CNN 2010-07-29

With tens of thousands of secret Afghan war documents posted online by a whistle-blower website, WikiLeaks is raising blood pressure once again. This isn't an information leak, folk. It's a gush¹ of battle details from the frontlines - from a reported assassination² attempt on Hamid Karzai to raids gone wrong. We are talking six years, 92,000 documents, a blow by blow picture of what our troops are up against on the ground in Afghanistan. And here's more, The New York Times reports suspicions that Pakistan's military spy service is helping³ the Taliban. The Taliban is using portable heat-seeking missiles against U.S. aircraft. Secret commando units are working off a capture/kill list of about 70 insurgent⁴ commanders. WikiLeaks' editor Julian Assange is defending the move.

 

This material doesn't just reveal occasional abuses by U.S. military. Of course, it has U.S. military reporting on all sorts of abuses by the Taliban, suicide bombers⁵, IEDs going off, and so on. So it does describe the abuses by both sides in this war, and it's how people can really understand what is actually going on and whether they choose to support it or not.

 

Well, it looks like the wheels are coming off the gravy⁶ train in Bell, California, more now on the jaw-dropper of a government abuse story that we first exposed and it just keeps on giving. Let me set the outrageous⁷ scene once again. Bell, one of Los Angeles County's poorest places, median income, about 40,000 dollars, a place where the city manager was making nearly 800 grand a year; yes, that's more than President Obama. Keep in mind, we're talking about a state where the pink slip has become the state flower, where they are laying off teachers and cops, raising tuition and charging people for some emergency calls. But it was good to be Robert Rizzo. He doesn't even live in Bell, he doesn't even live in L.A. County and he's got a sweet 900,000-dollar place in Huntington Beach. Look at that, could be a candidate for cribs.

 

His picture, by the way, a mug shot from his arrest last spring. Police said he was legally drunk times three. Then there's Rizzo's assistant who was making nearly 400,000 dollars and the police chief who was making more than 450 grand. They've all resigned but the people of Bell who've been fired up since this story first broke want more resignations. They want the mayor and three city council members to quit, too. It seems some of those council members are making about 100 grand for their part-time jobs. It should be one hell of a city council meeting tonight. But even if they all quit and Bell starts over this story is far from over

1 gush   

v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发

参考例句：

• There was a gush of blood from the wound.血从伤口流出。
• There was a gush of blood as the arrow was pulled out from the arm.当从手臂上拔出箭来时，一股鲜血涌了出来。

2 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

5 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 gravy   

n.肉汁；轻易得来的钱，外快

参考例句：

• You have spilled gravy on the tablecloth.你把肉汁泼到台布上了。
• The meat was swimming in gravy.肉泡在浓汁之中。

7 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。