Actually, the solider in the photo is in fact a chick. The writing below her says, "Zhong Guo Nu Bing," or "Chinese Female Solider." I didn't think China allowed women in its Army, but apparently
it does.
The writing is the lyrics to a song by Phil Chang (Zhang Yu) called "Given Some Thought." ("Yong Xin Liang Ku" is a common Chinese saying which literally means putting a lot of effort or thought into something painful or sad.) The curious part about this is that Chang is Taiwanese (I think), yet the lyrics are written in simplified Chinese, which is only used in China.
Here's a
midi file of the song. Look for an mp3 if you want.
Anyway, the song goes something like ... "Your face is lovely, I see tears in your eyes, your lips are beautiful ... I stay up all night thinking about who loves who more ... I watch you in your deep sleep, but when you wake up you don't love me ... don't lie if our love is fucked." Rough translation - there are some words I don't understand.
And for what it's worth, the article about the trees ... that is the exact font and layout used by USA Today. Looks professional ... most designers usually aren't careful about runaround on headshots (small photos).