Why? What? Where? When? How?

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Migrants

Birds migrate. The verb migrate simply means to move from one region to another. In the case of birds it is to find a suitable habitat (living space) according to the season. In the case of humans, it is usually to find work or better living conditions. A person who migrates is called a migrant. It therefore suits European politicians—many of whom, together with their NATO cronies, were largely responsible for causing the chaos in Iraq, Libya and Syria—to label those seeking shelter in Europe “migrants”.

Refugees

A refuge is a shelter or safe place. A refugee is a person who has been forced to escape war, natural disaster, persecution etc to find refuge. The word comes from the French réfugié meaning “gone in search of refuge”. There are international laws governing countries’ responsibilities towards refugees so again it suits the perpetrators of the crisis not to label people escaping to Europe as refugees.

Why Al Jazeera will not say Mediterranean “migrants”

Two expressions come to mind:

• Europe’s chickens are coming home to roost
• They that sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind

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Today, the Japanese city of Hiroshima commemorates the moment 70 years ago that the USA dropped a nuclear bomb on the city, directly killing some 80,000 people. In three days’ time, another Japanese city, Nagasaki, will commemorate the killing of another 40,000 civilians when the USA dropped a second bomb.

Audio, video and quick quiz for learners:

This Week in History: USA Drops Nuclear Bombs On Japan

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The Latin phrase “Veni, vidi, vici” was an elegant way of saying “I came, I saw, I conquered”. The Roman general Julius Caesar allegedly first used the phrase c46 BC in his report to the Senate after quickly defeating Pharnaces II of Pontus at the Battle of Zela. Hillary Clinton famously abused the expression on being advised of the murder of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya in 2011 (“We came, we saw, he died”).

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Who would you choose?

Please give your reasons!

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And will it be better or worse 100 years from now?

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What five things would you choose to take with you and why?

Please leave your comments below :)

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You can go any length of time, one day, a thousand years, a million years… Which would you choose? Future or past?

And why?

Please leave your comments below :)

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If achieving fame meant that you would lose all your friends, would you still want to be famous?

Please leave your comments below :)

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A house is a building that people live in. It stands on its own land (unlike, say, an apartment or flat) and often has a garden. It may be detached (not joined to another house), semi-detached (joined to one other house), or terraced (in a row, like townhouses all joined together).

• We are selling our house and want to buy a bigger one.
• That house used to be brown, but last week the owners painted it white.

A home is the place where you live, especially as part of a family. It could be a house, or it could be a condominium or apartment or flat, or anywhere else.

• I have to go home. I’ve just remembered that I left my apartment door open.
• After the hurricane they had to move into a temporary caravan. But already they’ve made it into a real home for the children.

Just think of house as a physical thing, and home is more like an idea.

NB: there is a tendency by real estate agents in the USA to use “home” instead of “house”. So they advertise “Home for Sale” instead of “House for Sale” etc. This is perhaps due to the emotive nature of the word “home”, which may better serve the purposes of commercialism. But we have seen what happens when words lose their meanings.

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