What's in the News

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Re: What's in the News
« Reply #360 on: February 13, 2008, 11:55:31 PM »
Why is my country so effing stupid?
Three guys were arrested for planning to assassinate one of the Muhammed cartoonists. Now, in sympathy and to defend freedom of speech, all the major newspapers have printed one of the really insulting cartoons! Didn't they learn something last time around? Freedom of speech does not mean you can insult people just because you want to.
I'm all in favour of freedom of speech. I am also clever enough not to use said freedom, walk up to a biker and tell him that I really did enjoy his mother last night and could he please make her stop calling, as she is a bit clingy.

The one newspaper headling you won't find today and which really should be there is:

Denmark screws up royally!

My country is so stupid, stupid, stupid  llllllllll llllllllll llllllllll llllllllll
"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination." Oscar Wilde.

"It's all oojah cum spiffy". Bertie Wooster.
"The stars are God's daisy chain" Madeleine Bassett.

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Acjade

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Re: What's in the News
« Reply #361 on: February 14, 2008, 12:15:07 AM »
Hey! I'll have you know your country married a Tasmanian... oh right. Sorry.

Re: What's in the News
« Reply #362 on: February 27, 2008, 01:46:26 AM »
Ok, got this in an e-mail today.  What think ye of this.  True and scary or a urban myth.  However, I do remember hearing something about it a few months ago, so it might be partly true.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuBo4E77ZXo
Be kind to dragons for thou are crunchy when roasted and taste good with brie.

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George

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Re: What's in the News
« Reply #363 on: February 27, 2008, 02:22:21 AM »
Dunno, but there are a lot of related vids on YouTube.
The higher they fly, the fewer!    http://neilson.aminus3.com/

Re: What's in the News
« Reply #364 on: February 28, 2008, 02:52:49 AM »
http://uk.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUKL1568814620080215?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

This is just too hilarious for words. It sort of puts the whole debate about the negative influence of popular entertainment on kids in a new perspective.
"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination." Oscar Wilde.

"It's all oojah cum spiffy". Bertie Wooster.
"The stars are God's daisy chain" Madeleine Bassett.

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Monkey King

Re: What's in the News
« Reply #365 on: March 05, 2008, 04:11:11 AM »
Bjork caused a minor stir during her visit to these fair shores.  I dunno, seems kind of selfish and pointless (on her part).

http://www.smh.com.au/news/people/china-sees-red-over-bjorks-politics/2008/03/04/1204402441712.html

China sees red over ice queen's politics


March 4, 2008 - 5:25PM

Icelandic singer Bjork has ignited criticism from Chinese fans after she declared "T! T!" to end a passionate performance of her song Declare Independence during a concert in Shanghai.

The outburst at the finale of Bjork's Sunday night concert drew rare public attention inside China to Beijing's often harsh rule over the at times independent Himalayan region of T.

Bjork's statement was not reported in the state-controlled media, but online sites were aflame with angry comment after word leaked out.

"If she really did this, then this woman really makes people throw up," one comment on popular Chinese web site Sina.com said.

Some at the Shanghai concert said the politically tinged finale made audience members uneasy,

"The atmosphere was very strange, uncomfortable compared to the rest of the concert," said audience member Stephen Gow, a British teacher who lives in Shanghai. People didn't boo, Gow said, but they left the Shanghai International Gymnastic Centre hurriedly.

Officials at the China-based company promoting the concert, Emma Ticketmaster, said they had no comment.

Bjork has used Declare Independence - the lyrics include the entreaty "Raise your flag!" - to declare political support for various causes.

She dedicated the song to Kosovo while performing last month in Japan. Her video for the song shows her in a jumpsuit bearing the flags of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, far-flung territories controlled by Denmark.

China's 58-year rule over the formerly independent mountain nation of T has drawn frequent condemnation from foreign governments and activists, often inciting a prickly nationalism among the Chinese government and ordinary people. Many Tans consider the exiled Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama as their rightful leader.

In a sign of Bjork's reputation for unpredictable behaviour, Shanghai's English-language newspaper, Shanghai Daily, last month heralded her concert date with the headline "Bjork's Shanghai Surprise."


Re: What's in the News
« Reply #366 on: March 05, 2008, 04:15:10 AM »
I love it when singers/actors are politically active. The only thing she can hope to get out of this is publicity and possibly join David Thewlis in the We Are Famous and Not Allowed To Go To China Anymore group.

What a silly, silly thing to do.
"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination." Oscar Wilde.

"It's all oojah cum spiffy". Bertie Wooster.
"The stars are God's daisy chain" Madeleine Bassett.

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Lotus Eater

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Re: What's in the News
« Reply #367 on: March 05, 2008, 05:08:25 AM »
Doesn't help anyone, makes it harder for those living in T (ie Tans as well as foreigners).  The last time anyone did anything 'helpful' like that the Gov't decided all travellers had to use guides.  No more travelling independently. It's difficult enough already for the Tans.  Even in Gansu where I went for Monlam festival, the military were out in force during the festival to make certain there was no 'trouble'.

Bloody hell - why don't people ever consider the consequences of their actions?

Re: What's in the News
« Reply #368 on: March 05, 2008, 05:16:24 AM »
It does show the difference between East and West.  If a Chinese group visiting the UK were to utter the words "Scotland! Scotland!" they wouldn't receive anything more than a few rolled eyes...
It is too early to say.

Re: What's in the News
« Reply #369 on: March 05, 2008, 07:53:14 AM »
What did David Thewlis do??

I saw the Bjork sttory today. silly---some in the crowd thought she was yelling "to bed" since it was her last song. Screaming T makes no sense to anyone. Does she even know anything about T? Maybe but I somehow doubt it---just being trendy.

Reminds me of the Dixie Chicks doc title---SHUT UP AND SING. (Althought Chicks was another matter altogether.)

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teleplayer

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Re: What's in the News
« Reply #370 on: March 05, 2008, 08:32:30 AM »
By the time many of you see this, U.S. national good grammar day will have come and gone.....
http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/paper885/news/2008/03/04/Features/Good-Grammar.Gets.Its.Day-3249247.shtml

Good grammar gets its day
By: Andrew Dunn, Features Editor
Posted: 3/4/08
When sophomore Ben Thompson is listening to a story, he won't hesitate to interrupt it in the name of grammar.

"If they say, 'Sally and me went to the movies,' I'll stop them and say, 'Sally and I.' It can be at the most crucial part of the story, but I will stop it and fix it," he said.

"Dude, I hate when people misuse grammar."

Today, magicians of the modifiers and geniuses of the gerunds can take heart, for it is National Grammar Day.

Sponsored by the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar and the Microsoft Encarta encyclopedia, the day is intended to honor the English language and to emphasize the importance of proper syntax.

"If we don't respect and honor the rules of English, we lose our ability to communicate clearly and well," the day's official Web site states.

"In short, we invite mayhem, misery, madness and inevitably even more bad things that start with letters other than M."

How to celebrate? The grammar society recommends spreading the gospel of grammar.

"If you see a sign with a catastrophic apostrophe, send a kind note to the storekeeper," the Web site states. "If your local newscaster says, 'Between you and I,' set him straight with a friendly e-mail."

Also suggested are grammar potluck dinners, serving high-fiber foods.

They're good for the colon.

But some students at UNC take their grammar a bit more seriously.

Sophomore Stephanie Smith said she became dedicated to proper English during her junior year of high school.

She is particularly bothered by errors with "lie" and "lay" but enjoys parsing the differences between "who" and "whom."

Now, Smith said, she has trained herself to pay attention to grammatical errors in her friends' speech and corrects them when necessary.

"I don't say it to be superior or anything; I say it to help them," Smith said.

"At this age there is so much opportunity. We need to know how to speak intelligently."

She said she has converted her best friend and housemate, sophomore Elena Beidler, into a grammar aficionado.

"We talk about grammar all the time now," Smith said.

She added that grammar errors are not hard to fix, if people would just start learning basic grammar principles and noticing the errors in their speech.

"It's so effortless once you learn the fundamentals," she said. "It becomes a habit."

But UNC English professor Connie Elbe was not quite so extreme.

"I am not certain that formal training in grammar is necessary, or even important," Elbe wrote in an e-mail.

"I do think that the precise, clear and careful use of language is important. Insofar as the effective use of the language requires attention to grammatical structure, to that extent grammar is important."



Contact the Features Editor
at features@unc.edu.
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© Copyright 2008 Daily Tar Heel

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George

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Re: What's in the News
« Reply #371 on: March 05, 2008, 11:29:52 PM »
Hullo! What's going on here???

"Ten Australians have been taken hostage by a Chinese national in China today, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) says.

The Australians were all later released unharmed after being taken hostage on a tourist bus in the city of Xian, in central China, a DFAT spokesperson said.

Nine of the Australians were released and transported to safety early in the crisis.

But a 48-year-old woman from NSW was not released with the rest of the group.

"Chinese police authorities intervened and secured the release of the woman," the spokesperson said.

Australia's Consulate-General would meet the group on arrival in Shanghai and provide assistance, the spokesperson said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith said he was pleased the situation was resolved so quickly and the hostages were safe.

"Our Embassy in Beijing and our Consulate-General in Shanghai are providing consular assistance to the Australians affected by this incident," Mr Smith said."
The higher they fly, the fewer!    http://neilson.aminus3.com/

Re: What's in the News
« Reply #372 on: March 05, 2008, 11:46:45 PM »

"If they say, 'Sally and me went to the movies,' I'll stop them and say, 'Sally and I.' It can be at the most crucial part of the story, but I will stop it and fix it," he said.

"Dude, I hate when people misuse grammar."

Sophomore Stephanie Smith said she became dedicated to proper English during her junior year of high school.

She is particularly bothered by errors with "lie" and "lay" but enjoys parsing the differences between "who" and "whom."

Now, Smith said, she has trained herself to pay attention to grammatical errors in her friends' speech and corrects them when necessary.

"I don't say it to be superior or anything; I say it to help them," Smith said.

"At this age there is so much opportunity. We need to know how to speak intelligently."


Look, shoddy grammar irritates me too, but these two are going to star at an impromptu event involving duct tape and involuntary nudity if they keep this up.
And there is no liar like the indignant man... -Nietszche

Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task. -William James

englishmoose.com

Re: What's in the News
« Reply #373 on: March 06, 2008, 12:01:25 AM »
I'm pretty shit-hot when it comes to grammar, but I can't remember the last time I used the word 'whom', I have to confess!
It is too early to say.

Re: What's in the News
« Reply #374 on: March 06, 2008, 12:03:41 AM »
"enjoys parsing the difference between 'who' and 'whom'" llllllllll llllllllll
Not only are these guys going to, invariably, get punched in the face after they tell some guy that, "aint is really not proper English, you know?" but they also just earned the Most Boring Entity in the Universe Award.
"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination." Oscar Wilde.

"It's all oojah cum spiffy". Bertie Wooster.
"The stars are God's daisy chain" Madeleine Bassett.