It was my intention to write a year in review type article but I tabled that idea. There is only one year in review you all should read and that is the one written by Dave Barry. Check out the link at the bottom of the page and do read it. Very funny and very well done as always.
I decided instead to pass out awards for the top performers in 2005. Some are funny, some are sad and some might seem weird but here goes. Drumroll please...
The Civic Duty Award - Goes to the jury on the Michael Jackson trial. Apparently these 12 rubes were not present on this planet during the months the Jackson trial took place. If they were they would have known that "Jacko" was guilty. Alas, they followed the leadership of such other fine California juries (OJ Simpson, the Menendez Brothers, etc) and let him Moonwalk all the way to Bharain (his new home).
Medal of Valor Award - Tie between New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco and FEMA Director Mike Brown. These three sad individuals botched, rebotched and then botched again the entire mess that ensued before, during and after Hurricane Katrina. All are equally culpable yet each conveniently blames the other while stating they were the "only ones showing leadership." All three should be forced to sweep the streets of New Orleans during Mardi Gras and Southern Decadence.
Corporate Leadership Award - Goes to none other than the Dolan family. This first family of New York media had an out and out feud between father and son over a failed satellite service called VOOM. The old man and son rattled sabers at each other before finally agreeing (begrudginly) to close VOOM and sell the assets. All the while the company's stock took a massive tumble.
The Please Make It Stop Award - Goes to Fox News correspondents Greta Van Susteren and Geraldo Rivera. Geraldo for the Terri Schiavo case and Greta for the Natalee Holloway case. This fine news channel has been co-opted by these two schmos and they need to be outsourced somewhere where no one we'll watch them. Like MSNBC.
The Big Whiner Award - Goes to all the Manchester United fans who claimed Man U would be "ruined" by the purchase of the club by American Malcom Glazer. These weenies claimed the famed club would lose their fan base and there would be repercussion of epic proportions. The result: Man U still sells out and while they are running 5th in the Premiership, they are making money and playing in front of all those rabid fans who vowed never to show up again.
The Boy Did We Get Fleeced Award - Goes to all the Hollywood studios for the pointless trash they greenlighted and that no one went to see. With few exceptions, everything Tinseltown put out landed at the box office with a loud thud. Guys, the key to making good movies is actually "writing a script that's interesting." I know that flies in the face of the new way to do movies which is to blow up lots of stuff and have minimal dialogue but give it a try. You may be surprised.
The Please Pay Attention to Me Award - Goes to North Korean dictator and cartoon looking freak, Kim Jong-Il. Kim, desperately trying to get the attention of anyone, continues to to play nuclear poker with the world. His motive appears to be his need for people to take his phone calls because his "country" doesn't appear to be gaining any additional support nor are they striking any more fear into the world. Perhaps in 2006 Kim will attempt to strike a deal that actually gets food to all those people living around him.
The I Cannot Tell a Lie Award - Goest to baseball "legend", Viagra pitchmen and all around smarmy character Rafael Palmeiro. Shortly after appearing before Congress and emphatically denying taking steriods, Raffy fails a drug test for, wait for it, steroids. Strong work.
The Lion in Winter Award - Goes to General Motors. The titan of the auto industry found 2005 to be a hard year. From poor sales, dealers in revolt, rising health care costs and 217 year old Kirk Kerkorian, GM faces a hard reality and the outcome could be very ugly. The stock is in the tank and their bonds are trading at junk status. Everything from selling off parts of GMAC to filing for bankruptcy is on the table for 2006. Hopefully the venerable car company will find traction very soon.
That's it for 2005. The Hawk has enjoyed his blogging so far and looks forward to more fun and nonsense in 2006. Hope you'll stop by from time to time.
Hawk...
The Year in Review
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/entertainment/13511044.htm
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Should California Save Tookie?
On Tuesday the state of California will likely carry out its most controversial execution since the reinstatement of the death penalty in the early 1970's. The case involves Stanley "Tookie" Williams. Mr. Williams is on "The Row" for his involvement in 4 homicides in 1979. In addition Mr. Williams was the co-founder of The Crips street gang, which still exists today.
Mr. Williams case is a cause celebre for many individuals. Death penatly opponents to Hollywood celebrities have lined up and spoke up on his behalf, demanding he be granted clemency.
The rationale for this is based on the fact that Williams has turned his life around in prison. In his 24 years in prison, Williams has gone from a gang founder to an outspoken opponent of gangs and violence. Along the way he has written several children's books and been nominated for the Nobel Prize 6 times (5 for peace and one for literature).
To be fair the main arugment Wiliams supporters have is the above, but upon further review, those points are tad more hollow than they seem...
Nobel Prize Nominations: While The Hawk is still seeking his elusive first Nobel Prize nomination for this weblog, it should be pointed out that being nominated for a Nobel is not as special as it is cracked up to be. First off, anyone can be nominated. Secondly, nominations are never released by the Nobel committee. Finally, Mohandis Gahndi, Martin Luther King and Desmond Tutu all won the Prize but Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Benito Mussolini were all in the running for one as well.
Writing Children's Books: It's nice that he has a hobby but writing children's books does not mean that one should get total redemption from one's past crimes.
Speaking Out Against Violence: One would hope as Mr. Williams got older he would speak out against the violence that got him on "The Row" in the first place. That is the benefit of getting older, you tend to get wiser and more mature.
He's Sorry For His Crimes: Mr. Williams still proclaims his innocence through all of this despite 16 years of failed appeals. At the end of the day, he doesn't want clemency he wants out of prison. While The Hawk does not think that a man should cop to a crime he did not commit, it is not a stretch that a street gang founder, high on PCP could in fact commit such crimes. Again, no evidence (DNA or witness) has come up to suggest Mr. Williams is innocent. It was his gun who killed those people and that we know for certain.
Hawk's View: In the end, Mr. Williams, like everyone on death row, should be granted clemency because The Hawk does not believe in the death penalty. Not because I think the prisoners deserve better but for the exact opposite. The death penalty turns madmen and monsters into martyrs and those folks simply do not deserve anyone's time. Lock them up and throw away the key. They may be alive but they are not living, they are existing in a metal cage to think of all of their past misdeeds. That's the toughest punishment of all. Along the way if some do reform, good for them, but they still have to live with the fact that they will spend the rest of their days irrelevant behind bars waiting for their day to come. That's a long time to live with the shame of crime.
Note: Please read the link above from the Washington Post's Eugene Robinson. Very interesting.
Mr. Williams case is a cause celebre for many individuals. Death penatly opponents to Hollywood celebrities have lined up and spoke up on his behalf, demanding he be granted clemency.
The rationale for this is based on the fact that Williams has turned his life around in prison. In his 24 years in prison, Williams has gone from a gang founder to an outspoken opponent of gangs and violence. Along the way he has written several children's books and been nominated for the Nobel Prize 6 times (5 for peace and one for literature).
To be fair the main arugment Wiliams supporters have is the above, but upon further review, those points are tad more hollow than they seem...
Nobel Prize Nominations: While The Hawk is still seeking his elusive first Nobel Prize nomination for this weblog, it should be pointed out that being nominated for a Nobel is not as special as it is cracked up to be. First off, anyone can be nominated. Secondly, nominations are never released by the Nobel committee. Finally, Mohandis Gahndi, Martin Luther King and Desmond Tutu all won the Prize but Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Benito Mussolini were all in the running for one as well.
Writing Children's Books: It's nice that he has a hobby but writing children's books does not mean that one should get total redemption from one's past crimes.
Speaking Out Against Violence: One would hope as Mr. Williams got older he would speak out against the violence that got him on "The Row" in the first place. That is the benefit of getting older, you tend to get wiser and more mature.
He's Sorry For His Crimes: Mr. Williams still proclaims his innocence through all of this despite 16 years of failed appeals. At the end of the day, he doesn't want clemency he wants out of prison. While The Hawk does not think that a man should cop to a crime he did not commit, it is not a stretch that a street gang founder, high on PCP could in fact commit such crimes. Again, no evidence (DNA or witness) has come up to suggest Mr. Williams is innocent. It was his gun who killed those people and that we know for certain.
Hawk's View: In the end, Mr. Williams, like everyone on death row, should be granted clemency because The Hawk does not believe in the death penalty. Not because I think the prisoners deserve better but for the exact opposite. The death penalty turns madmen and monsters into martyrs and those folks simply do not deserve anyone's time. Lock them up and throw away the key. They may be alive but they are not living, they are existing in a metal cage to think of all of their past misdeeds. That's the toughest punishment of all. Along the way if some do reform, good for them, but they still have to live with the fact that they will spend the rest of their days irrelevant behind bars waiting for their day to come. That's a long time to live with the shame of crime.
Note: Please read the link above from the Washington Post's Eugene Robinson. Very interesting.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Time Warner's Icahn Problem
In the Spring I posted a couple of stories regarding blowhard investor Carl Icahn and his target at the time (Blockbuster). The first dealt with Icahn being hung up on during a web conference for all the world to hear. The second dealt with heavy handed approach CEO John Antiocco was taking when dealing with Icahn. At the time "Uncle" Carl (as he likes to be known, very man of the people) was lodging a complaint that Blockbuster was not acting in the best interest of the shareholders. Icahn got what he wanted (board seats) and has rest assured made life miserable for Mr. Antiocco since he and his band merry investors ascended onto the board.
Now Icahn has moved on to a bigger target. None other than Time Warner (formerly AOL Time Warner, formerly Time Inc and Warner Brothers, formerly Turner Broadcasting and...well you get the picture). Icahn has put TW CEO Richard Parsons on notice: spin-off the entire cable division, increase the dividend and get rid of AOL or else...
The "or else" in that statement means that if Carl doesn't exact his pound of greenmail that he'll pull the same thing on TW that he pulled with Blockbuster. No doubt making Mr. Parsons life equally miserable as he did for Mr. Antiocco.
Icahn's M.0. is veiled in "unlocking shareholder value." But in essence what he does is take a big stake and then force companies to pay him off in the short term via dividends or buybacks. If he doesn't get what he wants he takes his fight public and drags the company in question out into a war.
The problem is Icahn's moves generally make company's worse off because they are forced to abandon long-term strategies or worse yet put them in a poor negotiating position (E.G., it'll be tough for Parsons and crew to negotiate a "fair" AOL deal if even I know that they are being pushed hard to sell it).
However, Mr. Parsons should not be underestimated. Underneath that sweet veneer is a man who knows how to negotiate and lead in times of peril. It is he who pared down TW's debt, unwound the difficult cable partnership with Comcast and sold the music business for a tidy profit. He can handle Icahn if the board backs him up. The question is of course, will they?
Hawk's View: This is a bit of a cage match but I like it to end in a draw with Icahn getting a nice fat check to go bother some other media company (are you paying attention Viacom?). Look for buybacks to go up and for AOL to get sold off (Microsoft is the one). However, don't expect Parsons to give in when it comes to spinning off the entire cable operation. Parsons knows that business is a long term strategic play and giving it all up now will not nearly bring them enough money for the leverage they will lose. Look for a portion of the cable business to be spun off by late Summer with TW still holding a majority position. And look for Icahn to be stalking some other company by then.
Now Icahn has moved on to a bigger target. None other than Time Warner (formerly AOL Time Warner, formerly Time Inc and Warner Brothers, formerly Turner Broadcasting and...well you get the picture). Icahn has put TW CEO Richard Parsons on notice: spin-off the entire cable division, increase the dividend and get rid of AOL or else...
The "or else" in that statement means that if Carl doesn't exact his pound of greenmail that he'll pull the same thing on TW that he pulled with Blockbuster. No doubt making Mr. Parsons life equally miserable as he did for Mr. Antiocco.
Icahn's M.0. is veiled in "unlocking shareholder value." But in essence what he does is take a big stake and then force companies to pay him off in the short term via dividends or buybacks. If he doesn't get what he wants he takes his fight public and drags the company in question out into a war.
The problem is Icahn's moves generally make company's worse off because they are forced to abandon long-term strategies or worse yet put them in a poor negotiating position (E.G., it'll be tough for Parsons and crew to negotiate a "fair" AOL deal if even I know that they are being pushed hard to sell it).
However, Mr. Parsons should not be underestimated. Underneath that sweet veneer is a man who knows how to negotiate and lead in times of peril. It is he who pared down TW's debt, unwound the difficult cable partnership with Comcast and sold the music business for a tidy profit. He can handle Icahn if the board backs him up. The question is of course, will they?
Hawk's View: This is a bit of a cage match but I like it to end in a draw with Icahn getting a nice fat check to go bother some other media company (are you paying attention Viacom?). Look for buybacks to go up and for AOL to get sold off (Microsoft is the one). However, don't expect Parsons to give in when it comes to spinning off the entire cable operation. Parsons knows that business is a long term strategic play and giving it all up now will not nearly bring them enough money for the leverage they will lose. Look for a portion of the cable business to be spun off by late Summer with TW still holding a majority position. And look for Icahn to be stalking some other company by then.
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