每日新闻阅读

lamjin

Many girls, some as young as 7-years-old, are going through early puberty.

The phenomenon when puberty occurs at an unusually early age is known as precocious puberty.

Health officials have noticed more cases in recent years, and health expert Lorna Vanderhaeghe says it could be a sign hormones in children are too high.

She adds this can be attributed to the products we use and the foods we eat.

"We know that soy is highly estrogenic, they did a new study in women where they had them drink an 8 oz glass of soy milk and then tested their estradiol levels and discovered they went up 380 per cent," Vanderhaeghe said.

"So avoid soy foods for kids."

Vanderhaeghe adds that you should take a look at what items you are using in your home.

"Look at things that you're using like cosmetics, shampoos, conditioners, creams... All of those things, if they contain parabens or phthalates they are highly estrogenic as well," Vanderhaeghe said.

anton

请问，为什么只有一篇文章呢？谢谢了

austral-asian

晕，我一直以为豆奶里的荷尔蒙是植物的比牛奶中的动物荷尔蒙好呢。

lamjin

Furious China protests mix old anger over Japanese occupation with modern dispute over islands


BEIJING, China - Old wounds amplified outrage over a burning territorial dispute Tuesday as thousands of Chinese protested Tokyo's purchase of islands claimed by Beijing and marked the 81st anniversary of a Japanese invasion that China has never forgotten.

China marks every Sept. 18 by blowing sirens to remember a 1931 incident that Japan used as a pretext to invade Manchuria, setting off a brutal occupation of China that ended only at the close of World War II. Demonstrations are not routine, but this year, as Chinese fume over last week's Japanese purchase of long-contested islands in the East China Sea, they spread across the country.

Outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, thousands of protesters shouted patriotic slogans and demanded boycotts of Japanese goods. Some burned Japanese flags and threw apples, water bottles and eggs at the embassy, which was heavily guarded by three layers of paramilitary police and metal barricades.

"We believe we need to declare war on them because the Japanese devils are too evil. Down with little Japan!" said Wang Guoming, a retired soldier and seller of construction materials who said he came to the embassy from Linfen in Shanxi province, 600 kilometres (400 miles) away, to vent his frustration.

In another part of the capital, U.S. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta had a lengthy meeting with China's national defence minister, Gen. Liang Guanglie, during a three-day trip that U.S. officials have said Panetta will use to press China to seek ways to peacefully resolve its territorial disputes.

Liang told Panetta that China was "resolutely opposed" to the islands' inclusion in the terms of a U.S.-Japan mutual defence treaty, and hopes the U.S. will honour its commitment to maintain a neutral stance, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Protests also took place in Guangzhou, Wenzhou, Shanghai and other Chinese cities. Japan's Kyodo News agency reported protests in at least 100 cities, and said people threw bricks and rocks at the Japanese Consulate in Shenyang in China's northeast. However, Shenyang police said by telephone there was no unrest.

China's authoritarian government rarely allows protests, and the wave of anti-Japanese demonstrations clearly received a degree of official approval.

Many Japanese businesses across China shut their doors as a precaution following recent protests that turned violent and saw the torching and looting of Japanese-invested factories and shops.

The nationalist fervour spread to the Internet, where users of the popular search engine Baidu saw a huge Chinese flag planted on a cartoon image of the contested islands, which China calls the Diaoyus and Japan calls the Senkakus. And all members of China's elite badminton team, who scored multiple gold medals in the London Olympics, pulled out of a Japanese tournament that began Tuesday.

The islands are tiny rock outcroppings that have been a sore point between China and Japan for decades. Japan has claimed the islands since 1895. The U.S. took jurisdiction after World War II and turned them over to Japan in 1972.

The disagreement escalated last week when the Japanese government said it was purchasing some of the islands from their private owner. Japan considers it an attempt to thwart a potentially more inflammatory move by the governor of Tokyo, who had wanted not only to buy the islands but develop them. But Beijing sees Japan's purchase as an affront to its claims and its past calls for negotiations.

Beijing has sent patrol ships inside Japanese-claimed waters around the islands, and some state media have urged Chinese to show their patriotism by boycotting Japanese goods and cancelling travel to Japan.

Protests since Tokyo's purchase have been the largest anti-Japanese demonstrations since 2005. They reflect not only China's strident opposition to surrendering any land it claims, but generations of Chinese anger over Tokyo's colonial history that periodically bursts to the surface.

In Beijing, streams of people marched past the embassy in orderly groups of about 150 people, herded by police who urged them to remain calm and peaceful. Some toted posters of Chairman Mao Zedong, and many shouted slogans such as: "United, Love China, Never forget our national shame."

Sun Chao, who works for a Beijing tutoring company, said he was given the day off and came to demonstrate with about a dozen other friends and colleagues. He spent around 150 yuan ($24) on apples and bottled water that he was handing out on the demonstration route, encouraging people to hurl them at the embassy.

"I want to knock down the Japanese national flag," Sun said.

Japan has seen its own surge of nationalism. Its coast guard said Tuesday that it was questioning two Japanese who landed on one of the islands. Coast guard official Yuji Sakanaka said it was unclear why the two landed.

Members of Japan's conservative opposition are calling for the government to get tough with China.

"History clearly shows that this is our territory," Nobuteru Ishihara, a front-runner for the Liberal Democratic Party's top post, said at a weekend debate with four other contenders. "It's fundamental that we protect this territory." He is the son of staunchly nationalistic Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, who started the latest round of the dispute by proposing to buy and develop the islands.

A Japanese coast guard vessel issued a warning to a Chinese vessel near the islands early Tuesday. But officials said they could not confirm reports in Chinese state media that more than 1,000 Chinese fishing boats were headed toward the East China Sea island group.

Numerous Japanese factories, shops, restaurants and schools in China were closed Tuesday after some were targeted by looting protesters over the weekend. The China Daily newspaper reported Mazda halted production at its Nanjing factory for four days, Canon closed three factories and gave 20,000 employees two days' paid vacation, and Fast Retailing shut 19 of its Uniqlo clothing store outlets in China.

The newspaper said more than a dozen Yokado supermarkets and 198 7-Eleven convenience stores under Japanese management were also temporarily shuttered.

Some protesters vented anger at the United States for boosting its military presence in East Asia, a move they say emboldened Japan and other countries to be more assertive in staking rights to territory also claimed by China.

"Wherever America goes, there will be turbulence," said retired Beijing teacher Sui Xueyan. "Their crimes are no less than Japan."

lamjin

China sends patrol ships to contested islands after Japan buys them in assertion of its claim

BEIJING, China - A territorial flare-up between China and Japan intensified Tuesday as two Beijing-sent patrol ships arrived near disputed East China Sea islands in a show of anger over Tokyo's purchase of the largely barren outcroppings from their private owners.

The China Marine Surveillance has drawn up a plan to safeguard China's sovereignty of the islands and the ships were sent to assert those claims, said the Chinese government's official news agency, Xinhua. The marine agency is a paramilitary force whose ships are often lightly armed.

The rocky islands, known as Senkaku to Japanese and Diaoyu to Chinese, have been the focus of recurring spats between the countries and also are claimed by Taiwan. The China-Japan dispute has been heating up in recent months, in part because the nationalist governor of Tokyo proposed buying the islands and developing them.

Japan's central government announced its own deal this week with the Japanese family it recognizes as the owner. Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told reporters the government budgeted 2.05 billion yen ($26 million) for the purchase "to maintain the Senkakus peacefully and stably."

Public broadcaster NHK said the government and the family signed a deal Tuesday.

The central government does not plan to develop the islands. Several experts interpreted the move as an attempt to block the plan by Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, which could have raised tensions further. Ishihara also had said he hoped to visit the islands in October.

"Ishihara put the national government in a very difficult spot. He pushed them into doing this now," said Sheila Smith, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. But she said this was a "good outcome" that should be seen as an attempt by Tokyo to sideline Ishihara.

Japan cannot afford to let the dispute hinder its vital ties with China, its top trading partner, she said.

Smith said Tokyo needs to be able to work through "different problems with Beijing in order to make sure the economic interdependence between those two countries continues to serve both nations' needs."

Beijing, however, responded with fury.

"The determination and the will of the Chinese government and military to safeguard their territorial integrity are firm," Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng said in a statement. "We are closely monitoring the development of the situation and reserve the right to take necessary measures."

Japan has claimed the islands since 1895. The U.S. took jurisdiction after World War II and turned them over to Japan in 1972. But Beijing sees the purchase as an affront to its claims and its past calls for negotiations.

Carlyle Thayer, an expert on regional security at the University of New South Wales in Australia, said the sending of the Chinese patrol boats "ups the stakes."

"It's a tit-for-tat response because China is extremely sensitive about sovereignty matters," he said.

Japan's coast guard said it has not taken any special measures in response to the Chinese patrol boats although it continues to monitor the situation.

Thayer said the Chinese boats would likely stop short of entering the 12 nautical miles around the islands that are considered territorial waters and administered by Japan.

"Japan has a pretty robust navy, a very strong and active professional coast guard. What is possible are the kinds of confrontations like occurred at Scarborough Shoal," a disputed reef where Chinese and Philippine boats faced off earlier this year.

"It's all posturing. It's a game of who blinks first," Thayer said.

Beijing's anger has been accompanied by heated reporting in China's state media. Reactions to Japanese actions are sometimes overstated in China, and a commentator in the People's Liberation Army Daily, the main newspaper of China's military, called Japan's move "the most blatant challenge to China's sovereignty since the end of World War II." China on Tuesday also started broadcasting a daily marine weather report for the islands.

About a dozen protesters gathered outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing chanting, "Japan, get out of China." A car drove slowly toward the embassy's well-guarded gate but did not make a serious attempt to ram it and was stopped by uniformed and plainclothes police.

Xinhua reported that people had also taken to the streets to protest in two cities in the south and east. A number of people waved placards and the Chinese flag and shouted "Defend the Diaoyu Islands" outside the Japanese Consulate General in southern Guangzhou, Xinhua said. About 200 people marched in Weihai in Shandong province, singing the national anthem, it said.

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry also lodged a strong protest to Japan. It called the island purchase an "extremely unfriendly move" that "not only harms the longtime co-operation between Taiwan and Japan but will also aggravate regional tensions in East Asia."

Top Japanese government officials maintain that the flare-up hasn't affected official ties with China, although Deputy Prime Minister Katsuya Okada acknowledged that emotions on both sides were being fanned by activists.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda met only briefly with Chinese President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of this past weekend's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vladivostok, Russia, and Japanese news reports said Noda emphasized the importance of dealing with the island dispute from a broad perspective.

China also has announced co-ordinates marking out the waters off the Diaoyu Islands that it considers its territory, apparently for the first time after doing so earlier for the mainland and other islands.

The co-ordinates are another step, along with recent announcements of China's intention to use law enforcement vessels, to defend its sovereignty claim, said Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt, northeast Asia project director for the International Crisis Group.

"It's primarily about being seen as taking action to pave the way for further actions to assert China's sovereignty," she said.

In Tokyo, Gov. Ishihara renewed his calls for the islands to be developed for future use by fishermen.

"It appears that the matter is decided," he told reporters. "They say they won't do anything, but China's leaders are still criticizing the plan."

Ishihara said he was freezing the 1.4 billion yen ($18 million) donated toward his purchase plan for the islands and would only release the funds to the government once it was clear whether a port or other facilities would be built.

He also suggested that Japan co-operate with the Philippines and Vietnam, which also have disputes with China in the South China Sea.

"We shouldn't see this as an issue that only concerns Japan," he said.

lamjin

China investigates protest around US ambassador's car as anti-Japan demonstrations fade

BEIJING, China - China is investigating protesters' harassment of the U.S. ambassador as he attempted to enter the American Embassy, and U.S. officials say Beijing has expressed regret for the incident.
About 50 protesters spilling over from demonstrations at the nearby Japanese Embassy surrounded the car of U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke on Tuesday, tried to block him from entering the embassy compound and ripped the car's flag.
Video shot by prominent Chinese artist Ai Weiwei and posted to his YouTube channel showed the protesters marching to the compound entrance just as Locke was arriving, then throwing small objects at his car before Chinese security forces broke up the crowd.
Locke told reporters Wednesday that Chinese authorities were "very quick" to move the demonstrators away. "It was all over in a matter of minutes, and I never felt in any danger," he said.
There have been angry demonstrations across China following the Japanese government's decision last week to purchase some disputed East China Sea islands from their private Japanese owners. Tuesday's protests also marked the 81st anniversary of Japan's invasion of China, an emotional remembrance that stoked the outrage.
The U.S., a close ally of Japan, has said it is staying out of the dispute over the islands.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the U.S. has registered its concern with China both in Washington and Beijing, and Chinese authorities have expressed regret over the incident.
Nuland said the preliminary U.S. assessment was that the car was "a target of opportunity" for protesters who had gathered outside the nearby Japanese Embassy.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a regular news briefing Wednesday that the incident was "an individual case," but that China was investigating it.
The incident came amid heightened vigilance for American diplomats following violent attacks on U.S. embassies in Libya, Yemen and Egypt. The embassy in Beijing said it has asked China's government to do everything possible to protect American facilities and personnel.
The anti-Japan demonstrations, which have included attacks on businesses tied to Japan, have wound down, at least temporarily. Chinese police cleared roadblocks and some Japanese businesses reopened.
Still, there has been no progress in resolving the territorial dispute bedeviling relations between the two Asian economic powerhouses.
The rhetoric on both sides has remained uncompromising.
China's future leader, Xi Jinping, told visiting U.S. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta on Wednesday that Japan's purchase of the islands was a farce, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
"Japan should rein in its behaviour and stop any words and acts that undermine China's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Xinhua quoted Xi as saying.
In Tokyo, former Japanese Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba said losing a piece of Japan would mean "losing the whole country."
The islands — called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China — are tiny rock outcroppings that have been a sore point between China and Japan for decades. Japan has claimed the islands since 1895. The U.S. took jurisdiction after World War II and turned them over to Japan in 1972.
Japan's government sees its purchase of some of the islands as a way to thwart a potentially more inflammatory move by the governor of Tokyo, who had wanted not only to buy the islands but also develop them. But Beijing sees Japan's purchase as an affront to its claims and its past calls for negotiations.
Beijing has sent patrol ships inside Japanese-claimed waters around the islands, and some state media have urged Chinese to show their patriotism by boycotting Japanese goods and cancelling travel to Japan.
The islands are important mainly because of their location near key sea lanes in the East China Sea. They are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and as-yet untapped underwater natural resources.
Chinese state media have also reported that boats were headed to the waters around the disputed islands for seasonal fishing.
Hong, the foreign ministry spokesman, said such activities were within China's rights.
"The Diaoyu Islands have belonged to China since ancient times," he said. "It is totally legitimate and reasonable for Chinese fishing vessels to fish in relevant waters."

lamjin

都读完了吗？

The ball is in China’s court - the Star

This is an edited version of an editorial that appeared Wednesday in Asahi Shimbun of Tokyo:
As popular outrage continued to swirl in China over Japan’s decision to make the disputed Senkaku Islands state property, anti-Japanese demonstrators took to the streets to mark the 81st anniversary of an incident that paved the way for the Japanese invasion and occupation of Manchuria.

The “day of national humiliation” for China occurred Sept. 18, 1931. Chinese refer to it as the Liutiaohu Incident.

Because of the nature of this anniversary, there were concerns that the violence seen in recent days could escalate. But while some demonstrators threw rocks and took other actions, Chinese law enforcement authorities were on high alert. This averted the sort of mob violence of last weekend that targeted Japanese shops and factories.

The authorities are now cracking down harder on out-of-control protesters, having made arrests around the nation since last weekend. They are also turning to the media to publicly condemn acts of violence.

Beijing should take this as the cue for bringing the situation under control.

“Aiguo wuzui” is a Chinese expression that translates literally as “patriotism is no crime.” This has come to serve as an excuse for condoning any action taken in the name of patriotism. But what happened last weekend were nothing more than violent acts of destruction, looting and arson. Under no circumstances can they ever be justified.

There is some indication that Beijing anticipated — and accepted — that some anti-Japanese demonstrators would turn violent.

The mob mentality that prevailed has not only greatly hurt China’s image, but it could also lead to the public venting its frustration on Beijing for social disparities and other problems at home.

In the meantime, Chinese patrol vessels and fishery inspection boats have been showing up in waters near the Senkaku Islands, with some repeatedly entering Japanese waters.

We demand that China refrain from any further acts of provocation.

Beijing has told Tokyo to “repent its mistakes and return to the negotiating table to settle the (Senkaku) dispute.” But China recently rejected Japan’s plan to send a delegation of Diet members to China, effectively denying Japan a chance to resume dialogue.

Although the Japanese government’s position is that there is no territorial dispute, surely there must be steps that both Japan and China can take to ease this unfruitful conflict.

Both countries have many areas of common interest that should prove mutually beneficial. The ball is in China’s court now to create an environment conducive to candid talks.

lamjin

Kenney says Nexen takeover needs close scrutiny

OTTAWA—Ottawa should pay very close attention to proposals by state-owned foreign companies to take over big Canadian resource firms, a high-profile cabinet minister said Monday, referring to a Chinese bid for oil company Nexen Inc.

Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, a powerful minister who has long been a critic of China’s human rights record, made his remarks during a news conference in which he was asked about the $15.1 billion bid for Nexen by China’s CNOOC Ltd.

“Most Canadians want to ensure that the government applies a rigorous lens to acquisitions of large Canadian resource companies, particularly by state-owned enterprises,” he said, adding that Industry Minister Christian Paradis would make an impartial decision on whether to approve the Nexen takeover.

Ultimately, the decision on whether the transaction would be of net benefit to Canada will be made by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whose cabinet is having “robust discussions” on the issue, according to one insider.

Kenney spoke as news emerged about a letter to Paradis by a coalition of groups, including Amnesty International, declaring it vital that human rights be given central consideration during the review of the bid.

“That includes assessing China’s troubling general human rights record (of particular importance given that CNOOC is state-owned), CNOOC’s own human rights record, and the existing human rights policies and practices of Nexen,” the group said in the Aug. 16 letter, made public on Monday.

“All of those considerations must be thoroughly and transparently taken into account during your review, with a full accounting to Canadians as to how they have been weighed.”

Kenney, asked if human rights should be part of the calculus, said it was not for him to comment, but then he made a reference to balancing trade with human rights.

“Our government has articulated a balanced approach on Canada-China relations, one that advances both our interests, such as trade and commerce, and our values, such as the importance of human rights,” he said.

“I think the prime minister has done an excellent job of giving expression to that kind of balanced policy.”

The Canadian Coalition on Human Rights in China, the group that sent the letter to Paradis, said it had long expressed concern about the subordination of human rights to trade and investment in Canada’s policy on China.

It said Nexen had frequently shown leadership on human rights. “This track record stands in contrast to allegations that CNOOC may have operated in ways that contributed to human rights violations,” it said in the letter.

It referred to reports, which it said could not verify, that CNOOC may have been involved in oil exploration in Myanmar that damaged villagers’ crops and eliminated their income from small-scale oil drilling operations.

“Numerous villagers have reportedly faced arrests and interrogations at the hands of the Burmese army because of their participation in protests against the confiscation of their land and local refinery operations,” the coalition letter said.

It also cited concern about CNOOC’s operations in Tibet, and said serious concerns had arisen about the labour rights record of other Chinese companies in the Canadian oil sector.

A Canadian spokesman for CNOOC was not immediately available for comment.

lamjin

Outrage in Pakistan as police slow to arrest murder suspects from elite class

(Published on Monday January 07, 2013)


Shahzeb Khan was cruising through the streets of Karachi, Pakistan, in the early hours of Christmas morning in a blue Suzuki Swift, an early birthday present from his parents.

The 20-year-old university student was on his way home after hours spent celebrating his older sister’s wedding. At about 2:45 a.m., a car pulled alongside him and unleashed a hail of bullets, police say. Doctors said Khan, the son of a local police officer, died almost instantly.

His murder, police say, was an act of revenge.

Khan had argued earlier with a neighbour named Nawab Siraj Talpur after Talpur’s servant made an inappropriate remark about Khan’s sister and Khan slapped him. Khan’s father intervened and the argument seemed to be settled. But it wasn’t long before Talpur and his friend Shahrukh Jatoi, both from families that enjoy positions of privilege, allegedly had their revenge.

Two weeks after Khan’s murder, one of the two main suspects has been captured, the other has reportedly fled the country with the help of police insiders, and Khan, a good-looking man with spiked hair and a well-groomed beard, has become a national symbol.

In the same way that a young woman’s rape and murder in India has helped stoke public anger over violence against women, outrage over Khan’s murder continues to build throughout neighbouring Pakistan, shining an unwanted light on the country’s aristocratic feudal class, infamous for using influence-peddling to sidestep the law.

“There were murders before Shahzeb and after him, but what sets this apart is the fact the youth of Pakistan has really risen up and said ‘no more,’ ” said Anum Brohi of Mississauga, Khan’s 23-year-old cousin. “It has also really shown the power of social media. There were no reports about this at all for days after his murder.

“I remember my mother saying the people who did this are untouchable. But the reaction since then has really given us faith for the first time in Pakistan’s justice system.”

For decades after Pakistan was carved out of former British India, feudal lords and landowners served as police, judges and political leaders, cementing their political power by coercing itinerant labourers to vote as they saw fit.

Khan’s murder has become a daily story in the country’s English-language newspapers. A Facebook page dedicated to his memory had more than 113,000 likes on Monday. And his case has reportedly attracted the attention of numerous human rights activists and prominent Pakistanis — and Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the chief justice of the country’s supreme court.

Two days after Khan’s murder, Sindh police made two arrests, taking a pair of guards into custody. They also appointed a three-member team to oversee the investigation.

The Express Tribune, a Pakistani newspaper, reported Jan. 1 that Talpur and Jatoi had repeatedly escaped capture with the help of police informants.

Shahzeb’s father, Aurangzeb Khan, said police initially refused to register a complaint following the murder. “When my son was brought to the hospital, the police wouldn’t even come to the hospital for an inquiry,” said the victim’s father, a deputy police superintendent with 32 years on the force.

He told the Express Tribune that the Jatoi family was using its money and influence to impede the investigation. “The police only conducted raids at the suspects’ houses when they had escaped,” he said. “They should have picked up their relatives and other family members (and made inquiries). But this is not happening.”

Police began to take the case seriously after the involvement of Nabil Gabol, a senior official with the ruling Pakistan People’s Party who is a relative of Khan.

By Friday, with public interest in the case surging, Chaudhry summoned police officials to a hearing and scolded them. He gave police 24 hours to make an arrest, or risk losing their jobs.

The following day, Talpur was arrested. On Monday, he appeared in court.

“Used to sitting on comfortable sofas all his life, the son of a feudal elite was seated on a hard wooden bench outside the courtroom, waiting for his turn,” the Express Tribune reported. “The band of gun-toting guards that used to accompany him around the city was replaced with over two dozen policemen.”

At the same hearing during which the 22-year-old Talpur was remanded, Chaudhry gave police another deadline. Even as Karachi police revealed that they had reached out to Interpol after reports that Jatoi may have fled to Dubai, Chaudhry ordered police to bring him to court by Thursday.

lamjin

‘Chinese Warren Buffett’ Weizhen Tang’s courtroom rant cut short by judge'

The sentencing hearing of Toronto businessman Weizhen Tang, convicted of defrauding investors, took yet another unexpected turn Wednesday.
Tang, who bills himself as the “Chinese Warren Buffett,” began to read a lengthy statement in court rather than offer a legal argument.
He delivered his address against the advice of Peter Boushy, a Hamilton defence lawyer appointed by the court to advise Tang on legal and procedural matters.
Tang thanked Boushy, who bailed him out of jail after his conviction last October, and then began to describe his disappointment in the Ontario Securities Commission, the police and the Canadian justice system before Justice Alfred O’Marra of the Ontario Superior Justice cut him off.
“I’m not going to sit here and have you disparage the justice system in which we operate. You were found guilty by 12 citizens, tried and true. The reality is you were found guilty,” O’Marra told Tang.
“Tell me in your own words what consequences should befall you. Tell me what sentence is appropriate.”
Justice offered Tang time “refocus” his thoughts. The hearing will continue on Friday.
Tang was convicted of one count of fraud over $5,000. Prosecutors are seeking a jail sentence of eight to 10 years, a fine of $2.8 million and a restitution order.
The court heard during the trial that Tang collected about $52 million from more than 200 investors through his company, the Oversea Chinese Fund Limited Partnership.
About $19 million was lost in the markets and $2.8 million was funnelled into personal accounts belonging to Tang, his businesses and his family. The rest was returned to investors.
Tang promised guaranteed returns of 1 per cent a week to investors, who hailed primarily from Toronto’s Chinese community.
The jury sided with the Crown’s argument that Tang provided investors with false records of their returns and commingled investor funds, using money from new investors to pay previous ones.
Crown attorney Gavin MacDonald said Wednesday that 18 investors filed documents requesting restitution. The amounts varied, though all are more than $100,000. The largest request was for $630,000.
MacDonald argued that a restitution order would ensure that Tang did not profit from his crimes.
Boushy argued on Tang’s behalf that imposing a restitution order would be “futile,” given his inability to pay.
Tang said his house may soon be foreclosed upon because he has been unable to pay the mortgage since the Ontario Securities Commission issued an order in 2009 that banned him from trading in the stock market.
“If I’m allowed to trade, $4 million (in restitution) is no big deal,” he said at one point. “Even $48 million is no problem. Banning me from trading is illegal and irresponsible.”

lamjin

看看这是怎么对待抄袭的。

TDSB’s Chris Spence resigns amid growing plagiarism scandal

Chris Spence has resigned as director of education amid a growing plagiarism scandal that has rocked the Toronto District School Board.
                                                            After intense meetings Thursday, Spence stepped down from the $272,000 a year job — just five months before his contract was up —after several additional allegations of plagiarism surfaced.
                                                            “I have accepted the resignation of Director of Education Chris Spence from his position with the Toronto District School Board. This resignation is effective immediately,” Board Chair Chris Bolton said in a statement.
                                                            On Thursday, the National Post reported more examples of material Spence passed off as his own that appeared elsewhere — including a personal conversation he claimed to have had with his son about the Sandy Hook school shooting tragedy.
                                                            On Wednesday, the Star had reported that another opinion piece Spence submitted was cobbled together using several passages from other sources, including two paragraphs directly taken from the New York Times.
                                                            Board chair Chris Bolton was involved in meetings with Spence on Thursday, which included legal counsel and were held away from board headquarters, sources say.
                                                            Bolton updated trustees following that meeting via teleconference, and an official announcement is expected this afternoon.
                                                            Trustees are also to name an interim director while they search for Spence’s replacement, and sources say there is huge division among them as to who will take over temporarily.
                                                            Possible candidates include current deputy director Donna Quan as well as Spence’s predecessor, Gerry Connelly.
                                                            “Given the unexpected nature of this situation, we are taking steps to appoint an interim director to ensure stability across the system. As soon as information is available, staff, students and their families will be informed of any further developments,” Bolton also said in a written statement.
                                                            Spence admitted the initial case of plagiarism when contacted by the Star on Tuesday, and apologized for it. On Wednesday, he posted a lengthy apology on the board’s website.
                                                            It was at that point that he should have resigned, said Charles Pascal, a professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and a former deputy minister of education for Ontario, who most recently advised Premier Dalton McGuinty on full-day kindergarten.
                                                            “Once someone loses the moral authority to lead, it takes years, if ever, to regain the right to lead,” Pascal said. “Offering to take an ethics course in the context of something so egregious is the stuff of desperation and superficiality.”
                                                            Earlier Thursday morning, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford said he believed Spence should face sanctions.
                                                            “I’ve never been a fan of Chris Spence,” Ford said. “Obviously this goes back a few years ago, during the campaign. And ah, you know what, he shouldn’t be plagiarizing, number one, and I think there should be major sanctions. And I’ll let Mr. Bolton and the board decide on that.”
                                                            He wouldn’t say what kind of sanctions he believes Spence should face, but did say, “It’s pretty severe. You can’t be the director of education and plagiarize.”
                                                            On Thursday, the Post reported that other pieces Spence had published in the Star, including one on the Sandy Hook shooting deaths, also contained unattributed material.
                                                            “In December, the Star published an op-ed under Mr. Spence’s byline about the tragic mass shooting in Newtown, Conn. It included an anecdote — ostensibly about how Mr. Spence explained the horrific violence to his son Jacob — that closely resembles one described by another writer, Aisha Sultan of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,” the Post reported.
                                                            “. . . Huge swaths of the remaining narrative appear to have been copied from a grab bag of sources: the Post-Dispatch, the Sacramento Bee and the San Diego Union-Tribune.”
                                                            Spence has been a high-profile director since 2009, when he won the reins of the largest, most diverse school board in Canada. He was hailed by many as a hometown boy who had returned to his educational roots.
                                                            He landed in education after injuries sidelined a brief stint in the Canadian Football League with the BC Lions, and gradually made a name for himself as an outgoing male role model, particularly for at-risk boys of colour.
                                                            He rose from the trenches, serving as principal in high-needs neighborhoods from Lawrence Heights to Scarborough — where he founded a mentoring program for at-risk boys, called Boys 2 Men, that continues today. He was lured to the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board as director in September 2004, a move many TDSB officials considered a loss to Toronto.
                                                            When former director David Reid left in 2005, he was succeeded by then assistant director Gerry Connelly, a longtime board educator who knew the workings of the board more intimately than Reid, an outsider hired from Halifax. When Connelly’s term was up, the board launched what would be almost a two-year search for a new director from across North America. Many observers called for Spence to return and bring his bold, proactive style to the board.
                                                            When he agreed to come back to Toronto as director, then-chair John Campbell cheered the choice, saying, “We were looking for an agent of change, and we got one.”
                                                            Spence seized the spotlight from the start by issuing a sweeping “Vision of Hope,” drawing a roadmap for the board with a focus on priorities such as improving the academic performance of boys, updating classroom technology in classrooms, and giving parents a more direct say in the system.
                                                            He ran afoul of some critics for arranging a board-wide pep rally in September 2010 that he said would inspire and unite a scattered board whose 500-plus schools and 19,500 teachers often lacked a sense of community.
                                                            But the original $195,000 price tag offended some trustees, and unions resented being called out of class preparation to go to a command performance downtown. In the end, he cut costs and held it anyway.
                                                            The board probably will hire a headhunting firm immediately to launch a fresh search for Spence’s replacement.
                                                            A likely contender is Donna Quan, the board’s deputy director. An academic and longtime board educator, she has served in many senior positions, with a focus on equity and closing the achievement gap with students who face demographic challenges.
                                                            Some trustees have mused about asking Connelly to step into the breach, because she also knows the system and people well.
                                                            Connelly retired in 2009, after four years at the helm of the country’s largest school board. She guided the board through a financially difficult period but also one of social turbulence following the 2007 murder of 15-year-old Jordan Manners at C.W. Jefferys Collegiate.
                                                            One cynic joked that the board should just hand the reins to the province’s two-man Special Assistance Team that steps in today to help board staff find ways to curb spending.
                                                            Bill Hogarth is the former director of education for the York Region District School Board; Ralph Benson is that board’s recently retired chief financial officer. They’ve been hired by the Education Ministry to help the board tackle a $50 million capital deficit, so that the province might lift its freeze on funding for major new building projects.
                                                            The team is expected to tackle many of the recommendations in a report by PwC consultants (formerly PricewaterhouseCoopers) that called on the board to close 10 to 15 schools over the next two years, tighten spending, clamp down on repair bills, contract-out certain services and consider new ways to generate income.
                                                            The two had dinner Wednesday night with trustees, who then grilled them later during a public meeting and warned them not to follow blindly the PwC recommendations. Trustees Howard Goodman and Sheila Ward, who analyzed the recommendations, say they found many to be untenable — especially the suggestion to contract out services, which would breach union contracts, and the assumption that the board overspends on building projects.
                                                            In a dramatic moment, Trustee Sheila Cary-Meagher warned the provincial team not to try to squeeze elected trustees out of decisions, “or you’ll run into a bag of snakes bigger than you ever imagined.”
                                                            Hogarth reassured trustees he is a veteran educator who will consider the impact on students of any decisions, adding: “I understand poverty issues. I understand inner-city schools. We’re not just here to count money; we care about schools.”

austral-asian

老金贴完新闻还是问个问题比较好，这么多英语看着眼晕

austral-asian

我念MASTER那会第一天上课老师就强调不可以PLAGIARISE，引用别人的文章连续超过５个字以上必须加REFERENCE。法律课的教授特别关照不能用哈佛式样。哈佛式样是在文章最后加上一个列表，里面一串书籍名、作者、年份。而我们要用的是注脚式，就是在每页下方加REFERENCE，必须跟文章中段落对应起来，感觉比哈佛模式更严格。所以可想而知，引用越多你的注脚所占篇幅就越大，整篇文章看起来更像别人的劳动成果而非你自己的。这样就逼着你必须用自己的思想和语言。

我有同学作业里引用过多没全加注解的，被TUTOR警告。还有同学铤而走险照抄专业杂志里的文章，我不清楚她究竟抄袭了多少，但听说学校有软件能查出来，结果期中ASSESSMENT被FAIL，但没有把这科当掉，算便宜她了。那女孩每次做作业考试之前都喜欢拉着别人教她，自己不好好学就想走捷径，最烦这种拿国内的坏习惯坏风气影响别人的。

读MASTER的时候真心感叹，有这样朴实的学风，才能鼓励诚实优良的风气、激发学生和老师的创造力；之前国内四年本科除了学了点英语和高等数学，其他的基本算白学了，整个天下文章一大抄。

Dawn

楼上谈的是学术写作的规范问题。一般常用的格式为：MLA和APA.

xiaoyaoy

mark~

lamjin

Beijing’s Lunar New Year fireworks displays dampened by air pollution appeals

BEIJING, CHINA—The annual Lunar New Year fireworks barrage in Beijing was notably muted Sunday following government appeals to reduce the smoky celebrations after air pollution rose to near catastrophic levels over recent weeks.
The holiday was also being celebrated in Vietnamese and Korean communities, and in North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang, streams of residents offered flowers and bowed deeply before giant statues of national founder Kim Il Sung and his son and late leader Kim Jong Il.
In Jakarta, Indonesia, where Chinese cultural observances had been suppressed before 1998, ethnic Chinese flocked to the city’s oldest temple to pray for health and success.
China’s capital saw almost twice the number of smoggy days as usual in January, with levels of small particle air pollution going off the charts at times. That prompted calls for restraint, along with a reduction in the number of licensed fireworks sellers and the amount of fireworks on sale.
The fusillades that began on Lunar New Year’s eve on Saturday night started later than usual but still grew to furious intensity at midnight. They also died out earlier than usual on Sunday morning, and relatively few explosions were heard during the day.
Setting off fireworks to celebrate renewal and ward off evil spirits is a traditional part of the celebration that marks China’s most important family holiday.
Sales of fireworks from Tuesday to Saturday fell 37 per cent over the same period last year, from 410,000 cartons to just 260,000, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, citing figures from the city government. The city authorized 1,337 fireworks stands this year, down from 1,429 last year, and allowed 750,000 cartons of fireworks to go on sale, down from 810,000.
The Beijing Daily, the city government’s official newspaper, carried appeals last week for residents to hold off on fireworks celebrations, saying not doing so would significantly worsen levels of PM2.5 particle pollution forecast to be in the hazardous zone. City environmental bureau readings showed levels well above 200 in most parts of the city Sunday, dangerous but still well below readings of more than 700 seen last month, when Beijing experienced 23 days of smog, up from 10 the previous January.
Beijing was largely helpless in the face of the January smog, while schools cancelled outdoor activities, some factories closed and government cars were ordered off the streets. Scores of people, especially the young and elderly, were treated at hospitals for respiratory problems, elevated blood pressure and heart complaints.
Last year’s fireworks display created a thick haze that sent 2.5 microgram pollution levels as high as 1,500.
Beijing on Saturday night also saw just 25 injuries and 83 fire emergencies related to fireworks, down almost 29 per cent and 45 per cent, respectively, from last year.
Beijing permits fireworks displays over a 16-day period surrounding the Lunar New Year, but largely restricts them to suburban areas outside the densely populated city centre.
The holiday will continue through the week, with government and businesses shut down and millions of Chinese travelling to their hometowns to visit family. Many foreign residents also leave the city, taking the opportunity to enjoy warmer weather in Southeast Asia or travel to Japan and South Korea for skiing holidays.
Chinese leaders have made few public appearances in recent days, although state broadcaster CCTV said new Communist Party leader Xi Jinping visited Saturday with policemen, subway construction workers, taxi drivers and street cleaners in Beijing to thank them for their service.
Premier Wen Jiabao, who has made a point of spending the holiday eve with workers and the poor, celebrated the last such occasion of his term in office with victims of earthquakes and landslides in western China, CCTV said. Wen steps down in March.
The holiday took on a strong political flavour in North Korea, where current leader Kim Jong Un, the son of Kim Jong Il, who died in December 2011, recently marked his second year in office.
“My longing for our great leader and general has grown stronger as I visited their statues,” Pyongyang resident Kim Son Sil told The Associated Press at Mansu Hill, which overlooks the city. “After this Lunar New Year’s Day, I will work harder, true to the leadership of Marshal Kim Jong Un.”
Crowds of children also packed a Pyongyang plaza and played traditional Korean games and watched singing and dancing performances, with the capital’s streets covered in snow that had fallen Saturday.
Along North Korea’s border with China last week, impoverished residents could be seen returning home by bicycle ferry and ox cart. North Korea’s economy is on the brink of collapse, and the country remains dependent on China for food and fuel supplies.
At Jakarta’s 350-year-old Buddhist temple, Vihara Dharma Bhakti, thousands of celebrants from the Indonesian capital and surrounding regions prayed before burning incense sticks and performed other rituals.
“Our hope for this new year is for our health, well-being and success to be even better than last year,” worshipper Nio Ju-IE said.
The Lunar New Year could be celebrated only in private under Gen. Suharto’s brutal 32-year dictatorship, but the occasion is now a national holiday in Indonesia, honouring the country’s small but highly influential Chinese community.

lamjin

Chinese New Year celebrations herald in the Year of the Snake


Celebrations around the world are ringing in the Chinese New Year, which is also often referred to as the Lunar New Year.

The holiday is considered the most important of all traditional Chinese holidays, and celebrations are widespread and generally continue for several days.

All around the world celebrations ranging from parades to fireworks displays celebrated the coming of the New Year.

Major celebrations are held not only in China, but also in countries with significant Chinese populations like neighbouring Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore, for example, as well as here in Canada.

Families often gather together and windows and doors are often decorated with good-luck charms.


This year is the Year of the Snake, which is considered an intelligent but somewhat dishonest creature in the Chinese zodiac.

President Stephen Harper on Saturday took part in Chinese New Year celebrations to help ring in the New Year.

lamjin

the Chinese New Year  和 the Lunar New Year  在含义上有什么区别？

穆子

personally, I think
the Chinese New Year  和 the Lunar New Year  分别表示 中国新年和农历新年，都是指春节。

jocelynql

请教金老师：
我明白通过阅读扩充词汇量是上策，可我苦于基础词汇量偏小，读新闻时有很多不认识的生词。我想通过阅读来扩展词汇量，并提高阅读速度的方案是否可行？如果可行，请问文章生词量的比例是多少对我来说比较合适？（雅思阅读6.5，YMCA阅读8）
多谢！

另：我觉得两个年没啥区别吧？都是指春节吧？