Obama Speeches Help Japanese Learn English

Dem's speeches good for language-learners, more inspiring than local pols'

(NEWSER) - The Japanese version of Amazon.com features an unlikely bestseller: the collected speeches of Barack Obama, with Japanese translation and accompanying CD, Reuters reports. Obama’s inspiring but straightforward rhetoric is perfect for teaching English in a country that hankers to learn the language. He “uses words such as ‘yes, we can,’ ‘change’ and ‘hope’ that Japanese people can memorize,” the publisher says. More»

Kummerspeck, and other great options

(NEWSER) - The German language is officially richer, thanks to its adoption of the English word "shitstorm." Now that we've given, it's time to take: Cracked argues that the English language is in desperate need of these nine foreign words, for which there is absolutely no English equivalent:

• Kummerspeck: Kicking things off with a word from our German friends, this literally means "grief bacon," or, in Cracked's translation, the extra pounds we pack on thanks to emotional eating.

Last night's speech was incredibly important, Robert Reich writes

(NEWSER) - The speech President Obama gave last night in Osawatomie, Kansas, was the "most important economic speech of his presidency," writes former labor secretary Robert Reich. "Here, finally, is the Barack Obama many of us thought we had elected in 2008," one who actually fights Big Money the way Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt did. Obama at last took a stab at "connecting the dots, laying out the reasons behind our economic and political crisis." More»

President chides Republicans on payroll taxes

(AP) - President Obama continued his onslaught on congressional Republicans today, saying that Congress needs to extend a payroll tax cut in light of an economic recovery that's "still fragile" and middle class families who need the money. In a statement given from the White House this afternoon, Obama urged Republicans to "keep your word to the American people" on not raising taxes. Obama has been seeking an extension and expansion to the payroll tax cut that will expire at the end of the year. More»

Back Mideast peace deal based on 1967 borders

(NEWSER) - President Obama gave a wide-ranging speech on the Middle East today, speaking out forcefully in support of Arab protesters everywhere—even in US allies like Yemen and Bahrain. “After decades of accepting the world as it is in the region we have a chance to pursue the world as it should be,” Obama said, advocating “universal rights” for the people of the region, including freedom of speech and religion, and equality for women and men. More»