1) mrs collin powell said in an interview that her husband had been used by the bush administration to sell the iraq war to americans and the world because people would believe what powell said
2) there were occasions when i saw translators on stage groping for the right word or phrase, or translating wrong, and i always had the urge to stand up and tell them loudly the correct translation
in those years not too many people received proper training in this field. the situation seems to have improved a lot since
it's easier to translate from a foreign language into one's own language than the other way round. and i was shocked one time to see my brother who was then an engineer translate fluently for a pastor from chinese to english in a sunday service in a church some years ago
that reminds me of two interesting occasions...ford and bush, each delivering a speech...