幸福

那年，她十六岁，第一次喜欢上一个男生。他不算很高，斯斯文文的，但很喜欢踢足球，有着一把低沉的好嗓音，成绩很好，常是班上的第一名。虽然在当时，早恋已经不是什么大问题，女生追男生也不再是新闻，她更不是那种内向的女孩。但是她从来没有想过要向他表白，只是觉得，能一直这样远远地欣赏他，就很好了。那时， 她常常为在路上碰到他，打声招呼高兴个半天，常常放学也不回去，而是上运动场一圈又一圈地慢跑，只为了看他踢球。她还学着叠幸运星，每天在那小纸条上写一句想对他说的话，叠成小幸运星，快乐地放在大瓶子里。她常常看着他想，象他那样的男生，应该是会喜欢那种温柔体贴的女孩吧，那种有着一把乌黑的长长直直的头发，有着一双水汪汪的大眼睛，开心的时候会抿嘴一笑的女孩。她的头发很乌黑，但只短短的到耳际边，她有一双大眼睛，但常常因为大笑而眯成一条缝。她常常照着镜子想，如果有一天她成了那种女孩，他会不会喜欢上她。但想归想，她还是每个月都跑去理发店把稍微长长一点的头发剪短到耳际边，还是一遇到好笑的事情就哈哈大笑起来，笑得眼睛眯成一条缝。

她十九岁，考上一所不算很好但也不差的大学。他正常发挥，考去了另外一所城市的重点大学。她坐着火车离开这个生她养她的小城时，浮上心头的是她点点滴滴与他的回忆。大学生活是以二十几天艰苦的军训生活拉开序幕的。晚上临睡前，其他女生都躲在被窝里偷偷打电话跟男友互诉相思之情，她好多次按完那几个熟悉的数字键，始终没有按下那个呼叫键。十九年来，第一次知道什么叫思念，原来，思念就一种可以让人莫名其妙地掉下眼泪的力量。四年的大学生活不算太长，活泼可爱的她身边从来不缺乏追求者，但她却选择单身。好事者问起原因时，她总淡淡一笑，说∶ " 学业为重嘛。 " 她也确实在很努力地学习，只为了考他那所大学的研究生。四年来她的头发不断变长，她没有再剪短。一次旧同学聚会时，大家看到她时都眼前一亮，一把乌黑的长长直直的头发，水汪汪的大眼睛因恰到好处的眼影而更显光彩，白里透红的皮肤，时不时抿嘴一笑，都忍不出这是昔日的小活宝。他见到她时也不禁心神一动，但当时他的手正挽着另一个女子的纤纤细腰。她看着他身边那个比自己更温柔妩媚的女子，很好地掩饰了心里的一丝失落，只淡淡对他一笑，说，" 好久不见了。 "


她二十二岁，以第一名的成绩考上了他那所大学的研究生。他没有继续考研，进了一间外资企业，工作出色，年薪很快就达到了六位数。她继续过着单调甚至枯燥的学生生活，并且坚持单身。一次放假回家，一进门母亲就把她拉过一边，语重心长， " 女儿啊，读书是好事。但女人始终是要嫁人生子的，这才是归宿啊。" 她点了点头，进房间整理带回来的行李。先从箱子里拿出来的是一瓶满满的幸运星，摆在书架上。书架上一排幸运星的瓶子，都是满满的，刚好六瓶。她二十五岁，凭着重点大学的硕士学历和优秀的成绩，很快就找到一份很好的工作，月薪上万。他这时已自己开公司，生意越做越大。第三间分公司开业的时候，他跟一个副市长的千金结婚了，双喜临门。她出席了那场盛大的婚礼，听到旁边的人说起新郎年青有为，一表人才，新娘家世显赫，留洋归来，貌美如花，真是一对璧人。她看着他春风得意的笑脸，心里竟也荡起一种幸福的感觉，莫名的感觉，仿佛他身边那个笑容如花的女子就是自己一样。


她二十六岁，嫁给了公司的一个同事，两个人从相识到结婚不到半年的时间，短到她都不知道两人是否恋爱过。他们的婚礼在她的极力要求下搞得很简单，只邀请了几个至亲好友。当晚她喝了很多酒，第一次喝那么多酒，没有醉，却吐得一塌糊涂。她在洗手间看着镜子里那张在水汽蒸腾下逐渐模糊的脸，第一次有种想痛哭一场的冲动。但终于，她还是把妆补好后走出去继续扮演幸福新娘的角色。她的外套的衣袋里，有她早上仓促叠好的一颗幸运星，里面写着， " 今天，我嫁作他人妇了。可是我知道，我爱的是你。 "


她三十六岁，过着平静的小康生活。一日在街上巧遇一旧同学，闲聊起他，竟得知他生意失败，沉重打击后终日流连酒吧，妻离子散。她在找了好几天后终于在一间小酒吧找到他。她没有骂他，只是递给他一本存折，那里面是她所有的积蓄，然后对他说， " 我相信你可以重头再来的。 " 他打开存折，巨额的数字让他不可置信，那些所谓的亲朋好友在听到他说了 " 借钱 " 两个字就冷眼相向避而不见，她不过是一个快让他淡忘名字的老同学，却如此慷慨 大方？她依旧淡淡一笑，说， " 朋友不是应该互相帮助的吗。 " 当晚她的丈夫知道了后，一个重重的巴掌立刻甩了过来，大吼道∶ " 上百万一声不吭就全给了他，你是不是看上人家了！ " 她被那巴掌击倒在地，没流泪也没说话，更没有回答她丈夫的质问。虽然她从来没有向别人承认过她爱他，但她也决不会向别人否认她爱他。

 
她四十岁，那年他的公司已经成为同行业里最具竞争力的几间大公司之一。那晚他带着两百万和他的公司的百分之十股份转让书到她家。她的丈夫一边乐呵呵地说， " 不必这么客气嘛，朋友之间互相帮助是应该的， " 一边在股份转让书上签下名字。她没说什么，只说了句， " 不如留下来吃顿饭。 " 他没有不答应的理由。饭菜端上来时，他惊讶地发现自己最爱吃的几样菜都有。但他抬头看到她一脸恬静地为丈夫儿子夹菜时，心里一下释然，觉得是自己想多了。临走的时候他从口袋里拿出一张请贴，笑笑说∶ " 希望你们到时都可以来。 " 她以为是他又有分公司开业，不以为意，接过随手放在沙发上。送走他转身回厨房洗碗的时候，突然听到她丈夫大声说， " 人一有钱就风流这句话果然没错啊。看你这个旧同学，这么快又娶第二个了。 " 她的手一颤，被一个破碗的缺口划了一下，血一下子涌了出来，一滴接一滴不停往下滴。她看着那片泛着微红的水，突然想起十五年前那个笑容如花的女子那身婚纱，似乎就是这个颜色。


她五十五岁，一天突然在家里昏倒，被送去医院。一番检查后，医生脸色沉重，要把她丈夫叫到一边说话。她毕竟是个聪明的女人。叫住医生，她很认真地问， " 我还可以活几天？ " 三个月，电影里的桥段用得多了，没想到真应了人生如戏这句话。执意不肯住院，她回到家里开始为自己准备后事。一个人活了大半辈子，要交代的事多着。收到消息的亲朋好友纷纷赶来见最后一面。他是最后一个。她躺在床上，已经开始神智不清，但一看到他手上那刻幸运星，立刻清醒了过来，似是回光返照。 " 这是给我的吗？ " 她指了指那颗幸运星，脸上竟露出一丝笑容。他连忙回答， " 啊，是。是啊。这是我带来给你的。 " 真是无心插柳，这不过是他刚出机场时碰到那个为红十字筹款的小女孩送的，他当时急着来见她，接过来时都没看清是什么东西就赶着上车了，一路握着也不知觉。她接过那颗幸运星，紧握着放在胸前好一会不放。终于，她指了指旁边的桌子，那上面也放了一颗幸运星，那时她昨晚花了一个多小时才叠好的，缓缓对他说道∶ " 在我以前住的房子里，还有三十九罐幸运星。等我火化的时候，你把那些连同这两颗和我放在一
起，好吗？ " 他还没来得及回答，她已经合上眼睛，一脸安详。她火化那天，他按照她的遗愿把那些幸运星撒在她身上，三十九罐，不小心滚落一两颗在地也没人发现。他转身要走的时候，忽然发现地上还有两颗。拣起来，他想，算了，就当是留个纪念吧。


他七十岁。一天，他戴着老花眼镜在花园里看书时。四岁的小孙子突然拿着两张小纸条，兴冲冲地跑到他面前，嚷道， " 爷爷，爷爷，教我识字。 "他扶了扶眼镜，看清第一张小纸条上的字， " 杰，你今天穿的那身蓝色球服很好看哦。还有，6这个号码我也很喜欢，呵呵。 " 他皱了皱眉，问孙子， " 这两张小纸条你从哪里找来的？ "" 这不是纸条啊，这是你放在书桌上那两颗小星星啊。我拆开它，就发现里面有字了哦！ " 他一愣，再去看那第二张小纸条， " 杰，有一种幸福是有一个能让你不顾一切去爱他一辈子的人。 " 

 " 有一种幸福是有一个能让你不顾一切去爱他一辈子的人。 "
他念着，念着，泪流满面。

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故事之一：手中名片  　　  一对已结婚十多年的夫妻去城市的另一端看朋友，回来时天色已晚，又逢末班车， 丈夫说，咱俩从前后两个门挤上去吧，人太多了。妻子点头同意。从前门挤上车 的丈夫站在车厢中间，被一层层的人拥挤着，十分难受。忽然就有一只手悄悄地 抓住了他的手，凭感觉他知道那不是妻子的手，因为妻子的手肯定没有如此温热 、柔软、细腻而动人心魄……他真希望这车能一直不停地开下去，哪怕到天亮都 行。继而又想，这是一个什么样的女人呢？她怎么注意到我的？她叫什么名字呢 ？怎么样才能和她取得联系？忽然脑中灵光一闪，将自己的名片悄悄取出一张塞 在那只可爱的小手里。车终于到站了。丈夫恋恋不舍地下了车。从另一侧车门下 来的妻子看起来并没有觉察到什么。两个人横穿马路时，一辆摩托车疯也似地冲 过来，妻子稍稍犹豫了一下，还是用身体撞开了丈夫……丈夫抱起浑身是血的妻 子跑进医院，天亮的时候，医生出来告诉他，我们已经尽了力，你妻子只想见你 最后一面。丈夫走进病房时，妻子的一只手攥成了拳头，后来那只手像电影里的 慢镜头一样缓缓张开，丈夫的名片悄无声息地滑落下来……  　　听这个故事时大约是在十年前，那会儿我还是一个狂热的文  学爱好者，一位小有名气的作家似乎很赏识我的文字，在他家的  一个“沙龙”里，作家讲了这个故事。当时有一对青年夫妻，听  完故事后，那个妻子就愤愤地冲自己丈夫说，瞧你们男人这德性  ！倒是我这个初生牛犊不怕虎，我大声说：“其实这故事的悲剧  并不在于那男人，你想想，结婚十几年的夫妻了，如果妻子没事  时总和丈夫拉拉手握握手什么的，还至于他丈夫把自己妻子的手  当成别人的手吗？”这时，作家说，小老弟说得对，初听这故事  ，都会为这男人生气，可后来一想，他妻子也有责任。关于婚姻  的话题内容太广泛也太沉重，我们不能简单地肯定谁错谁对。大  家就都点头，我注意到那对小夫妻相偎相依，丈夫紧紧握着妻子  的手。[/color] [color=Purple]故事之二：一把锁和一把钥匙  故事的开头似乎是大家听了一千遍也都烦了腻了的那种。某  某男人原本贫困，下海后几经努力终于发了财。发了财就饱暖思  淫欲地越看自己原来的妻子越难看。男人说咱俩离了吧。女人开  始几次都不同意，后来说好吧，给我五万块我就离。男人就给了  女人五万块钱。两人又没有孩子，也就痛痛快快地分了手。分了  手之后的男人很是潇洒了一阵子。但没过多久他就厌烦了这种生  活。一天，他在雨中候车的时候发现了一个面貌姣好的女孩，女  孩也冲他点头微笑。他心中蓦然一动：好熟悉的眼光啊！后来他  们搭讪起来，然后开始约会，再后来他们就结了婚。婚后妻子除  了温柔体贴地照顾他之外，平时总是缠着他问他前妻的一些事，  每到这时候就令他不知说些什么才好。女人还保留了一个小小的  箱子和一把精致的钥匙，总不让男人看。直到有一天，女人卧床  不起，她把钥匙交给男人的手里时很平静地说，我死之后你可以  打开那个箱子啦。女人终于离开了人世，再次失去妻子的男人迫  不及待地打开了那个让他牵挂已久的箱子。箱子里只有一个厚厚  的日记本，日记本里记述了一个女人整容的前后过程。  　　讲这个故事的是我所熟悉而敬重的一位美容师，一位年过四  十却魅力四射的女人。当时在场的除了我之外还有一位据说资产  过亿元的私营企业家和他的女友。那天是一个周末，又是一个雨  天，我是为了给美容师的店铺设计标识才赶去的。我进屋子时美  容师正和她的几个学生给大款的女友做护肤。我听见大款对着美  容师发牢骚说，这年头啥都能整出假的来，没准哪天能整出一个  浑身上下都是代用品的美女来！看见我进来，美容师就停下手里  的活让我坐下来，然后不紧不慢地讲了上面的这个故事。大款听  了半晌不出声，倒是他的女友??一个娇小美丽的女孩脱口而出  ：多神奇的美容术啊！自己老公也认不出来，您告诉我那美容师  在哪儿，一次五万块够吧？美容师苦笑着摇摇头，又看了看我。  我们忽然听见大款很粗暴地吼了一声：少***出声吧你！那女  孩一下子噤了声，我们扭过头去，见大款走到窗前，盯着雨中自  己的奔驰车，脸色极是难看……。 [/color] [color=Red]故事之三：一只脚和两条性命  　　讲这个故事的是一位来自南方的朋友，现在在上海。他说这  个故事的背景可能是无锡，或者是一个类似的地方。是真事。女  的是一家电视台的女主持人，生得明眸皓齿落落大方，男人是一  个名声鹊起的青年作家。两人都还年轻，本不打算这么早就结了  婚，不料一不小心女方怀了孕，两人商量说还是先结了婚再说吧  ，两人就去登了记并选择了婚礼的日子，也怪女人天性太浪漫了  吧，女人坚持洞房花烛要在船上才浪漫。于是两人就搭乘了一艘  太湖的游船。半夜时分两人听见舱外许多异样的响声，接着广播  说船触了礁，并在下沉，请大家赶紧逃生吧。男人就拉着女人跳  出窗子扑进水里，那天夜里风高浪急，不怎么会游泳的女人只几  下子就呛了水，正在这时她看见男人游了过来。她想这下子可好  我丈夫来救我了，于是一把拉住男人的胳膊，夜色中的男人忽然  很凶恶地吼了一声：“快放开我！”女人还不知怎么回事时，男  人一脚踹在女人的胸口上，这一脚踹得女人万念俱灰。也许是命  不该绝吧，女人最终还是获救了。女人上岸后的第一件事就是和  那男人解除了婚约，并去医院打掉了那个不幸的小生命。后来有  一天女人接到了那男人托人转给她一封厚厚的信，信中详细地剖  析了人性和人的本能，并不请求女人原谅他，只求女人好好活着  并照顾肚中的孩子。女人看过信后颇觉不祥，赶到男人的住所后  才发现男人自杀了。他用了一种颇为奇怪的方式，据说那是世界  最残酷的一种结束生命的方式。  　　朋友讲这个故事是在我们给他接风的一个酒宴上，他讲过之  后大家就都没了胃口。一个朋友叹息说，那女人并不值得可怜，  她害死了两条命，一个是自己的丈夫，一个是自己肚中的小生命  。无论如何，这是一场悲剧。大家又都沉默了一会儿，忽然就有  一位满脸络腮胡子的老兄焦躁起来，大声说他***自古有句话  叫做“夫妻本是同林鸟，大难临头各自飞”。夫妻嘛，不就那么  回事！俺老婆以前谈恋爱那会儿总逼问我，要是有一天我和你妈  掉在水里，你先救哪个？害得我好几天脑子都疼，现在我说去你  妈的，老子也不会游泳，先自己逃命再说吧！大家就都哈哈笑起  来，于是又都举起酒杯，又开始了觥筹交错的场面。 [/color] [color=Green]故事之四：心脏的故事 　　一个患有先天性心脏病的女孩到了出嫁的年龄，也许因为是  心脏病的原因，先后谈了几个小伙子都告吹了。女孩很伤心。家  里人开始为她张罗换心脏的事。终于有一天，好机会来了，一个  出了意外车祸的女人的心脏被移植到女孩身上，手术非常成功。  看着手术后一天比一天健康的女孩，大家都为她高兴，然而还有  一件更让人高兴的事，那就是有一个英俊潇洒、各方面都非常出  众的男人突然闯进了女孩的生活，他对女孩一见倾心，百般呵护  ，没多久，两人就在女孩亲友的一片祝福声中举行了婚礼。婚后 女孩发现丈夫有一个奇怪的举动，那就是喜欢伏在女孩胸口上听  女孩的心跳声。开始女孩好高兴好激动，后来女孩听丈夫的一个  亲戚说丈夫原来有过一个非常漂亮的妻子，那个不幸的女人死于  车祸，她那颗原本不属于自己的心动了一下，她怀着忐忑不安的  心情找到了那家为自己做移植手术的医院，好心的大夫告诉了捐  献者的名字。回家后女孩细心翻拣丈夫的东西，终于在一本厚厚  的书中找到了一张字条，那个字条上赫然写着那个名字。  　　我曾把这个故事讲给单位一个即将披上婚纱的女孩听，女孩 挺动感情地说，想不到世界上还有这么痴情的男人！如果说前面  三个故事中的男人都有点坏，那么这第四个故事中的男人总算可  以了吧？且慢，又有一位细心的听众问我，第四个故事的结尾呢  ？换了心脏的女孩终于发现丈夫只是为前妻的心脏才和自己在一  起时，她受得了这个打击吗？[/color]

YOU ARE TOO EAGER TO WIN !

Talk to an old friend. I think she knows me very well.  We talked about everything for day to day life, happiness and unhappiness to the goals of our lives. Everything is ok, life is just as what we have experienced. After a few minutes, she said:"You didn't change too  much, especially you are still too eager to win." "You should change your atitute to life, take it easy, you cannot be the best of the world  blablabla". At first, I don't care her words too much. After thinking about myself for a few minutes, I realized that really how is my life. Everyday, life is full of presure and fear. The presure to be a better researcher, fear of being left behind.  To most Chinese people, it is a common idea. From our childhood, our parents told us that you must be a good student and the best. It is this kind of instruction that makes our lives not happy.  Just wondering, how come most ppl in europ and america are not so eager to win. To them, they even spend the money before they actually get it. To the contrary, they have a relatively easy life and they seems to be happier to us. To win is really good. However, if you cannot win you should not be unhappy. This is where the differences are. The east and the west really have different opinions about life. Even if we Chinese want to change our life style, it is very hard. [what am I talking ?]

About life.

Different people have different goals for their lives. Some of them like the leisure of life, some are more competitive and want to be the best, some want to be rich, some ..... However, no matter what the goals are,  almost all of them are not satisfied about their own life. Believe it or not, even Bill Gates, Bush etc are not satisfied about their lives. We don't deny that there are some people who have very happy lives. However, to the best of my knowledge, most of the people around us are not satified with their lives. They maybe happy for some times, finally they will be tired and want to change their life style. Why? It is hard to say.  In my point of view,  this is due to the fact that people are greedy and they want to change from time to time.  Greedy? This is true to some people. They always want to have a better life. If they are not good or lucky enough, they fight their whole life for a bettering life. For them, how can they be happy and satisfied? Want to change? Yes, I think this is true for most of us. Here are some real life examples, some of my friends who are working at industries said the life in academic or universities is better; while those who are in academic said life in industry should be better. It is true that everyone has his own choice, however we are wondering how many of them are satified? It really depends. 

Back again.

Back to research again.
Updated my homepage with the presentation page and the conference list page.

魔羯的幸福

星座起源的美丽传说：魔羯的幸福 　　
　　牧神潘恩长得很丑。他日日看管着宙斯的牛羊，却不敢与众神一起歌唱；他一直爱慕着神殿里弹竖琴的仙子，却不敢向她表白……这一切都只因为他丑陋的外表。潘恩害羞而自卑，也没有什么法力，在天界几乎不名一文。

　　没有人了解他那丑陋的外表下掩藏着的炽热的心，也没有人愿意走近他去聆听他那动人的箫声。在天河的尽头有一个湖泊，是谁也不敢涉足的，因为它的水是被诅咒过的，任何人踏进河水一步都会变成鱼，永远也变不回来。但是潘恩无所顾及，他知道即使自己在最热闹的地方也不会有人注意，还不如就在这湖泊边上吹箫，或许仙子可以听见呢！

　　然而有一天，正当众神设宴欢聚的时候，黑森林里的多头百眼兽却突然窜进了大厅！这只怪兽呼天哮地，排山倒海，所有的神都无法制服它，于是纷纷逃离。正弹着竖琴的仙子被吓坏了，她呆立在那里，不知道如何是好。眼看怪兽冲着仙子而去，胆小而害羞的潘恩却猛的跳了出来，他抱起仙子就跑，怪兽紧紧追赶。潘恩知道自己根本跑不过怪兽，情急之中忽然想起了天河尽头的湖泊，于是拼命的向湖泊跑去。怪兽也知道那湖泊的厉害，它暗笑潘恩的愚蠢，往那里跑岂不是自寻死路！

　　但是怪兽万万没有想到，潘恩竟义无返顾的踏进了那个湖泊，他把仙子高高擎在手中，自己站在湖泊的中央。怪兽这下没了办法，只好放弃。等到怪兽离开以后，潘恩才小心翼翼的挪到岸边放下仙子。仙子十分感激想把潘恩拉上来，但是潘恩的下半身已经变成了鱼！宙斯以他的形象创造了魔羯座，而魔羯座的人们也像潘恩一样，严谨而内敛，对于幸福有着自己独特的理解。

Capricornus

Capricornus 摩羯座 12/21~1/20
孤独的爱 　　 　　

不是逃避多变的生活

安全可以安心

不是安于平凡的日子

享受这宁静的美丽

只想让受过伤的心

在现实的世界里

不再经历风浪的侵袭


守护星是土星(象征狂热与力量) 　

守护神是农神撒旦

诞生石：土耳其玉

Waking up for War

The public is catching on. Americans heading into the Fourth of July weekend are increasingly concerned that the war in Iraq, rather than bringing stability to the Middle East and a greater sense of safety here at home, has in fact made the world more dangerous and the U.S. more vulnerable than ever to terror attacks.

A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll published yesterday found that a majority of Americans now believe the war has increased the threat of terrorism. A New York Times/CBS News poll earlier this week found that 47 percent of respondents believe the terror threat has increased, while only 13 percent say it has declined. Thirty-eight percent of the respondents in that poll said the war had not made a difference.

There is a sound basis for the concern. The U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq has been a gift-wrapped, gilt-edged recruiting tool for Al Qaeda and its offshoots. If Osama bin Laden had personally designed a campaign to expand the ranks and spread the influence of anti-American terrorists, it's hard to imagine him coming up with a better scenario than the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq.

"We have created the greatest recruiting tool possible for bin Laden and his ilk," said Bob Boorstin, a national security specialist at the Center for American Progress.

His words echoed the conclusions of the senior Central Intelligence Agency analyst who is the anonymous author of "Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror." The author, who spent years tracking bin Laden and his followers, said, "There is nothing that bin Laden could have hoped for more than the American invasion and occupation of Iraq."

The fact that this war has made America more, not less, vulnerable to terrorism should be treated as a national scandal. But that is not the kind of story that has the legs of, say, the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Or the O. J. Simpson saga.

We have certainly known since Sept. 11, if not before, that terrorism poses the gravest and most immediate threat to the United States. Instead of marshaling the nation's resources and the support of our allies for a sustained, all-out campaign aimed at destroying Al Qaeda and its offshoots, President Bush launched the war in Iraq and turned that country into a breeding ground for such terrorists.

There were warnings. Recruiting by Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups was already surging in early 2003 in response to the buildup for war with Iraq. On March 16, 2003, three days before the start of the war, The Times reported:

"In recent weeks, officials in the United States, Europe and Africa say they had seen evidence that militants within Muslim communities are seeking to identify and groom a new generation of terrorist operatives. An invasion of Iraq, the officials worry, is almost certain to produce a groundswell of recruitment for groups committed to attacks in the United States, Europe and Israel."

We now have nearly 140,000 troops in Iraq, with more on the way, and we'll be bogged down there for years to come. The tremendous costs in personnel and money have drained resources needed to combat terror groups around the world and shore up defenses against terror here at home.

Now the public is tiring of the war. A majority of the respondents in both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal polls said the war was not worth its cost in American lives.

But there is no sign of the war ending. The so-called hand-off of sovereignty this week was a furtive ritual that was far more symbolic than substantive. Three marines were killed in a roadside bombing in Baghdad on Tuesday, a day after the transfer, and another was killed yesterday in Al Anbar, west of Baghdad.

We're holding a terrible hand. There is no exit strategy for American troops in Iraq. There is no plan in our insane tax-cut environment for paying for the war. The situation in Afghanistan, which is part of the real war against terror, has deteriorated. The U.S. military is stretched dangerously thin, lacking sufficient troops to meet its obligations around the world. Homeland security is deeply underfunded. And with the terror networks energized, the feeling among intelligence experts with regard to a strike in the U.S. is not if, but when.

Fahrenheit's 9/11

Since it opened, "Fahrenheit 9/11" has been a hit in both blue and red America, even at theaters close to military bases. Last Saturday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. took his Nascar crew to see it. The film's appeal to working-class Americans, who are the true victims of George Bush's policies, should give pause to its critics, especially the nervous liberals rushing to disassociate themselves from Michael Moore.

There has been much tut-tutting by pundits who complain that the movie, though it has yet to be caught in any major factual errors, uses association and innuendo to create false impressions. Many of these same pundits consider it bad form to make a big fuss about the Bush administration's use of association and innuendo to link the Iraq war to 9/11. Why hold a self-proclaimed polemicist to a higher standard than you hold the president of the United States?

And for all its flaws, "Fahrenheit 9/11" performs an essential service. It would be a better movie if it didn't promote a few unproven conspiracy theories, but those theories aren't the reason why millions of people who aren't die-hard Bush-haters are flocking to see it. These people see the film to learn true stories they should have heard elsewhere, but didn't. Mr. Moore may not be considered respectable, but his film is a hit because the respectable media haven't been doing their job.

For example, audiences are shocked by the now-famous seven minutes, when George Bush knew the nation was under attack but continued reading "My Pet Goat" with a group of children. Nobody had told them that the tales of Mr. Bush's decisiveness and bravery on that day were pure fiction.

Or consider the Bush family's ties to the Saudis. The film suggests that Mr. Bush and his good friend Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the ambassador known to the family as Bandar Bush, have tried to cover up the extent of Saudi involvement in terrorism. This may or may not be true. But what shocks people, I think, is the fact that nobody told them about this side of Mr. Bush's life.

Mr. Bush's carefully constructed persona is that of an all-American regular guy — not like his suspiciously cosmopolitan opponent, with his patrician air. The news media have cheerfully gone along with the pretense. How many stories have you seen contrasting John Kerry's upper-crusty vacation on Nantucket with Mr. Bush's down-home time at the ranch?

But the reality, revealed by Mr. Moore, is that Mr. Bush has always lived in a bubble of privilege. And his family, far from consisting of regular folks with deep roots in the heartland, is deeply enmeshed, financially and personally, with foreign elites — with the Saudis in particular.

Mr. Moore's greatest strength is a real empathy with working-class Americans that most journalists lack. Having stripped away Mr. Bush's common-man mask, he uses his film to make the case, in a way statistics never could, that Mr. Bush's policies favor a narrow elite at the expense of less fortunate Americans — sometimes, indeed, at the cost of their lives.

In a nation where the affluent rarely serve in the military, Mr. Moore follows Marine recruiters as they trawl the malls of depressed communities, where enlistment is the only way for young men and women to escape poverty. He shows corporate executives at a lavish conference on Iraq, nibbling on canapés and exulting over the profit opportunities, then shows the terrible price paid by the soldiers creating those opportunities.

The movie's moral core is a harrowing portrait of a grieving mother who encouraged her children to join the military because it was the only way they could pay for their education, and who lost her son in a war whose justification she no longer understands.

Viewers may come away from Mr. Moore's movie believing some things that probably aren't true. For example, the film talks a lot about Unocal's plans for a pipeline across Afghanistan, which I doubt had much impact on the course of the Afghan war. Someday, when the crisis of American democracy is over, I'll probably find myself berating Mr. Moore, who supported Ralph Nader in 2000, for his simplistic antiglobalization views.

But not now. "Fahrenheit 9/11" is a tendentious, flawed movie, but it tells essential truths about leaders who exploited a national tragedy for political gain, and the ordinary Americans who paid the price.

Intercepting E-Mail

Published: July 2, 2004
When you click on "send" to deliver that e-mail note to your lover, mother or boss, you realize that you are not communicating directly with that person. As you well know, you have stored the e-mail on the computer of your Internet service provider, which, as you also know, may read, copy and use the note for its own purposes before sending it on.

What, you didn't know all this? Sounds ludicrous? We would have thought so, too, but a federal appeals court recently ruled that companies providing e-mail services could read clients' e-mail notes and use them as they wish. Part of its rationale was that none of this would shock you because you have never expected much online privacy.

Count us among the shocked. The decision, on a 2-to-1 vote by a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Massachusetts, sets up a frightening precedent, one that must be reversed by the courts, if not the Congress. It's true that people are aware of some limits on online privacy, particularly in the workplace. But the notion that a company like America Online, essentially a common carrier, has the right to read private e-mail is ludicrous.

All major I.S.P.'s, including AOL, say they have no interest in doing that and have privacy policies against it. The case before the First Circuit involved a small online bookseller, no longer in business, that also provided e-mail service. To learn about the competition, the company copied and reviewed all e-mail sent from Amazon.com to its e-mail users. One of its executives was indicted on an illegal-wiretapping charge.

Both the trial and appeals courts ruled that the federal wiretap law, which makes it a crime to intercept any "wire, oral or electronic communication," did not apply because there had been no actual interception. Technically speaking, the judges held, the bookseller had simply copied e-mail notes stored on its servers, and different laws apply to the protection of stored communications.

These laws were drafted before e-mail emerged as a form of mass communication, so there is some ambiguity in how to apply them. But as the dissenting judge on the appellate panel noted, his two colleagues interpreted the statute far too narrowly. What's more, their analysis was predicated on the bizarre notion that our e-mail notes are not in transit once we send them, but in storage with an intermediary. The same logic would suggest that the postal service can read your letters while they are in "storage."

Americans' right to privacy will be seriously eroded if e-mail is not protected by wiretap laws. The implications of this erosion extend beyond the commercial realm. The government will also find it easier to read your e-mail if it does not have to get a wiretap order to do so. Congress ought to update the law to make it clear that e-mail is entitled to the same protection as a phone call.

ICDE, PKDD all submitted.

Next one is to do clustering.
If possible, graduate in three years. haha. This is really a good news.
Keep working man.