Possible alternative take on the happenings at the CDC, although from a "conservative" source that I have no idea about the reliability of:
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/45 ... uval-levin
Trump
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Harlequin
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Re: Trump
That is pretty much what I thought was probably going on. As I wrote in another place, "… they have to avoid the scary words and describe their programmes differently to those handing out the cash. Fortunately, unlike Ingsoc's Newspeak, the English language is still wonderfully versatileF-ZeroOne wrote:Possible alternative take on the happenings at the CDC, although from a "conservative" source that I have no idea about the reliability of:
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/45 ... uval-levin
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gilesgoat
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Re: Trump
If that logic would be used in Italy in my region we have some very interesting terms that could be used, ONE in particular ( informally used by people at times ), would fit Trump PERFECTLY.Harlequin wrote:That is pretty much what I thought was probably going on. As I wrote in another place, "… they have to avoid the scary words and describe their programmes differently to those handing out the cash. Fortunately, unlike Ingsoc's Newspeak, the English language is still wonderfully versatileF-ZeroOne wrote:Possible alternative take on the happenings at the CDC, although from a "conservative" source that I have no idea about the reliability of:
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/45 ... uval-levin
You should replace the word president with "merda in scagno" .. I let you as exercise to find out what it means
little hint "scango" means "chair" 
Let's not forget that's the country that uses term alien for everyone non-us citizen
.. we could argue that "alien" implies "non human", I suppose that's the idea "non possessing human rights ( in US )" 
We could play with words forever .. ..
Giles the billy goat
"Baa"
"Baa"
Re: Trump
Just found this from George Carlin, which perfectly expresses what I was trying to get at earlier:
He's dead right.
One example is that I know of teachers who were advised not to say "blackboard" anymore. No, it's a "chalkboard" now.
First of all, the black in "blackboard" is its colour. It is black in colour. Black is what we see when there is an absence of photons. It has got absolutely zero to do with melanin expression. The board is made of slate. Slate is an inanimate object, which does not possess biological cells nor DNA, much less, from that, the capability of expressing melanin genes.
But, more crucially, you've decided to forbid a word that describes a colour, because you're unable to disassociate that colour from skin colour?
Racist!
Seriously, that's racist. A person who's not at all racist can be in a room full of a diverse range of people and what they see is "Dave", "Alice", "Bob", etc. and what they don't see is "black person #1", "hispanic lesbian #3", "evil white male oppressor #53".
As the Reverend King had it, "by the content of one's character, not the colour of one's skin".
Imagine you're the black kid at the back of the class. One of the other kids says "blackboard" - because, hey, they've not been given the memo and so just call it what they know it to be - but then the teacher subtly transforms that into "chalkboard" as they reply back to the class.
Why is she dodging the word "black"? What's wrong with the word "black" that it's verboten? The colour that shall not be named?
What other words do we make taboo? Well, swear words like "fuck" and "cunt". You must not say those in polite company. It's shameful to do so.
Hmm, so am I to take from this that black skin is also a shameful thing? Because you're treating the word "black" as if it's a shameful word to speak. As a black kid in this class, what am I supposed to make of the fact that my skin colour - an integral part of me and my appearance - is this apparently shameful thing that "shall not speak its name"?
You see, I consider that implicitly racist. The actual non-racist thing is to not give a shit one way or the other.
And I'm not just talking hypothetically here, as I shared a house in university with a black man from North Western Africa and he told me that the reason why he chose to move into that house was that he'd met me - he arrived a little late to the UK, what with coming over from Africa, after most students, including myself, had already got there - and he'd liked the fact that I genuinely didn't give a shit that he was black or Muslim (well, culturally Muslim, as his adherence to Islamic ritual was not the greatest, when he used to come out drinking with the rest of us all the time).
What it was was that I'd actually mentioned his skin colour and asked him where he came from in Africa - I wasn't avoiding the subject in the slightest - but he could tell that it genuinely didn't bother me. This, to him, assured him that I wasn't racist, far more than - he told me - the people who'd dance careful dances around him with politically correct language.
Because, you see, he's not ashamed of being black. He doesn't want anyone to pretend he's not black or avoid mentioning it when it's relevant to the conversation. And he liked the fact that I had no such fear, but was perfectly welcoming to a new friend, as I, indeed, only care about "the content of one's character".
I've also, at another time, known a black guy who was an arsehole. People are people. There's an arsehole in every bunch. Nothing to do with his skin colour, he was just not a very nice person. And, again, dancing around this with polysyllabic euphemisms is not not being racist, it's just a different kind of racism. You've still got a bias, a prejudice. You're still seeing "black man" before you're seeing "human being". You are still treating him differently and specially from everyone else, due to the colour of his skin.
That's still racism and I find the increasing moves to expunge the English language of feminine words to be sexist.
There's nothing wrong with the word "actress". Replacing it with the male word "actor" is, again, an act of "hiding the shame". No, no. Happily use the word "actress" and just rewrite its meaning in people's minds, so the word is not seen as lesser or deserving of less pay.
Like how the gays did "gay pride" and went about reclaiming words like "gay", "queer", "poof" and rewriting their popular semantics to no longer be pejorative slurs. They're gay. They're not going to hide that fact. Rather, we're all going to re-learn what being gay actually means to erase the ignorance and stupidity that some people have, thinking that it's some shameful thing to hide or some kind of threat to them. It isn't. So let's talk about this - put the reality right there on the table for everyone to see - and come to understand one another better.
I agree. There's nothing inherently wrong with the word "cripple" at all. And the real point here is that if you think that there is a problem with this word - and that's why you're avoiding it with "differently abled" and such - then the problem is in your head. You've come to see "cripple" as a shameful thing. So you're hiding it. Making it taboo. Pretending you don't see it, when you very clearly do.
It's not the words, it's the context. It's not the words, but their intent.
We don't need to change the language. We need to change ourselves. And, yes, that's not an easy thing to do - but you've lived in reality long enough to know, surely, that the best things are usually the hardest things to obtain. Don't be afraid, but accept the challenge. I'm sure you'll impress yourself, if you only give it a shot.
We choose the Moon, not because it's easy, but because it's hard. And that's exactly why it's worth doing.
He's dead right.
One example is that I know of teachers who were advised not to say "blackboard" anymore. No, it's a "chalkboard" now.
First of all, the black in "blackboard" is its colour. It is black in colour. Black is what we see when there is an absence of photons. It has got absolutely zero to do with melanin expression. The board is made of slate. Slate is an inanimate object, which does not possess biological cells nor DNA, much less, from that, the capability of expressing melanin genes.
But, more crucially, you've decided to forbid a word that describes a colour, because you're unable to disassociate that colour from skin colour?
Racist!
Seriously, that's racist. A person who's not at all racist can be in a room full of a diverse range of people and what they see is "Dave", "Alice", "Bob", etc. and what they don't see is "black person #1", "hispanic lesbian #3", "evil white male oppressor #53".
As the Reverend King had it, "by the content of one's character, not the colour of one's skin".
Imagine you're the black kid at the back of the class. One of the other kids says "blackboard" - because, hey, they've not been given the memo and so just call it what they know it to be - but then the teacher subtly transforms that into "chalkboard" as they reply back to the class.
Why is she dodging the word "black"? What's wrong with the word "black" that it's verboten? The colour that shall not be named?
What other words do we make taboo? Well, swear words like "fuck" and "cunt". You must not say those in polite company. It's shameful to do so.
Hmm, so am I to take from this that black skin is also a shameful thing? Because you're treating the word "black" as if it's a shameful word to speak. As a black kid in this class, what am I supposed to make of the fact that my skin colour - an integral part of me and my appearance - is this apparently shameful thing that "shall not speak its name"?
You see, I consider that implicitly racist. The actual non-racist thing is to not give a shit one way or the other.
And I'm not just talking hypothetically here, as I shared a house in university with a black man from North Western Africa and he told me that the reason why he chose to move into that house was that he'd met me - he arrived a little late to the UK, what with coming over from Africa, after most students, including myself, had already got there - and he'd liked the fact that I genuinely didn't give a shit that he was black or Muslim (well, culturally Muslim, as his adherence to Islamic ritual was not the greatest, when he used to come out drinking with the rest of us all the time).
What it was was that I'd actually mentioned his skin colour and asked him where he came from in Africa - I wasn't avoiding the subject in the slightest - but he could tell that it genuinely didn't bother me. This, to him, assured him that I wasn't racist, far more than - he told me - the people who'd dance careful dances around him with politically correct language.
Because, you see, he's not ashamed of being black. He doesn't want anyone to pretend he's not black or avoid mentioning it when it's relevant to the conversation. And he liked the fact that I had no such fear, but was perfectly welcoming to a new friend, as I, indeed, only care about "the content of one's character".
I've also, at another time, known a black guy who was an arsehole. People are people. There's an arsehole in every bunch. Nothing to do with his skin colour, he was just not a very nice person. And, again, dancing around this with polysyllabic euphemisms is not not being racist, it's just a different kind of racism. You've still got a bias, a prejudice. You're still seeing "black man" before you're seeing "human being". You are still treating him differently and specially from everyone else, due to the colour of his skin.
That's still racism and I find the increasing moves to expunge the English language of feminine words to be sexist.
There's nothing wrong with the word "actress". Replacing it with the male word "actor" is, again, an act of "hiding the shame". No, no. Happily use the word "actress" and just rewrite its meaning in people's minds, so the word is not seen as lesser or deserving of less pay.
Like how the gays did "gay pride" and went about reclaiming words like "gay", "queer", "poof" and rewriting their popular semantics to no longer be pejorative slurs. They're gay. They're not going to hide that fact. Rather, we're all going to re-learn what being gay actually means to erase the ignorance and stupidity that some people have, thinking that it's some shameful thing to hide or some kind of threat to them. It isn't. So let's talk about this - put the reality right there on the table for everyone to see - and come to understand one another better.
I agree. There's nothing inherently wrong with the word "cripple" at all. And the real point here is that if you think that there is a problem with this word - and that's why you're avoiding it with "differently abled" and such - then the problem is in your head. You've come to see "cripple" as a shameful thing. So you're hiding it. Making it taboo. Pretending you don't see it, when you very clearly do.
It's not the words, it's the context. It's not the words, but their intent.
We don't need to change the language. We need to change ourselves. And, yes, that's not an easy thing to do - but you've lived in reality long enough to know, surely, that the best things are usually the hardest things to obtain. Don't be afraid, but accept the challenge. I'm sure you'll impress yourself, if you only give it a shot.
We choose the Moon, not because it's easy, but because it's hard. And that's exactly why it's worth doing.
"Words ought to be a little wild - for they are assaults of thought on the unthinking."
- John Maynard Keynes
- John Maynard Keynes
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gilesgoat
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Re: Trump
So if "Blackboard" is not correct so the even "Whiteboard" is not 
Imagine this .. VERY OLD VERY FAMOUS ITALIAN BRAND : http://www.negroni.com/en/products/salami
This is OVER 100 years old brand .. famous for Salami ...
Now "Negroni" basically sounds like "Niggeron" ... "Negronetto" ( the smaller salami brand ) basically sounds like "Niggerly" ..
I suppose "Negroni" is NOT sold in USA
San Pellegrino Chinotto ( a bergamot based Italian OLD drink ) : https://www.sanpellegrinofruitbeverages ... inotto-221
Had for so many years the slogan "Drink DIFFERENT ! DRINK BLACK ! DRINK CHINOTTO !"
I don't think any african guy ever felt offended by Chinotto, and they should not, it was kinda celebrating the uniqueness good quality of a "different" drink.
Mind you Coca Cola is "black" as well .. or ok should we say "caramelised brownish colour" or should we not say it at all because the colour/recipe of Coca Cola is patented and so "we can not even talk about it or try to describe it" ?
Now .. the reality is .. "if you WANT to be racist you CAN be racist ANY TIME, NO MATTER how many euphemisms, forbidden words or things we can invent".
And when you start IMHO inventing or willing to use "so many euphemisms" you basically AMPLIFY A PROBLEM making it much bigger than what it should be/is rather then solving anything, also quite often more than not, making yourself looking at least a bit stupid in the process.
Likewise sometime some people get "over sensitive" I think .. "I am white of skin", if somoene calls me "Mozzarella" or "Mandolino" or "crap mafioso" I may say/think "this is racist" BUT at the same time what I should think "that's an idiot with his/her own idiotic (to me) ideas" .. it gets to a point "don't feed the troll", if you get "mad" at words you do their own game and you loose.
Should I lose my life getting nuts over a whiteboard or blackboard or a group of racists that no matter what words we use will always think the same because they won't change ? No, nobody should, nothing to see there move on.
So it's now "a board to write on using some writing instrument of some visible colour".
Call it "Pink board" or "Red board" or whatever else and probably is not good for color blind people ..
"chalkboard?" .. no no .. think about all those allergic to chalk !!
"writing board" ? What about dyslexic people ? They could get offended.
"Display board" ? What about eyesight-challenged people ?
"board" why it has to be a board could it be another shape ? think about we-dont-like-flatness people.
Actually you know what ? On the safe side, don't call anything, don't name anything, don't say anything, don't write anything, just don't say a word you'll be fine
Imagine this .. VERY OLD VERY FAMOUS ITALIAN BRAND : http://www.negroni.com/en/products/salami
This is OVER 100 years old brand .. famous for Salami ...
Now "Negroni" basically sounds like "Niggeron" ... "Negronetto" ( the smaller salami brand ) basically sounds like "Niggerly" ..
I suppose "Negroni" is NOT sold in USA
San Pellegrino Chinotto ( a bergamot based Italian OLD drink ) : https://www.sanpellegrinofruitbeverages ... inotto-221
Had for so many years the slogan "Drink DIFFERENT ! DRINK BLACK ! DRINK CHINOTTO !"
I don't think any african guy ever felt offended by Chinotto, and they should not, it was kinda celebrating the uniqueness good quality of a "different" drink.
Mind you Coca Cola is "black" as well .. or ok should we say "caramelised brownish colour" or should we not say it at all because the colour/recipe of Coca Cola is patented and so "we can not even talk about it or try to describe it" ?
Now .. the reality is .. "if you WANT to be racist you CAN be racist ANY TIME, NO MATTER how many euphemisms, forbidden words or things we can invent".
And when you start IMHO inventing or willing to use "so many euphemisms" you basically AMPLIFY A PROBLEM making it much bigger than what it should be/is rather then solving anything, also quite often more than not, making yourself looking at least a bit stupid in the process.
Likewise sometime some people get "over sensitive" I think .. "I am white of skin", if somoene calls me "Mozzarella" or "Mandolino" or "crap mafioso" I may say/think "this is racist" BUT at the same time what I should think "that's an idiot with his/her own idiotic (to me) ideas" .. it gets to a point "don't feed the troll", if you get "mad" at words you do their own game and you loose.
Should I lose my life getting nuts over a whiteboard or blackboard or a group of racists that no matter what words we use will always think the same because they won't change ? No, nobody should, nothing to see there move on.
So it's now "a board to write on using some writing instrument of some visible colour".
Call it "Pink board" or "Red board" or whatever else and probably is not good for color blind people ..
"chalkboard?" .. no no .. think about all those allergic to chalk !!
"writing board" ? What about dyslexic people ? They could get offended.
"Display board" ? What about eyesight-challenged people ?
"board" why it has to be a board could it be another shape ? think about we-dont-like-flatness people.
Actually you know what ? On the safe side, don't call anything, don't name anything, don't say anything, don't write anything, just don't say a word you'll be fine
Giles the billy goat
"Baa"
"Baa"
Re: Trump
Exactly.gilesgoat wrote:Now .. the reality is .. "if you WANT to be racist you CAN be racist ANY TIME, NO MATTER how many euphemisms, forbidden words or things we can invent".
"Out of sight" might mean "out of mind", but it doesn't mean "out of existence".
Banning the word "nigger" won't stop a racist thinking that inside their own head. Using the taboo word amongst their racist friends behind closed doors. It doesn't address racism at all. It's just trying to brush it under the carpet, so no-one sees it and then white middle-class people can pretend that these problems don't exist and they never have to face them or address them at any point whatsoever.
And, really, that's what's going on. It's a way to virtue signal, pretend to yourself that you're doing something to address the issues but, actually, you're just brushing it all under the carpet and "out of sight, out of mind".
Or, as I think, just speak honestly in plain language.gilesgoat wrote:Actually you know what ? On the safe side, don't call anything, don't name anything, don't say anything, don't write anything, just don't say a word you'll be fine
And if we have our differences - things you want to call me up on - then let's just talk it out. Communicate, debate, even argue.
Feelings might well be hurt along the way. But feelings are only temporary fleeting things. You'll forget about it in an hour or two. It's not that important, just to avoid offence, to hold the world to constant ransom like this.
Feelings are in no way sacrosanct. Sorry, but that's just simply the truth of the matter.
"Words ought to be a little wild - for they are assaults of thought on the unthinking."
- John Maynard Keynes
- John Maynard Keynes
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Harlequin
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Re: Trump
But using the wrong words can cause offence. To be offended these days is to be a victim of hatred and abuse, which means that the offender is a Nazi and effective rapist.
Is that too strong a comparison?
Is that too strong a comparison?
To her and the people who support her, apparently, being raped is not much worse than being flashed at. For some absurd and probably misogynistic reason, our legal systems disagree.Minnie Driver wrote:There is no hierarchy of abuse – that if a woman is raped [it] is much worse than if woman has a penis exposed to her that she didn’t want or ask for … you cannot tell those women that one is supposed to feel worse than the other.
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Little stoned kiwi
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Re: Trump
I'm offended by the lengthy posts by people offended about people getting offended.
If they think you're crude, go technical; if they think you're technical, go crude. I'm a very technical boy.
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Harlequin
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Re: Trump
Because all international leaders appreciate blackmail.Donald Trump (effectively) wrote:If you're not going to be supportive of everything I do then I'm taking my aid ball home with me and good riddance to the lot of you.
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gilesgoat
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Re: Trump
.. the famous black jazz trumpet player ..
He says "Listen up everybody ! I am the famous black trumpet player !"
And then finally ".. what a bunch of racists .. " ..
He says "Listen up everybody ! I am the famous black trumpet player !"
And then finally ".. what a bunch of racists .. " ..
Giles the billy goat
"Baa"
"Baa"
Re: Trump
I thought Blackboards were called such because they were made of slate which is a black or very dark gray material. Whiteboards appeared later and are made of some kind of plastic and as the name says are white.
Actually in Portuguese we always said just Board. "Go and right it on the board". They were all black, made of slate in my time, no point in describing the colour. Now that they are plastic they are still called just boards.
Actually in Portuguese we always said just Board. "Go and right it on the board". They were all black, made of slate in my time, no point in describing the colour. Now that they are plastic they are still called just boards.
Re: Trump
gilesgoat wrote:.. the famous black jazz trumpet player ..
He says "Listen up everybody ! I am the famous black trumpet player !"
And then finally ".. what a bunch of racists .. " ..
I remember that one. Ow i loved Mafalda. 
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gilesgoat
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Re: Trump
Paula check your PMs , I sent you a couple of Mafalda related thingsPFVA wrote:gilesgoat wrote:.. the famous black jazz trumpet player ..
He says "Listen up everybody ! I am the famous black trumpet player !"
And then finally ".. what a bunch of racists .. " ..
Giles the billy goat
"Baa"
"Baa"
Re: Trump
Lovely site. I can read the Spanish pretty well but i can remeber most strips too.
As for the subject of his thread it seem that the threats against countries that would vote in favour of the UN resolution didn't scare that many
As Leader of the Free World Trump is not very convincing, is he?
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42446027
As for the subject of his thread it seem that the threats against countries that would vote in favour of the UN resolution didn't scare that many
As Leader of the Free World Trump is not very convincing, is he?
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42446027
It seems the EU voted for the UN resolution with the exception of the Visegrad group that abstained.The non-binding resolution was approved by 128 states, with 35 abstaining and nine others voting against.