READERSWRITE
BATTLE OF THE BULGE: PART XVIII Dear Sirs, ‘Macro, micro.... and Macri!!!’ Boy, we sure are learning a lot about politics and economics under Macri.
Especially doing about-turns, when decisions hurt. Gassing away, anyone? Bust wishes, David Parsons Via email
“JUNTOS PERO NO REVUELTOS”
‘Lilita’ Carrió is being strongly attacked by many people for holding a critical attitude regarding certain government officials, in spite of the fact that she has always been one of Macri’s major political allies.
But, I wonder: why shouldn’t she speak her mind out? If she doesn’t see eye-to-eye with the president on certain matters and certain individuals, why should she hide it? She’s never been a bootlicker, has she?
A tale by Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen comes to mind, The
Emperor’s new clothes. No-one dared tell the Emperor that he had been cheated by the weavers and was stark naked. No-one but a child who cried out: “But he isn’t wearing anything at all!”
Maybe Lilita is playing that role now. Irene Bianchi Ringuelet, La Plata www.irenebianchi.com.ar RESURRECTION OF ENGLISH ARTICLES? Dear Editor, As you no doubt recall, the now-defunct Buenos Aires Herald used to publish some very useful English articles, like ‘English on the side.’
It also carried some extremely amusing articles from Gene Weingarten, the celebrated Washington Post columnist, as well as some other syndicated articles from the same paper.
As an English teacher, I used to use some of these articles in classes for higher level students.
Is there any chance of these being resurrected please? Patrick Newton Capital Federal
[Editor’s note: Fine suggestions indeed Mr Newton – you’re not the first to ask about such articles, and I’m sure you won’t be the last. Without going into too much detail and boring everyone silly, the two issues are somewhat unrelated in terms of sourcing the content. Regarding the Washington Post pieces, we don’t have a syndication deal with the Post or its wider editorial group at present, unlike the Herald. To be brutally honest, that’s not within our budgetary restrictions at the moment, so it’s not something that’s likely to happen anyday soon. As for the English-language pieces, I’ve received many requests on this issue over the past year. I have to say, at present, that it’s an editorial choice to focus on our columnists, news pieces and features at the moment, rather than use a proportion of our budget on this area. But I would love to run such pieces in the future. Having said all that, we are running a series of excellent columns on our website on the importance of ‘Clear Communication’ in the English language. They are written by Joanna Richardon, the president of the Plain Language International Association (PLAIN), and can be found via her author’s page on the site, at www. batimes.com.ar/author/jrichardson. – JG)