Hello and welcome to English with Languissimo®, the podcast in English where I share stories of my week and that of the world with you.
My name is Vanessa Rocket. I’m the founder and CEO of Languissimo®.
The Voice of Power
On Monday, Scott Ritter, military analyst, former Marine Corps Intelligence officer and former United Nations weapons inspector had his passport seized at JFK Airport where he was about to board a plane to Russia.
He was scheduled to speak at the St Petersburg international Economic Forum.
The US State Department forced him off the plane, along with former New Jersey judge Andrew Napolitano, author and host of the Youtube Judging Freedom Podcast.
Here is what Scott Ritter said about this:
“As I was boarding my flight out of New York, I was pulled aside by three Customs and Border Protection officers, who seized my passport. When asked why, they said orders of the State Department. No further information was provided. My bags were removed from the flight, and I was escorted out of the airport.”
It’s crazy this story, don’t you think?
You’re on your way to boarding your plane and a few minutes later, you’re treated as a criminal and have your passport confiscated.
Totally insane!
Anyway, the good news is, depending on where you stand on this, Scott Ritter may have been prevented to attend the forum in person, but he will be able to participate in it remotely thanks to modern technology.
He declared that “my voice will not be silenced by those who disagree with the messages it carries.”
Let’s hope that he won’t be stripped of his freedom of speech either.
Who knows what the State Department could do to prevent him from saying what he has to say about the western involvement in the war between Ukraine and Russia?
True or False (write your answers and tune in for explanations on Monday)
- Scott Ritter got his passport back at the airport.
- “He was scheduled to speak” is a synonym of “he was not expected to speak”.
- “To force someone to do something” is to let them do what they want, however they want.
- “As” is the synonym of “while” in that context.
- “No further information” is a synonym of “no more information”.
- “To be escorted” means to leave by yourself.
- “Insane” is a synonym of “crazy”.
- “Remotely” comes from the adjective “remote”.
- “To disagree” is the opposite of “to be agree”.
- “Involvement” is the noun of “to involve”.
The Voice of Cut
Two days ago, for the first time since 2019, the European Central Bank lowered its main interest rate by 25 basis points from an all-time high of 4% to 3.75%.
It followed Canada’s decision on Wednesday to cut its official lending rate to 4.75%.
The rates have increased sharply since 2022 to try and curb inflation.
Unfortunately, although it became more expensive to borrow, inflation kept rising and the economy is now slowing down.
Will that cut help revive the economy?
I doubt it.
We’ll see.
One thing is for sure: it’s always everyday people like you and I who pay the price when things go south.
Those who land us in deep shit always get away unscathed.
Do you remember the Great Recession of 2008?
None of the shitheads lost anything; the little guy did!
That’s why, I’m telling you: prepare because the worst is yet to come, and nobody is going to warn you until it is too late.
So, forewarned is forearmed.
True or False (write your answers and tune in for explanations on Monday)
- The European Central Bank has been lowering rates since 2019.
- “25 basis points” = 0.025.
- “To curb” means to be out of control.
- “Kept rising” means “continued rising”.
- “To pay the price” means “to pay some money”.
- “To go south” means “to go well”.
- “Unscathed” means “damaged”.
- “To remember” is a synonym of “to recall”.
- “The worst” is the comparative of “bad”.
- “Forewarned is forearmed” means that you can prepare if you know about a possible danger in advance.
Some Practice Questions
- What do you think of the State Department’s action to confiscate Scott Ritter’s passport?
- Do you think that lowering rates will help revive the economy?
- What are you going to do to prepare for the worst?
Tada! That’s it for today! I hope you enjoyed this podcast. Subscribe to English with Languissimo®, practice, take care and have a great weekend! Big hugs 😊