Las Islas Malvinas son una dependencia británica en el Atlántico Sur cerca de Argentina.
Apart from the poor Spanish, on which I have no competency to judge, I do not see a problem with the name of the archipelago. Some may have a problem with the meaning of the sentence, but that is not what I am addressing here. In English we would of course say: The Falkland Islands are a British dependency in the South Atlantic near Argentina.
Continue readingDebate is valuable. Debate and disagreement are necessary in science. Debate is dangerous.
Three statements and it may surprise you, or else it may not, that these statements are not incontrovertible; indeed, they provoke as much controversy as these:
Dogmatism is valuable. Dogmatism is necessary. Dogmatism is dangerous.
Continue readingThere was a recent article in the Grauniad⁰⁰ in which it was suggested by one of the correspondents that it is a dangerous thing to expose a spy, even if you are able to do so. Whether it is or no, I leave to your judgement. For my part the question, if it becomes a question, is to remain unanswered.
There are other dangerous things to do. In some places the very mention of what actually happened if it does not accord with the official description in every detail may be considered to be fake news, the disclosure of state secrets or even as slight as a stirring up of arguments or discontent – beware then if in the civil service canteen when the cook has put too much salt in the soup that you do not complain. The penalty may be greater than you expect. So, to make reference to words which had been posted in a public place, which often concerning similar posters Coco does complain when driving for they are also dangerous things, which can be clearly seen by drivers, who then become distracted and wish to read them. Of course it can be even worse than a simple static poster. The LED screen catches your eye and then changes before you have interpreted the one you saw at the first. How distracting this is. We are not permitted to have our own distracting LED screen, but anyone else can place an A00000 road sign which flickers and flashes its images and words demanding the attention of every passing driver, insisting that they take their snoopy eyes off the road ahead.
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‘Fight to win, forge exemplary conduct’
Do you excel?
Logic is very important, and if you code or are a mathematician then sometimes you will not be surprised to find that even machines are defiant, recalcitrant and incorrigible, just like human beings. Take this very simple case, you have a two cylinder lock. In order to undo the lock you need a key which has cuts to match both cylinders (not being a locksmith I do not know the technical term for the cut, please enlighten me). So, if we call the cylinders A and B, then then we can say for any key C that if it is TRUE that the A cut matches the A cylinder AND it is TRUE the B cut matches the B cylinder that the key is a TRUE key that will open the lock.
Continue readingAn apology coming so soon after the previous one? One would have thought that cartoonists might have learned a thing or two by now. It is fitting however when two interesting articles are placed side by side they provoke an interesting thought, but given that this morning’s sermon was on Romans 12: Be subject to the authorities, I wondered whether political satire may sometimes be haram rather than kosher. But we do have Rutherford’s teaching also on the matter who promoted Lex rex rather than Rex lex, aptly illustrated by when on the appointment of one of his governors, Trajan handed to him a dagger with the words: ‘to be used for me (As Paul said: they hold the power of the sword) and [if I do wrong] in me’. How different from the lèse-majesté of another nation. On the basis of this, the interesting (or not so interesting depending upon your point of view) thought becomes public at the risk of offending those who by their nature are afflicted with the plague of sensitivity to that which is ill aligned with the contemporary notion of politica rectitude, and given with apologies to those who will recognise that I, being ignorant of such matters, have used the incorrect case.
Continue readingRaising standards, improving lives?
It has at last been discovered. It is the time to speak openly and to come out. Coco has been found to be inadequate. There is no other one-word judgement that can be applied. So, it is now time to publish a parable that Coco heard many years ago, but first of all a brief explanation.
Continue readingDer Spiegel: India anger over ‘racist’ German magazine cartoon on population
Continue readingWhen you are a marketing executive it becomes you to ensure that any advertising you do will not raise the expectations of your customers and potential customers to an unsustainable level even if you write the most taxing spreadsheet in the world; are the best in the market place; everyone knows that and you always get AA ratings. So that, anecdotally, if you had bought a Rolls Royce, in the days when quality was quality and you had a problem with it, there would be no questions asked when you took it back to the showroom. A new vehicle would be provided. Coco has a suspicion that the one you returned was later rebranded as a Bentley, but that might be an apochryphal addition to the tale.
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If Coco had written:
Gan nad yw rhywun yn disgwyl gweld Firenze mewn erthygl am Fflorens neu 臺北市 mewn erthygl am brifddinas y weriniaeth Tsieineaidd, pam mae disgwyl i un ddarllen Snowdon mewn erthygl Gymraeg am yr Wyddfa?