Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Sports Headline Dissected.
But notSlammed. Literate explanation of what looks like title inflation but isn't.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Separated by a Common Language
The World Cup has brought new opportunities to understand the sport and the British language used in on stats.
It's on the AOL site's scoreboard that unknowing and uninformed Americans are introduced to such terms as FT (final tally?), D (for draw?). That's in addition to the broadcasters' use of "nil" for zero or nothing that Americans use, and the plural verb to go with what we consider collective nouns--"Ghana ARE" for example.
The World Cup can be educational. It can also show people's ignorance. During the Tunisia-Saudi Arabia match, one of the broadcasters commented merrily about players "kissing the grass" when what the Muslim players were doing clearly was praying.
It's on the AOL site's scoreboard that unknowing and uninformed Americans are introduced to such terms as FT (final tally?), D (for draw?). That's in addition to the broadcasters' use of "nil" for zero or nothing that Americans use, and the plural verb to go with what we consider collective nouns--"Ghana ARE" for example.
The World Cup can be educational. It can also show people's ignorance. During the Tunisia-Saudi Arabia match, one of the broadcasters commented merrily about players "kissing the grass" when what the Muslim players were doing clearly was praying.
Friday, June 16, 2006
Calling It What It Is
I have some real problems with the way this GAO report on Katrina debit card spending is being reported. No one seems to have made much of a distinction between clearly illegal spending--claiming property loss using a cemetery address, for example--and what could best be described as questionable choices. Even then, would, say, using the card to pay for a divorce be wrong if someone had lost all his resources to the storm? The GAO report isn't the problem; the reporting is. CNN just referred to the Hooters angle as fraud. Who says? If there are no restrictions on how people spend the money, can recipients legally--if not ethically--spend it as they see fit?
FEMA paid for sex change, divorces
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Houston divorce lawyer Mark Lipkin says he can't recall anyone paying for his services with a FEMA debit card, but congressional investigators say one of his clients did just that.
The $1,000 payment was just one example cited in an audit that concluded that up to $1.4 billion - perhaps as much as 16 percent of the billions of dollars in assistance expended after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita - was spent for bogus reasons.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency also was hoodwinked to pay for season football tickets, a tropical vacation and a sex change operation, the audit found.
Prison inmates, a supposed victim who used a New Orleans cemetery for a home address and a person who spent 70 days at a Hawaiian hotel all were able to get taxpayer help, according to evidence that gives a new black eye to the nation's disaster relief agency.
"I do Katrina victims all the time," Lipkin, the divorce attorney, told The Associated Press. "I didn't know anybody did that with me. I don't think it's right, obviously."
Government Accountability Office officials were testifying before a House committee Wednesday on their findings.
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the subcommittee overseeing an investigation of post-hurricane aid, called the bogus spending "an assault on the American taxpayer."
"Prosecutors from the federal level down should be looking at prosecuting these crimes and putting the criminals who committed them in jail for a long time," he said.
To dramatize the problem, investigators provided lawmakers with a copy of a $2,358 U.S. Treasury check for rental assistance that an undercover agent received using a bogus address. The money was paid even after FEMA learned from its inspector that the undercover applicant did not live at the address.
FEMA spokesman Aaron Walker said Tuesday that the agency, already criticized for a poor response to Katrina, makes its highest priority during a disaster "to get help quickly to those in desperate need of our assistance."
"Even as we put victims first, we take very seriously our responsibility to be outstanding stewards of taxpayer dollars, and we are careful to make sure that funds are distributed appropriately," Walker said.
FEMA said it has identified more than 1,500 cases of potential fraud after Katrina and Rita and has referred those cases to the Homeland Security Department's inspector general. The agency said it has identified $16.8 million in improperly awarded disaster relief money and has started efforts to collect the money.
The GAO said it was 95 percent confident that improper and potentially fraudulent payments were much higher - between $600 million and $1.4 billion.
The investigative agency said it found people lodged in hotels often were paid twice, since FEMA gave them individual rental assistance and paid hotels directly. FEMA paid California hotels $8,000 to house one individual - the same person who received three rental assistance payments for both disasters.
In another instance, FEMA paid an individual $2,358 in rental assistance, while at the same time paying about $8,000 for the same person to stay 70 nights at more than $100 per night in a Hawaii hotel.
FEMA also could not establish that 750 debit cards worth $1.5 million even went to Katrina victims, the auditors said.
FEMA paid for sex change, divorces
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Houston divorce lawyer Mark Lipkin says he can't recall anyone paying for his services with a FEMA debit card, but congressional investigators say one of his clients did just that.
The $1,000 payment was just one example cited in an audit that concluded that up to $1.4 billion - perhaps as much as 16 percent of the billions of dollars in assistance expended after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita - was spent for bogus reasons.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency also was hoodwinked to pay for season football tickets, a tropical vacation and a sex change operation, the audit found.
Prison inmates, a supposed victim who used a New Orleans cemetery for a home address and a person who spent 70 days at a Hawaiian hotel all were able to get taxpayer help, according to evidence that gives a new black eye to the nation's disaster relief agency.
"I do Katrina victims all the time," Lipkin, the divorce attorney, told The Associated Press. "I didn't know anybody did that with me. I don't think it's right, obviously."
Government Accountability Office officials were testifying before a House committee Wednesday on their findings.
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the subcommittee overseeing an investigation of post-hurricane aid, called the bogus spending "an assault on the American taxpayer."
"Prosecutors from the federal level down should be looking at prosecuting these crimes and putting the criminals who committed them in jail for a long time," he said.
To dramatize the problem, investigators provided lawmakers with a copy of a $2,358 U.S. Treasury check for rental assistance that an undercover agent received using a bogus address. The money was paid even after FEMA learned from its inspector that the undercover applicant did not live at the address.
FEMA spokesman Aaron Walker said Tuesday that the agency, already criticized for a poor response to Katrina, makes its highest priority during a disaster "to get help quickly to those in desperate need of our assistance."
"Even as we put victims first, we take very seriously our responsibility to be outstanding stewards of taxpayer dollars, and we are careful to make sure that funds are distributed appropriately," Walker said.
FEMA said it has identified more than 1,500 cases of potential fraud after Katrina and Rita and has referred those cases to the Homeland Security Department's inspector general. The agency said it has identified $16.8 million in improperly awarded disaster relief money and has started efforts to collect the money.
The GAO said it was 95 percent confident that improper and potentially fraudulent payments were much higher - between $600 million and $1.4 billion.
The investigative agency said it found people lodged in hotels often were paid twice, since FEMA gave them individual rental assistance and paid hotels directly. FEMA paid California hotels $8,000 to house one individual - the same person who received three rental assistance payments for both disasters.
In another instance, FEMA paid an individual $2,358 in rental assistance, while at the same time paying about $8,000 for the same person to stay 70 nights at more than $100 per night in a Hawaii hotel.
FEMA also could not establish that 750 debit cards worth $1.5 million even went to Katrina victims, the auditors said.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Papering It Over
Al-Ahram Weekly Online, noting the shift from print to online publishing, says English-language publications face an extra problem--the word "newspaper."
But English-speaking newspaper companies, in particular, may find this transition difficult to swallow, especially since, according to Columbia University media expert Eli Noam, English is one of the rare languages where the word "newspaper" actually has the word "paper" in it. In other languages, the linguistic concept itself is not so directly tied to a mass-market wood-based product.
I would have loved a further explanation of "Dagblat" or "Shimbun" and their precise translation, or what the news-publication business using paper is called in other languages.
But English-speaking newspaper companies, in particular, may find this transition difficult to swallow, especially since, according to Columbia University media expert Eli Noam, English is one of the rare languages where the word "newspaper" actually has the word "paper" in it. In other languages, the linguistic concept itself is not so directly tied to a mass-market wood-based product.
I would have loved a further explanation of "Dagblat" or "Shimbun" and their precise translation, or what the news-publication business using paper is called in other languages.
Monday, June 5, 2006
Pronunciation
It was bad enough when George Bush was the one who seemed unable to pronounce "nuclear" correctly. But lately, a lot of TV news people seem to be doing it too.
As noted on Metafilter, Geoffrey Nunberg complained about this quite some time ago.
A couple of sites offer help to anyone wanting to learn proper American pronunciation.
But sometimes the battle is too much: Ruth Walker at the Christian Science Monitor has given up on some mispronunciations.
As noted on Metafilter, Geoffrey Nunberg complained about this quite some time ago.
A couple of sites offer help to anyone wanting to learn proper American pronunciation.
But sometimes the battle is too much: Ruth Walker at the Christian Science Monitor has given up on some mispronunciations.
Basic Headline Rule: Get the Facts Right
No. Building roads is NOT patrolling the border. Given the debate and sensitivity of the dispatch of the Guard to the border, we ought to be more careful.
Utah Guard unit patrols U.S.-Mexico border
By ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN
The Associated Press
SAN LUIS, Ariz. - Military bulldozers, road graders and other heavy equipment rumbled along the Mexican border early Monday as more than 50 National Guardsmen from Utah became the first unit to get to work under President Bush's crackdown on illegal immigration.
The soldiers with the 116th Construction Support Equipment Company rolled out at 3:45 a.m. for more than two weeks of duty. They will improve a dirt road running parallel along the border, reinforce a fence and wire new lighting to help the Border Patrol spot illegal immigrants trying to come across.
Utah Guard unit patrols U.S.-Mexico border
By ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN
The Associated Press
SAN LUIS, Ariz. - Military bulldozers, road graders and other heavy equipment rumbled along the Mexican border early Monday as more than 50 National Guardsmen from Utah became the first unit to get to work under President Bush's crackdown on illegal immigration.
The soldiers with the 116th Construction Support Equipment Company rolled out at 3:45 a.m. for more than two weeks of duty. They will improve a dirt road running parallel along the border, reinforce a fence and wire new lighting to help the Border Patrol spot illegal immigrants trying to come across.
Bill Walsh: King of the Word!
Damn, Blogger is disappearing my posts today. Trying again.
AJR has a piece about copy editing blogs, anointing Bill Walsh as the king, and mentioning such other ACES colleagues as Nicole Stockdale and John McIntyre. Since the piece also notes that blogs often refer to each other, I'll stop now.
AJR has a piece about copy editing blogs, anointing Bill Walsh as the king, and mentioning such other ACES colleagues as Nicole Stockdale and John McIntyre. Since the piece also notes that blogs often refer to each other, I'll stop now.
Justifiably Outraged Quotes of the Week
The right-wing radio personality Laura Ingraham went on the "Today" show and charged the Baghdad press corps with simply "reporting from hotel balconies about the latest IEDs going off."
If Dozier ever recovers the full use of her legs, maybe she and Laura could go for a walk and talk the whole thing over.
and
In the New York Post, Ralph Peters excoriated Iraq correspondents for staying "safe in their enclaves protected by hired guns, complaining that it's too dangerous out on the streets. They're only in Baghdad for the byline …"
One suspects he meant "dateline," but perhaps he can explain that to Douglas' widow, when he pays a condolence call.
and, one more:
Best of all, though, were the comments by President Bush's new chief domestic policy advisor, Karl Zinsmeister. As a magazine editor, he made a trip to Iraq and wrote in the National Review that "many of the journalists observable in this war theater are bursting with knee-jerk suspicions and antagonisms for the warriors all around them. A significant number are whiny and appallingly soft … and show their discomfort clearly as they hide together in the press tents, fantasizing about expensive restaurants at home and plush hotels in Kuwait City, fondling keyboards and satellite phones with pale fingers, clinging to their world of offices and tattle and chatter where they feel less ineffective, less testosterone deficient …"
If Zinsmeister's busy schedule permits, maybe he could call on Brolan's 17-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter and explain how real men behave. On the other hand, maybe he should stay in the White House and mislead the president. He doesn't seem to mind.
From Tim Rutten at the Los Angeles Times.
If Dozier ever recovers the full use of her legs, maybe she and Laura could go for a walk and talk the whole thing over.
and
In the New York Post, Ralph Peters excoriated Iraq correspondents for staying "safe in their enclaves protected by hired guns, complaining that it's too dangerous out on the streets. They're only in Baghdad for the byline …"
One suspects he meant "dateline," but perhaps he can explain that to Douglas' widow, when he pays a condolence call.
and, one more:
Best of all, though, were the comments by President Bush's new chief domestic policy advisor, Karl Zinsmeister. As a magazine editor, he made a trip to Iraq and wrote in the National Review that "many of the journalists observable in this war theater are bursting with knee-jerk suspicions and antagonisms for the warriors all around them. A significant number are whiny and appallingly soft … and show their discomfort clearly as they hide together in the press tents, fantasizing about expensive restaurants at home and plush hotels in Kuwait City, fondling keyboards and satellite phones with pale fingers, clinging to their world of offices and tattle and chatter where they feel less ineffective, less testosterone deficient …"
If Zinsmeister's busy schedule permits, maybe he could call on Brolan's 17-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter and explain how real men behave. On the other hand, maybe he should stay in the White House and mislead the president. He doesn't seem to mind.
From Tim Rutten at the Los Angeles Times.
Sunday, June 4, 2006
Qui perd sa langue, perd sa foi.*
Indeed.
Pam Belluck of The New York Times had a marvelous piece today about the revival of the French language in Maine. As someone whose maternal grandfather (Emil LeTourneau) came across the border from Trois Rivieres, Quebec, into New England at the last turn of the century, I'm fascinated by this story. It raises all kinds questions about historical and current issues. Belluck's piece accurately notes the negative stereotypes about French Canadians, their supposed lesser intelligence, speech, work ethic and so on. I grew up hearing negative comments about French Canadians--Canucks--from my mother. Some of what she told me about French Canadians turned out to be true when I met her cousins many years later--there was a real sense of insularity and rejection of other ethnic groups, as she'd always said.
But the historical reasons, the oppression by the English of Canada and the clear sense of superiority New England Yankees had was never mentioned, probably because it was so built into society as to not be visible.
I recently read "A Great And Noble Scheme: The Tragic Story Of The Expulsion Of The French Acadians From Their American Homeland," a richly detailed history of abuse and violence that has escaped most Americans' attention.
Belluck's article was one of the top e-mailed stories from the Times' site for a couple of days, no doubt catching attention because of the OTHER language issue, that of Spanish-speaking immigrants, legal or otherwise, allegedy determined to reclaim the Southwest for Mexico. People's resentment of having Spanish spoken seemingly everywhere is high in many places. It'll be interesting to see where this revival of French in Canada goes. Will speaking French make Maine residents more employable? Ah, that will be very interesting, won't it? Imagine someone creating a Salvadoran-American Day, the way people in Maine have established a French-American Day? The outcry would be deafening, would it not?
*Who loses his language, loses his faith.
Pam Belluck of The New York Times had a marvelous piece today about the revival of the French language in Maine. As someone whose maternal grandfather (Emil LeTourneau) came across the border from Trois Rivieres, Quebec, into New England at the last turn of the century, I'm fascinated by this story. It raises all kinds questions about historical and current issues. Belluck's piece accurately notes the negative stereotypes about French Canadians, their supposed lesser intelligence, speech, work ethic and so on. I grew up hearing negative comments about French Canadians--Canucks--from my mother. Some of what she told me about French Canadians turned out to be true when I met her cousins many years later--there was a real sense of insularity and rejection of other ethnic groups, as she'd always said.
But the historical reasons, the oppression by the English of Canada and the clear sense of superiority New England Yankees had was never mentioned, probably because it was so built into society as to not be visible.
I recently read "A Great And Noble Scheme: The Tragic Story Of The Expulsion Of The French Acadians From Their American Homeland," a richly detailed history of abuse and violence that has escaped most Americans' attention.
Belluck's article was one of the top e-mailed stories from the Times' site for a couple of days, no doubt catching attention because of the OTHER language issue, that of Spanish-speaking immigrants, legal or otherwise, allegedy determined to reclaim the Southwest for Mexico. People's resentment of having Spanish spoken seemingly everywhere is high in many places. It'll be interesting to see where this revival of French in Canada goes. Will speaking French make Maine residents more employable? Ah, that will be very interesting, won't it? Imagine someone creating a Salvadoran-American Day, the way people in Maine have established a French-American Day? The outcry would be deafening, would it not?
*Who loses his language, loses his faith.
Saturday, June 3, 2006
Tutorial
If you're interested in improving English skills or just teaching the basics, check out English Page.
The AP Meant to Say...
The film version of Dan Brown's murder mystery is based around the premise that Jesus and one of his followers, Mary Magdalene, fathered children whose descendants are still alive.
Uh, I don't think so. Not to mention the awkward, "based around"...
Look, maybe it seems a little too easy to make fun of mistakes that go uncorrected. But when the AP or other national news operation can't get basic English right, it should be pointed out. Too many papers, both on their web sites and in their prin editions, aren't editing wire stories and wind up publishing foolish or sloppy writing. For example:
Egypt Da Vinci Code
San Francisco Chronicle, USA ... film version of Dan Brown's murder mystery is based around the premise that Jesus and one of his followers, Mary Magdalene, fathered children whose descendants ...
Police seized 2,000 pirated DVDs of "The Da Vinci Code"...
Pioneer Press, MN ... film version of Dan Brown's murder mystery is based around the premise that Jesus and one of his followers, Mary Magdalene, fathered children whose descendants ...
Police seized 2,000 pirated DVDs of "The Da Vinci Code"...
Centre Daily Times, PA - ... film version of Dan Brown's murder mystery is based around the premise that Jesus and one of his followers, Mary Magdalene, fathered children whose descendants ...
Police seized 2,000 pirated DVDs of "The Da Vinci Code"...
Kentucky.com, KY ... film version of Dan Brown's murder mystery is based around the premise that Jesus and one of his followers, Mary Magdalene, fathered children whose descendants ...
Police seized 2,000 pirated DVDs of "The Da Vinci Code"...
Macon Telegraph, GA - ... film version of Dan Brown's murder mystery is based around the premise that Jesus and one of his followers, Mary Magdalene, fathered children whose descendants ...
Police seized 2,000 pirated DVDs of "The Da Vinci Code"...
Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC - ... film version of Dan Brown's murder mystery is based around the premise that Jesus and one of his followers, Mary Magdalene, fathered children whose descendants ...
Police seized 2,000 pirated DVDs of "The Da Vinci Code"...
Bradenton Herald... film version of Dan Brown's murder mystery is based around the premise that Jesus and one of his followers, Mary Magdalene, fathered children whose descendants ...
Police seized 2,000 pirated DVDs of "The Da Vinci Code"...
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, GA - ... film version of Dan Brown's murder mystery is based around the premise that Jesus and one of his followers, Mary Magdalene, fathered children whose descendants ...
Police seized 2,000 pirated DVDs of "The Da Vinci Code"...
Grand Forks Herald, ND -... film version of Dan Brown's murder mystery is based around the premise that Jesus and one of his followers, Mary Magdalene, fathered children whose descendants ...
Egyptian police seize 2,000 pirated 'Da Vinci Code' DVDs ...
San Diego Union Tribune, ... film version of Dan Brown's murder mystery is based around the premise that Jesus and one of his followers, Mary Magdalene, fathered children whose descendants ...
This particular problem doesn't begin to reach the seriousness of this complaint. Read it carefully--a blogger is duking it out with the AP and, it seems, is right.
Still, the bad writing in the first citation shouldn't pass unnoticed. It also raises another question: are newspaper web sites editing the AP site feeds?
Uh, I don't think so. Not to mention the awkward, "based around"...
Look, maybe it seems a little too easy to make fun of mistakes that go uncorrected. But when the AP or other national news operation can't get basic English right, it should be pointed out. Too many papers, both on their web sites and in their prin editions, aren't editing wire stories and wind up publishing foolish or sloppy writing. For example:
Egypt Da Vinci Code
San Francisco Chronicle, USA ... film version of Dan Brown's murder mystery is based around the premise that Jesus and one of his followers, Mary Magdalene, fathered children whose descendants ...
Police seized 2,000 pirated DVDs of "The Da Vinci Code"...
Pioneer Press, MN ... film version of Dan Brown's murder mystery is based around the premise that Jesus and one of his followers, Mary Magdalene, fathered children whose descendants ...
Police seized 2,000 pirated DVDs of "The Da Vinci Code"...
Centre Daily Times, PA - ... film version of Dan Brown's murder mystery is based around the premise that Jesus and one of his followers, Mary Magdalene, fathered children whose descendants ...
Police seized 2,000 pirated DVDs of "The Da Vinci Code"...
Kentucky.com, KY ... film version of Dan Brown's murder mystery is based around the premise that Jesus and one of his followers, Mary Magdalene, fathered children whose descendants ...
Police seized 2,000 pirated DVDs of "The Da Vinci Code"...
Macon Telegraph, GA - ... film version of Dan Brown's murder mystery is based around the premise that Jesus and one of his followers, Mary Magdalene, fathered children whose descendants ...
Police seized 2,000 pirated DVDs of "The Da Vinci Code"...
Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC - ... film version of Dan Brown's murder mystery is based around the premise that Jesus and one of his followers, Mary Magdalene, fathered children whose descendants ...
Police seized 2,000 pirated DVDs of "The Da Vinci Code"...
Bradenton Herald... film version of Dan Brown's murder mystery is based around the premise that Jesus and one of his followers, Mary Magdalene, fathered children whose descendants ...
Police seized 2,000 pirated DVDs of "The Da Vinci Code"...
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, GA - ... film version of Dan Brown's murder mystery is based around the premise that Jesus and one of his followers, Mary Magdalene, fathered children whose descendants ...
Police seized 2,000 pirated DVDs of "The Da Vinci Code"...
Grand Forks Herald, ND -... film version of Dan Brown's murder mystery is based around the premise that Jesus and one of his followers, Mary Magdalene, fathered children whose descendants ...
Egyptian police seize 2,000 pirated 'Da Vinci Code' DVDs ...
San Diego Union Tribune, ... film version of Dan Brown's murder mystery is based around the premise that Jesus and one of his followers, Mary Magdalene, fathered children whose descendants ...
This particular problem doesn't begin to reach the seriousness of this complaint. Read it carefully--a blogger is duking it out with the AP and, it seems, is right.
Still, the bad writing in the first citation shouldn't pass unnoticed. It also raises another question: are newspaper web sites editing the AP site feeds?
Friday, June 2, 2006
Collectively Speaking
Collective Names for animals.
Or, you could take the ACES quiz.
These names shouldn't be confused with this Annimal Collective.
Or, you could take the ACES quiz.
These names shouldn't be confused with this Annimal Collective.
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