Sep. 22, 2008 - high fuel prices

Sep. 22, 2008 - dangerous

Sep. 22, 2008 - There is gold hidden in the orchard

Sep. 22, 2008 - life is a process

Sep. 22, 2008 - Can Money Buy Happiness

Sep. 22, 2008 - On Friendship

On Friendship

Everyone needs friendship. No one can sail the ocean of life single handed. We need help from, and also give help to, others. In the modern age, people attach more importance to relations and connections. A man of charisma has many friends. His power lies in his ability to give.
   The term, friend, covers a wide range of raeanings. It can be a nodding acquaintance, a comrade, a confident, a partner, a playmate, a brother, an intimate etc.
   As life is full of strife and conflict, we need friends to support and help as out of difficulties. Our frinods give us warnings against danger. True friends share not only joy but, more often than not, they share sorrow.
   With friendship, life is happy and harmonious. Without friendship, life is hostile and unfortunate. I have friends in the rank and file. Some are rich and in power. Some are low and common. Some are like myself, working as a teacher, reading and writing and content with the simple life we have. To many of my friends, I know what to treasure, what to tolerate and what to share, I will never forget my old friends and keep making new friends. I will not he cold and indifferent to the poor friends and will show concern for them, even if it is only a comforting word.

Aug. 11, 2008 - The Orcs

The Orcs

Long ago, the noble Orcish race was corrupted by the Burning Legion and transformed into the merciless, destructive Horde. Lured to the world of Azeroth, the Orcs were forced to make war upon the Human kingdoms of Stormwind and Lordaeron. Though the Horde nearly succeeded in annihilating humanity, it ultimately devoured itself from within and collapsed. The defeated Orcs spent many years within guarded prisons, unable to function without the prospect of conquest and warfare. After many years, a visionary young warchief rose to lead his people in their darkest hour. Fittingly enough, the young Orc's name was Thrall. Under his rule, the Orcs freed themselves from the chains of demonic corruption and embraced their shamanistic heritage.

At the behest of a strange prophet, Thrall led his people to the ancient lands of Kalimdor. There, Thrall and the Horde came face to face with their old oppressor, the Burning Legion. With the aid of the Humans and Night Elves, the Orcs defeated the Legion and set out to find their own path in their adopted world. The Orcs claimed the harsh wastelands of Durotar as their kingdom in Kalimdor. Now based in the warrior city of Orgrimmar, the Orcs look forward to a shining new future for their people. Though they are no longer driven by dreams of conquest, they stand ready to destroy all who would challenge their sovereignty or their supremacy.

Jun. 21, 2008 - Water Polo

Hello, it's good that the weekend is coming and everyone can relax and enjoy the beautiful weather here in London. However, I am a hay fever sufferer and have to try to avoid outdoor activities where there are trees and lawns, but being near the water, by the water or in the water is always good for me.  Well, that leads to today's topic: Water Polo .

In the swimming pool you will see an area of 30m in length and 20m in width is marked out for this competition. Each game in the competition lasts for 28 minutes playing time and the competition comprises four seven-minute quarters.

Goal posts are erected at each end of the chosen pool.  These posts must be 90 centimetres above the water. The water in the pool must be at least 1.8m deep, with a temperature of between 25 degrees and 27 degrees Centigrade.

There are seven players on each team, including the goalkeeper . These players may use any part of the body to score a goal, except a clenched fist . If the team in possession fails to shoot at the goal within 35 seconds, then the opposing team takes possession.

In the men's event, 12 teams take part. Four of these teams move up to the quarter finals .

Six women's teams play a round robin round. The top four advance to the semi-finals.

Apr. 17, 2008 - Mt.Emei

Mt.Emei is one of the "four famous mountains"in China. It lies about 168km from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province. Before the tour of the holy mountain, it is important to obtain some inforation about the spread of Buddhism in China, Buddhism in Mt. Emei and its hiking routes.

The Spread of the Buddhism

Buddhism was founded in India around the 16th century BC. It is said that the founder was Sakyamuni. Sskyua was the name of the clan to which his family belonged. Sakyamuni was a prince and was brought up in luxury. In his 20s, he became discontented with the world. Every day he had to face with sights of sickness, death and old age since the body was inescapably involved with disease, decrepitude and death. Around the age of 30 he made his break from the material world and plunged off in search of enlightenment.

Sakyamuni began by studying Hindu philosophy and Yoga. Then he joined a band of ascetics and tried to break the power of his body by inflicting severe austerities on himself. However, no matter how he held his breath until his head burst and starved his body until his ribs jutted out, he failed to enlighten himself. Finally Sakyamuni followed the principle of the middle way in which he would live between the extremities of asceticism on one hand and indulgence on the other. As the story goes, he devoted the final phase of his search for enlightenment to meditation and mystic concentration. One evening he sat beneath a fig tree, slipped into a deep meditation and achieved enlightenment from his mystic concentration.

Sakyamuni founded an order of monks and for the next 45 years or so peached his ideas around 480 BC. Sakyamuni teaches that all life is suffering. Everyone is subjected to the trauma of birth, to sickness, decrepitude and death. Real happiness can't be achieved until suffering is overcome. The cause of unhappiness is 'desires',specifically the desire of the body and the desire personal fulfillment. In order to overcome the desirs and achieve happiness, it requires the following eight-fold path.

1.Right knowledge

Buddhist followers should believe that all life is suffering. It is caused by the desire for personal gratification.

2.Right Aspiration

Buddhist followers should becomw passionately involved with the knowledge of what life's problems basically are.

3.Right Speech

Buddhist followers shousd avoid lies, idle talk, abuse,alander and deceit.

4.Right Behavior

Buddhist followers should show kindness and avoid self-seeking and personal fulfillment in all actions.

5.Right Livelihood

Buddha considers spiritual progress impossible if one has occupied himself/herself with slave-dea-ling or prostitution.

6.Right Effort

The effort os the will to develip virtues and curb paddion.

7.Right Mindfulness

Buddhist followers should practise self-exami-nation and cultivate themselves to overcome the state of semi-alertness and become aware of what os happwning to them.

8.Right Absorption

The absorption involves the techniques of Hinduism's raja yoga and leads to the same goal.

By following the eight fokd pah, Buddhist followers aims to attain Nirvana, a condition beyond the limits of the mind, feelings, thoughts, the will and ecstasy. Buddhism accepts the concept of reincarnation, the circle of rebirth; it accepts the law of cause and effort.

Buddhism has many sects, of which the Mahayana and the hinayana are two major schools. The Mahayana holds that the fate of the individual is linked to the fate of all others. The Buddha won't float off into his own Nirvana leaving other peope behind. He not ony shows the people the way up into their Nirvana, but also continues to exude spiritual help to those seeking Nirvana. The Hinayana holds that the path to Nirvana is an individual purauit. People who seek Nirvana must tread the path to Nirvana on their own.

Mahayana Buddhism is generally believed to have been ntroduced into regions inhabited by the Han people around the first century A.D.In the Wei and Jin Dynasties(220-420) it spread to a fairly large part of the country. During the Southern anB Northern Dynasties(420-589) the ruling cladd furthered the dissemination of Buddhism. More temples and monasteries were built; Buddhist scriptures were translated. The influence of Buddhism was felt everywhere across the conutry. By the Sui and Tang Dynasties(581-907) Buddhism had reached its apex of popularity and splendor.

Buddhism gradually took root in the Chinese soiety, having adapted considerably to Chinese ways of thinking and practice. As the most influential religion in China, Buddhism has an impact on Chinese philosophy, morality, literature, art and many other foelds.

Buddhism in Mt.Emei

It is almost two thousand years since Buddhism was introduced from India. Its monasteries covers everywhere in China except a few Daoist mountains like Mt. Qingcheng. It is commonly said that Buddhist monks have occupied much mote well-known mountains for their Buddhist ptrpose than Daoist priests. However, most of Buddhist followers bwliwvw that only the fotr famous mountains in China are the Buddhist holy places. They are Mt. Wmei in Sichuan, Mt. Putuo in Zhejiang, Mt. Wuta in Shaanxi and Jiuhua in Anhui. Each mountain is dedicated to different Bodhisattvas. In Chinese Bodhisattva usually is referred as pusa, a potential Buddha, who has achieved perfect enlightenment and decided to bring salvation to all suffering creatures before entering into Nirvana. Therefore, each Bodhisattva has his own ritual place to salvage suffering creatures .Wenshu performs the Buddhist rites in Mt Wuta, and Guanyin in Mt. Putuo. Dizang is said to have gained enlightenment in Mt Jiuhua. Puxian is regarded as one of the four well-known Bodhisattvas of China's Buddhism. Legend has it that Mt. Emei in Sichuan is the place where he performs the Buddhist rites. Puxian and Wenshu appear in a pair in suppirt of Sakymuni. They usually stand side by side with Sakymuni. The middle. Puxian is the right attendant. He rides a white elephant, and Wenshu a lion as we often see in monasteries. Wenshu is a symbol of Wisdom while Puxian Benevolence. Buddhism encourages its followers to study hard at the Buddhist theory, and then use what they have learnt to do charitable works for the purpose of salvaging the suffering creatures. More likely Wisdom and Benevolence display the Buddhist proceess step by step.

One of the Buddhist doctrines says that after Puxian achieved perfect enlightenment, he vowed to retrn back to the world and not to accept his own salvation until all sentient beings, humans and animals had been saved. Puxian went out on his elephant to realize his ambition. his six-tusk elephant enjoys a high statue in the Buddhist world known as the Elephant King. Wannian Monastery is dedicated to the gilded statue of Puxian who sits on the white elephant. This statue, 8.5m high, is cast in copper and bronze, weighing estimatedly 62,000kg in a brick hall .One doctrine says:"Puxian has many images. He puts himself into different forms based on the Buddhist predestined relationship. The ordinary human beings can only see him in a human bodily form, who sometimes stands by Sakyamuni,or simetimes rides on his white elephant." According to the explanation of the Buddhist texts, it is almost impossible for the ordinary human beings to see Puuxian's Fa and Bao images unless they hike up to the Golden summit of the mountain, where the pious Buddhists may see Puxian's Bao image in Buddhist Aureole-rainbow rings. In ancient times the Buddhist Aureole was called the illuminant image,which indicates that the Puxian reveals himself in his BUddhist Aureole only before the people who have the Buddhist predestined relationship.It is the iluminant image in the Golden Summit that has made the mountain nationally famous.

At the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty,Buddhism came imto China.It is commonly said that Buddhism began to develop in Sichuan during the Eastern Jin Dynasty .It is very hard to find out when the first monastery was built,and who was the first Buddhist monk to perform his rites in the mountain.The local historical records have no written information about Buddhism in the mountain,which occurred before the Jin Dynasty. As early as in 400 a monk by the name of Huichi arrived at Mt. Emei. At that time only a few ascetic practitioners lived in the animal-haunted mountain.Staying with them,Huichi started to build a temple with a statue of Puxian set up inside .The current Wan Nian Monastery grew out of the earliest temple.Huichi was considered the founder of Buddhism in the mountain.

During the Western Jin Dynasty (265-317) a Daoist priest by the name of Qianming estab lished a Daoist temple called Qian Ming Temple in the mountain.It was the biggest Daoist temple in the mountain where a hundred Daoists priests performed Daoism . At the beginning of the southern and Nouthern Dynasties(420-550), the priests decided to choose their head to be in charge of the temple. However, they had an endless dispute because of the difference of opinions . A Bddhist monk by the name of Mingguo went to the temple and taught the priests Buddhism.Finally all the priests were converted to Buddhism, and the Daoist temple became a Buddhist monastery by the name of Zhong Feng Moonastery,During the Southern and Nouthern Dynasties,Buddhism developed in the mountain.A monk from India came to Sichuan.His name was Baozhang,the first foreign monk who arrived at the mountain after his short stay in Chengdu.According to the local historical records,Baozhang set up a monastery by the name of Ling Yan Monastery.A stream flowed along the foreground of the monastery.Behind it ,over a misty mountain,dark trees merged imperceptibly into the rest of the landscape.The monastery continued its development in the following dynasties.It was said that the monastery was the biggest in the mountain with 48 halls inside in the Ming Dynasty.Unfortu-nately it was destyroyed by a fire towards the end of the Ming Dynasty. During his stay in China Baozhang translated Buddhist scriptures into Chinese and made a contribution to the culture exchange between China and India.

During the Tang Dynasty (618-907) Buddhism in Sichuan developed considerably because some emperors supported Buddhism During their reins .some important Buddhist constructions were set up in Sichuan such as Bao Guang Monastery (the divine light monastery) in xindu County ,the Giant Buddha in Leshan City ,and Wen Shu Monastery in Chengdu.Of course, Buddhism in the mountain was no exception.Some famous monks kept visiting the mountain.

Xuan Zang made a pilgrimage to the sacred land of India to collect manuscripts and images and visit the well-known shrines from 629 to 645, leaving a valuable account of his travels in his "Records of the western Regions", Before his journey ,Xuan Zang came to the mountain.He visited Puxian,earnestly hoping to get blessings from him .On his way up to the mountain he came across an old monk who offerd him a Buddhist scripture. After reading it ,Xuan zang felt more confident for his long journey to india.Legend has it that Puxian put himself in the bodily form of the old monk .From 779 to 805, Weigao, the local top military commander in west Sichuan, donated to support Buddhist development both in Leshan and Mt.E-mei.During the rein of Xizong(874-888) of the Tang Dynasty, a well-known monk by the name of Huitong came to the mountain from Zhijiang. He stayed in Baishui Monastery as the abbot, He employed many workers to maintain and enlarge the existed monasteries, and at the same time he himself arrfanged workers to establish Qingyin Pavilion Monastery. He even invited his yiunger sister huixu, a Buddhist nun to stay in He Shui Monastery. Huixu was the first unu in Mt. Emei.

During the Song Dynasty Buddhism in the moutain further developed, In 964 Zhao Kuangyin the first empperor of the Song dynasty sent a 300-member-delegation of monks headed by Jiye, a well-known monk to India to obtain Buddhist scriptures, In 976 they came back with Buddhist materials and images. Due to Jiye's great deeds, Emperor Taizhong honored him by allowing him to choose a place in China to perform his Buddhism. Jiye decided to go to Mt. Emei, where he stayed in Niuxin Monastery to perform his Buddhist rites. Zao Kuangyin also asked one of his assistants by the name of Zhang to come to Chingdu, where Zhang was responsible for casting a 8.50-meter-high statue of Puxian in copper and bronze, and then transporting it to the Baishui Monastery on the site of the Wannian Monastery. Several Sing emperors kept presenting Buddhist scriptures, paintings and valuable gifts to Baishui Monasters stood at the lower part of the mountain. At that time only a few visitors or monks hiked the mountain via the current Wannian Monastery. The monasteries above Wsnnisn Monsastery remained very primitive, still less the monastery on the Golden Summit, which was no more than a wooden house without a monk to live in.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties most of the emperors helped develop Buddhism in China. Zhu Yuanzhang, the first ming Emperor used to be a monk. In his monk career Zhu Yuanzhang had a close contact with a monk by the name of Guangji who later worked in a monastery in the mountain. Zhu Yuanzhang asked him to reestablisshed Xiwa Monastery. After the completion of the monastery, Zhu Yuanzhang summoned him to stay in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, but Guangju kindly refsed the invitqation and cotinued his stay in the mountain.

Zhu Yijun was the ling-reining Ming Emperor (1573-1620) who was buried in Dingling, one of the ming Tombs. he and his two wives reposed in the underground palace, which was excavatedf in August, 1956. As a story goes, his mother wanted very much to give a birth to a boy in order to inherit the imperial throne. Therefore, she came to the mountain where she kneeled before the statue of Puxian in Baishui Monastery vowing that she would establish a new monastery and gilt the statue of Puxian if she was blessed to have a boy. Soon afterwards Zhu Yijun was born, and he himself ascended the throne as expected. In 1600 the emperor issued an imperial edit to establish a beamless brick hall and gilt the statue of Puxian on the white elephant. He even renamed Baishui Monastery as Wannian Monastery to celebrate his mother's birthday.

In 1602 four bronze halls were cast in Changan on the current site of Xi'an. One of them was moved up to the top of the mountain from which the Golden Summut was named. The hall was 8m high and 5m wide. There are no written records about how the hall was carried uyp the mountain. Unfortunately the hall was completely destroyed by a fire. In 1828 a monk by the name of Yuexzhao collected donations to set up a glazed-golden-roof brick hall, which replaced the bronxe hall. In 1972 another fire occurred, The hall, a telecom tower and andther monastery were all destroyed. The new monastery completed in 1990 still bears traces of its original splendor.

Towards the end of the Ming Dynasty, Buddhism declined because of a local war, which lasted many years in Sichuan. By the end of the Qing Dynasty Buddhism in the mountain had been restored as much as in the Ming Dynasty. Both Baoguo and Fuhu monasteries were enlatged in the Qing Dynasty and now become the largest ones in the mountain.

Before 1949, there were more than 70 monasteries and over 3,000 monks in all in the mountain. The monasteried owned a large amount of farming land to stpport the monks. Half of farmers at the foot of the mountain worked for the monasteries.

Routes concerned

Every Chinese or overseas visitor enkoys climbing to the top of Mt. Emei——the Golden Summit more than 10,000-feet-high. The mountain itself is shrouded in the ever-hanging cloud of fog. Fir trees, pines and cedarsclithe the slopes; lofty crags, cloud-kissing precipices, butterflies and azaleas together form a nature reserve of sorts. At the Golden Summit one stands above the fog and gets a beautiful view, especially in the early morning when mountaintops are bathed in the radiance of the rising sun. Late in the tare afternoon the viewers may see the Magic Light,which appears as a multicolored ring of light in the sky with the shadow of the viewer moves. This light phenomenon was traditionally known as Buddha's Aureole or the Emei Buddhist Glory. Actually it is a rainbow ring, produced by tefraction of water particles that attach themselves to a person's shadow in a cloudbank below the summit. Devout Buddhists, thinking this was a call from yonder,used to jump off the Cliff of Self-Sacrifice in the belief that they would thus encounter Puxian. So during the Ming and Qing dynasties officials set up iron poles and chain railings to prevent sticides.

Totrists usually start their ascent of the mountain at Baoguo Monastery, originally constructed in the 6th century but entirely rebuilt in the 17th. There are two paths to Jinding, named after a glistening bronxe hall that once crowned the main peak of the mountain. The northern path is wide and easy to follow. The southern path is more rugged and winding. Because it is easier to go up than to come down, most people ascend by the southern route and return on the northern one. At predent there is a cable-car transportation up to the summit. Tourists can continue either on foot or by cable-car.

The northern route passes Bailong Cave, Wannian Monastery and Zhanlao Terrace. The southern route passes through Fuhu Monastery, Qingyinge Monastery, Jiulao Cave and Yuxian Monastery. The two paths converge and lead to Xixian Poolm so called after the legend that Puxian passed here on his white elphant, which he washed in the pool before resuming his trip. Xixi9an Pool is the place where tourists frequently come across wild monkeys who usually stand along the path begging for food from tourists. The Chinese find the monkeys an integral part of the mountain trip and like to offer them some food fo0r fun. If you have no food, you should thrust open palms towards the monkeys to show you have no food. The path continues to Leidongping Tettace, a small temple in which the thunder god was supposed to live, and finally to jinding-the Golden Summit itself.

The hiking is spectacular and tiring, and the path difficult to follow in places. No matter whether you ascend or descend, youy have to keep a cautious eye on the next step. You should stop occasionally to get a longer view and enjoy the beautiful scenes. The scenery is also and excusw to rest and let your pounding hearts slow down. Whenever you come across a lovely waterfall and spectacular gorge, you should sit by the waterfall, content with the stately beauty and blessings of that spot.

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Apr. 15, 2008 - South Korea's Black Day for love

It was a Black Day for love in South Korea on Monday with lonely hearts trying to ease their pain by diving head first into bowls of noodles.  

South Korea celebrates Valentine's Day, where local custom dictates women give gifts to men. It has taken on a popular event born in Japan but sweeping Asia known as White Day on March 14 when men return the favour with gifts for women.

But Black Day, on April 14, is a South Korean original. It is marked by people who have not found love dressing in dark colours and commiserating over meals of black food, with the dish of choice being Chinese-style noodles topped with a thick sauce of black bean paste.

"I had a miserable time on Valentine's Day, felt even lonelier on White Day and now I'm crying over a bowl of black noodles," said a young woman.

"Things better be different next year."

At universities across the country on Monday, students without lunch dates ordered black noodles, dined with other lonely hearts and searched for companionship.

South Korea marketers have hatched special days(click for more) for the 14th of each month to create a calendar laden with love.

Some days have gained traction such as Black Day, while others such as Green Day in August, when couples are supposed to drink cheap liquor that comes in green bottles and walk in the woods, have yet to attract much of a following.

Black Day events have snowballed, with a major matchmaking service this year providing an evening of speed dating where the dish of choice is sushi blackened by squid ink.

An on-line company for movie tickets sponsored a speed eating competition of black noodles for those who bought single tickets for the latest films.

"It is depressing enough going to the movies by yourself," said Shin Youn-joo of the company called Max Movie.

"We just wanted to spread a little joy to the 'with-outs'."

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Feb. 21, 2008 - Love is ... not sending a Valentine this year, claim green campaigners

Forget an extravagant bouquet of roses or an exquisitely packaged box of chocolates this Valentine's Day.

If you want to be a good lover, start thinking about the impact your romance has on the environment.

Campaigners say the traditional tokens of affection exchanged on February 14 should be ditched because they damage the planet.

Instead, couples should be striving to "enjoy a greener romance" - at least according to a pressure group in Wales.

Waste Awareness Wales is promoting e-cards to try to reduce the waste caused by the 13 million Valentine's cards bought in Britain each year.

Couples are also being urged to make their own cards from left-over wrapping paper.

Other advice includes buying flowers planted in a pot instead of a bunch of cut ones. Those who insist on buying chocolates are urged to buy ones with the least packaging.

Better presents than those involving packaging are "waste-free" gifts such as theatre tickets.

People wishing to cook a romantic meal are advised to check the quantities of food required for their recipe so they do not waste food by making too much. They are also urged to compost any peelings.

Give organic chocolate is another environmental-friendly choice.

Giving organic chocolate helps you to "go green" and stay healthy. Organic chocolates are free of pesticides and are farmed in a sustainable way. Also, scientists have proven that organic chocolate, especially dark chocolate, has many health benefits, including helping your heart and boosting serotonin levels.
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Feb. 1, 2008 - Exercise keeps you younger - study

Exercise may hold the key to youth, according to a study published on Monday which showed people who keep fit are up to nine years biologically younger than those who do not.

Jan. 13, 2008 - Chinese googlers searching for money

"Sex" was the keyword most frequently searched by Internet users on Google in Egypt, India and Turkey , the search engine giant said a couple of months ago.

But on the Chinese mainland, it was money and technology that took the honors last year, according to a list released by Google China on Tuesday.

Four of the top six were wealth-related: Three banks and "stock".

China Merchants Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank, ranked second, third and sixth, all having listed in 2006 and proving a big draw for investors.

Fourth on the list was "stock", not surprising with Shanghai shares having risen 97 percent last year after doubling the previous year. At number 1 was "QQ", a Chinese instant message service and a brand of car.

The others were: "game" (5th), "Google Earth" (7th), download tool "Thunder" (8th), the anti-virus software "Kaspersky" (9th), and "MSN" (10th).

But when it comes to Chinese, food can't be far behind.

The most googled dish was sweet-and-sour ribs, followed by fish-flavored shredded pork, home-style braised pork and braised eggplant.

And for unexplained reasons, the most googled English word was "wire mesh", followed by "crystal", "china", "mushroom" and "ballast".

Among entertainment stars, Taiwan R&B star Jay Chou was No 1 followed by Chen Chusheng, the champion of the television contest Happy Boy last year.

In another list of "seeking knowledge", "what is a blue chip" and "how to invest in the stock market" were the most searched questions on Google in China, while "what is love" and "how to kiss" ranked top of the global list.

(Agencies wow gold)

Dec. 4, 2007 - Judge A Man

Never judge one as a gentleman
Just because of
his temporary good reputation.
Never judge one as a badman
Just because of the once bad reputation.
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Jul. 3, 2007 - The American Two-party System

     No one now living in the United States can remember when the contest began between the Democratic and the Republican parties. It has been going on for more than a century, making it one of the oldest political rivalries in the world.
     The American political system is a classical example of the two-party system. When we say that we have a two-party system in the United States we do not mean that we have only two parties. Usually about a dozen parties nominate presidential candidates. We call it a two-party system because we have two large parties and a number of small parties, and the large parties are so large that we often forget about the rest. Usually the small parties collectively poll less than 5 per cent of the vote cast in national elections.
     The democratic and Republican parties are the largest and most competitive organizations in the American community. The organize the electorate very simply by maintaining the two-party system. Americans almost inevitably become Democrats or Republicans because there is usually no other place for them go to. Moreover, because the rivalry of these parties is very old, most Americans know where they belong in the system. As a consequence of the dominance of the major parties, most elected officials are either Republicans or Democrats. Attempts to break up this old system have been made in every presidential election in the past one hundred years, but the system has survived all assaults.
     How does it happen that the two-party system is so strongly rooted in American politics? The explanation is probably to be found in the way elections are conducted. In the United States, unlike countries with a parliamentary system of government, we elect not only the President, but a large number of other officials, about 800,000 of them. We also elect congressmen from single-member districts. For example, we elect 435 members of the House of Representatives from 435 districts (there are a few exceptions), one member for each district. Statistically, this kind of election favors the major parties. The system of elections makes it easy for the major parties to maintain their dominant position, because they are likely to win more than their share of the offices.
     One of the great consequences of the system is that it produces majorities automatically. Because there are only two competitors in the running, it is almost inevitable that one will receive a majority. Moreover, the system tends slightly to exaggerate the victory of the winning party. This is not always true, but the strong tendency to produce majorities is built into the system.
     In over 200 years of constitutional history, Americans have learned much about the way in which the system can be managed so as to make possible the peaceful transfer of power from one party to the other. At the level of presidential elections, the party in power has been overturned by the party out of power nineteen times, almost once a decade. In the election of 1860, the political system broke down, and the Civil War, the worst disaster in American history, resulted. Our history justifies our confidence in the system but also shows that it is not foolproof.
     The second major party is able to survive a defeat because the statistical tendency that exaggerates the victory of the winning party operates even more strongly in favor of the second party against the third, fourth, and fifth parties. As a result, the defeated major party is able to maintain a monopoly of the opposition. The advantage of the second party over the third is so great that it is the only party that is likely to be able to overturn the party in power. It is able, therefore, to attract the support of everyone seriously opposed to the party in power. The second party is important as long as it can monopolize the movement to overthrow the party in power, because it is certain to come into power sooner or later.
     Another consequence of the two-party system is that whereas minor parties are likely to identify themselves with special interests or special programs and thus take extreme positions, the major parties are so large that they tend to be moderate. Evidence of the moderation of the major parties is that much business is conducted across party lines. What happens when the Democrats control one house of Congress and the Republicans control the other? About the same volume of legislation is passed as when one party controls both houses, although some important legislation is likely to be blocked temporarily. It is possible to carry on the work of the government even when party control is divided because party differences are not fundamental.

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Apr. 17, 2007 - The Rose of First Love