Kos And Effect

Kind of had to happen, didn't it? Some folks on the left side of politics are seeing that the mighty Kos could - to put it mildly - give a darn about them. This is, after all, the guy who infamously said "screw them" about murdered Americans. He's also disaffected supporters who have complained about Kos "Storming the Gates" then pulling them shut behind him. But, as the saying goes: "you'se gets whats you'se pays for." So, let me ask the left this question - which can be answered in the comments section - but only in accordance with the comment policy* -  So what else has Kos misled you about in his pursuit of political power?

(This should be interesting).

(*Keep it civil and it gets published, violate the rules and the comment is nuked and you are banned. Excludes previously banned commenters.)

The Art Of Bears

A report out today explains that the Malaysian military is under - we are not making this up - an attack by "Sun Bears". Put aside the fact that almost nobody in the world could identify a sun bear if one tripped over one in one's living room, this is a disturbing story. Because the press - as usual - gets it completely wrong.

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's military has a new enemy: sun bears, who are attacking the camps in search of food, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

At night soldiers at a camp in northern Malaysia keep a vigil for the "intruders", who driven from their habitats, come in groups and feast on rice, sugar, biscuits and bread, the New Sunday Times said.

"I have been stationed here for more than a year and I have seen bears gobbling up our food," the report quoted an unnamed soldier as saying. "But they pose no harm and run away when we come near them."

Sun bears, who live in the rain forests of Southeast Asia, are getting displaced from their habitat because of logging.

A wildlife official said the animals were also tempted by the easy availability of food at the camps. "They may have been accustomed to this kind of practice at the camp as it is easy for them to find food there," said S. K. Sharma, chief executive office of Wild Life Fund Malaysia.

The media continues to spin stories in such a way as to make animals figures of sympathy. We here at Blue Crab Boulevard, of course, know better. The "sun bears" are not raiding the army camps for food. They are raiding them for other purposes entirely. They are acting on the orders of the overlords of the Animal Uprising™. They are not after food, we can assure you. These are not "sun bears," these are "Sun Tzu bears" In fact, we have photographic evidence!

So, Is This How Doctor Frankenstein Felt?

One has to wonder, if one's creation goes bad, how does one feel? If the thing you created turns on you, how do you deal with it? If you find you have unleashed a monster, what, exactly, do you do? I have no answers, only pictures.

Beewitched, Beeothered and Beewildered

Wise at last
My eyes at last
Are cutting you down to your size at last
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered no more

Burned a lot
But learned a lot
And now you are broke, though you earned a lot
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered no more

Couldn't eat
Was dyspeptic
Life was so hard to bear;
Now my heart's antiseptic
Since you moved out of there
(Lorenz Hart/Richard Rodgers, Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered (From Pal Joey))

The bees are coming! The bees are coming! No, wait. That's wrong. The bees are going, the bees are going! I posted about the sudden disappearance of bees reported by beekeepers all across the US and now in Europe. The reports of which are becoming more breathless every day. Today comes this - er - interesting speculation from the Independent. Are cell phones causing the disrupting in beehives everywhere? (And it completely speculative. The "proof" they offer up sounds like a high school level "gee what if….." bull session.

The alarm was first sounded last autumn, but has now hit half of all American states. The West Coast is thought to have lost 60 per cent of its commercial bee population, with 70 per cent missing on the East Coast.

CCD has since spread to Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. And last week John Chapple, one of London's biggest bee-keepers, announced that 23 of his 40 hives have been abruptly abandoned.

Other apiarists have recorded losses in Scotland, Wales and north-west England, but the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs insisted: "There is absolutely no evidence of CCD in the UK."

The implications of the spread are alarming. Most of the world's crops depend on pollination by bees. Albert Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared, "man would have only four years of life left".

No one knows why it is happening. Theories involving mites, pesticides, global warming and GM crops have been proposed, but all have drawbacks.

German research has long shown that bees' behaviour changes near power lines.

Now a limited study at Landau University has found that bees refuse to return to their hives when mobile phones are placed nearby. Dr Jochen Kuhn, who carried it out, said this could provide a "hint" to a possible cause.

Dr George Carlo, who headed a massive study by the US government and mobile phone industry of hazards from mobiles in the Nineties, said: "I am convinced the possibility is real."

Nice sound bites. Great catchy new acronym. Scientific proof: zero. The study showing the bees shun hives when cell phones are near could well be attributable to the fact that the bees aren't taking calls. This sounds snarky - it is - but it could be exactly the same level of scientific rigor as the Independent reports. (We'd prefer the theory that bees are going on spring break to the Gulf Coast to sunbathe in beekinis. But we're funny that way.) Glenn Reynolds has a few very interesting links about this article that are really worth taking a look at. This "new phenomenon" may be nothing of the sort and may, in fact, be nothing - whatsoever - out of the ordinary. Bee vacations have happened, rather often, in the past. Maybe they get a great group rate on travel every now and then.

It may be the end of the world as we know it, but it may have nothing to do with reality of the world. The media's reporting of the real world, as opposed to their interpretation of the world, is a bit spotty at times.

UPDATE: The end of the world as we know it is more apt than I thought. For all the people cheerfully repeating the media shtick about "much of the world's crops" being pollinated by bees, I found this tidbit from Ohio State University. These are some of the crops that rely on bees, according to that respected institution:

Liliaceae (Allium)
Asparagus
Chive
Garlice
Leek
Onion
Malvaceae
Okra
Cruciferae
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Chinese cabbage
Collard
Horseradish
Kale
Kohlrabi
Mustard
Radish
Rape
Rutabaga
Turnip

Nowhere on the list are corn, soybeans or wheat.  (please, do take a look at the full list. Are there things that people would miss - a lot - on that list? Yup. I like asparagus. Would I (or you) starve without it? Not unless you are hopelessly addicted to kohlrabi.

Corzine Has Another Operation

They are calling it an "unscheduled" operation in this report. It sounds more like "emergency" when you read it. Spokesmen are calling it "routine". Pick your adjective.

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine had an unscheduled operation to remove fluid from outside his left lung on Sunday after he was seriously injured in a car crash last week, his office said.

"This fluid occurrence is common after one sustains multiple rib fractures," said the statement issued by Corzine's spokesman Anthony Coley.

The "routine procedure" lasted less than 15 minutes and doctors described it as successful, the statement said.

Corzine, who remains in critical but stable condition, is scheduled to have another operation on his leg on Monday.

Corzine, 60, suffered a broken leg, 12 broken ribs, fractures to his collarbone and sternum, a slight fracture to a vertebrae and a laceration to the head in an accident near Atlantic City on Thursday.

Look, seriously, I wish Corzine all the best here. The way this story is unfolding, however, makes one think that there is an awful lot being hidden from the public. It is not at all clear why they are doing so. But the news keeps letting more and more disturbing details slip out, one by one.

Flash: Mookie Is A Democrat

The Iraqi would-be strongman, Moqtada al-Sadr, who is routinely called "fiery" in the media (as opposed to "Iranian tool", which would be more fitting) has revealed that he is on exactly the same page as Nancy Pelosi and John "Unindicted Co-Conspirator" Murtha. He wants a fixed timetable for the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq. He is engineering a pullout of his minions from the Iraqi parliament to try to force the issue. Call it fiery clericus interruptus.

Officials from the movement, which holds six ministries and a quarter of the parliamentary seats in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite Alliance, said the formal announcement would be made on Monday at a news conference.

The move is unlikely to bring down the government, but it could create tensions in Maliki's fractious Shi'ite-led government of national unity at a time when it is trying to heal sectarian divisions that threaten to tip Iraq into civil war.

"We are going to declare our withdrawal from government because the prime minister does not want to make a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq," said one official in Sadr's movement who declined to be identified.

There was no immediate comment from the government.

Maliki says he sees no need to set a timetable. He said last week his government was working to build up Iraq's security forces as quickly as possible so U.S.-led forces could leave.

Two other Sadr officials confirmed the intention to pull out of the government but stressed the movement would continue to give "cautious" backing to a U.S.-Iraqi security crackdown in the capital. The Sadrists will remain in parliament.

Just out of curiosity, does it bother Pelosi and Murtha in any way who is one their side? When the people who are openly espousing views against our country are repeating your rhetoric, shouldn't you really reconsider what you are saying? Hell, when outright enemies, sworn to bring about the downfall of your country, are repeating, word-for-word, your talking points, shouldn't you rethink your message?  

Rhetorical questions. I already know the answers. Sadly.

Sometimes, You Have A Good Day

My son called me yesterday and asked if I wanted to go shooting today at the club. A good friend of his from back in Illinois was out visiting (he was the best man at my son's wedding last year). So today we all gathered up the ordnance and went down to the club. We didn't bring any long guns, just handguns. We duly signed in, checked that there was a Range Safety Officer (RSO) at the rifle/pistol range (there was) and trooped on down there.

Oddly, my son had not read the "Easter Gunny" post and was very surprised when I pulled that 1858 New Model Army replica out. The RSO laughed when he saw it because of the enormous barrel. You really have to see it to understand how truly huge a 12-inch barrel on a handgun really is. After the targets were up, I capped the revolver - I had loaded the chambers at home, but not mounted the percussion caps. We walked on down to the firing line and got set to shoot. When the RSO said it was ok to shoot, I stepped up to about the 25-foot mark, cocked the big Remington, aimed and pulled the trigger. An impressive boom followed and a great deal of powder smoke erupted from the gun.

Whereupon the target, a self-adhesive 12-inch bullseye type, went flying, knocked right off the backboard. Everyone was laughing. My son went over and picked it up from where it had flown off to. When he stood up, he showed the target. Almost perfectly dead center in the bullseye there was a brand new .44 caliber hole. The RSO laughed a bit and said it kind of wasn't fair, with that long barrel, the gun was almost touching the target when I extended my arms. I told him I shouldn't shoot again that day and retire undefeated, so to speak. That made him laugh.

Everyone wanted to try a shot, my son came very close to my shot, my youngest boy hit a little high but in the black, My son's friend hit just below my shot and then my daughter's shot misfired. After talking it over with the RSO, he decided that we could fire the sixth chamber, so my daughter got to take her shot. She was a bit to the right. We headed back to the table where our more modern weapons were and took turns firing various guns. (The targets were looking very sad by this point.) Meanwhile, I had cleared the blockage on the nipple on the revolver and talked to the RSO about shooting the gun clear. He decided it would be a good idea to retry it, so we went down range, I capped the cylinder and the gun fired perfectly.

I went back and started reloading the revolver. The RSO told the kids, "Hey, I think your dad is reloading the howitzer," which made me laugh. The RSO was fascinated. He was a black powder shooter, but of the modern rifles, not the old revolvers. He had never seen the process of loading one of these. To do it, you pour a measure of powder into a chamber (I was using 25 grains, a little lower than the maximum of 30 grains) Push in a wad, place a .454 caliber soft lead ball over the opening and rotate the cylinder to the bottom center. Then you seat the ball into the chamber by using the lever under the barrel to ram it home. If you do it right, you get a little ring of lead shaved off the ball. After all are loaded, you then apply a bit of "Bore Butter" to each cylinder (I found that a Q-Tip works best). This offensively bright yellow substance will a) condition the barrel and decrease fouling and b) prevent a "chain fire", which is a very unpleasant event.  

Note: Normally, a six shot revolver, especially of this type, should never, ever be loaded with six shots if you are carrying it. The hammer has no safety and lowering the hammer onto a live percussion cap is an operation that can go wrong all too easily. In this case, I loaded all six because I was not going to carry it anywhere, I capped it only at the firing line and the fact that the 1858 New Model Army actually has a safety feature. The hammer can be lowered into a neutral notch between the cylinders so there is much less danger of an unintentional discharge. (This also locks the cylinder in place.)

So it was a fun time for everyone - except the targets. They were mostly gone by the time we finished for the day.

Update On Bad Publicity

I posted the other day on a world-class bit of legal stupidity where a company threatened a blogger with a lawsuit. Bill Hobbs has been keeping very close tabs on this story since it is local for him. He reports that not only did this backfire for JL Kirk Associates but that it has backfired in a spectacular manner. They have rocketed to the top of the search engine standings. But they will not be at all pleased with being number one with a bullet, so to speak.

WKRN's Brittney Gilbert reports on the saga of JL Kirk Associates, a critical blogger, and a lawsuit threat that backfired big time. Also, "S-Town Mike" at Enclave has more on JL Kirk Associates' new-found online fame.

And it's not good fame: the story, and the controversy over JL Kirk Associates threatening to sue Coble for writing critically of the company on her blog has surfaced other bloggers with similar experiences and first-hand criticisms of the company. Even worse, people who before this week had never heard of JL Kirk Associates now only have a bad impression of the company. People like Billy Hollis at QandO, who wrote:

I don't know squat about JL Kirk, or about their law firm King & Ballow. But I can say with some confidence that neither of them has a clue just how information is spread in the world today.

For many firms in the service industry, their reputation is the single most important asset they have. And how do most modern people assess reputation? By Internet searching, primarily Google. You can literally destroy your own company overnight by doing something really stupid, if the results of that stupidity will be one of the first things that show up on Google when a search of your company name is done. It looks like JL Kirk has just done this.

That pretty well wraps it right up, too. The folks who pushed this idea, whether it was management or the law firm, have no clue what they have done to themselves at this point. My best guess is that JL Kirk Associates will end up closing that office as a result of this flap in the near future. Because they are dead, reputation-wise. Anyone searching Google will read all the negatives first - think anyone will risk using them after reading that? Boy, this one is a textbook example for businesses of how to ruin yourself in the age of the internet.

Corzine Undergoes Still More Surgery

New Jersey governor Jon S. Corzine has undergone another operation on his injured leg. What is disturbing about this report is the release of new details about his condition that I had not seen before. He is under heavy sedation and is on a ventilator. Not being a medical professional, I'm not exactly sure what that means, but it sounds as if there is quite a lot wrong with the man. (If anyone knows if this is standard procedure with the type of injuries that are being reported, let me know in the comments section). Hopefully the man is going to make a full recovery. Doctors are predicting a lot of therapy and rehabilitation will be required.

CAMDEN, N.J., April 14 — New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine (D) underwent surgery on his injured leg Saturday, while state police said the driver blamed for the wreck that critically injured the governor had been found but did not realize he was involved.

Corzine's recovery was progressing better than doctors expected, said Steven Ross, the head of trauma at Cooper University Hospital. In the surgery, doctors cleaned a six-inch wound on Corzine's left thigh.

The governor is not able to speak and is not aware of his surroundings because of his heavy sedation. He is expected to remain on a ventilator until at least Monday, doctors said.

There is one item newly added to the list of injuries that also was not in earlier reports:

The governor's femur was broken in two places. He underwent two hours of surgery on his leg after being hospitalized. He also suffered a broken sternum, 12 broken ribs, a head laceration and a minor fracture on a lower vertebra, according to doctors at Cooper University Hospital, where he was flown by helicopter after the crash. Corzine, 60, did not appear to suffer brain damage.

The reports are also now confirming that Corzine was not wearing a seatbelt. So when he does resume his duties, he'll have some explaining to do to the voters. Especially those who ever received a ticket for failing to wear a seatbelt. There is also going to be some 'splaining to be done as to why a state police officer was driving the SUV but failed to require Corzine to wear his belt. Rank may have it's privileges, but those do not include ignoring laws others are required to obey.