A sampling of the latest from my inbox.
1. Scarlett Johansson stood up for Israel, earning the respect and admiration of a lot of HonestReporting readers. How can her new fans express their appreciation?
From: …gmail.com
Date: Thu, Jan 30, 2014
Subject: Re: IDNS: Scarlett Johansson Renounces Oxfam Ties Over BDS
I’d like to thank Scarlet Johansonn for her support and for seeing what is really going on. Do you know how one can do that?
Johansson’s principled stand has certainly earned her the gratitude and encouragement of Israel and its supporters. You can send an email through her publicist: [email protected]
There’s also a Facebook group, I support Scarlett Johansson against the haters. Last I looked, it had more than 26,000 likes.
2. Are we overdoing the shorthand?
From: …@gmail.com
Date: Tue, Feb 4, 2014
Subject: Re: Seeing SodaStream For Myself
Everything about BDS I wanted to know? What the hell does BDS mean?
BDS is an acronym for the anti-Israel Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement. This is a campaign that wants undermine Israel by encouraging people, organizations and countries to boycott Israeli products, academia, sports, culture, etc., divest themselves of investments in Israeli businesses, and place various sanctions on Israel (such as special labels identifying items produced in settlements, among other things).
This movement’s a growing challenge to Israel. That’s why HonestReporting launched Fighting BDS, to raise awareness about the campaign’s worldwide efforts. We’re using the BDS acronym because A) it’s been commonly used for years, and B) its easier than spelling out Boycott Divestment and Sanctions. You’ll be seeing more about this from us over the coming months.
The proper style for dealing with acronyms is to spell it out in the first reference and then use acronym for the rest of the article. I think we’ve done a good job of that, but I’d like to know: Does anyone feel shut out by the shorthand?
(Image of Johansson via YouTube/EntertainmentTonight)
