ランダムウォークな日々: スペイン圏の人名について

リンク: ランダムウォークな日々: スペイン圏の人名について.

マルケスの場合を調べてみると、彼の本名は Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez でした。父親の名が Gabriel Eligio García で、母親の名が Luisa Santiaga Márquez ですので、takujiさんのご推察どおり García Márquez は両親の苗字を合わせた姓ということになります。Vargas Llosaの時と同じく、彼のことを「マルケス」というのは本当は正しくありません。「ガルシア＝マルケス」あるいは「ドン・ガルシア」と呼ぶべきなのですが……仲間はみんな彼のことを愛称で「ガボ」と呼んでます。

では、ホルヘ・ルイス・ボルヘスはどうでしょう。
彼の本名は、Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges ですから Luis Borges が姓にあたるのだと思いたいところですが、違います。実は、スペイン語圏の中でもアルゼンチンだけは母方の姓をもらわずに、父方の姓だけを受け継ぐ習慣があるのです。だから、ホルヘ・ルイス＝ボルヘスではなく、ホルヘ・ルイス・ボルヘスで問題ないということになります。

FT.com / Comment & analysis / Editorial comment - Inflation is good news for Japan

リンク: FT.com / Comment & analysis / Editorial comment - Inflation is good news for Japan.

Hooray for inflation! Rapid rises in the price of food and oil, combined with a slowdown induced by the credit squeeze, are bad news for most of the world. But for Japan – mired in deflation for the best part of a decade – they are also an opportunity to establish expectations of a sustained rise in prices.

Much higher prices for spaghetti, gasoline and other foods and fuels caused Japan’s headline inflation rate to hit the dramatic high of 1.2 per cent in the year to March 2008. That is low compared with the 1-3 per cent range most developed country central banks are comfort­able with, but the highest inflation Japan has had for 10 years.

Higher commodity prices are, in themselves, bad for the Japanese economy. One yen now buys fewer goods; Japanese consumers and companies are now worse off. Core inflation excluding food and energy is still stagnant, up only 0.1 per cent on the previous year, although the trend remains gently upwards.

The rise in headline inflation is an opportunity, however, because it implies a fall in real interest rates. As long as nominal interest rates remain at 0.5 per cent then the real rate is negative, which should stimulate economic activity and create the expectations that prices will continue to rise in the future.

Iron Man - Movie - Review - The New York Times

リンク: Iron Man - Movie - Review - The New York Times.

There’s some of that too, of course. The hero must flex and furrow his brow; the bad guy must glower and scheme; the girl must shriek and fret. There should also be a skeptical but supportive friend. Those are the rules of the genre, as unbreakable as the pseudoscientific principles that explain everything (An arc reactor! Of course!) and the Law of the Bald Villain. In “Iron Man” it all plays out more or less as expected, from the trial-and-error building of the costume to the climactic showdown, with lots of flying, chasing and noisemaking in between. (I note that there is one sharp, subversive surprise right at the very end.)

What is less expected is that Mr. Favreau, somewhat in the manner of those sly studio-era craftsmen who kept their artistry close to the vest so the bosses wouldn’t confiscate it, wears the genre paradigm as a light cloak rather than a suit of iron. Instead of the tedious, moralizing, pop-Freudian origin story we often get in the first installments of comic-book-franchise movies — childhood trauma; identity crisis; longing for justice versus thirst for revenge; wake me up when the explosions start — “Iron Man” plunges us immediately into a world that crackles with character and incident.

BBC NEWS | Europe | Georgia-Russia tensions ramped up

リンク: BBC NEWS | Europe | Georgia-Russia tensions ramped up.

Russia has warned it will retaliate if Georgia uses force against its breakaway regions.

Moscow has accused Georgia of preparing to invade Abkhazia, and says it is boosting Russian forces there and in the South Ossetia region.

Georgia has reacted angrily to the Russian move, which its prime minister called  irresponsible .

The EU also urged caution, saying to increase troop numbers would be unwise given current tensions.

Russia s foreign minister said his country was not preparing for war but would  retaliate  against any attack.

Russia says Georgia is massing 1,500 soldiers and police in the upper Kodori Gorge, the only part of Abkhazia which remains under government control.

Wright Says Criticism Is Attack on Black Church - New York Times

リンク: Wright Says Criticism Is Attack on Black Church - New York Times.

Historically, he said, when black people were prohibited from meeting in groups, they did so anyway “out of the eyesight and earshot of those who defined them as less than human.”

The result was that black churches, which have existed in America since the 1600s, were “invisible to the dominant culture.” Because of slavery and racial discrimination, he said, black churches focused on the themes of liberation and transformation.

“The black church’s role in the fight for equality and justice from the 1700s to 2008 has always had as its core the non-negotiable doctrine of reconciliation, children of God repenting for past sins against each other,” he said.

As a result of this background and the unfamiliarity of many white people with black preaching, he said, some might find his sermons unsettling. He also noted that the widely circulated clips of his remarks were only short snippets lifted out of the context of much longer, closely reasoned arguments.

“We root out any teaching of superiority, inferiority, hatred or prejudice,” he said. “And we recognize that for the first time in modern history, in the West, that the other who stands before us with a different color of skin, a different texture of hair, different music, different preaching styles and different dance moves; that other is one of God’s children just as we are, no better, no worse, prone to error and in need of forgiveness just as we are.”

痛いニュース ﾉ∀` :【聖火リレー】 ビートたけし、欽ちゃんを痛烈批判 「この人おかしいよ。お笑いなのに愛と涙ばっかりで、インチキくせえ。国に媚びる芸人なんて面白くない」

リンク: 痛いニュース ﾉ∀` :【聖火リレー】 ビートたけし、欽ちゃんを痛烈批判 「この人おかしいよ。お笑いなのに愛と涙ばっかりで、インチキくせえ。国に媚びる芸人なんて面白くない」.

北京五輪の聖火リレーで萩本欽一さんに何か投げ付けられたってね。 オイラは「聖火持って逃げろ」とか言ってたんだけど。 あの人は何でやんないかな？バカだな〜

オレだったら絶対、火を消したり間違って水の中に落っこちたり、
ギャグしか考えないけどな。お笑いなんだから。

この人おかしいよ。お笑いのくせに、愛と涙ばっかりしやがって。
インチキくせえことばっかり。お笑いなのに何にもギャグやんないんだから。

この人チャップリンに憧れててさ、「愛と感動の」なんて言うんだったら、
今回の聖火ランナーになるのはおかしいよな？
チベットの人権問題を考えれば。

例えばジャージをパッと脱いだらその下に「チベットを救え！」とか書いておくとか、
そういうパフォーマンスでもしてくれないとちっとも面白くねぇし。

大体お笑いなんて反逆的なことじゃない？
国に媚びるような芸人なんて面白くない。
そういうのは星野仙一さんに任せておけばいいんだよ。
【4月29日付、東京スポーツ掲載】

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran calls for ban on Barbie doll

リンク: BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran calls for ban on Barbie doll.

Iran s top prosecutor has called for restrictions in the import of Western toys, saying they have a destructive effect on the country s youth.

The Prosecutor General, Ghorban Ali Dori Najafabadi, said that toys such as Barbie, Batman, and Harry Potter would have negative social consequences.

Mr Najafabadi wants measures taken to protect what he called Iran s Islamic culture and revolutionary values.

Correspondents say Western culture is becoming increasingly popular in Iran.

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Free Tibet flags made in China

リンク: BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific |  Free Tibet  flags made in China.

Police in southern China have discovered a factory manufacturing Free Tibet flags, media reports say.

The factory in Guangdong had been completing overseas orders for the flag of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

Workers said they thought they were just making colourful flags and did not realise their meaning.

But then some of them saw TV images of protesters holding the emblem and they alerted the authorities, according to Hong Kong s Ming Pao newspaper.

Torch Nears, Posing Test of Autonomy in Hong Kong - New York Times

リンク: Torch Nears, Posing Test of Autonomy in Hong Kong - New York Times.

The Olympic torch relay coming here on Friday, the first on Chinese soil, is turning into a broader struggle over Hong Kong’s evolving role as an autonomous territory of China.

British dealers supply arms to Iran | World news | The Observer

リンク: British dealers supply arms to Iran | World news | The Observer.

Investigators have identified a number of British arms dealers trading with Tehran, triggering alarm among government officials who fear Iran's nuclear programme may be receiving significant support from UK sources.

The probe by customs officers suggests that at least seven Britons have been defying sanctions by supplying the Iranian air force, its elite Revolutionary Guard Corps, and even the country's controversial nuclear ambitions.

Film Legend Charlton Heston Dead at 83 - washingtonpost.com

リンク: Film Legend Charlton Heston Dead at 83 - washingtonpost.com.

"Charlton Heston was seen by the world as larger than life. He was known for his chiseled jaw, broad shoulders and resonating voice, and, of course, for the roles he played," Heston's family said in a statement. "No one could ask for a fuller life than his. No man could have given more to his family, to his profession, and to his country." Heston revealed in 2002 that he had symptoms consistent with Alzheimer's disease, saying, "I must reconcile courage and surrender in equal measure."

Seven Deadly Words of Book Reviewing - Paper Cuts - Books - New York Times Blog

リンク: Seven Deadly Words of Book Reviewing - Paper Cuts - Books - New York Times Blog.

Like all professions book reviewing has a lingo. Out of laziness, haste or a misguided effort to sound “literary,” reviewers use some words with startling predictability. Each of these seven entries is a perfectly good word (well, maybe not eschew), but they crop up in book reviews with wearying regularity. To little avail, admonitions abound. “The best critics,” Follett writes, “are those who use the plainest words and who make their taste rational by describing actions rather than by reporting or imputing feelings.” Now, the list:

McEwan's pebbles back on beach | UK news | The Guardian

リンク: McEwan's pebbles back on beach | UK news | The Guardian.

McEwan was too busy to take them back in person but entrusted them to a film crew visiting his home, and yesterday the pebbles were returned. "I was not aware of having committed a crime," he said. "Chesil Beach is beautiful and I'm delighted to return the shingle to it."

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | China to let diplomats into Tibet

リンク: BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | China to let diplomats into Tibet.

China will take a handful of foreign diplomats to Tibet, following widespread criticism of Beijing's crackdown on Tibetan protests. The UK, France and the US are among the countries invited on a two-day trip to the Tibetan capital Lhasa - the first since anti-China riots broke out there.

新銀行東京：大前研一氏に聞く 「成り立たぬ」に耳貸さず - 毎日ｊｐ(毎日新聞)

リンク: 新銀行東京：大前研一氏に聞く　「成り立たぬ」に耳貸さず - 毎日ｊｐ(毎日新聞).

経営危機に陥った「新銀行東京」の原型となる銀行設立構想を石原慎太郎・東京都知事に提案した経営コンサルタントの大前研一氏が毎日新聞の取材に応じ「やってはいけないことに手を付けた石原氏の責任は重い」と指摘した。当初、都の膨大な運用資金をメーンバンクの破綻から守る目的で準備を始めたが、知事の一声で「生業（なりわい）として成り立たない」（大前氏）中小・ベンチャー企業支援に舵（かじ）を切ったという。

'Special relationship' dies under Gordon Brown - Telegraph

リンク: 'Special relationship' dies under Gordon Brown - Telegraph.

A senior official in the British Embassy has revealed that the phrase, long an emblem of Britain's quest for special status in Washington, has fallen out of favour. Diplomats instead refer to a "close bilateral relationship" that is only "one of the most important relationships for Britain." British and American officials have told The Sunday Telegraph that the change in approach by the prime minister has dramatically cooled the close comradeship of the Blair years and left room for French President Nicolas Sarkozy to fill the role of most prominent European ally.

During Visit, Pelosi Offers Support to Dalai Lama - New York Times

リンク: During Visit, Pelosi Offers Support to Dalai Lama - New York Times.

“If freedom-loving people throughout the world do not speak out against China’s oppression in China and Tibet, we have lost all moral authority to speak on behalf of human rights anywhere in the world,” Ms. Pelosi, Democrat of California, told an overwhelmingly Tibetan audience of around 2,000 people in the courtyard of the town’s main temple, Tsulakhang.

The visit by Ms. Pelosi, accompanied by nine other members of Congress, most of them Democrats, was arranged some time ago as part of a visit to India. As it happened, though, it came on the heels of the largest protests in Tibet in nearly two decades, followed by a broad crackdown by China, and almost nonstop demonstrations in solidarity in this city, where the Tibetan government in exile has its base.

斉藤史

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | China's quandary over Tibet's future

リンク: BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | China's quandary over Tibet's future.

The Dalai Lama calls not for independence, but for greater autonomy within China. There are various formal frameworks through which that could be achieved.

The one-country, two-systems model devised for Taiwan is one possibility.

So far, that has gone well in Hong Kong - although Hong Kong and Tibet are at very different stages of development.

Apple may offer music subscription service - Los Angeles Times

リンク: Apple may offer music subscription service - Los Angeles Times.

Subscribers pay a monthly fee for unlimited access to music, which they can download or stream. Each downloaded song is available for 30 days, or until the subscription lapses.

There's been speculation in the past that Apple might offer a music subscription service. But in recent months, Apple has begun to talk with the music companies about a two-pronged approach similar to one offered by Nokia, the cellphone handset maker, said a person familiar with the discussions.

Authorities in Lhasa parade 'repentant rioters' on TV | World news | The Guardian

リンク: Authorities in Lhasa parade 'repentant rioters' on TV | World news | The Guardian.

The Pope said yesterday he was following events with "trepidation", and called for dialogue: "Violence does not solve problems, but only aggravates them." Benedict has sought to improve relations with Beijing since his accession and last year said he sought to restore full diplomatic ties with Beijing, severed shortly after the Communists took power in 1949.

Protests Reflect Two Approaches: Solemn and Furious - washingtonpost.com

リンク: Protests Reflect Two Approaches: Solemn and Furious - washingtonpost.com.

The uprising in Tibet has thrown into stark relief the impatience of some Tibetans with the path of moderation followed by the Dalai Lama, the Nobel Peace Prize winner who has said he does not support Tibetan independence from China. Younger Tibetans, in particular, are growing increasingly edgy about what they see as Tibetan passivity, even if they remain bound by their devotion to and respect for the Dalai Lama.

Protesters who favor a more aggressive approach have been agitating for years, but they say this time is different because of the severity of the situation. Dharmsala is plastered with grisly pictures of monks' corpses in Tibet -- victims, exiles say, of the Chinese crackdown. The images have been enlarged and put onto placards, which people carry through the streets.

栗木京子

In Tibetan Areas, Parallel Worlds Now Collide - New York Times

リンク: In Tibetan Areas, Parallel Worlds Now Collide - New York Times.

Asked if Tibetans in this part of Qinghai Province in China’s rugged west had benefited from jobs at the factory, a man sitting nearby shook his head and launched into a litany about preferential treatment that he said was systematically given to members of the country’s Han Chinese majority.

“Tibetans get the low-income and the hard-labor jobs, and although there are some Han who make the same as us, most of those who were brought in by the boss make twice as much money,” the man said. “They’re all paid as technicians, even though some of them really don’t know anything.”

Caidan said there was only one solution to the problem: allowing the return from exile of Tibet’s  spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. “We are unhappy that the state suppresses us, and as long as the Dalai isn’t allowed to return, we will remain unhappy,” he said. “Tibet is the Dalai’s home.”

After decades of heavily financed Chinese efforts to strengthen its control over Tibet and to tame the country’s far west through gigantic infrastructure projects and resettlement of Han Chinese from the east, the outbreak of protests and riots and a fierce crackdown by Chinese security forces in and around Tibet have laid bare a harsh reality of policy failure.

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Olympics crisis over squat loos

リンク: BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Olympics crisis over squat loos.

"Most of the Chinese people are used to the squat toilet, but nowadays more and more people demand sit-down toilets," said Mr Yao.

"However, it will take some time for this transition."

He said that the proportion of squat toilets to sit-down facilities would vary depending on the nature of each venue.

But he said most of the lavatories at the 91,000-seat National Stadium - known as the Bird's Nest, the Water Cube and the National Indoor Stadium "should be" sit-down style.

五味保義

佐藤佐太郎

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Protesters 'surrender in Tibet'

リンク: BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Protesters 'surrender in Tibet'.

"We are in the midst of a fierce struggle involving blood and fire, a life and death struggle with the Dalai clique," he told a meeting of regional leaders on Wednesday.

The Dalai Lama - who in 1989 won a Nobel Peace Prize for his commitment to non-violent protest - has strongly rejected Chinese claims of involvement and called for calm.

"Violence is against human nature," the Dalai Lama said. "We must not develop anti-Chinese feelings. Whether we like it or not we have to live side-by-side."

He has called for an international inquiry into why the riots took place.

Queenfish: A Cold War Tale - New York Times

リンク: Queenfish: A Cold War Tale - New York Times.

Another danger was that the sub might simply be frozen in place with no way out and no way to call for help as food and other supplies dwindled.

The Queenfish at one point became stuck in a dead end. The rescue took an hour and tense backtracking out of what had threatened to become an icy tomb.

“I still dream about it every other week,” Dr. McLaren, 75, the book’s author, recalled in an interview. “It was hairy.” The University of Alabama Press is publishing his recollections of the secret voyage.

In Most Species, Faithfulness Is a Fantasy - New York Times

リンク: In Most Species, Faithfulness Is a Fantasy - New York Times.

Even the “oldest profession” that figured so prominently in Mr. Spitzer’s demise is old news. Nonhuman beings have been shown to pay for sex, too. Reporting in the journal Animal Behaviour, researchers from Adam Mickiewicz University and the University of South Bohemia described transactions among great grey shrikes, elegant raptorlike birds with silver capes, white bellies and black tails that, like 90 percent of bird species, form pair bonds to breed. A male shrike provisions his mate with so-called nuptial gifts: rodents, lizards, small birds or large insects that he impales on sticks. But when the male shrike hankers after extracurricular sex, he will offer a would-be mistress an even bigger kebab than the ones he gives to his wife — for the richer the offering, the researchers found, the greater the chance that the female will agree to a fly-by-night fling.

「政治的に正しいこと」は正しいのか？ (内田樹の研究室)

リンク: 「政治的に正しいこと」は正しいのか？ (内田樹の研究室).

要するに、PC的なことを大声で言うやつは総じて頭が悪いということである。
頭が悪いことと邪悪なことではどちらがより有害であるかについては意見の分かれるところであるが、アナトール・フランスはこの論件についてたいへん適切な言葉を残している。
「邪悪な人間はときどき邪悪でなくなることがあるが、愚鈍な人間はつねに愚鈍なままである。」

Tibet witnesses describe 'mayhem everywhere' - Los Angeles Times

リンク: Tibet witnesses describe 'mayhem everywhere' - Los Angeles Times.
Authorities blamed the violence on a "small clique" of Dalai Lama supporters who the government says instigated chaos to steal China's Olympic thunder. The Nobel laureate, who fled Tibet in 1959 following a failed uprising and runs an exile government in India, has denied any role in inciting the violence.

China's critics blame the unrest and the underlying ethnic tension on what they call the Communist regime's long-standing policy of cultural and economic strangulation, which they say has pushed Tibetans to the breaking point.

"Although we have seen years of investment in Tibet, the vast majority of Tibetans are severely disadvantaged both socially and economically by inadequate education and health care so that they cannot compete with the growing number of Chinese migrants coming in," said Kate Saunders, communications director for the London-based International Campaign for Tibet.

BBC NEWS | Business | Markets rattled by bank worries

リンク: BBC NEWS | Business | Markets rattled by bank worries.

US President George Bush attempted to reassure investors on Monday.

"We are in challenging times," Mr Bush said at a press conference.

But he added that the US authorities were "on top of the situation" but "when need be, will act decisively, in a way that continues to bring order to the financial markets."

"In the long run, our economy is going to be fine".

Under scrutiny after the steep fall in its share price, Lehman Brothers also attempted to reassure investors on Monday about its financial situation.

"Our liquidity position has been and continues to be very strong," Lehman Brothers said in a statement.

Asian stocks also fell, with Tokyo's Nikkei average closing 3.7% lower and Hong Kong's Hang Seng slumping 5.2%.

China Defends Response in Tibet - New York Times

リンク: China Defends Response in Tibet - New York Times.

For China, the timing of the unrest in Tibet has drawn unwelcome attention to some of the longstanding tensions in the country at a time when the ruling Communist Party is planning a show of unity and harmony during the Olympics.

China says Tibet has been part of its territory for hundreds of years, but Beijing has exerted full control only since 1950, when Communist troops invaded the region.

The catalyst for last week’s violence was a series of pro-independence protests led by Buddhist monks to mark the 49th anniversary of a failed uprising that forced the Dalai Lama into exile.

Now China is under international pressure to avoid further bloodshed or a heavy-handed crackdown in Tibet.

Beijing seals off Tibet as deadline for protesters passes | World news | guardian.co.uk

リンク: Beijing seals off Tibet as deadline for protesters passes | World news | guardian.co.uk.

It s awful ... there are armed tanks rolling down the street. There appears to be a curfew here as hardly anyone is on the streets, apart from a lot of army men in riot gear,  the witness told the AFP news agency.

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Q&A: China and Tibet

リンク: BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Q&A: China and Tibet.

Will there be further protests?

Probably. The fundamental cause of the demonstrations has not been resolved and so tension will persist. Also, the Olympics will be held in Beijing this summer. Campaigners both inside and outside China have already started using the publicity surrounding the event to highlight their particular concerns. It is highly likely that those who want greater autonomy for Tibet will continue their campaign. One potential flash point could come when the Olympic torch arrives in Tibet in a few weeks' time.

'Green Berets' author also wrote 'French Connection' - Los Angeles Times

リンク: 'Green Berets' author also wrote 'French Connection' - Los Angeles Times.

Robin Moore, a nonfiction author best known for writing "The French Connection" and "The Green Berets," has died after a long illness. He was 82.

Moore died Thursday  at a hospital in southwestern

Kentucky

, Dennis Monroe of Lamb Funeral Home told the Associated Press.

Born Robert L. Moore Jr., he wrote several books under the pen name Robin Moore.

"The French Connection," published in 1969, was about a

New York

drug bust. It inspired a 1971 film that won five Academy Awards, including best picture.

"The Green Berets," published in 1965, became a bestseller and was made into a movie starring

John Wayne

in 1968.

Moore also co-wrote with the late singer Barry Sadler "The Ballad of the Green Berets," which became the signature song of the Special Forces unit.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Fossil frogs yield 'soft tissues'

リンク: BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Fossil frogs yield 'soft tissues'.

The specimens were found in Spain

Scientists have extracted marrow from the bones of frogs andsalamanders that died 10 million years ago in the muddy swamps of

The first fossilised bone marrow known to science provides a rare insight into the make-up of prehistoric animals.

It is preserved in remarkable detail; usually only hard tissue such as bone survives in the fossil record.

The soft tissue may yield traces of protein and DNA, researchers report in the journal Geology.

Bone marrow is the tissue that fills the centre of large bones, acting as a factory for producing new platelets and red and white blood cells.

There are two types: haematopoietic (which can produce blood cells) and stromal (which can produce fat, cartilage and bone).

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Frog from hell fossil unearthed

リンク: BBC NEWS | Science/Nature |  Frog from hell  fossil unearthed.

Frog from hell  fossil unearthed Artist s impression of the  frog from hell

Enlarge Image
A 70-million-year-old fossil of a giant frog has been unearthed in Madagascar by a team of UK and US scientists.

The creature would have been the size of a  squashed beach ball  and weighed about 4kg  9lb , the researchers said.

They added that the fossil, nicknamed Beelzebufo or  frog from hell , was  strikingly different  from present-day frogs found on the island nation.

US and EU powers to recognise Kosovan statehood | World news | guardian.co.uk

リンク: US and EU powers to recognise Kosovan statehood | World news | guardian.co.uk.

Britain, France, Germany and the US today said they would recognise Kosovo after its declaration of independence, but Spain broke ranks by saying it would withhold its endorsement.

The announcements by the French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, and the British foreign secretary, David Miliband, at an EU foreign ministerial meeting in Brussels, came as a relief for Pristina after Spain punctured Kosovo s euphoria.

The US president, George Bush, hailed Kosovo s historic bid for statehood and the US government extended formal recognition to it as  a sovereign and independent state .

The establishment of these relations will reaffirm the special ties of friendship that have linked together the people of the United States and Kosovo,  the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, said in a statement.

Serbia has tonight reacted to the news by recalling its US ambassador.

However, Spain which is grappling with its Basque problem, fears Kosovo s unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia sets a bad precedent for other countries facing separatist movements.

The government of Spain will not recognise the unilateral act proclaimed yesterday by the assembly of Kosovo,  the foreign minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, told reporters.

We will not recognise because we consider ... this does not respect international law.

Cyprus, Greece, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania have indicated they too are not keen to recognise Kosovo.

Bush is due to make an official statement about Kosovo tomorrow, in line with the original script which calls for the EU to go first in announcing its policy on what the west insists is a  European issue .

Kosovo Declares Its Independence From Serbia - New York Times

リンク: Kosovo Declares Its Independence From Serbia - New York Times.

The province of Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on Sunday, sending tens of thousands of ethnic Albanians streaming through the streets to celebrate what they hoped was the end of a long and bloody struggle for national self-determination.

BBC NEWS | Business | Google troubled by Microsoft move

リンク: BBC NEWS | Business | Google troubled by Microsoft move.

Microsoft is keen to better compete with Google

Google has said it finds Microsoft's $44.6bn (£22.65bn) bid to buy
rival Yahoo "troubling" and wants regulators to scrutinise the proposed
deal.

In a blog, Google said the tie-up could unfairly limit the ability of consumers to freely access competitors' email and instant messaging services.

Shinya Yamanaka - Stem Cells - Science - Risk Taking Is in His Genes - New York Times

リンク: Shinya Yamanaka - Stem Cells - Science - Risk Taking Is in His Genes - New York Times.

Dr. Yamanaka was an assistant professor of pharmacology doing research involving embryonic stem cells when he made the social call to the clinic about eight years ago. At the friend’s invitation, he looked down the microscope at one of the human embryos stored at the clinic. The glimpse changed his scientific career.

“When I saw the embryo, I suddenly realized there was such a small difference between it and my daughters,” said Dr. Yamanaka, 45, a father of two and now a professor at the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences at Kyoto University. “I thought, we can’t keep destroying embryos for our research. There must be another way.”

日米の研究チーム、ヒトの皮膚から万能細胞の培養に成功 | WIRED VISION

リンク: 日米の研究チーム、ヒトの皮膚から万能細胞の培養に成功 | WIRED VISION.

生物学的錬金術が先例のない飛躍を見せた。2つの研究チームが、ヒトの皮膚細胞を、物議をかもしている胚性幹細胞(ES細胞)と同様の医学的有望性を秘めた幹細胞に変化させることに成功したのだ。

京都大学の山中伸弥教授[山中氏に関しては、カリフォルニア大学サンフランシスコ校の教授になるという8月16日付けのプレスリリースがある]と、ウィスコンシン大学のJunying Yu氏が それぞれ率いる研究チームは、4種類の新しい遺伝子を、ウイルスを使って皮膚細胞に組み込んだ。この操作によって再プログラム化された細胞は、人体のほと んどすべての種類の細胞に変化できる性質を持つようになった。これはES細胞と同様の性質で、将来は変性疾患の治療、新しい臓器の培養、手足の代替にまで 利用される可能性がある。

カリフォルニア州のクローニング企業、米Advanced Cell Technologies社のチーフ・サイエンティストであるRobert Lanza氏は、「幹細胞の新時代の始まりだ」と述べた。「探し求めていたものだ。鉛を金に変えるようなものだ」

今回の技術の本質は、成熟した細胞を胚のような状態に戻すところにある。

FujiSankei Business i. なるほど講座／皮膚からの万能細胞

リンク: FujiSankei Business i.　なるほど講座／皮膚からの万能細胞　.

　万能細胞はこれまでも「ＥＳ（Ｅｍｂｒｙｏｎｉｃ　Ｓｔｅｍ＝胚性幹）細胞」と呼ばれるものがありました。しかし、ＥＳ細胞は受精卵から作る必要があ り、赤ちゃんになる受精卵を壊すため、中絶を許さないキリスト教の倫理観からブッシュ米大統領をはじめ強い抵抗が示されていました。

　しかし、今回は皮膚から作り出したことでこの倫理問題に加え、自分の細胞を利用するため免疫問題もクリア。同大統領も祝福しています。

　山中教授は昨年、皮膚細胞を分化前の状態に初期化する遺伝子を用いて、マウスの皮膚細胞から万能細胞を作ることに世界で初めて成功。今回、この手法を用いてヒトの皮膚細胞でも成功しました。

Obama and Clinton Seek a Softer Tone in Democratic Presidential Debate - New York Times

リンク: Obama and Clinton Seek a Softer Tone in Democratic Presidential Debate - New York Times.

The three top Democrats in the presidential field, from left, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Edwards, Tuesday night in Las Vegas.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Apple announces ultra-thin laptop

リンク: BBC NEWS | Technology | Apple announces ultra-thin laptop.

Mr Jobs also announced a wireless back-up system called Time Capsule, offering a combined wi-fi router and hard drive.

New software for the iPhone was unveiled, including an update to Maps, which can plot the phone owner's spot on a map without using GPS.

Apple announced it had sold four million iPhones in the first 200 days on sale, putting it on target to sell 10 million by the end of 2008.