December 31, 2019 Experts agree that it’s more than possible to make meaningful progress in just one hour a day. Not only that, the skills gained from practicing a new language can feel like superpowers in the workplace and beyond..Research shows there is a direct correlation between bilingualism and intelligence, memory skills and higher academic achievement. As the brain more efficiently processes information, it is even able to stave off age-related cognitive decline.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190219-how-to-learn-a-language-in-an-hour-a-day

December 27, 2019 "It means people will not have access to dialogue about what is going on in their own country, they will be kept within their own bubble." https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50902496#

This observation reminds me of a famous headline in "The Times":
"Terrible gale in the Channel - continent isolated".
Don't choke in your own bubble, gentlemen!

December 23, 2019 For some reason English does not like certain notions and borrows them from other languages (in our example - from French): French President Emmanuel Macron pursues détente with Russia, and in recent months has roiled European politics and undermined Ukraine. 

https://www.the-american-interest.com/2019/12/16/the-dead-end-of-the-normandy-format/

December 21, 2019 Piano players and teachers are less frequently shot than policemen. Still, the news is worrying:
Junaid Hafeez: Academic sentenced to death for blasphemy in Pakistan. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50878432

December 17, 2019 "Identity" runs high on the Translator's professionalism. Francis Fukuyama  seems to have made a convincing case of it, but as soon as he gets into the intricacies of "Russian" vs "Ukrainian" identity he is caught in stereotypes:

https://fsi.stanford.edu/news/francis-fukghtuyama-why-we-should-all-be-paying-attention-ukraine

December 13, 2019 To lie, or not to lie? Our students do not bother to delve into similar concerns:

What are the ethical implications of lying to get into a course?

I attend a small liberal arts college in the US. Through the cross-registration program, we are permitted to take classes at a large state university at no extra cost to us. However, we are only allowed to enroll in one course at a time; the system will not allow us to take two during the same semester.

Next semester, I am interested in taking two courses at the university. The will both be very small; certainly under 15 students each. Both professors have told me I cannot attend their class without being officially enrolled (I asked both individually). I have been considering attending both classes and asking both professors to fill out the cross-registration form that would allow me to enroll in their class, but only turning in one professor's form. From my previous experience at this university, the registration takes 4-6 weeks to come through, but professors, of course, let you attend class before that happens, so they may forget about awaiting the registration during that time. Even if they ended up finding out that I never turned it in, I would still have received a month of instruction before that happens, which I find valuable.

I am curious about the ethical concerns about this from the standpoint of the professors. Obviously by being there I am giving them more work, but they are not paid according to the number of students attending their classes. On the other hand, I know that class enrollment is really important to directors of departments and higher-ups in the university, so they are doing the work of teaching me without getting the benefit of one more student in their enrollment numbers. And from a personal standpoint, I would feel absolutely terrible about developing a good relationship with a professor and having them find out I lied to them.

I am not asking to be told what to do (it's probably not a very good idea), I would just like to know if there are any other concerns with lying to get into this course that I am not considering.

https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/141264/what-are-the-ethical-implications-of-lying-to-get-into-a-course

December 11, 2019 A show on Russian television called KVN—an acronym that roughly translates to “The Club of the Funny and Inventive”—pitted teams from across the old U.S.S.R. against one another in improv and sketch comedy. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/12/zelensky-ukraine-impeachment/602905/

Российская телепередача под названием «КВН» — аббревиатура, означающая «Клуб веселых и находчивых» — объединила команды со всего бывшего СССР в формате импровизации и юмористических сценок. https://inosmi.ru/politic/20191210/246406970.html

December 7, 2019 The best way is always to stop when you are going good and when you know what will happen next. If you do that every day when you are writing a novel, you will never be stuck – Ernest Hemingway https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20191205-how-to-conquer-work-paralysis-like-ernest-hemingway

Nulla dies sine linea - is more in conformity with logic!

December 3, 2019 Geographers call it a “pene-exclave” /ˈpɛniˌɛkskleɪv/ , an area of one country that in practical terms can only be reached by passing through another country. Except for the few who arrive by private plane or boat, everyone coming to this American community drives in from Canada.

Visitors to the exclave of Point Roberts must drive through Canada to enter the United States. It’s a tiny town with empty beaches, pods of orcas and dozens of gas pumps.

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20191201-a-us-town-only-reached-through-canada

December 1, 2019 Gender studies, Political correctness have little to do with linguistics, philology and translatology. Those who embrace them do not read books. They just hope to be lavished by West-delivered vavors and grants. To be bought, if you can't find another euphmism. Deplorably, even the Russians do it. We are certainly slapdash people.