Obama was right(once again)

    ISIS is executing Americans.

    Assad is fighting ISIS.

    We want ISIS to be defeated so they stop executing Americans.

    Any effort Assad diverts to defeating the "good guys" weakens his ability.to defeat ISIS..

    And gives it more time to execute Americans.

    Our aiding the "good guys"  would have increased his need to divert effort from defeating ISIS 

    Therefore it would have been "stupid" for Obama to have accepted the advice from McCain and others to aid the good guys. And Obama doesn't do stupid things.

    What's wrong with this logic?

     

     

     

     

    Comments

    Obama has been aiding the "good guys". He started arming them over a year ago.

     


    As I wrote above ,in principle I think it would be  wrong (or "stupid") to aid Assat's enemy. But the devil would be in the details. A training program designed to pay off in 2016 could make sense. Not one to threaten Assad next year when we(I) want him to concentrate on dealing with Isis.


    Militarily couldn't the US direct ISIS towards Assad 

    The Eastern front becoming to dangerous for Isis, as will the North and with the sea to the West, Isis's  only escape is South, towards Assad.   


    I don't know enough ( about the area or about war) to sensibly reply. I just know that our priority should be defeating ISIS before it executes more Americans. However odious  Assad might be, right now he's like Stalin in WW2 ,he's fighting ISIS and we want him to keep doing that.

     


    You are teaching English to a group of Spanish speakers, but you don't speak Spanish. The group is having difficulty understanding the present perfect tense. What can you do? Well, traditionally most of us have done our best to explain things in simple English and provide numerous examples. There's nothing wrong with this approach. However, as many Spanish speaking English teachers probably know, it can be helpful to quickly explain the concept in Spanish. Then the lesson can turn back to English. Instead of spending fifteen minutes trying to explain the present perfect in English, a one minute explanation has done the trick. Still, if you don't speak Spanish - or any other language that your students speak - what's a teacher to do? Enter Google Translate. Google Translate offers the most powerful, free online translation tools available. This English teaching helps and tips article focuses on using Google Translate to help out in difficult situations, as well as provide ideas on how to use Google Translate in class in lesson plans.

    What does Google Translate Offer?

    Google Translate offers four main tool areas:

        Translation

        Translated Search

        Translator Toolkit

        Tools and Resources

    In this article, I'll discuss how to use the first two: Google Translate - Translation, and Google Translate - Translated Search in class.

    Google Translate: Translation

    This is the most traditional tool. Enter text or any URL and Google Translate will provide a translation from English to your target language. Google Translate provides translation in 52 languages, so you'll probably find what you need. Google Translate translations are not perfect, but they are getting better all the time (more about this later).

    Ways to Use Google Translate - Translation in Class

    Have students write short texts in English, and translate them into their original language. Using Google Translate for translation can help students catch grammatical errors by spotting these errors in the translations.

    Use authentic resources, but provide the URL and have students translate the original into their target language. This will help out when it comes to difficult vocabulary. Make sure that students use Google Translate only after they have first read the article in English.

    For beginners, ask students to first write short texts in their mother tongue. Have them translate into English and ask them to tweak the translation.

    Provide your own short text and let Google Translate into the class' target language(s). Ask students to read the translation and then try to come up with the English original text.

    If all else fails, use Google Translate as a bilingual dictionary.

    Google Translate also provides a translated search function. This tool is extremely powerful for finding accompanying content to help students take advantage of authentic materials in English. Google Translate provides this translated search as a way to find pages written in another language that focus on the search term you provided in English. In other words, if we're working on business presentation styles, using Google Translate translated search I can provide some background materials in Spanish or any other language.

    Ways to Use Google Translate - Translated Search in Class

    When stuck on a grammar point, search on the grammar term to provide explanations in learners' mother tongue(s).

    Use as a means to provide context in learners' mother tongue(s). This is especially useful if students aren't familiar with the topic area. They can become familiar with some of the ideas in their own language as well as in English to help strengthen the learning experience.

    Use translated search to find pages on a particular topic. Cut and paste a few paragraphs out, have students then translate the text into English.

    Google Translate translated search is fantastic for group projects. Often you'll find students don't have ideas, or are not sure where to begin. Sometimes, this is due to the fact that they aren't too familiar with the subject in English. Let them use translated search to get them started.

     


    I think you've wandered into the wrong blog. Why not click on the edit button and delete?


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