Grumpy Editor

MAILED MYSTERY SEEDS FROM CHINA CONCERN U.S. OFFICIALS

 

Unordered seeds via mail, that appear coming from China, has thousands of people around the country guessing what is behind the mystery deliveries, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

U.S. state and federal officials are asking recipients not to handle or plant the seeds and to turn them over to local or federal agricultural agencies for analysis and investigation, adding planting the seeds could see the introduction of invasive species causing destruction of native crops, introduction of diseases to native plants and could be dangerous to livestock.

 

A seed expert in Iowa is concerned the seeds may have been coated with something, possibly insecticide or fungicide, that could damage crops.

 

Multiple U.S. agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, are investigating the seeds, many arriving in packages labeled jewelry.

 

So far, the Department of Agriculture identifies 14 different kinds of seeds in the mysterious packages.

 

All 50 states issue warnings about the packages.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

Mountain rescue team carries Daisy, a Saint Bernard, down mountain in England. 

121-POUND SAINT BERNARD RESCUED.  Sixteen volunteers from a mountain rescue team carried Daisy, a 121-pound Saint Bernard, from England's highest mountain, Scafell Pike. The rescue team spends nearly five hours rescuing Daisy.  The dog collapsed while descending the mountain with her owners.  Daisy’s problem was with pain in her rear legs, causing her not to move.

RANSOMWARE THREAT.  Federal authorities say one of the gravest threats to the November election is a ransomware attack that could paralyze voting operations and kill confidence in tabulations, reports Associated Press.

CORONAVIRUS VACCINE ACTIVITY.  Work on a coronavirus vaccine is moving at an unprecedented pace: There are nearly 200 candidates in development, with 27 of them being tested in humans.  A handful already are in an advanced phase of clinical trials.

AIR CARGO FINDS CABIN SPACE.  Passenger airlines are making up some lost revenue by strapping cargo into passenger seats and placing in overhead bins in cabins that would otherwise be empty.

 

DR. FAUCI'S BASEBALL CARD BRINGS ACTION.  Dr. Anthony Fauci's limited edition baseball card, showing him throwing a wild pitch at the Major League Baseball game between the Washington Nationals and the New York Yankees, set an all-time high print run record with 51,512 cards selling for $9.99 each.

 

BLUE LOBSTER SAVED.  A rare blue lobster is saved from the dinner table by Red Lobster employees after it is delivered to their restaurant.  Employees at a Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Red Lobster restaurant spot the rare crustacean and decide to contact conservationists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California to inform them of their discovery. The blue lobster winds up in a special tank at the Akron Zoo.

 

ACTORS HANKS AND WILSON BECOME GREEK CITIZENS.  Actors Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have become Greek citizens.  The couple and their children last year became honorary Greek citizens after officials highlighted Hanks' role in helping raise awareness about the 2018 fires that hit areas near Athens claiming lives of more than 100 people. Wilson, who is part Greek and Hanks,  a Greek Orthodox convert, often spend vacations in Greece where they own property on Antiparos island.

 NAVY GREETS FIRST BLACK FEMALE TACTICAL PILOT.  Lt. j.g. Madeline G. Swegle becomes the U.S. Navy’s first Black female tactical aircraft pilot, receiving her  "Wings of Gold" during a ceremony at Naval Air Station Kingsville in Texas.  The recognition marks an aviator's official completion of basic helicopter training in naval flight school.

 

OPRAH'S MAGAZINE ENDING PRINT EDITION.  O, The Oprah Magazine, launched in 2000 by Oprah Winfrey with Hearst, is ending its monthly print edition with the December 2020 issue.

Almost forgotten: Korean War remains open-ended

So North Korea is acting up again?

Well, what else is new? asks Grumpy Editor.

Few in media seem to be aware that the Korean War, which started 67 years ago, remains open-ended.

Also labeled the “forgotten war,” the Korean War erupted when 135,000 communist North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel into South Korea in pre-dawn hours of June 25, 1950. 

Battles ended with a cease fire on July 27, 1953. 

North and South Korea technically remain at war with no peace treaty. 

For the U.S., it resulted in 36,940 military deaths, 103,000 wounded, 8,142 missing in action and 3,746 prisoners of war. 

North Korea now likes to shake up the U.S., South Korea and Japan, among others, by conducting a series of nuclear and missile tests.

Over the weekend North Korea showed off its military arsenal during a Saturday parade that was widely covered. Then later, the latest --- and much touted --- North Korean missile blew up almost immediately after its test launch.

Meanwhile, with rising tensions on the Korean peninsula, less covered is a U.S. aircraft that arrived on Okinawa.  The WC-135, also known as the "nuclear sniffer," specializes in detecting radioactive debris after a nuclear device detonation.

President Donald Trump last week tweeted, “North Korea is looking for trouble. If China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem without them! U.S.A.”

As far as “help” is concerned, what seems to be forgotten is that China indeed helped during the Korean War --- by providing support in both material and especially in soldiers (battling U.S. troops on the ground) to aid North Korea.

What many seem to overlook is that nuclear disarmament talks have been going on for years.  The routine has been for North Korea to talk, followed by pauses, then more talks, followed by no final action.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

With all the highly negative publicity triggered by United Airlines actions over the past week that sparked outrage following the dragging of a ticketed and seated doctor passenger off a plane to make room for a United employee, and issuance of a string of apologies from United CEO Oscar Munoz, major media missed these:

Munoz last year won PRWeek's Communicator of the Year award and Fortune magazine's Business Person of the Year list (No. 20).

Talking Biz News reports Marijuana Business Daily now is an Associated Press member, giving the cannabis-focused publication access to marijuana-related stories from around the world…Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, which nudged past GM in market value last week, reveals the electric car company will unveil its first semi truck in September, followed by a pickup truck in about two years…Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway says it has withdrawn its application to the Federal Reserve to boost its ownership of Wells Fargo beyond 10 percent. Berkshire is the largest shareholder in the San Francisco-based bank that has been smacked by a scandal involving creation of unauthorized customer accounts…In a compilation obviously before an anticipated high snow melt in coming weeks, American Rivers, a national conservation organization, labels the lower Colorado River as the most endangered river in the nation. The river supplies water to Southern Nevada, Arizona, California --- and seldom-mentioned Mexico.

 

Another Mexican reporter killed.

A police beat reporter for Colectivo Pericu is shot and killed in La Paz on the Baja California peninsula.

It marks the sixth attack in one-and-a-half months against journalists in Mexico and the fourth that resulted in death.

As China rebounds from lows, Wall Street smiles again

 

With most U.S. stocks rebounding and the Dow Jones Industrial Average opening today again near the 18000 level, Grumpy Editor noted that a key factor behind the action is that the bull market has made a comeback in China.  It was only a few weeks ago when just mention of China’s slow growth shook up Wall Street, sending the U.S. stock market south followed by much volatility during the late summer days.

But wait --- hold the phone!  In the first four hours of trading today, U.S. stocks dropped 213 points after a report on weak Chinese trade data and another report warning of a global slowdown.

Trading last week pushed the Dow back into plus territory for 2015, with the blue chip index adding 46.90 points to 17910.33 on Friday.

On Aug. 21, for example, the Dow industrials dropped 530.94 points to 16459.75.  Investors saw a plunge of more than 1,000 points in a week.

But now, after a volatile summer, the Shanghai Composite Index has jumped more than 20 percent since the Aug. 26 summer selloff bottom.

However, some U.S. investors continued to be uneasy.

Concerned that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month, shaky investors over the past few days sold income-yielding stocks such as real estate investment trusts (REITs) --- all because of a possible tiny increase of 0.25 percent in the current Fed funds rate that is effectively zero, an all-time low, compared to a hefty 20 percent in 1979-1980.

 

IN CASE YOU MISSED THESE…

         First, a trio of climate change/global warming items ---

PRESIDENT CONTINUES TO FOCUS ON CLIMATE CHANGE.  Climate change was a factor when President Barack Obama on Friday nixed the XL Pipeline saying:  “America is now a global leader when it comes to taking serious action to fight climate change.  And frankly, approving this project would have undercut that global leadership."  The project, connecting Alberta’s oil to Gulf Coast refineries, would create thousands of U.S. jobs and boost energy security.

ANTARCTICA ICE INCREASES.  After more than a decade of research indicating that Antarctica is losing ice, contributing to rising global sea levels, NASA scientists now concluded the continent --- about the size of the U.S. and Mexico combined --- is gaining more ice than it has lost.  That finding inspired London’s Daily Express on Friday to proclaim in a headline:  MELTDOWN MYTH: Antarctic ice growing is just the first EVIDENCE global warming is NOT REAL.

CBS SPOTLIGHTS CLIMATE CHANGE.  Taking the opposite view of London’s Daily Express, CBS News came up with a Thursday report declaring government scientists said “14 of last year's extreme weather events were made worse by climate change caused by pollution,” citing examples that include the 2014 California wildfires, and "cyclones in Hawaii.” (Cyclones, by the way, are labeled hurricanes in the U.S.)  The report also mentioned “California continues to feel the effects of climate change.”

MISSED RUSSIA-CHINA WARNINGS OVER PAST DECADE?  On Saturday --- despite years of anxiety in Washington --- Defense Secretary Ash Carter accused Russia of endangering world order and expressed concern about China's expanding influence and growing military might.

WHY TV SHOWS ARE GETTING SHORTER.  Cable networks collectively averaged a time-grabbing 15 minutes, 49 seconds of commercials per hour last year.

OOPS!  CHECK THOSE ITALIAN PRODUCTS.  Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker got her countries mixed up in a Jeb Bush piece with a line mentioning “he tossed a slice of Prosciutto to the fragment of the GOP base that still hates all things French.”  (Strictly Italian, thinly-sliced dry-cured ham served uncooked is called prosciutto --- without a capital P.)

CALIFORNIANS NOW TOLD TO SKIP CRABS.  The California Department of Public Health advised consumers to skip eating Dungeness and rock crabs because of high levels of a toxin (domoic acid).  This set off heavy grumbling in the Golden State’s seafood restaurants and markets.

READY TO FLY IN AN AIRCRAFT --- MADE IN CHINA?  China’s first large passenger jet, designed to rival Boeing and Airbus Group, rolled off an assembly line last week.  However, with tests and certification, the twin-engine model was expected to take three years before deliveries to carriers.

 

VINTAGE STUDY APPEARS.  Somehow an aged (28 years old) study making the rounds in media last week noted consuming 1.4 ounces daily of xylitol, a sugar substitute, will trigger diarrhea for many.

China cyberattacks issue 'resolved,' enforcement fuzzy

 

Grumpy Editor noted here last Monday that President Barack Obama planned to talk tough to China’s president in their Washington meeting regarding Chinese hackers stealing U.S. government and corporate data.

Obama, in accusing China of engaging in cybertheft activities, declared at a news conference:  “It has to stop.” 

With the Washington visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the hacking problem was “solved” on Friday when the White House trumpeted it secured a tentative commitment from the Chinese government to address the growing issue.

That set the White House press corps into action.

However, as The Wall Street Journal pointed out, “It was unclear how the agreement will be enforced or whether it will prompt change in a behavior that Chinese leaders have long denied.”

Then the Chinese president headed for New York to cap his week-long U.S. visit.

 

In case you missed these from your favorite media outlets…

“Don't cry for Boehner; his money-making options are manifold,” mentioned Fortune after House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) on Friday announced he would relinquish his gavel and resign from Congress at the end of next month.  Fortune cited Boehner “can tap the roughly $3.8 million he's stashed in his reelection funds to distribute to favored charities or Republican candidates. And federal law allows him to use the more than $1.1 million in his leadership political action committee …for mortgage payments, a boat purchase, or whatever”…Hillary Clinton, Democrat presidential candidate, declared she opposed the Keystone XL oil pipeline, terming it “a distraction from the important work we have to do to combat climate change”…Meanwhile. Donald Trump, Republican presidential candidate, said he doesn’t believe in climate change and steps being considered to fight it would “imperil the companies in our country.” Media are fixated too much on the issue, he added…Climate control by the government is becoming a hot topic, especially in California where GeoEngineering Watch lead researcher Dane Wigington said, “Climate engineering is the single greatest assault on the environment ever launched by humanity, without question”…Among the most overrated jobs of 2015:  broadcaster and public relations manager, according to CareerCast, Carlsbad, Calif...Triggered by worries about the global economy, the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index fell to 87.2 this month from 91.9 in August. The third straight monthly drop left the index with its weakest reading since October, 2014.

 

A 10,000-square-foot Ferrari dealership at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip will close by year end.  It attracted folks interested in new and used Ferrari and Maserati vehicles with six-figure price tags --- and those willing to pay a $10 entry fee just to tour the showroom.

Shhh! China overtakes U.S. as world’s No. 1 economy

 

In what amounts to the top economic story of the year (or decade, or century), U.S. print and broadcast media were silent as the U.S. slipped to No. 2 spot in world economy while China edged ahead as the global leader, notes Grumpy Editor.  

Under the headline, It’s official: America is now No. 2, MarketWatch columnist Brett Arends on Thursday pointed out:  “It just happened --- and almost nobody noticed.”

He’s right.  Most editors, focusing on other attention-getting stories in recent days, overlooked the economic development that puts the U.S. in second place for the first time since 1872.  That’s when the U.S. overtook Great Britain. 

International Monetary Fund figures showed the Chinese economy this year is worth $17.6 trillion, compared to the U.S.’s $17.4 trillion, wrote Arends.  “As recently as 2000, the U.S. produced nearly three times as much as the Chinese,” he added. 

Boosted by rapid industrialization, including manufacturing a wide range of products for U.S. businesses, China’s wealth accelerated in recent years and is expected to extend its lead with the IMF estimating China’s economy will rise to about $26.98 trillion by 2019, 20 percent above the U.S. level. 

Arends, in his MarketWatch piece, noted “China now accounts for 16.5 percent of the global economy when measured in real purchasing-power terms, compared with 16.3 percent for the U.S.”  He added, “This latest economic earthquake follows the development last year when China surpassed the U.S. for the first time in terms of global trade.”

Actually, a red flag was hoisted on this development by Bloomberg News a little over seven months ago with:  “China is poised to overtake the U.S. as the world’s biggest economy earlier than expected, possibly as soon as this year, using calculations that take purchasing power into account.”

First with the news, however, was London’s Daily Mail.  It reported the same information and statistics on Oct. 6 under the headline:  “America usurped:  China becomes world’s largest economy --- putting USA in second place for the first time in 142 years.”

 

FYI, IN CASE YOU MISSED THESE…

Hotter or colder?  As representatives from 190 nations attending a United Nations climate conference in Lima, Peru, heard that this year is on track to be the hottest on record, the Washington Post cited, “In 46 years of records, more snow covered the Northern Hemisphere this fall than any other time”…Gannett Co.-owned USA Weekend, distributed to more than 800 newspapers in the U.S., will close with the Dec. 28 issue, resulting in layoffs of about 30 staffers…Question of the week:  Will Harry Reid (D-Nev.), as majority leader, clear the way for the Senate to vote on a House-passed bill extending tax breaks --- including deductions for state and local sales taxes that would benefit taxpayers in the state he represents…President Barack Obama proposed a three-year, $263 million spending package that includes 50,000 body-worn cameras and expanded training for law enforcement…Fast work:  Sixty nine years after the end of World War II, both parties in Congress agreed that Nazis should not receive U.S. government retirement benefits.  The No Social Security for Nazis Act sailed through the House and Senate last week…Anchor Candy Crowley will be departing CNN after 27 years with the cable network…The three words, “I can’t breathe,” the rallying cry for nationwide protesters during the past week, were edited out of a Walmart commercial promoting a family mobile phone plan.  It involved a female’s tight hug around the neck of a man who said he can’t breathe…A CBS Radio News top-of-the hour item on Thursday mentioned cars caught in a flood from a rainstorm “in Southern California,” comparing the large territory to something like a city.  Actually, Southern California is about the size of Wyoming.  The site where seven vehicles were stuck:  near Gilman Hot Springs in Riverside County…Restart the presses: A tractor-trailer carrying 19,000 advanced sections of Sunday’s New York Times overturned Thursday morning on a highway ramp outside Philadelphia.  The destroyed papers were replaced in time for home deliveries.

SOGGY PAPERS AHEAD?  While backing a landmark environmental law that bans plastic bags use by grocery stores by July 1, the Los Angeles Times doesn’t indicate what it will use to protect driveway delivery of its newspapers when there is inclement weather.

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Downsizing military follows past pre-war unpreparedness

No sooner did the Pentagon announce plans to downsize the military when China proclaimed it would boost its military budget to almost $132 billion this year, 12.2 percent higher than in 2013, notes Grumpy Editor. 

The communist nation’s military spending ranks second largest in the world, behind No. 1 spot long held by the United States --- which seeks drastic cuts of billions of dollars that would take U.S.  forces to its lowest level since before World War II.

Frowning on the proposed slashing of U.S. military spending, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, last week predicted it would become increasingly difficult to balance the competing demands of protecting allies abroad, securing Americans at home and deterring future wars.

“Most of our platforms and equipment will be older and our advantages in some domains will have eroded,” Dempsey pointed out. “Our loss of depth across the force could reduce our ability to intimidate opponents from escalating conflicts.”

Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, warned proposed U.S. military cuts mean “we won’t be ready for the next war.”  He recounted that after World War II “we took the largest, strongest Army and Navy and we totally destroyed it. We don’t think we’re setting ourselves up for the same thing?”

At the same time, in referring to the defense cuts, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel explained to Pentagon reporters, “We are no longer sizing the military to conduct long and large stability operations.”

Also referring to the downsized military plan, Mike Huckabee said on his weekend Fox TV show:  “We’ve been the shakiest gun in the West.”

ARMY READIES ARTILLERY POSTS FOR WOMEN

Also looking to the future, along with easing restrictions on women in combat, a directive issued by Army Secretary John McHugh called for opening 1,900 field artillery positions in the active-duty Army and 1,700 in the National Guard and Reserve.

In following up, an Army spokesman said, "With this action, the Army continues its unwavering commitment to sustain our legacy as a world-class force by providing opportunity for all soldiers to succeed through viable career paths, and by cultivating a progressively ready force with unmatched war fighting capability."

 

In case you missed these…

WORKING THE PHONES --- AND TEE TIME.  Broadcast news over the weekend reported President Barack Obama was “busy working the phones” over the Ukraine situation.  But not mentioned was tee time at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Fla. where the president hit the links at the championship golf course with the temperature in the low 80s under clear skies.

 

BUY MORE BEFORE EYEING THE PRODUCT.  Even before a new subscriber gets the first delivered copy, circulation-conscious workers at Forbes magazine send out a pitch to “extend my subscription for 12 more issues.”

 

FEDERAL ‘SNOW DAY’ GOOD TIME TO JOG.  As Washington, D.C. area federal workers stayed home last Monday because of inclement weather, an Associated Press photo showed a sleeveless man in jogging shorts running in the snowbound National Mall.

 

LENSMEN REJOIN CHICAGO DAILY.  Four photographers, eliminated when the Chicago Sun-Times shuttered its photography department last spring, were rehired under terms of a contract settlement between Sun-Times Media and the Chicago Newspaper Guild.

 

IN THE FEDERAL "DUH" DEPARTMENT.  Because of the government shutdown last October, recently-released official numbers show a 7.88 million person drop in national parks visitations along with lost admission money plus an estimated loss of $414 million in spending at gateway communities as visitors stayed away.

 

WHITAKER JOINS SUNDAY NIGHT CBS TEAM.  Veteran CBS newsman Bill Whitaker will be joining “60 Minutes” as a correspondent in the fall.  A Philadelphia native, he started his broadcast journalism career at KQED, San Francisco, joining CBS in 1984 with stretches reporting from Atlanta, Tokyo, South Africa and Los Angeles.

 

ADD DICTIONARY TO OVAL OFFICE DESK?  While praising Aretha Franklin at a White House concert Thursday night, President Barack Obama made a grammatical vocal blunder in remarks to the East Room audience by spelling respect without the first e. 

EPA power-curtailing plan means soupy ice cream; Surprise! Survey finds most fireworks made in China

Will soupy ice cream and soggy, unfrozen peas in your freezer be common in the future as your local utility cuts power on high demand days, wonders Grumpy Editor. 

CNSNews.com --- in material that didn’t get much coverage in major print/broadcast outlets --- reports, “The Environmental Protection Agency has revised its Energy Star energy-efficiency requirements for residential refrigerators, and it is encouraging the inclusion of 'connected' features that respond to utility signals to curb their energy consumption.” 

That means the “connection” allows a power company to regulate appliances' electricity usage, including curtailing operations during peak demand periods, such as on hot summer afternoons.

CNSNews.com, from an EPA release, points out updated requirements encourage manufacturers of Energy Star appliances to include optional "connected" features.

Revised Energy Star refrigerator-freezer specifications are slated to go into effect on Sept. 15, 2014.

 

China provides spark for fireworks in U.S.

Since few people, especially around Fourth of July celebrations, observe the “manufactured in” fine print on fireworks packages, it comes as no surprise that a new study, via the American Pyrotechnics Association (APA), finds 93 percent of all fireworks set off in the U.S. are produced in China.

In reporting this on Friday, the Washington Times notes the U.S. made only 6.7 million of the total 207.5 million pounds of fireworks purchased domestically last year.

Bethesda, Md.-based APA, as the nation’s oldest and most recognized fireworks trade group, promotes safety in design and use of legal fireworks.

 

In case you missed these…

Hoffman Media is sticking by celebrity chef Paula Deen.  While others have pulled out backing her, the Birmingham, Ala.-based publisher has no plans to stop printing Cooking with Paula Deen, one of eight Hoffman magazines targeted at the women’s market…Chicago-based Tribune Co. agreed to buy 19 television stations from Local TV Holdings in a $2.73 billion deal that boosts Tribune’s television stations to 42…For the first time in four years, local TV news salaries are down, reports the latest Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA)/Hofstra University survey.  See the full statistics, including radio, here.  

The Star-Ledger, Newark, puts its 47-year-old headquarters building on the market a week after the paper, largest in New Jersey, threatened to close if union concessions are not met…Al Jazeera America signs former CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien and will feature her as a special correspondent for its prime time news magazine, America Tonight...So you think ad agencies have it easy?  Ad Age’s Nancy Hill points out several global advertisers who spend billions of dollars in advertising are proposing extended payment terms --- 75, 90 and up to 120 days --- for work from ad agencies.  At the 120-days level, that means output finalized today is paid by Thanksgiving.  Standard payment terms are usually 30 to 45 days. 

Road to master’s degree cut:  University of Southern California’s Annenberg's School for Communication and Journalism will begin offering a master’s degree in journalism in nine months rather than two years.

Romney’s China-made Jeep mention looms accurate

Just before the November election, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was criticized for declaring Chrysler would be building Jeeps in China, recalls Grumpy Editor. 

Democrats grabbed space and air time citing Romney and his campaign ads on the Jeep action in China was misleading. 

Grumpy Editor last Nov. 6 pointed out the report stemmed from an Oct. 22 Bloomberg News story that mentioned Fiat (majority owner of Chrysler Group LLC) “plans to return Jeep output to China.” 

Auto writers last Wednesday reported Chrysler is in talks to build some of its Jeep vehicles in China where the auto company already sells several of the brand’s models.

 

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Nocturnal sideline raises editors' eyebrows

Not getting much national coverage: a newspaper reporter with an unusual sideline job (for a newsroom staffer). 

After being outed for her after-hours job as a stripper, reporter Sarah Tressler, who was fired by the Houston Chronicle where she was a society reporter, now works for the San Antonio Express-News. 

But her beat now is quite different. 

She covers crime. 

Her Express-News byliner on Friday dealt with the shooting of a convenience store owner. 

She was let go by the Chronicle for failing to inform supervisors of her nocturnal sideline as an exotic dancer. 

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In case you missed these… 

Wal-Mart Stores, starting Memorial Day, plans to hire 100,000 veterans during the next five years.  Some of the giant retailer’s critics called it a P.R. move.  Sure, it is.  And a fine P.R. gesture it is…On the firing side, the Star-Ledger, New Jersey’s largest newspaper, cut 34 employees, including 18 (or nearly 10 percent) of its newsroom staff.  Meanwhile, Reuters released some of the wire service’s veteran editors and reporters…On the hiring side, Fox News signed liberal former Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D., Ohio) as a paid contributor.  He joins daughter, Jackie Kucinich, in media.  She is a USA Today reporter covering politics…Nissan P.R. people should be happy with large color shots of the Nissan Resonance concept car appearing in separate sections of The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday…Public relations pioneer Daniel J. Edelman, who died Tuesday at 92, was noted for many slogans.  “Which twin has the Toni?” was long remembered.  Edelman also was behind spotlighting Morris the cat in television commercials for 9-Lives cat food.

 

Speaking of pets, Grumpy Editor likes the title of Seattle’s KIRO-FM’s weekend pet show that debuted yesterday:  “It’s Raining Cats and Dogs with Shawn Stewart.”  

Jeeps to China stemmed from print report, not Romney

In recent days leading up to today’s national election, media (extending to MSNBC this afternoon) and Democrats have been emphasizing Mitt Romney campaign’s “misleading” ads mentioning production of Jeeps --- one of the world’s most famous U.S. vehicles dating back to their debut in World War II --- would move to China, notes Grumpy Editor. 

They cite the ads as the Romney campaign’s efforts to undercut President Barack Obama’s support for the auto industry. 

Jeeps --- produced by Chrysler Group LLC, now majority owned by Italian car manufacturer Fiat --- currently are produced at assembly plants in Michigan, Illinois and Ohio. 

What media are overlooking is that the China rumble started with one of their own --- Bloomberg News.

This afternoon with Martin Bashir's segment on MSNBC, discussion centered on the on-screen headline:  Romney's "Jeep" ad may have backfired with Ohio voters.

An Oct. 22 Bloomberg story reports Fiat “plans to return Jeep output to China and may eventually make all of its models in that country, according to the head of both automakers’ operations in the region.”

It adds,”Fiat is in ‘very detailed conversations’ with its Chinese partner, Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., about resuming Jeep production in China.

In pre-Fiat days, some Jeep models were manufactured for distribution in that country.

Three days after the Bloomberg story, Romney, at a Defiance, Ohio, rally on Oct. 25, tells supporters, “I saw a story today that one of the great manufacturers in this state, Jeep, now owned by the Italians, is thinking of moving all production to China.  I will fight for every good job in America, I’m going to fight to make sure trade is fair.” 

Soon after, a Chrysler spokesman declares, “The take has given birth to a number of stories making readers believe that Chrysler plans to shift all Jeep production to China from North America, and therefore idle assembly lines and U.S. workforce.” 

Five days later, Chrysler’s chief executive strongly refutes claims that production of Jeeps would shift to China.

As Leon Panetta tours Chinese sub, reporters see suds

Grumpy Editor notes some reporters were drinking on the job while covering Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in China and it was okay with the Pentagon chief, Chinese military and especially with the brewery --- that got a PR boost. 

Panetta toured two Chinese war vessels yesterday at the Qingdao naval base. 

But the media accompanying the defense secretary were not allowed to follow Panetta on board. 

Instead, and to curb grumbling, the Chinese sent reporters to the nearby Tsingtao Brewery for a tour and a sampling of the output. 

Some found the brewery more fascinating than following Panetta who was checking out the two-year-old Chinese frigate Yantai, 405 feet long and manned by 175 sailors, and the 228-foot-long, 10-year-old “Great Wall 197” submarine, a conventional-powered vessel, with a crew of 55. 

With the brewery tour, reporters learned that the Tsingtao Brewery was founded in 1903 by German settlers and the brand, the top beer in China, debuted in the U.S. in 1972, soon becoming a top seller in the states.

There was no word if the brewery-touring reporters made it back to the naval base on time on a tight schedule that lists New Zealand as the next stop for Panetta.