Typos in the New York Times

I found a couple.
In the A section the reporter writes “that” instead of “than.”
White House officials previewing the president’s remarks had suggested that he would provide a more nuanced, expansive view of freedom, saying that political freedoms were no less important that freedom from disease, illiteracy or poverty. (page A12 by Steven Lee Myers)
In Tom [...]

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That urgently needed connection

Concepts are wild abstractions of reality. Every heterogeneous thing receives the semblance of homogeneity simply by being ascribed a noun.
“Islam” is such a term. In an article entitled “Block Thinking”, Charles Taylor emphasizes how the lack of communication between critics of “Islam” and critics of the “West” deteriorates the rhetoric of discussions. He ends the [...]

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A few simple habits

An interesting campaign is taking hold of Japan: the cool biz. It is an environmentally-friendly way of going about business; turn down or off all air-conditioning and wear cooler clothes, and by cooler we mean both things. Those who keep an A/C running are considered “shameful” and people will be denounced for it.
It is hard to say to what [...]

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And, speaking of politics,…

On page 94 of his Little Book of Plagiarism, Richard Posner, a judge on the US 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, writes: and, speaking of politics…
This phrase is followed by a sentence that breaks away with the tone of the rest of the book: “the Left, which dominates intellectual circles in the US, is soft on [...]

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E.-E. and me

Zitat des Tages has the habit of sending me quotes everyday. Today’s was:
Wenn jeder dem anderen helfen wollte, wäre allen geholfen.
Roughly translated as, “When every person wished to help another person, everyone would be helped.”
The phrase in itself is not particularly witty or inspiring; but the interesting fact is that its author, Marie Freifrau von Ebner-Eschenbach, – whom [...]

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The Saved Senator

Renan Calheiros, president of the Brazilian Senate, third man in line to the Presidency of Brazil, was saved from expulsion by 40 votes to 35. After four grueling months of uncertainty and maneuvering, the macho senator is saved.
Curiously, 40 is also the number of accused in the mensalão scandal.
Six votes, the same as the number [...]

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A strategic partnership

There is a difference when one speaks of multipolarity and multilateralism.
The first indicates the realist aspects of foreign policy. After the fall of Soviet Union, the world saw the rise of a unipolar world under the United States. This unipolar world has been relatively stable. Soft power, as idealized by Nye, has made part of the world [...]

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Samba, soccer… and ethanol?

When one thinks of Brazil, what does one think of? In the past, people’s reaction have been varied. From those who know about Pelé or Ronaldinho, to those who’ve been to Rio or São Paulo, to those who adore samba and caipirinhas and even perhaps capoeira. But a new word is coming to people’s mind when [...]

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The marriage of two punctuation marks

The marriage of comma and quotation-mark is definately not an easy one. They might have fallen desperately in love one day, but now they strive to find their bearings.
Suppose I want to write something. Suppose that this something is between quotation marks. Then, perhaps I might write “something”.
Or “something.”
I have asked a jornalist for an [...]

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A little activism

What an excellent article by Sam Kahn on the Herald. I look forward to reading his columns. Krugman said on his NYTimes column that when asked about the war, President Bush replied, “where’re kicking ass.” We are silent. Excited about the upcoming election, but silent on the current situation.  

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