk does not mean no risk." In fact, many previous studies have found that alcohol appears to increase the risk of breast cancer, and that heavy drinking could make men and women prone to other cancers as well. The new study is a large-scale attempt to explore all cancer risks posed by more typical drinking levels and a spectrum of alcoholic beverages. Allen and her colleagues analyzed data collected by the Million Women Study, which since 1996 has been gathering detailed information from 1.28 million women ages 50 to 64. The researchers examined how much alcohol women reported consuming when they volunteered for the study and again three years later, and examined whether there was any link with the 68,775 cancers they developed over an average of the next seven years. Even among women who consumed as little as 10 grams of alcohol a day on average -- the equivalent of about one drink -- the risk for cancer of the breast, liver and rectum was elevated, the researchers found. Among women who also smoked, the risk of mouth and throat cancer also increased. Based on the findings, the researchers estimated that about 5 percent of all cancers diagnosed in women each year in the United States are the result of low to moderate alcohol consumption. Most are breast cancers, with drinking accounting for 11 percent of cases -- about 20,000 extra cases each year -- the researchers estimated. In any group of 1,000 U.S. women up to age 75 who consumed an average of one drink a day, the researchers calculated, there would be 15 extra cancers; two drinks per day would result in 30 extra cancers, and so forth. The risk appeared the same regardless of whether women drank wine, beer or any other type of alcohol. Allen noted that even less than one drink per day may increase the risk. "There doesn't seem to be a threshold at which alcohol consumption is safe," she said. The reason alcohol increases the risk for cancer is not entirely clear, but there are several possibilities, including that it enables carcinogens to do their damage, increases inflammation or, in the case of breast cancer, boosts estrogen levels. Several researchers noted that the findings were essentially consistent with previous studies, and despite its size the study does have shortcomings. The researchers could not, for example, distinguish between women who drank only one or two drinks every day and those who drank seven drinks all at once. Some researchers worried the findings would unnecessarily frighten women and deprive them of the possible health benefits of an occasional drink. "We can't use this to scare people away from alcohol," said Eric Rimm of the Harvard School of Public Health. Allen plans to analyze the study data to try to determine whether the net risks from cancer outweigh any heart benefits. But others researchers were doubtful. "Among women, the major cause of death by far during the middle age years is cancer," Michael S. Lauer and Paul Sorlie of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute noted in a editorial accompanying the study. "For this large group, the only reasonable recommendation we can make is there is no clear evidence that alcohol has medical benefits." As it turns out, the federal government is rewriting its dietary guidelines, including the part about alcohol consumption, and will consider the new study in that process. "No one study is ever sufficient to make a recommendation," said Linda Van Horn, a professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University who is chairing the committee revising the guidelines. "But it will be added to the body of literature that will be reviewed." In the meantime, several experts said women should consult with their doctors about whether they should drink. "It really comes down to a personal decision based on their own history and risk factors," Rimm said. "But it shouldn't be based only on health. Some people drink for cultural reasons; some people drink for religious reasons. I personally think it enhances the flavor of meals, and some people think it enhances the company you're with."

記者鄒景雯／特稿

新政府上台十五天，時間不多，事證卻很多，這是一個「屁股決定腦袋」的政府。昨日種種譬如昨日死，即使是公開保證亦可跳票；今日種種譬如今日生，即使前後矛盾亦能船過無痕，好似什麼都沒有發生。

多年來，六四，一向是馬英九標顯他對民主人權價值堅持的圖騰符號，遠的不談，看看去年他做為總統參選人時的六四文章，白紙黑字寫著：「十八年前的今天，中共政權以武力血腥鎮壓了學生的民主運動，讓它十幾年來試圖建立的改革開放形象毀於一旦。這麼多年來，儘管大陸持續在經濟貿易採取改革開放，創造經濟成就，也大幅減緩與國際社會的不友善關係。但中共打壓中華民國的國際空間，讓代表台灣民意的機構處處受挫，是中共政權反民主本質的鮮明表現」。他甚至義正辭嚴的說，「能夠真正推進兩岸關係，促使有效對話並建立互信的共同基礎，只有自由與民主」。

昨天，六四邁入第十九年，馬英九的政治地位達至巔峰，但經由總統府發出的感言，化為孱弱不堪的細涓不打緊，讚揚「中國大陸改革開放三十年，已有一定的成果」，則是駭人聽聞至極！

過去這短短的三百六十五天，只因川震救災就一舉改善了之前十八年中國的「反民主本質」？兩岸的包機與觀光客也因此有了「自由」與「民主」的對話基礎？那麼選前才發生的西藏鎮壓事件算什麼？當時不排除拒絕參加北京奧運的那個馬英九又是怎麼回事？

有這麼一位領導者，上行下效，難怪日昨會有總統府官員使用選舉語言，批評民進黨主席蔡英文質問「一中各表不見了」是走基本教義派路線，卻忘了勝選後才公開表示，如果沒有「一中各表」就免談的馬當選人，是不是也該是總統府鬥爭的對象？

既然初一、十五不一樣，馬政府說什麼，聽聽就好！千萬別當真，誰曉得下一秒，又會出現什麼左手打右手怪招？如此角色，中國會放在眼裡？想必很難。

星期天回母校參加合唱團50週年音樂會。

會有這樣的因緣，乃是因為50週年嘛，邀請畢業校友一同演出，而學弟想到了我們。

母校每年都舉辦合唱、重唱、及獨唱比賽。我們由大二開始組隊參加，一共參加了五屆，戰果輝煌！

大二那年，已經忘記是誰起的頭，合唱團內761只有四位，重唱稍嫌單薄，除了我、DR、SC、JK，另外找了Lee & BS。BS高中與我一起唱Bass，大學還一起唱到校外。Lee歌唱實力堅強，我們還當了半年室友。就這樣六個大男生參賽了！當年合唱團指揮(醫三)也組了一隊，還嗆我們說一定輸。我們相當不服氣。還記得，連醫四的學長都要我們加油，拿第一，挫挫指揮銳氣。後來，我們不負眾望，以Now is the month of maying拿下冠軍。BS提醒道，呵呵，這已經是20年前的往事囉！

之後，第二年，敗給歌聲如天籟般原住民美聲二重唱，想來還是雖敗猶榮。之後又參加了三屆，皆得到冠軍。這大概也是大學七年唯一值得驕傲的事了！

回到母校，多了許多建築，當年的鐵棚違建早已被新穎的大樓所取代。現在母校有活動中心、游泳池、會議中心等等，確實有稱為大學的條件。想想當年，還真像是學店！

下午練唱，一時間，時空錯亂，穿梭二十年，當年練唱的情境，彷彿仍是昨日！呵，可不是，眾人皆已兒女成群！只可惜，SC及JK無法出席，不能湊齊當年的King Singers！

演出還算成功，畢竟，只練了幾個小時，十幾年沒唱了！

今晚，如BS所言，大夥又年輕了一回！

期待仍有下次合唱的機緣！