Very cool. more...

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 07:46 AM | Comments (110)
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The corporation is actually Altria; Marlboro is by far its top brand. As sales of actual cigarettes continue to slide, and e-cigarette sales grow, they're looking to enter the latter market.

Lorillard CEO Murray Kessler told analysts yesterday the company estimates that electronic cigarette sales displaced consumption of about 600 million cigarettes in the first quarter. That translates to an annual rate of about 2.4 billion cigarettes, accounting for about 1 percent of the U.S. market, according to Shea.

Altria hasn't ruled out simply buying out one of the exiting players in the market, like the companies that make the "Blu" e-cig.

The FDA is studying how to regulate the devices. Which I don't actually mind in theory; I don't want to buy a bottle full of poison. But "regulate" often means "use health pretexts to bother you and limit your choices."

Posted by: Ace at 06:48 AM | Comments (192)
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RIP Tom Knapp.

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Posted by: andy at 03:02 AM | Comments (277)
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The original annoyed me. So I digitally remastered it. more...

Posted by: JohnE. at 04:21 PM | Comments (416)
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Knockin' off.

I did this quickie post on Breitbart about which Nerds outrank each other.

You may find it supple and seductive.

No not really. Just thought that would be funny to say.

Posted by: Ace at 03:53 PM | Comments (220)
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They seem to believe that the bombs were detonated line of site, by radio remote control.

I'm not sure why they conclude this next part: Ergo, the Tsarnaev's themselves could not have detonated them, and so there is a third party who manned the RCs.

I do not get that last leap, though, as I thought that last picture of the murderous brothers leaving the bomb site had them pretty close to the bombs. Not so close to be hit, but close enough to be moving with the fleeing crowd (and not even out in front of the fleeing crowd).

But it's worth keeping an eye on. I await the explanation for that Step 2 in the logic that seems to be missing at the moment.

Either way-- the evidence suggests that this bomb design did not come off he internet, but was a design they were taught by an experienced bomb-builder. So that would be a 3rd party about which we have no information (Gozar claimed no one else was involved, and I'm tired of writing his real name).

Meanwhile, Powerline asks if there's a cover-up in the administration messaging on all this. It's a question that immediately struck me -- remember when Gozar was still in the hospital and barely conscious and the administration put out the word he was "cooperative"?

Two things: How cooperative can you be when you're sedated, and further, how do you know if someone is being cooperative (honest) or lying? Given that you have not yet had a chance to check any of his claims out?

For example, one of Gozar's first claims, I believe, was "We acted alone." Word goes out to the media: He's "cooperating."

Um, how do you know he's cooperating before you've conducted a thorough investigation? How do you know that's not just a cover story to protect the rest of the cell?

Is this not the most obvious question ever posed? Don't people in terrorist cells typically lie about other members, yet uncaptured, who may or may not be in the cell?

Let's just say that the Obama Administration has shown a strong preference for tidy narratives that avoid any Al Qaeda complications. They like neat little "Move on, nothing to see here" narratives, narratives which do not include any additional requirements of the Administration and thus nothing more to fail at.

They like easy solutions.

Maybe Gozar and Tamarlan got radicalized by that YouTube video. That sure would be helpful for the Administration! We already took care of that problem!

Conclusion: He must be "cooperating" if he says that. We know it's true. It's helpful, ergo it must be true.

Now, the reason I didn't post this speculation earlier is that it's possible the sources said Ghozar was responsive, or said "cooperative" but meant only "responsive."

Responsive isn't as good as cooperative, but it is better than Absolute Silence. At least you can confront someone with their lies if they're giving you responsive (but false) answers.

But this administration really deserves no trust at all on its statements about terrorism. They've lied too many times, and always with the same motive: To spare themselves criticism or the demands of a public for action.

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Posted by: Ace at 02:27 PM | Comments (258)
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Wow, Obama's team is trying to determine a fact whose existence would politically embarrass him and cause political difficulties for him.

I'm sure they'll get right back to us.

Obama now says he's really really serious that Syria Better Not'Ve used chemical weapons, and also really really serious about finding out if they did or not, even though it seems pretty clear that they did.

Stalling tactics and flop-sweat-- that'll put the fear of God into 'em, by gum!

Can't a man just enjoy his Waffle?

Posted by: Ace at 02:04 PM | Comments (138)
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Dove did an ad, intended to go viral, putting across the message "Hey Ladies, you're more beautiful than you think."

Now, think about this. Dove does not know any of these 30 million women. So Dove could not possibly say if these women are more beautiful than they believe themselves to be.

It's the equivalent of telling ten thousand randomly-drawn strangers: Remember, you're all above average in skating ability.

Wait, how would you know? Is that even possible? Would the laws of statistical distribution ever permit all 10,000 of randomly-selected persons to all be above-average in ice skating?

And yet, thirty million views. Women are starved for this sort of positive messaging, even when, if you think about if for five seconds, 1, it doesn't make any sense that Dove could tell you this about yourself and 2, Dove is obviously a corporation attempting to get attention by peddling an embarrassingly-transparently cloying-ingratiating message to women in hopes they're so starved for a kind word they'll take it anyway.

So it worked. I'm not blaming women for this; it is different for girls, and a single virtue, beauty, is far more central to their sense of self worth than any single virtue is to a man.

I just wish there were some way to escape the situation.* Because seriously? An empty greeting-card sentiment sent out to anonymously to millions of women via the indiscriminate delivery system of the internet by the corporate brand-building department of a soulless NYC advertising firm? **

And yet for 30 million women, and counting, this is Good News.

* I only know what it's not: More soft-headed bubblegum philosophy about Negative Body Image, Serious You Guys from the feminists.

** In addition, it's a set-up: The sketch artist is part of the campaign, and knows the point of the campaign is that the Friend's Description is supposed to be prettier than the Self Description. So, like, he knows when to make someone look better and when to make someone look worse.

More: Virginia Postrel lodges a number of the same objections I do, and then adds a few more.

Posted by: Ace at 01:29 PM | Comments (293)
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Heh, the squealing begins. FAA furlough reprieve: 'No fair!'.
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Posted by: CDR M at 06:12 PM | Comments (932)
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Except... for some reason he had a photographer on hand to snap a picture of him during this sacred, private moment.

Tuesday morning, a peculiar announcement trickled out of the White House press office: President Barack Obama would be holding a moment of silence for the victims of the Boston bombings. At the White House. By himself. No press or other intruders allowed.

That Obama assumed Americans would want an iconic photo of him privately mourning the victims of the bombings was emblematic of a kind of hubris that has enveloped the president and his White House as the president commences his second term.

Follow the link to PJ Media, and then through to the links to Politico (if you want to give them traffic) and there you'll find Keith Koffler (The White House Dossier site) discussing Obama's problem of hubris and excessive self-regard.

Posted by: Ace at 12:39 PM | Comments (344)
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