Polyglot Edition

Posted on Apr 1, 2010

Today on the list: The language everyone in the world is learning, YouTube’s original sin and whither the SEC?

On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.

The links below open in a new window. Newer ones are on top.

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Globish: the worldwide dialect of the third millennium
More than a lingua franca, the rapid adoption of ‘decaffeinated English’, according to the man who coined the term ‘Globish’, makes it the world’s most widely spoken language.

Weighing the cost of reality
Is it worth quitting your job or uprooting for weeks or months for uncertain payout?

Sarah Palin, Neocon Messiah
Judge them by their enemies. More evidence that Barack Obama might be shaping up as a good president is that Norman Podhoretz hates him so much.

Is America ‘Yearning for Fascism’?
The language of violence always presages violence. I watched it in war after war from Latin America to the Balkans.

Milestones in statesmanship, Obama DoJ division
Using Outdated Quotes from Colin Powell, Obama Justice Department Files Brief to Support Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell Policy.

YouTube’s Original Sin
The video site danced with the devil to get a massive traffic boost. Now it might pay the price.

The Notebook
For a long while now I have planned to write an essay about the habit of keeping a notebook, and have even, from time to time, started to take notes on the topic.

Journalism Education in the Arab World
Over the last several years, the number and quality of journalism and media programs in Arab countries have sharply increased.

Fraud on the Street
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Monday it had begun an inquiry into two dozen financial companies to determine whether they followed accounting practices similar to those recently disclosed in an investigation of Lehman Brothers. Where on earth has the SEC been?

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