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Southland Digest
The Southland Digest is a weekly summary of highlights gleaned from a myriad of ethnic press based in Southern California, arguably the largest ethnic media market in the country. The aim is to provide a glimpse of the lives, the conversations, and the perspectives of this multicultural population vis a vis national, state, and local issues. Occasionally the writer might venture beyond the borders of SoCal to other territories and topics. The digest is produced by NAM Southern California Director Julian Do.
[ filed under: california rights ] In Blade Runner movie, Los Angeles in 2019 (not too far) is dark, mysterious, very ethnic, and everyone seems to be multilingual—except most of the cops. We see our hero Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) ordering noodles in English plus hand signs from a Chinese speaking chef and hurling threats at an Arabic-speaking Egyptian. So I thought in the future either our police should get language training or the diversity must be increased. Or there must be some hi-tech language device assistance because LA in 2008 is already a megatropolis of millions whose daily communications are in more 200 different languages. According to Shaoshao Chen of the Epoch Times, the LAPD is experimenting with the “Phraselator,” a handheld electronic device that can broadcast thousands of pre-recorded messages in dozens of languages. Priced at $2,500 each, these devices are designed for crown control with messages like “We are here to facilitate your First Amendment rights.” This “Phraselator” is a response to the May 1, 2007 immigrant rally that turned violence when hundreds of marchers and members of the media were injured by the LAPD. Shaoshao Shen | The Epoch Times – Southern California Edition | 2.7-13.2008 The Epoch Times – Southern California Edition is an English weekly covers general news and human rights in China. |
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