Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
America. It's Constitution.
That's pretty pointed. Yes. You're right. And their worship of the Constitution may fuck them up.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
Add German beer to the German sausages.
For Italy it would be cars. Some great designs, provided you don't mind the breakdowns.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
America. It's Constitution.
I was going to suggest that but Americans can't even agree what its supposed to mean now.
So they're all proud of their own interpretation of it.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
Know what you mean about Tim Hortons but they did once rescue me in an edge of the world situation in a blizzard in Toronto, so they get a pass from me.
Labour's chief whip has asked ex-party leader Jeremy Corbyn to "unequivocally" apologise for saying the scale of anti-Semitism in the party had been "overstated for political reasons".
I don't think he has a problem in apologising fot it. The problem is he won't mean it, and will contradict that apology later - he clearly believes it was overstated for political reasons, even as he knows he is not supposed to say so but could not resist when the EHRC report came out.
Chief Whip a job so dirty, that Nick Brown was happy to take it under Ed Miliband, Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
Add German beer to the German sausages.
Yeah it's dull.
The weird thing is maybe the opposites are true. As an Englishman I was proud of my governance, the civil service, etc, we may have screwed up in multiple ways but I always felt that the absolute elite of the Establishment was run by people with brains and minds - they might be posh twats (or hopefully not) - but they were good.
Brexit and now Covid has completely demolished this conception, for me.
So maybe the Germans were proud of their sausages but despaired, through the 20th century, of their government, but now they should be proud of their capable, boring, efficient government but abandon the idea they have amazing sausages, coz they don't. A decent currywurst is just an industrial frankfurter in cheap curry sauce (nice, but not something to shout about)
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
America. It's Constitution.
That's pretty pointed. Yes. You're right. And their worship of the Constitution may fuck them up.
It's had a pretty impressive run as far as documents go and still has much to recommend it, but you shouldn't make gods of men, or of their words and intentions, not forever anyway.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
America. It's Constitution.
That's pretty pointed. Yes. You're right. And their worship of the Constitution may fuck them up.
Was a wonderful document when produced. Now looks extremely dated. Originally conceived to have a Consitutional Convention regularly to update it.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
America. It's Constitution.
That's pretty pointed. Yes. You're right. And their worship of the Constitution may fuck them up.
Was a wonderful document when produced. Now looks extremely dated. Originally conceived to have a Consitutional Convention regularly to update it.
It's become a kind of religious text where the main political fights are about who gets to interpret it.
It's very unfortunate that politics in the USA is now at the point where each side thinks they have to win to 'save' the country, not merely do a better job running it. We're not a million miles from that ourselves.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
Add German beer to the German sausages.
Yeah it's dull.
The weird thing is maybe the opposites are true. As an Englishman I was proud of my governance, the civil service, etc, we may have screwed up in multiple ways but I always felt that the absolute elite of the Establishment was run by people with brains and minds - they might be posh twats (or hopefully not) - but they were good.
Brexit and now Covid has completely demolished this conception, for me.
So maybe the Germans were proud of their sausages but despaired, through the 20th century, of their government, but now they should be proud of their capable, boring, efficient government but abandon the idea they have amazing sausages, coz they don't. A decent currywurst is just an industrial frankfurter in cheap curry sauce (nice, but not something to shout about)
The Currywurst may now be a German staple, but it's our fault, as it dates from the late 40s occupation by British troops, who gave them the taste for it.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
Add German beer to the German sausages.
For Italy it would be cars. Some great designs, provided you don't mind the breakdowns.
And you can put food down for Greece as well.
Reminds me of an American joke about British cars.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
It's very unfortunate that politics in the USA is now at the point where each side thinks they have to win to 'save' the country, not merely do a better job running it. We're not a million miles from that ourselves.
It's very unfortunate that politics in the USA is now at the point where each side thinks they have to win to 'save' the country, not merely do a better job running it. We're not a million miles from that ourselves.
When you get politics portrayed as always black and white, as it is nowadays, as opposed to various shades of grey, this is what you get.
If both sides believe the other is evil, thinking you are saving the country is the logical conclusion.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
Trump genuinely thinks that he is a great man - intelligent, perceptive, great judgement etc. Yet by his own admission many of the people who have worked for him, who he has chosen, and then he has sacked, have been uttterly useless and/or mad.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
England: stiff upper lips, understatement
I don't think we're all that good at queuing to be honest. Maybe it's a British thing and the rest of the UK is so great at it it makes up for it?
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
England: stiff upper lips, understatement
Those are both British traits, rightly or wrongly.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
Add German beer to the German sausages.
Yeah it's dull.
The weird thing is maybe the opposites are true. As an Englishman I was proud of my governance, the civil service, etc, we may have screwed up in multiple ways but I always felt that the absolute elite of the Establishment was run by people with brains and minds - they might be posh twats (or hopefully not) - but they were good.
Brexit and now Covid has completely demolished this conception, for me.
So maybe the Germans were proud of their sausages but despaired, through the 20th century, of their government, but now they should be proud of their capable, boring, efficient government but abandon the idea they have amazing sausages, coz they don't. A decent currywurst is just an industrial frankfurter in cheap curry sauce (nice, but not something to shout about)
Reputations seem to lag the reality by several decades, if not longer.
A country can be at the cutting edge, but still be full of pessimistic people whose view of the world is stuck in the past, but then when it goes into decline, the effect reverses itself.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
England: stiff upper lips, understatement
Those are both British traits, rightly or wrongly.
Trump genuinely thinks that he is a great man - intelligent, perceptive, great judgement etc. Yet by his own admission many of the people who have worked for him, who he has chosen, and then he has sacked, have been uttterly useless and/or mad.
I wonder why he thinks that is.
Do we have to cross the Atlantic to consider such a question?
Trump genuinely thinks that he is a great man - intelligent, perceptive, great judgement etc. Yet by his own admission many of the people who have worked for him, who he has chosen, and then he has sacked, have been uttterly useless and/or mad.
I wonder why he thinks that is.
I'm going out on a limb here but I'm guessing (and this is purely speculative) that he thinks it's someone else's fault.
He's a very extreme version of a trait most of us have to some degree (and which is arguably quite healthy in moderate doses) - believing good things that happen to us are our own doing, and bad things are either unlucky or down to other people.
Many in France pride themselves on its pronounced secularism. However, given that France is the world capital of hyperchondria, and of industrial and civil unrest, the banishing of God from the public sphere doesn't seem to have resulted in a more rational, ordered, or happy society.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
Add German beer to the German sausages.
Yeah it's dull.
The weird thing is maybe the opposites are true. As an Englishman I was proud of my governance, the civil service, etc, we may have screwed up in multiple ways but I always felt that the absolute elite of the Establishment was run by people with brains and minds - they might be posh twats (or hopefully not) - but they were good.
Brexit and now Covid has completely demolished this conception, for me.
So maybe the Germans were proud of their sausages but despaired, through the 20th century, of their government, but now they should be proud of their capable, boring, efficient government but abandon the idea they have amazing sausages, coz they don't. A decent currywurst is just an industrial frankfurter in cheap curry sauce (nice, but not something to shout about)
The Currywurst may now be a German staple, but it's our fault, as it dates from the late 40s occupation by British troops, who gave them the taste for it.
Currywurst is hideous. Worse than pineapple pizza or Radiohead.
Non-apology? ‘I apologise ... for my earlier post, which I have deleted’. That does rather look like an apology to me?
The first sentence frames the context for it, and undermines it, as well as implying he did it because unknown constituents want him to jump on people like that so passing on responsibility for how he chose to act. It's easy to read it as 'I was standing up for my for my constituents who raised stuff like this with me, so even when I get it wrong, it's not my fault for jumping on this guy unnecessarily'.
It passes muster as an apology, though he'll clearly continue to challenge people about the same issue (since that is standing up for his constituents) and risk getting it similarly wrong.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
Are there any English people who haven't been insulted by a Glasgow taxi driver for no reason...
Trump genuinely thinks that he is a great man - intelligent, perceptive, great judgement etc. Yet by his own admission many of the people who have worked for him, who he has chosen, and then he has sacked, have been uttterly useless and/or mad.
I wonder why he thinks that is.
I'm going out on a limb here but I'm guessing (and this is purely speculative) that he thinks it's someone else's fault.
He's a very extreme version of a trait most of us have to some degree (and which is arguably quite healthy in moderate doses) - believing good things that happen to us are our own doing, and bad things are either unlucky or down to other people.
Oh I don't doubt it, but when he picks someone it's incredible that even he can divorce himself from responsibility so totally. Sure, you can be unlucky in your pick a couple of times, but as many times as him?
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
Add German beer to the German sausages.
Yeah it's dull.
The weird thing is maybe the opposites are true. As an Englishman I was proud of my governance, the civil service, etc, we may have screwed up in multiple ways but I always felt that the absolute elite of the Establishment was run by people with brains and minds - they might be posh twats (or hopefully not) - but they were good.
Brexit and now Covid has completely demolished this conception, for me.
So maybe the Germans were proud of their sausages but despaired, through the 20th century, of their government, but now they should be proud of their capable, boring, efficient government but abandon the idea they have amazing sausages, coz they don't. A decent currywurst is just an industrial frankfurter in cheap curry sauce (nice, but not something to shout about)
The Currywurst may now be a German staple, but it's our fault, as it dates from the late 40s occupation by British troops, who gave them the taste for it.
"Taste for it"? Wa-hey! That sounds terribly rude!
The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, has warned that the economic cost of a no-deal Brexit would be bigger in the long term than the damage caused by Covid-19.
Non-apology? ‘I apologise ... for my earlier post, which I have deleted’. That does rather look like an apology to me?
Perhaps it's a non-non-apology.
Blackford has failed to grasp even the basic essence of a non-apology, namely the '...if anyone has taken offence...' clause.
Yes, even some masters of the art have been forgetting it recently. Patel said ‘I’m sorry that I upset people’ at one point, though she did manage to incorporate the ‘if I have ...’ formulation in most of her interviews.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
Are there any English people who haven't been insulted by a Glasgow taxi driver for no reason...
Only the ones who aren't c*nts, which I will allow is a very considerable number.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
England: stiff upper lips, understatement
Those are both British traits, rightly or wrongly.
the presentation of something as being smaller or less good or important than it really is. "a master of English understatement"
I don't see what that has to do with anything. I am not aware of 18th century England being farmed for its use of understatement - my understanding is that the opposite is true. The tendency to understate originated (I imagine) in the 19th century, and is tied in with colonialism, notions of polite behaviour amongst the new industrial classes, the importance placed on hard work, thrift and not showing emotion in public, and were cemented in the early 20th century in the wars. All those things evolved in Britain amongst the British, and Scots influenced it and were influenced by it in turn. There's no language or tradition of understatement present in England that isn't present in Scotland too. When you are able to acknowledge these simple concepts and still support Scottish independence, it will indicate maturity.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
England: stiff upper lips, understatement
Those are both British traits, rightly or wrongly.
the presentation of something as being smaller or less good or important than it really is. "a master of English understatement"
I don't see what that has to do with anything. I am not aware of 18th century England being farmed for its use of understatement - my understanding is that the opposite is true. The tendency to understate originated (I imagine) in the 19th century, and is tied in with colonialism, notions of polite behaviour amongst the new industrial classes, the importance placed on hard work, thrift and not showing emotion in public, and were cemented in the early 20th century in the wars. All those things evolved in Britain amongst the British, and Scots influenced it and were influenced by it in turn. There's no language or tradition of understatement present in England that isn't present in Scotland too. When you are able to acknowledge these simple concepts and still support Scottish independence, it will indicate maturity.
Britsplainers of Britain to the Jocks are the best 'splainers.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
England: stiff upper lips, understatement
Those are both British traits, rightly or wrongly.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
England: stiff upper lips, understatement
Those are both British traits, rightly or wrongly.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
England: stiff upper lips, understatement
Those are both British traits, rightly or wrongly.
the presentation of something as being smaller or less good or important than it really is. "a master of English understatement"
We’re OK at it, I guess.
My point being, the Scots are hardly terrible at it either. If you can find a single example of a phrase of 'English understatement' that isn't also common parlance in Scotland, I'll be not entirely unimpressed.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
England: stiff upper lips, understatement
Those are both British traits, rightly or wrongly.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
England: stiff upper lips, understatement
Those are both British traits, rightly or wrongly.
the presentation of something as being smaller or less good or important than it really is. "a master of English understatement"
We’re OK at it, I guess.
My point being, the Scots are hardly terrible at it either. If you can find a single example of a phrase of 'English understatement' that isn't also common parlance in Scotland, I'll be not entirely unimpressed.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
England: stiff upper lips, understatement
Those are both British traits, rightly or wrongly.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
England: stiff upper lips, understatement
Those are both British traits, rightly or wrongly.
the presentation of something as being smaller or less good or important than it really is. "a master of English understatement"
We’re OK at it, I guess.
My point being, the Scots are hardly terrible at it either. If you can find a single example of a phrase of 'English understatement' that isn't also common parlance in Scotland, I'll be not entirely unimpressed.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
England: stiff upper lips, understatement
Those are both British traits, rightly or wrongly.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
England: stiff upper lips, understatement
Those are both British traits, rightly or wrongly.
the presentation of something as being smaller or less good or important than it really is. "a master of English understatement"
We’re OK at it, I guess.
My point being, the Scots are hardly terrible at it either. If you can find a single example of a phrase of 'English understatement' that isn't also common parlance in Scotland, I'll be not entirely unimpressed.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
England: stiff upper lips, understatement
Those are both British traits, rightly or wrongly.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
England: stiff upper lips, understatement
Those are both British traits, rightly or wrongly.
the presentation of something as being smaller or less good or important than it really is. "a master of English understatement"
We’re OK at it, I guess.
My point being, the Scots are hardly terrible at it either. If you can find a single example of a phrase of 'English understatement' that isn't also common parlance in Scotland, I'll be not entirely unimpressed.
Apologies for the bizarre triple and double quotes. Is there a mobile browser that Vanilla performs well on? I've got Chrome and Firefox but there are issues with both.
Hmmm. I wonder if he isn’t making the same mistake as Obama and surrounding himself with too many older people. Harris, in her 60s, Blinken, 58, Mayorkas, 61, now Yellen, 74.
I hope he brings through some people in their late 40s/early 50s in other roles.
It's also been noticed in France that he's picked several fluent French speakers.
Awww, bless the French. Time was French was THE language of diplomacy, and high culture, spoken by anyone with a decent education, and used fluently as a lingua franca across the world. Also, of course, THE language of the EU (which is one reason the French were traditionally so keen on the EU - as a bulwark of French culture, especially language, then we joined and fucked it up)
Now they are pitiably grateful for some decent and temporary French speakers on the presidential team of a demented 98 year old US leader, even as China officially tweets in English.
There haven't been many reasons to feel triumphantly English in the last decades, but the absolute triumph of English is one of them. We won. And how.
Bizarre sources of national pride:
France - the French language UK - the NHS
any others ?
That's a totally brilliant question. Things which countries are proud of but.... why?
America: food - it's mostly terrible Scotland: friendly people - OMG no Spain: sociable Med warmth, no they are frosty (unlike Italians) England: good governance - well, here we are Germany: sausages :(oddly boring) Canada: Tim Hortons
England: stiff upper lips, understatement
Those are both British traits, rightly or wrongly.
the presentation of something as being smaller or less good or important than it really is. "a master of English understatement"
I don't see what that has to do with anything. I am not aware of 18th century England being farmed for its use of understatement - my understanding is that the opposite is true. The tendency to understate originated (I imagine) in the 19th century, and is tied in with colonialism, notions of polite behaviour amongst the new industrial classes, the importance placed on hard work, thrift and not showing emotion in public, and were cemented in the early 20th century in the wars. All those things evolved in Britain amongst the British, and Scots influenced it and were influenced by it in turn. There's no language or tradition of understatement present in England that isn't present in Scotland too. When you are able to acknowledge these simple concepts and still support Scottish independence, it will indicate maturity.
Trump genuinely thinks that he is a great man - intelligent, perceptive, great judgement etc. Yet by his own admission many of the people who have worked for him, who he has chosen, and then he has sacked, have been uttterly useless and/or mad.
I wonder why he thinks that is.
Because of a massive conspiracy against him, obviously.
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And you can put food down for Greece as well.
So they're all proud of their own interpretation of it.
Agree the rest though.
*handcream etc so not that exciting!
The weird thing is maybe the opposites are true. As an Englishman I was proud of my governance, the civil service, etc, we may have screwed up in multiple ways but I always felt that the absolute elite of the Establishment was run by people with brains and minds - they might be posh twats (or hopefully not) - but they were good.
Brexit and now Covid has completely demolished this conception, for me.
So maybe the Germans were proud of their sausages but despaired, through the 20th century, of their government, but now they should be proud of their capable, boring, efficient government but abandon the idea they have amazing sausages, coz they don't. A decent currywurst is just an industrial frankfurter in cheap curry sauce (nice, but not something to shout about)
Q: Why do the British drink warm beer?
A: Because Lucas also make refrigerators!"
If both sides believe the other is evil, thinking you are saving the country is the logical conclusion.
https://twitter.com/landscapes365/status/1330963316299194369?s=20
I wonder why he thinks that is.
Wow.
A country can be at the cutting edge, but still be full of pessimistic people whose view of the world is stuck in the past, but then when it goes into decline, the effect reverses itself.
https://twitter.com/KFILE/status/1330906046223757312
understatement
/ʌndəˈsteɪtm(ə)nt,ˈʌndəsteɪtm(ə)nt/
Learn to pronounce
noun
noun: understatement; plural noun: understatements
the presentation of something as being smaller or less good or important than it really is.
"a master of English understatement"
He's a very extreme version of a trait most of us have to some degree (and which is arguably quite healthy in moderate doses) - believing good things that happen to us are our own doing, and bad things are either unlucky or down to other people.
It passes muster as an apology, though he'll clearly continue to challenge people about the same issue (since that is standing up for his constituents) and risk getting it similarly wrong.
Storm in a teacup.
Blackford has failed to grasp even the basic essence of a non-apology, namely the '...if anyone has taken offence...' clause.
https://twitter.com/BNODesk/status/1330984331960086528?s=19
https://twitter.com/SamiGrover/status/1330958270157217792
NEW THREAD
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZSb99YCd/
My point being, the Scots are hardly terrible at it either. If you can find a single example of a phrase of 'English understatement' that isn't also common parlance in Scotland, I'll be not entirely unimpressed.