The Garlic: 06/28/2009

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Retro Garlic: Yeah, But Will He Be Getting Paid?

We missed out, chiefly due to events here on the homefront, the entire brouhaha, death snake dance of the Washington Post firing writer extraordinaire Dan Froomkin (often linked here on The Garlic).

It was a doozy, with the WAPO being egged and toilet-papered by a better part of the blogosphere.

Here's Paul Krugman;

Thus we still live in an era in which you have to have been wrong to be respectable. You’re not considered serious about national security unless you were for invading Iraq; you’re not considered a serious political analyst unless you spent the last 3 years of the Bush administration predicting a Republican comeback; you’re not considered a serious economic analyst unless you dismissed the idea that the Bush Boom, such as it was, rested on a housing bubble.

That’s why the firing of Dan Froomkin now makes a perverse sort of sense. As long as the right was in power, he was in effect the Post’s designated moonbat, someone who attracted readers but didn’t threaten the self-esteem of the self-perceived serious people at the paper. But now he looks like someone who was right when the serious people were wrong — and that means he has to go.

Glen Greenwald, Andrew Sullivan, dday, Jane Hamsher, The Raw Story, and Down With Tyranny all wailed on the WAPO, in similar fashion.

So, the clock was started, the wait was on, to see who would pick up, or, where Dan Froomkin would land.

Today, the buzzer went off - Huffington Post gets the wreath of roses.

Both Emptywheel, and Glen Greenwald broke with the news this morning.

Emptywheel, gleefully, with charts, noted that "So the WaPo wanted to silence Dan Froomkin. And instead, their stupid decision has led to Dan Froomkin getting hired by an outlet with greater online circulation than them."

Greenwald;

In yet another sign of how online media outlets are strengthening as their older establishment predecessors are struggling to survive, The Huffington Post has hired Dan Froomkin to be its Washington Bureau Chief and regular columnist/blogger. Froomkin will oversee a staff of four five reporters and an Assistant Editor, guide The Huffington Post's Washington reporting, and write at least two posts per week to be featured on its main page and Politics page. I learned last night of the hiring and spoke to both Arianna Huffington and Froomkin this morning.

[snip]

While this pairing is, in some ways, a natural one (even the Post Ombudsman suggested that "Web sites like The Huffington Post or Politico would seem a perfect fit"), there are also potential sources of tension. As a practitioner of what he calls "accountability journalism" -- "explaining how Washington works; pulling no punches" -- Froomkin has been a vehement critic of the Obama administration for the last several months, while The Huffington Post frequently trumpeted (some might say "cheerleading") the Obama campaign and even his presidency (though it has become mildly more critical of Obama in recent months; its screaming, red headline today: "White House May Cave on Public Option"). Will Froomkin's harsh criticisms of Obama alienate an Obama-loving HuffPost readership?

And given the central importance of Arianna Huffington's personal relationships with key media figures and those in power, will Froomkin's unrestrained criticisms of many of those same people undermine a key aspect of The Huffington Post's business and promotional strategies? Both Huffington and Froomkin insist that he will have full editorial freedom, though that commitment is often more easily embraced in theory than in practice.

Jamison Foser, at MediaMatters, has a good post up, taking a look at the ashes left at WAPO

And, Glynnis MacNicol, over on Dan Abram's new digs, Mediaite, offers "HuffPo Aiming For DC Dominance? Makes Room For Froomkin".

Here at The Garlic, we wonder about Froomkin getting a paycheck ... You know, with the unique Huffington Post's business model.

The Retro Part;

Breaking News! GM Cancels UAW In Favor of Adopting Huffington Post Business Model ... Celebrities, Auto Enthusiasts and Bloggers To Build Cars For Free; Huge Spike In Profits Forecast

Good Luck there Dan ... Hope you get a check, once-in-awhile ...

Maybe you can hip Arianna on how to use Google ...

More McNamara, New Jack City Edition

Oh, we couldn't resist this one ...

Yesterday, we did a post on Robert McNamara's death ("He Should Have Stuck To Making Cars"), and, included in the Updated Bonus Links, Joseph Galloway's "Commentary: Galloway on McNamara: Reading an obit with great pleasure", which tells the tale of ... Well ... A particular ferry ride taken by McNamara.

Late last night, Spencer Ackerman (who was also in our Bonus Links) posted, pointing to Galloway's piece.

Typically, I might highlight a quote, but in this case, much better if you go read it yourselves ... It's short, and, most amusing ...

To Hate Like This Is To Be Happy Forever

Like we said, most amusing ...

Yeah, They Got The Name Right Now

We have to give our buddy, author and consultant Rick Maurer (@rickmaurer2), a H/T for this one ...

Hyundai, Who's Laughing Now?

Morning Edition, July 7, 2009 · In the early 1990s, Hyundai's image was so bad, the brand served as an insult in a Hollywood movie.

The film was Glengarry Glen Ross — David Mamet's tale of a down and out real estate office. Alec Baldwin plays a highly-paid, corporate heavy.

In once scene, he humiliates one of the agents he's come to fire: "You drove a Hyundai to get here tonight, I drove an $80,000 BMW."

You can read the rest of "Hyundai, Who's Laughing Now?" to get in on the joke.

Also, you might want to stop by Maurer's website, for another amusing tale, "The Naked Truth About Getting People’s Attention", as it will, almost assuredly, get your attention.

Here's the video's Maurer references;

Bare essentials of safety from Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand staff have nothing to hide

We Always Knew The Big Apple Was Expensive ...

That was one of the cleaner titles we came up for this post ...

Pretty amazing, that there are xenophobes protecting the urinals of America's ballparks

On Yankee Stadium Restroom Dispute, the City Settles

New York City will pay $10,001 to settle a federal lawsuit on behalf of a Queens man who was ejected from the old Yankee Stadium last August after trying to use the bathroom during the playing of “God Bless America.” In addition, the team has publicly declared that it has no policy prohibiting fans from moving about during the playing of the patriotic song, which the team began playing during games after 9/11.

[snip]

But in a stipulation [pdf] as part of the settlement of the lawsuit against the team and the city, the Yankees declared “that they have no policy or practice at the new Yankee Stadium that imposes any restrictions on fans wishing to move about the Stadium during the playing of ‘God Bless America’ to do not also apply during the rest of the game.” The team also said it had no intention of instituting such a policy.

Gee, thanks Yankee Management, and the City of New York ...

I am relieved to know people won't be thrown in jail, for not worshiping the flag, every single moment of the day, and, especially, when they gotta go ...

This Date ... On The Garlic

7 July 2008... On The Garlic

This Was Too Surreal ...

7 July 2006... On The Garlic

Breaking News! Lieberman Pledges To Support “Whichever Party Elects Me”; Post-Debate Bombshell - Lieberman Announces Plan C – Will Run In All 50 States; Hires Nader For ‘Underdog” Experience; Pledges To Support “Whichever Party Elects Me”

Top Ten Cloves: Issues For Tom Delay With Having To Stay On Ballot In November

7 July 2005... On The Garlic

Miller Sticks To Guns, Jailed For Not Naming Source; "His Way" Hogan Places Writer With Other Special Cases He's Sentenced

London Wins Olympic Bid, But With A Catch; IOC Names Switzerland As Games Official Food Host

Top Ten Cloves: Ways Senate Will Ignore Special Interest Groups Over Court Pick

Monday, July 06, 2009

He Should Have Stuck To Making Cars

I heard someone, on television, I believe, say that he was our generations' Donald Rumsfeld.

Not quite.

Rumsfeld was far more evil and sadistic, however, equally incompetent

Robert McNamara died today, age 93, the Big Cheese of the Vietnam War, both Kennedy's, and Johnson's Secretary of Defense, the architect of our pouring troops into the needless war.

I don't have a lot to offer.

He came close to making my life hell.

I registered for the draft, nearly a year after I was mandated to, and only because my parents were aghast I hadn't, my WWII Navy veteran father driving me to the draft office.

I sweated it out for a year, before the Selective Service Draft was ended (while I researched Canada at the local library).

We had four guys from the neighborhood come home in body bags (all under the age of 22), and more-than-a-handful returned as junkies, more fucked up than when they left (which, for a few, that was truly unfathomable - and frightening)

No tears flowing on this one.

Will Bunch, over on Attytood, has a great post up;

Robert McNamara died today at age 93. As Secretary of Defense for Presidents John F. Kennedy and more notably Lyndon Johnson in the mid-1960s, it was McNamara who oversaw America's tragic military buildup in Vietnam. That made McNamara -- right up until today's news -- a vivid anti-icon to those Baby Boomers who opposed the war -- and I think you can make the case that his death is that of the most historical significance of the slew of recent "celebrity" passings, no matter how many millions of people are gathering outside the Staples Center to remember the Gloved One.

[snip]

Regardless of your religious or spiritual beliefs, it's hard not to imagine there wasn't some higher purpose to McNamara's longevity. You could argue that it was a cosmic punishment, of sorts, to live so many years with the searing memories of so many who died so horrifically because of his misguided decisions from the comforts of his big desk at the Pentagon. Or you argue that he was still here in the early 2000s as a kind of a warped prophet, a flesh-and-blood monument to the folly of militarism. If that is true, then the fact that America refused to pay any attention is Robert McNamara's greatest tragedy of all.

He should have stuck to making cars ...

Bonus Links

Robert Stein: Death of the Best and Brightest

Tyler Cowen: Robert McNamara passes away

Melissa McEwan: RIP Robert McNamara

Spencer Ackerman: I Hate Myself When I Think Of You

Kevin Drum: R.I.P. Robert McNamara

Susie Madrak: R.I.P. Robert McNamara, Former Secretary of Defense and Prime Architect of the Vietnam War

Fog of War

Battlefield: Vietnam

Update Update

Check out Osha Gray Davidson's post, on Mother Jones - "Regretfully Ours, Robert S. McNamara"

Also, "Commentary: Galloway on McNamara: Reading an obit with great pleasure", by Joseph L. Galloway, McClatchy Newspapers (and a H/T to @GregMitch)

Now It's The Honeybees!

Bee Balls!

No, nothing like that, not an apiary version of "Hung", or anything like that.

More along the lines of violence, the self-defense kind.

Last week, we learned of ants taking over the world, so, this week, it's the attack option of honeybees, versus their predator, the hornet.

Honeybee mobs overpower hornets

Japanese honeybees form "bee balls" - mobbing and smothering the predators.

This has previously been referred to as "heat-balling", but a study has now shown that carbon dioxide also plays a role in its lethal effectiveness.

In the journal Naturwissenschaften, the scientists describe how hornets are killed within 10 minutes when they are trapped inside a ball of bees.

Japanese giant hornets, which can be up to 5cm long, are voracious predators that can devastate bees' nests and consume their larvae.

But, if the bees spot their attacker in time, they mount a powerful defence in the form of a bee ball. This study found that the heat inside the bee ball alone was not enough to reliably kill the hornets.

[snip]

His team recreated experimental bee balls and took direct measurements from inside them.

They anaesthetised giant hornets and fixed them to the tip either of a thermometer probe, or the inlet of a gas detector.

Once the hornets recovered from their anaesthesia, the probes were touched to the bees' nest.

"The bee ball formed (around the hornet) immediately," said Dr Sakamoto.

[snip]

As the temperature inside the ball increased to more than 45C, the carbon dioxide level also rose sharply.

In a parallel experiment, the scientists found that in an atmosphere relatively high in carbon dioxide, the temperature at which hornets could survive for 10 minutes was lowered.

"So we concluded that carbon dioxide produced inside the bee ball by the honeybees is a major factor, together with temperature, involved in the bees' defence."

Those Argentinian Ants better watch out ...

We better make the call, bring in a heavy-hitter;

TV theme song - Green Hornet

This Date ... On The Garlic

6 July 2008... On The Garlic

Oil That Is, Black Gold, Tehran Tea ...

Rice Auditioning For New Role of Aricept Spokesperson

Top Ten Cloves: Ways Google Can Provide Better Day Care

6 July 2007... On The Garlic

Let's Hear It For The Quid Pro Quo ... New Garlic Song - Hush Little Libby

Of Blackboards, Chalk and Legacies ... The Constitutional Crises Continues

6 July 2005... On The Garlic

Cheney Emerging As Next Justice Pick By Bush Feared; VP On Vetting Panel; Nearly Same Situation But Now Has Residency Established

Rove Said To Be "Under Pressure" Over Leak Accusation; Key Bush Strategist Shows "Erratic Behavior" As Critics, Press Call For Admission

Top Ten Cloves: Other Things Jacques Chirac Thinks of England and Finland

Sunday, July 05, 2009

Crazy

Well, good thing we did our posting early morning, yesterday, as the afternoon got taken over by events on the homefront.

We had to get The Aunt up to the hospital early afternoon, which ended up to be an extended ER visit, and turned into their admitting her for the night, for treatment and monitoring.

Today, up until early evening, was a all-day-hospital visit, more than half of it, waiting for the discharge orders and paperwork.

She's home and resting comfortably.

That all adds up to virtually zero energy left to do anything creative, including putting into shape a handful of partially-prepared posts sitting in the files.

So, we will get off a small riff, on Mommy Moose, and growing-infamous, pedal-to-the-metal, whining press conference on Friday.

We searched for a bit, to come up with a tune The Wasilla Whiz Kid could use, as, more-or-less, a theme song, or soundtrack, for her virtual meltdown (as well as cover our own weekend).

And, we think we found it, an old war horse, the lyrics playing, rather nicely, in-sync, to the soon-to-be-ex-Governor.

It's the Willie Nelson chestnut, "Crazy", performed with Mr. & Mrs. Elvis Costello

Diana Krall, Elvis Costello & Willie Nelson - Crazy (Live)

Oh No!

I'm calling Sarah Palin crazy!

I might be sued!

This Date ... On The Garlic

5 July 2008... On The Garlic

So Nice ... The Very Last Moments of Jesse Helms

5 July 2006... On The Garlic

Garlic Exclusive! 1st Draft Of Coulter’s Plagiarism Response; Coulter Speaks (Sort Of)

Top Ten Cloves: Possible Reasons For North Korea To Run Missile Tests

5 July 2005... On The Garlic

Conservatives Threaten Taco Bell Boycott, Justice Weekends; Economic Message To Bush If Gonzales Placed On High Court

Founder of Earth Day, Gaylord A. Nelson, Dead at 89; Mother Earth To Offer "Volcanic Salute To A Great Friend"

Live 8 Concerts Generate Over 26 Million Text Messages; Over 24-Million Exchanged About "The Blond In Front of The London Stage"

Top Ten Cloves: Most Surprising Things NASA Discovers With Deep Impact and Comet Tempel 1

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Happy Fourth of July!

Hooray for the Red, White and Blue!

Happy Fourth of July! ... Independence Day!

The Garlic wants to wish all a very happy, safe, enjoyable holiday, wherever, and whatever the manner in which you celebrate it.

This may be our only post of the day, as we haven't finished, what has been a burgeoning tradition the past two years, of penning a "Garlictorial" (see today's This Date ... On The Garlic, for the previous efforts).

If we don't get it up later in the day, perhaps tomorrow.

In the meantime, kick up your heels, with this well-worn classic;

Stars and Stripes Forever

If, you want something, a bit off the beaten path, we can hip you to another, that, unfortunately, almost, exists exclusively on jazz radio stations, invariably, blared out today on many a playlist.

It is the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, "Doodletown Fifers", performed, faithfully, by the Bill May Orchestra

The Doodletown Fifers

This, as it turned out, was the only big hit of the short-lived Sauter-Finegan Orchestra;

Sauter-Finegan was an extraordinary 21-piece band, the like of which has never been seen before or since. The music was so complex that it depended on first-class musicians, many of whom contributed on three or four instruments each . The exquisite music of Sauter and Finegan frolicked in every range of the band, with fife and piccolo at the top and tuba and bass trombone at the bottom.

Although never a raging success, the band was able to go on tour between 1952 and 1957 and it recorded a dozen or so albums. Its biggest hit was "The Doodletown Fifers", based on an old Civil War song. "Midnight Sleigh Ride" called for horse's hooves as an introduction and backing, and Finegan achieved this sound by stripping to the waist and beating his chest before the microphone.

You can go HERE, for the Sauter-Finegan rendition, just scroll down to "Doodletown Fifers"

(Jazz Freaks will know, that it was Eddie Sauter who arranged the Stan Getz album, "Focus")

So, once again, Happy Fourth of July!

This Date ... On The Garlic

4 July 2008... On The Garlic

Garlictorial: He Did What? ... Where?

What Better Way To Capture The Essence of the Day

Have You Thanked America?

Garlictorial: La Cage aux Florida

4 July 2007... On The Garlic

Garlictorial: Happy 4th of July ... Okay, It May Be Down To This .... Citizen's Arrest!

4 July 2006... On The Garlic

Garlictorial: Happy 4th of July - To Be A Fly On The Potato Salad Up In Kennebunkport Today

Top Ten Cloves: Reasons New Superman Isn’t Fighting For Truth, Justice and The American Way

Friday, July 03, 2009

Now, Only An Ex-Governor, With Lipstick

So much for a quiet, pre-holiday day.

Who woulda' thunk it?

Something actually knocked the MichaelJacksonPalooza off the air, it was was none other than Mommy Moose, The Wasilla Wiz Kid, that Hockey-Mom-with-Lipstick, Stumblin-Bumblin' John McCain's former scene-stealer, Sarah Palin.

She's not quitting, she's just ... Well ... Quitting ....

Ms. Ya'Bet'cha's is bailing out of the Alaskan Governorship, mid-way through, to go on and fight for something vague and unnamed, but with all her heart

If life is 33RPM, Mommy Moose was pitched at 78RPM, and, it must be in the new 2009 PartyofNoican's Playbook, after Governor Gaucho displayed it last week, that you must be almost frantically rambling when giving a press conference ... Cool-and-Calm is out, coked-up speed freak is in.

And, check out the way The Wasilla Whiz Kid was gulping air through out the speech;

Sarah Palin Announces Resignation as Governor, Part 1

Sarah Palin Announces Resignation as Governor, Part 2

(You can read a transcript HERE)

I half expected to see the, now-unemployed team of the Unconvicted Child Molester's docs come running on the scene, offering their services, or someone, slapping an oxygen mask on her.

And, at the end of Part 2, notice, when the camera pans, there's like, a dozen people there, perhaps only close friends and family, not a sea of torch-carrying Alaskans, ready to march into that vague, unnamed fight, with the former Hockey Mom.

Geez, ya think Mommy Moose, or someone on her staff, would have tied in a product placement with Verizon, so they could CGI in the throngs of people standing by the geeky guy, always affirming "you're covered", to avoid looking like the "before Dead Zone"

If you want, there's a zillion posts out on Memeorandum that you can click through, while we highlight a few here.

It's only Act I, of a multiple act play, so no telling what this is all about today, the sudden, abrupt ditching of the Governor digs.

The Right Wing Freak Show is beginning to rally around that this is the cannon shot for 2012.

Here, on The Garlic, we go with the smaller number of hands raised, betting on ....

New Scandal!

On Firedoglake, bmaz was the first to hint at it, followed closely by Brad Friedman;

EXCLUSIVE: PALIN RESIGNS AS 'DAMAGE CONTROL' DUE TO 'ICEBERG SCANDAL', SAYS ALASKAN SOURCE ... UPDATE: Shannyn Moore offers The BRAD BLOG hints about reasons for Alaska Gov's resignation...

UPDATE: Alaskan Sarah Palin authority (and occasional BRAD BLOG guest blogger) Shannyn Moore, who broke the news at HuffPo today, tells me she believes, with good reason, that there is an "iceberg scandal that's about to break. She's doing damage control."

She says Palin is "resigning as part of damage control" due to a scandal this is "not of a family nature."

"The governor would not be able to continue her job when it comes out," she told me on the phone just now, before adding: "Why would Mark Sanford not resign, but Sarah Palin did? Her family didn't even know about the resignation until they were standing with her by the lake" when she made her announcement.

Yes. It seems another shoe, apparently a big one, will indeed be dropping, likely within the next week or so. Perhaps earlier now that everyone will be poking around up there.

Max Blumenthal goes into a bit of detail in his "Did a Scandal Sink the U.S.S. Palin?"

Many political observers in Alaska are fixated on rumors that federal investigators have been seizing paperwork from SBS in recent months, searching for evidence that Palin and her husband Todd steered lucrative contracts to the well-connected company in exchange for gifts like the construction of their home on pristine Lake Lucille in 2002. The home was built just two months before Palin began campaigning for governor, a job which would have provided her enhanced power to grant building contracts in the wide-open state.

SBS has close ties to the Palins. The company has not only sponsored Todd Palin's snowmobile team, according to the Village Voice's Wayne Barrett, it hired Sarah Palin to do a statewide television commercial in 2004.

Though Todd Palin told Fox News he built his Lake Lucille home with the help of a few "buddies," according to Barrett’s report, public records revealed that SBS supplied the materials for the house. While serving as mayor of Wasilla, Sarah Palin blocked an initiative that would have required the public filing of building permits—thus momentarily preventing the revelation of such suspicious information.

Just months before Palin left city hall to campaign for governor, she awarded a contract to SBS to help build the $13 million Wasilla Sports Complex. The most expensive building project in Wasilla history, the complex cost the city an additional $1.3 million in legal fees and threw it into severe long-term debt. For SBS, however, the bloated and bungled project was a cash cow.

And we have to give Skippy, the Bush Kangaroo points, for his headline "if the jimmy choo fits, the other one's about to drop"

With the summer here, Congress out-of-session, beaches brimming with vacationers, Mommy Moose has put down her marker, almost guaranteeing her ownership of the media (save for the on-going Jackson Family dragging things out to pump the record and video sales; H/T to Barry Crimmins).

And it's Jonathan Turley that rings up that feeling quite well;

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has announced that she will resign from office on July 26th. The news has led bloggers and comedians to breath into paper bags and use emergency dial-ins for their analysts across the country. Palin has been God’s gift to bloggers, including this blog. But fear not, this announcement may actually promise more not less Palin!

Yes, just what this country needs - More of Sarah Palin.

Hmmm ....

We do have a Poet Laureate, so, perhaps, Mommy Moose is carving out the "Jester Laureate" for herself.

Hell, by her news conference today, your guess is as good as mine ...

This Date ... On The Garlic

3 July 2007... On The Garlic

Minced Garlic - New Keith Olbermann Special Comment: Bush, Cheney should resign

You Got Away With It Once, Cheney, But We're Watching You ... The Results - The Garlic's Weekly Poll

3 July 2006... On The Garlic

Top Ten Cloves: Things Superman Will Do To Show That He Is Not Gay

Thursday, July 02, 2009

New Billy Mays Pitch ... Casket-Glo

Sure enough, there were a few things in the can.

"Hi, Billy Mays here ... Tired of going to wakes and funerals and seeing dull, lackluster, caskets? ... Have your loved ones been buried in a drab-looking, listless, less-than-shining box? ...

(Mays, pointing to a dull, drab casket)

Well, worry no more!

(Mays, holding up a bottle of Casket-Glo)

Casket-Glo will give you the peace-of-mind, that you are being laid out in a brilliant, gleaming, beaming-mirror-shined casket ... Mourners will have to wear sunglasses, with the high quality, water-proof shine of Casket-Glo ...

(Mays, walking over to a glowing, buffed-and-shine, casket, angles of light bouncing off it)

You can kick it (Mays kicks the casket) ... You can scratch it (shot of car keys scraping casket) ... You can pour hot coffee on it (cup of coffee being poured over casket) and you can't dull the shine of Casket-Glo.

Casket-Glo-shined caskets have been seen from Google Earth!

Call now, and we will add in the Casket-Glo Buffer, a specially-designed polishing machine, developed by scientists, to bring out the shine-of-your-life, that only Casket-Glo can give you, for your eternal rest.

But wait, there's more!

We will double your order, and send you two bottles of Casket-Glo, and, four-quarts of embalming fluid, absolutely free!

Be the shining star in your church, or synagogue, and order your Casket-Glo today?

Call now, and you get two bottles of Casket-Glo, the special Casket-Glo Buffer ... And, four-quarts of embalming fluid (as our gift) all for only 19.99!

(Mays, holding up bottle of Casket-Glo)

That's $19.99 for the shine of your life

Casket-Glo ... Don't be buried without it!"

Bonus Billy Mays Riffs

Eric Deggans: Marketers, family decide Billy Mays infomercials will continue

Reuters: Infomercials lack starpower after Billy Mays death

RadarOnLine: Coroner: Heart Disease Cause Of Billy Mays' Death

Top Ten Billy Mays Commercials

It's Kaboom-Time for Billy Mays

This Date ... On The Garlic

2 July 2008... On The Garlic

Raymond, Why don't you pass the time with a game of solitaire?

I Could'a Had Class ... I Could'a Been A Contender ...

2 July 2007... On The Garlic

"What Did He Know and When Did He Know It" ... The Monday Massacre

Appellate Court Playing Our Song - Libby Denied Bond Pending Appeal

2 July 2006... On The Garlic

Weekend Special - Sautéed Cloves

Another spirited week of voting, on The Garlic’s Weekly Poll ...The Garlic's Weekly Poll Results - Cheney/Rice Beat Out Coulter

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

They See London, They See France ...

Man, when I first read through this BBC article, I had to pause, to think if this was something scientific, or, the outline of a new horror screenplay, perhaps pulling the old cast of "Tremors" together again, for another "monsters-underground" adventure.

There's also a suspicion, this surfacing at the same time as the ongoing saga of Governor Gaucho, and his Argentinian soul mate.

Ant mega-colony takes over world

Argentine ants living in vast numbers across Europe, the US and Japan belong to the same interrelated colony, and will refuse to fight one another.

The colony may be the largest of its type ever known for any insect species, and could rival humans in the scale of its world domination.

What's more, people are unwittingly helping the mega-colony stick together.

[snip]

While ants are usually highly territorial, those living within each super-colony are tolerant of one another, even if they live tens or hundreds of kilometres apart. Each super-colony, however, was thought to be quite distinct.

But it now appears that billions of Argentine ants around the world all actually belong to one single global mega-colony.

[snip]

The most plausible explanation is that ants from these three super-colonies are indeed family, and are all genetically related, say the researchers. When they come into contact, they recognise each other by the chemical composition of their cuticles.

"The enormous extent of this population is paralleled only by human society," the researchers write in the journal Insect Sociaux, in which they report their findings.

We've had threats with bats, the honeybees, and now, we got deal with Argentinian Ants ... Argentinian ants that pal around together, like some world hood gang?

Dependable Renegade smells a conspiracy, while PZ Myers, has a more resigned take, suggesting "You better start practicing your tango is you hope to get along with our new arthropod overlords."

Lastly, you can't do a post on ants, without putting this up with it;

Sinatra's classic song High Hopes

Sinatra's classic song High hopes
Uploaded by tb139. - See the latest featured music videos.

Not Sure What Kind of Stimulus Package Would Be Appropriate Here ...

Picked up this interesting gem, yesterday, from SiliconValley.Com;

This recession is so bad not even sex sells

How bad is this recession? Even sex doesn't sell.

That's the glum assessment of those in the adult entertainment industry, hundreds of whom gathered last week for the annual Cybernet Expo conference in San Francisco. The industry, now a multibillion-dollar online business, has discovered that people just aren't willing to click-to-pay for vice the way they once did.

"Times are tough," Jay Kopita, director of operations for the expo, said with a sigh. "You'd think this would be recession-proof."

Turns out pay-per-view sex is just another sector struggling in the downturn.

[snip]

Piracy is also cutting into profits with the proliferation of "tube sites" — the YouTubes of porn where copyrighted video clips are frequently illegally uploaded. "We are being devastated by this," said Dick Webber, who operates a Silicon Valley-based Web site and who, like the actors, goes by a stage name.

"The Internet is both a help and a hindrance," said longtime porn performer and producer Dave Cummings, who expects his next movie, "Knee Pad Nymphos Volume 10," to fall victim to online thieves. "I'm convinced the first day it's out it will be a popular video to be stolen."

Many at the conference talked of altering business plans to provide content, such as live Webcams, that can't be ripped off. "There is no incentive for a surfer to subscribe to a site unless you have some offering that is unique and can't be replicated on a tube site," Webber said.

Hmmmm ...

Foley, Vitter, Craig, Ensign and, now, Governor Gaucho ...

Maybe they need to hire some congressman, and other elected government officials, to boost sales.

Fête du Canada!

Our neighbors to the north have a celebration today, so a hearty "Happy Canada Day" to one, and all.

Canada Day, according to Wikipedia, "is Canada's national day, a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the 1 July 1867 enactment of the British North America Act, which united Canada as a single country of four provinces. Canada Day observances take place throughout Canada as well as internationally."

Friend, and co-blogger Michael Stickings, over on his 'The Reaction', has his flag flying high, and, as a bonus, he posts, and points to a classic retro rendition of "O Canada", put up by Bobby Mustang, on his blog, Bark Bark, Woof Woof.

Here, we like this one;

Edmonton Oilers Fans sing O Canada

And, not to stir up trouble on the holiday, hockey fans will remember this Tit-for-Tat, during the 2008 NHL Playoffs;

Canadiens Fans boo/disrespect National Anthem

Boston's response to Montreal booing the US National Anthem

Forget Bears, He's Always Been Smarter Than The Average Person

Give a big "Happy B'Day shout out to Smokey Bear!

He's hit the big 6-5!

And, it's a good thing he's a fictional icon, otherwise, if he hadn't already been replaced by a younger bear, displaced due to outsourcing, been bought, and liquidated, hitting 65, he would be slapped with mandatory retirement, and, likely, given a watered-down pension (if one, at all).

Happy 65th Birthday, Smokey Bear!

Smokey Bear is celebrating his 65th birthday in a series of new PSAs from the U.S. Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters in conjunction with the Ad Council. The TV, radio, print and online campaign is being launched in time for the July 4 holiday to raise awareness among people lighting campfires and outdoor BBQs and setting off fireworks

[snip]

Since his "birth" on Aug. 9, 1944, Smokey Bear has become a recognized symbol of conservation and protection of America's forests. According to the Ad Council, his message has helped to reduce the number of acres burned annually by wildfires from about 22 million in 1944 to an average 7 million today. Of those fires, nine out of 10 are caused by people. At the same time, Smokey has become one of the most recognizable figures in the U.S., ranking with Mickey Mouse and Santa Claus, according to the Ad Council. Smokey is recognized by 97% of adults, and 75% can recall "Only you can prevent wildfires" without prompting, according to an Ad Council tracking survey.

[snip]

"Smokey Bear is the center of the longest-running -- and one of the most successful -- public service campaigns in U.S. history," Peggy Conlon, president-CEO of the Ad Council, said in announcing the new campaign. "Our 'Wildfire Prevention' campaign has helped children and adults throughout the country understand their role in preventing wildfires, and these new PSAs and online components will continue to have a significant impact."

And, save the emails, Smokey Bear is his name.

From Wikepedia;

Smokey's correct full name is Smokey Bear. In 1952, songwriters Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins had a hit with "Smokey the Bear". The pair said that "the" was added to Smokey's name to keep the song's rhythm. This small change has caused confusion among Smokey fans ever since.[2] Note that, from the beginning, Smokey's name was intentionally spelled differently from the adjective smoky. The Forest Service emphatically denies that the name was ever "Smokey the Bear"; however, in the 1950s, that variant of the name became very widespread both in the popular imagination and in print, including at least one standard encyclopedia.[3] The campaign to remind the public of the correct version of the name is almost as old as the Smokey Bear campaign itself.

The fictional character Smokey Bear is administered by three entities: the United States Forest Service, the National Association of State Foresters, and the Ad Council. Smokey Bear's name and image are protected by U.S. federal law, the Smokey Bear Act of 1952 (16 U.S.C. 580 (p-2); 18 U.S.C. 711).[4]

And, remember, "Only you can prevent forest fires."

With the longevity (and tons of money) of this campaign, I wouldn't mind seeing, say a Leno "Jaywalking", or some other man-on-the-street interview, posing the question to average citizens, "Who is it said of that can prevent forest fires?"

Happy B'Day Smokey Bear!