2008年4月6日日曜日

Vol.41 The fat, poor, and uneducated

As I already dealed with relationship between "the fat and the poor" a few times,
backed up by findings related to them spring up all over the place on the Internet.


Today's an article say that the poor are for the most part uneducated as well as fat.
I am afraid that the day will come when even if those who graduated from universities will have difficulty in finding work, much less uneducated people.
And it will be more and more dificcult to work as a fulltime-worker because the number of temp staff has been increasing.




I wish goverment would give us a variety of benefits like a piece of good news that Gasoline was reduced in price.
I want to feel hopeful in the future even if only slightly.


# インターネット上で続々と登場する
spring up all over the place on the Internet


********************************
日本人みんながみんなお金持ちである必要はないと思います。
年収一千万だなんて言わない。
せめて各自が年収300万くらいの収入で、
ちょっとくらいは未来に希望を抱きながら暮らすことのできる、
そんな日本になってほしいと自分は思います。

nikukyu



↓をクリックして他のブログも見に行ってみよう!
にほんブログ村 英語ブログ 英語の日記へ

Vol.40 The fish and the Forest through the Bear

Do you know the movement "The forest is lover of the sea"?
They both are seemingly unrelated things,
but they have a big effect on each other.


One day the fish in the Hokkaido sea dramatically decreased.
Because the sea weed on which the fish lay eggs had disappeared due to deforestation.
The deforestation prevented the river from carrying nutrients of the forest into the ocean.
It was not until this kind of problems occurred that the fishermen realized the value of a connection between the forest and the sea.


The fishermen who have a sense of crisis about the serious situation began to forest upstream of the mountains. This movement is causing an increase in number of the fish little by little.



On the contrary, the nutrients from the sea are delivered through the salmons to the forest.
Refer to this web.





# 一見無関係に見える二つの問題
two seemingly unrelated cases

# 水面に産卵する
lay eggs on water

# 状況に対する危機感を抱く
have a sense of crisis about the situation

それとは逆に、多くの消費者にとって家庭用電化製品や衣料品では品質がより重要でした。
On the contrary, quality was more important to many consumers for home electric appliances and articles of clothing.

**********************************
森と海。
一見遠い関係のように見えて、実は両者は切っても切れない関係にある両者。
魚が減ったのは産卵する昆布が減ったため。
その昆布が減るようになったのは上流地域の森林伐採が進み、
その影響で川が森の養分を海に運べなくなったからだという。

一方で、養分に富む海で大きく育ったサケは産卵のために遡上し、一生を終える。
このときサケが運ぶ栄養素や熱量は相当な量に上るようだ。

nikukyu



↓をクリックして他のブログも見に行ってみよう!
にほんブログ村 英語ブログ 英語の日記へ

2008年4月5日土曜日

Vol.39 Why are the poor fat?

The other day I wrote an article about my concern for the future food safety.
But I had mistakenly thought that I had interest in the problem.
Actually, I am worried about a question about why are the poor fat?




I cannot expalin well in English to you why the poor are fat while the rich are thin.
So please refer to this web.
I tried to get more detailed information on a problem called "food divide".
But unfortunatelly, few website takes up this problem in Japan.



On the other hand, this discussion seems to be vigorously discussed in America.
Here are good references.
The new face of poverty is fat
Healthy Eating--It'll Cost You!
Why is it so expensive to be healthy?

I have not overviewed them yet, but I am going to understand what an actual example in America gives us in Japan.


# すでに述べたように
as I have already stated // as before // as has been mentioned

# もう少し詳しく
in a little more detail

# 問題を取り上げる
take up a problem // take up a subject

# 活発に議論される
be vigorously discussed

# 電信振替で支払いをすることからどのような問題が起こり得るか?
What problems can ensue by paying through electronic transfer of funds?


**************************
アメリカでは貧困と肥満が密接な関係にあるらしい。
過去にアジアの途上国を旅行したことがあるが、驚いたことに
貧しい田舎に住んでいる人たちほど、
貧乏でも肥満体型の人が多かった。
日本ではその傾向があてはまるかどうかはわからないが、
日本も今後アメリカと同じような流れになるのではないかと思う。
つまり、健康意識の高い裕福な層のみが割高な健康食品やオーガニック食品を購入したり、
エステやジム通いに投資することができ、健康でスリムな体をつくりやすくなる。
貧しい層は、いくら健康やダイエットに関心があってもそれを支払らえるだけの経済力がないので、ファーストフードなどの安価なジャンクフードに頼ってしまいがちになる。
そうなると長寿国日本がトップから転落する日も近いのかもしれません。

nikukyu


↓をクリックして他のブログも見に行ってみよう!
にほんブログ村 英語ブログ 英語の日記へ

2008年4月4日金曜日

Vol.38 Why sunglasses at night?

In Tokyo there are some young people wearing sunglasses even at night.
For what?
Why do you think that is?



I guess, a leading reason for them to wear it is because they think it cool to do so.
They are acting like stars?
Or they want to avoid being seen by others.


In their senses of values they seem to put more importance on fashion than on risk when they walk in the street and drive a car.


I have no idea what young people are thinking about...although I am still young.





# (人)が仕事を辞める一番の理由
leading reason for someone to quit work

# 有名人になりきる
act like a star

# 財政散布よりも財政規律を重んじる
put more importance on fiscal discipline than on spending more



**************************************
夜なのにサングラスをかけて外出している若者をよく見かけます。
何か目に病気でもあるのなら致し方ないと思いますが、
何か人目を避けたい理由があるのか、
あるいは単にファッションとしてサングラスを好んでいるだけなのでしょうか?
サングラスを装着して歩いたり、車や自転車を運転したら、絶対に危ないと思うのですが。
彼らの価値観では「危険<ファッション」という図式なのでしょうね。
いずれにせよ、自分には到底理解できないです・・・。

nikukyu


↓をクリックして他のブログを見に行ってみよう!
にほんブログ村 英語ブログ 英語の日記へ

2008年4月3日木曜日

Vol.37 Educational Ambassador and Cloned cows

A famous pro-wrestler Kobahi Kenta, who came back to the ring after he overcame his cancer was designated as "Education Ambassador" by his hometown Fukuchiyama city.



I respect the way he lives at the bottom of my heart.
I hope that he will keep on creating a positive impression on us.







An article in today's paper is as follows;
The source of Japan times.


Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Meat, milk from cloned cattle are safe: institute
Kyodo News

A government-run agricultural organization has concluded there is no biological difference in the quality of meat and milk between products from next-generation cloned cows and those from conventionally bred ones, sources said Tuesday.

The conclusion could lead to a lifting of a de facto ban on meat and milk from cloned cows on the domestic market. The findings are contained in a report compiled by the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, which is affiliated with the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry.

The institute, based in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, conducted the research on the safety of next-generation cloned cows born through artificial insemination using sperm from cloned cows.

The farm and health ministries will shortly ask the Cabinet Office's Food Safety Commission to evaluate the safety of meat and milk from next-generation cloned cows, which are defined as those born from cows cloned from somatic cells using the sperm of cloned cows, they said.

If the commission endorses the institute's conclusion, the ministries would most likely lift the ban on such products for human consumption, the sources said.

A cow cloned from somatic cells, which has similar genetic characteristics to its parent, can be used to make an identical copy of a cow that produces excellent-quality meat. But many consumer groups have expressed concern about the safety of meat and milk from cloned cows.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration announced in January that meat and milk from cloned animals are as safe for human consumption as products from conventionally bred animals. But the Agriculture Department has urged animal cloning companies to extend a voluntary moratorium on their sale.

No such products have been imported from the U.S.

In Japan, meat and milk from cloned cows are produced at experimental farm facilities on a test basis.



In my opinion, these cloned beef are acceptable to the poor.
I mean, if they can have an advantage like buying it for less than conventional price.
Because I consider myself as a person of the poor, so I expect that some of the poor will be willingly to buy it.



I am afraid the day the rich donot take the risk to buy cloned food but the poor have no choice but buy it will come before long.
The rich can eat anything healthy and safety as long as they can pay, while the poor must eat something cheap like GM foods and cloned foods and so on.



# 病気を克服する
get over an illness // recover from an attack of sickness

# 任命された大使
ambassador designate

# ~に感動を与える
make [create] a positive impression on // make [create] an impression on

恩恵を受ける
reap a benefit // receive benefit // receive favors

# 広告表示価格より安く買う
buy ~ for less than the advertised price

# あえて危険を冒す
take the risk



******************************
図書館で閉館時間まで勉強した後に、
コンビニで週間プロレスを一気に立ち読みする。
ほんのわずかの息抜きの時間。


さて、クローン牛肉やその加工食品が通常の牛肉と質的に何ら変わりないという報告。
一消費者としては人間が食用として摂取した際の人体への影響に不安がありますが、
もしクローン牛が価格面で従来のものと比較して大幅に安いというメリットがあれば、
特に自分のような味よりも安全性よりも、まず安さを求めざるをえない貧乏人にとっては
ある意味では家計を助けてくれる救世主になるのではないかなと。
経済的に豊かな人だけが安全で安心な食品を食べることができ、
そうでない人はほとんどGMやクローン食品などの毒に近いものしか食べざるをえない。
そういう時代が来るのではないかと心配しています。

nikukyu

にほんブログ村 英語ブログ 英語の日記へ

2008年4月2日水曜日

Vol.36 Plum tree and Gasoline price in the world

Yesterday on my way to a neaby library I saw a plum tree, not cherry blossom.



If these natural plants were not to be seen In Tokyo I would think it difficult to find something to tell us coming of spring.




by the way, I found an interesting figures about gasoline price in the world.


You will find the top the list as cheapest gasoline prices in Gulf countries and Iran.




* 梅の木は3月上旬まで見ごろです。
The plum trees will be in bloom until early March.

# 春の訪れ
coming of spring


************************************
昨日は早起きして勉強したせいか、昨夜は9時過ぎに寝てしまいました。
ちょっとだけ一眠りしようと思って、あえてジーパンをはいたまま寝たのですが、
結局そのまま朝を迎えることに・・・。
おかげで腰が痛いですw

やっぱり湾岸は石油が安い!

nikukyu

にほんブログ村 英語ブログ 英語の日記へ

2008年4月1日火曜日