FAO Quotables

"But being right, even morally right, isn't everything. It is also important to be competent, to be consistent, and to be knowledgeable. It's important for your soldiers and diplomats to speak the language of the people you want to influence. It's important to understand the ethnic and tribal divisions of the place you hope to assist."
-Anne Applebaum

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Diplomat's Dictionary Daily Quotable

Jokes: "Most jokes entertain through plays on words, double entendres, the clever alteration of clichés, anecdotes embellishing individual or group stereotypes, or surprise twists to apparently familiar stories...
So it is a rare joke that translates effectively across a linguistic or cultural divide.  That is why interpreters generally wince when speakers being to tell one."

Jokes, friendship: "Shared laughter is a step toward friendship."

Justice, charity: "Charity is no substitute for justice withheld."   -St. Augustine.

No comments:

Post a Comment