One word frees us of all the weight and pain in life. That word is love. He, who has never loved, has never lived. Life is the flower for which love is the honey.
As the Valentine's Day drawing near, do you feel confused about what gift to buy for your honey while you want to buy the best gift for him or her?  I would like to help you!
  Everybody knows that ladies, in the whole world, like jewellery best. If her lover buys her jewellery as present, she will completely feel how deep her lover's love is. So why not choose jewellery for this most romantic festival. She will like it.
  As jewellery, I will recommend you links London. Generally speaking, it has a high quality and fashionable look with a proper price. Choosing a gift from links London will show how much care you’ve taken in choosing the right gift.
  Links of London was founded in 1990. And today it has grown internationally with stores in the UK, Hong Kong, USA and Canada. Because of its modern and fashionable design, it is popular among the world. Ladies look perfect and gentlemen look handsome when they wear it.
  There are many different kinds of jewels for your option, Rings, necklaces, bracelets, charms and earrings are all available. You can choose any kind of jewels if you like.
  Wearing a suitable jewel can show one's refined taste. If your jewel doesn't match you that will only make you look vulgar and clownish. So find the most perfect jewellery for your darling!
  If you are interested, please surf into the websites。You can find many relevant websites by using Google. For example, you can find the latest style of jewels in Linkslondon4lover.com. It also provides free shipping in United Kingdom. You can get your goods within 7 working days.    Besides, Toplinkslondon.com is very popular among the buyers in many different areas because of its high quality and nice services. If you want fast shopping to UK with no sale tax, Buylinkslondon.com will also be your proper choice. You are certain to buy the best gift.
  Precious things are very few in this world. That is the reason there is just one you. Go and choose a nice gift for your sweetheart.
Derived from: Earrings For Women 

Americans had no problem saying goodbye to 2008 Wednesday, but the nation's economic troubles made many of them less interested in giving it an expensive send-off. Hundreds of thousands of revelers packed a frigid Times Square for the dropping of the famous Waterford crystal ball, and many other New Year's Eve traditions around the country were in place, but some festivities fell victim to hard times.

Next year "is going to be tough, the economy on the negative point," 30-year-old Anthony Carucci said Wednesday morning as he watched police set up barricades in Times Square. "Glad I still have my job."

Others waiting in the windy winter cold were optimistic about 2009. Sam Tenorio and his family drove to New York from Orlando, Fla., so his teenage daughter could see the Jonas Brothers perform live in Times Square.

"The economy is what it is. It's going to turn around. You just have to be positive," Tenorio said. "That's what we're doing, otherwise we wouldn't be here. I think that's why most people are here tonight: optimism."

Public celebrations were canceled in communities from Louisville, Ky., to Reno, Nev., and promoters in Miami Beach, Fla., reported slower ticket sales than expected for celebrity-studded parties that they say would have sold out in past years.

Tickets to see John Legend perform at a club called Prive were still available Wednesday. At nearby Mansion, where Lindsay Lohan and gal pal Samantha Ronson were to host an event, organizers were hustling to sell VIP tables ranging from $1,500 to $5,000.

Jessica Cabrera, 24, said she never used to think twice about paying the $150 to $200 cover charge for a celebrity-hosted party. This year, she decided to celebrate at home.

The money she would spend to go to a party "could go toward paying off some of my bills," she said.

Las Vegas casinos were putting on a midnight fireworks display and daredevil acts, including a 200-foot jump over the refurbished volcano at The Mirage hotel-casino by Robbie Knievel, son of the late Evel Knievel.

A spokesman for the biggest player on the Las Vegas Strip, MGM Mirage Inc., said more than 90 percent of rooms were filled, albeit at historically low prices reflective of a down year for tourism and gambling.

Around the world, people paused for a deep breath and a sip of ... perhaps something cheaper than champagne.

"We're not going to celebrate in a big way. We're being careful," said architect Moussa Siham, 24, as shoppers in the affluent area west of Paris were scaling back purchases for the traditional New Year's Eve feast.

Sydney, Australia, was the world's first major city to ring in 2009, showering its shimmering harbor with a kaleidoscope of light that drew cheers from more than a million people.

At the Vatican, in the splendor of St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Benedict XVI called for "soberness and solidarity" in 2009. During a year's end vespers service Wednesday evening, the pope said these times are "marked by uncertainty and worry for the future" but urged people not to be afraid and to help each other.

In Times Square, throngs of revelers cloaked in fur hats and sleeping bags had already gathered by early evening despite forecasts calling for temperatures in the low teens and wind chills as low as minus 5 degrees. Former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton were scheduled to help Mayor Michael Bloomberg lower the ball atop 1 Times Square for the 60-second countdown to midnight.

Pauleene Romero, from Anchorage, Alaska, came to the celebration by herself on a whim.

"I had a bad year," she said, not wanting to elaborate. "I just wanted to do this for myself, as a way to start off a new year."

Windy weather and rough harbor waters caused Baltimore officials to postpone a New Year's Eve fireworks celebration. In Reno, officials canceled their fireworks show for the first time since 2000.

"With the downturn in the economy, with people getting laid off and with the tightening of budgets all over town, we just didn't think it was right to spend $20,000 or $30,000 on something that goes up in smoke," Reno Mayor Bob Cashell said.

Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson expected to save $33,000 by canceling a New Year's Eve party he traditionally throws, a spokeswoman said. Hundreds of revelers were still expected to watch the Times Square countdown on a big screen at a separate, free event in the city's downtown business district.

Elkhart, Ind., planned a party at its outdoor skating rink, with volunteers leading some games, instead of a $5,000 event with fireworks. The city hadn't gotten any complaints about the scaled-back celebration, said Arvis Dawson, executive assistant to the mayor.

"I think most people understand," he said.

The downturn has been a boon for some inexpensive New Year's Eve events.

Advance ticket sales for the U.S. Bank New Year's Eve bash in Madison, Wis., were up 20 percent from a year ago, spokeswoman Lisa Clark said. A $10 family pass buys access to a family-oriented celebration involving music, magicians, hay rides and fireworks.

"What can you do for $10 anymore?" Clark asked, adding, "For someone trying to pinch pennies and yet still have a good time, this is a good bargain."

Philadelphia will celebrate New Year's Day with its more than century-old Mummers Parade, though it had fallen into jeopardy when city officials withdrew about $400,000 in support.

After weeks of limbo, the Mummers Association successfully raised enough private donations to continue the pageant filled with flamboyantly dressed performers, sometimes described as the city's Mardi Gras.

Rich Porco, a Mummer for 51 years, said the uncertainty made this "one of the worst years I've ever been involved with."

Instead of preparing for the festivities, "you found yourself thinking more about, 'Is there going to be a parade?'" Porco said. "It was hard."

In Pasadena, Calif., hundreds of thousands of spectators were expected for the Rose Parade. Organizers said any economic hit they might have suffered was lessened because commitments to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on floats have been in place for at least a year.

"We may or may not feel the effects of the economy this year, but more likely next year," Tournament of Roses Chief Operating Officer Bill Flinn said. "We do feel one of our jobs is to bring optimism at a time when things are not so good for so many people."

And plenty of Americans seemed ready to celebrate _ even the National Association of Realtors, despite a flood of foreclosures and a credit crunch that has made mortgages hard to get. The group has a float in the parade for the first time.

Smartphone presence to be expanded, says computer maker

Computer maker Lenovo Group yesterday said it considers mobile Internet as its next big opportunity and would further expand its presence in the smartphone market.

The company said the time has come for it to expand its horizons as the traditional boundaries between computers and mobile phones are fast collapsing.

Yang Yuanqing, chief executive of the world's fourth largest PC maker, said smartphones have already made their presence felt after the advent of 3G services.

"For us, the next big opportunity is the mobile Internet, while mobile devices are natural extensions for PC makers," he said at a news conference at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The statements are seen by industry experts as Lenovo's first moves after it said in November last year that it would spend $200 million to buy back the cell phone business it sold to a group of investors.

Lenovo had divested its mobile phone business in February 2008 for $100 million to boost profitability.

The company now has the capacity to provide mobile and small portable devices, said Yang.

Meanwhile the company yesterday showcased its first smartphone called Lephone in Las Vegas. Based on the Android operating system, the product would debut in China later this year.

Lenovo also showcased a new "smartbook" dubbed Skylight as well as a new notebook, which has a detachable screen.

The company's core business was severely impacted during the global financial crisis, as corporate customers reduced IT spending to cut costs.

But the company ended three straight quarters of losses in November last year, as robust demand from emerging markets and a series of cost-saving measures helped negate the declining sales in mature markets.

Yang said besides the traditional notebooks, Lenovo would also focus on smartbooks and smartphone products that provide better portability to consumers.

Lenovo expects mobile Internet users in the country to grow at "an explosive pace" in the next few years, as the 3G services would enable faster data transmission speeds via handsets.

According to figures from China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), mobile Internet users in the country reached 155 million by the end of June last year. The number of computer-based Internet users rose to 338 million.

Research firm Gartner predicts that China would have 90 million smartphone users by 2014.

Lenovo's peers Dell and Acer have already launched smartphones in China.

According to official figures, China had over 700 million mobile phone users by the end of last year. Of these, 3G users alone were 15 million.

The government will strive to communicate with the United States (U.S.) in order to limit possible damage to two-way relations after lawmakers from ruling and opposition camps reached a consensus to revise regulations and ban imports of ground beef and bovine offal from the U.S.

Upon learning about the legislative decision, Thomas Hodges, spokesman and public affairs section chief of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) expressed disappointment and said Washington would make an announcement later.

Presidential Office spokesman, Wang Yu-chi, said the government will try hard to communicate with the U.S. regarding the legislature consensus and “hopes the damage can be minimized and severe impact on the two-way relations avoided.”

Wang said the Presidential Office respects the resolution of the legislature to revise the Act Governing Food Sanitation and appreciates that the Legislative Yuan has promised to shoulder the responsibility for any consequences.

He added that the Presidential Office has continuously negotiated with legislators over the U.S. beef issue for two months, while successfully implementing its control measures of “three controls” and “five certifications” to make sure that no ground beef and offal enters the domestic market.

When asked to make his response, Chang Chi-ping, Ministry of Foreign Affairs deputy director-general of information, said the ministry would follow international guidelines on the matter, respecting the protocol on the one hand and taking into consideration the health of the public on the other.

The legislative caucus of opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) accepted a revised motion of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) after several rounds of confrontation.

Representatives from the two parties reached a compromise by agreeing to write into the Act Governing Food Sanitation that hazardous substances, including cattle skulls, brains, eyes, spinal cords, intestines, ground beef and other related beef products from areas in which mad cow disease has been reported in the past 10 years are banned from being imported.

A supplementary resolution proposed by the KMT caucus that “in case of aroused international pressure, legislative caucuses and the administration should jointly face the consequences,” was adopted.

Two DPP-proposed supplementary resolutions, on confining imported U.S. beef to products from cattle younger than 30 months and no bone-in beef before a referendum, will be top of the agenda when the legislature meets on the issue again on Jan. 5.

Negotiations on a revision to the act regarding beef imports from the U.S. had a turbulent start yesterday as the KMT caucus — which has a majority advantage — was ready for a showdown, while the DPP blocked the rostrum.

With the whole morning wasted in the confrontation, Legislative Speaker, Wang Jin-pyng, invited members of the KMT and DPP caucuses to negotiate.

A consensus was finally reached in the afternoon after two hours of discussion with the participation of DPP Chairwoman, Tsai Ing-wen.

As the DPP gave way to a KMT proposal on the issue whilst maintaining some reservations, Tsai said afterward that the DPP caucus had tried its best to protect the health of the public and that there is a great deal of follow-up work demanding the efforts of all parties.

The controversy over U.S. beef arose in early November when the Department of Health (DOH) announced that the government had signed a protocol in Washington to open Taiwan's market to bone-in U.S. beef.

The government has imposed the “three controls” and “five certifications” system including setting controls on beef imports at the source, at borders and in markets to safeguard public health.

There is also a “five-certifications” mechanism for verifying certification documents, checking that shipments are marked with detailed product information, opening a high percentage of cartons of imported beef to check the product, conducting food safety tests and the ability to get information on suspected problem products immediately.

But the DPP has successfully used the beef issue to upstage the KMT by depicting the U.S. as a major bully forcing U.S. beef down Taiwan's throat while blasting the Ma administration's failure to stand up against the U.S. pressure.

How time flies! Looking at the calendar, 2010 is coming in a few days later. Let’s look back the past twelve months, there must be many deep memories, unforgettable things and outstanding achievements you had got. Undoubtedly, the more knowledge you learn, the more achievement you would get. With the development of society, reading online is becoming a fashionable and effective way to learn what you need. OK, under such circumstances, good web sites would be useful for you to learn the knowledge. Top 20 of the article web sites in 2009 are introduced in the following article.
No.1 http://www.articlecat.com
No.2 http://www.articlerich.com
No.3 http://www.articlesbase.com
No.4 http://www.mycontentbuilder.com
No.5 http://www.sirlook.com
No.6 http://www.myfreearticlecentral.com
No.7 http://www.jewelry1st.net
No.8 http://www.amazines.com
No.9 http://www.123articleonline.com
No.10 http://www.articlesnatch.com
No.11 http://www.series-of-articles.com
No.12 http://www.everyonesarticles.com
No.13 http://www.itechnoworld.com
No.14 http://www.goarticles.com
No.15 http://www.pieceabout.com
No.16 http://www.articolando.com
No.17 http://www.articlewisdom.com
No.18 http://www.articlerack.com
No.19 http://www.articlecounty.com
No.20 http://www.articles4y.com

Beijing municipal government will cover the World Trade Plaza Square at Chaoyang district with man-made snow to cheer in the New Year, Qianlong.com.cn reported.

"We want Beijingers here to enjoy a dream-like party. There won't be any political talk, no celebrities, just ordinary people celebrating the special occasion with their loved ones," an unnamed official from the organizers said.

The snow will reportedly arrive four minutes ahead of the New Year and 10,000 ice bricks will form a wall for a landscape.

The theme of the party is "What a beautiful jasmine" which is also the name of a Chinese popular folk song. The activity is open to all people for free with no limits on the number attending, but the government will have a security force in place just in case.

Thirty students from a local middle school will play the theme music and 10 "New Year Ladies" will distribute sweets and New Year cards to the crowd from a 2.5-meter-high float. Every card has sunflower seeds inside which can grow to be different colors, the report said.

Cameras at the party will capture random moments and some people will be chosen to be shown on a big screen speaking out his or her New Year wishes.

The government wants to start collecting wishes from citizens and people are encouraged to mail their wishes to wishs2010@163.com staring today until December 28. The 20 best wishes will be shown at the party night.

It sounds paradoxical, but in wealthy countries, there's nothing like a recession to boost the population's health. According to a report in the September 1st Canadian Medical Association Journal, when our paychecks get lighter, we do more than tighten our purse strings—we also cinch our belts, kick bad habits and manage to lower our mortality rates.
Economic growth is usually associated with increased life spans, but the report says that’s only true for very poor countries. Researchers looked at data from dozens of 20th century international health studies and found that, once per-capita income passed $5,000, recessions actually helped health. During lean times, people in relatively wealthy countries drink and smoke less and stop overeating. They also go out less, which means fewer trips in the car. It all adds up to fewer deaths from things like lung cancer, liver disease, heart attacks and car crashes.
The researchers say that fewer hours in the office can also mean more time with family and friends. These close social interactions lead to less stress and better health. Of course, some people may find more family time to be like a lot of good medicine—hard to swallow.

Your kids learn a lot from their friends--things you can't teach them, no matter how much you want to.

Probably the most important thing kids learn is how to have peer relationships. As a parent, you can't do this, because you and your child aren't equals.

For example, when you're sitting on your family room floor and your very young child asks you to pass him the blocks, you probably hand them right over. If your child is sitting with a peer and asks the same thing, though, he might not get what he wants.

To succeed, your child will need to learn strategies for getting what he wants. For example, he might simply yank the toy out of his friend's hand. If he does that, he may learn that it's not the best way of getting what he wants because it leads to fighting and time-outs. The successful child will learn that he needs to negotiate a trade, to wait patiently, or to find something else equally fun to play with.

Friends also provide emotional support, something that is part of the foundation of healthy adulthood. You can't be with your child on the elementary school playground or at the high school dance. Your child's friends will be the ones to stick up for her, to include her in games, and later, to tell her she looks great even if her lousy prom date wanders off instead of dancing with her.

Friends also help your children learn. Friends solve problems together, imitate each other, and pass on knowledge (such as how to jump rope or speak pig-Latin).

Some experts believe that the single biggest predictor of your child's success later in life is her ability to make friends. In fact, they claim it's even more important than IQ and grades.

This doesn't mean that the kids who are most popular in school do the best later on in life. What matters is not the number of friends a child has but rather the quality of the relationships.

This is good news for those of us who hate to think that popularity really is the Holy Grail of childhood and adolescence. While it's true that popularity has many advantages, and that many popular kids really are nice people--and not just the best dressed or best looking--it's better to have a few good friends than to have the admiration of the masses.

Ayman al-Zawahri, known as the brains behind the Al Qaeda terror network, appeared in a new videotape aired on Al-Jazeera on Thursday.

Usama bin Laden's right-hand man claimed mujahedeen, or holy fighters, have taken control of much of Afghanistan and driven U.S. forces into the "trenches."

Southern and eastern Afghanistan have been wracked by the fiercest resistance to U.S. military forces and there have been frequent attacks on Afghan election workers preparing for an Oct. 9 presidential vote.

However, no Afghan provincial government is considered in jeopardy of falling and Afghan and U.S. forces have largely controlled the country.

The tape was released two days before the third anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks staged by Al Qaeda.

Wearing a white turban , the Egyptian surgeon said "southern and eastern Afghanistan have completely become an open field for the mujahedeen." An assault rifle was leaning on the wall behind him.

"The Americans are huddled in their trenches, refusing to come out to confront the holy warriors despite the holy warriors' provoking them by shelling, shooting and cutting the routes around them, and their defense concentrates on strikes from the air which wastes America's money in kicking up dust," al-Zawahri said in excerpts of the tape aired by the Qatar-based station.

Al-Zawahri also said the peacekeeping force still in Afghanistan has been "burnt by the shells of the holy warriors and expect martyrdom operations all the time, with God's help."

The last statement purported to have been made by al-Zawahri surfaced June 11, when an audiotape believed to be that of the Al Qaeda No. 2 was broadcast by Al-Arabiya TV, on which the speaker said a U.S. plan for reform in the Middle East was really a bid to replace Arab leaders.

Al-Jazeera said it had received the latest al-Zawahri tape exclusively, but it was not immediately clear how or when it received it.

Bin Laden and al-Zawahri are believed hiding along the rugged Afghan-Pakistan border.

They also issued video and audiotapes around last year's anniversary, including one on Sept. 10, 2003, that showed the two men walking through rocky terrain. Two taped messages accompanied that video, including one in which bin Laden's praised the "great damage to the enemy" done on Sept. 11.

President Hamid Karzai has said recently that he considers infighting among pro-government warlords a larger threat to the nation's stability than that posed by the remnants of the Taliban regime. 

CHENGDU: A Chinese hospital in southwestern Sichuan Province will import four genetically-engineered pigs from Harvard University to carry out pig-to-monkey organ transplant experiments, a doctor said Friday.

Under the agreement signed by the Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital and Harvard University on Wednesday, the four pigs would arrive in China within three to six months, said Yang Hongji, director of the hospital's Clinical Organ Transplantation Center.

As a platform for cooperation, the two sides had jointly established a lab for xenotransplantation studies at the hospital, Yang said.

Xenotransplantation is a surgical procedure in which tissue or whole organs are transferred from one species to another.Harvard University was one of the earliest institutions in the world to conduct such studies.

"We will mainly carry out three clinical pig-to-monkey xenotransplantation experiments after we import the pigs," Yang said.

He said the experiments would include transplants of pig's liver, pancreas and kidney to a monkey and related studies, such as how to cultivate livers and kidneys that can be used for human organ transplants, he said.

In addition to organ transplants, medical and science workers at the lab plan to use the four pigs to do other research, including how to apply pig's tissues, such as skin, bone and vein, to cosmetic surgeries and treatment of injuries.