What Caught My Eye Today

English - An estimated 350 million people in Asia now speak English—about the same number as the English-speaking populations of the U.S., Great Britain and Canada combined. In a related study released by the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 11 million U.S. residents are not fluent in English, up form 6.6 million in 1990. If I had seen this a few years ago, I would have been surprised. Now, not so much. Case in point, my DMV renewal notice came translated in 4 different languages. Last time I checked, most traffic signs in the U.S. were in English.

Job Market - According to a survey of 2007 undergraduates, here are the top five employers that they want to work for:

1. Google - I'm sure the hope for a generous stock option package has nothing to do with this ranking.
2. Disney - Can't say I disagree. Heck, most days I feel like I'm working in Fantasyland.
3. Apple - Does the new employee orientation packet come with a complimentary iPod?
4. U.S. State Department - Surely, this caters to the crowd that has no use for oversight.
5. The Peace Corps - Oh come on. Who did you survey for this?

Spain - Over the past decade, Spain has absorbed more than 3 million foreigners from places as diverse as Romania, Morocco and South America. More than 11% of the country's 44 million residents are now foreign born (as compared with 12.9% in the U.S.).

...Quick sidebar before I continue. So basically, we're talking roughly 4.5 million foreigners, right? Big deal. We have that many in the greater Los Angeles area alone. But I digress...

The influx of immigrants doesn't seem to have hurt much. Spain is Europe's best-performing major economy with growth averaging 3.1% over the past 5 years. Unemployment has plummeted form more than 20% in the 1990s to 8.6%. Moreover, while only 18% of the British and French think immigration is helping their countries, 42% of Spaniards think immigration is a positive influence. Maybe Bush should invite the dudes in charge of immigration policy in Spain to hang out in the U.S. for a few weeks.

Immigration - Speaking of immigration, the Senate began debate on a massive immigration reform bill that would offer visas and eventual citizenship to some 12 million illegal immigrants currently in the country, a guest-worker program for 400,000 migrants each year, and tightened border security. The 380 page bill is a compromise among a bipartisan group of senators and the Bush Administration. Before reform measures can go into effect, the bill requires the hiring of 18,000 new Border Patrol agents, 370 miles of fencing and other border barriers, and the creation of a new database to help employers screen out illegal immigrants. Screen out? I'm not so sure about that. I'm thinking most employers of illegal immigrants have no interest in the legal status of these workers.

Baseball - As Barry Bonds creeps toward the all-time home run record here are the top prices paid for historic home run balls:

1. $3 million - Mark McGwire's 70th home run
2. $650,000 - Hank Aaron's 755th career home run
3. $517,500 - Barry Bonds' 73rd home run
4. $500,000 - Eddie Murray's 500th career home run
5. $250,000 - Mickey Mantle's 500th career home run
5. $250,000 - Mark McGwire's 500th career home run