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May.06.2004 : Thursday
 Different phrases mean different things to different people
Short anecdote illustrating one of my favorite things: the slippery slope of language. In this story about the L.A. riots, we find this lovely little anecdote.

"Police officers responded to a domestic dispute, accompanied by marines. They had just gone up to the door when two shotgun birdshot rounds were fired through the door, hitting the officers. One yelled `cover me!' to the marines, who then laid down a heavy base of fire. . . . The police officer had not meant `shoot' when he yelled `cover me' to the marines. [He] meant . . . point your weapons and be prepared to respond if necessary. However, the marines responded instantly in the precise way they had been trained, where `cover me' means provide me with cover using firepower. . . . over two hundred bullets [were] fired into that house."
Link: Lessons in Command and Control from the Los Angeles Riots
» Stu  · 17:34 comments   


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McSweeneys
A COVER LETTER FROM AN ART MAJOR SEEKING A JOB THAT LITERALLY REQUIRES HIM TO APPLY THE SKILLS HE LEARNED IN SCHOOL.