Snippet 20 -- Gene Therapy

 "Not a vaccine in the medical definition, the COVID-19 ‘vaccine’ is really an experimental gene therapy that does not render immunity or prevent infection or transmission of the disease."

( Well, who would have guessed ? )

WORDS OF WISDOM

 

''It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we do not do.''

Moliere

Snippet 19 -- The Desperation of Trump-haters

When is a snippet a small piece ?  A small piece of Ukraine illustrates an item of Earth-shattering proportion.  Another example is Apple Books, 'Read, listen, discover -- All in one place'.  Well, really, that's just a short advertising statement, snipped ignorantly.  So, now, as I absorb the studied words of Conrad Black's latest lengthy article about the desperation of Trump-haters, do I copy every agreeable word, change most of the adjectives with similes, and claim it as my own ... and, still, risk plagiarism, or do I resort to a snippet (again).  

Peggy Noonan and I [Conrad Black] have recently confirmed that our political disagreements absolutely won’t stand in the way of our long friendship.

This is timely, as in her latest pronouncement upon the ever-shifting and more desperate perspective of civilized Trump-hate (defined here as making some effort at analysis, no matter how nonsensical, and not just primal scream therapy like most Trump-haters) in her column in The Wall Street Journal on June 16, she presented the most delusional version of the Trump-cancellation argument that has yet been made by any otherwise serious person still capable of rational comment on the subject.

The five thin and vibrating tent poles holding up the porous canvas of Trump-denial now, according to Noonan, are: 2020 was a pristine election incapable of serious doubt; Trump was trying to overturn the election result by intimidation on Jan. 6, 2021; there’s no merit in the Trumpism-without-Trump argument—his administration was a complete failure in every policy area; his scores of millions of supporters don’t really support him and they’re deserting him; and all those who turned themselves inside-out—and in some cases violated election and vote-counting statutes—to bring Trump down have no responsibility whatsoever for the almost indescribable catastrophe of the present administration.

 👀 

Barring terrible tactical errors, of which he’s capable, Trump will be back, and will return much wiser and more formidable than we remember him.

Conrad Black (The Epoch Times)

Choose Your Fighter: The F-35 Saga

I am much too dismayed, alarmed, angry, by this news, that I have become afflicted by the syndrome of 'word-block', such that there is an urgency to publish it ... anywhere.

"After years of delays, Canada is upgrading its air force and replacing its fleet of aging CF-18 fighters with (88 of) the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II — a jet the Liberals once vowed they would never buy. The stealth fighter jet has long been touted as the future of aerial warfare, but the debate over buying (at $19 billion) a fleet has dragged on for more than a decade, (... maybe another decade before entering service) starting under the Harper government." "On the campaign trail in 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the F-35 would be a "nightmare" for Canadian taxpayers. "

Maclean's

Imitative Writing

 With the introductory statement that almost any subject could be included in this Blog, I have decide to share part of a conversation with an overseas senior student about T.E.S.L., and encourage, perhaps, controversial comment. 

Hi;

I knew that it would be hard to change the subject from “Teaching”.  But I’ve been reading through earlier comments and this one escaped my reply,:

“I focus on writing in my class. I usually ask my students to write short passages, like imitative writing. They like to do it and they gradually become more confident in English. I think it works well. And the class becomes not so tiring for me.?”

Note:  (a). The British have been teaching English for hundreds of years. 

(b)  I studied T.E.S.L. at a Canadian college. 

(c). I’m wearing my boring teacher's hat instead of my humorous penpal hat. 

Imitative writing is just copying … a chimpanzee can do that.  Write in early Egyptian hieroglyphs and they can do that equally well, but they’ll not become fluent in Arabic … only how to copy meaningful characters, without understanding the meaning.  Of course, “they like to do it”.  They’re just kids.

Also, thousands of books have been written on this subject, and most end up with concern for fluency.  In China, those books are published by the Propaganda Department of the CCP and do not contribute to a fluent use of the language.  Even the renowned Oxford University Press is based in Hong Kong!  Did you know that?  

There was an English Language Competition on CCTV whose hosts were British/Chinese from BBC TV, together with a Canadian called Dashan (I think).  They were the only Chinese, that I ever knew who were “fluent”.  

[My friend], don’t be annoyed.  I am very (very) aware that you are just following the “book”.  It must be extremely frustrating.  

I’ll finish, as I often do, with a humorous example.  Imagine the U.S. removing all the Chinese teachers of Chinese, ruling that Chinese must be taught by American teachers. [China has, in fact, dismissed all foreign teachers].  Take this idea to Europe and rule that the French language must be taught by German teachers, etcetera.  I may be displaying humour, but it’s very (very) serious humour.  

Bernie