NEW YORK - Marat Safin threw a protective arm around his little sister Dinara on Wednesday after the Russian world number one was slammed for her wobbly performance in the first round of the U.S. Open. Marat Safin of Russia looks at his racket during his loss to Jurgen Melzer of Austria during their match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York September 2, 2009. [Agencies]  Ever since Safina ascended to the top of the rankings in April, she has come under a barrage of criticism as she had yet to back up her standing with a grand slam title. A mauling by Venus Williams in the Wimbledon semi-finals, where Safina won just one game, followed by Tuesdays match in which she almost suffered the humiliation of becoming the first womens top seed to perish in the first round of the Open has only served to give her detractors a louder voice. But Safin, who a former world number one himself, said people should just shut up and accept the WTA rankings. Everybody is hard on her why shes number one. Is she a real number one or not? You open the page (of a newspaper and all you read about is), she made eight double faults, 43 unforced errors. She struggled, almost lost to (an) 18 year old, former U.S. Open champion Safin said after he bowed out of the grand slam arena with a first-round loss to Austrias Juergen Melzer. Who cares? I mean, shes number one in the world. I have to protect my sister. The poor girl, shes trying her best. Shes doing really well. She gets the attention, but not the kind of attention that a person deserves, especially when youre number one in the world. Serena Williams was one of the most vocal critics of the system as she struggled to understand how she could be ranked second despite winning two majors this season. However, outside the slams, the Americans last tour victory was in April 2008. Safina on the other hand has been rewarded by a system that values consistency rather than the quality of tournaments won. Safin pointed out his sister, who has contested 15 finals in the past 12 months and won seven of them, was not the one to make up the rules and pleaded: She didnt do the ranking. Deal with that. Leave her alone. Kevin Bieksa JerseyIt seems that a possible package of draft picks, players, and cash could move the Bulls up the draft list, especially if they are willing to take on some salary. A team like the Houston Rockets at No. 14 might be willing to part with their pick, and then there is the Utah Jazz at No. 12. Utah already has the No. 3 pick in the draft (from New Jersey), so they might be willing to part with that second pick in a package deal. 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We have the Cheap Rosetta Stone German, all kinds of Rosetta Stone software and Discount Rosetta Stone German. Find the new Rosetta Stone German here and Easy 365 Days returns on your order.Black Michael Jordan Jersey Lakers · Dodgers · Angels · USC · UCLA · Clippers · High Schools · MLB · NBA · NFL · NHL · College football · ENTERTAINMENT · Movies · Television · Music · Celebrity · Arts & Culture · Company Town · Calendar · The Envelope People who tour Beijing Aquarium are surprised by a special exhibition set in its main gallery displaying a variety of commodity grain coupons about the size of a name card. The exhibition, collected by the aquariums senior member Zhang Wei, a 48-year-old ration coupons enthusiast, is made up of 10 billboards with over 500 culture pieces issued by the whole 32 provinces and cities, ranging from general coupons, local coupons and military ration coupons. The ration system got started in China in 1955 when commodities were scarce during the early days, and loosened its control in 1990s, following the growth of industrial and agricultural production. The most precious coupons series in his collection was launched in Andong city in Northeast Chinas Liaoning province in 1961. [chinadaily.com.cn] Im so grateful for the chance given by the aquarium to allow me to share my treasures with more visitors, because liangpiao (grain coupon) is the most striking in peoples memory, says Zhang, who began collecting ration coupons in 1986 and has housed nearly 5,000 items with 10,000 culture pieces. Among his collection, the most precious coupons series was launched in Andong city in Northeast Chinas Liaoning province in 1961. The city, known as Andong until 1965, replaced its name by Dandong, which endued the coupons with more meaning. Food grain ration coupons were first introduced in the mid-1950s after the central government decided to stabilize the grain market and balance demand and supply. China adopted a system of planned purchase and supply to monopolize the selling and buying of grain from 1953. The coupons were issued for foodstuffs, fuel, even bicycles and televisions. Without them you were not permitted to purchase the goods. Before Chinas economy reforms and opening up in the late 1970s, however, People were living a simple life. At the time, you might have money, but you couldnt get what you needed or wanted, Zhang recollects. Back then, he recalled that during that time frame, he would get up in the wee hours and stand in line for a thin slice of pork. Even if you had tons of money, you still ate a mostly vegetarian diet because most food items, except vegetables, required coupons, Zhang recollected. In the countryside, meat was available only on rare occasions, such as the Chinese New Year, when households would slaughter a pig they had raised and feast for a week. The average ration was 15 kilograms for a man and 13 kilograms for a woman each month, though it varied somewhat with age, profession and location. Meat was much scarcer and it was rationed at Ban Jin (0.25 kilogram) per person per month. These coupons were given per person, no matter how poor or rich that person was, therefore the ration coupons are much scarcer than Chinese Yuan banknotes. Zhang also exchanges his collection items for other ones on the Internet. The items to be exchanged on the forum can really dazzle ones eyes. Currently, a common coupon normally costs three yuan. Price for one or two kilograms coupons is averagely 500 yuan ($73) but it soars high up to 1,500 yuan ($210) for the version issued in 1955. The exhibition, collected by the aquariums senior member Zhang Wei, a 48-year-old ration coupons enthusiast, is made up of 10 billboards with over 500 culture pieces issued around the country, ranging from general coupons, local coupons and military ration coupons. [chinadaily.com.cn]    Previous Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next Page      Previous Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next Page   ' ' '