Grumpy Editor

U.S. PLANES FLY NEAR NORTH KOREA, SORT OF LIKE THE EARLY 1950s

Reminiscent of the Korean War days in the early 1950s, U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force spy planes fly near North Korea several times in recent days, as Pyongyang condemned Washington's North Korea policy and the latest satellite imagery showed activity at Nampo shipyard, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

It was during the Korean War that the newly-independent U.S. Air Force became involved.

But in those days U.S. aircraft could chase the “bad guys” only to the Yalu River, thus allowing enemy planes to escape into China.

At that time it was common for F-86 Sabre jets to tangle with Soviet MIG-15 fighters.

World War II-era prop-driven P-51D Mustangs were pressed into ground-air support role and large formations of B-29 Superfortresses were used on strategic bombardment missions.

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

BROADWAY GOES 100 PERCENT SEPT. 14.  New York City’s Broadway, closed since March, 2020, because of the coronavirus pandemic, is set to resume shows at 100 percent capacity on Sept. 14. 

FORBES IN ACQUISITION TALKS.  Forbes Media enters talks to be acquired by a group led by GSV Asset Management, in a deal that values the business-news publisher at more than $600 million, reports Bloomberg News.

PRESERVING COAST GUARD CUTTER SOUGHT.  A U.S. Coast Guard cutter with an historic tie to 9/11 may be headed to Indonesia, but a former crew member is campaigning to preserve it as a memorial to the terrorist attacks in New York City.

ARMY TO OFFER BONUSES IN SOME POSITIONS.  The U.S. Army, in an attempt to bolster recruiting as the pandemic stretches into a second year, will offer extra bonuses starting next week to individuals who commit to serve in 11 high-demand positions.

GEORGIA WOMAN HEARS LOTS OF BUZZING.  A Decatur, Georgia woman was shocked to find a swarm of at least 100,000 bees living in her house.  It marks the fourth time she has had to remove bees from her home.

PET PYTHON ESCAPES FROM CAGE.  A  28-pound, 11-foot-long pet python escaped from a cage in a Yokohama, Japan, man’s home, prompting a search and sending shudders through the local community.

ORBITING BOTTLE OF WINE SET FOR AUCTION. Up for auction is a bottle of Pétrus 2000, made from merlot grapes in France’s Bordeaux region, that spent 14 months orbiting Earth as part of a privately-funded research study on food and agriculture.

 

U.S. BIRTH RATES SLUMP.  Showing a continuing U.S. fertility slump, birth rates last year were the lowest since the government began compiling them in the 1930s.

 

BULL FIGHTING RESUMES IN MADRID.  Thousands show up in Madrid as bullfighting returns after more than a year absence stemming from the pandemic. 

Obama team alters ‘counter-terrorism operation’ to war

There was some reluctance by some in Washington late last week to use the word “war,” even after President Barack Obama in a prime-time TV address to the nation said he is authorizing the expansion of a bombing campaign in Iraq and start of air strikes in Syria to “degrade and ultimately destroy” Islamist militants, notes Grumpy Editor.

Originally, the White House and Secretary of State John Kerry termed the action a "counter-terrorism operation." 

Then, perhaps, someone looked up the “war” definition in a dictionary:  a conflict carried on by force of arms, as between nations or between parties within a nation; warfare, as by land, sea, or air.

Later, spokespersons at both the State Department and Pentagon mentioned “we are at war" with ISIL (the Islamic State term favored by the Obama administration but also known as ISIS). 

In his speech, the president raised eyebrows by declaring “ISIL is not Islamic.”  

CNN, for example, noted, the four-letter term “could still come back to haunt him,” adding, “critics on Twitter quickly fired off on the president for making the assertion, with many noting that ISIL in fact stands for the ‘Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.’ (CNN refers to the group by the acronym ISIS in its news reports. The group recently started calling itself the Islamic State).” 

While TV viewers felt the president was facing only a camera crew, Bloomberg reporter Angela Greiling Keane revealed about two dozen people were in the White House foyer. 

That included a media pool about 20 feet from the president along with one news photographer and two official White House photographers (with cameras silent), White House staffers handling video, audio and lighting plus Secret Service agents and press secretary Josh Earnest.

Keane mentioned the five on-scene reporters were told to leave electronics and personal effects behind, not make any noise and “don’t let your pens hit the marble floor in the cavernous hall where the slightest noise was sure to echo.”

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

Just in time:  After the president’s prime-time speech Wednesday, former White House press secretary Jay Carney, debuted as a CNN political commentator…Good PR move: Not sleepy like some other major financial institutions, U.S. Bank, alert to boosting future business, within hours of Thursday's Nevada legislature-approval of a Tesla Motors $5 billion gigafactory employing 6,500 workers to produce batteries for its electric cars, mounted a large exterior “TESLA Welcome to Nevada” banner on a building in Reno near Tesla’s plant location....Network radio news over the weekend again failed to pinpoint location of a growing wildfire in Southern California, reporting that it was “near Cleveland National Forest.”  That’s close, but no cigar.  Cleveland National Forest spans 720 square miles in three counties.  More precise:  near Silverado, 15 miles east of Santa Ana.  The community, now with some new homes, was founded in 1878...Heavy drinkers:  Britain’s The Guardian reported “journalists are coffee addicts, drinking more cups a day than any other group of professionals,” based on a survey of 10,000 people…Sluggish action:  Eighteen days after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake shook Napa, Calif., President Obama on Thursday declared the area a major disaster site, unlocking federal funds for recovery efforts.  The Aug. 24 quake resulted in one fatality, about 280 injuries, devastated more than 100 wineries and damaged at least 1,000 buildings…PR gimmick to grab attention?   A hedge fund investor, in a 300-page report on what’s wrong with the Olive Garden chain, suggested the Italian-flavored restaurants were being reckless in providing unlimited breadsticks…Cutbacks loom, then hiring.  In another restructuring move among its coast-to-coast newspapers, Gannett Co. was focusing on the 241-person newsroom at The Arizona Republic, Phoenix. New job titles will be posted and existing staffers --- just like new applicants --- will apply for the positions.  Early indications pointed to a staff reduction of about a dozen.

Heard Friday on Real Time with Bill Maher: former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), looking ahead to the November elections, warned, “Civilization as we know it today would be in jeopardy if the Republicans win the Senate.”