David Miliband flew to Ukraine today to deliver the most passionate and precise speech by a member of the British Government on the crisis in Georgia, with strong warnings to Russia and warm encouragement for the two smaller former Soviet countries.
How to ensure lack of sleep doesn’t hurt you First you stayed up to see Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt in the Olympics, then it was time for the Democratic convention. Now comes football, and later the GOP convention. You’re racking up some serious debt — sleep debt, that is. That’s the difference between the amount of sleep you need and the amount you actually get. Sure, you’re still going to ...
With 29,706 paid admissions, only 600 shy of last year's total, the 147th annual Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Society Livestock Show and Fair was thronged for four bright sunshiney days over the weekend.
It's the worst of times, it's the best of times to be writing a game that works just like a really well-known one. The travails of Scrabulous , the Scrabble (® ™ © and all that guff) playalike, have been well-documented: its meteoric rise to fame via the splendid timesink Facebook, the lawsuit by Mattel and Hasbro (which own the online rights but hadn't quite managed to get around to ...
Welcome to the sixty-third Weekly Challenge, where I post a topic and then challenge you to come up with a 100 word story based on that topic.
The topic this week was selected by Rocky from the Northwest Territories of Edloe Island: Sleepwalking.
The excellent theme music is by Guy David
SOMETHING NEW
Due to popular demand, I am going to include stories that were sent to me, but without a recording. However, since the midget has left for sunny Coral Gables, Florida, those stories will just be posted in the show notes. You're more than welcome to vote for them, but they will be ineligible for prizes or topic selection.
I feel that this is a fair balance between the podcast and blog natures of this content.
Feel free to share your thoughts on this decision in the comments, and we might possibly come up with an even better and more fair policy for handling these kinds of situations.
VOTING
Go ahead and listen to them by clicking on the grammophone thingy there in the left column and then vote for your favorites (multiple selections are allowed):
WE GOTS PRIZES:
I will be sending the winner a prize... it's refrigerator magnets for the podcast. Massive amounts of fridge magnets were mailed out in the past week... watch your mail, and let me know if I've missed you.
It is your voting that determines who wins. So listen, vote, and tune in next week to find out who won!
JENNY
She didn't used to be like this.Before it happened, she was different.
The assault.
She doesn't like the word, she doesn't use it.
She's very [deeply], and mostly, it doesn't even exist.
She only remembers when she sees glimpses of the girl she once was. Old journals, vibrant photos from before.
A friend that she hasn't seen since before it happened.
A friend who recognizes her face, but nothing behind it.
I watch her everyday in the mirror and subway reflections.
Her heels tap hypnotically in a rhythm that says "Not now. Not now."
I wonder where she's going.
I wonder who she is.
CALEB
I'm not God. Used to be but I gave it up. Those poor sleepwalking fools. Once a year I would appear to one and give them the chance to ask any one question. They mostly fell into one of three categories: The avaricious like, "what stocks should I buy?" The stupid, "When and how will I die?" and the ponderous, "what's the meaning of life?".Finally this one cat asks me, "do you like your work?" I hadn't thought about it much but it turned out, I didn't, so I gave it up. Get more respect as a bartender anyway.
TOM
It was always on the coldest nights of the year. Lenore would wander across the stone floor in bear feet making her way to the ruin of the west tower. Dead to the world in a sleep as deep as the one who lay in the vault below. The help had strict orders to let the lady of the manner go where she wilt. When she reached the tower the song began and none who heard it could long endure its deepless well of sorrow At dawn she was carried off to the bed in the vault of her twin.
ELISSON
Nick was one of those old guys who walked the mall every morning. A regular amongst the Davenport Mallwalkers, he'd been at it for over fifteen years now."I gotta get my exercise!" he'd say, heading past Macy's at a brisk near-trot.
Last week, all that exercise was no help. Some guy stuck a gun in his face and demanded his wallet, and Nick must not have been quick enough coming up with it.
Nick's sleeping the Forever Sleep now, but it doesn't seem to slow him down any. I still see him walking the mall...
...but only at night.
GUY DAVID
I dare not go to sleep. If I go to sleep, I wake up somewhere else. It's OK when I wake up in the canal between Nowhereville and Edloe Island, but that other time I woke up in this place, full of people with spikes who keep other people on a leash. I found out I lost my right arm that night and a knife was buried in my forehead. Cost me most of my lindens, that new arm, but that knife, I'm keeping that. Couldn't afford to remove it, and anyway, the other avatars seems to think it cool.
TERRENCE
Raoul lived alone. He had for a lone time and he liked it that way. Sure sometimes he got a little lonely but he could deal with it. He had tried living with a roommate a long time ago but it did not work out.One night his roommate went to bed early. Raoul took the opportunity
and invited Eve over. They were half way through their visit when
Raoul spotted his roommate in the doorway. He could take the empty
milk cartons, he could even take the snoring, but the sleepwalking was
the last straw.
LAIEANNA
Bells chimed from the other room. Throwing back the covers and falling into my shoes, I grabbed the lantern while dashing out the bedroom door. The master was already halfway across the field before I even left the cottage. He was wearing his wizard's hat that gave off the faintest of glows.I followed as close as I could catch up, but for a moment I lost him
completely. When a dark cloud finally passed, I saw him still walking
through the air a few feet above me. I prayed he wouldn't be over the
lake when he finally awoke.
CHRIS
When I awoke, I was standing on a stage surrounded by LOTS of people. Next to me on the stage an old man was holding out a book and reading from a prompter.Where the hell am I?
I've been known to sleepwalk, but what's odd about my condition is I've been known to do it for days. Most people don't even realize I'm sleepwalking when I talk to them.
As my mind clears, I finally register the question the old man just asked.
"Do you solemnly swear to uphold the office of President of the United States?"
RADAR
Their hands reach out, selfishly clutching at things that will doom them. Their minds are darkened by "me, me, me", their hearts full of malice at any who would get in their way. It's a contest of epic proportions, who can claim the most victory by gulping down and swallowing the most defeat. It matters not to them that they spread sorrow and misery to others around them, nor that they will become dust long before their plans of so-called happiness could possibly reap any reward other than shame. And so it goes, and so they continue on, ever sleepwalking.
MAMACITA
By the end of June I was already tired of the heat, and so bored I thought I was sleepwalking, when The Chief came strutting into the newsroom, looking to throw his weight around a little, just to show everybody why he was still The Chief and the one who made the decisions around here; I could tell he was gunning for me because he was waving my last assignment around in his greasy little fist telling me I'd gone over the word count again, and I said back to him, "One hundred words? That's just one damn sentence."
JUSTIN
My wife always said that I sleepwalk, but I didn't believe her... until now.While on vacation in Turkey recently, I pushed a woman over a bridge while sleepwalking.
My lawyer tried to get me out of it, unsuccessfully.I was sentenced to thirty-five years in a prison on the outskirts of Istanbul for my crime.
I don't sleepwalk anymore. Hell, I barely sleep. I live my days in constant fear that my cellmate, Big Willy, will make me bend over for another "special moment." I wish I were dead.
Why couldn't I have just sleepwalked off of that bridge?
Z
The Internet is the most complex and advanced communication tool ever built by man.Spammer N'Gawi Mobutu saw it as a way to scam people out of their money.
He made millions.
The Russians took some of those millions for a trip to the space station, the most complex and advanced vehicle ever built by man.
Mobutu saw it as just a fun way to spend the weekend.
Disgusted, the crew shoved Mobutu into the airlock and claimed he sleptwalked out into space.
Oxygen is the most basic and simple biological requirement needed by man.
Good luck finding it, Mobutu.
Thanks to everyone for sending in their stories, and I look forward to what you've got to write (and say) next week.
The theme for next week's Weekly Challenge will be posted shortly.
Podcast Ready is holding a contest for referrals and signups using their very cool podcatching software.
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On the March 8 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly aired a clip of NBC News Middle East correspondent Richard Engel describing "the situation ... in western Baghdad" as "very dire" in a March 6 report on NBC's Nightly News. O'Reilly went on to complain: "[W]hat Richard Engel and [Nightly News anchor] Brian Williams did not report ... is that violence has dropped about 80 percent in Baghdad since the surge, according to the Army." O'Reilly continued: "Mr. Engel is a brave man, but has consistently taken an anti-war position in general. That's not what correspondents are supposed to do."
In fact, while neither Engel nor Williams noted the reported decrease in violence in certain areas of Baghdad on the March 6 or March 7 editions of Nightly News, on March 5, Engel did report the Army's claim that "in the past few weeks, violence in the Sadr City area [of Baghdad] is way down. In December, there were 254 murders, 440 total attacks. In February, just 19 murders, 91 total attacks." Engel observed that Sadr City was previously "one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in all of Baghdad," adding: "The last time U.S. troops entered this Shiite slum of two million two and a half years ago, they battled the Shiite militia, the Mahdi Army, for weeks. What the soldiers found today surprised them. No resistance ... In Sadr City instead today, brisk traffic, families out, children playing."
Also reporting from Baghdad on March 5, Williams observed that "[t]here are now pockets of relative peace where there had been awful ongoing violence." Later, during a discussion with retired Army Gen. Wayne Downing, Williams stated: "And, general, we should point out we took every requirement and precaution for our safety and security today. We're not wearing vests in this environment. We once had to, but not this trip. It's deemed safe enough."
As the weblog Crooks and Liars noted, on the March 8 edition of MNSBC's Scarborough Country, host Joe Scarborough asserted that O'Reilly had gone off "the deep end" with his criticism of Engel and Williams earlier that evening -- so much so that Scarborough said, "[W]e changed our show after hearing it less than an hour ago." Scarborough aired O'Reilly's claim that Engel had not reported the Army's claim regarding the decreased violence in Baghdad, which Scarborough called "a lie." He later noted that Engel had in fact "cited statistics from the U.S. military that indicated that violence was down ... in Sadr City."
While guest-hosting Tucker the following day, Scarborough again devoted a segment to O'Reilly's criticism of NBC. In response to O'Reilly's declaration regarding "what correspondents are supposed to do," Scarborough said: "I'll tell you what people like Bill O'Reilly are not supposed to do: skew the facts." Scarborough went on to ask one of his guests, Congressional Quarterly columnist Craig Crawford, "What's Bill O'Reilly trying to do here?" Crawford responded, "Well, he cherry-picks what he wants to make the case that he's been making for some time because NBC's his new whipping post."
Indeed, Scarborough noted at the top of the March 9 segment that "every bully needs an enemy, and Fox News' Bill O'Reilly's current straw man is none other than NBC News." O'Reilly's obsession with NBC" is a topic Scarborough has addressed on multiple occasions in recent months, as the Fox News host has repeatedly attacked NBC's coverage of Iraq. As Media Matters for America documented, on the December 7, 2006, edition of The O'Reilly Factor, he claimed that "NBC News ... has turned sharply to the left." Also, following NBC's decision to label the situation in Iraq a "civil war," O'Reilly asserted on November 28, 2006, that their decision was "insane," "insulting," "over the top" and "very disturbing" and said: "[T]he American media is not helping anyone by oversimplifying the situation and rooting for the USA to lose in Iraq."
From the March 8 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:
O'REILLY: "Talking Points" has no problem with Brian Williams, but NBC's coverage remains dubious. Listen to this.
ENGEL [video clip]: On the ground, the situation does look very dire. I was out today in western Baghdad on a street they call "phone card." And there were -- all the shops were closed. There were burned-out cars in the middle of the road, and the situation is very severe. And U.S. commanders have said we're at a turning point in the past, and unfortunately, that hasn't been the case.
O'REILLY: Well, what Richard Engel and Brian Williams did not report last night is that violence has dropped about 80 percent in Baghdad since the surge, according to the Army. Mr. Engel is a brave man but has consistently taken an anti-war position in general. That's not what correspondents are supposed to do.
The alliance between The New York Times and NBC News becomes even more troubling with the announcement today that CBS News has hired a committed liberal to run the Katie Couric broadcast. Producer Richard Kaplan is a close friend of the Clintons, has a long history of left-wing activism. At CNN, he oversaw a bogus Vietnam report designed to make the American military look bad.
[...]
O'REILLY: OK, secondly, you heard Richard Engel just say the situation in Baghdad is dire but not say that according to the Army, violence has dropped 80 percent. You're going to sit there, Jane, you teach journalism --
JANE HALL (American University professor): Yes.
O'REILLY: -- and tell me that is a fair minded report, madam?
HALL: Well, you know, I think you have to consider his -- the context in which he made that report.
O'REILLY: Oh, stop it. Stop it. He did not mention --
HALL: There are -- OK, there are deaths night after night. There are a lot of people --
O'REILLY: All right.
HALL: -- that are questioning how efficient we are being with this surge, Bill.
O'REILLY: Jane, if I were a student in your class and I asked you that question, and you gave the answer you just gave, you'd have to give me an A.
From the March 5 edition of NBC's Nightly News:
WILLIAMS: But first, we begin with the situation right here. In this city today, a suicide bomber detonated a car full of explosives in the historic so-called booksellers' district of the city, killing at least 20 people, injuring 65 others. The attack comes during a period of change here. There are now pockets of relative peace where there had been awful ongoing violence. We start with two reports tonight. Today, my colleague Richard Engel visited dangerous Sadr City section of Baghdad, while I was invited to ride along on an inspection of the new policy in action in the cities of Ramadi and Hit, getting Iraqi and American troops, Army and Marines, into smaller outposts to fight this war block by block.
[...]
WILLIAMS: Now to a different experience: our longtime correspondent here in Baghdad, Richard Engel, who also went out today with U.S. forces in the usually rough Sadr City neighborhood. Richard, it's good to be here on your turf.
ENGEL: Thank you very much, Brian. For the last several years, Sadr City has been one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in all of Baghdad, completely out of government control. Today, I went in with U.S. forces who are trying to take it back.
Soldiers from the 82nd Airborne today mounted up and braced for what has been a no-go zone for American forces, Sadr City. The last time U.S. troops entered this Shiite slum of two million two and a half years ago, they battled the Shiite militia, the Mahdi Army, for weeks. What the soldiers found today surprised them: No resistance.
The Mahdi Army in Sadr City seems to have just faded away. Its fighters no longer patrol the streets. They've even taken down their propaganda posters. The big question is: Are they just regrouping, waiting to return?
In Sadr City instead today: brisk traffic, families out, children playing.
"Finally we feel there is security. It's better," said a man who brought his daughter outside to see the U.S. soldiers. The U.S. military says in the past few weeks, violence in the Sadr City area is way down. In December, there were 254 murders, 440 total attacks. In February, just 19 murders, 91 total attacks.
[...]
WILLIAMS: Retired Army General -- four-star general, that is -- Wayne Downing is with me on this trip, just as he was with me in Iraq for the initial invasion. He is here tonight to talk about what we learned together in western Iraq today, and Richard Engel is back with us as well.
And, General, we should point out we took every requirement and precaution for our safety and security today. We're not wearing vests in this environment. We once had to, but not this trip. It's deemed safe enough. But what a strange part of the war we saw today, rolling through almost ghost towns.
DOWNING: That's exactly right, Brian. I mean, they've conduct some very intensive operations in both Ramadi and Hit for the last two weeks. And, of course, there's a lot of heavy patrolling, let's not kid ourselves, before we went in there today. What we saw were M1 tanks, Bradleys, a lot of infantry. But one of the things that was very striking is you didn't see a lot of children out waving --
WILLIAMS: Right.
Gen. DOWNING: -- you didn't see a lot of people out looking at that -- us. So, I mean, I think that reflects the fact that not only the U.S. forces are cracking down, but we saw a lot of Iraqi police there too and Iraqi army. So they right now are breaking the grip of Al Qaeda. That's an Al Qaeda area that we were in today. And things were far from normal.
From the March 8 edition of MSNBC's Scarborough Country:
SCARBOROUGH: But first, Bill O'Reilly goes off the deep end with the attack tonight on NBC News, so over the top that we changed our show after hearing it less than an hour ago.
[...]
SCARBOROUGH: This got personal and nasty very quickly. Bill O'Reilly then turned his guns on one of the bravest and most respected correspondents in Iraq, a guy who has put his life on the line for years. His name: Richard Engel.
O'REILLY [video clip]: What Richard Engel and Brian Williams did not report last night is that violence has dropped about 80 percent in Baghdad since the surge, according to the Army. Mr. Engel is a brave man but has consistently taken an anti-war position in general. That's not what correspondents are supposed to do.
SCARBOROUGH: You know, that's just a lie. And we'll get to that in a second and show you why he's lying.
The big question is, what's Bill O'Reilly's obsession with NBC? And has he gone too far this time by attacking a brave war correspondent from the safety of his Washington, D.C., studio?
[...]
SCARBOROUGH: I mean, Bill O'Reilly said that Richard Engel and NBC did not report yesterday that violence dropped.
I want to read you this, because, you know, this is important. Every day the White House releases an Iraq update, where the White House -- not Al Jazeera, not Fox News -- the White House cites news stories that it chooses to highlight. Tuesday's edition noted three NBC News stories. The first was from an interview Brian Williams did with retired General Wayne Downing, who's quoted as saying, "U.S. soldiers are proud of what they're doing in Iraq."
The second is from NBC's Richard Engel, quoting Iraqis on the ground, saying they finally feel like there's security in their region. Engel also cited statistics from the U.S. military that indicated that violence was down, indeed, down in Sadr City.
And the third was an interview Brian Williams did with day-to-day commanders of U.S. troops in Iraq. And Williams said to the general, quote, "They just said they don't want us to leave. You know, that's the 10th time I've heard that today."
What's troubling to me, John Fund [Wall Street Journal columnist], is that Bill O'Reilly goes on an hour ago, he claims Richard Engel didn't cite those Army statistics, claiming that violence was down 80 percent, when, in fact, Engel did last night and, in fact, the White House quoted Engel.
So Bill O'Reilly goes on his air, he lies about a reporter who puts himself in harm's way, and so many millions of Americans just digest it. Isn't that troubling?
FUND: Well, if that's the case, the research department sure failed. I'd be very interested to see what kind of comments along those lines Bill O'Reilly allows tomorrow night on his opine segment, where he allows readers to write in and question him. That'll be the standard.
From the March 9 edition of MSNBC's Tucker:
SCARBOROUGH: You know, they say every bully needs an enemy, and Fox News' Bill O'Reilly's current straw man is none other than NBC News. On his show last night O'Reilly attacked NBC and a war correspondent -- a war correspondent in Iraq from the safety of his cushy Fox News Washington, D.C., studio. Watch this.
O'REILLY [video clip]: What Richard Engel and Brian Williams did not report last night is that violence has dropped about 80 percent in Baghdad since the surge, according to the Army. Mr. Engel is a brave man but has consistently taken an anti-war position in general. That's not what correspondents are supposed to do.
SCARBOROUGH: And I'll tell you what people like Bill O'Reilly are not supposed to do: skew the facts. Talk about the spin zone. With me to talk about it, NBC political analyst and columnist for Congressional Quarterly Craig Crawford and White House correspondent for The New Republic Ryan Lizza. You know, Craig, what's so disturbing about this Bill O'Reilly thing attacking a war correspondent in a war zone while you're sitting in a cushy studio in Washington, D.C., is the fact that he didn't even get his facts right. You talk about spinning. Richard Engel actually quoted that same 80 percent number that Bill O'Reilly was talking about. In fact, the White House sent it out in a blast fax earlier that day. What's Bill O'Reilly trying to do here?
CRAWFORD: Well, he cherry-picks what he wants to make the case that he's been making for some time because NBC's his new whipping post. CBS just fell apart after his attacks and Fox's attacks going all the way back to Dan Rather's demise, so I mean, now they've got to pick on somebody else, I suppose. Everything this guy does is always centered on hating somebody -- I mean, rallying his troops against somebody, and NBC's just his latest one for doing that. But, you know, I've been watching Brian Williams reports all week from over there on the Nightly News, and I've been -- I really have been learning a lot on the positive side about what is happening with these new tactics, and that's one of the only places I've been learning that. They've been very balanced in those reports.
Southwest’s new seating plan
The experiments are over, and the San Antonio model has won out. Starting in November, the new system will be nationwide. Each boarding pass will have a letter (A, B, or C) and a number within that boarding group. Board in the order you checked in. The airline’s promo video (Windows Media) is here. Their “boarding school” is in session here. Bottom line: You won’t need to save your place in line within the A-group by putting your carry-on luggage into the corral. I guess that’s an improvement. But you’ll need to be even quicker to check in if you want your pick of the litter. Remember, check-in opens 24 hours before the flight. Do it online. See here for a list of services that provide automated web check-in. (Their business models might be slightly in flux now.)
Virgin Atlantic adds more premium seats
Virgin Atlantic must be selling its business class and premium economy seats pretty briskly. The airline is tearing out a quarter of its coach seats on Heathrow-based 747s and replacing them with the more spacious (and higher-yielding) premium seats.
Why can’t you use a foreign credit card on US booking sites?
Chris Elliott tackles this common complaint: You might get a better fare on a particular itinerary by booking via a website or agency outside your home country, but you can’t buy it, because the seller won’t accept your home country’s credit card. Why not? The travel companies are trying to slice and dice the market, so they can have greater control of fares, while minimizing the chance of fraud. Not every country has this problem. (I’ve used a Singaporean website or two to book US travel with my US card.) If you’ve ever been flummoxed by this, go read the whole post.
US Airways increases the cost of upgrades, but makes more fares upgradeable
Mileage upgrades on US Airways are more expensive, with each Lower-48/Canada/Alaska upgrade costing 15,000 instead of 10,000 miles as of October 3. On the flip side, they’re opening up ALL their domestic fares for upgradeability, so it’s no longer just the most expensive tickets that are eligible. That’s a plus. Similarly, on international flights, you’ll be able to use miles to upgrade any flight that cost you $600 or more each way. By my reading of the new rules, that $600 number includes taxes and fees. (via WebFlyer)
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Tomorrow, the 52nd biennial business-meeting for the General Council of the Assemblies of God begins. On Thursday, our next General Superintendent will be selected. Here are my thoughts on matters over which I have no input or influence, and which are probably inappropriate for me to publicly opine over. Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop me from writing! If you read this and think I’m an idiot for writing it, just remember: you read it!
[Skip all the blather and just see my pick for the vote, if that’s what you’re after!]
Stop now. Before you go any further, before you cast your nominating vote, before you accept your nomination (as if anybody reads this), go listen to (or read) this incredible sermon from the last General Council delivered by Bryan Jarrett.
Done? Good. Great message wasn’t it? In case you didn’t catch them, I want to highlight a couple of quotes from the article/sermon.
First, Jarrett nicely sums up one significant aspect of the cultural gap between our elder leaders and our younger ministers and ministry candidates. Here, in his words:
There is titanic distrust among the generations. … The older generation is looking for someone in whom they can deposit their faith, or as Paul puts it, they are looking for someone in whom they can deposit the trust of the full gospel (1 Timothy 1:11; 1 Timothy 6:20). However, they are reluctant to make that deposit for fear that their faith, their church and the trust will be diluted, altered, or even forsaken.
On the other hand is the younger generation. They are as passionate as the pioneers of this Pentecostal church and have an amazing potential to expand the Kingdom in this world. But they have become weary with church as usual, with legalistic expectations and with conditional blessings.
Jarrett goes on to describe the need for the older generation to release the younger generation into ministry with their blessing without placing their generational baggage and conditions on that blessing. He describes the need for the younger generation to ground their feeling-based worldview in the Word and to honor the sacrifices of their forefathers. And he encourages the older generation to trust the youth. If the Assemblies of God doesn’t make this transition, if we don’t release the youth into ministry, they’ll depart. He says:
If the blessing is withheld, the blessing will die with the older generation in the next 20 or 30 years, and the Assemblies of God will never be what it was before. The younger generation will reform our Movement, or they will leave it and start another one like our forefathers did four generations ago.
But I want to really highlight the story he told from his days as an itinerant speaker and evangelist.
While still an evangelist, I preached a revival in a little town on the Arkansas-Missouri line. In my message that night I challenged the people to seek God for another great awakening in America. After the altar service an older man in his late 80s or early 90s walked briskly up to me. It was obvious he was weeping.
He passionately grabbed me by the lapel of my jacket and said, “Son, listen to this old man. I am a retired Methodist pastor. I came into the Methodist church when it was a revival movement. We were called the shouting Methodists. Over time, the Assemblies of God came along, stole the fire out of our stove, and left us with a cold, black stove. What happened to my church is happening to yours. If revival does not come to your church, when you are an old man, you will grab some young man by the collar just like this and weep the same bitter tears this old man weeps tonight.”
That’s enough to give one pause.
Since the announcement of Trask’s surprise resignation, the A/G-specific mailing lists and blogs have been full of chatter about who the next general superintendent of the Assemblies of God should be. Many of the discussions, especially at the FutureAG blog, wind up discussing the value and risk of a young leader versus the trust and track-record that comes with an older leader. Many great things have been said, and I was completely prepared to write one of my trademark behemoth explorations all the different issues involved in young vs. old leadership. But so much has been said that there simply isn’t time or space to cover all the subjects worth considering. For example, I was preparing to write the following subjects — which I now only mention in passing:
There are arguments against this, of course, but it’s a discussion that needs to happen. Unfortunately, the last time this was raised in General Council (in 2003), the resolution was withdrawn.
On the other hand, younger ministers may have the stamina to last several years, but they won’t be as strongly rooted in the Assemblies of God’s traditions and history. They may be too culturally bound and not as resistant to current trends like the dread virus of ecumenicalism and the various oddities of the postmodern Emergent church.
Whatever the case, younger ministers are typically not well-known and there are few young people in national leadership positions that would give the majority a basis for that kind of awareness (There are exceptions, of course, like Tom Green, director of the national Men’s Ministries program and former National Youth Director).
It’s unlikely that we’re either ready for it or that there are many female leaders in the A/G with enough visibility to pass nomination.
Getting the resolution passed to open up a seat on the Executive Presbytery, though, will be a resounding success and a good next step.
Who knew church growth could be so profitable?
Meanwhile the little-guy pastors of small and medium-sized churches go unrecognized. The church-growth virus/meme makes them feel like failures in their district meetings and they battle the herd mentality, consoling themselves by remembering the effective fellowship, discipleship and mentoring that’s going on in their smaller communities.
Still, the attention goes to the church growth flock and it could well be reasoned that only a mega-church pastor would have the administrative/CEO-like skills to run a denomination.
We have been blessed by the programs and the drive to growing and planting churches: we have more churches open today than we did at the last General Council — our highest number ever. But perhaps we’ve been cursed too: we have fewer converts today than we did then. Perhaps church growth and church planting should take a back seat to spiritual growth and new converts?
Who we choose as a leader will have a strong impact on this philosophy.
But, wait, it is happening here! Some of our largest mega-churches are immigrant churches, and services are not being conducted in English and their websites are not, either. The global South is coming to us. Is our leadership prepared?
Very rarely, especially in larger churches, do you have altar calls, much less healing services. In the last ten years I’ve never seen a prayer line where people wanting to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit “run the gauntlet” with tongues-talking recipients coming out the end of the pipeline. Healing testimonies are rare and demon possession is hardly spoken of, except to say that perhaps somebody needs psychological help. Revival is the exception and evangelistic zeal has waned.
Whether these are truly earmarks of Classical Pentecostalism can be debated. Whether they’re truly Biblical or merely culture-bound can be debated. What cannot be debated is that they are no longer widespread practices in our churches — especially megachurches. (They once were. You might actually find this in our smaller churches.)
So, who do you vote for? A small church Pentecostal old-guard who will push for a revival of traditional Pentecostalism? Or a mega-church style Charismatic who will push for more church-growth practices and self-help preaching? One thing’s for sure, a traditional Pentecostal church is not a typical seeker-sensitive church.
In our search for answers on the problem of discipleship in our Fellowship, will anyone take the lead and say that perhaps our preaching is part of the problem? Will anyone take the lead and say that perhaps our historic rejection of academic excellence has led to a failure to not only properly handle the Word of God in the pulpit, but to not even use it as the source of the sermon? (Though, admittedly, this is changing.) In every A/G church I’ve attended, save for one, the pastor used the text to “springboard” into a topical sermon. The doctrine was fine, but the handling of the text was not. And, in the end, the congregation takes its cues from the pastor and his is how they read their Bible.
Which values in this arena will our next GS embody? Will he call our Fellowship back to the Word — and that preached well? Or will it be more of the same?
There’s more that’s being bandied about, to be sure. For some excellent discussions of these issues, see:
This question pops up frequently in these discussions. So what? What difference does the General Superintendent make to the local church, much less and individual believer?
More than you’d realize. Many of the resolutions that actually get passed at each General Council were not sponsored by pastors, they were sponsored by the Executive Presbytery. And, ultimately, you’ll see the GS’s fingerprints all over those resolutions. By the time one of these resolutions makes it to Council, it’s already gone through a significant vetting process by General Council leadership, and its chances of being approved are pretty good. These resolutions, in turn, have an effect on District Council policies, local church policies and ministerial requirements.
For example, until the last General Council in 2005, the only way you could get credentials in the Assemblies of God was to go through the formal process of applying through your District Office and meeting all the requirements of a General Council credentials holder. Now, however, your local church can credential you temporarily (up to two years) so that you can carry legitimate credentials while doing ministry, such as preaching, teaching, church planting, etc.
Beyond that, the less ephemeral stuff that you don’t see comes in the form of vision casting for the whole Fellowship. The personality, style and vision of the general superintendent gets communicated and is accepted or rejected by the grass-roots ministers over the years. The GS also provides leadership for the many ministries and efforts at a national level that have local impact, like the Convoy of Hope food program that has been effectively used in disasters like when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana. The GS has influence over editorial and content policies for all of our publications. He has influence over the curricula that the Gospel Publishing House provides. He builds bridges between denominations, speaks at conferences and preaches at local churches.
When Zimmerman was the GS, the A/G broke ground in broadcast media — and it was largely due to Zimmerman’s vision. When Carlson was GS, the Gormon/Swaggart/Bakker scandals could have soiled the A/G even more than they did were it not for the wise and capable (some say grandfatherly) way that Carlson led the Fellowship during that time. There could not have been a better man for the hour.
What mark Trask has made on the Fellowship as a whole remains to be seen, in retrospect, but I suspect one will be that we are more like a denomination now than ever before. For good, or bad. You decide.
Can the general superintendent be a change agent who fosters revival throughout our Fellowship? Nobody can say, many suspect not. I believe, however, that it could happen — especially if we have someone in office who calls our ministers back to preaching the Word and rejecting the winds of heresy that blow through our ranks from time to time.
I stand with all my brethren who are ministers (I am not) who characterize this as a momentous time and a pivotal moment. In realistic terms: a crisis is upon the A/G. Who we choose to lead us down the road we take from here is critical.
Finally, in light of all that I’ve read and processed on this, here’s how I see the next few days transpiring. George Wood will almost certainly get nominated. If he is nominated, I don’t see how any dark horse could surpass him in getting votes, unless somebody like Dan Betzer is nominated.
Alton Garrison, the director for the US Home Missions department, will almost certainly get nominated as well. I suspect he’ll wind up as the Assistant General Superintendent, and will likely move up to the top slot when George Wood finishes out the remainder of this term.
John Lindell, pastor of James River Assembly in Springfield, will probably get nominated, especially by the younger crowd, but I’ve seen many comments from the female contingent that they’d be hard pressed to elect him as his views on women in ministry are not perfectly egalitarian. (The Springfield News-Leader mentioned him as a possible candidate, by the way, along with Charles Arsenault, pastor of Evangel Temple in Springfield and a member the executive presbytery.)
Personally, I’d like to see my friend Gene Roncone, pastor of Aurora First Assembly in Aurora, Colorado (and son-in-law to Charles Crabtree), nominated for the General Secretary slot. I don’t think he’d accept it, but I think he’d be an excellent choice to have in national leadership. He helped the A/G revamp its Constitution and Bylaws and is considered our top expert on Roberts Rules of Order. I know, that’s an arcane thing to be expert in, but to operate our business meetings legally, that has to be followed. And Roncone is a fine preacher who eschews spring boarding. I like that.
John Bueno, director of the World Missions department, may elect to retire at this point, since that had been his plan earlier. So, that could leave the directorate of World Missions up for grabs, too. Some have suggested nominating him for GS, but HQ insiders seriously doubt he’d consider it at this point.
Nobody seems to be able to come up with any names for female nominations. I would love to see it happen, but there haven’t been enough prominent lady ministers to get the visibility needed to pass nomination. As George Wood notes, there are no district executives who are women.
Will we see some non-whites nominated this year? I dearly hope so. But I doubt it. If this Council were on the East or West Coast, maybe. But being here in the heartland makes it affordable for more Bible Belt ministers to drive and attend. I suspect this year’s Council will be pretty lily-white, and the nominations will reflect that complexion. Unfortunately.
So, that’s as far as my (ill-founded?) “prescience” takes me. Wood as GS, Garrison as Asst. GS and anybody’s guess as to General Secretary, Home Missions and World Missions.
I know, not very informative. But you’re the one who read this far, silly!
I just want to say that, ultimately, it will be the Holy Spirit that superintends the voting process. God will select Trask’s successor, just as he selected Trask, and Carlson before him, and Zimmerman before him and all the others before them. I know that our pastors and ministers are praying about this. And I’m sure God’s sovereignty will still … be sovereign.
That said, there is still a need for wisdom in the process, and God has not called us to leave our critical faculties at the coat-rack when choosing servant ministers. These leaders are in top positions of authority, to be sure, but they are much like the deacons who were chosen in Acts. They are men (and someday women) who perform the business of the church, the “setting of tables” so that our pastors, evangelists, teachers, and missionaries can go about preparing themselves and their messages and their ministries. To that end, it’s critical that we choose candidates “full of the Holy Spirit.” The only way that can be done is to choose men that our delegates and ministers know, men whose ministries have become familiar with the voters. Thus, there is really no getting away from the aspect of the process that many complain is a popularity contest. It really cannot be any other way: You cannot realistically vote someone into this kind of leadership role if you haven’t seen the evidence of the Holy Spirit’s power in his or her ministry.
And that’s the biggest problem with the process, really. It’s impossible to know all 30,000 ministers. It’s impossible to know all of even one percent of that number. So, the voting process inevitably focuses on the one percent of the top one percent of whoever happens to be known to the delegates.
But, despite that, I pray God’s will be done, and that wisdom will prevail.
I’ve compiled the suggestions for GS that I’ve seen around the blogosphere and in my email discussion groups. For more names that will likely be considered, you should see my A/G Mega-Church list. A lot of those names are prominent and well-known among the people who will be voting at General Council this week. There could be several nominees coming from that list.
As usual, please feel free to comment. I write for you. Will you write for me? What are your “predictions?”
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TECHNOLOGY
Nokia Shares Surge on Solid Earnings
Nokia, #1 mobile-phone maker worldwide, said this morning its Q4 profits were up 19% to â¬0.32/share (â¬1.27 billion) from â¬0.28/share in Q4 2005, beating analyst forecasts of â¬0.28. Sales grew 13% (â¬11.7 billion) and 20% in 2006. Operating margin for handsets was up slightly from 17.1% to 17.8%, but overall operating margin declined from 13.2% to 13%. Handsets shipped was up 26% to 106 million, but average price dropped from â¬93 to
â¬89. In 2007, Nokia said it expects industry mobile device volume to grow 10%, but also expects further average selling price declines. During 2006, NOK produced a cash-flow of â¬4.5b, and gave â¬4.9 to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks. Estimated market share y/y grew 2% to 36%, which CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo attributes to strong sales of cheap phones in China, India, and Latin America -- igniting a share rally: NOK shares traded up 6.2% to â¬16.45 in Helsinki. Competitor Motorola saw its Q4 profit plunge 48% last week and said it plans to cut 3,500 jobs (5%); Samsung said on Jan. 12 its Q4 profit dropped on low prices; rival Sony Ericsson, which focuses on high-end phones, said last week its profit tripled on strong demand for phones with music players and cameras.
⢠Sources: Press Release (.pdf), MarketWatch, Bloomberg
⢠Related commentary: Nokia Pre-Earnings: Suffering By Implication, 10 Predictions for Wireless in 2007. Check for Nokia's Earnings Conference Call Transcript later today.
⢠Potentially impacted stocks and ETFs: Nokia Corp. (NOK), Motorola Inc. (MOT), Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson ADR (ERIC), Sony Corp. (SNE). Suppliers: Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN), Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM), National Semiconductor Corp. (NSM). ETFs: HOLDRS Wireless (WMH)
Symantec Earnings Barely Top Estimates; Next Up: Cost Cutting, Share Buybacks
Symantec Corp. released earnings for its FY 3Q07 after yesterday's close reporting net earnings and revenue topped consensus estimates.
The company also announced two major moves: a plan to trim $200 million from its cost structure and a new $1 billion share buyback plan effective immediately. By the numbers, the company's net earnings for the quarter were $114 million, good for EPS of $0.12, versus earnings of $91 million (EPS of $0.08) during the year-earlier period. Revenue increased as well, to $1.31 billion from $1.15 billion. Excluding one-time charges, EPS was $0.26; Thomson First Call consensus estimates called for EPS of $0.25 on revenue of $1.3 billion. Looking to its next quarter, Symantec expects revenue to fall to between $1.24 and $1.27 billion and EPS to drop to between $0.04 and $0.06. The company's cost cutting plan will most likely include reducing employees though CEO John Thompson didn't say in what division or in what region (he did indicate it would not be in sales). The new share buyback plan replaces an older plan the company just completed. Over the past two years, Symantec has repurchased $6 billion worth of its shares, according to company data. Symantec shares rose $0.44, or 2.52% to $17.92 in after-hours trading.
⢠Sources: Symantec F3Q07 (Qtr End 12/29/06) Earnings Call Transcript, Press Release, Bloomberg, Red Herring, AP, MarketWatch
⢠Related commentary: Symantec Shares Nosedive on Q3 and Full-Year Warning, Sorting Symantec's Mess: Investors Concerned More Bad News To Follow, Symantec's A Short Following Weak Data Point. Conference call transcripts: Symantec F3Q06 (Qtr Ending Dec 31, 2005)
⢠Potentially impacted stocks and ETFs: Symantec (SYMC). Competitors: McAfee Inc. (MFE), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), CA, Inc. (CA). ETFs: iShares Goldman Sachs Software Index (IGV), Software HOLDRs (SWH), streetTRACKS Morgan Stanley Technology (MTK), Internet Architecture HOLDRs (IAH)
Nintendo's Profit Surges on Strong DS and Wii Sales
Nintendo's 9-month (period ended Dec. '06) net income jumped 43.1% to ¥131.92 billion ($1.1b) on sales growth of 72.8% to ¥712.6b ($5.9b). It did not provide a quarterly breakdown, but Bloomberg calculates Q3 net income climbed 40% to ¥77.6b ($644m) on a 75% increase in sales to ¥413.8b ($3.4b). Nintendo cited "very strong sales" of both DS hardware and software.
Demand for DS hardware continues to exceed supply. Nintendo says Wii hardware "got off to a favorable start" and software "enjoyed brisk sales as well." It maintained its guidance provided on Jan. 10 for full fiscal year (ending Mar. '07) net income of ¥120b ($1b) on sales of ¥900b ($7.5b), despite already exceeding the full-year net income figure, due to the possible impact of currency fluctuations in Q4. Analysts note the Wii is outselling Sony's PS3 by about 2:1 in Japan and the U.S. Nintendo has sold 3.19m Wiis so far and still expects to sell 6m by March. Its ordinary shares gained 1.5% to ¥33,500 ($34.75 ADR equiv. at ¥120.5/$1 vs. $34.25 ADR close yesterday) ahead of its earnings announcement.
⢠Sources: Earnings press release [pdf], Bloomberg
⢠Related commentary: A Look at Nintendo Ahead of Earnings, Sony PS2: Top-Selling Game Console During Holidays, Game Points: Game Console and Software Stock Update
⢠Potentially impacted stocks and ETFs: Nintendo (NTDOY.PK). Competitors: Microsoft (MSFT), Sony (SNE). Gaming software publishers: Electronic Arts (ERTS), Activision (ATVI), Konami (KNM), Take Two (TTWO), THQ (THQI)
QualComm Inches Past Forecasts; Shares Rise
QualComm shares rose 3% yesterday when the company reported its fiscal Q1 profit had edged past forecasts. The company benefited from increased consumer interest in technology that enables cellphones to surf the Internet and download videos. Adjusted net income came in at $722 million, or $0.43/share, up 2% sequentially and 8% above a year ago. Analysts were expecting EPS of $0.42. Quarterly sales were $2.02 billion, flat with last quarter and up 16% from the year-ago level, against analyst expectations of $2.07 billion. QualComm is in a legal battle with Nokia over royalties on license agreements that will expire on April 9. Nokia is trying to slash the royalties it pays for its CDMA and WCDMA licenses, and any failure to pay those royalties could cut into QualComm's EPS. The company forecasts a rise in the average selling price for CDMA phones to about $217 this quarter, up from prior guidance of $205. Qualcomm is forecasting adjusted earnings for fiscal Q2 flat with Q1 at $0.43 on revenues of $2.05 billion versus Street expectations of $0.43 on $2.1 billion. QualComm is offering full-year guidance of about $1.43 in pro forma EPS on $8.35 billion. Analysts are forecasting $1.78 in adjusted profit on $8.55 billion in revenue for fiscal 2007.
⢠Sources: Bloomberg, TheStreet.com, Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch (I, II [press release]). Conference call transcripts: F1Q07 (Qtr End 12/31/06)
⢠Related commentary: Nokia-QUALCOMM's Battle Royale, Qualcomm's Empire Is Under Siege, Cell Phone Makers: Nokia May Run, But Qualcomm's On An End Run
⢠Potentially impacted stocks and ETFs: QualComm Inc. (QCOM). Competitors: Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN), Broadcom Corp. (BRCM). ETFs: Broadband HOLDRs (BDH), Wireless HOLDRs (WMH), NASDAQ 100 Trust Shares (QQQQ), Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT)
Siemens to Buy UGS for $3.5 Billion, Sources Claim
Engineering conglomerate Siemens AG is close to purchasing UGS Corp., a Texan manufacturer of product lifecycle management software, for $3.5 billion including debt, according to the Wall Street Journal. UGS, which is privately owned, had revenues just shy of $1.2 billion and $241 million in operating profit in fiscal 2005. Siemens will also sell a minority stake in VDO Automotive, its automotive-electronics unit, through an IPO. VDO Automotive made â¬10 billion ($13 billion) in revenue and â¬669 million in operating profit in the most recent fiscal year ended Sept. 30. These moves are part of an overall restructuring of Siemens begun in January 2005 by CEO Klaus Kleinfeld, who has already made acquisitions worth about $10 billion, including the â¬4.2 billion purchase of Bayer AG's medical-diagnostics division last June. The restructuring is designed to sharpen the company's focus on three areas: energy and environment, automation in public and private infrastructure, and healthcare. UGS will become part of Siemens's highly profitable factory-automation unit. Siemens is in the midst of a fraud investigation that has temporarily scuppered a telecommunications equipment JV with Nokia.
⢠Sources: Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch
⢠Related commentary: Nokia-Siemens Telecom JV Delayed, But Not Dead, Siemens and IBM Ink Joint IT Deal with German Army, Siemens Fuel Cell Test Results Exceed SECA Requirements
⢠Potentially impacted stocks and ETFs: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (SI). Competitors: Alcatel-Lucent (ALU), General Electric Co. (GE), Hitachi Ltd. (HIT)
INTERNET
EBay Profit Up 24%; Sales Beat Street
EBay shares rose 12.8% to $33.88 in extended trading yesterday when the company announced a 24% jump in Q4 earnings. The company posted EPS of $0.25 for Q4, or $346 million. Revenues jumped 29% to $1.7 billion, beating Street expectations of $1.67 billion. Excluding expenses, eBay made $0.31 in EPS, ahead of the $0.28 Street forecast. For the full year, eBay projects EPS of $1.25-1.29 on revenues of $7.05-7.3 billion versus Street forecasts $1.23 EPS on $7.15 billion in revenue. EBay altered its Marketplaces business this quarter to positive effect: the unit showed $1.2 billion in Q4 revenue, 24% over last year. eBay's gross merchandise volume, or amount of goods sold, reached $14.4 billion, a 20% y/y gain. PayPal, eBay's payment service, saw quarterly revenue of $417 million, a 37% y/y growth rate. PayPal performed well despite the launch of rival Google's Checkout service. EBay's telephony service, Skype, enjoyed 164% y/y revenue growth to $66 million. The company benefited from holiday shopping for popular items, like the Nintendo Wii, that were hard to find elsewhere. EBay's board has approved a repurchase of up to $2 billion of the company's stock over the next two years. Earlier this month, eBay bought online ticket-reseller StubHub for $310 million, a purchase expected to add up to $120 million to 2007 revenue.
⢠Sources: MarketWatch [press release]), TheStreet.com, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal. Conference call transcripts: Q4 2006
⢠Related commentary: eBay's PayPal Dominates Over Google Checkout, eBay Acquires Online Ticket Broker StubHub, Can eBay Stay Ahead?
⢠Potentially impacted stocks and ETFs: eBay Inc. (EBAY). Competitors: Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), Google Inc. (GOOG), uBid.com Holdings, Inc. (UBHI.OB). ETFs: Internet HOLDRs (HHH), First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index (FDN)
MEDIA
Netflix's Beat and Raise Quarter Sends Shares Flying
Netflix Inc. reported 4Q06 profits that although much lower than the previous-year quarter, topped consensus estimates and sent the stock flying in after hours action.
The strength of its most recent quarter can largely be pinned on the addition of 654,000 new. That amounted to net earnings of $14.9 million, good for EPS of $0.21 versus the year-earlier period when Netflix reported profits of $38.2 million, EPS of $0.57), bolstered by a tax gain of $34.9 million accounting for $0.52 of the quarter's EPS. Average analyst EPS estimates totaled just $0.15. Revenue shot up as a result of the new subscribers, totaling $277.2 million, a 44% gain versus the prio-year period ($193 million). The large number of new subscribers brings Netflix's customer count to 6.3 million through December 2006. The company expects to end 2007 with between 8-8.4 million subscribers on revenue of $1.25 billion-$1.3 billion. Looking towards next quarter, Netflix projected net income of $9-$13 million (EPS of $0.13-$0.18) exceeding analysts' estimates of $0.11 a share. Netflix shares surged $2.50, or 10.99%, to $25.25 in after-hours trading after gaining $0.99, or 4.55%, to $22.75 during regular trading yesterday.
⢠Sources: Netflix Q4 2006, Press Release, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch
⢠Related commentary: Video On Demand: The Real Threat To Netflix and Blockbuster?, Total Access Gives Blockbuster Credibility To Compete With Netflix, Coming Soon to Your PC: Netflix Movies. Conference call transcripts: Netflix Q4 2005 Earnings Conference Call Transcript (NFLX)
⢠Potentially impacted stocks and ETFs: Netflix Inc. (NFLX). Competitors: Apple, Inc. (AAPL), Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), Blockbuster Inc. (BBI), Hastings Entertainment Inc. (HAST), Movie Gallery Inc. (MOVI)
RETAIL
Wal-Mart Reshuffles Marketing Team
Wal-Mart has reshuffled its U. S. marketing team in hopes of stimulating sales growth after a year of costly merchandising errors. Chief Marketing Officer John Fleming, architect of the company's failed attempt to appeal to more up-market consumers, will be shifted to the position of Chief Merchandising Officer. In that capacity, he will be responsible for
the company's grocery, entertainment, home and clothing divisions. Senior marketing VP Stephen Quinn will assume Fleming's former role, in what is perceived to be a move toward more promotional marketing. Claire Watts, formerly executive VP of apparel and home merchandising, will now be responsible only for apparel. The company has also selected two new ad agencies to replace agencies that were awkwardly hired and fired last year. The reshuffled executives will report to Eduardo Castro-Wright, who became president of Wal-Mart's U.S. unit last October. Wal-Mart will also make new appointments in food, entertainment and home decor. Three individuals have resigned over the past few weeks: the head of procurement, head of marketing for Sam's Club, and corporate treasurer for Sam's Club. The pharmacy and optical division will remain under the management of Bill Simon, the prime mover behind Wal-Mart's $4 prescription generic-drug program.
⢠Sources: MarketWatch (I, II [press release], III, IV)
⢠Related commentary: Walmart: Looking Forward to Better Times, Retail Sector Closes the Year on (Mostly) Down Note, Wal-Mart: Priced At a Discount With Room to Grow
⢠Potentially impacted stocks and ETFs: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT). Competitors: Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST), Target Corp. (TGT). ETFs: Retail HOLDRs (RTH), Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC), Market 2000 HOLDRs (MKH), iShares Russell 1000 Growth Index (IWF)
TRANSPORT AND AEROSPACE
Boeing Decides to Abandon Wireless in 787: Speed Bump or Speed Boost?
The Wall Street Journal reports Boeing plans to scrap plans to install wireless in-flight entertainment in its 787 "Dreamliner," which is scheduled for its first flight in May 2008. While this could raise concerns over other development issues, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports Mike Sinnett, director of 787 systems, said it will not delay delivery and instead, "... will actually make it easier for us."
Two issues forced Boeing into abandoning its wireless plans: (1) bandwidth limitations and (2) regulatory difficulties in receiving approval with some countries for use of certain wireless frequencies. Sinnett said Boeing will reduce equipment weight by 150 pounds using traditional wiring and the configuration will allow carriers to change seat layouts. Separately, Bloomberg reports UAE-based Emirates plans to order 12 additional Boeing 777-300ERs valued at $3b due to delays for the Airbus A380, adding to its 54 777s already on order. Emirates is the A380s biggest customer with 45 planes on order. Boeing's shares have faced selling pressure after a downgrade by Wachovia on Monday. Boeing reports Q4 and full-year earnings Jan. 31 before the market opens.
⢠Sources: Bloomberg, Seattle P-I, WSJ
⢠Related commentary: Boeing Shares Fall on Wachovia Downgrade, Airbus Should Get Cracking On a Regional Jet Program, Boeing Sets New Order Records in '06
⢠Potentially impacted stocks and ETFs: Boeing (BA). Competitor: EADS (Paris: 005730). ETFs: DIAMONDS Trust, Series 1 (DIA), iShares Dow Jones US Aerospace & Defense (ITA), Vanguard Industrials (VIS), Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI)
FINANCIAL
Sony Financial IPO Talks Heat Up; PS3 Launch Date Set for Europe
The Wall Street Journal reports "speculation is growing" that Sony will sell shares of its financial arm, Sony Financial Holdings, as early as April, in a long-awaited IPO that could reach ¥400b ($3.3b). Bloomberg says it may have a market value of ¥960b ($8b) noting Sony's corporate rules require it keep at least a 50% stake. This could be one of the largest IPOs in Japan this year, similar in size to last year's ¥380b Aozora Bank IPO, the largest in Japan in eight years.
It is unclear exactly when the IPO will happen, but Bloomberg reports a Sony spokesman said it could be as early as Apr. 1. The WSJ cites sources who say Nomura Securities and JP Morgan Sec. are the underwriters. The IPO is part of Sony's strategy to focus more on its core electronics businesses. Separately, Sony announced today its PlayStation 3 will launch in Europe and Australasia on Mar. 23 for â¬599/£425/A$999.95/NZ$1199.95. Initially only the 60GB version will be available based on expected consumer demand. Also, Sony announced Sony Life Insurance Co. will establish a 50/50 JV in Japan with Aegon NV, the second-largest Dutch insurer. Operations are expected to begin early next year pending final agreement and approval. A Japan-based Merrill Lynch analyst responded to the news saying, "It's a growing area and a positive move. Still, it seems the timing is a bit late and I don't get a strong impression from Aegon in this business."
⢠Sources: WSJ, Bloomberg, Sony press releases [I, II]
⢠Related commentary: Sony Ericsson Triples Profits in 4Q06, Sony PS2: Top-Selling Game Console During Holidays, Sony Soars on Goldman Upgrade
⢠Potentially impacted stocks and ETFs: Sony (SNE), Aegon NV (AEG), Nomura Holdings (NMR), JP Morgan (JPM)
AIG Offers Cash Buyout For 21st Century
Insurance conglomerate AIG has offered to buy out the remaining 38.1% of 21st Century public shares it doesn't already own at $19.75/share in cash or $690 million, a 19% premium to yesterday's price.
AIG says it is offering a "full and fair value" (at 19.6 P/E) for the outstanding shares, and that it won't sell off 21st century, because its direct personal auto insurance business is one AIG "knows well" and wants to expand into. Bank of America insurance analyst Tamara Kravec recently said insurers like AIG had a banner year due to good weather, so AIG looks to be using its windfall for acquisitions in the U.S. and in Europe: An AIG subsidiary signed an IT agreement yesterday with Accenture to expand property and casualty businesses in Europe. Cliff Gallant of Keefe Bruyette & Woods said that despite strong earnings, he's not recommending personal auto insurers because a potential price war could impact future earnings.
⢠Sources: Reuters.com; The Street;MarketWatch; Houston Chronicle (I, II); Consultant News; AIG Press Release
⢠Related commentary: Short and Longer Term Directions For American International Group; Insurance Sector Looks Cheap; Insurance Stocks: Wall Street's Biggest Secret; Cramer On AIG (Jan. 4)
⢠Potentially impacted stocks and ETFs: American International Group (AIG), 21st Century (TW), Berkshire Hathaway (BRK), Wells Fargo (WFC), Allianz SE (AZ), AXA (AXA), iShares Dow Jones U.S. Insurance (IAK)
ADDITIONAL EARNINGS COVERAGE
MUST-READS ON SEEKING ALPHA TODAY
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Yuvraj is Vaas’s victim No. 400
Welcome to the Weekly Challenge Number One Hundred And Six, where I post a topic and then challenge you to come up with a 100 word story based on that topic.
The topic this week was selected by Caleb, who is going for broke with...
It's Cereal.
The excellent theme music is by Guy David
VOTING
Go ahead and listen to them and then vote for your favorites (multiple selections are allowed):
STEVEN
For a while after the attempt, everything was spectacular. It was as if a sensory grime was vomited with the sleeping pills and charcoal, and left behind in the ER's biohazard bag. He drank in the sky's shifting shades of blue, the smell of grass and gasoline on suburban weekends. He even savored the oaty richness of generic cereal scraping down his throat.He was discharged, but doctors warned that relapse was often subtle.
"People feel fine but don't notice the symptoms returning."
He wouldn't forget. He promised he would be back to see them -- when
cereal was boring again.
DAVID
In last weeks episode, our heroes put an end to the murderous rein of Freetown's sheriff. By fabricating evidence that convinced the town of his child molesting, drug dealing, terrorist ways, they were able to incite a riot in which he was trampled to death by deputies fleeing the scene. What more can two runaways living in sin do to free our town from the violent thugs we call government? "Captain Crunch?" "Ate it! Shredded Wheat, Pullman car," Josh from above their abandoned caboose. Join us next week to discover the biting answer to Missy's immortal question???? "Got milk?"
GUY DAVID
Old Mama Chirapa was looking at little Chaketo. Since they landed, he got much thinner and the lights seems to have gone out of his young eyes. They where supposed to land, colonize this planet, only, it wasn't as deserted as they thought it was. There where creatures living here, called themselves âHumansâ and where suspicious of strangers. The Chirapa had to go into hiding. Now, Mama Chirapa sometimes wondered if they would ever see the light of day.âEat your cereal, little Chaketo. You have a whole world to conquer, and you have to be strong enoughâ, she said.
TOM
The impact from the blow sent Quatermain tumbling over the steamer truck. Eight handguns trained on Cervantes head. Maria grabbed the lid of the Easy Bake. Order returned to the Hub."Ok my choice of words was ill composed." Said Quatermain spiting out blood. "Let me show you our prodigy." Allan led them to a clean and well-lit place, 40 children sitting about eating Captain Crunch.
"We call them
the League of Extraordinary Children.
Mave they are your students."
"No." protested Cervantes
"Sorry R itâs already written in the Book."
Maria smiled and stated
"Lesson One no sugar coat cereal."
ANIMA
No word from the cattle station in days; Although it's remote, there's usually radio chatter...So I'm going to have me a look.
Jeez â will you look at this?
They've all gone and copped it. There's no whole pieces left anywhere. Just a jumble of body parts, hooves and bones. I can't tell cow from cowboyâ¦
At the feed bunk, I sift my fingers through the remaining grains.
Bloody Cheap Owner, supplying tainted feed. Ergot's an ugly character.
First ruining the farmers' crop, then driving the cattle that eats it raving mad.
This cereal killer is truly a serial killer.
TERRY
Police Detective Johnson read this week's crime report:On Tuesday, as a Kellogg's truck pulled up to the dock of a grocery store, it exploded into flames that shot one hundred feet into the air.
On Wednesday, it was a Fruity Pebbles truck that exploded across town at another grocery store.
On Thursday, a Cheerios truck was ambushed and totally destroyed.
On Friday, a not so lucky, Lucky Charms truck was the subject of a bombing.
At the scene of each crime a spoon emblem and "United" had been drawn.Yup, they defiantly had another cereal killer on the loose.
PLANET X
Little Johnny always loved his Alpha-Bits, he sometimes would pick out letters from the cereal bowl and spell out words on the table, shocking his mother.Today was different, the cereal started to form words by themselves, even before he picked them from the bowl.
At first they were simple words like "today", "you" and "will", but when "die" formed in the milk, Johnny started to get scared, scared enough not to notice the droplet of blood that came from the knife his mother had just shoved into his ear.
"Can you spell-out fuck you now Johnny" his mother said.
CRAIG
The incessant knocking at the bedroom door abruptly collapsed my dreaming.Rubbing my eyes I looked up to see four girl scouts at the foot of my bed.
Before I could speak the tall one said â itâs boxtop day, you promised to help.â
Pulling the covers over my head I mumbled âboxtop day indeed,â adding âgive me 2 minutes.â
Downstairs there were at least twenty girl scouts all staring at me. An amused Ellen handed me coffee pointing to the door, I mouthed âwhat no cereal?â
I motioned the drivers to head out, the great boxtop collection was on.
SOUGENT
He gazed down at the spreading pool of blood."A good breakfast is what you need", he said, "not that powerbar"
She was asking for it, really, just like all the rest were.
The voices kept whispering in his head, telling him what to do.
He knows he should be sorry for killing them all, but the voices just keep whispering....
"Just follow my nose, it always knows"
"I'm koo koo for cocoa puffs"
Slipping a small box of Frosted Flakes under her hand, he mutters "They're Great!"
"In other news today, the famed "cereal killer" claims a new victim"
THOMAS
Damn food nazis, been out of work for three years with no end in sight. The libs say we can't sell to kids, but what about us, I mean, who's going to buy a vacuum from an elf or a tiger? Sure, the Cap'n got a book deal and a cameo in the next Pirates of the Caribbean flick, but for most we're just trying to survive. Bitter? Damn straight I'm bitter. Snap and Pop opened a gym, then said âthrees a crowd, goodbyeâ. Bitches! Me? Well... maybe I could ask that annoying leprechaun to tend bar at his pub.
JD WHITE
John 316, fist bruised and aching, stood before the locked hatch.The hot cereal of breakfast an hour before sat, a hard cold lump in his gut.
Tears that had formed now begin to seep from his eyes.
It had been a trick.
More than a trick, a trap.
His frailty and his fear of rejection used against him.
His brothers would, if they had not already, report his transgression.
They would be rid of him one way or another.
John 316 saw clearly that he had failed the Word.
Turning, his hands trembling, he grasp the ladders first rung.
TERRENCE
As the zombies continued to shuffle by Raoul and the witherhunch, Raoul thought about the event of the past few months. In its first draft the "good" book had described all the warning signs. However, it continued to amaze him on how badly the book had been edited over the years. He had not been the only victim of some priest's edits. Maybe, if they had been a little less selective they would have recognized the sign when the podcaster spread out into other things; but who would have thought that cereal.isfullofcrap.com would bring about the end of the world.
LAIEANNA
I'm a half ass low carberer. Eggs, meat, cheese, and vegetables are the staple of an Atkins diet and even that requires limits. Eggs now make me nauseous. Meat easily grosses me out. Cheese I like but there is only so much you can eat in a sitting. Oh, and vegetables get really boring to chew on. So, on this diet, I crave things that I didn't care about when I was fatter. Fruit is a treat and chips are salty goodness. And for a poptart, strudels kid, cereal sounds like heaven. Pour me a bowl of Raisin Nut Brand...please.
HOTSPUR
I grin as anoth
