June 15, 2006
In the end, Germany always wins
And in the end, Germany always wins
IT was not easy being a Pole in this city last night. Not easy watching Germany score in added time to win what had been a scoreless game. Not easy hearing tens of thousands of German fans singing fight songs. Not easy leaving the stadium knowing their World Cup hopes were down to mathematical possibilities.
"This is how Germany plays," said Chris Drogoszcz, 19, who had come a long way, from Krakow, with his father, Robert, to watch two German substitutes thoroughly ruin their night. "They always get better at the end."
It was a night for fathers and sons to take in a World Cup soccer match, the way American families take in a baseball game. Achim Weis and his son, Nico, 8, drove up from Lahr, in the Black Forest region of Germany, to take in the game. "Very good emotions," the father said in English about the crowd.
It was a night for people in wheelchairs and little old ladies and V.I.P.'s in suits and assorted Polish and German exhibitionists in odd costumes to file in together, safely, jovially, noisily, despite six months of concerns about violence that never materialized around the stadium.
Elsewhere in Dortmund, there were some clashes with the police, and about 300 people were arrested. But at the stadium, this was a night of stunning late-strike soccer rather than peripheral violence.
It was much easier to be German than Polish. The men in the black shorts and the white shirts have momentum now. They were of dubious quality when the World Cup began, unloved and not respected in their own country. Then they slopped through a 4-2 victory against Costa Rica. Now they are on the move, relentless Germany, the three-time champs, remembering what it was like to refuse to be beaten in many old World Cup games.
This is starting to have the feel of the way it was when South Korean pride swept the Reds to a stunning fourth place in the 2002 World Cup, and the way it was in 1998, when France united behind its suave multicultural team all the way to the championship. And even in 1994, the United States got out of the first round as the host. Home helps. But Germany is resourceful in any country, on any continent.
The Polish team had looked befuddled in their first match, a 2-0 loss to Ecuador, but last night it held off Germany, until Radoslaw Sobolewski was sent off in the 75th minute for his second yellow card of the night. Knowing that Poland was vulnerable with only 10 players, Germany began to apply the squeeze.
The Polish goalkeeper, Artur Boruc, stopped two shots with two-fisted punch saves in the 79th and 80th minute. Then Boruc, who had been so calm, began to protest and was shown a yellow card in the 89th minute. Almost immediately, Miroslav Klose and Michael Ballack hit the crossbar, and the Polish fans had to fear every extra second that would be added by the official.
One minute into extra time, David Odonkor, the son of a Ghanaian father and a German mother, who had given the Germans so much energy since coming on in the 64th minute, lofted a perfect pass in front of the goal. Oliver Neuville, another substitute, slid in and nudged the ball into the net with his right foot. Fans in the stands held up the numbers 54 — 74 — 90 — 06 — the three championship years, plus this one, a prospect that is no longer unreasonable.
The Polish and the German fans mingled on the way out of the stadium. Robert and Chris Drogoszcz displayed a photo of them in their red Polska shirts with a German fan in his white jersey. "Very nice," the father said of the German crowd.
This night had been festering on the World Cup calendar ever since the draw on Dec. 9, when these two countries, with so much history between them, were drawn into the same group of four teams.
Only a few weeks earlier, in late November, mobs of Germans and Poles arranged to meet in a forest just inside Germany, where they stomped and knifed each other — presumably because they like maiming and being maimed. Somehow, these louts became linked with the sport of soccer.
Ever since, the nation has been trembling at the thought of 50,000 people with brass knuckles and knives and chains converging on this city. The German and Polish police, operating in unison, forbade registered hooligans from coming to Dortmund, and then identified others who had slipped into town, a standard operation for major matches these days.
In the past few days, up to 60 Polish citizens were detained in this area, according to the police yesterday, not bad considering the huge numbers the German organizers have courted by showing all the matches at an open-air event called Fan Fest. As a result, this city of 600,000 residents, in a coal and steel region that has now diversified into gentler industry, was swollen with people brandishing flags, honking plastic horns, wearing gaudy team jerseys, behaving themselves around the stadium.
On their way out, Robert and Chris Drogoszcz calculated that Poland was still not eliminated from the World Cup, if Costa Rica could beat Ecuador today, and Poland could beat Costa Rica in its third game.
"We are going to play England," Chris Drogoszcz said as he moved along with the crowd. Germany was singing. Poland was hoping. Here, nobody was fighting. A nice night for a World Cup match
June 08, 2006
TSX falls more than 300 points
Canada's S&P/TSX composite index tumbled 303.12 points or 2.7 per cent to 11,172.30 points around noon EDT – the biggest one-day drop this year. The market has since recovered slightly, and was down 179.72 to 11,295.70 in mid-afternoon trading Thursday. On Wednesday, the S&P/TSX fell 190.72 points. Including Thursday's early losses, the TSX's main index is down about 5 per cent this week.
North American stocks slumped Thursday, with Canada's benchmark index shedding more than 300 points, following overseas markets lower on concern that U.S. rate hikes will slow growth.
News of the death of an al Qaeda leader in Iraq failed to reassure investors, and the European Central Bank's decision to raise interest rates Thursday reinforced an upward trend in global rates.
Gold and mining shares were the biggest decliner. Spot gold fell as low as $610.70, the lowest since April 21. Gold has dropped by about $120, or 16 per cent, from its 26-year high of $730 hit on May 12.
“Panic seems to be spreading in the global capital markets,” said Dennis Gartman, editor and publisher of The Gartman Letter, a U.S. daily market newsletter.
Strength in the U.S. dollar continued to pick up, pushing the Canadian dollar down to 89.03 cents (U.S.) from 89.81 cents yesterday.
In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 170.65 points to 10,760.25. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite dropped 41.18 points to 2,110.62. The S&P fell 15.13 points to 1,241.02.
The losses came after U.S. stocks dropped on Wednesday, extending investors' losses for a third straight session and pushing the Dow Jones industrial average below 11,000 for the first time since March 9.
The Dow has lost more than 400 points this week; the selloff has also wiped out the Nasdaq composite index's gains for the year and put the Standard & Poor's 500 index less than 8 points away from its Dec. 31 close.
Wall Street found some support from lower oil prices following the death of a terrorist leader in Iraq and easing political tensions in Nigeria and Iran. A barrel of light crude fell 79 cents to $70.03 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Stock markets in Asia tumbled to their lowest levels in months Thursday and European shares also declined amid anxiety that possible U.S. interest rates hikes will slow global growth.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index tumbled 3.07 per cent to 14,633.03 points, its lowest in six months, while Indian shares plunged 4.7 per cent.
South Korean shares dropped to their lowest level in seven months after the Bank of Korea unexpectedly raised interest rates, and Australia's stock market fell 2.35 perc ent.
London's FTSE 100 index was down 1.7 per cent at 5,609, the German DAX Xetra 30 was off 1.9 per cent at 5,438 and the French CAC-40 index fell 1.8 per cent to 4,735. Heavy losses were seen in the commodities, oil and technology sectors.
Confusion about U.S. monetary policy and doubts about U.S. growth have hammered global markets over the last month, particularly in Asia. A slump on Wall Street has made investors jittery.
The downturn has been “largely induced by sentiment over the interest rate background and in particular the Fed's intentions,” said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin Securities. “If the central banks are a little too aggressive in raising interest rates, then that will impair the prospects for corporate earnings growth.”
The European Central Bank raised its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 2.75 per cent Thursday, as expected, in a move aimed at keeping inflation at bay. The Bank of England held interest rates steady at 4.5 per cent.
Growing speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve will also raise interest rates later this month has triggered worries about a slowdown in the U.S. economy, which could undermine demand for exports.
“Until uncertainties about the U.S. interest rate policy and the outlook over the American economy will be erased to some extent, the Tokyo market's direction will remain unstable,” said Takashi Ushio, a strategist at Marusan Securities Co. in Tokyo.
The Japanese stock market has fallen about 9 per cent this year, while Indian shares have fallen a stunning 26 per cent over the last month.
Hong Kong shares also declined Thursday, with the blue-chip Hang Seng Index falling 366.44 points, or 2.32 per cent, to 15,450.11.
In Taiwan, the benchmark stock index plunged 4.2 per cent to its lowest level in nearly six months. Traders blamed the decline on falling stocks in other regional markets, and on political uncertainty over an opposition campaign to oust President Chen Shui-bian over alleged insider trading by his relatives.
In South Korea, the central bank's unexpected rate hike to 4.25 per cent worsened investors' already negative sentiment, contributing to a 3.5 per cent drop in the Composite Stock Price Index to its lowest finish since Nov. 7.
June 07, 2006
将爱情进行到底-遥望
大约7，8年前，假如我也看过偶像剧的话，这应该算唯一一部。
因为有一个一起长大的男同学说我蹦蹦跳跳的样子很像里面的文慧，给我寄来了一套。也确实有人指着我的相册说─这个这个样子象…象…
呵呵因为自恋才把那部长长得电视剧看完了。因此，这首就记这首歌。
那个时候李亚朋还没让中国人民那么反感呢，那个谁还没有和谁在博客姐弟恋呢。现在亚鹏都孩子她后爹了，那个谁都老徐了。打死我都不好意思这么伤感了。
可是可是今天晚上下雨。。。
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望见你从门前经过是有一些悲哀
于是就轻轻唱了起来
所以你我从此被爱紧紧锁起来
却又不能一生相守这到底是谁在安排
在你我相遇的地方依然人来人往
依然有爱情在游荡
在你我相爱的地方依然有人在唱
依然还是年少无知的感伤
当你小心地在我身边静静坐下来
告诉我未来多精彩
你我从此被爱紧紧锁起来
却只能相互眺望只有交错的感伤
在你我相遇的地方依然人来人往
依然有爱情在游荡
在你我相爱的地方依然有人在唱
依然还是年少无知的感伤
Petless & Childless
Petless & Childless
周6下午去参加Maria的Baby Shower，一屋子的包着礼物纸的礼物盒，礼物袋，一屋子的会计， CPA， CA， CGA，CMA， CFA，好像是就四大加上几个石油公司代表小会。我在一客厅的大盒子小盒子之间，躲在阴影里，我最不擅长买小孩礼物，每次都简单而实际的到儿童玩具店买一张现金礼物卡，就是$$$。心里想，最好有天我的结婚礼物，婴儿礼物大家都送CASH，一来是我比较挑剔，二来就是我善于给自己买礼物。：) ：)
所以等大盒小盒都拆完，大会计小会计都鼓掌完，我才小心翼翼把现金卡给MARIA，昔日小巧玲珑的她，现在象一头粉红色的大象一样坐在那里，满脸都是幸福。我用了10多分钟想，怀孕的时候穿粉红色这么壮观啊，到底什么颜色可以遮盖一下大大的肚子呢。
今天下午，收到了Maria电子邮件。她说，亲爱的Joy，我真的有些害怕，虽然医生说一切看起来都非常正常，可是我总不知道会发生什么。亲爱的Joy, 也许从此我就告别Petless & Childless的日子了，我会非常想念我们在市中心一起吃午饭SHOPPING的日子。
一个繁忙的DAY 4的预算结算的下午，一个穿着套裙觉得青春就和早上涂得淡妆一样开始褪色的下午，看见这样的话，突然十分伤感。
那些结了婚的姐妹和我到过一次别以后，又有一些准备做妈妈的姐妹和我说轻轻挥手说“莎尤娜拉” 。就好像Maria在过去的几年每换过一个公司，就会首先把身边高于6’2” 年轻能干的男性拉过来和我一起吃午饭，老天作证，她的眼光绝对比我苛刻，那些人中包括一个律师一个TAX经理一个工程师，即使这样我还是没有和她一起前进，依然站在原地抱着那些越长越茂盛的绿色植物，高举着一块：Petless, Childless的牌子。
今天下午坐轻轨回家的时候，在摇晃的车厢里好像朦胧了一下。
我看见一只粉红色的大象带了两只粉红色的小象。与事隔绝的人容易成为先知，我就那么一瞬间预言了Maria可能生2个小孩。
然后子又生子，子又生孙。我的鼻子替她幸福的酸了一下。