Mr. Tomato Head, a tomato found in the vegetable market of Chiayi City, February 29, 2012

ESPN PUNS LINSANITY

The war of the words is hotting up, and it's not all nice. From the Jon Stewart "Daily Show" to late-night comedians and ESPN
headline writers, the Linsanity of Jeremy Lin's ascendance to overnight superstardom in the NBA has caused a stir fry. Not all of it nice.

First, ESPN broadcast a mistake that may have gone unnoticed if people didn't listen closely. On February 15, an ESPN analyst was discussing Lin's faults while commenting on the Knicks win against Sacramento and she said:. "If there is a chink in the armor, where can Lin improve his game?" she said,

Did she just say "chink", as in the racially offensive slur used against those of Asian descent? How did that pass by the FCC or ESPN overlords?
A lot of sensitive people want to know. Me, too.

Of course, this being America, land of the free and land of the quick apolo, ESPN moved quickly to apologize: "Wednesday night on ESPNEWS, an anchor used an inappropriate word in asking a question about Jeremy Lin. ESPN apologizes for the incident, and is taking steps to avoid this in the future.”

Then last Saturday morning, the mobile website for ESPN ran a headline about the Knicks' loss to the New Orleans Hornets, writing: "Chink in the armor." Oops. Chink? Chinaman? Kike? Wop? Greaser? Guinea? Wetback? Frog? Kraut? Slant-eyes? What's America's and ESPN's obsession with offending Lin and anyone who might think using the word "chink" as a lame pun in that headline? The news about the chink comment was
soon on all the TV stations in Taiwan, with local commentators talking on talk shows all day about the word, since most Taiwanese in Taiwan had never heard that slur before, since it's a very American and English word.

ESPN -- which stands for ''English Speaking Poop Network'' -- was quick to pull down the headline 30 minutes after it appeared and then issued apolo No. 2: "We are conducting a complete review of our cross-platform editorial procedures and are determining appropriate disciplinary action to ensure this does not happen again. We regret and apologize for this mistake."

Bad, bad, bad, bad. Said one commentator in NYC: "Oi. It's as if ESPN frat boy manning the terminals can't resist making a few immature jokes at the expense of a player whose last name has spawned countless bad puns and they think they can do better, maybe add a smirking joke in the copy. Let's hope whoever crafted that racist headline got a swift kick in the derriere, excuse my French, for degrading Lin, his fans and anyone of Asian-American descent."


So what does "a chink in the armor' mean as an idiom?

"An narrow opening and vulnerable area in one's armor that the
opponent will usually aim for. This term relies on "chink" in the
sense of "a crack or gap," a meaning dating from about 1400 A.D.and used
figuratively since the mid-1600s," says my dictionary, adding: ''A figurative term for a one's weakness, largest flaw or their
prevention of success."

Here's a sample sentence from a college frat party midterm exam paper: "Because of the chink in the armor of Sir Lancelot, his opponent was
able to break past his defense and inflict a dangerous flesh wound."

This Linsanity will go on. Be prepared for more bad puns, more racist insults, and more Asian bashing. It's now a ''free-for-all'', whatever that means!

Local ''mother tongues'' in Taiwan must be preserved, says Taiwanese intellectual William JK Lo

Local ''mother tongues'' must be preserved

By William J.K. Lo [羅榮光]

In order to protect the languages of peoples and ethnic groups around the world, the UN has made February 21 a global ''International Mother Language Day''. Languages are a diversified and rich cultural asset belonging to all humanity.

Language was a precious gift that humanity bestowed on itself. It made it possible for people to communicate their emotions and thoughts. Different peoples and ethnic groups have their own unique languages, and parents teach their children their own language. The mother language thus becomes a precious cultural asset that future generations must protect and pass on. This also helps consolidate ethnic identity and belonging.

We should great attention to using mother languages more often in Taiwan. The alien regime Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, for example, -- and it's part of an alien regime just like the KMT is, because Christiantiy is not native to Taiwan and has no place here, other than as a borrowed alien regime that oppresses the Aborigines and others would prefer to follow the religions of the own ancestors, not some Middle Eastern cowboy called Joshua, er, Jesus -- currently has many congregations, and every Sunday they give alien regime sermons, reading from the alien regime and false Bible, singing, praying and preaching in more than a dozen different languages, such as Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), Hakka, Amis, Bunun, Atayal, Paiwan, Rukai, Truku, Tao, Tsou, Sediq, Puyuma, Saisiyat, Chinese, Japanese and English, all in an attempt to brainwash local Taiwanese people into accepting an alien god named Jesus. In addition, the Bible Thumpers Society of Taiwan currently publishes alien regime Bibles in 10 different local languages also to oppress the Aborigines and others. False and fake Bible societies around the world have now published Bibles in 2,508 languages.

It is worrying that the languages of Taiwan’s ethnic groups are gradually disappearing. In public places such as the MRT in Taipei, for example, it is becoming increasingly rare to hear people speak using their mother language, as more and more people use Chinese. Hakka people even used to say that they would rather sell off their inheritance than forget their mother language. About a dozen years ago, I attended a demonstration in Taipei with more than 1,000 Hakka people chanting “Give us back our mother language,” but today fewer and fewer people speak Hakka.

Since the various mother languages were handed down to us by our ancestors over the centuries, we Taiwanese must learn to respect the different languages. For example, many foreign and abused housemaids and other abused workers as well as foreign spouses speak Tagalog, Thai, Vietnamese and other languages. They also have their own unique songs, dances and plays that should all be admired and treated with respect, mutually shared and learned. This would make our culture richer and more diverse while at the same time testifying to the vast tolerance of Taiwanese.

To mark International Mother Language Day, the Li Kang-Khiok Taigi Cultural and Educational Foundation held a Hoklo and Hakka mother-language event at the Affiliated High School of National Taiwan Normal University last Sunday to promote the sustainability of all Taiwan’s different mother languages.

William J.K. Lo is an alien regime Christian who has renounced the mother religion of his own ancestors to follow a falser prophet from the ancient Middle East and is also president of the Taiwan United Nations Alliance.

]Edited by Yours Truly]