Nauseating diplomat-speak; or, how not to sing your country's praises, even if you've spent 3 seconds preparing your speech
I'm glad I have a strong constitution, otherwise I'd have started vomiting when I read this:
Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz is hoping that an original copy of Albert Einstein’s E=mc2 manuscript in his country’s pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo will prove the right formula to attract Chinese trade.
“E is energy, and we don’t have any oil to offer the world, and M is mass, or a massive number of consumers, and we can’t offer that either,” Steinitz said, speaking at the inauguration yesterday of the Israel pavilion. “C is speed of light though, and in Judaism, light represents wisdom, and that we can offer.”
Not much wisdom there, Mr. Steinitz. Who writes your speeches? Fire them, please. (Mr. Steinitz seems like an interesting character, though, despite this slip into atrocious trope-usage; for example, he published a very popular book about philosophy while he was under 30. Vote for him to be high in the Likud list! In 2008).
Pretty cool that the Einstein manuscript is being shown in Shanghai nonetheless.
Posted by Guy Freeman
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Einstein (TM)
Baby Einstein is a load of junk (even Time magazine, that ceaseless purveyor of junk, says so!) that preys on parents' well-meaning desire to make sure their children don't end up as illiterate drug addicts.
But at least every time someone falls for the trap a little money goes to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI), because according to Baby Einstein's homepage, right there at the bottom,
EINSTEIN is a trademark of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
which means they probably had to buy a licence to then trademark Baby Einstein, Einstein Pals and Little Einsteins.
That's also the reason why GM was sued by HUJI. Nice.
Here's the official trademark registration from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It seems that the registration was only filed in 2003, and confirmed in 2009. Bizarro.
Here's the list of products they've registered his name for:
IC 014. US 002 027 028 050. G & S: Clocks, watches, non-monetary coins, jewelry, pens and mechanical pencils of precious metal IC 016. US 002 005 022 023 029 037 038 050. G & S: Address books, prints, agendas, decals, stickers, appointment books, art paper, art prints, bookmarks, blank journals, pens, pencils, writing instruments, book covers, printed instructional, educational, and teaching materials and paper teaching materials, all in the fields of entertainment, mathematics, science and software; printed invitations, series of fiction books; series of non-fiction books in the field of science, math, physics, and self-help; bumper stickers, calendars, check books, check book covers, pencil cases, wire bound notebooks, crayons, drawing instruments, drawing paper; educational books in the field of entertainment, mathematics, science and software; gift cards, globes, greeting cards, folders, document folders in the form of wallets, three ring binders, writing pads, insect habitats, note paper, paper weights, photograph albums, stationery, photographs, postcards, posters, study guides, trading cards, wrapping paper, paper bags, paper and cardboard cut-out figures for use as wall decorations, life-size standup cardboard cutouts, pen and pencil holders, three dimensional models for educational purposes IC 018. US 001 002 003 022 041. G & S: luggage; umbrellas; all purpose sports bags, backpacks, bookbags, handbags, school bags, shoulder bags, wallets, and credit card cases, all made of leather or imitation leather IC 020. US 002 013 022 025 032 050. G & S: Non-metal key chains; busts, figurines, sculptures, ornaments and desktop statuary of bone, plaster, plastic, wax and wood; mirrors, handheld mirrors IC 021. US 002 013 023 029 030 033 040 050. G & S: Busts, figurines, sculptures, ornaments and desktop statuary of crystal, china, earthenware, glass, porcelain and terra cotta; mugs, cups, containers for household or kitchen use, cookie jars, dinnerware, flower pots, glass beverageware, non-metal decorative boxes, salt and pepper shakers, vases IC 025. US 022 039. G & S: Clothing, namely, t-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, pants, shirts, dresses, suits, socks, footwear, headwear, pants, bandanas, neckwear, coats, jackets, beachwear, undergarments IC 028. US 022 023 038 050. G & S: Games, playthings and toys, namely, action figures, bobble head dolls, card games, board games, action skill games, arcade games, baby multiple activity toys, bathtub toys, bubble making wand and solution sets, pet toys, chess sets, children's multiple activity toys; educational products in the nature of learning toys and games, namely, multiple activity toys for children and babies, action figures, and puzzles; athletic sporting goods, namely, athletic wrist and joint supports; Christmas tree decorations, costume masks, crib mobiles, electronic educational game machines for children, exercise equipment, namely, manually operated jogging machines, powered treadmills, stair-stepping machines, rowing machines, abdominal boards, stationary cycles, equipment for chest pulls, weight lifting machines, exercise platforms, exercise tables, trampolines, treadmills, weight cuffs, weights, wrist weights, weight lifting benches and accessories therefor, exercising pulleys, aerobic step machines, aerobic steps, weight lifting gloves, yoga mats, ankle and wrist weights; flying discs, golf clubs, infant development toys, infant toys, kaleidoscopes, kites, magic tricks, marbles, mechanical toys, musical toys, party games, party favors in the nature of small toys, play figures, playing cards, puppets, puzzles, sand toys, skateboards, snow globes, stuffed toys, sport balls, toy models, namely, toy model cars, toy butterfly nets, toy rockets, toy vehicles, toy watches, toy model hobby craft kits, water squirting toys, wind socks, wind-up toys, yo-yos Quite the haul... I've looking forward to buying my Albert Einstein (TM) undergarment. More information here. |
Posted by Guy Freeman
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The train at Leamington
Posted by Guy Freeman
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Grotta gigante
Posted by Guy Freeman
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