Tuesday
(2)The Guardian, dubbed The Grauniad for its typos, seems to be in a world of its own. Its articles are full of polytoines. The Britain it describes seems not to have anything to do with the one here on Earth, but on some distant land - the Planet Guardianopolis perhaps. The paper's spin rarely gets corrected but, in the face of undisputable facts, corrections and clarifications do get published. Here is one example:
In our report, Life after Living Marxism, page 10, July 8, we referred to the Reason Foundation and said its "leading writer, the syndicated columnist Sandra Postrel, is author of the libertarian book The Enemies Of Freedom and frequently talks at the Hudson Institute". The Reason Foundation points out that no one of that name works at the Foundation or for Reason Magazine. The editor-at-large and former editor of the magazine is called Virginia Postrel. She is a columnist for Forbes and the New York Times but not a "syndicated" columnist. Her book is not called The Enemies Of Freedom. It is called The Future And Its Enemies: The Growing Conflict Over Creativity, Enterprise and Progress (Free Press). The Reason Foundation says Ms Postrel has never been to the Hudson Institute and has no connection with the organisation.
Good work, chaps.
That reminds me of the time the Grauniad started off a leader with a clumsy attempt at copying the Americanism "Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?"
They started it off as "Did you enjoy the play Mrs. Washington"?
1.) Wrong president's wife.
2.) Wrong context for the reference: "Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?" is a sarcastic rejoinder to someone who comments on a blindingly obvious point. The Guardian used it in a completely wrong context.
3.) Didn't get the phrase right anyways.
Posted by Susan at April 13, 2004 05:50 PM
Reminds me good old US correspondent Conor O'Clery in the Irish Times. Every single one of his columns is shock full of jewels like these.
Except in his case, it truly is an exploit since he plagiarizes most of his content from the NYT and the WP.
Posted by Sylvain Galineau at April 13, 2004 05:57 PM
Even a Green Postrel is pretty cool:
In The New York Times on New Year's Day, Worldwatch's Sandra Postrel defended cutting taxes on income – both stock dividends and worker's wages. Taxing dividends spurs companies to borrow rather than sell stock and spurs investors to trade growth stocks rising in price rather than hang on to steady stocks paying dividends. Taxing wages curbs employment and the employees' purchasing power.
Posted by D Anghelone at April 13, 2004 06:37 PM
Polytoines? Can you help out those of use on the other side of the Atlantic?
Posted by Ken Hirsch at April 13, 2004 06:57 PM
Reminiscent of Stephen Leacock's bombastic know-it-all who keeps quoting Shakespearean one-liners and attributing them all to the character Saloonio.
FYI - it's a reference to Polly Toynbee, clueless Guardian journo.
Posted by Millie Woods at April 13, 2004 08:32 PM
some distant land - the Planet Guardianopolis perhapsGuardianopolis would have to be a city. The planet would hopefully be called Guardianus.
Posted by Michael M Mason at April 14, 2004 09:52 AM
Sandy P - "is called" is another way of saying "whose name is". In fact, "what is your name?" sounds a little hard and demanding, especially when addressing children. We say, "What are you called?"
Posted by Verity at April 14, 2004 12:01 PM
Guardianopolis would have to be a city. The planet would hopefully be called Guardianus.
And with luck its parent star would go supernova.
Posted by David Gillies at April 15, 2004 12:30 AM
...thus vindicating the concern of the planet's inhabitants about global warming. Drop by Iain Murray's place for details of the latest howler.
Posted by Alan Peakall at April 15, 2004 12:38 PM
