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Uncharted Territory

自分が読んで興味深く感じた英文記事を中心に取り上げる予定です

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真実の行方

 
ボストンの事件も解決してしまえば冷静に振り返ることができますが、解決前の段階ではいろいろな憶測が飛び交い不安が増してしまうものです。冷静に対処するのは難しいですが、丁寧に検証していって積み上げていくしかないのでしょう。

今週、中東関係で問題になっているのは、シリア政府の化学兵器の使用についてでしょう。



For Obama, proof of Syria WMDs hard to find
By REUTERS 04/24/2013 07:19
US President wary to act despite Israel's top military intel analyst, Britain and France suggesting Syria used chemical weapons.

WASHINGTON/RIYADH - While US President Barack Obama has declared a "red line" over Syrian use of chemical weapons, US officials suggested on Tuesday that Washington was unlikely to respond without clear-cut evidence of such use - evidence that may be very hard to come by.

Israel's top military intelligence analyst said in Tel Aviv on Tuesday that Syrian government forces had used chemical weapons - probably the nerve gas sarin - in their fight against rebels trying to force out President Bashar Assad.

The Israeli allegations, which came during a week-long visit by US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to the Middle East, followed similar concerns of chemical weapons use voiced by Britain and France.

化学兵器の使用の有無が問題になるのは、US President Barack Obama has declared a "red line" over Syrian use of chemical weaponsとあるようにオバマ大統領が絶対に認めないと宣言していたからでしょう。以下は3月にイスラエル訪問した時に記者会見で、I have made clear that the use of chemical weapons is a game changer.と明言しているところです。



we know the Syrian government has the capacity to carry out chemical weapon attacks. We know that there are those in the Syrian government who have expressed a willingness to use chemical weapons if necessary to protect themselves. I am deeply skeptical of any claim that, in fact, it was the opposition that used chemical weapons. Everybody who knows the facts of the chemical weapon stockpiles inside Syria as well as the Syrian government's capabilities I think would question those claims. But I know that they're floating out there right now.

The broader point is, is that once we establish the facts I have made clear that the use of chemical weapons is a game changer. And I won't make an announcement today about next steps because I think we have to gather the facts. But I do think that when you start seeing weapons that can cause potential devastation and mass casualties and you let that genie out of the bottle, then you are looking potentially at even more horrific scenes than we've already seen in Syria. And the international community has to act on that additional information.


Game changerとあるように化学兵器の使用が認められれば、アメリカ政府は何かしらの行動に出なくてはいけなくなるでしょう。ただ、今のところホワイトハウスは慎重になっているようです。



イスラエルだけでなく、イギリス、フランスもシリアが化学兵器を使用していると訴えるようになっているようですね。シリアの反政府側も化学兵器の使用の証拠というものをあげているようです。外堀が埋まって、アメリカ政府が認めるのを待っているところなのでしょうか。

Free Syrian Army general: ‘Clear proof chemical weapons used’
By Samuel Burke, CNN
April 24th, 2013
04:27 PM ET

The chief of staff for the Free Syrian Army said he can confirm that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons in the Syrian cities of Homs, Aleppo and Otaiba, outside Damascus.

“We took some samples of the soil and of blood. The injured people were observed by doctors and the samples were tested and it was very clear that the regime used chemical weapons,” General Salim Idriss told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday.

Idriss said his doctors gave the samples to “observers” of the civil war in Syria, but refused to name which groups.

Both Britain and France now say soil samples indicate “some use of chemical weapons.”

On Monday, the head of Israel’s military intelligence, Brigadier General Itai Brun, said that Israeli assessment shows the Syrian regime has used deadly chemical weapons against armed rebels on a number of occasions in the past few months.

The type of chemical weapons was likely sarin, as well as neutralizing and non-lethal chemical weapons, according to Brun.

フォーリンポリシーには行動をとるよう促すエッセイが載っていますね。オバマ大統領の記者会見の言葉、the use of chemical weapons is a game changer.を出して述べている部分です。2つ目のパラグラフのfirst , second, and thirdという列挙の仕方はセオリー通りに書いていますね。

It's Time to Act in Syria
American values and interests are at stake in stopping the country's slow-motion destruction.
BY DENNIS ROSS | APRIL 18, 2013

The fact that the United States has a great stake in the Syrian conflict -- from both an idealist and a realist point of view -- does not make any of these problems easier to deal with. Still, it is hard to see how the country has a choice. Obama has said that the use of chemical weapons -- or the regime's loss of control of these weapons -- would be a game-changer. Given the direction of the conflict, it is not hard to see that sooner or later we are going to face such a situation.

So what can and should we do now? First, we need to focus on what can be done to change the balance of forces on the ground -- not only between the opposition and the regime, but more importantly within the opposition itself. Second, we need to do more to protect the Syrian population. And, third, we need to focus on containing the conflict so it does not spread outside Syria and destabilize the surrounding states.


行動派の常とう句は、何もしなかった場合に払うコストの大きさでしょう。このエッセイでもそのように締めています。

With all the difficulties and unknowns that currently exist in Syria, one thing is clear: While there are costs in acting, the costs of inaction are growing by the day. Ironically, the costs of inaction may not only be felt in Syria, with the Syrian public, and in the surrounding areas. Inaction may also have implications for America's Iran policy. If we want diplomacy to work with Iran on the nuclear issue, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei must be convinced that the United States will actually use force if negotiations fail -- and America's hesitant posture toward Syria signals not readiness to use force, but reluctance.

For all these reasons, and before we face a game-changing event that will leave America no choice, it is time to become more active in Syria. Positioning the United States to try to shape the landscape, and not simply react to changes in it, makes sense from the standpoint of U.S. interests. But it also makes sense from the standpoint of America's values -- and the sooner the better.

シリアに関しては不勉強なのですが、大きな転換点が近づいているのかもしれません。
スポンサーサイト



 

グーグルも即日配送サービス

 
以前のこのブログでeBayがeBay Nowという当日配達のサービスを米国の一部都市で始めたことをご紹介しましたが、グーグルも似たようなことを始めたようです。グーグルの方がもっと狭い地域でSan Franciscoのさらに一部のようです。

米グーグルが即日配送サービス開始、アマゾンに対抗
2013年 03月 29日 17:44 JST

Google launches same-day delivery in San Francisco Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO, March 28 | Thu Mar 28, 2013 8:59am EDT

(Reuters) - Google Inc launched a same-day delivery service in the San Francisco Bay Area on Thursday as the world's largest Internet search company works with retailers such as Target Corp to compete more with e-commerce leader Amazon.com Inc.

Google has been testing the service, called Google Shopping Express, with employees for a few months. The company opened it up to the public on Thursday morning in a limited launch focused on San Francisco residents and others living south of the city from San Mateo to San Jose.

Shoppers who sign up will get six months of free, same-day delivery of online orders placed with select retailers in the area. Google plans to charge for the service in the future, but it has not decided how much yet.

この即日配送サービスはGoogle Shopping Expressというサイトが立ちあがっていましたが、まだまだ試験的な試みだろうなという簡素な作りです。

Google Shopping Express
Get unlimited same-day delivery
We're piloting in the San Francisco Bay Area
Learn how to become a tester

下記が手順を大まかに説明しているものですが、配達時間帯を指すdelivery windowと宅配業者を指すcourierという言葉を押さえておきたいですね。

How it works
Find what you need
Browse local stores online in one place

Select a delivery window
Provide delivery instructions for our couriers

Get it delivered today
Live life on your schedule

ロイターの記事ではWalmartとEbayの試みを紹介しています。グーグルのは明らかにEbayのパクリのような気がしますが。。。

By getting into local delivery services, Google is joining an increasingly crowded field.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer, is testing a same-day delivery service called Walmart To Go in five metro areas.

EBay Inc launched a same-day delivery service in San Francisco and New York last year.


このサービスを利用するにはまず会員登録をする必要があるようで、Tester Sign Upという登録ページがありました。

Thanks for your interest in helping us test Google Shopping Express.

The pilot is currently open to a limited number of shoppers in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you'd like to help us test, please complete this form. We'll be adding new testers over time.

Please note: you must be 18 years or older to participate.


この中で以下のようなアンケート項目がありました。今後はスマホを使っていることを前提にサービスができていくのかもしれませんね。

What type of mobile device(s) do you use?
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iOS
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Blackberry
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Check all that apply.


日本の楽天マートはいろいろと問題が出ているようですが、やはりネット会社も配送網も押さえていくというのが流れなのでしょうか。一方で、アマゾンが物理的な店を出すといううわさもあるようですから、商売の在り方そのものが変わっていく過渡期なのかもしれませんね。
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Yuta

Author:Yuta
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