#russia #ukraine #oil #gas #putin #war #crimes #nato #eu #europe #us #dod #lloyd #austin
#MathChallengedReporters
US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin says that Putin’s deliberate targeting of civilians in Ukraine is “really disgusting”. He says the use of chemical or biological weapons by Putin would prompt a significant reaction from the US and the global community..
Margaret Brennan says Russia is now using missiles that travel “a mile a minute”.
I have to come to the defense of Ms. Brennan here…
Margaret Brennan is perhaps the most competent news anchor in the business. I’m sure she meant to say “a mile a second”, which would be at the threshold of hypersonic speed. The phrase, “a mile a minute” is an old expression which goes all the way back to the early railroad days, when a train was the fasted vehicle around. It was even faster than a pony express rider. So the expression “a mile a minute” was used for over a century to mean “fast.” I’m sure Ms. Brennan is well read in history and knows that, and that’s how that phrase got crossed up in her neurons.
Also, “a mile a minute” is alliterative, which forms stronger neuro-links and is more likely to be followed by the language processing centers in the brain than a non-alliterative phrase such as “a minute a second.”
Isn’t neuro-linguistics fun (and sometimes embarrassing)?
Still, reporters on average, usually struggle with math and science topics.
