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If Linus said her statements were _false_, he'd probably be wrong. Both statements appear carefully crafted. If Linus said she made two _deliberate deceptions_

If Linus said her statements were _false_, he'd probably be wrong. Both statements appear carefully crafted. If Linus said she made two _deliberate deceptions_, he'd be absolutely correct. Each statement exaggerates to suit the purposes of the context. But Linus said she lied. If you define lying as deliberate deception, he was right. If you think a lie must also be false, you can accuse him of sloppy English. But Linus is only "dead wrong" if you think deliberate deceptions can be perfectly ethical. Personally I wish Linus would slightly reword his post so that it doesn't confuse people who get hung up on semantics instead of his central point.

jacquesm 14y ago
> Personally I wish Linus would slightly reword his post so that it doesn't confuse people who get hung up on semantics instead of his central point. Yes, that would be for the best because as it is it's not just people who get hung up on semantics that are going to be bothered by this, it will allow opposition to his statements to reject them out of hand as untrue. And that is the bigger worry.
- delinka 14y ago
  "...hung up on semantics..." Which is precisely what the legal system in the US does. The judiciary gets into semantic analysis and declares a law unconstitutional. Sometimes, they get a little loose with the semantics and attempt to ascertain 'intent' and make a determination about the law. Semantics matter when your life is on the line. Semantics matter when you're trying to communicate clearly.
jsight 14y ago
> But Linus said she lied. Strictly speaking, he didn't. "Compare these two statements - one from July 2011, one from yesterday, and tell me Carmen Ortiz isn't lying.." Perhaps Linus' words were "carefully crafted" too. He didn't strictly say she was lying, but he sure did imply that she was deliberately deceiving. You said: "If Linus said she made two _deliberate deceptions_, he'd be absolutely correct." Hmmm... (FWIW, I think deliberate deception is the same thing as lying)
- adeaver 14y ago
  Actually he pretty much did say she lied: "But having the involved US attorney then basically lie about it all in a very public statement" Second paragraph
  - jlgreco 14y ago
    Basically: Adverb, In the most essential respects; fundamentally: "a basically simple idea". Example usages: in this document: "Ctrl-F basically" "Basically lying" is not the same as "lying", as commonly used in American English. Feel free to contrast this with "technically lying". If you want to lawyer Carmen's words, then Linus get's to lawyer his.

jacquesm 14y ago

> Personally I wish Linus would slightly reword his post so that it doesn't confuse people who get hung up on semantics instead of his central point. Yes, that would be for the best because as it is it's not just people who get hung up on semantics that are going to be bothered by this, it will allow opposition to his statements to reject them out of hand as untrue. And that is the bigger worry.

delinka 14y ago
"...hung up on semantics..." Which is precisely what the legal system in the US does. The judiciary gets into semantic analysis and declares a law unconstitutional. Sometimes, they get a little loose with the semantics and attempt to ascertain 'intent' and make a determination about the law. Semantics matter when your life is on the line. Semantics matter when you're trying to communicate clearly.

jsight 14y ago

> But Linus said she lied. Strictly speaking, he didn't. "Compare these two statements - one from July 2011, one from yesterday, and tell me Carmen Ortiz isn't lying.." Perhaps Linus' words were "carefully crafted" too. He didn't strictly say she was lying, but he sure did imply that she was deliberately deceiving. You said: "If Linus said she made two _deliberate deceptions_, he'd be absolutely correct." Hmmm... (FWIW, I think deliberate deception is the same thing as lying)

adeaver 14y ago
Actually he pretty much did say she lied: "But having the involved US attorney then basically lie about it all in a very public statement" Second paragraph
- jlgreco 14y ago
  Basically: Adverb, In the most essential respects; fundamentally: "a basically simple idea". Example usages: in this document: "Ctrl-F basically" "Basically lying" is not the same as "lying", as commonly used in American English. Feel free to contrast this with "technically lying". If you want to lawyer Carmen's words, then Linus get's to lawyer his.