...and Double Heh

Just remembered this story from January:

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Snow fell on Baghdad on Friday for the first time in memory, and delighted residents declared it an omen of peace.

"It is the first time we've seen snow in Baghdad," said 60-year-old Hassan Zahar. "We've seen sleet before, but never snow. I looked at the faces of all the people, they were astonished," he said.

Anger Management

Hmmmm...

On September 18, 2007, [US Air Force] veteran Peter Lynch noticed a Mexican flag hanging from a flagpole outside Scholes Hall Mondayat the UNM campust. Lieutenant Pat Davis of the UNM Police Department testified that when Lynch saw the Mexican flag flying without an American flag, which is improper flag etiguette, he first reported it to the office of UNM’s Dean of Students, then to the Officer of Veteran Affairs. They would not act on the illegal display of the Mexican flag, so Lynch took it down and tore it and took it to the Air Force ROTC office.

Peter Lynch received a deferred six-month sentence on supervised probation. He also must perform 48 hours of community service, attend anger management, replace the flag and pay court and probation fees.

Heh

If you're an aviator - or if you're in any position in the military hierarchy where large scale planning is part of your job description - you know the military employs weather forecasters to assist in the decision making process. (What? There's planning? With inputs from others?)

Those forecasters are sometimes 'almost right' - like most inputs to planning, the weather forecast is subject to limitations (of science, technology, communications, and the human condition) - and if you've ever been caught outside without an umbrella you know this as well as any General anywhere.

But years ago there was a quick (and joking) response employed by forecasters when asked why they were wrong: "el nino". Later "la nina" was added to the repertoire. And later still "global warming" became the response of choice when laughs were desired. "I thought you said it wouldn't rain. It's raining, and we're in the middle of an important base golf tournament! What happened?"

"Global warming."

(Since the question was often asked by a base commander with his hands tightening on the throat of the forecaster, effective delivery of the punchline was sometimes crucial to survival...)

So it's funny to see completion of the full circle - the absence of global warming blamed on la nina - at least, I got a good laugh out of reading the intro paragraphs to this story...

Global temperatures for 2008 will be slightly cooler than last year as a result of the cold La Nina current in the Pacific, UN meteorologists have said.
<...>
But this year's temperatures would still be way above the average - and we would soon exceed the record year of 1998 because of global warming induced by greenhouse gases.

RE: National Media vs Local Media

In further the discussion on the "Media Industry"...

A fairly hefty chunk of the "Local Media" was purchased by Media Conglomerates in the 1980's. Last I checked...the Nations Oldest Continuos Newspaper...the Hartford Courant...in existance since the 1700's was owned by the LA Times Newspapers.(The conglomerates are endlessly selling their properties to each other so I'm not sure of current ownership.

In any case...creating 'content' to go with the advertising circulars costs money....and the business of business is profits. So the media conglomerates bought up a huge chunk of local newspapers and reorganized them along the lines that Bill Gates has organized Microsofts International Subsidaries.

Microsoft (Redmond) provides the core products worldwide. Then Microft Europe does the localization for Europe I.E. Transalations, whether the thousands seperator is a comma or a decimal point etc.

So if we take the case of the Hartford Courant. All of its national and international content is generated in LA...then the Hartford localization team tosses in some "local angles" and some "local news" and pushes it out the door.

Re: Cuts

Soldier's Dad: The news idiots should wait for the official announement before getting peoples hopes up..and Senior Defense Officials in the Five Sided Rubber Room should keep their mouths shut until which units would be affected is clear.

Yes.

And hopefully they'll move very fast - this time. In announcing the extension they had to play catch up:

Q ...can you also tell us why you're making this announcement publicly now at the same time that the troops and their families are hearing it, because normally that's done -- they get notified first.

SEC. GATES: ...I'll be very blunt. Some very thoughtless person in this building made the unilateral decision yesterday to deny the Army the opportunity to notify unit commanders who could then talk to their troops 48 hours before we made a public announcement. And I can't tell you how angry it makes many of us that one individual would create potentially so much hardship not only for our service men and women, but their families, by giving -- by letting them read about something like this in the newspapers.

Re: The Week

Hmmmm...

"Basically," said Maj. Henry Schott of the command’s plans and requirements section, "if it’s a place like The New York Times, an established, reputable media outlet, then it’s fairly cut and dry that that’s a good source, an authorized source."

(I confess - just like the picture, I can't resist replaying this quote over and over and over...)

And speaking of Times advertisements, who could ever forget this one?

Re:That was the week in the war that was

Somewhat off topic but on topic -
From USPS regulations -

“Advertising is defined in 4.13. General publications primarily designed for advertising purposes do not qualify for Periodicals mailing privileges, including publications that:
Contain more than 75% advertising in more than half of the issues published during any 12-month period.”

So to qualify for the "most preferential" mailing rate..a "Periodicals" can't have more than 75% advertising.
Via AEI

In the United States, the delivery monopoly is over letter mail. The courts have accepted the Postal Service's broad test for a letter as, "the presence or absence of an address." According to the Postal Service's definition, an addressed grocery store advertisement is a letter.

So if one is a grocery store..and wants to get their weekly sale brochure delivered to people who buy groceries...they have to wrap it in something that has less than 75% advertising or they can't take advantage of newspapers exemption from the postal services monopoly on 'letter mail'...or they end up paying a postage rate more than "Periodicals" (newspapers)..