Latest news with #Niska
Local France
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Local France
French Word of the Day: Une gow
Why do I need to know une gow? Because if you spend any time with French teenagers, you might hear this word. What does it mean? Une gow - roughly pronounced oon go - is a slang term you will probably only hear from French speakers under the age of 30. Also written as go, the word gow refers to a woman, specifically a young woman. It is roughly the same as meuf (the backwards slang version of femme ). Oftentimes, gow is used to refer to a girlfriend, so a young man might say je vais inviter ma gow (I am going to invite my girlfriend). Some young women also use the word to talk about their closest girlfriends. The more common term for girlfriend is copine, although older people are more likely to use petite amie . Gow has been made more popular by French rappers and pop artists, like Niska, who used the word in his song Réseaux in 2017, and Wejdene in her song Ta Gow in 2020. As for the origins of the word gow , there are a few theories. One hypothesis is that it comes from the slang used by young people in Côte d'Ivoire and West Africa. In the Nouchi language, which is spoken in Côte d'Ivoire, the slang word go means girl or woman, and this was originally borrowed from the Bambara language spoken in Mali. There is also a theory that it is an abbreviation of another, older French slang term: gonzesse . Nowadays, it can generally refer to girls or women, but in the mid-20th century, it referred to a prostitute or the pimp's wife, and then went on to mean promiscuous girl. As such, gonzesse can be seen as sexist and offensive. Advertisement On the other hand, Gow (or go ) is not particularly offensive, but it is quite colloquial and primarily used amongst young people. If you're over 30, this is probably one to 'know not show', but it will help you to understand the young folk and keep up with popular culture. Use it like this J'ai croisé Kevin au restaurant, et il était avec sa gow. - I ran into Kevin at the restaurant and he was there with his girlfriend. J'vais demander à ma gow si on a qqc de prévu. - I'm gonna ask my girlfriend if we have something planned.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Minnesota House GOP files lawsuit to force absent DFL members back to Capitol by fining them
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon presided over the House chamber on Jan. 27, 2025, as Democrats continued to boycott the Capitol. Photo by Michelle Griffith/Minnesota Reformer. House Republicans on Thursday filed a lawsuit with the Minnesota Supreme Court to compel boycotting Democratic-Farmer-Labor House members back to the Capitol by fining them. House Democrats have been deliberately staying away from the Capitol for more than two weeks — since Jan. 14 — in an effort to deny Republicans quorum and control of the chamber. Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that the House needs 68 members for a quorum, leaving Republicans unable to conduct business. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon has been presiding over the chamber in the absence of a speaker, and every day this week he has declared there's no quorum and adjourned. House Republicans have been attempting to propose a motion to get Democrats back to the Capitol, but Simon won't 'recognize' them, meaning the members can't speak up, according to House rules. Rep. Harry Niska, R-Ramsey, told reporters that this is beyond Simon's authority as a presiding officer, so the caucus is asking the Supreme Court to compel Simon to recognize their motion. Republicans want House members to be fined an amount equal to their salary during the days that they are absent and revoke their per diem privileges for the entire 2025-2026 session. 'Secretary Simon is illegally obstructing our ability to compel absent members as specifically stated in the constitution. Because he refuses to allow a motion on the House floor to hold Democrats accountable, we are taking legal action to make sure it happens,' Niska said in a statement. 'Democrats are obstructing House business, and it needs to stop.' Niska accused Simon, a Democrat, of 'playing politics' by denying their chance to offer a motion. House Republicans are using Niska's law firm to represent them. Unlike the last case in front of the Supreme Court, House Republicans won't be using the taxpayer's dime to fund the legal fees, Niska told reporters. In a statement, a spokesperson for Simon said his office doesn't comment on pending litigation, but Simon's position is that 'absent a quorum and an organized House of Representatives, the only item in order is adjournment.' This is the latest development in the power struggle stifling operations in the Minnesota House, which is currently home to 67 Republicans and 66 Democrats. Negotiations to resolve the power struggle have stalled, and both sides appear to be dug in: House Democrats want written assurance that Republicans will refrain from attempting to unseat one of their members. Republicans want to elect a speaker and control House committees for the next two years — even after a special election for an open seat in the north metro that's expected to bring the chamber back to a 67-67 tie. Republican leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, told reporters she hasn't had contact with House Democratic leader Melissa Hortman about continuing negotiations. Hortman in a statement said she was at the Capitol to negotiate on Thursday morning, but Demuth refused to meet with her. Republicans say Hortman never requested a meeting. At stake is the status of Rep. Brad Tabke, a Shakopee Democrat who won his reelection by 14 votes in a contest marred by 20 missing ballots. A judge ruled in an advisory opinion that Tabke would have won anyway, and a do-over is not needed. The Minnesota Constitution grants the House the power to seat its own members, however, and Democrats fear Republicans will refuse to seat Tabke.
