THE BRITISH THREAD II

@McTag,

I can't say I agree Mac. If the Tories had a decent team I might. And any PM can never be accused of leaving no trace.

Your scansion engineering is a little weak too.

The latest betting is 6 gets 4 the Tories, 4 gets 5 a hung parliament and 2 gets 15 Labour. The Gold Cup favourite was 4 to 6 and blundered badly half way round and fell four out.

Why has Vince Cable been called into the Treasury for "discussions"? We might see a Lib/Lab pact with Cable Chancellor and Clegg Foreign Secretary.

But 15 to 2 is mighty tempting for an incumbent PM. Sir Alec was an incumbent and despite his many disadvantages only lost by a whisker.

1 Reply

@spendius,

Poetic licence.

Anyway I'm writing out some tongue-twisters, sorry speaking exercises, for my foreign students.

1 Reply

@McTag,

Good grief!! Are you skint? Or daft?

1 Reply

@spendius,

What's the matter, Spendy? What means this latest outburst?

1 Reply

@McTag,

I was just thinking Mac that teaching foreigners English is a rather low occupation for a man of your obvious dignity.

Anthony Burgess tried his hand at it once. He ended up flat on his back being treated with sal volatiles. And James Joyce fell in love with one of his students. I hope you manage to avoid both of those outcomes.

1 Reply

The Pope's efforts this weekend to help the Irish catholic clergy out of their troubles seems to be perceived as too little, too late, and not likely to help.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/mar/19/catholic-church-child-abuse

Will the catholic church survive in its present form? It's been a round a good while.

"Arrogant, corrupt, secretive " the Catholic church failed to tackle evil
The Catholic church is finally losing its rearguard action"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/21/pope-benedict-xvi-catholicism

0 Replies

@spendius,

It's a slow and uphill struggle sometimes, but some students are better than others, and quite rewarding and fun.

I'm not a proper teacher anyway, just a helper. The responsibility for standards, content and performance is not mine. We have no sal volatile in the staffroom, just crappy coffee.

1 Reply

@McTag,

I've taught English students English, among other things, and that was pretty tough going. And they had all had about 12 years of schoolin'.

That's how I know how little it matters whether they are taught evolution, devolution, revolution or pollution.

2 Replies

@spendius,

Spendy, don't overlook my post on The Pope and his current problems (above).

I'm too idle to start another thread.

1 Reply

@McTag,

Look Mac. Christianity has **** all to do with what some Irish clergy have been getting up to. You're letting today's news stories overpower your intellect.

Those guys should be put to mending the roads. The real scandal now is that they won't be.

1 Reply

The catholic clergy is almost as clever as Toyota - both deny anything is wrong
with their creations, despite utter proof.

Spendius, what's wrong with teaching foreigners English?
You know, you're getting too bloody arrogant for this forum - they might
lynch you one day!

1 Reply

@spendius,

Quote:

Look Mac. Christianity has **** all to do with what some Irish clergy have been getting up to

Partly right, but a man of your intellect knows there's more to it that that.

Read my links. The writers believe His Holiness has to do more to avert further calamity.

2 Replies

@spendius,

Quote:

And they had all had

and they all had had

and they had had all

but they're much older now

0 Replies

@McTag,

Quote:

Partly right, but a man of your intellect knows there's more to it that that

Not at all. Christianity has nothing to do with what some people who supposedly represent it get up to. Nothing.

If it had there would be as many Christianities as there are people claiming to practice it.

One might just as easily discredit "scientific method" because some people have distorted its precepts for their own ends. Which is done on almost every news broadcast and every A2K thread which is concerned with it. Whatever they do it doesn't lay a glove on "scientific method".

Your attempts to discredit Christianity through the actions of the Catholic church are feeble by the side of the Marquis de Sade's efforts over 2oo years ago but he at least had to admit that he wasn't touching Christianity itself.

Would you abandon "banking" because bankers have been misbehaving?

Your attitude here Mac suggests you have a hidden agenda.

2 Replies

@spendius,

And to get nearer the truth of the stories, experience has shown that some exaggeration takes place when compensation is in the frame.

0 Replies

@spendius,

Quote:

Not at all. Christianity has nothing to do with what some people who supposedly represent it get up to. Nothing.

If it had there would be as many Christianities as there are people claiming to practice it.

One might just as easily discredit "scientific method" because some people have distorted its precepts for their own ends. Which is done on almost every news broadcast and every A2K thread which is concerned with it. Whatever they do it doesn't lay a glove on "scientific method".

Your attempts to discredit Christianity through the actions of the Catholic church are feeble by the side of the Marquis de Sade's efforts over 2oo years ago but he at least had to admit that he wasn't touching Christianity itself.

Would you abandon "banking" because bankers have been misbehaving?

Your attitude here Mac suggests you have a hidden agenda.

I don't believe I've used the word "Christianity" in any of my recent posts.

And please show me where I've tried to "discredit" anything. I've highlighted the current arguments, and the political position within the Catholic church today, is all. Hoping to promote a reasoned discourse.

1 Reply

@McTag,

I'm touched by your innocence Mac.

I know that it is unfortunate that most people seeing the Church discredited will think Christianity is tarnished and thus find artificial birth control, divorce, homosexuality, abortion, cloning, eugenics, women priests and uninhibited stem cell research more acceptable: all of which are important aspects of the editorial policy of the newspapers you quoted.

Such is life, many aspects of which are appalling and very often much moreso than the case highlighted here. The disproportions of infant mortality rates for example.

1 Reply

@spendius,

Aristotle wrote concerning Homer's poetic discoveries--

Quote:

An arrow is impatientto be on the wing, a weapon thirsts to drink the blood of an enemy.

I suspect an impatient thirst in the pen of the articles Mac.

What did the other newspapers cover on their front pages on the day?

People are fond of saying that newspapers cater for the tastes of their readers.

Even Henry Fielding in his day was accused of dressing up moral outrage in salaciously appealing fashions. As also Mrs Whitehouse was. And Lord Longford.

0 Replies

@CalamityJane,

Quote:

Spendius, what's wrong with teaching foreigners English?

That foreigners may learn better English on the streets. One sees foreign footballers interviewed on our TV screens almost daily and their proficiency in English is amazing. Astounding. I daresay none of them ever attended classes.

Quote:

You know, you're getting too bloody arrogant for this forum - they might
lynch you one day!

It would be useful Cal if you would explain what you mean by my being "bloody arrogant" and provide a few examples so that I can correct myself and avoid the fate you seem to think I deserve.

I trust it isn't because sometimes you might disagree with what I have said. Such a reason would be infra and ultra arrogant. By which I mean arrogance outside the normal spectrum of civilised discourse.

2 Replies

@spendius,

Well, the foreigners here in the U.S. need a little more help as their
street English isn't that good. It could be however, that our streets are bad.

I personally have no problem with you, but others consider you a troll and
they're annoyed by your tenacious interference and constant derailment
of topics. You can do better than that, I know you can!

1 Reply

THE BRITISH THREAD II

Related Topics

Quick Links

My Account

able2know