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The media and John McCain’s staff seems to have come down with a case of foot-in-mouth disease. The gestation period seems to vary from a period of days to a few months.

The folks over at Slate magazine have created a list of the 33 “syrupy words” that NBC commentators constantly overuse during their Olympic coverage:

adversity, battled, cancer, challenges, courage, cry, death, dedication, determination, dream, emotion, glory, golden, hardship, heart, hero, inspiration, inspire, journey, magic, memory, miracle, mom, mother, Olympic-sized, overcome, passion, proud, sacrifice, spirit, tears, tragedy, triumph

If I were creating the list, I would probably include the number of cliché references to China (I’m tired of things being described as “dragon-like” or “the Great Wall of something”.

[From The Olympics Sap-o-Meter. - By Josh Levin, Derek Thompson, and Chris Wilson - Slate Magazine]

Celebrex, the NSAID pain reliever that was vilified in media years ago, is back with a new ad campaign.  It’s been on the air for a while, but I’m finally irritated enough to comment on the ad.

There are three major problems with this ad:

1. The outlines of the drawings are made from disclaimers and warnings.  Nothing says “take this drug” like
2. The overall message of the advert seems to be “don’t blame us.  If you didn’t have such bad joints, you wouldn’t need to take a risky drug in the first place.”
3. The other theme of the advert seems to be “everyone else has side effects, too, so why not take Celebrex?”

I know the major pharmeceuticals are hurting for revenue, but this advert just makes no sense.

APM’s Marketplace aired a story yesterday on the Dutch’s new war against the water. The players are the same: overflowing rivers threatening Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and other below-sea-level cities.

This time, the enemy is shifting climate patterns and increasing water runoff.

The solution: floods.

[From Marketplace: Dutch plan for flooding: Higher ground]

Sometimes, the best way to take a look at yourself comes from outside. This is why I think it is important for everyone to read the foreign press, especially foreign-language press.

Le Monde has a section on their website on the US election. While the French are no experts on the US electoral process (neither are Americans, but that’s another topic of discussion), the articles they provide

In partucular, I would suggest reading the article regarding the Iowa primaries. It gives a fairly concise description of the process, the timeframe for the primaries. For the French, the primaries on 5 February are the end of the story (and to some extent, they’re right).

The interesting bits come from the difference in interpreting what is important. For example, the French seem to suggest that more weight should go to the 22 primary on 5 Feb. but acknowledge that “[t]he parties – and the press – attach extreme importance to Iowa, which is the first poll after a year of campaigning.“

Le Monde does not seem to endorse a particular candidate, but it does spend far more time discussing the position of the democratic candidates than the republican candidates, suggesting that may give an endorsement to whomever wins the party nomination.

The paper also acknowledges that Obama and Edwards have a far more difficult challenge with the election, noting that these candidates must win or at least have a very strong showing in Iowa in order to convince other states of their importance.

[From Le Monde.fr : Les élections américaines]

Or, Sarko’s on the market.

Shortly after a debilitating transit strike in France, a spokesman from palais de l’Élysée announced that M. Sarkozy and his wife, who had not been seen in public with the French President for weeks, have divorced by mutual agreement.

The ploy appears to be working. Most of the French papers are devoting an enormous amount of attention to the issue, although not necessarily giving the lead. If only the US could learn from this…

Oh wait.

[From Frozen by strikes, France is transfixed by Sarkozy's split with wife - International Herald Tribune]

[See also Le Temps - Nicolas et Cécilia Sarkozy ont divorcé]

More blonde boobs than Bloomberg.

[From Business television | Squawk boxes | Economist.com ]

Apparently, Apple is planning to make some sort of announcement today. This is the headline from washingtonpost.com I fail to see how this is news, but all the free PR Apple gets from the large media companies must save them a fortune in advertising costs.

[From Apple Plans Announcement Today - washingtonpost.com]

UPDATE: Big surprise, it’s a new iPod. You can read about it at the Washington Post. Don’t want to read about it at the Post? You can also read about it at the New York Times or BBC. Le Monde probably won’t go to press until tomorrow.