Dead at last - Kissinger made it to 100

Herny Kissinger, the 20th century's most infamous Dr Evil who was "on our side" is finally dead. Christopher Hitchens died quite a while ago, but his book "The Trial of Henry Kissinger" will no doubt get lots more royalties for his estate now. A YouTube documentary version of the book, co-written by Hitchens and Alex Gigney is available, which I have not watched, given that the book was comprehensive in its case for Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes against Kissinger. 

The known lowlights:

* subverting the peace negotiations between USA/allies and Viet Nam to facilitate the election of Nixon in 1968, resulting in the war continuing until 1975

* the covert and overt support of the Pinochet coup against the popularly elected Alende government in Chile in 1972

* the secret bombing of Cambodia and Loas in the early 1970s without congressional authorisation - resulting in explosions of cluster munitions which still maim and kill civilians to the current day

And yet credulous journalists and politicians still feted Kissinger (and Associates - his consulting company) as a Statesman and political philosopher right up until his death. Shame on you!

LangVar: I'm never going to call Twitter...... and then they do

One small tip my my favourite podcasters (you don't know who you are... except for a few who have gmail addresses, and invite opinions):

You CANNOT say "I'm never going to call Twitter by its new name y (for some value of y, which we all know), and then go on to actually say the new name for Twitter in the same fucking sentence. Just go for one or the other, Puhhleeeze. It's been months (a year    now?) since "the outrage". Pick a side, make a boycott, call it by its old name, or its new name. But don't say you're never going to say it, and then in the next breath, actually say it!

I have no vested interest - never was on that platform, and have quit all the others, except LinkedIn - in which I have a 20+ year investment in being able to find former colleagues and collaborators in their new jobs.... I hate that it has an opinion doom scroll now... but I can still find all my OMG & DSTC buddies.

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Langvar: Phenomena = Phenomenon

Many journalist and academics make no differentiation between phenomena and phenomenon. Typically phenomena serves as singular and plural, but phenomenon is also used for both. Sometimes this is clumsiness, but other times people really don't know the difference.

Virtually everyone does this now, but I'll name and shame someone whose journalism I respect, Ian Dunt of the I, and the excellent Origin Story on Podmasters podcasts, just because he's the last person I heard do it in public when he used "phenomenon" as a plural in the episode, well worth a listen: "Eugenics Part One: Gene Genies"

LangVar: Excited about -> Excited for

In non-US English, the fomerly standard thing was to be excited "about" something. Now it's commonly becoming "excited for".

John McWorter says that young women are at the vangaurd of language change. So again I cite:

The Guilty Feminst:

 https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-guilty-feminist/id1068940771?i=1000627454005

 spoken again by: Yomi Adegoke being excited for Beborah's new book.

LangVar: Nonplussed as "not bothered"

 Source The Guilty Feminst:

 https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-guilty-feminist/id1068940771?i=1000627454005

 The List with Yomi Adegoke

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