More than 5,000 Scottish soldiers are having to share ceremonial kilts because defense chiefs have yet to finalize a contract to buy enough of the garments to go around, military officials said Monday.
The men, who face regular tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, have just 320 kilts between them, or one for every 15 soldiers.
Those 320 kilts have been provided on a trial basis by Argyll Bagpipes and Kilts, but that company has not officially been awarded the final contract.
PHOTO: AP
The ministry refused to say who has won the final contract, worth up to 1 million pounds (NT$63 million) and involving 15,000m of fabric.
"A planned deployment of kilts will be agreed with the Royal Regiment of Scotland on a rollout basis with ... the full program being completed by January 2008,'' Defense Ministry spokesman said Monday.
Combat troops wore the traditional Highland skirt in battle as late as World War I, but now the plaid kilts are used as part of ceremonial uniform.
New kilts are needed for all Scottish soldiers following the August merger of centuries-old regiments into a single Royal Regiment of Scotland.
Some Scottish veterans and lawmakers have opposed breaking up the old regiments, which fought together in the Anglo-Boer War in South Africa and both World Wars.
"The kilt is psychologically important for the identity of Scottish soldiers,'' said Lt. Col. Willy Macnair, who served in the now defunct Queen's Own Highlander regiment.
"It may mean that some soldiers in the (new) regiment, by the time they leave, may never have worn it.''
(Staff Writer with AP)
英國軍方星期一表示,超過五千名蘇格蘭士兵得共穿慶典用的蘇格蘭裙,因為國防部的長官們尚未簽定合約,購買足夠所有人穿的服裝。
這一群得定期到伊拉克或阿富汗出任務的男人總共只有三百二十條蘇格蘭裙可穿,或者說,每十五個士兵共穿一條裙子。
阿蓋爾風笛蘇格蘭裙公司提供這三百二十條裙子試穿,但尚未正式簽下最後合約。
國防部拒絕表示最後由誰得標。這項合約金額達一百萬英鎊(新台幣六千三百萬元),需消耗一萬五千公尺的布料。
國防部發言人星期一表示︰「既定的蘇格蘭裙調配方式會經過蘇格蘭皇家軍團的同意,逐批完成交貨,整個計畫將在二○○八年一月完工。」
戰鬥部隊一直到第一次世界大戰都還穿著傳統蘇格蘭高地裙,但現今這種方格裙卻是慶典制服之一。
明年八月,擁有數百年歷史的軍團被整合為單一蘇格蘭皇家軍團時,所有蘇格蘭士兵都會需要一條新的蘇格蘭裙。
部分蘇格蘭老兵和議員反對拆散曾在南非英布戰爭和世界大戰服役的舊軍團。
威利.麥卡尼爾中校曾經效力於現已終止服役的女皇直屬高地兵團,他表示︰「蘇格蘭裙對蘇格蘭軍人的心理認同很重要。」
他說︰「這可能表示(新)軍團的部分士兵一直到除役都會穿不到裙子。」
(美聯社╱翻譯︰鄭湘儀)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
It’s another school day with the same ritual. You wake up to your smartphone’s alarm, scroll through messages during your commute, and listen to your favorite playlist with your wireless earbuds between classes. These devices, integrated smoothly into your daily routine, certainly make life more convenient. However, where do these devices end up after you replace them? In fact, the issue of electronic waste is a growing global concern. According to the United Nations, in 2019 alone, we generated an astonishing 53.6 million tons of e-waste—an average of 7.3kg per person. Projections hint at the figure soaring to 110