世界恐慌ー経済の立直しを願って

　長らくのご無沙汰でログインの方法も忘れかけた今日この頃です。

立冬も過ぎ、めっきり寒さを感じる季節となりました。

アメリカでは大統領選も終わり、オバマ氏が勝利したようです。

今や一強国の時代から、世界が協調して実行していかなければ、この不況を乗り越えていくのが困難な時代になりました。

順調に伸び続けていたトヨタでさえ、減収、減益に下方修正を余儀なくされました。

　今、アメリカでは、サブプライム問題に端を発した金融破綻からビッグ３と言われる自動車産業まで危機に直面し、国民は経済の立直しを第一に考え、オバマ氏に期待していることでしょう。

　日本も例外なく、株安、円高で悲鳴をあげている企業は数少なくありません。

この世界恐慌から脱け出すのは容易なことではありませんが、現状ではだめであることは火を見るよりも明らかです。

　日本の首相も、アメリカのように国民投票にし、良き指導者の実現を願っています。



　以下は、オバマ氏が大統領選に勝利したあとの、シカゴでの演説を紹介します。



Hello, Chicago!

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our Founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches, in numbers this nation has never seen. By people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.
We are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long, by so many, to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve, to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming; but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Senator McCain. Senator McCain fought long and hard in this campaign. And he's fought even longer and harder for the country that he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.

I congratulate him, I congratulate Governor Palin for all that they've achieved. And I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart, and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton, and rode with on the train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years, the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama.

Sasha and Malia! I love you both more than you can imagine. And you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House.

And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother's watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight. I know that my debt to them is beyond measure. To my sister Maya, my sister Alma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support that you've given me. I'm grateful to them.

To my campaign manager, David Plouffe! The unsung hero of this campaign, who built the best, the best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States of America.

To my chief strategist, David Axelrod, who's been a partner with me every step of the way.

To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics! You made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.

Iwas never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines, and the living rooms of Concord, and the front porches of Charleston. It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause.

It drew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy, who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.

It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished from this Earth.

This is your victory.

And I know you didn't do this just to win an election. And I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime: two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.

Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan, to risk their lives for us.

There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for their child's college education.

There's new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we WILL get there.

I promise you, we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve every problem.

But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years; block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice. So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.

Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers.

In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.

Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity. Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.

And all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared; and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

To those who would tear the world down. We will defeat you.


To those who seek peace and security. We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright, tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

That's the true genius of America; that America can change. Our Union can be perfected. What we've already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election, except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery. A time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky, when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons: because she was a woman, and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America. The heartache and the hope, the struggle and the progress. The times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes, we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes, we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes, we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness, and a democracy was saved. Yes, we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes, we can.

A man touched down on the moon. A wall came down in Berlin. A world was connected by our own science and imagination.

And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote; because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.

Yes, we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves, if our children should live to see the next century, if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubt and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.

（オバマ公式サイト）
http://www.barackobama.com/index.php

Tour de France

1903年から開催されている世界最高峰の自転車レース。毎年7月にフランスおよび周辺国を舞台にして行われる。

3週間ほどをかけてフランスをだいたい一周する。総距離は3600キロほど。

近年はフランス国外に出ることが多くなり、2007年にはドーバー海峡を渡って、ロンドンでスタートが切られた。

見所は、アルプスやピレネーの山岳ステージと、数回ある個人・チームタイムトライアルのステージ、そして最終日のシャンゼリゼ周回ステージ。

総合成績1位の選手には「マイヨ・ジョーヌ」と呼ばれる黄色のジャージが与えられるほか、スプリント賞、山岳賞、新人賞といった各賞の対象者も特別なジャージを着用する。



ツール・ド・フランス2008は、95回目の大会。2008年7月5日から7月27日まで、全21ステージ(平坦10ステージ、山岳5ステージ、中級山岳4ステージ、個人タイムトライアル2ステージ)の全行程3559.5kmで行われ、スペインのカルロス・サストレ(チームCSC・サクソバンク）が大会初の個人総合優勝を果たした。

鬼束ちひろ「僕等 バラ色の日々」

Uploaded by gon-007

時の流れが速すぎて…

　2008年も今日で195日が過ぎようとしています。
今年は北京オリンピックが開催される年ですね。
世界が一つになって平和な世の中が来ることを切に願っています。

【今日の出来事】
1553年　イングランドでメアリー１世が初の女王即位。
1765年　ロッキンガム侯チャールズ・ワトソン・ウェントワースが英国首相に就任。
1772年　ジェームズ・クックが2度目の太平洋探検のためプリマス出港。
1837年　ヴィクトリア英女王がバッキンガム宮殿に移る
1863年　ニューヨーク徴兵暴動勃発。南北戦争中、アイルランド系移民労働者が徴兵反対を訴える。
1878年　ベルリン条約が締結。
1886年　日本標準時の基準を1888年1月1日から東経135度の子午線とすることが勅命により定められる。
1930年　サッカー第1回ワールドカップがウルグアイで開幕。

どらく

あの時の五輪
新幹線のあゆみ

100人のチアガールに励まされて

気力が薄れた時、

落ち込んでいる時など、

100人のチアガールの応援で

元気を取り戻しましょう！!

Red Arrows

Red Arrows Home

Red Arrows
Uploaded by Fallen_Eagle

Synchro split

Looping leader

Diamond nine

Reds and blue

Hikki Heart Station

桜の季節には、まだチョット早いようです。

今年の開花は今月末くらいとの予想ですが…。

子供の頃はうれしい季節だったんだけど、歳と共に何だか寂しさも感じる今日この頃です。

　そう言えば、もうすぐホワイトディなんですね…。

このところブログもご無沙汰気味。数ある中でグーグルブログはお気に入りの一つ。やはりブログは自由にカスタマイズ出来なきゃおもしろくない。

　そう思いませんか？

クリスマスのままで…

　2007年のクリスマスのままで年が明けていなかったブログ。

2008年も早や40日が過ぎた今日、新年明けましておめでとうのご挨拶を申し上げます。

でも旧暦でいえばまだ新年を迎え4日目を迎えかばかりですね。

中国では大型連休のようですよ。


　昨日は久し振りの雪で列車ダイヤも大幅に乱れ目的地に到着するのに、大変時間がかかりました。

雪を見ると何だか子供心に帰ったような気がします。

こんなことを言うと豪雪地帯の人たちには申し訳ないですが…


　きのうは初めて歌舞伎なるものを観ました。

といってもシネマ歌舞伎ですが。


　3年前に上演された舞台を高性能デジタルカメラで撮影したものを劇場で公開されたものです。

豪華キャストで歌舞伎の醍醐味と面白さに触れることができました。

また、役者さんの熱演で汗が滴り落ちるところまでアップで観ることができ、とても感動しました。


　機会があれば今度は本物の舞台歌舞伎を観たいと願っています。