Flavor aside, scientists have recognized it as a complex blend of chemical compounds with potential health effects, both good and bad. Now, new research suggests that if you drink enough coffee, it might help you avoid certain kinds of cancer.
Dr. Mia Hashibe of the University of Utah School of Medicine was interested in the link between coffee drinking and certain cancers of the head and neck. Researchers have looked into this before, but without reaching any firm conclusions.
"There were a few studies, but the findings were not consistent across the studies," she said, "so this finding from our current study was quite a surprise. We didn't really have any expectation of which direction it could go into."
To sort out the confusion, Hashibe and her colleagues used statistical techniques to, in effect, make one big study out of the previous smaller studies.
So we combined data across nine individual studies, so we have a lot more power than previous studies that looked at this. And we included 4,000 cancer patients who have cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx [throat]. And then 9,000 controls, so controls are people who do not have cancer."
Those studies – in Europe and the United States – found that people who drank a lot of coffee were less likely to develop cancers of the mouth and throat.
"We saw a protective effect for drinking more than 4 cups of coffee per day," Hashibe said. "This was the 40 percent decrease in risk. We did not observe an association for drinking three cups or less per day."
In an interview via Skype, Mia Hashibe said there was a weak link between cancer risk and drinking decaffeinated coffee, but it wasn't statistically significant. And she and her colleagues found no evidence that drinking tea provided the same protection as drinking coffee. Their research is published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
Hashibe says it is not clear how coffee might protect drinkers from certain cancers.
"There are a few chemicals that are known to be antioxidants in coffee. So we are thinking perhaps those compounds are playing some sort of protective role against several cancers."
If those compounds can be isolated, maybe someday you'll be able to take an anti-cancer pill, but for us coffee lovers, the answer may just be another refill.
2010年11月5日星期五
US, Britain Reject Annan Criticism on Oil-For-Food Scandal
The United States and Britain have rejected U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's allegations that they are partly to blame for the Iraq oil-for-food scandal. Mr. Annan made the comment in what he thought was an off-the-record meeting.
The secretary-general's remarks came Thursday at a reunion seminar of current and past U.N. spokesmen. Answering a question from a former top U.N. official, Mr. Annan defended the world body's role in the scandal-plagued Iraq oil-for-food program. He said The United States and Britain, as members of the Security Council Committee that authorized and oversaw the program, had turned a blind eye to oil smuggling by Saddam Hussein's government.
"The bulk of the money that Saddam made came out of smuggling outside the oil-for-food [program], and it was on the American and British watch. They were the ones who had interdiction, possibly they were also the ones who knew exactly what was going on, and that the countries themselves decided to close their eyes to smuggling to Turkey and Jordan because they were allies," he said.
The comments drew an immediate reaction in both London and Washington. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw called the charges "inaccurate".
A State Department official noted that what Mr. Annan was referring to were exemptions for Turkey and Jordan that had been highly publicized, and made with the full knowledge and understanding of the United Nations.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said anyone who was not aware of the exemptions had not been paying attention. He said it was a "red herring" to try now and claim that this was some shocking new revelation.
The U.S. mission to the United Nations Friday sent U.N. correspondents a transcript of a Congressional hearing earlier this week at which the Turkish and Jordanian exemptions were explained in detail.
Spokesman Richard Grennell said the mission's reaction to the smuggling allegations was the same as it has been for some time.
"There's a fundamental difference between oil smuggling, illegal oil smuggling that was done under the table and behind closed doors, and the very public process that the American government went through to exempt certain countries. Don't forget that this exemption came before the oil-for-food program was even established," he noted.
Asked to explain Mr. Annan's comments, U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said the secretary-general had thought he was speaking off the record.
"It was my fault,” said Mr. Eckhard. “I didn't tell him that the UN TV camera was on and everyone in the building was listening to his remarks. He thought he was talking to a private seminar."
The oil-for-food program ran from 1996 to 2003. It allowed Saddam Hussein's government to sell oil to buy critical supplies for Iraqi civilians at a time when the country was under a U.N. economic embargo.
Investigators say, however, that Saddam's regime made billions of dollars in illegal profits, both by corrupting the humanitarian program and through illegal oil sales totaling as much as 20 billion dollars.
Mr. Annan has been harshly criticized for U.N. mismanagement of the program, and for his son's involvement with a key oil-for-food program contractor. One U.S. Senator has repeatedly called on the secretary-general to step down.
But in what he thought were off-the-record comments Thursday, Mr. Annan bristled at the criticisms, which he called politically biased and ideologically inspired. He told the media seminar he sees the oil-for-food scandal as largely "an American story." He said in the rest of the world, there is still a lot of respect and enthusiasm for the world body and what it does.
The secretary-general's remarks came Thursday at a reunion seminar of current and past U.N. spokesmen. Answering a question from a former top U.N. official, Mr. Annan defended the world body's role in the scandal-plagued Iraq oil-for-food program. He said The United States and Britain, as members of the Security Council Committee that authorized and oversaw the program, had turned a blind eye to oil smuggling by Saddam Hussein's government.
"The bulk of the money that Saddam made came out of smuggling outside the oil-for-food [program], and it was on the American and British watch. They were the ones who had interdiction, possibly they were also the ones who knew exactly what was going on, and that the countries themselves decided to close their eyes to smuggling to Turkey and Jordan because they were allies," he said.
The comments drew an immediate reaction in both London and Washington. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw called the charges "inaccurate".
A State Department official noted that what Mr. Annan was referring to were exemptions for Turkey and Jordan that had been highly publicized, and made with the full knowledge and understanding of the United Nations.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said anyone who was not aware of the exemptions had not been paying attention. He said it was a "red herring" to try now and claim that this was some shocking new revelation.
The U.S. mission to the United Nations Friday sent U.N. correspondents a transcript of a Congressional hearing earlier this week at which the Turkish and Jordanian exemptions were explained in detail.
Spokesman Richard Grennell said the mission's reaction to the smuggling allegations was the same as it has been for some time.
"There's a fundamental difference between oil smuggling, illegal oil smuggling that was done under the table and behind closed doors, and the very public process that the American government went through to exempt certain countries. Don't forget that this exemption came before the oil-for-food program was even established," he noted.
Asked to explain Mr. Annan's comments, U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said the secretary-general had thought he was speaking off the record.
"It was my fault,” said Mr. Eckhard. “I didn't tell him that the UN TV camera was on and everyone in the building was listening to his remarks. He thought he was talking to a private seminar."
The oil-for-food program ran from 1996 to 2003. It allowed Saddam Hussein's government to sell oil to buy critical supplies for Iraqi civilians at a time when the country was under a U.N. economic embargo.
Investigators say, however, that Saddam's regime made billions of dollars in illegal profits, both by corrupting the humanitarian program and through illegal oil sales totaling as much as 20 billion dollars.
Mr. Annan has been harshly criticized for U.N. mismanagement of the program, and for his son's involvement with a key oil-for-food program contractor. One U.S. Senator has repeatedly called on the secretary-general to step down.
But in what he thought were off-the-record comments Thursday, Mr. Annan bristled at the criticisms, which he called politically biased and ideologically inspired. He told the media seminar he sees the oil-for-food scandal as largely "an American story." He said in the rest of the world, there is still a lot of respect and enthusiasm for the world body and what it does.
2010年11月4日星期四
A new study finds the economic crisis is hitting a key engine of growth - foreign migrants
The report by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warns this trend could hurt richer and poorer nations.
Liebig says migrant workers also tend to hold part-time jobs that demand unskilled labor, which again makes them vulnerable.
Just a few years ago, they were a critical factor in the economic booms witnessed in Spain, Ireland and Britain. And the money they sent back to their families in the form of remittances was also important to the economies of developing nations.
Almost one-in-10 immigrants working in Spain was unemployed during the first quarter of this year, for example, almost twice the unemployment rate of local workers. Immigrants also face discrimination in their host countries, many of which are tightening their immigration policies.
But Liebig says that does not necessarily mean these migrants are going home.
"We still have the (economic) crisis in origin countries. So financial incentive might not be sufficient to incite migrants to go back in a situation where they face even poorer working conditions in poorer nations," Liebig said.
The OECD is urging governments not to slam the door on migrants and to adopt fairer immigration policies because they will need foreign labor in the future when the economy picks up.
Immigrants are an important part of the labor market in richer nations - making up about 10 percent of the labor force and taking jobs native workers cannot or do not want to fill. But a new study finds the economic downturn means hard times for these immigrants, as unemployment rises and governments increasingly favor native workers.
Released Tuesday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the report also predicts the crisis will lead to a drop in immigration to OECD countries for the first time since the 1980s.
Thomas Liebig is an economist at the OECD.
"In many, most, OECD countries, unemployment (among migrants) is rising much more rapidly than among native populations," Liebig said. "And there are a number of reasons. First, all migrants are more often represented in sectors such as construction, hotel and gastronomy - and also manufacturing - which are more cyclical. They are much more hit by the downturn."
Liebig says migrant workers also tend to hold part-time jobs that demand unskilled labor, which again makes them vulnerable.
Migrants working in the 30-OECD nations come from all over the world - in the case of the United States, many hail from Latin America. In western Europe, they come from Africa and eastern Europe.
Just a few years ago, they were a critical factor in the economic booms witnessed in Spain, Ireland and Britain. And the money they sent back to their families in the form of remittances was also important to the economies of developing nations.
Almost one-in-10 immigrants working in Spain was unemployed during the first quarter of this year, for example, almost twice the unemployment rate of local workers. Immigrants also face discrimination in their host countries, many of which are tightening their immigration policies.
But Liebig says that does not necessarily mean these migrants are going home.
"We still have the (economic) crisis in origin countries. So financial incentive might not be sufficient to incite migrants to go back in a situation where they face even poorer working conditions in poorer nations," Liebig said.
The OECD is urging governments not to slam the door on migrants and to adopt fairer immigration policies because they will need foreign labor in the future when the economy picks up.
2010年11月3日星期三
senior State Department official on Monday criticized, as "awful," a reported plan
The Obama administration is already upset over the warm welcome the Libyan government gave last week to the man convicted of the 1988 Pan Am airliner bombing over Scotland.
As host country of the United Nations, the United States is obligated by treaty to allow Mr. Gadhafi and other world leaders to attend U.N. activities.
But officials here are making no secret of their unease about his reported plan to pitch his trademark Bedouin tent at the New Jersey residence of Libya's U.N. mission chief during his stay.
A report in Newsweek magazine this week says Mr. Gadhafi decided to put up the tent at the Libyan residence in Englewood, New Jersey after having been denied permission to pitch the elaborate tent in New York's Central Park.
The plan has stirred opposition in Englewood, which has a large Jewish population and which is near the homes of some family members of Americans killed in the 1988 airliner bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, for which Libya accepted responsibility and paid compensation.
A senior official who spoke to reporters here called the idea to put the tent in Englewood "awful," but said the State Department was still discussing its formal position on the matter.
At a news briefing, State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly said Libya's treatment of Megrahi will affect the U.S.-Libyan relationship.
"The celebration of his return was extremely disturbing, and we have made it quite clear to the Libyan government - both publicly and privately - that we're going to be watching very closely how they receive this man," said Ian Kelly. "And if they continued to lionize him in a public fashion, that these kinds of public demonstrations can only have a profoundly negative effect on our relationship."
President Barack Obama called last week for Megrahi to be put under house arrest. The senior official who spoke here noted that the convicted terrorist has not left his home since arriving there, and credited Libyan authorities with acting to limit the size of the airport crowd.
But he said it will not damage the traditional warm relationship between the United States and Britain and that U.S. officials accept at face value British denials that trade considerations affected the Scottish decision.
As host country of the United Nations, the United States is obligated by treaty to allow Mr. Gadhafi and other world leaders to attend U.N. activities.
But officials here are making no secret of their unease about his reported plan to pitch his trademark Bedouin tent at the New Jersey residence of Libya's U.N. mission chief during his stay.
The Libyan leader greets visiting foreign dignitaries in a tent at home. And in recent years, he has stayed in a tent while attending some international meetings.
A report in Newsweek magazine this week says Mr. Gadhafi decided to put up the tent at the Libyan residence in Englewood, New Jersey after having been denied permission to pitch the elaborate tent in New York's Central Park.
The plan has stirred opposition in Englewood, which has a large Jewish population and which is near the homes of some family members of Americans killed in the 1988 airliner bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, for which Libya accepted responsibility and paid compensation.
A senior official who spoke to reporters here called the idea to put the tent in Englewood "awful," but said the State Department was still discussing its formal position on the matter.
The same official termed as "disgusting" the hero's welcome the Gadhafi government gave to convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, who was released from prison by Scottish authorities on Thursday because he suffers from terminal cancer.
At a news briefing, State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly said Libya's treatment of Megrahi will affect the U.S.-Libyan relationship.
"The celebration of his return was extremely disturbing, and we have made it quite clear to the Libyan government - both publicly and privately - that we're going to be watching very closely how they receive this man," said Ian Kelly. "And if they continued to lionize him in a public fashion, that these kinds of public demonstrations can only have a profoundly negative effect on our relationship."
Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, the son of the Libyan leader, was among a jubilant crowd that welcomed Megrahi at the Tripoli airport on Thursday. The Libyan leader himself visited Megrahi at his home on Saturday.
President Barack Obama called last week for Megrahi to be put under house arrest. The senior official who spoke here noted that the convicted terrorist has not left his home since arriving there, and credited Libyan authorities with acting to limit the size of the airport crowd.
Spokesman Kelly said the United States disagreed "passionately" with the decision of Scottish authorities to release Megrahi on health reasons.
But he said it will not damage the traditional warm relationship between the United States and Britain and that U.S. officials accept at face value British denials that trade considerations affected the Scottish decision.
2010年11月2日星期二
President Barack Obama is urging the U.S. Senate to pass his financial reform legislation
The president says the bill will protect consumers, banks and the financial system.
In his weekly address, President Obama says the reform bill is an ambitious effort to protect consumers from some of the financial industry's worst abuses.
"The Wall Street reform bill in Congress represents the strongest consumer financial protections in history," said President Obama.
Senators have been debating legislation to protect consumers and end government bailouts of part of the nation's economy.
Mr. Obama says the bill is aimed at the industry practices that set off the U.S. financial crisis in 2008.
"With reform, we will make our financial system more transparent by bringing the kinds of complex backroom deals that helped trigger this crisis into the light of day," he added.
The president says the bill will subject large and small banks to tougher oversight, and prevent banks from taking so much risk they could collapse and threaten the economy.
The House of Representatives passed a similar reform bill in December.
The weekly Republican Party address comes from Congressman Chris Lee, who represents the area near Buffalo, New York, which President Obama visited on Thursday.
Lee says the president is ignoring the people's wishes for less government debt and more responsible budgets.
"President Obama visited our area this week, and it was my hope that he would listen, really listen, to what the people are saying,” said Lee. “I have been in Congress 16 months, but it does not take that long to figure out that Washington does more talking than listening."
Representative Lee says the Democratic Party's plans to stimulate employment are too expensive and will hurt the economy in the long term.
In his weekly address, President Obama says the reform bill is an ambitious effort to protect consumers from some of the financial industry's worst abuses.
"The Wall Street reform bill in Congress represents the strongest consumer financial protections in history," said President Obama.
Senators have been debating legislation to protect consumers and end government bailouts of part of the nation's economy.
Mr. Obama says the bill is aimed at the industry practices that set off the U.S. financial crisis in 2008.
"With reform, we will make our financial system more transparent by bringing the kinds of complex backroom deals that helped trigger this crisis into the light of day," he added.
The president says the bill will subject large and small banks to tougher oversight, and prevent banks from taking so much risk they could collapse and threaten the economy.
The House of Representatives passed a similar reform bill in December.
The weekly Republican Party address comes from Congressman Chris Lee, who represents the area near Buffalo, New York, which President Obama visited on Thursday.
Lee says the president is ignoring the people's wishes for less government debt and more responsible budgets.
"President Obama visited our area this week, and it was my hope that he would listen, really listen, to what the people are saying,” said Lee. “I have been in Congress 16 months, but it does not take that long to figure out that Washington does more talking than listening."
Representative Lee says the Democratic Party's plans to stimulate employment are too expensive and will hurt the economy in the long term.
2010年11月1日星期一
World's Fairs through history have demonstrated technological innovations
Over six months, around 73 million people packed national and theme displays, an average of 397,000 daily spread over an area roughly the size of New York City's Central Park. Guinness World Records says it may launch a new category to reflect the Shanghai Expo numbers, and doesn't currently list any peacetime gathering larger than the 20 million in 2001 for an Indian pilgrimage known as Kumbh Mela.
Like the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Expo featured a dazzling opening ceremony and stifling security measures. But while the Olympics were designed to introduce the new China to a global audience, Shanghai's Expo was a pageant of foreign nations coming out to the Chinese people.
The $24 mini-world tour, however, translated into huge queues. 'Undeterred by the searing heat or soaking rain, [visitors] waited patiently in long lines to witness this much anticipated event,' China's premier, Wen Jiabao said on a final-day visit Sunday, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.
It was often an eight-hour wait at Saudi Arabia's moon-shaped IMAX theater. A territorial dispute in recent months sparked protests against Japan in many Chinese cities, but the grumbling in Shanghai stemmed from the average four-hour wait to enter its exhibit inside a purple cocoon. China's monumental red pagoda was a reminder of who hosted the party and admission quotas for it filled within minutes each morning.
To pay homage to a Little Mermaid statue that had been temporarily transferred from Copenhagen Harbor, 5.5 million people poured into Denmark's pavilion. That, noted Commissioner General Christopher Bo Bramsen, 'happens to be the nation's population.'
What it all cost is a secret that Shanghai authorities refuse to divulge. Local media estimated $40 billion was spent on a citywide upgrade including, for instance, 150 new subway stops in three years.
If each person through the Expo turnstiles visitor had paid full fare, the event's ticket sales would have generated around $1.8 billion. But millions of Shanghai residents entered free and numerous Chinese tours were government subsidized.
Now, participating nations are required to disassemble their multimillion-dollar pavilions─an ironic finale to a fair centering on sustainable urban development. Still a taboo subject: how Shanghai will redevelop the now-paved neighborhood, formerly a steelworks with low-income housing that straddles two sides of the Huangpu River. Expo authorities refused permission for an Oct. 21 conference on the subject.
Shanghai's Expo Bureau didn't respond to a list of questions.
For professional people watchers, the Expo provided unique insight into how to comfort, entertain and manage huge crowds. 'Even though it's off the charts, it's not something you can't learn from,' said Gordon Linden, co-author of newly published 'The Expo Book.'
In interviews, experts cited takeaways for global media, tourism, transportation and security companies that see Chinese as a target market. Fewer than 3% of Chinese have a passport now. But by taking 47 million trips abroad last year and another 1.9 billion domestically, China's population represents a sizable global travel trend.
The Expo reinforced, unsurprisingly, that Chinese prefer Asian food over Irish fare. Oddly, anecdotal evidence from organizers indicates visitor anxiety levels peaked in the mornings. Security officers concluded confrontation might backfire in vast crowds, so queue jumpers often went unchallenged.
Pavilion gatekeepers were deluged with demands─and bribes─to allow priority entry. Germany's Mr. Willers said he witnessed 'miracles' when wheelchair-bound visitors walked after gaining admission.
Visitors often rushed past cultural relics, like the Frida Kahlo painting in Mexico's exhibit. But they perched on $2 foam stools to enjoy Australians in hokey cow and kangaroo costumes.
Colombia tripled its shop revenue by introducing 'very basic' $1.50 bracelets when its $45 handbags went unsold, said general manager Juan Pablo Cavelier. Enthusiasm ran highest for free stamps in commemorative Expo passports.
High visitor numbers were always anticipated, and Expo organizers won plaudits for supplying ample clean water stations and toilets. After queues turned riotous during trial runs ahead of the May 1 opening, mazes to organize lines were quickly installed , helping to limit Expo incidents to daily fisticuffs .
'There is no previous scale or metric to go by,' said Mark Germyn, a theme-park veteran who was chief operating officer for the U.S. pavilion.
Fairgoers smoked, ate, sometimes urinated in queues and generated 'a staggering amount of trash,' he said. Yet, he added, 'the compression factor' meant more people entered: The roughly 11 square feet that American theme parks plan per person accommodated at least three people in Shanghai.
Millions were enchanted by coos and winks from Spain's lifelike 21-foot-tall baby named Miguelín. They were inspired by architectural flourishes on Britain's pavilion of fiber-optic strands and a United Arab Emirates sand dune in steel.
During the Expo's final week, Chile showed a red, white and blue Phoenix 1 capsule, used in the rescue of its 33 long-trapped miners.
In a U.S. exhibit that initially struggled for its $61 million financing, over seven million watched, and often applauded, a film about a headstrong girl who rallies her neighbors─a tale of individualism that for China may have looked mildly subversive.
As the fair wound down, attendance surged, topping one million on Oct. 16.
To handle the overflow outside the Saudi exhibit during the final week, paramilitary People's Armed Police recruits maintained authority. Throngs pressed chest-to-back along three tracks, each hundreds of yards long, beneath a sign that read in English, mystifyingly: 'Place Sharing and No Challenging.'
Like the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Expo featured a dazzling opening ceremony and stifling security measures. But while the Olympics were designed to introduce the new China to a global audience, Shanghai's Expo was a pageant of foreign nations coming out to the Chinese people.
The $24 mini-world tour, however, translated into huge queues. 'Undeterred by the searing heat or soaking rain, [visitors] waited patiently in long lines to witness this much anticipated event,' China's premier, Wen Jiabao said on a final-day visit Sunday, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.
It was often an eight-hour wait at Saudi Arabia's moon-shaped IMAX theater. A territorial dispute in recent months sparked protests against Japan in many Chinese cities, but the grumbling in Shanghai stemmed from the average four-hour wait to enter its exhibit inside a purple cocoon. China's monumental red pagoda was a reminder of who hosted the party and admission quotas for it filled within minutes each morning.
To pay homage to a Little Mermaid statue that had been temporarily transferred from Copenhagen Harbor, 5.5 million people poured into Denmark's pavilion. That, noted Commissioner General Christopher Bo Bramsen, 'happens to be the nation's population.'
What it all cost is a secret that Shanghai authorities refuse to divulge. Local media estimated $40 billion was spent on a citywide upgrade including, for instance, 150 new subway stops in three years.
If each person through the Expo turnstiles visitor had paid full fare, the event's ticket sales would have generated around $1.8 billion. But millions of Shanghai residents entered free and numerous Chinese tours were government subsidized.
Now, participating nations are required to disassemble their multimillion-dollar pavilions─an ironic finale to a fair centering on sustainable urban development. Still a taboo subject: how Shanghai will redevelop the now-paved neighborhood, formerly a steelworks with low-income housing that straddles two sides of the Huangpu River. Expo authorities refused permission for an Oct. 21 conference on the subject.
Shanghai's Expo Bureau didn't respond to a list of questions.
For professional people watchers, the Expo provided unique insight into how to comfort, entertain and manage huge crowds. 'Even though it's off the charts, it's not something you can't learn from,' said Gordon Linden, co-author of newly published 'The Expo Book.'
In interviews, experts cited takeaways for global media, tourism, transportation and security companies that see Chinese as a target market. Fewer than 3% of Chinese have a passport now. But by taking 47 million trips abroad last year and another 1.9 billion domestically, China's population represents a sizable global travel trend.
The Expo reinforced, unsurprisingly, that Chinese prefer Asian food over Irish fare. Oddly, anecdotal evidence from organizers indicates visitor anxiety levels peaked in the mornings. Security officers concluded confrontation might backfire in vast crowds, so queue jumpers often went unchallenged.
Pavilion gatekeepers were deluged with demands─and bribes─to allow priority entry. Germany's Mr. Willers said he witnessed 'miracles' when wheelchair-bound visitors walked after gaining admission.
Visitors often rushed past cultural relics, like the Frida Kahlo painting in Mexico's exhibit. But they perched on $2 foam stools to enjoy Australians in hokey cow and kangaroo costumes.
Colombia tripled its shop revenue by introducing 'very basic' $1.50 bracelets when its $45 handbags went unsold, said general manager Juan Pablo Cavelier. Enthusiasm ran highest for free stamps in commemorative Expo passports.
High visitor numbers were always anticipated, and Expo organizers won plaudits for supplying ample clean water stations and toilets. After queues turned riotous during trial runs ahead of the May 1 opening, mazes to organize lines were quickly installed , helping to limit Expo incidents to daily fisticuffs .
'There is no previous scale or metric to go by,' said Mark Germyn, a theme-park veteran who was chief operating officer for the U.S. pavilion.
Fairgoers smoked, ate, sometimes urinated in queues and generated 'a staggering amount of trash,' he said. Yet, he added, 'the compression factor' meant more people entered: The roughly 11 square feet that American theme parks plan per person accommodated at least three people in Shanghai.
Millions were enchanted by coos and winks from Spain's lifelike 21-foot-tall baby named Miguelín. They were inspired by architectural flourishes on Britain's pavilion of fiber-optic strands and a United Arab Emirates sand dune in steel.
During the Expo's final week, Chile showed a red, white and blue Phoenix 1 capsule, used in the rescue of its 33 long-trapped miners.
In a U.S. exhibit that initially struggled for its $61 million financing, over seven million watched, and often applauded, a film about a headstrong girl who rallies her neighbors─a tale of individualism that for China may have looked mildly subversive.
As the fair wound down, attendance surged, topping one million on Oct. 16.
To handle the overflow outside the Saudi exhibit during the final week, paramilitary People's Armed Police recruits maintained authority. Throngs pressed chest-to-back along three tracks, each hundreds of yards long, beneath a sign that read in English, mystifyingly: 'Place Sharing and No Challenging.'
2010年10月28日星期四
Oracle Corp. (ORCL) Chief Executive Larry Ellison on Wednesday
Mr. Ellison has sought to paint Leo Apotheker, SAP AG's (SAP, SAP.XE) former chief, as culpable for a SAP unit's illegal downloads of Oracle documents, accusing him personally of 'overseeing an industrial espionage scheme.' SAP has accepted liability for the downloads and a trial to determine damages is scheduled to begin Monday in a federal court in Oakland, Calif.
'H-P Chairman Ray Lane has taken the position that Leo Apotheker is innocent of wrongdoing because he didn't know anything about the stealing going on at SAP while Leo was CEO,' Mr. Ellison said in a statement Wednesday. 'The most basic facts of the case show this to be an absurd lie.'
He continued: 'It's time to change the H-P tagline from 'Invent' to 'Steal.''
The two companies disagree sharply on how much SAP should pay. Oracle is seeking $2 billion, but SAP estimates that the damages were in the 'tens of millions of dollars.' On Wednesday, SAP said it has set aside up to $160 million to cover the costs associated with the trial and with shutting down the TomorrowNow unit.
H-P declined to comment on Mr. Ellison's latest statement. On Tuesday, H-P did respond to a statement he issued that day, which included Mr. Ellison's suggestion that H-P might try to keep Mr. Apotheker from appearing in court.
'Oracle had ample opportunity to question Leo during his sworn deposition in October 2008,' an H-P spokeswoman said. 'Given Leo's limited knowledge of and role in the matter, Oracle's last-minute effort to require him to appear live at trial is no more than an effort to harass him and interfere with his duties and responsibilities as HP's CEO.'
H-P declined to say whether Mr. Apotheker would appear in court if called to testify, nor would it discuss his whereabouts--which could affect Oracle's ability to subpoena him. In an Oct. 1 call with analysts to discuss his appointment, Mr. Apotheker said he would spend the 'following weeks and even months' travelling around the world meeting with H-P employees, customers and shareholders.
An SAP spokesman said the German software giant has already agreed to pay restitution to Oracle for TomorrowNow's actions and called Mr. Ellison's repeated allegations regarding Mr. Apotheker's role in the matter 'a sideshow.'
'H-P Chairman Ray Lane has taken the position that Leo Apotheker is innocent of wrongdoing because he didn't know anything about the stealing going on at SAP while Leo was CEO,' Mr. Ellison said in a statement Wednesday. 'The most basic facts of the case show this to be an absurd lie.'
He continued: 'It's time to change the H-P tagline from 'Invent' to 'Steal.''
The two companies disagree sharply on how much SAP should pay. Oracle is seeking $2 billion, but SAP estimates that the damages were in the 'tens of millions of dollars.' On Wednesday, SAP said it has set aside up to $160 million to cover the costs associated with the trial and with shutting down the TomorrowNow unit.
H-P declined to comment on Mr. Ellison's latest statement. On Tuesday, H-P did respond to a statement he issued that day, which included Mr. Ellison's suggestion that H-P might try to keep Mr. Apotheker from appearing in court.
'Oracle had ample opportunity to question Leo during his sworn deposition in October 2008,' an H-P spokeswoman said. 'Given Leo's limited knowledge of and role in the matter, Oracle's last-minute effort to require him to appear live at trial is no more than an effort to harass him and interfere with his duties and responsibilities as HP's CEO.'
H-P declined to say whether Mr. Apotheker would appear in court if called to testify, nor would it discuss his whereabouts--which could affect Oracle's ability to subpoena him. In an Oct. 1 call with analysts to discuss his appointment, Mr. Apotheker said he would spend the 'following weeks and even months' travelling around the world meeting with H-P employees, customers and shareholders.
An SAP spokesman said the German software giant has already agreed to pay restitution to Oracle for TomorrowNow's actions and called Mr. Ellison's repeated allegations regarding Mr. Apotheker's role in the matter 'a sideshow.'
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