The Garlic: 08/16/2009

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Carnaval De Sao Vicente

Yes, perhaps by the title of this post, you can deduct that we have taken the day (and night) off.

It's been a long, hard week, doubly so, with the heat and oppressive humidity (dew points yesterday, and today, were in the low-to-mid-70's - that's outrageous!), leaving us without the energy to even half-ass something.

So, let's fire up some music!

Since we had a hankering for something that would befit a Saturday evening, we are turning to Cesaria Evora, the Cape Verdean diva, with a voice that will haunt you, with one of her early hits.

For those that aren't hip to her, you will be after this tune.

And, if she happens to come into your area, treat it as a "Must-Attend" happening (and note, that she performs in her bare feet).

Put your dancing shoes on, and know that your hips will be sore in the morning

Cesaria Evora - Carnaval De Sao Vicente

You can visit Cesaria Evora's website HERE

Cesaria Evora on Wikipedia

This Date ... On The Garlic

22 August 2008... On The Garlic

Breaking! Obama VP Call Delayed - Piece of Paper With Name Lost

22 August 2007... On The Garlic

Retro Rudy ... When The Emperor Has No Clothes, I Guess, We're Supposed To Compliment His Hair ...

22 August 2005... On The Garlic

Garlic Exclusive! New RNC/GOP Commercial!

Friday, August 21, 2009

Today's Ignorant Dolt: Charlie Gibson

It's been decreed.

Charlie Gibson, of ABC News has laid down the law.

Anybody that is thinking about protesting war, getting out there, on the front lines, to advocate ending the mindless death and mutilation, the destruction of people and countries, enough already.

Don't bother, least you annoy Mr. Gibson, maybe cause his lips to purse, a wrinkle, or two, to form near his temples, and, gasp, force him to sigh.

Lord knows, we can't afford to annoy an empty suit like Charlie Gibson.

We tweaked Gibson (and ABC) last year during the debates ("Boy, And We Thought Russert and Williams Sucked", and "Charlie and George Go To A Debate ...") but who knew he was an emptier suit and closet Ignorant Dolt?

Byron York, in the Moonie Gazette, has the scoop;

ABC's Charles Gibson to Cindy Sheehan: Thanks for your sacrifice. Now get lost

In an appearance August 18 on WLS radio in Chicago, ABC News anchor Charles Gibson was asked about anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan's plans to travel to Martha's Vineyard next week, where she will protest the Iraq and Afghanistan wars while President Obama is vacationing there. Gibson, whose newscast and network featured Sheehan when she led anti-war protests outside President Bush's Texas ranch in 2005, answered, "Enough already."

This week, after the Washington Examiner reported that Sheehan will be protesting on Martha's Vineyard (see here and here), WLS radio host Don Wade, noting all the coverage that Sheehan received in 2005, asked Gibson "whether we're going to see some coverage of Cindy Sheehan…do you suppose Cindy is going to make the news again?"

Gibson's answer was sympathetic but clear: No. "I gather she's going back to Martha's Vineyard," Gibson began.

It's such a sad story. Martha Raddatz [of ABC News] wrote a terrific book about one battle that took place in Iraq, and it was the battle in which Cindy's son was killed. And you look at somebody like that and you think here's somebody who's just trying to find some meaning in her son's death. And you have to be sympathetic to her. Anybody who has given a son to this country has made an enormous sacrifice, and you have to be sympathetic. But enough already.

(You can go here, to hear Gibson, oh so painfully, piss all over Cindy Sheehan).

Those last three words - "But enough already."

You know, a real pro, likely, wouldn't have added their editorial comment as you did.

They would have something perfunctorily nice to say about Ms. Sheehan, and move on.

However, an empty-suit, Ignorant Dolt hack would stick his head up his own butt, and let loose with the diss.

Ahh, but Cindy Sheehan has handled her share of Ignorant Dolts before, and she responds to Ignorant Dolt Charlie Gibson;

“Enough already?” Hmmm…I don’t know Charlie Gibson and I don’t pay any attention to his career, but I seem to agree with him on this one: “Enough already.”

Enough with the killing, torturing, wounding and profiting off of the backs of our troops and off of the lives of the people of Iraq-Af-Pak: as our brothers and sisters in Latin America say: “Basta!”

Somehow, I don’t think that this is what Charlie Gibson meant, though. I am sure that he just wants me to go away like most of the rest of the anti-war movement has done under the Obama presidency.

[snip]

I am cutting my writing-staycation short to head to Martha’s Vineyard because I think the new titular head of the empire needs to know that his policies are devastating people as much as the same policies did when Bush was president.

I would rather be able to go away and spend the rest of my life worshipping my grandchildren, writing, reading, resting, and doing humanitarian work where I am needed.

I wish the wars would go away, but they aren’t going away if we the people don’t get more militantly insistent.

We assume ABC News (and the rest of the media) will do the dog-and-pony thing, having their "star anchors" sitting in beach chairs, broadcasting from Martha's Vineyard, during the Obama's vacation.

So, Charlie, you probably will have some down time, and you can use it to head up Route 3, back into the city and swing by The Garlic, so you can pick up your Ignorant Dolt Award.

Oh yeah, one more thing Charlie.

Until the day (God Forbid) comes, that you lose a child, a grandchild, or such, in an unnecessary war that our Government lied us into, you have no standing on editorializing as you did against Ms. Sheehan.

You have no standing, Charlie, to say to Ms. Sheehan, or any one else in her position, "But enough already."

Shame on you.

And, In The "Fuck You Very Much" Department ...

If Digby had her way, she would call it, simply, hubris.

New Chief at A.I.G. to Be Paid at Least $7 Million a Year

How much will it cost the American International Group to keep its chief executive to help stabilize the troubled insurer? At least $7 million a year.

A.I.G. disclosed Monday in a regulatory filing that it would pay Robert H. Benmosche, 65, the former head of MetLife, $3 million a year in cash and $4 million in stock.

Mr. Benmosche will also be eligible for up to $3.5 million in stock as part of an incentive plan, A.I.G. said in a regulatory filing.

[snip]

A.I.G. said in its letter formally offering Mr. Benmosche the job that his compensation would be subject to “clawbacks” by Mr. Feinberg’s office, meaning that at least some of the money could be recovered if the bonuses were paid based on financially misleading data. Mr. Benmosche will also not receive a severance package if he is dismissed from the company, according to the regulatory filing.

Oh, "clawbacks" ... That may be too harsh, right?

I mean, AIG, and "financially misleading data ...

I'm sure we have absolute no worries there ...

And, there is this gem;

This month, A.I.G. reported its first quarterly profit since 2007, though Mr. Liddy warned that the insurance businesses “remain challenged.”

Really?

AIG has paid back all the money, the billions-upon-billions, given to them by the U.S. Government, and still made a profit?

How come that wasn't in screaming headlines?

Yeah, the insurance business may remained "challenged", but with the Obama Financial Team (Ruben and, of course Secretary of the Treasury Tim "What's that, Lassie? (Woof, woof!!) Timmy Geithner's in the well?!!" Geithner), at the helm, there's no worry.

A bailout, simply, is just around the corner.

And, when we want to look into the "Clueless Corner", Yves Smith, over on Naked Capitalism, had this;

Tim Duy pointed out this priceless remark from AIG's new CEO, Robert Benmosch:

Benmosche told employees that he “had the luxury to say to the government, I’m not going to rush to do this. I’m appalled at how much pressure has been put on all of you to just sell it no matter what, because the Fed wants out, or the Treasury wants out. If they want out in a hurry, they shouldn’t have come in in the first place.”

This ought to be rather interesting to watch.

That is, how soon into the "Benmosch Dynasty", does AIG come whimpering to Washington again, begging for money.

Bonus AIG Riffs

Dennis Overbye: They Tried to Outsmart Wall Street

Larisa Alexandrovna: AIG = BCCI

Eliot Spitzer: The Real AIG Scandal - It's not the bonuses. It's that AIG's counterparties are getting paid back in full

Paul Krugman: AIG

Michael Lewis: The Man Who Crashed the World

Zachary Roth and Ben Buchwalter: The Rise And Fall Of AIG's Financial Products Unit

Breaking! ... Obama Takes Action, Siezes AIG's March Madness Office Pools and Brackets

He Was Irrelevant, Even When He Was Running

Man, Chris Cillizza, at WaPo, must have had a big, heaping, SuperSizeMe cup of the Beltway Kool Aid today, to describe Stumblin' Bumblin' John McCain being on Clinton's Mini-Me show this Sunday as "Must Watch TV"

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) spends the hour (or most of it) with George Stephanopoulos on "This Week" on Sunday. McCain has laid low over the last few months as the debate over health care has raged. He's made clear he would like to play a bigger part in the negotiations but, to date, has been on the outside looking in. How hard a line against the plan does McCain take? Does he leave any wiggle room in hopes of emerging as the broker of a grand compromise?

Quick, somebody check, are they suspending the Healthcare Debate, so Stumblin' Fly Boy can rush to the nearest television studio?

Jesus, I know it's late August, Congress is on siesta, and the Redskins are only in preseason, but, c'mon there Chris, "Must Watch TV"?

McCain wasn't "Must Watch" anything, even when he was running for President.

He may be the first nominee to become completely irrelevant, once they made the Vice President selection.

It was the Mommy Moose Show, from the convention to the election, interrupted, only briefly, by the driver of the Dead Campaign Express clinging to a blowhard, non-plumber plumber, who then catapulted into the limelight himself, further pushing the debunked Maverick to the back of the bus.

Steve Benen reminds Chris Cillizza, "REMEMBER, HE LOST...";

McCain is, in other words, just another conservative Republican senator, with no real influence, and nothing new to say, who just happens to be invited onto national television all the time, including another lengthy chat on "This Week" in a few days. (What might he say? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess he'll spend most of the time bashing the president.)

That's likely to be a short limb, on a low branch, there Steve.

Let's see ... Socialism ... Birth Certificate ... Wasteful spending ... Earmarks ...

If he's on for most of the hour, we'll surely see a wide spectrum of the PartyofNoican lying points.

And, check out John Cole, over on Balloon Juice, who adds in, with details, that McCain is still just a miserably old prick.

Yeah, Must Not Watch TV is more like it ...

This Date ... On The Garlic

21 August 2008... On The Garlic

No Sooner Had I Finished ...

"The insinuation, that John McCain, a former prisoner of war, doesn't know how many houses he has, is outrageous!" ... Or: Looking A Gift House In The Mouth

21 August 2007... On The Garlic

The Tuesday Ticker ... Pithy Randomness ... Part of that "All The Cloves Fit To Peel" Thing

Breaking News! Thompson Responds To FEC Charge, Claiming He's Now Moving Into "Testing Executive Privilege" Phase; Also Invokes "The Cheney Principle", Saying "He's Not Part of The Campaign"

21 August 2006... On The Garlic

Top Ten Cloves: Other Things President Bush Won’t Do “So Long As I Am President”

Thursday, August 20, 2009

"DUH" News of the Day

Clutch Cargo, aka, former Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge is out, teasing his new book, with a "blockbuster" that is about as fresh as reading last weeks box scores.

The Bush Grindhouse exploited the War on Terrorism, with phony Terror Alerts for political purposes.

Ridge admits Bush administration pushed to raise security alert for political reasons on eve of re-election

Among the headlines promoted by publisher Thomas Dunne Books: Ridge was never invited to sit in on National Security Council meetings; was “blindsided” by the FBI in morning Oval Office meetings because the agency withheld critical information from him; found his urgings to block Michael Brown from being named head of the emergency agency blamed for the Hurricane Katrina disaster ignored; and was pushed to raise the security alert on the eve of President Bush’s re-election, something he saw as politically motivated and worth resigning over.

What, did Ridge, either while in the Bush Crony Gang, or out of it, not watch television or read newspapers?

Or, how about just staying awake at the office?

Probably more people than needed to bust a filibuster in Congress was out with that news, years ago, it was so obvious.

Among them, Keith Olbermann, who beat this horse to the point it could have triggered an SPCA investigation;

October 12, 2005 - The Nexus of Politics and Terror

August 15, 2006 - The nexus of politics and terror revisited

(And, yes, Olbermann was all over it again, this evening)

You come close there, Clutch Cargo, of garnering Ignorant Dolt points, if you are fishing for sympathy, with that "worth resigning over" crap.

It became common knowledge that you didn't get a job in the Bush Grindhouse unless you were a "Loyal Bushie", so it's a little late to come out with the "I'm shocked ... Shocked that gambling is going on here ...", as if you didn't know you were expected to play ball.

Yeah, you eventually did resign - bully for you - but you sat there like having "stupid" taped to your forehead, letting that terror alert fly out there, effectively, influencing the 2004 Presidential Election.

Jeez ... All this time we were pinning the blame on Ohio.

Perhaps there, Clutch, you can offer some help now.

When they release your book, have the publisher put a mirror on the dust cover.

That way, President Obama, maybe, will have to look backwards.

Bonus Tom Ridge "Duh" Riffs

Glenn Greenwald: Fringe leftist losers: wrong even when they're right

John Amato: Tom Ridge admits terror alerts were used for political reasons. What about the Osama video right before the '04 election?

Eric Martin: Just Because I'm Paranoid...

Dave Anderson: Trust the Dirty F*cking Hippies, they're right

emptywheel: Red Alert! Bush Was Going to Lose!

This Date ... On The Garlic

20 August 2008... On The Garlic

In The "Holy Cow" Dept; Denver Homeless Getting The Noonan "Full Detroit"

20 August 2007... On The Garlic

Three For Today ... The Selling of Iraq

Barry Crimmins with 'Down with the King!'

Sad News Today ... The Passing of Vocalist Jon Lucien

20 August 2006... On The Garlic

Weekend Special - Sautéed Cloves

Kilroy Was Here ... The Results - The Garlic's Weekly Poll

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Paging George Romero

If we knew what scientists (and governments) were working on, their plans for unforeseen things, contingency plans, et all, it would possibly make our heads explode

Hmmm, there's a study searching for a grant ...

Thanks to the BBC, one of those is brought to light today;

Science ponders 'zombie attack'

If zombies actually existed, an attack by them would lead to the collapse of civilisation unless dealt with quickly and aggressively.

That is the conclusion of a mathematical exercise carried out by researchers in Canada.

They say only frequent counter-attacks with increasing force would eradicate the fictional creatures.

The scientific paper is published in a book - Infectious Diseases Modelling Research Progress.

In books, films, video games and folklore, zombies are undead creatures, able to turn the living into other zombies with a bite.

But there is a serious side to the work.

[snip]

In their study, the researchers from the University of Ottawa and Carleton University (also in Ottawa) posed a question: If there was to be a battle between zombies and the living, who would win?

Professor Robert Smith? (the question mark is part of his surname and not a typographical mistake) and colleagues wrote: "We model a zombie attack using biological assumptions based on popular zombie movies.

[snip]

Professor Ferguson went on to joke: "The paper considers something that many of us have worried about - particularly in our younger days - of what would be a feasible way of tackling an outbreak of a rapidly spreading zombie infection.

"My understanding of zombie biology is that if you manage to decapitate a zombie then it's dead forever. So perhaps they are being a little over-pessimistic when they conclude that zombies might take over a city in three or four days."

Sounds like a bunch of, perhaps over-caffeinated, Canadian eggheads were looking for an excuse, or, perhaps justifying budge expenses, to purchase of a bevy of George Romero DVD's.

And, a completely (we assume), unrelated item;

Top Sweden newspaper says IDF kills Palestinians for their organs

Cue the gloomy organ music ...

This Date ... On The Garlic

19 August 2008... On The Garlic

Top Ten Cloves: Things Condoleezza Rice Has Threatened Russia With To Honor Cease Fire

Lieberman's A Prick!

19 August, 2005... On The Garlic

The Garlic: All The Cloves Fit To Peel will be on vacation August 19 - August 28; Take some time to catch up on our stories, or, use the links below to review some of the most popular and most viewed Garlic articles.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Poll Confirms Republicans Stupid, Ignorant Dolts

Jesus, we may go bankrupt if we have to hand out this much Ignorant Dolt hardware.

Greg Sargent has the results of a poll taken, that has the PartyofNoicans believing Faux News is "reliable";

The poll finds that among GOPers, 24% think Fox is “extremely reliable,” and 41% think Fox is “reliable.” That’s a total of 65% of Republicans who see Fox as reliable or very much so.

[snip]

Even more interesting, perhaps, is how many Republicans only get their info from Fox, as compared to the other cable networks. A surprising 74% of GOPers “never” watch CNN, and an even higher amount, 89%, never watch MSNBC.

Reliable as in relationship to what?

That the moon is made of cheese, and inhabited by little green men?

Here's the full poll

This Date ... On The Garlic

18 August 2008... On The Garlic

The Night The Russians Rolled Into Georgia - McCain's August Anthem

Does He Get To Keep The Bag Man?

18 August 2007... On The Garlic

Oxymoron of the Day: Ayad Allawi and his 'A Plan for Iraq'

Retro Garlic ... That Madcap McCain Is At It - Again!

18 August 2006... On The Garlic

Breaking News! Cheney Says Vote For Lamont Helps “New Solar System-Types”; Bush To Place New Planets On Terror Watch List; No Liquid Fly Rules In Place; President Calls Them “Intergalactic-Fascists.” Says Iran May Be Continuing To Expand Its Influence

Top Ten Cloves: Things That Will Be Missed With No More Oscar Night Swag Bags

18 August, 2005... On The Garlic

Possible Break In Crawford Impasse: President Mulling Humming To Peace Mom; Can Keep Normal Vacation Schedule; Plans Centered On Tunes, Earphones, iPod or Radio

Top Ten Cloves: Other Things Rush Limbaugh Thinks Mainstream Media Is Glomming

Monday, August 17, 2009

Mork Ahead of His Time?

It was primitive, almost guttural, but we may be able to look back and cite Mork, of the 'Mork and Mindy' show, as being visionary, or, at least, planting the seed.

A staple of the program was Mork's greeting - "Na-Nu Na-Nu" (pronounced "nah-noo nah-noo")

Was he trying to tell us something, something too abstruse for us to understand?

Was he attempting to share elements of his planet (Ork)?

Maybe so.

Everyday nanotechnology ... Nanobots don’t yet scrub clogged arteries, but nano-particles are improving many ordinary products

Long the stuff of hype and occasional hysteria, nanotechnology is quietly merging into modern life, its minuscule particles infused in an array of products, ranging from stink-proof socks to life-saving cancer medications.

[snip]

Holman reckons that by the middle of the next decade “nanotech will touch $3.1 trillion worth of products’’ worldwide. By and large, “nano-particles’’ will be used to make existing products tougher, more flexible, or more energy-efficient - faster computer processors, more moldable plastics, sprayable films able to act as solar collectors - rather than to create entirely new entities, at least at the outset.

But analysts and scientists say extraordinary new devices and techniques are not far off, especially in the realms of medical treatment, power sources, and consumer electronics. Picture cellphones so thin and flexible they can be worn as neck scarves. Imagine assembly lines “staffed’’ by viruses. Think of concrete produced with just a fraction of today’s pollutants (concrete production is a major emitter of greenhouse gases), but able to endure for thousands of years.

[snip]

For now, though, most nano-products are almost numbingly prosaic: stickier dental adhesive, mildew-resistant paint, and stain-proof khakis. Plus a handful of pharmaceuticals whose nano-properties make them somewhat more effective than standard treatments, but hardly wonder drugs.

[snip]

That’s a far cry from a few years ago, when nanotechology aroused feverish visions and fantastic fears. Futurists predicted microscopic “nanobots’’ coursing through human systems to root out cancer cells, scrub clogged arteries, and repair tissue. Alarmists raised fear of “gray goo’’ - self-replicating swarms of nano-particles - devouring the planet.

“Instead of nanobots, we got sunscreens,’’ Maynard wryly noted, referring to new lotions containing nanoparticles able to deflect the most damaging wavelengths of sunlight. “Nano’s development is proving more evolutionary than revolutionary. The cool stuff is still in the labs. But some incredible medicines and [micro-engineered] electronics are getting closer to reality.’’

Just remember, when all these products are commonplace, it was back in the 1070's we had our first inkling of what was to come;

"Na-Nu Na-Nu"

Dylan Follow-up: Searching For The Mansions of Glory?

We post the other day, the brush with the law Bob Dylan had in New Jersey ("Forget The Irony, He's Lucky He Didn't Get Tasered!"), and there seems to be more to the story.

Was Dylan Searching for the Home Where Springsteen Penned 'Born to Run'?

Was Bob Dylan looking for the home where Bruce Springsteen wrote "Born to Run" in 1974 when he was detained by police near the Jersey shore last month?

[snip]

But the area where Dylan was picked up was just a couple blocks from the beachside bungalow where Bruce Springsteen wrote the material for his landmark 1975 album "Born to Run."

In the past nine months, Dylan has visited the childhood homes of Neil Young and John Lennon, in both cases appearing without fanfare and barely identifying himself after he was recognized.

Last November, Winnipeg homeowner John Kiernan told Sun Media's Simon Fuller that Dylan and a friend arrived unannounced in a taxi to his Grosvenor Ave. home, where songwriter Neil Young grew up.

Dylan, Kiernan said, was unshaved and had the brim of his hat pulled down over his head. He asked for a look inside and inquired about Young's bedroom and where he would have played his guitar.

[snip]

In May, Dylan joined a public tour of John Lennon's childhood home, according to the BBC. A spokeswoman for the National Trust, which runs the home as London landmark, said Dylan "took one of our general minibus tours.

"People on the minibus did not recognize him apparently," the spokeswoman told the British news agency. "He could have booked a private tour, but he was happy to go on the bus with everyone else."

Hmmm ...

Wonder if he peeked in the medicine cabinet?

This one's for you, Robert Allen Zimmerman;

Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run

No Mad Men Here ...

We haven't been taken in my the Mad Men phenomena, so last evening's long-awaited debut of Season 3 of the much-hyped program was a non-event in The Garlic Household.

Even if we were into, it wouldn't have mattered, as we were completely drained by another homefront situation, that was in cahoots with the return of 90-degree, oppressive-humidity weather.

Like, really oppressive humidity.

So we bailed out of doing any posting yesterday, making today (yes, still hot and humid) a "catch-up" day, for the most part.

As always, many thanks for visiting, and reading, The Garlic.