Palin’s international connection

<a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_idlYwkc9AhE/SN7ETrdSsWI/AAAAAAAAEq0/_OPCWSmDY-4/s1600-h/palinsyrah.jpg”><img style=”float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_idlYwkc9AhE/SN7ETrdSsWI/AAAAAAAAEq0/_OPCWSmDY-4/s200/palinsyrah.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”"id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250850057922720098″ /></a>Her detractors say GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin has no experience in international matters. One product from a boutique Chilean winery might be pointed to by her supporters as evidence of her international reach.

It’s called Palin Syrah.

The actual pronunciation is <span style=”font-style:italic;”>pah-leen</span>, referring to the ball in a Chilean-style hockey game.

We know such plays on names are all part of the ephemeral thing that is politics, and reading any significance into them is about as useful as, well, as putting lipstick on a pig, as some current poltical hacks would say.

Nevertheless, Fox News thought it important enough to have a reporter for its election news Web site check out the political and business implications of such a wine being available to American consumers.

The bottom line, says Fox, is that San Franciscans are so left-wing they hate anything remotely resembling a Republican in name, wine or anything else, so Palin Syrah is being shunned even though it sold well before anyone outside her state knew of Sarah Palin. And, meanwhile, in the Republican stronghold of Texas, the wine is selling like mad.

If you must read the whole story, just click <a href=”http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/24/palin-syrah-wine-drinkers-balk-at-a-chilean-wine-with-hints-of-alaska/”>here</a>.

It’s not an ill wind that does this

Considering this cliché sort of stunt does nothing to inform viewers, and serves only to create some extra level of phony drama to weather that stands on its own for importance, I got a chuckle out of this situation.

My opponent is a #*+?%^# — every day

From the Associated Press:

SHANKSVILLE, Pa. – Recalling the nation’s unity in a time of peril seven years ago, presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama placed their partisan contest on hold Thursday and spoke as one in honoring of the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Obama and McCain were making ground zero in New York their common ground, joining in homage to the dead from the fallen Twin Towers and the hijacked planes flown into them.

What a shame. Not that they claimed respect for the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but that the so-called “attack ads” have been halted for a moment.

Why? Because such ads tell me, a voter, as much about the character and aims of the candidates who approve them as do position papers written for them by a gazillion aides.

When did the rough-and-tumble American political process become so politically correct that it became a no-no to say nasty things about the opposition? It has been part of our national tradition as long as we have been a nation. Don’t mess with a good thing.

What would Winston Churchill do?

Here’s an actual BBC video of Georgia President Saakashvili conferring with another world leader over Russia’s armed attacks on the small nation.

Giants still football’s champions (*)

(*) Well, at least of the Austrian division of American football in Europe.

My Turek Graz Giants won the Austrian Bowl XXIV, 31-21, which gave them the “Austrian State Championship” at the expense of the Swarco Raiders of the Tyrol.

Behind American quarterback Chris Gunn in an exciting outing that accounted for at least four interceptions as best I can tell, the Giants … well, let the team’s own public relations people tell you all about it in this automatically-translated-from-the-German posting on their Web site.

(And, in answer to several inquiries, yes, this has been an exciting team to follow until my beloved New York/New Jersey Giants open their pre-season training camp at the University at Albany, NY, very shortly.)

In a game that has long stretches of the strong defenses of both teams was marked, the Raiders had the first chance of points awarded, however, a Field Goal on the possible 3:0 leadership. The offense while the Giants could move the ball well, but two of Interceptions QB Chris Gunn completed each attack series.

In the 2nd Quarter, the blue and yellow but the first time in the Endzone reach: WR Armando Ponce de Leon caught a 2 yard pass from RB Moe Muheize; Marc Biedenkapp recovered the PAT to 7:0 leadership. After a Fumble by Raiders RB Florian Grein — Christoph Schreiner secured the ball for the blue and yellow — was QB Chris Gunn. Marc Biedenkapp in the first game with a deep pass into a TD; including PAT led the Giants 14:0. After the Defense of the “giants” the offense of “pirates” could stop again, RB Martin finished grass Egger short distance from another successful drive to 20:0 leadership; Marc Biedenkappp raised by his PAT to 21:0. The Raiders konterten but just before the half time and shortened 22 seconds before the break to 21:7. Chris Gunn threw yet another interception, but this changed nothing at half-time status.

In the 3rd Quarter QB Chris Gunn threw another interception, no team, however, points. In the 4th Quarter, the Raiders first approached 21:14; Martin grass Egger, with a beautiful 20 yard run the old 14 points distance restore because the PAT was successful. The Raiders, however, not stuck in and came with a touchdown at 28:21 up again, just two minutes before the game end Marc Biedenkapp recovered at the most valuable player of the Austrian Bowl Award, a 45 yards to the Field Goal Final 31:21.

The blue and yellow won deserved, the Defense played gigantic and could otherwise strong offense as the Raiders control, a key to success was that the Raiders from the four Interceptions no capital or points.

The Turek Graz Giants are now back to the Austrian and probably also European leaders: Beendeten in Austria the 2005 season still on 4 Square, the 2006 season on 3 Space and 2007 won the vice-champion, so now they won the Austrian State Championship title in the euro failed Bowl the blue and yellow in the semi-finals until the second extension.

Preparations for the 2009 season has already started: Success Coach Rick Rhoades will next year return to Graz, with the legionaries have already been preliminary discussions about contract extensions led the majority of the team remains intact, some youth players of the 2nd Team push into the fight team, so we certainly optimistic about the next season look.

User-generated crap

So there I was, reading the major local daily newspaper when I noticed a line under a particularly fluffy story and poor quality photo: “Story provided to the XXXXXXX.”

“Story provided” is, heaven help us, news-speak for a particularly insidious development in the shaky world of newspapering. That is, cutting staff to save money, then replacing the stories they used to write with self-promoting free material sent in by local organizations or individuals.

I remember when that idea was floated a decade ago when I still was a newspaper editor. Virtually everyone in the room except the business-side non-journalist who supported it held our noses and promised never to let such a thing happen. We wanted to stick to quality, professional journalism as a way of serving the community and maintaining a solid business model.

So much for that promise. But, let’s be honest about it. The true definition of “user-generated” is “quality-deprived.”

By the way, if you want to catch up on the manic things that have been going on in the journalism world (unfortunately, they’re predominantly negative), you can visit a Topix.com section I edit on a regular basis. Just go here.

What do you get for the man who has everything?

News Item: Former South African President Nelson Mandela has been taken off the U.S. terror watch list. President George W. Bush signed a bill removing him and other members of the African National Congress from the list that has kept them from entering the U.S., except to visit the United Nations complex, without special dispensation from the U.S. Secretary of State.

This from a government that allowed suspected and known terrorists into the country for years and, for all we know in this era of keeping as much as possible secret from the public, still does.

It all came about when Mandela’s African National Congress (ANC) was designated as a terrorist organization by South Africa’s old apartheid regime back in 1960.

Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison for working against the policy of racial terrorism, became his nation’s first post-apartheid president but the U.S. inexplicably kept the ANC on its terror watch list.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had called the restrictions a “rather embarrassing matter that I still have to waive in my own counterpart, the foreign minister of South Africa, not to mention the great leader Nelson Mandela.”

Bush’s action is a nice birthday present for Mandela who will turn 90 this month.

News item: Authorities condone, enable bestiality

From the Troy (NY) Record, June 26 edition:

TROY — A Florida fugitive wanted for attempted murder was apprehended on Sheridan Avenue Wednesday after nearly a year on the lamb thanks to a joint effort between local authorities and the Albany office of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, police said.

About Amy Winehouse

Oh dear.

We are being told, yet again, that Brit-trash singer (?) Amy Winehouse (that stunning beauty pictured over there) may be on the final spiral of her life-defying existence of drugs and denial.

Well, pardon me if, frankly, I don’t give a damn.

I am tired of being continually assaulted by TV, radio, blogs, fan mags — even daily newspapers that should know better — peddling stories about self-indulgent, self-destructive show biz and sports celebrities who have:

• Lived the wild life and lived to tell all about it. Endlessly.
• Found themselves in need of intervention to get out of their death spiral.
• Found themselves in need of a liver transplant because of alcoholism and drugs.
• Turned their lives around and apparently think they’re now supposed to be regarded by the media as role models.

The people I admire are the ones who succeed in their chosen field while maintaining some self-respect, some sense of responsibility to others, some … well, you get my point.

Today’s celebri-quote

“It’s great for the sex life. It just makes you a lot more creative. So you have fun, and as a woman you’re just so round and full.”

– Angelina Jolie, speaking to Entertainment Weekly about her pregnancy

Great moments in monarchy

From the Copenhagen, Denmark, Post:

Queen Margrethe’s well-publicized nicotine habit nearly spelled the end of her son Prince Joachim’s wedding reception last weekend, according to the tabloid magazine Se og Hør.

One of the kitchen employees working on the newlywed royal pair’s reception dinner told the magazine that the queen and a few of her friends wanted to take a cigarette break in the confines of Schackenborg Palace. But the waitstaff refused to serve as long as there were smokers in the vicinity.

Prince Joachim allegedly spoke to his mother, who finally agreed that she and the others would, like the rest of her subjects, light up in the great outdoors.

Small consolation for Graz Giants

Admittedly, the Austrian Bowl XXIV isn’t nearly as prestigious as the Euro Bowl, but after seeing its bid for a third consecutive Euro title dashed, my Turek Graz Giants are looking for some sort of title.

Sort of like a college basketball team settling for an NIT title when it isn’t invited to the NCAA tourney.

For newcomers to this blog, these particular Giants hail from the Czech Republic and play American-style European football. I care about them because my New Jersey New York New Jersey Giants don’t open their pre-season camp at the University at Albany (NY) — near my home — for a few more weeks and I need my football fix.

I’d hoped the Graz Giants would make it a threepeat in the Euro Bowl, but no, they couldn’t pull it off. As the English-language translation on their Web site explains the situation:

Turek Graz Giants before
moving into the finals of the AFL

After the unfortunate departure of the GIANTS in the euro Bowl – last weekend – is on 14.6.2008 the semi-finals of the Austrian Bowl before.

The enemy in this encounter as ever this year – the Danube Dragons. 1st Meeting on 4 May had the blue and yellow with a narrow 41:35 defeat After the marriage, but for the semi-finals will be Head Coach Rick Rhoades the perfect team to prepare for the game.

Executive Armin Karisch: “I am proud of the team and the appearance against the Raiders – our players have shown a sensational line! Unfortunately it has not worked in Tirol, but the GIANTS still have a chance at the title in the AFL. “

If this hurdle – against the serious Danube Dragons – will be mastered, the TUREK GRAZ GIANTS in the final of the AFL, which on 27 June 2008 in Wolfsberg / Carinthia.

So, how did we fall to this level? Here’s the explanation for the game that did the Giants in:

GIANTS dream of Euro Bowl final burst!

The TUREK GIANTS GRAZ had yesterday – in a real thriller – in the 2nd Overtime against the Raiders Tyrol with Swarco 49:56 beaten.

The blue and yellow from Graz stood with one leg already in the finals, but in a very exciting and very balanced game, the Raiders from the Tyrol Quentchen Glückauf their side.

By half-time whistle went GIANTS with a 28:14 lead in the cabin, but this game was much more scarce than the game was suspect. “An extremely balanced and exciting role in the yet been decided,” commented GIANTS the Board Armin Karisch 1st Half-time: “The key will be how we enter the 3rd quarter” After record.

Unfortunately, this Einstig failed, the Raiders gained ground and accelerated during the 2 Half time the distance. Finally, they 2 minutes before the end even the initial lead in this game for 42:35.

When the Tyrolean fans just before the end of jubilation for the leveraged singing, was the blue and yellow from the Graz Incredible. Chris Gun and his colleagues took – 23 seconds before the end – with an unbelievable TD and PAT followed back into the game; game 42:42!

The Tyrolean Fangesang silent, silence and erschrockene Tyrolean faces everywhere you looked.

Score at the end of the 4 / 4 thus 42:42 and after a short break, it went into overtime.

Here’s where we get into the really exciting stuff:

This high-level European semi-finals – played so the current number 1 against No. 2 – had already left its mark. Both players the Raiders – some had to because of cramps on the playing field edge treatment – as well as the GIANTS – here bangte around the health status of Georg Purger – the result of many hard Tackles fortunately but “only” with a massive chest contusion after extensive Investigations in Innsbruck LKH the trip home was allowed.

1st Turn the Overtime succeeded both GIANTS then, as well as the Raiders one TD + PAT. In the 2nd Turn, the Raiders with a TD + PAT and the GIANTS had to follow suit. Unfortunately Quentchen lacked the luck and failed in 4rd down the blue and yellow, the last attempt. It was this high-profile game – in which both teams deserved the victory – in favour of the extension Swarco Raiders Tyrol decided.

I just hate it when things go that way. But, at least there is the Austrian Bowl on June 27. It’s no San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl or even the Petro Sun Independence Bowl. But it is a bowl game and I’d be satisfied if my Graz Giants won it.

Gas price war!

This set of gasoline prices on opposite sides of Route 9 in Columbia County, NY, is causing a lot of brake-stomping, neck-swiveling and jaw-dropping.

All for naught, however.

The lower prices are posted on the marquee of a gas station that has been closed for months.

Actually, the prices shown on the blowup at right of the Sunoco station reflect what amounts to a bargain in that part of the country these days.

Sorry about that.

Knocking ‘em back with Hillary

If Hillary Rodham Clinton makes it to the White House, we know one thing that will be on the daily agenda: The return of the cocktail hour.

The current top resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue doesn’t drink anymore, and there have been other teetotalers in the White House. But many of our presidents were known for their cocktail preferences. George Washington ran his own distillery. John Adams started his day with hard cider. Thomas Jefferson even introduced the presidential cocktail party.

In later years, Franklin D. Roosevelt quickly mixed up a martini — the real kind, with gin — to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition. John F. Kennedy regularly served daiquiris aboard the presidential yacht. Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon both enjoyed drinking Scotch.

Now we have Senators Barack Obama and John McCain, the likely contenders for the office in November, each of whom has the occasional drink. But Clinton makes no bones about enjoying her drinks more than they do, and likes them neat, as this photo — one of a series taken aboard her plane by the Associated Press and made available here in slideshow format — shows after a campaign stop in South Dakota this week.

Clinton also made news a few weeks ago when she had a shot of whiskey and a beer with some members of the public during a campaign stop in Indiana, but this is the first time she let her hair down with reporters. This time, she showed the good sense to avoid the Canadian whiskey she had in Indiana and enjoyed a shot of Maker’s Mark bourbon from Kentucky, US of A.

Here’s a video of her Indiana outing:

At least they spelled Rensselaer right

DOUBLE-CLICK THIS CLIPPING

It’s not as if this industrial history hasn’t been thoroughly researched and made available to the general public (as well as reporters).

A couple of examples with lots of history of Troy, NY, and its rich manufacturing lineage:

• Burden iron Works history
• South Troy Brownfields
• Labor and Industry in Troy and Cohoes
• Preservation Magazine
• RPI Archives
• USS Monitor / The Mariners’ Museum
• Guide to the USS Monitor Design and Construction Collection
• Urban Earth Fest
• Institute on Industrial Archaeology
• Our State Institutions: The iron Works of Troy
• The Bessemer Process
• Classic Encyclopedia: Troy, New York
• Central Pacific Railroad: Rensselaer Iron Co.
• Hudson River Valley Institute

There are more, including many stories and photos in the Times Union’s own archives. But, you get the point.

Save the Language: Part 476

I’m just an old-fashioned guy. One who likes black-and-white photos, classic cars, 12-year-old whiskey and picky editors like the guy over there, whoever he is/was.

When it comes to the latter, I also am a stickler for guarding the health of the English language. More than 40 years in journalism hammered that home to me, even in the face of a deterioration of the language that I ascribe more to the rising popularity of non-print media and permissive schools than anything else.

Now that most of my creativity is as a writer rather than an editor, I sometimes find myself on the wrong end of sloppy editing. Here’s the latest missive I sent to an editor when a perfectly proper word in one of my freelance stories for her magazine was changed to something incorrect:

“One small note, to your copy editor: Introducing an error into copy is an egregious thing.

“In my [title hidden to protect the guilty ] story I used the word ‘flak,’ which inexplicably was changed to ‘flack.’

” ‘Flak’ is what anti-aircraft weapons fire into the air, and came into the language during WWII. In modern parlance, it means coming under fire, or criticism, which is the way I used it.

” ‘Flack’ is a pejorative term for a public relations person, which is what it was changed to.

“Embarassing for me since most readers don’t think ‘copy editor’ when they read a story.”

P.S. To her great credit, the editor promptly e-mailed back an apology, falling on her e-sword and taking the blame even though she wasn’t the guilty party.

The other 30% is a bitch

I am pleased to share the news with you that the world’s oceans are 70% shark free.

That’s according to the findings of an international team of scientists that postulates the absence of sharks from abyssal zones of the world’s oceans may mean some species are in danger of extinction. The abyssal zones are the ones that are in perpetual darkness at depths below 6,560 feet, and have phenomenal pressures that can be up to 10,000 pounds per square inch!

The findings were published in the “Proceedings of The Royal Society, Biological Series.” Among conclusions: sharks may be having more difficult times than ever finding food.

Monty Priede, director of Oceanlab at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, told United Press International:

“Sharks are already threatened worldwide by the intensity of fishing activity, but our finding suggests they may be more vulnerable to over-exploitation than was previously thought.”

I’m sure that’s of some comfort to all those people we hear about who are victims of shark attacks.

Read all about it! (for a price)

LEDYARD, CT — As she flipped through the “complimentary” copy of The Providence Journal left at the door of our guest room at the Foxwoods Resort & Casino, my wife shared with me what she considered the hottest story in the newspaper.

“Look at that sticker,” she said, pointing to a square piece of paper attached to the front of the third section. “I thought this paper was supposed to be complimentary for guests.”

The note informed us:

“A copy of the Providence Journal is included with your stay. If you do not wish to receive the newspaper, please contact the front desk for a $.13 refund daily, or a $.50 refund on Sunday.”

Regretably, this is a legitimate gimmick, although a cheesey one. It does nothing to benefit the consumer who is placed in the position of first ascertaining that he or she is being unexpectedly charged for something then having to take action to change the situation or end up footing the bill, small though it is.

Under the industry’s Audit Bureau of Circulations rules, newspapers can sell bulk batches of their product at half-price and still count them as individually full-paid circulation.

What this boils down to, dear traveler, is that this 50-cent newspaper actually went for only a quarter to the Indian casino hotel, and it passed along more than 50% of its discounted price to its guests. Human nature being what it is, they no doubt figured, correctly, that few people would ever ask for their 13 cents back. So, it was a great deal for the newspaper and the resort.

Just a tip for one more thing to keep an eye on during your travels.

Low times in the Highlands

ABERDEENSHIRE, Scotland — Here I am, traveling in the Highlands of Scotland, where life seems to move at a snail’s pace, history is apparent all around you, and the place looks rock solid.

Literally, since nearly every structure is made of granite blocks or stone and their longevity morphs from one century to the next with little apparent difference.

Yet all the newspapers are dwelling heavily on only three topics:

1. How silly British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is being made to look because of a tell-all book from ex-PM Tony Blair’s oputspoken wife, Cherie, who (shock and awe!) doesn’t care for Gordon.

2. How rocky the financial situation is “north of the border,” which means Scotland itself where housing prices are skyrocketing, inflation is rising at a faster rate (3.5%) than anywhere else in the United Kingdom (which includes England, Wales and Northern Ireland), and unemployment is on the rise.

3. How bad the alcohol abuse is getting, a particular problem in a country where more than 40,000 people out of a total population of barely 5 million rely on the whisky industry for jobs — and that is not including people in the retail business of selling the stuff.

Some of the solutions that are being suggested from various corners are as hysterical as the incessant reporting on them, except for the Gordon Brown thing which is great theater for the masses who love seeing the balloons of the high and mighty pricked sharply.

For the alcohol problem, the suggestions range from raising the drinking age beyond 21 to raising prices (even though Scotch whisky costs much more in Scotland than it does abroad, due to the regressive taxing policies) or even making public intoxication a higher crime.

As to the financial situation, the ideas range from strict price controls to more restrictive bank loan policies (they have the same problem with sub-prime mortgages we in the U.S. have), although no one wants to officially put forth a comprehensive plan for fear of commiting political suicide.

Oh, there has been one other item in the news. The idea of Scottish independence.

Of course, that one has been rattling around since the 18th Century, when the anti-English rebellion in support of Bonnie Prince Charlie fizzled out after a hideous defeat at Culloden on April 16, 1746. A battle that lasted less than an hour killed 1,500 Highlanders vs. a mere 50 or so English regulars. It effectively broke the back of the Jacobite movement, leading to the banning of such ethnic staples as the playing of the bagpipes and the wearing of the kilts and tartans.

Now there are calls from Sean Connery from the comfort of his homes abroad and other nationalists still residing in Scotland to push forward with a vote on splitting off from the U.K.

As an outsider, I have perhaps a more measured reaction to the idea than someone who is emotionally invested. I think it’s ridiculous. Given all the hoo-haw of financial woes and a bleak outlook for years to come, the last thing that would be needed is trying to establish a truly independent country.

Evidence? Take Scotland’s currency. The Scottish pound is issued by the government, but it also is issued by two different banks. Money from all three sources can be spent anywhere in Scotland, but only those issued by the government are worth anything outside the borders. If they can’t get their act together on a simplified, unified currency recognized worldwide, imagine the problems of being a soveriegn nation with financial woes trying to be trusted financially in a global economy.

If we do, she’s in trouble

Houston Chronicle photographer Johnny Hanson must be credited with paying attention to the sign-carrying histrionics of this spelling-challenged individual who was at a rally pushing for deportation of people who can’t communicate in English.

I heartily agree with her.