Quote of the Day/Week/Month/Year

[bloodyminded]

She can't seem to assemble an English sentence.

Not very well, no. And in and of itself, I don't find this the wrost possible characteristic. I thought Bush's critics were too hard on him for what is arguably a trivial matter.

With Palin, it's just funny to me that her less-than-excellent English abets her in putting her foot in her mouth.

[Pliny]

"The American people voted for socialism when they elected Barack Obama."

The Reverend Al Sharpton.

[capricorn]

From Aaron Wherry, in attendance at the Liberal thinkfest.

Bloggers are like journalists who’ve not yet lost the ability to be genuinely interested in things.

http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/03/28/searching-for-the-liberal-party-day-3/

[Oleg Bach]

John Vidal, Environment Editor, The Guardian:

That is about as liberal and Orwellian as you can get..." I did not kill him, I simply changed him."

[August1991]

Paul Krugman, 57, Nobel Laureate in Economics:

"The basic picture of the federal government you should have in mind is that it’s essentially a huge insurance company with an army."

Link

[August1991]

Tony Blair in 2007:

“But I can’t say what I don’t believe about this; whatever it began as, it is part of this wider struggle today and . . . if there’s anything I regret. . . it is . . . not having laid out for people in a clearer way what I saw as the profound nature of this struggle and the fact that it was going to go on for a generation.”

And for once his conclusion was, very uncharacteristically, gloomy. “The enemy that we are fighting I am afraid has learnt . . . that our stomach for this fight is limited and I believe they think they can wait us out. Our determination has got to match theirs and our will has got to be stronger than theirs and at the moment I think it is probably not.”

The Times

[August1991]

Michael Ignatieff, Leader of the Opposition:

Mr. Speaker, for more than seven months the Prime Minister has stood by and watched while Mr. and Mrs. Jaffer attached their tentacles to the neck of the government and slowly dragged it down. The question now is not about Mr. and Mrs. Jaffer, it is about the Prime Minister.

House of Commons Edited April 16, 2010 by August1991

[Michael Hardner]

Not all dinosaurs went extinct. The one's who accepted the inevitable turned into birds.

[August1991]

Frank Graves, president of Ekos polling, advises the federal Liberal Party:

“I told them that they should invoke a culture war. Cosmopolitanism versus parochialism, secularism versus moralism, Obama versus Palin, tolerance versus racism and homophobia, democracy versus autocracy. If the cranky old men in Alberta don’t like it, too bad. Go south and vote for Palin.”

G&M

[capricorn]

I'm in politics to unite Canadians, not divide them. I think we've got a prime minister who's a divider, not a uniter.

http://www.sootoday.com/content/news/full_story.asp?StoryNumber=46217

So said Ignatieff to a gathering at a town hall meeting in Sault Ste. Marie on Monday May 3, 2010. A number of photos were taken at the event. Three caught my eye and would be worthy of a caption contest.

http://www.sootoday.com/content/news/gallery.asp?Page=15&StoryNumber=46217&NTitle=%27I%27m+a+uniter.+Harper+is+not%27+-+Ignatieff+%3Cb%3E%2820+photos%29%3C%2Fb%3E

http://www.sootoday.com/content/news/gallery.asp?Page=18&StoryNumber=46217&NTitle=%27I%27m+a+uniter.+Harper+is+not%27+-+Ignatieff+%3Cb%3E%2820+photos%29%3C%2Fb%3E

http://www.sootoday.com/content/news/gallery.asp?Page=19&StoryNumber=46217&NTitle=%27I%27m+a+uniter.+Harper+is+not%27+-+Ignatieff+%3Cb%3E%2820+photos%29%3C%2Fb%3E

[August1991]

Mahkdoom Qureshi, Pakistani Foreign Minister, 53, describes an attempted car bombing in Times Square:

"This is a blow back. This is a reaction. This is retaliation. And you could expect that," Qureshi said. "Let's not be naive. They're not going to sort of sit and welcome you eliminate them. They're going to fight back."

CBS News

[Handsome Rob]

More money is spent on boob jobs and viagra than on alzheimer’s research! By 2040 the elderly will have perky ****'s, stiff ****'s and no ****ing idea why!

-Unknown

[August1991]

Stephen Harper meets two Montreal Canadiens fans in Zagreb:

“I did see [the two fans]. Absolutely,” Mr. Harper told reporters before he went outside to meet them. “It just shows Montreal Canadiens fans take their loyalty everywhere, as we know, in Canada and abroad. Toronto Maple Leaf fans do the same thing, a little more shyly this time of year.”

G&M

[bloodyminded]

"And what's that in English?"

CNN's Rick Sanchez, genuinely asking in all seriousness, after a guest said something about a measurement in "metres."

[Guest American Woman]

CNN's Rick Sanchez, genuinely asking in all seriousness, after a guest said something about a measurement in "metres."

The U.S. system of measurement is sometimes, though not often, referred to as English units. Or do you think he was stupid for not being able to figure the conversion out himself? I can make an approximation without use of a converter, but not exactly what x number of metres would convert to. So perhaps that was the case with Sanchez, and I'm certain many viewers would have no idea what metres equaled in feet as they don't generally use the metric system in their daily lives.

[Smallc]

The U.S. system of measurement is sometimes, though not often, referred to as English units.

Well that seems rather silly, being as the English now use the metric system.

[Guest American Woman]

Well that seems rather silly, being as the English now use the metric system.

Since the system the U.S. is based on was first developed in Britain, and referred to as English units, not quite as silly as you might think.

[bloodyminded]

The U.S. system of measurement is sometimes, though not often, referred to as English units. Or do you think he was stupid for not being able to figure the conversion out himself? I can make an approximation without use of a converter, but not exactly what x number of metres would convert to. So perhaps that was the case with Sanchez, and I'm certain many viewers would have no idea what metres equaled in feet as they don't generally use the metric system in their daily lives.

I know. I wasn't making fun of the inability to convert--as a child of both systems, my own mental conversions are nonetheless only approximate. (There's a saying: only in Canada can a river be half a mile wide and fifteen metres deep. )

I was laughing about the "in English?" remark: I seriously doubt he was talking about "English units": he was talking about language. As in, "metres" isn't a word commonly understood by "English"-speakers.

[Guest American Woman]

I know. I wasn't making fun of the inability to convert--as a child of both systems, my own mental conversions are nonetheless only approximate. (There's a saying: only in Canada can a river be half a mile wide and fifteen metres deep. )

I was laughing about the "in English?" remark: I seriously doubt he was talking about "English units": he was talking about language. As in, "metres" isn't a word commonly understood by "English"-speakers.

Could be, though I'm not so sure.

DR. KURT FRANKEL: I think that's a sign of that. I don't think you can translate that nine meters into any specific wave height that will hit Hawaii. So, may be careful about that. It doesn't necessarily mean there's going to be nine meters of runup in Hawaii. But it is showing that you the tsunami in fact did pass by...

SANCHEZ: Nine meters. By the way, nine meters in English is?

FRANKEL: Oh, about 27 feet.

SANCHEZ: 27 Feet.

FRANKEL: About 30 feet.

SANCHEZ: So, we're seeing a 27-foot drop in that area right there? Sorry about that.

link

Sounds to me as if he was just asking for clarification as to what nine meters was in feet.

He was Cuban born and "raised Cuban" in Miami, so maybe he comes out with things differently than we do sometimes. Just a thought. I don't know the man and have no feelings about him one way or the other, but I guess my first impression was that he was simply asking for the scientist he was interviewing to convert metres to feet. Maybe it was a stupid thing for a newsperson/commentator (whatever he is) to say, though.

[bush_cheney2004]

Well that seems rather silly, being as the English now use the metric system.

This is a common misunderstanding, as basic "units of measure" are not the same as a larger "system" of derived measurement.

[bloodyminded]

Could be, though I'm not so sure.

DR. KURT FRANKEL: I think that's a sign of that. I don't think you can translate that nine meters into any specific wave height that will hit Hawaii. So, may be careful about that. It doesn't necessarily mean there's going to be nine meters of runup in Hawaii. But it is showing that you the tsunami in fact did pass by...

SANCHEZ: Nine meters. By the way, nine meters in English is?

FRANKEL: Oh, about 27 feet.

SANCHEZ: 27 Feet.

FRANKEL: About 30 feet.

SANCHEZ: So, we're seeing a 27-foot drop in that area right there? Sorry about that.

link

Sounds to me as if he was just asking for clarification as to what nine meters was in feet.

He was Cuban born and "raised Cuban" in Miami, so maybe he comes out with things differently than we do sometimes. Just a thought. I don't know the man and have no feelings about him one way or the other, but I guess my first impression was that he was simply asking for the scientist he was interviewing to convert metres to feet. Maybe it was a stupid thing for a newsperson/commentator (whatever he is) to say, though.

Sure, this is all fair enough. I just thought it funny. Jon Stewart played the clip, and then quoted the Dr's words with a British accent.

[Smallc]

Since the system the U.S. is based on was first developed in Britain, and referred to as English units, not quite as silly as you might think.

Well, I realize where it was developed...but the English don't use it anymore...IMO, because it sucks.

[Guest American Woman]

Sure, this is all fair enough. I just thought it funny. Jon Stewart played the clip, and then quoted the Dr's words with a British accent.

I can imagine it was pretty funny when Stewart parodied it.

Well, I realize where it was developed...but the English don't use it anymore...IMO, because it sucks.

If you realize where it was developed, then it shouldn't seem such a silly matter to you that it's sometimes referred to as English units. And of course it sucks; everything about the U.S. sucks.

Edited May 8, 2010 by American Woman

[Sir Bandelot]

Commonly known as the Imperial system.

[bush_cheney2004]

....If you realize where it was developed, then it shouldn't seem such a silly matter to you that it's sometimes referred to as English units. And of course it sucks; everything about the U.S. sucks.

Yes...the USA sucks for them but only a small minority of Canadians know their own height or weight in metric units, as the Imperial (what a lovely name) system remains in use for many things.

Edited May 9, 2010 by bush_cheney2004