“Golly.” That was Barack Obama, flabbergasted at a variant of a question all US presidents get sooner or later — are you still relevant?
Obama appeared taken aback when asked at a White House news conference whether he still had the “juice” to get his agenda through clogged up Congress.
“Maybe I should just pack up and go home. Golly,” said Obama, probably thinking the question impertinent, since he is only three months into his second term.
Photo: AFP
照片:法新社
Yet Obama can barely contain his contempt for Congress, which blocks him at every turn and threatens his hopes for a robust second-term. “My charm offensive has helped me learn some interesting things about what’s going on in Congress — it turns out, absolutely nothing,” said Obama.
The president’s joke, at the White House Correspondents dinner, betrayed frustration at banging his head against a congressional brick wall.
“You seem to suggest that somehow these folks over there have no responsibilities and that my job is to somehow get them to behave,” Obama told reporters, in a snipe at lawmakers.
(Liberty Times)
「天啊。」那是巴拉克‧歐巴馬的回答,當時他被問到所有美國總統遲早都會被問到的一個問題而大吃一驚—你的地位仍舊舉足輕重嗎?
歐巴馬在白宮記者會上被問到是否還有「能耐」,在窒礙難行的國會推動他的政治主張時,他顯得十分震驚。
「或許我應該乾脆打包回家,天啊,」歐巴馬說,他可能認為這個問題非常失禮,因為他的第二任總統任期才剛邁入第三個月。
但歐巴馬幾乎無法克制他對國會的不屑,因為國會總是處處跟他作對,威脅到他在第二任總統任期內積極施政的期望。「我的魅力攻勢幫助我學到一些有關國會運作的趣事,那就是,國會什麼事都不做,」歐巴馬說。
總統在白宮記者餐會上開的這個玩笑,也透露出他對於和國會交涉徒勞無力的挫折感。
「你們似乎暗示,那邊的那些傢伙沒有任何責任,而我的工作則是要設法讓他們聽話,」歐巴馬對記者說,話中又對國會議員放了一記冷槍。
(自由時報/翻譯:俞智敏)
South Korea’s famous kimchi is falling victim to climate change, with scientists, farmers and manufacturers saying the quality and quantity of the napa cabbage that is pickled to make the ubiquitous dish is suffering due to rising temperatures. Napa cabbage thrives in cooler climates, and is usually planted in mountainous regions where temperatures during the key growing summer season once rarely rose above 25 degrees Celsius. Studies show that warmer weather brought about by climate change is now threatening these crops, so much so that South Korea might not be able to grow napa cabbage one day due to the intensifying heat. “We
It’s widely recognized that there are far more right-handed people than left-handed people in the world. Being right-handed simply means preferring to use one’s right hand for tasks that involve only one hand, such as writing and eating. But have you ever wondered about the possible reasons behind the global dominance of the right hand over the left? As with many complex biological questions, multiple factors appear to be at play. First, one reason seems to be genetics. __1__ Therefore, the global dominance of right-handedness is something that has been passed down through many generations of humans. Next,
A: What’s even more horrible is that the five suspects who purposely supplied ketamine to actor Matthew Perry were all his “friends.” B: Who exactly are the five suspects? A: They include Matthew’s two doctors, a broker, a drug dealer, and even his live-in assistant. B: Those scumbags should go to jail. A: Yeah, one of the doctors may be sentenced to up to 120 years in prison. A: 更可怕的是,提供男星馬修派瑞「K他命」的5人全是他的「朋友」。 B: 嫌犯是誰啊? A: 其中包括他的2位醫生、1位仲介、1位毒販、甚至他的同居助理! B: 那些人渣真該去坐牢。 A: 對啊,其中1位醫生可能面臨120年徒刑。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
On blazing hot summer days, fresh ingredients and cool refreshments straight from a refrigerator feel like nothing short of a miracle. However, chilled foods didn’t begin with modern refrigerators. In fact, the origin of refrigeration precedes the invention of this now-indispensable appliance by centuries. Initially, the quest for refrigeration was motivated more by the desire to cool beverages than to preserve food. The ancient Greeks and Romans, for instance, used snow stored in insulated pits to chill wine. Around the fourth century BC, the Persians made a significant stride in refrigeration techniques when they devised the yakhchal. Fashioned from