unicorn

Well, at least pronouncing aunt like the insect is acceptable in any dictionary, although certainly not preferred in some places. When I'm abroad (in non-English speaking countries), especially with friends/family, I specifically ask to be corrected if I mispronounce. Without learning, one will never get it right. I read that in Japan, it's considered very rude to correct someone. In the end, I suppose this leads to no one learning how to pronounce words properly.

I guess that one has to define "support for Israel." I support it as a state (as I support the state of Palestine). That doesn't mean I approve of Netanyahu's actions, or even him as a person. I believe that he, as well as Trump, are sociopaths who should spend the rest of their lives in prison. I'd also love to see Hamas obliterated. I've even seen Palestinians demonstrate against Hamas, and Israelis demonstrate against Bibi. But I'm fine with the Israeli people and Palestinian people. I've even been sending a generous amount to an organization which helps the Palestinian people, while also being audited to make sure that help doesn't make its way to Hamas: https://www.anera.org/ Anera’s policy is to supply assistance to only legitimate and capable institutions and to comply with U.S. laws. We filter individuals and agencies against computerized lists maintained the U.S. Treasury Department on its Office of Foreign Assets Control list. Because Hamas, for instance, is designated as a “terrorist group” by the U.S. State Department, Anera does not work or even coordinate with them. Anera’s local staff evaluates our partners and assesses accountability, management, technical capacity, and community outreach. Through this process we determine if the institution is capable and eligible to work with Anera. When a project is completed, we generate detailed financial and program evaluation reports. We use robust monitoring and evaluation systems. In this manner, Anera continually evaluates projects from a fiscal and impact standpoint. Anera is audited annually by independent auditors and we follow Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, which are standard financial guidelines for most non-governmental organizations. This measures many of the benefits and the success of each program. Read our accountability statement.

Yes, they're a Hollywood Hills gay institution!

I doubt someone plunked down that kind of money (which was a tidy sum in 1968) without knowing what he was buying and for what reason. According to Wikipedia, the bridge is Arizona's 2nd biggest tourist attraction after the Grand Canyon. I'd have to assume, a distant second.

When learning foreign languages, I often find that not enough emphasis is given to pronunciation, which is critical to understanding. During my last trip to Japan, I was on a guided tour of the Kochi area. I tried to ask our guide three times (using different words) in English for how long there'd been a bridge to Honshu. Although I'm sure her knowledge of English grammar and vocabulary was at least 100 times better than my knowledge of Japanese grammar and vocabulary, I finally just ended up asking her in Japanese and got the answer right away. I suspect that if I'd written down the question in English, she could have given me the answer. I enjoy learning foreign languages with the Pimsleur method, which puts 80% attention to pronunciation, 15% to grammar, and 5% to vocabulary (maybe I exaggerate a bit here). So even if I can't say much, when I do say something, people understand what I'm saying. Another time, I was visiting Ghent, Belgium, and learned some Dutch before the trip. I was trying to find the right tram to take me to the train station, so I asked a woman who was waiting for the tram "Pardon mevrouw, is dit wel de juiste tram voor het treinstation?". She said it was, then asked "Kommt U uit Nederland?" (Are you Dutch?), which I took as a sincere compliment! 😄

He's always been a career con-artist, but his dementia has him completely whacko at this point. Way off the deep end. But he just spouts off what people want to hear, and it's amazing that so many people actually believe him. People are learning the hard way. I don't know if anyone can get him out of the White House before his term is up (or he dies), but this man has clearly lost whatever sense he had.

There are quite a few languages which I know poorly, but I still like to think my pronunciation is good. It takes time to learn vocabulary and grammar, but for me proper pronunciation is simply a matter of making the effort. I often get compliments specifically about my pronunciation even in countries whose language I can only say a few survival sentences.

Well, according to Wikipedia, I'm not that far off, since 4/5 of the state's population lives there: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Australia#Demographics "Western Australia's capital and largest city, Perth. Its metropolitan area is home to more than 80% of the state's population." "...Perth's metropolitan area (including Mandurah) had an estimated population of 2,043,138[7] in June 2017 (79% of the state). Other significant population centres include Bunbury (73,989),[45] Geraldton (37,961),[45] Kalgoorlie-Boulder (30,420),[45] Albany (33,998),[45] Karratha (16,446),[45] Broome (14,501)[45] and Port Hedland (14,285)...". Would I be guessing correctly that the frequently-mispronounced city is Mandurah? If I hadn't looked it up, I wouldn't have guessed that the "d" is pronounced like the letter "j" in this instance: MAN-jər-ə. Just looking at it, I might have tried Man-DUR-uh. Irish and Welsh names are often super-tough. I don't think anyone would guess that Dún Laoghaire is pronounced dun LEER-ee. Even without looking it up, though, I would hope that knowing Los Angeles used to be under Spanish and then Mexican rule would be a hint as to how to pronounce the city. Similarly, knowing that New Orleans was named when it was administered by the Kingdom of France (as La Nouvelle-Orléans) should also be a hint. No need to guess, though. Just as any talk show host should learn how to pronounce his guests' names, performers should learn how to pronounce the name of the city they're performing for.

I learned something new. I didn't know there were any cities other than Perth in Western Australia. 😄But, seriously, it's one thing to mispronounce a small town name from 2000 km away. It's quite another to be performing in person for a crowd of 20,000 in a city of over 3 million, and getting the name wrong. A performer should know her crowd.

My hubbie, along with some friends and myself, attended a Kylie Minogue concert in downtown Los Angeles last night. Opening for her prior to Kylie's performance was British singer Rita Ora. Rita began with greeting "Good evening, Los Angeles," which she pronounced "Los AngeLEEZE." I must admit that it pissed me off a bit. How would she like it if someone came to perform in Gloucester, England and said "Good evening, Glau-sister"? And it's not as if Los Angeles is a smaller town, either. I wouldn't go to Australia and ask to buy a plane ticket to "Brize-BANE." Nor would I go to Thailand and try to buy a ticket to "Fuck-it". Even when I take code-share British Airways flights into LA, the British crew manage to pronounce the name of the city correctly when we land, as they welcome us to the city. It also pisses me off when I hear people who should know better pronounce New Orleans as "New or-LEANS" instead of "New OR-lins." Personally, when I travel, I always try to learn how to correctly pronounce the cities I'm visiting, and I'm not speaking to the 20,000 people she was addressing at the Crypto Arena. I find such behavior disrespectful. Do you? For the record, Kylie pronounced the city correctly. And it's not as if LA or NO were formerly British cities, either, so there would be no reason to suspect they were supposed to be pronounced in a British manner.

It can, it won't, and yes we are--at least for the next 3 and a half years. Yes, the Constitution should be amended to eliminate the 2/3 requirement, but it has no chance of doing so. It would be nice to have a Constitutional Convention to get rid of both that requirement as well as to get rid of the electoral college. I can't see that happening, though. The only chance is if people are so incensed about the trashing of the US that they put in Democratic super-majorities. But that can't happen in 2026 in the Senate, since only 1/3 gets elected every 2 years. The earliest that might happen in 2028. And that's a long-shot.

I'm not mincing words. You mischaracterized what I said regarding the law in her case. We certainly agree that Trump is making an ass of himself. Unlike you, I could see Trump's election coming and, for the first time in my life, I really did try to time the market and moved about half of my money out of the stock market, because I could tell he'd wield be a wrecking ball to the economy. I suspect that at least the House and maybe the Senate will turn Democratic next year, which could put the brakes on things, although it's almost impossible to convict a US President, since it requires 2/3 of the Senate. If he survives to the end of his term, I believe Trump will finally end up in the slammer as he deserves.

As you understand quite well, I didn't say the law is irrelevant period. What I said, and what you understand quite well, is that it's "irrelevant as to whether or not what she did was stupid, and playing into Trump's hands." And I didn't say she IS stupid. I said what she did was stupid. Perhaps foolish would have been a better word. We won't know whether she'll spend time in a federal penitentiary. However, it's rather nuts to say her actions that day were wise.

You keep putting words into my mouth. It's not that the "nuances" disinterest me, it's that they are irrelevant as to whether or not what she did was stupid, and playing into Trump's hands. She doesn't have to say "I wanted to help him evade ICE." She directed him out the back door to an area not open to the public, so it's painfully obvious to anyone with an IQ over 70. The legal term for that is res ipsa loquitur, or "the actions speak for themselves." In other words, anyone with so much as half a brain could figure it out. As a defendant, she knows she has no need to say a word.