*A Great Summer Movie on Video - House of AngelsIt never fails. One morning you wake up and think where did the days go. Almost a month past the beginning of summer. So much to do and so little time, especially for those who work and have children.For the rest of us things are different, easier. We have time to do whatever we want to do. So far the season has been good. Walks, picnics, gathering of friends. For me, on some days just looking out of the window at the passing scene is a pleasant activity. Guess one has to be somewhat lazy by nature to enjoy it.In a few more weeks there will be the annual trip to the coast. On some days, Pajaro Dunes can be cold and foggy in the midst of summer but that never deters us from us enjoying ourselves.Before that I'll be tour guide for a few days for friends coming to San Francisco from Down Under --- Perth, Australia. We'll be meeting after almost 40 years. There will be a lot to talk about.Colin Nutley's House of Angels (Änglagård,1992, also known as Englegård)British film director Colin Nutley, married to the Swedish actress Helena Bergstrom, has made a number of movies with Bergstrom in the leading role. I felt a little sad when "House of Angels" ended. It is a 'feel good' movie and the story takes place in summer.Helena Bergstrom and Rikard Wolff in House of Angels © IMDBSwedish with English sub-titles. Check it out.

* "Dear America, When Will This Cruel War Be Over?", . "At times I feel like I am a thousand years old---that is what this cruel war has done to me."--The Civil War Diary of Emma Simpson,Gordonsville,Virginia,1864He keeps trying, the warrior president. The president who gave us Niger yellow cake uranium and Saddam Hussein's non-existent WMD, is ramping up the threat from al-Qaeda. His position that if we don't fight them there (in Iraq) we'll have to face them here is not accepted by many experts about terrorism and the middle-east.NY Times July 13, 2007There is no question that the group is one of the most dangerous in Iraq. But Mr. Bush’s critics argue that he has overstated the Qaeda connection in an attempt to exploit the same kinds of post-Sept. 11 emotions that helped him win support for the invasion in the first place.Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia did not exist before the Sept. 11 attacks. The Sunni group thrived as a magnet for recruiting and a force for violence largely because of the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, which brought an American occupying force of more than 100,000 troops to the heart of the Middle East, and led to a Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad.The American military and American intelligence agencies characterize Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia as a ruthless, mostly foreign-led group that is responsible for a disproportionately large share of the suicide car bomb attacks that have stoked sectarian violence. Gen. David H. Petraeus, the senior American commander in Iraq, said in an interview that he considered the group to be “the principal short-term threat to Iraq.”But while American intelligence agencies have pointed to links between leaders of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia and the top leadership of the broader Qaeda group, the militant group is in many respects an Iraqi phenomenon. They believe the membership of the group is overwhelmingly Iraqi. Its financing is derived largely indigenously from kidnappings and other criminal activities. And many of its most ardent foes are close at home, namely the Shiite militias and the Iranians who are deemed to support them.“The president wants to play on Al Qaeda because he thinks Americans understand the threat Al Qaeda poses,” said Bruce Riedel, an expert at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy and a former C.I.A. official. “But I don’t think he demonstrates that fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq precludes Al Qaeda from attacking America here tomorrow. Al Qaeda, both in Iraq and globally, thrives on the American occupation.”The 'Third Constituency'In his press conference on July 12th, President Bush said: "A third constituency that matters to me a lot is military families. These are good folks who are making huge sacrifices, and they support their loved ones. And I don't think they want their commander in chief making decisions based upon popularity." - Washington Post - CQ Transcripts Wire, July 12, 2007There can be no questions about "huge sacrifices" and "support their loved ones". But how do they really feel about the commander in chief? Some military families no doubt back the president. Then there are soldiers and their families who are no longer with him. The Nation has published an article by Chris Hedges and Laila al-Arian based on interviews with 50 Iraq war veterans whose comments about the war are completely different than that of the president. The full report can be read in The Nation. It was reproduced in The Guardian (UK) in three parts.The Other War: Iraq Vets Bear Witness - The NationOver the past several months The Nation interviewed fifty combat veterans of the Iraq War from around the United States in an effort to investigate the effects of the four-year-old occupation on average Iraqi civilians. These combat veterans, some of whom bear deep emotional and physical scars, and many of whom have come to oppose the occupation, gave vivid, on-the-record accounts. They described a brutal side of the war rarely seen on television screens or chronicled in newspaper accounts.Their stories, recorded and typed into thousands of pages of transcripts, reveal disturbing patterns of behavior by American troops in Iraq. Dozens of those interviewed witnessed Iraqi civilians, including children, dying from American firepower. Some participated in such killings; others treated or investigated civilian casualties after the fact. Many also heard such stories, in detail, from members of their unit. The soldiers, sailors and marines emphasized that not all troops took part in indiscriminate killings. Many said that these acts were perpetrated by a minority. But they nevertheless described such acts as common and said they often go unreported--and almost always go unpunished.Terrifying house raids; random checkpoint shootings; speeding convoys that wipe out anyone in their path. Interviews with 50 US war veterans back from Iraq reveal the terrible daily brutality they inflicted on innocent civilians. A unique investigation by Chris Hedges and Laila al-Arian - The GuardianExcerpts"I'll tell you the point where I really turned," said Spc. Michael Harmon, 24, a medic from Brooklyn. He served a thirteen-month tour beginning in April 2003 with the 167th Armor Regiment, Fourth Infantry Division, in Al-Rashidiya, a small town near Baghdad. "I go out to the scene and [there was] this little, you know, pudgy little 2-year-old child with the cute little pudgy legs, and I look and she has a bullet through her leg.... An IED [improvised explosive device] went off, the gun-happy soldiers just started shooting anywhere and the baby got hit. And this baby looked at me, wasn't crying, wasn't anything, it just looked at me like--I know she couldn't speak. It might sound crazy, but she was like asking me why. You know, Why do I have a bullet in my leg?... I was just like, This is--this is it. This is ridiculous." * In June 2003 Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejía's unit was pressed by a furious crowd in Ramadi. Sergeant Mejía, 31, a National Guardsman from Miami, served for six months beginning in April 2003 with the 1-124 Infantry Battalion, Fifty-Third Infantry Brigade. His squad opened fire on an Iraqi youth holding a grenade, riddling his body with bullets. Sergeant Mejía checked his clip afterward and calculated that he had personally fired eleven rounds into the young man."The frustration that resulted from our inability to get back at those who were attacking us led to tactics that seemed designed simply to punish the local population that was supporting them," Sergeant Mejía said.We heard a few reports, in one case corroborated by photo­graphs, that some soldiers had so lost their moral compass that they'd mocked or desecrated Iraqi corpses. One photo, among dozens turned over to The Nation during the investigation, shows an American soldier acting as if he is about to eat the spilled brains of a dead Iraqi man with his brown plastic Army-issue spoon."Take a picture of me and this motherfucker," a soldier who had been in Sergeant Mejía's squad said as he put his arm around the corpse. Sergeant Mejía recalls that the shroud covering the body fell away, revealing that the young man was wearing only his pants. There was a bullet hole in his chest."Damn, they really fucked you up, didn't they?" the soldier laughed.The scene, Sergeant Mejía said, was witnessed by the dead man's brothers and cousins.

* Confederacy of Goons Reports about the muzzling of Dr. Richard Carmona, former surgeon general, shed more light on the zealots in the White House. Dr. Carmona was a Bush nominee and served from 2002 to 2006. Makes one think of a mafia capo telling the underlings "Go, lean on him". Fired up by the devout, born again Christian president, they probably didn't need any urging. Los Angeles Times 7/11/07WASHINGTON — President Bush's first surgeon general testified Tuesday that his speeches were censored to match administration political positions and that he was prevented from giving the public accurate scientific information on issues such as stem cell research and teen pregnancy prevention."Anything that doesn't fit into the political appointees' ideological, theological or political agenda is ignored, marginalized or simply buried," Dr. Richard H. Carmona, who was surgeon general from 2002 to 2006, told a congressional committee. "The job of surgeon general is to be the doctor of the nation — not the doctor of a political party." Early in the administration, when the issue of federal funding for stem cell research arose, Carmona said, he felt he could play an educational role by discussing the latest scientific research. Instead, he said, he was told to "stand down" because the White House already had made a decision to limit stem cell studies. He said administration appointees who reviewed his speech texts deleted references to stem cells. Carmona's remarks were the latest in a series of complaints from government scientists about what they say are administration efforts to control — and sometimes distort — scientific evidence in order to support policy decisions. * Another Republican Hypocrite ExposedIt never fails. Every time they get caught in a sexual scandal Republican politicians immediately turn to god and seek forgiveness. It must be getting tiring for the almighty. God is said to be 'all forgiving' but surely can see through blatant hypocrisy. One gets the impression that the deeply religious politicians might know what sin is but they don't have a clue about the difference between right and wrong.Adam Nossiter in NY Times 7/11/07:NEW ORLEANS, July 10 — From the beginning of his political career 16 years ago, Senator David Vitter has been known for efforts to plant himself on the moral high ground, challenging the ethics of other Louisiana politicians, decrying same-sex marriage and depicting himself as a clean-as-a-whistle champion of family values. “I’m a conservative who opposes radically redefining marriage, the most important social institution in human history,” Mr. Vitter, a 46-year-old Republican, wrote in a letter last year to The Times-Picayune, the New Orleans daily.That self-created image, a political winner here since 1991, when Mr. Vitter joined the Louisiana House, took a tumble Monday with the disclosure that his phone number was among those on a list of client numbers kept by Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the so-called D.C. Madam, who is accused of running a prostitution ring in Washington.If you feel like puking, go ahead. What did this paragon of virtue, champion of moral values, said after he was exposed:"This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible," Vitter said in a statement. "Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife. Out of respect for my family, I will keep my discussion of the matter there -- with God and them. But I certainly offer my deep and sincere apologies to all I have disappointed and let down in any way." (Jake Tapper - ABC News)Read that they were "circling the wagons". Do I hear "Praise the Lord and pass the rubbers"? But to them condoms are sinful. So pass on STDs and promote unwanted pregnancies would be more like it. “Contrariwise,” continued Tweedledee, “if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn’t, it ain’t. That’s logic.”----Lewis Carroll (1832–1898), Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, chapter 4 (1865).

* A Walk at Skyline Ridge - Summer 2007We go back a long way, old Khayyám of Nishapur and I. It was before I knew the taste of wine. But the first time I read Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyám I got hooked. The versions mentioned below relate to Edward FitzGerald's translations of the Rubaiyat. Omar Khayyám. of course, was dead for centuries (died in 1131 according to some accounts) when I read him but that is not important. In some ways he was a kindred spirit. A man of many talents who wrote about wine and women.....and didn't seem to pay any heed to the scriptures. Perhaps that is why I like his writing.Wonder how he got away with it. In today's world of Islamic fundos there would be a fatwa on his head. Perhaps the fact that he was a renowned astronomer and mathematician, in the good graces of the ruler (Vizier), protected him from their wrath. Or maybe there were enlightened mullahs in Persia, if such a thing was possible."Alike for those who for today prepare,And those that after some tomorrow stare,A Muezzin from the tower of darkness cries,'Fools! Your reward is neither here nor there'. "--Second Version, 1868Edward FitzGerald (31 March June 1883), the superb translator of the Rubaiyat, was reported to be a dour man who lived the life of an ascetic. * Here we are in July and the weather continues to be mild. Unusual, but I'm not complaining. Arani Sinha and I went on a great hike (up Stevens Creek Canyon and down) on Sunday. Yesterday, JHL and I drove up Page Mill Road to hike at Skyline Ridge, one of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) preserves. Alpine Pond is barely 200 yards from the parking lot. We followed the Ridge Trail to Horseshoe Lake, about 1.5 miles and found a shady place to sit down for lunch.Alpine Pond Visitor's Center ©Musafir July 9,2007Alpine Pond©Musafir July 9,2007Looking west toward the coast ©Musafir July 9, 2007Horseshoe Lake ©Musafir July 9, 2007Horseshoe Lake, another view ©Musafir July 9,2007JHL on the Ridge Trail ©Musafir July 9, 2007Time for wild flowers is past but we saw some sticky monkeys, patches of clarkias and a place where there were a few penstemmons.Penstemmons alongside Ridge Trail ©Musafir July 9, 2007Patch of Clarkias (Farewell to Spring) ©Musafir July 9, 2007Picnic by the lake ©Musafir July 9, 2007With a glass of wine...for Old Khayyám ©JHL July 9, 2007We had penne and shrimps in a tomato, garlic, basil sauce; rosemary flavored ciabatta from Grace Bakery; large slices of tomato drizzled with olive oil, salt and julienned basil (the juice from the tomato mixes with the oil and makes a great sauce to dip the bread); and fresh figs baked with just a small amount of honey and lavender sprigs -- a little cream can be added at the end for richness (I had it for dessert somewhere in Provence and my efforts come pretty close to the taste I remember). All washed down with a sauvignon blanc, followed by JHL's strong dark roast coffee from Peets. It cannot get any better.We then continued on down to Lambert Creek. It is a one-way trail and we had to exert ourselves to walk back up to the Ridge Trail on the return leg. Hiking poles helped.There are times when old Khayyám reappears, and the picnic by the lake yesterday was one of those."Here with a loaf of bread beneath the boughA flask of wine, a book of verse--and thou Beside me singing in the wildernessAnd wilderness is paradise enow."-- First Version, 1859 Well, the birds did the singing.

* And a Poem by Marvin BellDemands for impeachment -- of Bush and Cheney -- have gained traction in recent days and Cindy Sheehan is doing her bit. CRAWFORD, Tex., July 8 -- Antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan said Sunday that she plans to run against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) unless Pelosi introduces articles of impeachment against President Bush in the next two weeks.Sheehan's deadline, July 23, is the same day she and her supporters are to arrive in Washington after a 13-day caravan and walking tour departing from the group's war protest site near Bush's Crawford ranch.Do I support her? Yes. Do I think that Bush and Cheney will be impeached? No, not as things stand today.However, the fact that more and more Americans are joining the call for impeachment is cause for rejoicing. *The same people responsible for botched up handling of relief work after Katrina are back in the news.The Bush administration has failed to fill roughly a quarter of the top leadership posts at the Department of Homeland Security, creating a "gaping hole" in the nation's preparedness for a terrorist attack or other threat, according to a congressional report to be released today.As of May 1, Homeland Security had 138 vacancies among its top 575 positions, with the greatest voids reported in its policy, legal and intelligence sections, as well as in immigration agencies, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Coast Guard. The vacant slots include presidential, senior executive and other high-level appointments, according to the report by the majority staff of the House Homeland Security Committee.Another issue for Democratic legislators to run with but the outcome is predictable. The president will speak highly of its work and DHS will continue as it has done in the past.The report about DHS reminded me of a poem by Marvin Bell that appeared in The New Yorker, June 4th issue. Knew that I had put it aside; I found it. Worth reading and thinking about.HOMELAND SECURITYTwo owls have perched at the property line,and a scraping on the porch means the postmanis wiping his shoes before continuingacross the yards, three homes worth' worth of cataloguesand ads, and the occasional letter, all cradledin the crook of one elbow. I'll be getting an offerof money, a map to riches, a new futurethat has come out of the blue. Today I fingereach envelope before opening, and I admitI feel for wires and beads of plastic explosiveamid the saliva. The daily rags speakof a dirty bomb. The government tells me livein a wooden house with a hurricane lamp,a gas mask, and flares, while it armsan impervious underground temple from whichit can map the surface, choose a siteanywhere on the globe, and call down the rain."-- Marvin BellPoets.Org Re: Marvin Bell - "He is a long time member of the faculty of the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, where he is the Flannery O'Connor Professor of Letters. In March 2000 he was selected to be Iowa's first Poet Laureate."

© www.mosaicrecords.com/images/ammonslewisbn.jpgSaturday morning. Brought out an album of LP's that I hadn't listened to for a long time. CD's are convenient to pop in and out and these days the LP's often lie neglected. I cannot be the only one who finds himself in that situation. But there are aficionados out there who have high-priced turntables and treasured LP's that are loved, cared for, and listened to with pleasure and respect. I admire them.I'm listening to Mosaic Records' excellent remastered issue of The Complete Blue Note Recordings of Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis. The boxed set (No.1367) was ordered from Mosaic Records, Santa Monica, CA, around 1984, not long after Michael Cuscuna and Charlie Lourie launched the admirable venture.What brought this about? Simple. A friend lent me the video of Scorsese's The Blues - Piano Blues directed by Clint Eastwood. Watched it last night and thought about some of the albums by artists who appeared or were talked about in the documentary.Currently on the turntable: Solitude, Side IV, Track 3. Sweet sound.

* The War In Iraq"I'm a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign-policy matters with war on my mind." (President Bush, Meet the Press, MSNBC News Feb.8,2004)30 year old Army Sergeant David B. Parson died in Iraq on July 6, 2003, the first year of the war. The death toll then was 208. Now, in the 5th year of the president's war 13 American soldiers lost their lives in the first five days of July. The total as of July 5th: 3592 and climbing. Source: iCasualties.orgOur solders are dying -- every day -- in Iraq. Are they dying for their country or are they dying for a president who, according to even some of his staunchest supporters in the past, is not willing or able to face reality. The President, reportedly, does not pay attention to casualties reported in the press. Perhaps he doesn't. And he has avoided attending funeral services for soldiers. But the casualty figures cannot be buried, they cannot be shrugged off.The president goes on selling his war. The smirk is no longer visible but he continues to play the "fear" card. In his July 4th speech the president compared the war in Iraq with the War of Independence!Washington PostMARTINSBURG, W.Va., July 4 -- President Bush warned Wednesday that the Iraq war "will require more patience, more courage and more sacrifice," as he appealed to a war-weary public for time and sought to link today's conflict to the storied battles that gave birth to the nation.In an Independence Day address before members of the National Guard and their families, the president again painted a dire portrait of the consequences of pulling out of Iraq, asserting as he has before that "terrorists and extremists" would try to strike inside the United States. - Washington Post Republican Senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico joined other senators who, in recent days, became critical of the president's war.Washington Post"I have carefully studied the Iraq situation, and believe we cannot continue asking our troops to sacrifice indefinitely while the Iraqi government is not making measurable progress to move its country forward," Domenici said. "I do not support an immediate withdrawal from Iraq or a reduction in funding for our troops. But I do support a new strategy that will move our troops out of combat operations and on the path to coming home.""Domenici's defection is the latest from a growing number of senior Senate Republicans who have decided to oppose the White House's preferred plan of waiting for a mid-September progress report on the effectiveness of Bush's "surge" plan of boosting the U.S. deployment in Iraq this year by tens of thousands of troops.Rather than wait for that report, to be drafted by the administration, Domenici and other senior Republicans have called for a change in course this summer in advance of the coming legislative fight this month in the Senate on the authorization bill for the Pentagon."I am unwilling to continue our current strategy," Domenici said flatly, blaming the Iraqi government for its inability to get its internal administration in order.Early last week Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), the leading Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, delivered a rebuke to the White House with a more than 5,000-word address on the Senate floor declaring that the surge was not working and that the "current path" on Iraq was not acceptable. Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), the former chairman of the Armed Services Committee, applauded Lugar's speech and said he would offer his own amendments calling for a change in policy during the defense authorization debate next week.

* The very people who went amuck to impeach President Clinton for diddling with Monica Lewinsky in the White House are rejoicing about commutation of Scooter Libby's prison sentence by President Bush. The president's decision was not a real surprise. He was under tremendous pressure. Now that his presidency is more or less finished in terms of significant achievements, he does not have much to lose from the reaction to his decision. On the other hand, it made the conservatives happy. Above all, it made the vice president happy.But going back to Bill Clinton, was it envy that drove the Republicans? Possible. There is plenty of unfulfilled fantasies behind their holier than thou facade."The absurd is the essential concept and the first truth." ----Albert Camus, Winner of 1957 Nobel Prize for Literature)

* The paragraph that sticks out in Peter Baker's report in the Post is that the president is "fixated on Iraq". Since he, more than anyone else, is responsible for creating the bloody mess he ought to be concerned about it. According to iCasualties.org, the death toll for American soldiers (101) in June was mercifully less than the numbers for May and April. The president's fixation comes with tunnel vision -- he was right, he is right, and he will continue with his war until the end of his presidency.Bush is fixated on Iraq, according to friends and advisers. One former aide went to see him recently to discuss various matters, only to find Bush turning the conversation back to Iraq again and again. He recognizes that his presidency hinges on whether Iraq can be turned around in 18 months. "Nothing matters except the war," said one person close to Bush. "That's all that matters. The whole thing rides on that."And yet Bush does not come across like a man lamenting his plight. In public and in private, according to intimates, he exhibits an inexorable upbeat energy that defies the political storms. Even when he convenes philosophical discussions with scholars, he avoids second-guessing his actions. He still acts as if he were master of the universe, even if the rest of Washington no longer sees him that way.Soon the president will take off for his vacation. No doubt his aides are putting together the tomes that he will take with him for reading in Crawford. No light reading for our intellectual president. He has hidden depths. The summer reading list of G.W. Bush never fails to amuse.

*A local industry facing extinction due to competition......from China.To residents of the Santa Clara Valley, Gilroy and garlic were synonymous. Long before driving through Gilroy on Hwy 152 the smell from garlic processing plants made itself known to motorists. Not much garlic was actually grown in Gilroy but it became the center of garlic processing plants in California. I like the aroma of garlic and use it liberally in cooking. It is reported to contain properties that are beneficial to health. It adds flavor to food and, for me, that is what counts. In 1979 a few enterprising locals came up with the idea of holding a garlic festival. According to reports it became a well-attended annual event. Local charities benefit from it. I have never been to the Garlic Festival. For those who are interested, this year's festival is scheduled for July 27th, 28th, and 29th.Found this item about Gilroy in the web site of Tom Schweich. It is a treasure trove. One does not have to be a botanist to enjoy his writing. Mr. Schweich, "Independent Botanist and Vegetation Analyst" is with the Mojave National Preserve.John Gilroy, a Scotch sailor and the first permanent non-Spanish settler in California, was left ashore in Monterey in 1814 by the Hudson's Bay vessel Isaac Todd because he was sick with scurvy. He settled in the Santa Clara Valley and married into a Mexican land grant family, whose rancho eventually became called "Gilroy's" (Gudde, 1969, p. 120).This post is about the disappearance of Gilroy garlic from markets in the USA. A few months ago I found that garlic bought at local stores lacked flavor. Looked different too. At first I thought that perhaps it was only some stores that were selling the inferior garlic. Not so. Every store, large and small, stocked the same, small, unflavorful garlic. I checked and found that they were imported from China! Now, I have nothing against imported foodstuff from China as long as they meet safety standards. But why on earth must we buy Chinese garlic when garlic of high quality is grown right here in California. It is a damn shame.The article quoted below, by Harry Cline of Western Farm Press describes the history of Gilroy's garlic industry and the competition from China.The U.S. consumes about 300 million pounds of fresh or peeled garlic annually, and consumption is growing as garlic moves from a primary ingredient in many ethnic dishes to a mainstay in American kitchens and restaurants.The growing consumption would seemingly paint a bright picture for California garlic production, but the drop in acreage gives a clue otherwise.The reason: China.It’s hard to discuss any aspect of agriculture or American commerce without bringing up China, the most populous nation in the world, with more than 1.3 billion people and one of the most robust economies, with an 11 percent annual economic growth rate.China makes American business either salivate or cringe — it’s a huge market for U.S products, or a nemesis of staggering proportions that can literally flood the world with everything from sneakers to garlic.For Christopher Ranch and California garlic growers, China is a nemesis.A few years ago, China overnight flooded the U.S. with fresh and dehydrated garlic, and many SJV growers were expecting the crop to disappear.Christopher says China went from a measly 50,000 pounds of garlic a decade ago to 2 million to 3 million pounds last year, and for the first time more fresh garlic was imported into the U.S. than was produced in California.“For years, China didn’t have the quality to import into the U.S., and their bulbs were very small. What happened was, a group of U.S. people went over there and showed them how to grow garlic,” says Christopher, who has been to China to see firsthand what’s happening there.Christopher Ranch, which also contracts for production of bell peppers, shallots, and ginger, isn’t involved in the dehydrated garlic business. U.S. dehydrated garlic producers have challenged the influx of Chinese product into the U.S., particularly calling attention to the safety issue. They contend much of the garlic exported to the U.S. is dehydrated unsafely and contains high levels of lead.“I’ve seen their plants,” says Christopher. “Many of them are very modern, but the small farmers also bring dehydrated garlic in from the countryside to mix with product from the modern plants.”The Chinese are shipping fresh garlic into the U.S. at a cost of $12 to $16 per 30-pound box. It costs U.S. growers and packers $25 to $30 per 30-pound box.China grows two-thirds of the world’s garlic, mostly in small plots. Its fresh garlic is not as flavorful as California garlic, which is keeping California garlic in the marketplace against the cheap imports.“Fortunately, the food service industry and the big retailers are sticking with California garlic because of the flavor and safety factor,” Christopher says. “They’re willing to pay more for those two things.PATSY ROSS, right, Christopher Ranch marketer, learns the finer points of garlic grading from company partner Bill Christopher.Patsy Ross, a marketing expert with Christopher Ranch, says, “We’ve lost the low end of the market to the Chinese, but we’re doing well in the high end and are cultivating that.”Garlic is sold packaged or bulk; when packaged, it must carry a country of origin label.“But, when it’s sold in bulk, it doesn’t have to the label,” Ross says. “The majority of consumers automatically assume that the garlic they buy in the produce department is from California — it may not be. We’re working with the California Grown program to get the word out to consumers to ask for California garlic.”She says West Coast shoppers are willing to pay the extra 5 cents to 10 cents for California garlic. “Unfortunately, that isn’t the case on the East Coast, where shoppers are more price-conscious, even though it takes more imported garlic to flavor food than domestically-grown garlic.”It’s easy to tell California-grown fresh garlic from imported. Domestically-grown garlic still has roots on the bottom of the bulb, while imported garlic is cleanly-shaven of most, if not all, roots.California-grown garlic is heavier because it is more dense in soluble plant solids, with lower water content, a key to a high Brix score. It has a richer, more complex flavor than imported garlic.This quality differentiation is one reason Christopher believes garlic will remain a viable crop for SJV producers.“One can still make money growing garlic in the San Joaquin Valley. But it’s harder for us to get growers when processing tomatoes are $63 per ton, as they were this year, versus $50 per ton last year.” About 75 percent of his company’s producers are long-time contract growers.Garlic is a long-season crop, planted in September and harvested in July. Christopher provides certified seed to growers, consults on growing practices, and directs the hand harvest, using 2,000 to 3,000 workers.“Growers like garlic because, after it’s harvested, the ground is dry and can be worked a lot deeper than, say, after a lettuce crop, where the ground is wet after harvest.”The biggest garlic growing challenge is white rot, which can be devastating; it’s one reason fields are rotated out of garlic for four or five years.“Once white rot is in the soil, it’s there forever and the ground is no longer good for garlic,” Christopher says.The industry has created a commission to fund research on white rot in both garlic and onions.There is still good garlic ground in the valley, Christopher says, although he admits to concern about a shrinking land base as more permanent crops like almonds, grapes, and pistachios take row crop ground.“We’re in the garlic business to stay, despite what China is doing. We’ll do whatever it takes to keep garlic as a viable crop for San Joaquin growers.”Politically, Christopher has banded together with other specialty crop growers to get the federal government to enforce anti-dumping laws and to prevent Chinese garlic from avoiding high tariffs by being shipped to Vietnam and then to the U.S.He says China is evading trade rules by allowing new garlic shippers to post a bond against any fines for dumping garlic into the U.S. below the cost of production. Established Chinese shippers must post a cash deposit against any dumping violations, but the new companies simply go out of business as soon as they are fined, and the bond is no longer valid.“They just create another company and post another bond,” Christopher says, noting that more than $40 million in fines has not been collected.“The Chinese have cost us a lot of business, but we’re hanging in with new marketing approaches.” His company once processed 90 million pounds of fresh garlic annually — now, it’s slightly more than 60 million pounds.The Christopher family began farming in California in the 1880s, when Ole Christopher emigrated from Denmark to the Santa Clara Valley.Don Christopher, a third generation California farmer, founded the family garlic company in 1956 with 10 acres. Christopher Ranch is one of the founders of the now-famous Gilroy Garlic Festival. Bill is Don’s son.email: hcline@farmpress.com