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“DON’T TASE ME, BRO!”
But tasered he was.
Don’t worry. I am sure that the various leftie groups who thought APEC security was over the top will rush to condemn this.
Seriously though, if this had happened in Australia I am sure at least one person in the audience would have had the sack to stand up and say, “Steady on”, to the cops. That was way over the top.
Posted by Abu Chowdah on 2007 09 18 at 04:55 AM • permalinkHere they are bitching about the police taking off their ID badges. No matter that violent protesters like to obscure their faces. Ignore the history, pretend that security is all unnecessary. A few taser-take-downs would have been a treat in Melbourne.
Police should only wear truthful ID when the protesters do the same.Nic
blogstropYou blokes psychic or something? lav rodeo has just put up a post on this.
Id have no problems with video evidence being used by protesters as long as they can prove chain of custody, operator training, no editing or strategic “camera wobbles” and all the crap the coppers have to do to get a case up.
Oh and you wear all the costs, regardless of if the prosecution is successful or not.Posted by thefrollickingmole on 2007 09 18 at 05:29 AM • permalinkMole, I think the word is ‘shrill’. The fucktards and wanksticks that populate sites like Lav Paper froth at the mouth at every perceived slight or hint of oppression/crushing of dissent that comes from conservative authoritarian figures. For example, the reaction to our own Police not wearing name tags compared to the total silence in response to the Chinese Government stating which Australian-Chinese journalists were not to be accredited as media during the recent APEC talks.
Hypocrites all of them.
#7. Thanks egg. I’ve had quite an enjoyable time baiting some of the weaker-minded individuals.
Posted by Abu Chowdah on 2007 09 18 at 06:08 AM • permalinkHate to relive past glories… okay, screw it - I LOVE to relive past glories, so here is something I posted over at Bolta’s that I know my fellow Blairites would find interesting:
brilliant Diplomat such as Kevin Rudd
Reco is another one fooled by the man’s ability to spend a day practicing a short speech in Mandarin.
As an ex-DFAT officer myself, let me tell you that someone who has had two postings - one of them a Peter Stuyvesant (or soft) post to Sweden - would not be considered “brilliant” by the standards of career diplomats. A brilliant diplomat is someone who rises to become DHOM or Ambassador by working in a series of difficult or intense posts - or does a stellar job as a Consular officer time after time in shitholes that no one else wants to go to, such as Baghdad or Honiara.
Rudd’s basic pleasantries in a foreign language may have fooled you, but they don’t fool those of us who have been in the job.
And may I add (ha ha - little Ruddism for ya there) the story I mentioned here a few weeks ago about Rudd being interviewed on Sydney ABC radio the day after his drawing room turn at APEC: he had just finished telling the interviewer that he would be comfortable holding discussions in English or Mandarin with the PRC Prez, that it “wasn’t a problem” when the jock concluded the interview by spouting a stream of fluent Mandarin at Rudd. Obviously to test Rudd’s cocky assertion. Rudd laughed nervously, replied in English, “may I say that was excellent? Yes I may.” and hurriedly said goodbye. In my career in diplomacy I saw this sort of thing many, many times when young wunderkind language trainees with overinflated reputations were unable to deliver the goods in an actual conversation. Practiced speeches? Hey: no problem.
Posted by Abu Chowdah on 2007 09 18 at 06:20 AM • permalinkOkay, just one more. This regarding Rudd’s bro in the Bulletin:
This just in from Kevin Rudd’s nerve centre:
Did I read the Bulletin article? Yes, I did. Did my brother say I was boring as bat shit outside of work and have no friends? Yes, he did. Am I worried by that? No, I’m not. And can I say that, while these clever attacks continue to come from minions of John Howard like my big brother I will continue to use this bizarre pseudo Socratic style of answering my own questions? Yes, I can. Will those answers include repetitive usage of the word clever? Yes, they will. Will I start many sentences with the phrase, “And can I say”? Yes, I will. Can I conclude with a Chinese phrase for my detractors? Yes, I can. Deu nei loumou.
Transmission ends.
Abu Cee (Apologies for the Cantonese. I don’t know any Mandarin).
By the way, Deu Nei Loumou is an obscure Cantonese idiomatic phrase. All I’m willing to say is that one of the words means “mother”.
Posted by Abu Chowdah on 2007 09 18 at 06:26 AM • permalinkExactly. I don’t knock anyone for attaining any competency in a language. It’s bloody hard. But to pass your skills off as true fluency in order to distinguish yourself from others - well, you’d better be sure you have it nailed, because I’ve seen many people fall flat on their face.
I’ve met some truly, truly fluent diplomats in Arabic - for example - but they weren’t Aussies.
Posted by Abu Chowdah on 2007 09 18 at 06:45 AM • permalinkHey, Texas Bob:
I believe the local vernacular for twits like Rudd to be “All hat, no cattle.” Or did I miss something during my 3 months in Houston?
As for Andrew Meyer, my sister-in-law teaches at the school, and I’ve suggested she call him “Sparky” from now on. She’ll pass the word. (Good woman, that.)
I’m surprised they didn’t have to taser the audience to keep them awake during a Kerry speech…
But really, that does seem like a bit of an over reaction by the security folks.
Posted by Mr. Bingley on 2007 09 18 at 07:21 AM • permalinkWe once got our hands on a Lefty Protest Manual prior to the CHOGM meeting in Queensland. It set out quite clearly how to rip an officers name badge off then hold the badge in your fist with the pin sticking out between your fingers and hey-presto, every time you punched a cop you spiked him with the pin as well. It’s a little hard to blame the NSWPOL guys for taking theirs off, although I see the usual sort of people are giving it a run.
Abu my understanding of rudd’s career from acquaintances in DFAT is that he wasn’t posted at a senior level. He went on leave without pay to Goss’s office and got promoted a couple of times while he was there - but never actually returned to the DFAT to take up the promotions. This happened during the labor government’s term needless to say.
O/T:
Would some of you mind heading over to Iraq The Model and check out the links listed in the first 18 comments in the
Monday, September 17, 2007
An Iraqi Alliance Breaks Apartarticle?
There’s listings of signs and indicators pointing at possible attacks on US school sites by AQ in the US. I’m not familiar with the sources listed so not sure what to make of it all.
Totally OT. But today I had the pleasure of viewing up close and personal…....a Barret 0.50 sniper rifle.
I want one!
Posted by deadparrot on 2007 09 18 at 07:55 AM • permalinkA few things missing in that story. Were people informed of the time limit? Did the cops try to explain things to him? Was he wearing a hockey helmet and a bus pass on a lanyard around his neck?
And after reading my first SMH news story I have to ask: Do people in Sydney read Marxist papers as their conservative alternative?
Posted by mythusmage on 2007 09 18 at 08:00 AM • permalinkTim, why not ask commenters about their linguistic skills?
I’m sure there is a vast resource here and I know commenters here would be completely honest regarding fluency level.
I’ll start:
English - not bad
Spanish - fluent
French - excellent
Bahasa - OK
Vietnamese - functionalPosted by Jack from Montreal on 2007 09 18 at 08:51 AM • permalink#35
Jack. Good idea. I’ll go second.English - passable, just.
Bahasa Indonesia - LOLZ, learnt it for three years and don’t remember much… except for the chicken song:
Tek oh tek oh tek oh tek
Anak ayam turun burkotekFrench - six months in year 7, enough to read some labels in New Caledonia.
The song makes BI people laugh when I sing it.Jesus…HEY, I’d have been for the guy had he been screaming…‘My Gator’s stomped all over Tennessee’(college football)...BUT OH NO, he has to start acting like an ass.
I’m sure he will contest with the help of the beclowned ACLU, that his Freedom of Scream, was denied.
I would think this asshole was asked several times to cool it bro...he didn’t, got zapped, so end of story.
I don’t think anyone can say that the campus police ran rampant and roughed up anyone else in attendance, nor did they taser anyone else but the screamer.
What proud parents…but of course apples don’t fall far from the tree…
And for the privilege of screaming, the parents get to pay….
Cost Breakdowns Florida Residents Non-Florida
Tuition and Fees 3,370 17,150
Books and Supplies 940 940
On campus Housing and Meals 7,020 7,020
Off campus Housing and Meals 8,330 8,330
Computer Minimum 970 970
Local Transportation 520 520
General Expenses and Clothing 610 610
Optional Health Insurance 1,640 1,640
On Campus TOTAL $15,070 $28,850
Off Campus TOTAL $16,380 $30,160English - tries hard but shows no real aptitude
Japanese - embarrassing
PC - nonePosted by flying pigs over mecca on 2007 09 18 at 09:07 AM • permalinkdutch excellent
french good
english could try harderI wish they’d taught kowtow-(the language of the future!) at school so I could bluff my way into the Prime-ministership.
Posted by eeniemeenie on 2007 09 18 at 09:17 AM • permalinkEnglish - ????
Spanish - que?
Yooper - not bad…Posted by Old Tanker on 2007 09 18 at 09:28 AM • permalinkAfter a year or so in Shenyang and 3 years in Guangzhou I speak reasonable Mandarin and just passable Cantonese. I still have major problems listening and understanding Chinese folk with whom I’m not familiar. I often make speech notes in pinyin and can talk for extended periods using the correct tones, but I leave questions for my P.A. to traslate.
I have no doubt Rudd learnt his speech in this manner after observing and listening to his delivery.
English - ain’t had no complaints.
Spanish - good (formerly excellent, but don’t use it much these days)
Portuguese - fair, but fading from non-use
French - no formal training, but to my astonishment, I saw a movie not long ago in which a significant amount of French was spoken, and I had very little trouble following it. In fact, I found myself translating bits of it for Mrs. Paco’s benefit. Very strange.
German - used to be fair, but I’ve almost completely lost it.
Latin - Studied it in high school, and was immersed in it for several years through attendance at a church in Richmond that has the Tridentine Mass.North Carolinian Piedmontese is, of course, my native tongue. Tell Goober Paco says “Hey!”
#10 what is that “secret society” crap all about?
Skull and Bones is a “secret” student society at Yale that, along with the Masons, Joos, Illuminati, Trilateral Commission, Bilderbergers, et al., secretly runs the world. (Apparently it’s a time-sharing arrangement, and next week is Paco’s turn.)
“Secret” Skull & Bones members include both Presidents Bush and non-President John Kerry. Wikipedia has a list of other “secret” members.
Posted by Bruce Rheinstein on 2007 09 18 at 10:41 AM • permalinkO/T, but here’s another example of Muslims pushing the envelope. Aside from the topical interest of the subject, the villain in the piece is the splendidly-named “Omer Butt”. One wonders if he may be a cockney convert (” ‘omer Butt’s the nime, defendin’ Hallah is my ghime”).
#48 paco
English - ain’t had no complaints.
I believe our recent troll, hkstar, wasn’t completely satisfied. ;p
Posted by flying pigs over mecca on 2007 09 18 at 10:55 AM • permalink#52
It is not known whether the woman was a Muslim.
Even if she were a muslim, she can choose whether or not to wear the al’garbag.
Posted by flying pigs over mecca on 2007 09 18 at 11:04 AM • permalinkApparently he was last in line for questions when they announced that John “effing” Kerry was about done. When he realized he might not get to ask his question, he rushed ahead of others and took over the lectern and began talking. When the police intervened that time (for running up and cutting in front of others) Sen. Kerry told him he’d get to ask his question. Then he went up and began all of the “Bush stole the election” BS. They should have tasered him a few more times…. a little electro-shock therapy. There’s more over at Michelle Malkin’s
Posted by Old Tanker on 2007 09 18 at 11:15 AM • permalinkSomeone Tries to Sell Belgium on eBay
EBay was happy to take Six’ advertisement.
“It was a really fun listing made by a Belgian,” Peter Burin, PR manager of eBay Belgium. “This person, in a very funny way, reminded the Belgians what a great country Belgium actually is and it would be a shame to sell it.”
However, the company decided to pull the add Tuesday after receiving a bid of euro10 million ($14 million)
“We decided to take it down, just to avoid confusion,” he told APTN.
#61 & #63:
Yeah, that really ticked me off. Personal Acquisitions of Countries Online made a completely legitimate bid of $14MM, and then Belgium backs out of the deal. For cryin’ out loud, I was offering 10% over the appraised value, and I was particularly interested in securing the copywright for the word, “Walloon” (which was going to be the name of our new inflatable-wall product for subdividing offices at a fraction of the cost of cubicles).
Now I shall have to look elsewhere for Paconia. I think I saw Andorra in the “take one” box.
Browning used to make guns in Belgium. Maybe one could re-open the plants and start shipping guns to all of the Euros.
Posted by Andy Freeman on 2007 09 18 at 12:02 PM • permalinkRebecca
Who the hell would buy Belgium?
I would have and should have, but I waffled.
Paco
You didn’t mention this one. Knew it had to be on the tip of your tongue, though
Andrew Meyer remixed for your pleasure.
Posted by Andrea Harris, Administrator on 2007 09 18 at 12:44 PM • permalink#69: I’ll keep that in mind, yojimbo. Unfortunately, the only one I see right now is Bulgaria, and I’d look silly in one of those peasant shirts with the ginormous sleeves, and that ridiculous velveteen red vest with tasselled silver buttons.
I’m watchin’ Paraguay, though; some definite softness in the price there, I think, and I’ve always wanted to deck myself out in the uniform of a Paraguayan admiral and pilot my flagship (PN inflatable raft Símon Bolívar) up the Río Paraná.
I’ve suggested she call him “Sparky” from now on.
BUAWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2007 09 18 at 01:15 PM • permalinkParaguay?
What happened to the REAL Guay?
And keep the hell away from Romania, huh? I called dibs. I’ve always been attracted to the possibility for reckless abuse of power, as you know, and Romania is just the ticket.
Not only are they used to dictatorial weirdnesses, but they have a first-rate tunnel system for those quick “flee the country” trips.
‘Merkun - fluent
Portuguese - fine in bars and restaurants, avoid philosophical discussions until sufficient alcohol slurring sets in
Spanish - can cuss effectivelyPosted by Mr. Bingley on 2007 09 18 at 01:52 PM • permalinkYea, yea…but who ever heard of an Irish or Scottish, waffle?
Is that kinda like Belgian whiskey?
Posted by Old Tanker on 2007 09 18 at 02:26 PM • permalinkHmmmm.
Now if the guy had glued popcorn to his clothing before getting tased.
Now THAT is art!
Posted by memomachine on 2007 09 18 at 02:41 PM • permalinkLeftists tasering Truthers.
Doing the jobs Americans won’t do.
Posted by richard mcenroe on 2007 09 18 at 02:49 PM • permalinkPaco…. If you are back from lunch. Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the che chronicles. Haven’t had a chance to say so on the appropriate threads. More please !
American english is my first and southern American english is my second language. As you guys know by now I haven’t mastered either of them. Although , I’m approaching fluency in the coastal plain version of Southern english. I suspect it has as close a relation to proper english as Strine does. Completely unintelligible to a non native speaker.The Electro-Industrial Complex strikes again!
Electricity must be outlawed in civilized Nations!Posted by Harry Bergeron on 2007 09 18 at 02:52 PM • permalinkI felt badly for the guy. He shouldn’t have been tasered.
Two creepy things.
1. I assume the crowd is basically leftist and basically “anti-authority”. How come no one stepped up and objected to this guy getting worked over.
2. Kerry has set a new low for his inability to make a decision. ANY other “leader” would at least have addressed the fact that some guy was getting taken down. Kerry continued endlessly in his ridiculous monotone.
Thank God he didn’t win the election.
Je parle un peu de francais.
Hablo un poco español
Ich spreche ein wenig REFORGER Deutsches
And just enough Russian to cuss someone out or ask the baba not to feed me any more borscht.
This is usually enough, with a little willing participation on both sides, to get a conversation started. Except with the French, those snobs.
Posted by richard mcenroe on 2007 09 18 at 02:59 PM • permalink#84 el cid
Here is another reason to buy Isreal Courtesy of Theo, and I’ll go in on it with you…..
Posted by Old Tanker on 2007 09 18 at 02:59 PM • permalinkEnglish,
Spanish,
Portuguese,
Italian,
German,
Japanese,
Chinese
—This IS the the place where we’re listing the the nationalities of chicks we banged, right?Posted by Shaky Barnes on 2007 09 18 at 04:03 PM • permalinkI can understand English spoken with just about any accent you like. Dutch, Chinese, Norwegian, Japanese, Italian, Greek, Croatian, Russian, German, French, Indonesian, Finnish, Flemish, American, Spanish, Irish etc etc etc.
I can also reconstruct warped and mangled sentences in my head so that they make sense. That includes those spoken and written by semi-functionally illiterate retarded co-workers who were born and raised just down the street.
These are skills that all should aspire to.
Posted by mr creosote on 2007 09 18 at 04:42 PM • permalinkLet me see if I understand this correctly:
The kid was tasered for taking over a lectern; making long winded, stupid statements; failing to present proper questions and making himself look like an idiot?
Why was Petraus therefore not issued with a Taser before his gig over at Congress?
Seems fair to me.
Posted by mr creosote on 2007 09 18 at 04:45 PM • permalinkDo we know for sure he was tasered? I don’t think they are used in close quarters like that.
I heard the buzz of a stun gun, and I don’t think he could have continued to carry on so after a tasering.
Posted by Harry Bergeron on 2007 09 18 at 04:46 PM • permalink#88 Greene: You mean the Che diaries? If so, thanks, glad you enjoyed them. Didn’t really know if that stuff had clicked with my public (do three people constitute a “public”?) I’ve been reading a fascinating account of Che’s activities in Bolivia that was prepared by a Major Donald Selvage at the USMC Staff College back in the mid-eighties; very detailed, and a rich vein of comic material. When it came down to the nitty gritty, Che and his merry band were hopelessly incompetent at exporting revolution (to Bolivia, at any rate). Some of the raids carried out by his men appear to have been primarily for the purpose of trying to find him asthma medicine. There’s even a femme fatale named Tania who was working for Che, but, unbeknownst to him, for the KGB, too. Intriguing speculation as to whether some of this experienced agent’s “mistakes” were accidental, or whether Che was being set up for martyr status (as a revolutionary, he was definitely worth more dead than alive, and there’s also the indisputable fact that Castro didn’t like competition). And to top it all off, the Bolivians captured Regis Debray, a left-wing French writer who had linked up with Che. Lotta comedy gold in the story.
Taser Boy, gets help…The first thing to do, dismantle the ACLU, by any means, necessary.
The Florida chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union called the incident “disturbing” and awaited the conclusion of the investigation.
“People have a reasonable expectation to ask questions in a public setting — even if they are aggressive and some disagree with their position — that is free speech, plain and simple,” Howard Simon, ACLU of Florida executive director, said in a statement.
Myself, I speak and understand just about every major language in the world. Excepting only Greek, alas.
You see, it’s all Greek to me!
Boom boom tish!
Thank you, I’ll be here all week, enjoy the surf ‘n’ turf!
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2007 09 18 at 05:35 PM • permalinkOT, but don’t you wish you had these guys to vote for?
#12, I don’t want to be a pedant, but are you sure it isn’t deu Lei lomo?
Possibly. That’s the way it was told to me, but I don’t speak Chinese and don’t pretend to.
The only other language I speak (other than Inglese) is Arabic.
Posted by Abu Chowdah on 2007 09 18 at 06:20 PM • permalinkAbu my understanding of rudd’s career from acquaintances in DFAT is that he wasn’t posted at a senior level. He went on leave without pay to Goss’s office and got promoted a couple of times while he was there - but never actually returned to the DFAT to take up the promotions. This happened during the labor government’s term needless to say.
Francis - yes, that’s right. Two low ranking posts - Stockholm (a Peter Stuyvesant posting with not a lot of work to be done) and Beijing. On Bolta’s blog someone who is still at DFAT noted that Rudd achieved the equivalent of a shift superviser’s position at McDonalds.
Posted by Abu Chowdah on 2007 09 18 at 06:23 PM • permalinkHalf a dozen coppers get a bloke on the ground, handcuff him, then hit him with the cattle prod ?
What brave “police” or are they just “campus coppers” ?
And the gathered mob just sat there, soaking up Kerry’s jism, as their fellow traveller called for help ?
Strange how these types are wont to attack police when “protesting” against capitalism and the other “isms”, but when one of their own is subjected to this shit in their midst, they meekly subdue.
Weak as piss.
I cannot imagine the outcry had it been GWB giving the speech.
It is Pythonesque: “now we see the violence inherrent in the system”
A young mate of mine got Tasered by the cops here in Perth on his 21st birthday. I asked him what it felt like and he said “like nuthin I’ve ever felt before bro” a bit like he was taking an “electric piss” he added as we fell about the room in tears. Needless to say he is an absolute legend now to his peers and they hold him in higher esteem for some strange reason. Onya Jared !!!
hey 1.618 - i’d take it easy on the “running” while fighting a cold. Lots of liquids and rest, some activity, but not too full on, ya know.
taser dude will become the next youtube sensation is my bet
apparently the cops were on to him as he had rushed the mike from way back and then wouldn’t STFU.
naughty boy!
#63- Some silly sausage, no doubt.
I’m informed I’m highly articulate in unintelligible gibberish; after a healthy imbication of bevvies, a whole new language emerges, best referred to as “left handed”, or perhaps more accurately described as “complete bollocks”.
This particular form of communication is most commonly found in parliaments, particularly after a lengthy lunch adjournment. For a fine demonstration, see Andrew Bartlett waxing lyrical, large with liquid lunch loquacity.
After 30 middies, a bottle of vodka and a cheeky shiraz I can talk out of my arse in tongues. And not to boast, but I’m a dab hand at French, Spanish, Greek and Russian. What these have to do with language I’ll never know, although French requires a keen tongue.
I’m also fluent in numerals, which allows me to order at nearly any Asian restaurant in the world.
Posted by Infidel Tiger on 2007 09 18 at 08:59 PM • permalinkRe Kevin’s mandarin episode: #11 and on…
There is a reason why most national leaders tend to talk in their own language to other leaders: To talk to foreigners in a alien tongue invites distrust among your own at a subliminal level. In Africa, the taboo is more explicit. It is even frowned upon to talk in hushed tones to a stranger. Kev has a lot to learn if his ego doesn’t get him first.
#98 yojimbo,
Crumbs??? Hell, there’s plenty to go ‘round. Makes me wish I was Jewish, 20, and in the IDF…..yikes!! Come to think of it, we’ll be running the place after we buy it anyway!!! Shalom!
Posted by Old Tanker on 2007 09 18 at 09:41 PM • permalinkEnglish - quite good, really
German - reading knowledge; conversational ability totally atrophied from lack of use, except for swearwords
Latin - basic reading knowledge and can just about follow a Latin liturgy
Old Norse - rusty reading ability (but acquired from someone who learnt from JRR Tolkien)
Japanese - might recognise one word in fifty, on a good day, and maybe pick half a dozen kana
#11, great to hear from one in the job. It always sets these things in context.
Look forward to more in your memeoirs, previewed here of course.
By the way, your subsequent post at #14?
Watch that language!Posted by carpefraise on 2007 09 18 at 09:55 PM • permalink#105, ever since I saw the Motorcycle Diaries and subsequently learned a of some of Che’s activities, it has been my contention that Che wold have been a far better human as a doctor. i was all for him once I found out he was a fellow asthmatic, and was fascinated by the adrenalin pump he had to use back then.
On the other hand, he was clearly impulsive and emotional so i wonder whether he would have made a doctor (thus REALLY serving humanity had he been a good one)or whether he was excited by the life of a guerrila.
The thought of raiding places for asthma medication strikes me as comedy gold. I’ll remember that!
English - very well except when excited.
French, a few words and phrases, largely gleaned from Agatha Christie books- you go, Poirot!
Spanish, a couple of words and rising
Hebrew - some, I acquire native fluency after a month in the country.
I am rapidly learning Australian, and have picked up some words in geek, hairdresser and bank.Posted by carpefraise on 2007 09 18 at 10:12 PM • permalinkOh yeah, a couple of Arabic words - I want to be prepared for our future overlords and gargle mustard oil to pronounce some of the sounds. Works well.
Posted by carpefraise on 2007 09 18 at 10:14 PM • permalink105. I read a good book on Che ages back which was fairly detailed in his last efforts in both Africa and South America.
Both huge clusterfucks of operations, if the army hadnt shot him the guerrillas would most likely have starved to death.(and we would no doubt be receiving tape recordings and videos from a malarial swamp every 6 months to “maintain the struggle”)
Posted by thefrollickingmole on 2007 09 18 at 10:57 PM • permalink#143: I did hear some of Mrs. Paco’s elderly relatives speaking Arabic one time and it was a bit of a surprise. Now, it might just have been because their denture adhesive was losing its stickum and they were worried about their teeth shooting onto the coffee table, but the Arabic they spoke was very soft and pleasant-sounding. None of that “Oh-my-god-I-swallowed-a-fly!” aspect at all. My Saudi room-mate in college, on the other hand, always sounded like he had swallowed a plug of tobacco by mistake.
#144: (and we would no doubt be receiving tape recordings and videos from a malarial swamp every 6 months to “maintain the struggle”)
Very true, and not less so just because it’s a hilarious notion.
Heh. After showing video of him screaming and wailing, Bill O’Reilly just said: “I’ve been tasered for a story and this guy is the biggest wimp in America”.
I am fed up with protesters hamming it up for the cameras knowing it will end up on youtube. Once upon a time, you took it on the chin. Now it’s all “ow, you’re twisting my arm, you’re pulling my hair”.
Dan Lewis
Dont knock it, we had riots ended because detainees saw a camera and suddenly became “peaceful protesters” whereas 10 seconds before it was on for young and old.
Particularly if that camera was from an ABC TV crew.Posted by thefrollickingmole on 2007 09 18 at 11:25 PM • permalinkFrench - good
Latin - good (old-fashioned education showing here)
Arabic - can read it slowly and with difficulty, but can’t really speak it. As other commenters have noted, arabs are the worst mutterers on earth, and the existence of 101 different incomprehensible dialects complicates things.
Italian and Spanish - can’t speak, but can read using French, Latin and guesswork.#146- I was thinking more of the strident caterwauling from the bedsheet-gussetted Gazan Gussies when news of the extermination of filthy Hebrews or Shaitan-worshipping infidels in a blaze of martydom gets broadcast over the 1940s sports stadium PA equipment which passes for means of mass communication in parts of the world where ovine creatures can be a source of food, transport and marital bliss.
Alright, coupla bi/multi-lingual types here, but does anyone understand women?
Posted by Infidel Tiger on 2007 09 18 at 11:45 PM • permalinkGerry
Nah nothing that barbaric. Wed allways insist on a trial, then hang the bastards anyway.
Posted by thefrollickingmole on 2007 09 19 at 02:09 AM • permalinkOK, I’ve seen the film now, and the next arm-waving twerp who calls me “bro” and keeps yelling “What did I do” is definitley getting the taser.
Posted by Harry Bergeron on 2007 09 19 at 02:47 AM • permalink#129. The other reason why leaders and senior diplomats (usually HOMs) utilise interpreters even when they can speak the lingo well is so you get a few extra seconds to think of the best response. In important negotiations, that breathing space is vital.
Another reason is that, with languages as difficult as Arabic, it is very easy to make a big mistake in comprehension that could cost you and your country… (usually prioritised in that order by senior trough snuffling dippos).
Posted by Abu Chowdah on 2007 09 19 at 04:22 AM • permalink- English
And although I’m not quite like MentalFloss, I can also say the words “where’s your mead dude?” and “paco, don’t pull that lever you nincompoop, do you want to strand us here?” in the following languages:
- Sumerian
- Akkadian
- Babylonian
- Ancient Egyptian (although I find the Upper Egyptian dialect a bit difficult)
Posted by wronwright on 2007 09 19 at 06:45 AM • permalinkEnglish
Italian - Fluent primary schoolish
French - Basic conversational
German - Basic conversational
Swedish - Basic conversational
Latin - Schoolboy Latin
Spanish - Very basic conversational
Russian - Very basic conversational and a lot of technical and historical terms
Volapuk - A very basic philological interest that I seek to expand
Arabic - Assorted pithy phrases and curses
Zulu - A few phrases and whatnots
Old Norse - Enough to get by for research and translation of writing for my poems
Elvish - Several dialects; fluent enough to claim full nerd status and/or get impressed raised eyebrows from bookish 12 year oldsPosted by Simon Darkshade on 2007 09 19 at 08:30 AM • permalink#167, Simon Darkshade:
Have you given Lord of the Rings, Online a try yet?
I’m a long time mmo playe and LotRO is one of the few that are really friendly to the non hard corps grinder and has a much better community than most others I’ve tried.
The game world is very much as I imagined when reading the books.
If you do give it a try, check out the Landroval server, it’s the “unofficial rp server”. So, rp is more common there than other servers, although its not totally absent from any.
Word of warning. The Landrovalians are under the thumb of the Borgchilla, a mean mutant chinchilla and its ravening hords. We, from Brandywine server, are working day and night to free them from opression with our armies of Stuffs and Things that ride on glorious Populs in thrundering charges. (intra server rivalry, goofing off “pretend war” with nothing to do from the actual game. Just something to tease each other with during the rare server down times.)
Oh, and nearly forgot, for the language database:
I can usually make my needs for drink, food and/or women known in Korean, Japanese and in one dialect of Chinese. Not sure which one though.
For the rest, I speak Grimmir. The easiest lingo known. Rules are, spell it like ye says it, put words into whatever order seems applicable, and put in a comma whenever you’d naturally take a breath or stop to think a bit.
And, if you’re one of those obnoxiously healthy folk that don’t breath all that often, then just throw in a comma every here and there to give those of less cardio-vascular fitness a chance to read without passing out.Cheers Grimmy, I’ll have to take a look at that; I’ve never really gone for the multiplayer gaming thing, what with dialup and a nice timezone, but it seems interesting.
Posted by Simon Darkshade on 2007 09 19 at 11:50 AM • permalinkMmos are still oriented toward the dial-up end of the bandwidth issue. There is also a fair good number of DownUnderers populating the various servers. There may even be a server favored by the “oceanics”.
To get an idea of what the game world looks like, there’s a fair number of YouTube vids made by players. Pick the ones that appear “travel” oriented, rather than player vs player fight. The travel vids show more of the world scenery.
Does anyone know how to read that crap kids send each other on their phone and IM these days?
Posted by mr creosote on 2007 09 19 at 04:48 PM • permalinkmr creosote:
There might be a l33tsp34k or IMspeak translator somewhere on the web.
Usually it’s a bunch of acronyms and mispelled words like ‘teh’ for ‘the’ and similar. Oh and using numbers for letters.
Posted by Patrick Chester on 2007 09 19 at 04:58 PM • permalinkOn the subject of linguistic acumen, a funny story.
In 1977 I was living in Netanya (Israel) and dating the daughter of the Chief of Police of the town of Herzliya.
Invited to Passover, the two of us went for a walk after the Seder and, upon our return, were asked by her father, conversationally, “How was the walk?”
Eager to show off my newly acquired Hebrew, I responded respectfully, praising the beauty of both his town and his teenage daughter, and thanking him for his hospitality.
Imagine my embarassment when, in describing our activities during the walk, I mistakenly used the reflexive, co-operative verb “l’his’da’aynu” rather than the pronominal, or ‘continuous passive’ reflexive form, “l’hit’da’aynu”.
Instead of telling the Chief of Police that “We stopped and chatted a long time”, I said to him “We stopped and had a good long fuck”.
Boy, was my face red (as was his).
Posted by MentalFloss on 2007 09 19 at 08:49 PM • permalinkPaco, there was a rapid-fire exchange of Farsi-Hebrew-English ‘twixt Mum, Dad and Daughter…and then lot of blushing and looking at shoes…then chuckles.
A few days later, on the coastal road outside Herzliya, 55 school children on a bus were massacred by terrorists. We all had other things to think about.
Posted by MentalFloss on 2007 09 19 at 11:52 PM • permalink#151, sure you can post that sentence aggregation without a pause but can you post it while drinking a glass of water?
Hmmm, apropos of nothing, those spud-guns for hire types who go to demo after demo, non-stop - Rebels without a Pause…?
I think so, I think so.
Posted by carpefraise on 2007 09 20 at 05:10 AM • permalinkWhoever makes a Chris Crocker parody out of this story needs to be tased.
Posted by Alan K. Henderson on 2007 09 20 at 08:20 AM • permalink
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The only electrifying speech Kerry’s ever delivered.