Gentleman Agitator

THE ATMOSPHERIC GREMLINS STRIKE AGAIN: Clear Air Turbulence Strikes Air Canada A319

    As reported by the Toronto Globe and Mail,on January 11, 2008, an Air Canada, Airbus A319 from Victoria, British Columbia to Toronto, Ontario had to make an unscheduled stop in Calgary, Alberta, the previous day, due to a few moments where it encountered a pocket of undetectable turbulence in flight. Ten people were taken to the hospital, but none with life threatening injuries. Here is a Canadian video report. This incident is what is known as "Clear Air Turbulence".
    NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, at Edwards Air Force Base in California has been one of the leading research institutions looking into these phenomena along with NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia. They describe it this way:
“Atmospheric turbulence is the leading cause of in-flight injuries experienced by the flying public, and can result in death in extreme situations.
    Turbulence is often associated with visible storm systems. In these situations, the turbulent conditions can be observed by radar and the aircraft can avoid the dangerous region. Not so with clear-air turbulence, a condition occurring at cruise altitudes that has few if any visible warning signs for even the most conscientious pilots.
    Clear air turbulence is often found on the outskirts of thunderstorms, up to 50 miles away from the actual storm activity. It also occurs near the boundaries of high altitude air currents called jet streams and in the vicinity of mountain ranges and surface weather fronts. There are currently no effective systems to warn flight crews that they are approaching clear air turbulence. One of the only ways that commercial or other aircraft can avoid encounters is to heed recent pilot reports of turbulence and if possible, avoid the hazardous region of the atmosphere.
    Additional work in the turbulence research program is under way to improve understanding of the clear air turbulence phenomena and thereby improve the quality of turbulence forecasting.”
    For almost ten years, NASA has been working to devise a system by which aircraft can detect these atmospheric gremlins before they send passengers tumbling around the cabin like the recent Air Canada incident. Working with various test beds that have included a 1960’s era Lockheed Electra prop-jet, a DC-8 jetliner and a Boeing 757 jetliner, NASA researchers and others from the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado have looked at a couple of different methods involving hardware, software and laser pulses to detect the rough air pockets. (Animation of how the laser system works)
    Size of the hardware and cost of the system are still factors that might hinder airlines from adopting it. It would not be the first time the airlines passed on a NASA developed device that could increase air safety. NASA Dryden helped to devise a system that could fly a plane by engine thrust only in the mid-1990s using an MD-11 aircraft as a test bed. This would allow a plane that loses use of the wings, rudder or flaps, such as the famous United Flight 232 in 1989, the ability to land safely. While not great in size the airlines claimed the cost of installation was too great for their large fleets and the likelihood of another such incident was minimal. What is the cost of safety though? Air travel is incredibly safe, but why not make it safer?
    Until the airlines decide whether to buy into being able to avoid the turbulence gremlins, I suggest you keep your seat belt fasten. Bashing your head into the light and air vent panel above you could lead to serious injury. Look for hand holds below the overhead bins to hang onto, if you have to walk about the cabin. If you are walking about the cabin, more than likely, you are on the way to the lavatory. There is usually one handle in the lavatory near the door. However, in there, a big bump could cause a nasty case of blue butt, even if you hang on. If you have ever looked into one of those toilet bowls, you will know what I mean.

For more information on NASA’s research in the area of Clear Air Turbulence, go to:

NASA (ACLAIM) PROJECT RESEARCH

TIMELY WARNINGS OF TURBULENCE AHEAD

A Status Report on Turbulence Warning Technology

A POX ON POLLS IN POLITICS: Notes on the New Hampshire Primary

    I hate polls in politics. I always have. This presidential campaign season in the United States, we had a whole year of them jammed down the throats of Americans leading up to this month’s Iowa Caucus and New Hampshire primary. Week after week and month after month, the popular, corporate media kept telling us who was ahead in the “horse race” when nay a voter had seen a voting booth. The media loves creating the game and controlling the game or thinking they controlling the game.  Well, as we all know, the media was gamed the night of the New Hampshire primary. 
    To see the shock on their faces as Senator Hillary Clinton’s totals kept ringing up when she was supposed to be under a landslide practically was hilarious to me. There must have been a lot of nervous breakdowns and yelling amongst the pollsters and in the executive offices of the networks the next morning, not to mention the Clinton and Obama campaigns. I loved seeing the talking heads being taken down a peg. Seeing them gag on their precious polls was really funny.
    I do not know how the polling went haywire and I do not care. Maybe many people lied when asked whom they voted for. I do not condone lying, but I have the right not to reveal my private vote to anyone! So, if exit pollers got lied to, that is there problem. To quote ESPN anchor Chris Berman about NFL point spreads and prognostications, “That’s why they play the game.” Well, that is why we vote!
    Other observations about the New Hampshire Primary night:
The MSNBC talking heads trashing John McCain’s victory speech were so condescending it was ridiculous. I am not a Republican, but those clowns were hitting low. I thought the speech was not all that bad and was laying out an appeal for a general election. No, McCain is no Shakespearian actor or the orator that Barack Obama is, but belittling him on the air like that was tacky. Later it is ok for Obama to use a teleprompter, but because McCain had note cards, he is an idiot. Typical media smarmy babble. Joe Scarborough embarrasses himself as usual, eating one of his own Republicans. He should take a good look at his tapes sometime. He is not the sharpest TV personality in the pencil box. I felt for the great Katrina Van Den Heuvel of The Nation magazine who had to be on stage with that lot. And by the way, as I commented in another post, the new MSNBC studios still look like a reject from a 1975 set design for the TV show Space: 1999.
    The good news on the Democratic side is that the race is not over. The bad news is that the race is not over. One thing the Democrats have done a number of times over the years is to pick the worst possible candidate and as quickly as possible. John Kerry was there worst possible candidate in 2004. This time they seemed determined to all run to the cliff and jump off with Hillary Clinton when the primaries were eight months away. At least Barack Obama has slowed this. He really inspires me with his words. He is clearly the best they have at this point. Senator Joe Biden was their best overall, but he was not even given a chance.  What a great step forward it would be to have an African-American president though. This could be part of Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream come true. I hope we can make it happen. So, if Obama had taken the granite state and continued in a tidal wave that ended Senator Clinton’s bid, I would not be crying.  That is not to say Senator Clinton would not be making history as the first woman president. My opinion of Hillary Clinton is that she is the wrong woman, the wrong candidate period, for this country. I would love to have a woman president. I feel that women often make better leaders than men. I just want no more Clintons or Bushes anywhere near the White House. We are not a monarchy! No royal houses in this country!
   The Clintons are about the past good or bad. There was definitely the latter, no matter how much gauze filtered light someone wants to put on it. In any case, this country needs to move forward. I do not want four to eight more years of the divisiveness and decline of the 90's both politically and socially in this country.
  I found it very ironic to learn that both Dartmouth and the University of New Hampshire were still on winter break at the time of the primary. Considering these were Obama’s greatest centers of strength, I wonder how many students were not around to vote. And lastly, and most ironic, the woman who made Hillary Clinton go all misty eyed, for whatever reason, voted for Barack Obama.

SICK OR TREAT: Penn State Students Win Stinky Sandwich Award

    On December 6, 2007 it was reported that on Halloween of this year, some students from Penn State University attended an off-campus party dressed as victims of the horrific murders at Virginia Tech University earlier this year. Their costumes came complete with fake blood, bullet holes and brains spilling out of the cranium. The images were leaked from a supposed private Facebook page to the media and the Internet. Out of deference for the feelings of the families and friends of the victims, I will not post these images. They are out there on the web to be seen. For this, I give these students my latest Stinky Sandwich Award.

    Few words can adequately describe my feelings of revulsion when hearing of this story. The ringleader of the perpetrators of this sick act, a Mr. Nathan Jones, has no remorse and vows to never apologize.  It was not even the first time his fellow Halloween partygoers had done something like this. Other partygoers from last year dressed up as the Amish girls gunned down in their one room Pennsylvania schoolhouse in West Nickel Mines. Mr. Jones and his pals just wanted to top that.
    An editorial in the Penn State student newspaper decried that some Ohio State “bartenders” did the Virginia Tech costume thing, but they were not brought out into the media and criticized. So why pick on Penn State? It also mentions the students at a party that were dressed as gay Klu Klux Klan members with blackface at Penn State and it never made much news traction beyond their paper. Mr. Jones came as a gay Hitler. (For more on Mr. Nathan Jones read, “Our Interview With Nathan Jones, The Virginia Tech Shooting "Victim" at psuOTR.com.) He just keeps digging himself a larger hole with every whining word.) The PSU student paper’s attitude comes off like many moral copouts of the 21st century. It is the well, “Ok, I did it, but so and so did it first. How come I a get in trouble if they don’t? And if they didn’t how bad can it be?” This is an outgrowth of the rise of moral relativism in the 1990s with President Bill Clinton as the poster child. Moral relativism is the philosophical theory that morality is relative, that different moral truths hold for different people. Moral relativism is just a copout by which anyone can justify any behavior.
    Speaking of copouts and excuses in this matter let us look to Penn State University. After the Halloween partiers made headlines, the administration at the university got its PR damage control team to quickly state, "We are appalled that these individuals would display this level of insensitivity, indifference, and lack of common decency and sense by dressing up in this manner."
    Their head PR man, the vice president for university relations, Bill Mahon said, “People all over Penn State - students, faculty, alumni - are appalled at what they've done."  Yet, the university refuses to take any action disciplinary action against the students since they were expressing their freedom of speech. Ah yes, once again people using the first amendment and what is interpreted as “speech” though it is only a visual representation of speech. Speech is what comes out of the mouth; all other things are a gray area to me. And the school’s administration dare not suspend or expel the students for fear that little Suzy or Johnny get their parents lawyers to sue them on first amendment grounds. No, we do not want to give Penn State any more bad publicity do we? The only woman in the images was called into PSU’s judicial affairs office. Hmm, some places that would translate into meaning that they were called into the university lawyer’s office and read the riot act about how the student and the university could be sued over this and what the ____ did they think they were doing?
    I wonder if they discussed with her the Penn State Off-Campus Misconduct Policy. It states: Student conduct committed off the campus which affects a Substantial University Interest is conduct which:
    * Constitutes a violation of local, state or federal law.  Included are repeat violations of any local, state or federal law committed in the municipality where the University is located.  (NO, WE CANNOT SAY THAT.)
    * Indicates that the student may present a danger or threat to the health or safety of him/herself or others. (CONSIDERING DEATH THREATS AGAINST THE SICKOS HAVE COME IN FROM OTHER SICKOS; THERE MIGHT BE A CASE THERE.)
    * Significantly impinges upon the rights, property or achievements of self or others or significantly breaches the peace and/or causes social disorder. (OH YES, THERE IS CASE HERE FOR ACTION. THEIR ACTIONS CLEARLY HAVE IMPINGED THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THEMSELVES, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, BESMEARCHED ACHIEVEMENTS OF THEIR FELLOW STUDENTS BY PROMOTION OF AN INACCURATE VIEW OF ALL PENN STATE STUDENTS. THEY ALSO CAUSED SOCIAL DISORDER IF NOT ON THE PENN STATE CAMPUS, ON THE CAMPUS OF VIRGINIA TECH BY TWISTING THE KNIFE IN THE EMOTIONAL WOUNDS OF THEIR STUDENTS, FACULTY AND PARENTS.)
    * Is detrimental to the educational interests of the University. (NOTHING THERE)
    Penn State administration instead of taking action against the students, prefers to call this a "teaching moment" about the “callousness it portrays”.  Ok, then the teaching should be in what their original statement called “common decency.” Yes, common decency, or perhaps even more sharply said, a common sense of right and wrong, sympathy for the weak, the injured and the mourning among us, and acting towards others the way you would want them to act towards you.
    So, in a teaching moment, I am reminded of a quote from *Vaclav Havel from the Czech playwright, poet, and political dissident, who, after the fall of communism, was president of Czechoslovakia (1989–92) and of the Czech Republic (1993–2003).
    He wrote in his book, Summer Meditations, “...I must emphasize and explain repeatedly the moral dimensions of all social life, and point out that morality is, in fact, hidden in everything..."
    Yes, it is even hidden in the Halloween costume you put on, between a fun, “trick or treat,” or a cruel “sick or treat.” It is something for Nathan Jones, his friends and all of us to remember. 

    * Vaclav Havel will be the subject of the next “Pillars of My Principles” section here at Gentleman Agitator.

Holiday Inn's New Branding is a Holiday Sin

"It was the worst mistake they ever made," – Kemmons Wilson, founder of Holiday Inn on his successors elimination of the “Great Sign” as the company logo.

    I love Holiday Inn. I admit it. I always have. From the first time, my parents pulled off an American interstate and I gazed upon the legendary “Great Sign,” I was hooked. It was a neon light blaze of the huge green sign with the yellow curved arrow and topped the star bursting in colors. Emblazoned in the middle “Holiday Inn” with the great flowing, cursive, backwards script. Sadly, the great sign went away in the early 80’s, but the last vestige of it, the classic word mark has continued though a few logos of the company until the present day.
    Therefore, last month, I was shocked when I received an email from my girlfriend asking me what I thought of the new Holiday Inn logo. New Holiday Inn logo?!
I searched the web for an image. What I saw was a bland, oversimplistic spin on the classic font that had made up the majority of the old logo. This gentleman is definitely agitated at Holiday Inn’s parent company IHG (InterContinental Hotel Group).
    Holiday Inn, you know them, the world's innkeeper. In its fifty-five years of existence Holiday Inn has always stood for lodging that is quality, consistency and a fair price. It has always stood for a “home away from home” feeling, a place for the whole family and a respite for the business traveler. This still stands true today. I am not one to constantly flitter in my purchasing choices. If I am happy with a product, I will stay with it. I am loyal to it as long as does not stray from being what I expect it to be. As a Priority Club Gold member with InterContinental Hotel Group, I show my loyalty every time I stay at a Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn Express.  However, for the first time ever, I find my loyalty challenged. The Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn Express experience for me begins with that familiar font. It is not the whole “Great Sign,” but seeing the words in that special font and the graphic star that harkens back to the “Great Sign’s” star, give me reassurance that I know what the experience will be behind them.
    Therefore, as an American who grew up on the original Holiday Inn look, the new look is a huge disappointment. I have been a loyal Holiday Inn customer, but now feel really put off by the graphic rebranding.
    It was only three years ago in 2004 that IHG, in a spirit of revival for Holiday Inn unveiled a new, modern version of the “Great Sign.” An article in Hotel & Motel Management by Jeff Higley quoted IHG’s Mark Snyder, senior v.p. of brand management for Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts, North America, “…we want to reconnect with the legacy and be proud of what we are." Along with the new sign, IHG launched new prototype for a Holiday Inn building design. The first one opened in January 2004, at the  Gwinnet Center in Duluth, Ga.. Along with the new “Great Sign,” there are new interior design elements like iconic artwork and a tribute to founder Kemmon’s Wilson with Kem’s Café, a modernized restaurant. I thought, “Great!” a new great sign and an updating of amenities for us the customers was a step in the right direction.  Outside of some advertising both internally and externally, I guess the classic update was thrown out the window!
    So, how does IHG explain this new branding?  A Times of London Online article by Dominic Walsh reported, “…Opinions are likely to be divided over the merits of the garish new green logo compared with the retro 1950s script that will forever be associated with Kemmons Wilson, who opened the first Holiday Inn in Memphis in 1952.
But Andy Cosslett, IHG’s chief executive, claimed that in depth market research conducted among Holiday Inn customers had also found strong acceptance for what he called a "a refreshed and contemporary brand image".
“Our research is clear, people like it. You don’t want to alienate loyal users so the trick is to find a way of keeping the familiarity while making it fresh and relevant.”
He added: “Signage is very important. We’ve worked out that over 100 million people see our sign every day. It’s a very important part of the marketing of the brand…”
    Yes, that’s right Mr. Cosslett, they do see that important word mark every day. It is iconic. People know what is behind that sign. Now, I cannot tell what is behind your new sign. “H”? Hilton? You want Holiday Inn to be a Hilton wannabe? I had to stay at Hilton recently because of business and it was ok. It was quite nice. If I had had a choice though, I would have been at a Holiday as is usual when I am footing the bill and not my employer as it was in this case. So let us see; is the new logo a convience store? A gas station? I guess it would look good next to a BP station with its odd, new logo. They threw away classic brand equity as well. The new Holiday Inn mark is not fresh at all. Mr. Cosslett say your research is clear, your in-depth research. I am a Priority Club Gold member! You never asked me what I thought of it! You do realize that the “H” mark font does not match the font in the new word mark don’t you? The Times article reported, “One analyst said: “The new logo is pretty awful. I expected Kemmons Wilson will be turning in his grave.” Here's a look at other views of the new branding of Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express. Then the views of some branding experts.

    The blog Underconsideration (Brand New) welcomed the change, but referred to the new logo as, “Designed by Interbrand, the new logo is more energetic, festive, modern, swooshy, happy, vibrant, friendly, grabable, and many more adjectives that are triggered by the over designed icon — it simply has too much styling to it, or, for a more appropriate allegory, too many chocolates on the pillow. In its dimensionality, the H is paper thin yet has an inner shadow, it's somehow bulging outward as derived from the shadow yet the H is not reciprocally bulged, and the green field has a slight bevel that, if the H were peeling off from it, it should have as well. It's somewhat encouraging that some of the traits from the original H — extended crossbar to the left and right, inward curve of the right stem, and an overall angling — were intended to carry over into the new mark. The accompanying word mark, while beautifully drawn and well crafted, feels like it belongs on an amusement park ride, more than a global hotel chain; and as a way to bring it altogether, the word mark also features, again, that indispensable dark green bevel.” A good comment on that blog entry by reader Jonathan Hoefler read, “And another one bites the dust. Nostalgic Me is sad to see such a marvelous piece of Americana tossed out in favor of something bland and perishable, and Commercial Me is dumbstruck that what was literally the signature of the institution has been done away with, without reason. I wonder when history will start to regard ours as an age of typographic genocide…” Another reader wrote what was probably behind the decision rather than market research, “The problem comes with upper management wanting to put their 'mark' on a brand during their tenure. I firmly believe that selfishness by individuals and management groups are driving many of the identity changes in the American marketplace these days. Dumping years of brand equity is not great business - overhaul the SERVICE or PRODUCT and allow the brand to be associated with that.”
    Those were some graphic design professional’s reviews. At least one consultant in the hospitality industry, David McMillan of David McMillan Consulting, Global Hospitality Consultant for Hotel & Resort Owners, Developers and Operators had this to say in his blog entry on November 1, 2007, “REPOSITIONING ANALYSIS PARALYSIS....NOW NEW & IMPROVED!
HOW MANY TIMES CAN ONE REINVENT A HOTEL BRAND?
Are we never satisfied with a great product? Do we always have to find a 'new and improved' version? Can we not build in 'perpetual improvement' into the brand, in the first place…I believe that the management of a brand is a very personal thing, not open to diverse interpretations nor financial difficulties. It is a strong statement of a position. A powerful statement of style......not something that gradually deteriorates and then needs to be re-named. That is a cop-out. A total departure from the basic principles of the brand which were established in good faith.”
    Kemmons Wilson, the founder of Holiday Inn once said that the worst decision that was made after he no longer ran the company was the loss of the “Great Sign” as the company’s logo. "It was the worst mistake they ever made.”
    Well, Mr. Wilson, God rest your soul, they’ve done it again. I make a personal appeal to IHG to give us back the Holiday Inn word mark . Do what you will otherwise, but let us, the loyal Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express customers continue to have confidence in the brand and pride in its legacy. You know, I miss the big green key fobs. I miss the white towels with the green stripe and Holiday Inn in white or just the words in green. I even miss the paper ribbon across the toilet telling me that it has been sanitized for my protection. That does not mean I am against progress. As part of the new makeover under the logo, IHG promises a number of new initiatives I applaud and look forward to. The website etravelblackboardasia.com reported these Holiday Inn updates:
Refreshed Guest Room – Guests will be able to enjoy a new bedding experience with fresh, white duvets and pillows that come in two comfort levels: soft and firm. Bathrooms will feature a showerhead that offers superior pressure while conserving water as well as enhanced amenities, to deliver an invigorating and up-to-date bath experience.
Warm Welcome – A new signature arrival, including new lighting, landscaping and design features will create an energized and a sense of welcome that is universally recognizable and unique to the brand. Guests can expect a more interactive and efficient check-in process, while customized music and scent selections will also engage them in a complete sensory experience.


New Service Promise – Since a differentiated lodging experience cannot be delivered through imagery and product alone, Holiday Inn is committed to providing the best-in-class service. As part of the relaunch, the brand will initiate a new service culture – “Stay Real.” The service culture will enhance staff behavior and skills to best serve guests, treating them as real people and consistently delivering the real, genuine service for which Holiday Inn is known.”
    That is great. I look forward to these changes. They sound like fun and a good upgrade to my lodging experience.  In addition, I fully realize that changes have to be made to keep Holiday Inn competitive with many other chains nipping at its heels. That does not change my feeling towards the new logo though. I hope IHG will PLEASE reconsider this decision. I will say one positive thing. Holiday Inn will at least keep green and yellow in their signage.
    Another favorite company of mine, Delta Air Lines, kept their colors, but made an equally disastrous logo change in 2000 when the classic logo, know as the widget, was changed to what I called the wimpy widget . Outcry from employees got the widget restored in 2004.
    I realize there is risk in keeping the mark as there is in changing it. An article in the Toronto Globe Investor online by Lori McLeod states, “It's a big gamble and a logistical nightmare of sorts, but Stevan Porter, president of the Americas region for IHG, said it has to be done - "or someone will do it to you… Mr. Porter is convinced it's the right decision, although chucking out 52 years of history has given him some sleepless nights. "That is a massive bet to make.”  While he has lost that bet with this Holiday Inn loyalist, maybe he will win it with whatever demographic IHG’s brain trust are aiming for. I hope they do, because the worst thing that could happen is for Kemmons Wilson’s dream to die. A death not only of a great business, but an American historical and cultural icon. Holiday Inn is the WORLD’s Innkeeper!

P.S.: Do you feel like I do? Do you want to see an American icon preserved? Let IHG and Kemmons Wilson’s family know how you feel. Are there Holiday Inns and Expresses you regularly stay at? Let the franchisee management know how you feel next time you visit. 

Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Put the “Keep Delta, My Delta” Buttons Away

There is a new threat to Delta Air Lines, "Pardus Capital Management, LLC. I am sure if you are an airline industry watcher like I am, a Delta Air Lines supporter like I am or that you are an air traveler, that you have heard that pot stirring coming from a letter from Pardus to Delta executives. Pardus declaring how “imperative” it is that Delta merge with another carrier and that United would be the “most attractive and practical combination.” Uh, that would be the most attractive and practical? That shows how much Pardus know about the airline industry. Perhaps they just mean attractive and practical for them.
    It was only last year that Delta was fighting off a marriage proposal of an unwanted suitor in US Airways. That rumpled suit with wilting flowers showed up at the door trying to create a low cost Frankenairline of a carrier that would have kept the name Delta. I wrote two articles on that subject last year, DELTAFLOT: BLUEPRINT FOR A FRANKENAIRLINE: Part 1 and Part 2.
    Now, we have an outside matchmaker trying to scare Delta to merge with United. Who exactly is Pardus to tell Delta and United what to do? Pardus has a puny 2.6 and 4.8 percent of stake in each company. Who is Pardus anyway?
    Pardus is a hedge fund group. A hedge fund is defined by a CNN online article on understanding financial terms as: A private investment fund that uses high risk techniques such as short selling and derivatives to achieve a higher return. Maligned in some quarters because of the perception that some hedge funds have so much leverage their activities can be detrimental to the global financial system.
    In doing a little research about Pardus, read of them being or having been connected to the Lear Corporation. Lear is one of the world's largest suppliers of automotive interior systems and components. More importantly, I saw that the majority stakeholder in the Lear Corporation is none other than a name that strikes revulsion and fear in the hearts of many former and present airline employees. It is none other than that notorious destroyer of airlines in the 1980s, Carl Icahn. If Pardus and Icahn have any connections, look out Delta and United. I have no evidence of this, I just found it interesting that they were both hedge fund movers with investments in a sector with Lear and another auto parts company Visteon. 
    Icahn is also mentioned in a February 2006 article at Business Week.com. entitled: “Attack Of The Hungry Hedge Funds.” I used to think that hedge funds were helping to prop up ailing American companies, but now… The article reads, “To hike stock prices, they're banding together to force changes on companies. Activist hedge funds had a banner day on Feb. 7. Before the stock market opened, General Motors Corp. (GM ) finally succumbed to months of pressure from billionaire Kirk Kerkorian and his Tracinda Corp. investment fund by slashing its dividend, cutting executive pay, and naming a Kerkorian adviser to the board. In the afternoon, an adviser to billionaire hedge fund manager Carl Icahn issued a 343-page paper detailing how to break up Time Warner Inc. (TWX ) and release about $40 billion in shareholder value.  Boosting share prices rather than taking over underperforming companies is the name of the game, and any strategy to achieve that seems fair play…
…In fact, the new strategies mean that such corporate battles are now year-round affairs. At any moment, an activist fund can take a position in a target company and quickly start agitating for change. The first move is often a salty open letter to management. When Icahn, who manages various Icahn Partners funds, wrote to Time Warner shareholders on Oct. 11, he let fly. "Unless this legacy of poor decision-making is fully recognized and the board is held accountable, the dismal record of mistakes and inaction will continue to the detriment of shareholders," he wrote. It was the official opening salvo in the war for the future of the company…” Gee, where have I heard of this scenario in the last couple of days?
    So, it is back to the 1980s eh? Cue Gordon Gecko, “Greed is good.” Some speculation is that moves like this are in fear of a Democrat in the White House and a new administration not as amenable to big mergers. So, get while the gettin’ is good, is that it?  You just scare investors, management, employees and travelers of airlines into consolidation and pick up a quick buck.  Oh, that cry of consolidation. One symptom of a lot of the run away capitalism we have in this world is by those that unless companies merge in an industry that it will all collapse. That and the absurd notion that some have that consolidation of the airline industry would bring more competition. No, it would only bring monopolies. That is not a free market economy.
    For now we will just have to believe the statements of Delta and United reported in the New York Times:    
    “We appreciate receiving Pardus’s views on the best course for Delta’s future,” Mr. Anderson (Delta’s CEO Richard H. Anderson) said in the statement. “We have been consistent in our public statements that Delta believes that the right consolidation transaction could generate significant value for our shareholders and employees.”
    United’s spokeswoman, Jean Medina, said: "We do not respond to wholly inaccurate statements made by people who claim to have knowledge when they clearly do not."
    Just in case, as a loyal customer of Delta and supporter of the company and its employees I will keep my “Keep Delta, My Delta” button at the ready. I will be ready to brandish it again and agitate for a free and independent Delta Air Lines.    

From the ‘I Told You So.” Department: Turkey to Invade Iraq?

    As usual, American media is shocked at something in what they report. Namely, that Turkey is massing on the border of Iraq with 60,000 troops and making noises to invade. It is amazing how many media types act shocked at something that does not seem as any great surprise to me. Do not any of you guys in the media do any research? Have you ever picked up a history book?
    This situation with Turkey is another malignant outgrowth of this insane war in Iraq. I knew this could happen from the beginning. I heard, watched and read about Iraq’s history and peoples as the conflict began. It does not take a Mensa to see that the ethnic Kurds in Iraq might see this dysfunctional time as a time to declare independence. The Kurds claim areas of Turkey and Iran as their own, with Iran and Turkey claiming Kurdish parts of Iraq. And while rebel PKK Kurdish, army does not represent all Kurds, who can believe that if Turkey invades Iraq all the Kurds will fight them. And what of America’s position?
    Do we defend the Kurds as Iraqis? If we attack the Turks, we attack a NATO ally. The Turks could claim that the Kurds attacked them. Well, the NATO treaty I believe states that an attack against one is an attack against all. So, then we fight all the Kurds for Turkey’s sake? That is quite a conundrum.
    Tonight, I hear the United States Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, is offering intelligence information to the Turks to take on the PKK. There is a description on the news this evening of the PKK having Marxist influences. Oh. That will be the logic, the old stopping the Commies excuse, at least as long as the whole area the Kurds control in Iraq does not ignite. Our Secretary of Defense impresses upon the Iraqi government that they must do more to control the situation themselves in the Kurdish areas. They cannot even control Baghdad without our help!  What an incredible mess! If Turkey takes over northern Iraq, how long before her other neighbors start picking at the rest of the carcass? Iran invades from the east, Syria from the west, Turkey from the north, and Americans trapped in the middle, with their heads on a swivel, not know which way to shoot. And the LaBrea tar pit that is Iraq gets worse and worse.

D’Oh! WLW’s Darryl Parks Quotes Homer, But Talks Like Mr. Burns.

    This year, the city of Cincinnati, Ohio has proposed restoring one of its great traditions, a streetcar line. To have a streetcar line these days is more than just restoring tradition and memories in America’s cities, it is a vital part of integrating mass transit into our nation’s transportation needs. 
    Mass Transit has its detractors of course. A lot of them are like Cincinnati radio station program director, Darryl Parks and his station WLW. Mr. Parks is officially, Director of AM Operations for Clear Channel Cincinnati. He is also Regional News Talk Brand Manager for Clear Channel (overseeing 700 WLW, 55 WKRC, 1360 WCKY and 1530 WSAI) and Saturday morning talk show host.
    Gentleman Agitator gave WLW its Stinky Sandwich Award earlier this year for its approach to ‘entertainment”. I was tempted to do it again with this column, but if I gave a Stinky every time WLW said or did something rude, insulting or disrespectful to the public it claims to serve, I would be handing them out weekly I imagine.
    Last Saturday, Mr. Parks decided to take a stick to the streetcar proposal. Like a good, un-thinking conservative as opposed to a thinking conservative, he was quick to beat this perceived “liberal” plot in its crib. Anything that is a proposal for the public good, especially in the city limits of Cincinnati proper, is a “liberal” plot. That certainly is the impression you get from WLW.
    At the top of the show, Mr. Parks played a clip from the popular television show, “The Simpsons”.  The episode was partially a parody of the musical, “The Music Man” It is called “Marge vs. the Monorail”. What was being sold to fictional Springfield in the episode was a monorail line. It was being sold to them by a swindler who built a substandard monorail and then high tailed it out of town with the money he made off the folks in Springfield. The clip played had various characters questioning a monorail in their beloved Springfield in a song.  Mr. Parks obviously thought that this was a good comparison to a streetcar line in Cincinnati.    
    First. NOTE: To the lawyers at the FOX network and Matt Groeing’s lawyers. Did WLW pay for the rights to play that sound clip from “The Simpsons” on the air?
    Second. While “The Simpsons” is funny, Darryl Parks usually is not.  In fact, what I get from Darryl Parks is downright hatred for the city of Cincinnati.  His humor about the subject descended into prejudice if not borderline to racism when he referred to people in the “Over the Rhine” district as T-Rexes and Raptors. He laughed that riders of a streetcar that went into “Over the Rhine” would be veal for the T-Rexs and the Raptors.  They were going to be traveling into Jurassic Park. So, Mr. Parks, who exactly are the T-Rexs and Raptors that you speak of in “Over the Rhine” eh?
    This is the old crying routine about crime in “Over the Rhine”. Yes, there is crime. Yes, more needs to be done to improve the area. There are good people in Cincinnati devoted to making “Over the Rhine” a better and safer place to visit and live in and they are not in the “evil”, “liberal” government. You won’t hear that from WLW though.
    Mr. Parks read an online letter to the editor of the Cincinnati Enquirer who supported the streetcar idea. This person was quoted as Brent Comstock of Anderson Township. Mr. Parks wanted to challenge Mr. Comstock as to why if he supported streetcars, he did not ride the Metro bus. Well, how does he know if Mr. Comstock does not ride the Metro bus system? Who is he to assume he does not? Here, in Bloomington, Indiana, I ride the Bloomington Transit bus system as often as I can.  He seems to even mock Mr. Comstock for caring about Cincinnati when he lives in Anderson Township. Kudos to Mr. Comstock for realizing Cincinnati, and all of metropolitan Cincinnati, is one entity made up of many parts, parts that need to work together to improve and succeed.
    Mr. Parks went on to criticize Cincinnati city councilman, Chris Bortz for his suggestion that Duke Energy, formerly Cinergy, and the major power supplier for the area might donate twenty million dollars to the project for the power grid the line would run on. Here is how the Cincinnati Enquirer reported it on October 18, 2007, by line, Margaret A. McGurk:
    “Duke Energy probably will not write a multi-million dollar check for Cincinnati’s proposed streetcar line between downtown and Over-the-Rhine. The city hopes private corporations will share about a third of the system’s $102 million cost. Cincinnati City council member Chris Bortz speculated Wednesday that Duke could pay for a power grid for the streetcars, which will run on electricity.
    Not so, said Duke spokesman Steve Brash on Thursday. “We could not be a sole funder of the power infrastructure for the project,” he said. 

With expensive capital projects of its own in the works over the next fire years, he said, the company cannot spare $20 million for the streetcar system. 
“We are certainly willing to continue discussions, but we have made no commitment at this point,” Brash said.
    Mr. Parks blew this report up to implying that Bortz and the “do nothing” city council as he put it, was going to somehow force Duke Energy to give them this money. He said that the Enquirer’s editorial board was bought and paid for on the subject. He even threw out the oldest, cheapest red meat line for his conservative listeners.  He implied that this idea sounded like “Communism.” Gasp! Not Communism Darryl! Please, Mr. Parks say it ain’t so! Commies are in the Queen City’s city council? Tell us Senator McCarthy, uh, I mean Mr. Parks, which ones are “fellow travelers”?  Are your ratings that bad at the “Big One”? First, a fake fight between on air hosts, and then red baiting? I guess it is pretty good for making money for WLW and its masters at Clear Channel, but pretty pathetic broadcasting. I think even the father of WLW, the hardly liberal, Powel Crosley Jr. would be embarrassed by his creation today.
    Then Mr. Parks pulled out another old chestnut.  He asked corporations to call into the station to make donations to the streetcar proposal. He even gave out a special number, (513) 749-3700. He crowed that he was going to keep that line open. Then he let some oh so dramatic dead air silence make his point when the phone line did not ring immediately. “Anyone? Anyone?” he asked with silent pauses.  Yes, yes, very witty, very witty. A real Oscar Wilde you are Darryl Parks.
    In “Marge vs. the Monorail” on The Simpsons, Marge Simpson wants to fix the city’s main street before putting in a monorail.  Considering the monorail turns out to be a swindle, Marge is proved right. Marge has the best intentions to improve Springfield. What are Darryl Parks' intentions towards his own city? Would he even agree with Marge to fix streets, or would he find reason to criticize that as well?  If it meant the least little tax increase or a bond measure, I think he would squawk and squawk no. That is the philosophical bent of people like Darryl Parks. Any idea that might be helpful for the common good such as better transportation or better schools or making the city safer must somehow be a government scam. Rather than improve the Cincinnati metropolitan area, it seems he would rather criticize and deride.  Swindles come in many forms. What is Darryl Parks trying to swindle out of Cincinnati for the money making gain of his station? Could it be, its future?

Let the Zombies Sleep in Northern Ireland

“...It's the same old theme since 1916
. In your head,
 In your head they're still fightin'
. With their tanks
 in your head they are dying...In your head, in your head,
Zombie, zombie, zombie,
Hey, hey, hey. What's in your head,
In your head,
Zombie, zombie, zombie?
        -“Zombie”, The Cranberries, 1993

    Last evening, at midnight, saw the end of what the army of the United Kingdom called “Operation Banner”. As a Christian and as Britophile, I gave thanks that this tragic chapter in history has now seemed to pass.
    For thirty-eight years, the British army tried to keep at bay its own citizens from killing each other. According to the BBC, Operation Banner was, “…the Army's longest continuous campaign in its history with more than 300,000 personnel serving and 763 directly killed by paramilitaries…”
    For those years, the army was either welcomed or hated, trusted or feared, alternately from both sides. These were sides made up by people who claimed their God was the real God, their Jesus was the real Jesus, and their church was the real church. Throw in the bitter root of who was really British and who was really Irish being decided by the gun and the bomb, and it led to nothing but death and destruction.
    As a Christian, I always found this conflict pure insanity. Many people in Northern Ireland it seemed to me, never read scripture, never knew the Lord, and instead picked up the sword. If Christians cannot agree one thing, that Jesus is our savior, son of the living God, the prince of “peace”, what do we have? That one thing unites us. If we let anything else stand in the way of that, it’s time to turn in our vestments, our usher badges, put down the hymnals, empty the baptismal cistern of holy water and cancel the potluck next week. It is time to close the doors of the church and lock them. For if the Catholic and the Protestant cannot be brothers and sisters in Christ, we have turned our backs on Him.
    I always felt sorry for British troops in Northern Ireland and for the ordinary citizens who chose to try to live their lives in peace.
    The BBC report also said, “…The former Archbishop of the Church of Ireland, Lord Eames, said the sacrifice made by soldiers made possible a political settlement in Northern Ireland.
    He said: "History has now enveloped all that. Life has moved on but in ways which would not have been possible without the sacrifice, courage and devotion of those whose lives were taken. Let us remember with quiet pride and quiet admiration those who gave so much…”
    Yes, let us remember them and all innocent civilians that died. While even now, I cast a wary eye at the trustworthiness of Gerry Adams and Ian Paisley and their ilk, at least now there is a chance for peace. What about the rest of Christendom?
    Sadly, last month, Pope Benedict via a new Vatican document that everyone who is Protestant or Orthodox do not belong to “proper Churches”. Uh huh, as a Presbyterian, I guess I do not count.
    A Times of London article reports, “The document said that the Orthodox Church suffered from a “wound” because it did not recognize the primacy of the Pope. The wound was “still more profound” in Protestant denominations, it added.
    It was “difficult to see how the title of ‘Church’ could possibly be attributed to them”, said the statement from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Roman Catholicism was “the one true Church of Christ”.... The document said that the Second Vatican Council’s opening to other faiths – including “ecclesial communities originating with the Reformation” – had recognized there were “many elements of sanctification and truth” in other Christian denominations, but had also emphasized that only Catholicism was fully Christ’s Church…”
    Sad, all I can say is, sad. Let’s hope a little of the peace that has been found in Northern Ireland can spread to the rest of Christ’s disciples today. I pray so.

Mike Vick, Lindsay Lohan and the Vicious Circle

    Last Thursday, Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star wrote a column on the issues surronding the investigation of Atlanta Falcons quarterback, Michael Vick for the discovery of dog fighting on his property in Virginia.
    For Vick, Mr. Whitlock wishes that, "My desire is to see Vick evolve as a human being and for his troubles to serve as yet another wake-up call for black athletes to reject the hip-hop/prison culture that glorifies much of the negative behavior and attitude that has eroded the once-dignified and positive reputation of African-American athletes."
    I completely agree.
    He continues later in the column, "...This is a cultural phenomenon that has swallowed a small percentage of African-American athletes, but a large enough percentage to significantly damage the overall perception of black, American-born athletes. As Dr. Harry Edwards told me two weeks ago, it only takes a few key people to hijack an entire culture.

    N.W.A., the late-1980s rap group, hijacked hip-hop years ago, and calls to return it to something resembling decency and self-respect have fallen on Def Jam ear$. Allen Iverson and his sneaker/jersey sales hijacked the image of black professional athletes years ago, and out of fear of being labeled a racist or a sellout, few have even dared question the sanity of it … until now.

    Now we can all see the stupidity. Gangsta-wannabe rappers masquerading as professional athletes is a public-relations nightmare waiting to tear apart sports franchises and leagues..."

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/195760.html

    While Mr. Whitlock is right in his specific assertions here, the disease is much more widespread than within the athletic arena. This "cultural phenomenon," has spread to all ethnic and economic backgrounds in our society. It grew and grew in the 1990s and its fruits can be seen in this story.

    It can be seen in every white-boy wanna be with his pit pet being used as a living gun. Every girl with a pit or doberman as a "fashion accessory." When rap/hip-hop was hijacked by NWA and others I might add, crime was never so glorified since perhaps the days of Bonnie and Clyde and Al Capone.
    The latter day Gangsta culture is fueled by popular culture, it's music, movies, TV and indeed sports. The last twenty-five years of sports has seen an approach where individual players have been "pimped," to use the gangsta vernacular, marketed, above their teams or their sports. Marketable cults of personality are all we have left in this society. And when the marketers are done with one, its on to the next.

    That is what the Lindsay Lohans and Mike Vicks probably do not understand. You are expendable. There is always the next, "it girl" singer or actress, or "star player," coming on the production line of the money makers. And if you choose to take your talent and your future and just throw them away for nothing, it is a great shame. The road to destruction is wide and paved with gold.

    Then we can turn to the streets of our inner cities, our suburban cul-de-sacs and even in rural areas, and see young people emulating what they see in popular culture. Popular culture then immitates what they seem to want. To the angry, the frustrated, the innocent, or just bored, this path seems very tempting. They think they have no other options. They lash out by copying their so called "heroes." So why not pull out the pistol and shoot the clerk for fifty bucks, point the spray paint can and deface the building, get drunk and hit the freeway for a joy ride, or turn up the noise in my car for my own selfish pleasure?

A vicious cycle that eats it self. When will it end? I have no idea. When we look in the pit bull fighting ring, I wonder, if we are just looking at what America has come to in the year 2007?

Hoosier Mass Transit Bills Moving Along the Track

Indiana's statehouse is continuing on track for Mass Transit studies. One bill from State Representative, Terri Austin, House Bill 1659 is to direct the Indiana Department of Transportation to conduct a study of mass transit options state wide. The other bill, Senate Bill 105 from State Senator Tim Lanane would direct a study for a light rail line from Muncie to Indianapolis and then to Bloomington.

In a April 10, 2007 press release Rep. Austin states,

"For those of us who believe that mass transit must be a crucial element in our state's economic development efforts, the actions in both the Indiana House and Senate are very positive," Austin said after House members approved Senate Bill 105, which creates a joint legislation study committee on mass transit and transportation issues, and requires a series of studies throughout the state on mass transit.

"These provisions are part of both Senate Bill 105 (authored by State Sen. Tim Lanane, D-Anderson) and House Bill 1659, legislation I authored that already has made its way through the Indiana Senate," Austin said. "It is our intention to have both measures continue through the process and sent to the governor to emphasize the importance of the concepts contained within them. They have received strong bipartisan support in both chambers...

"Both Sen. Lanane and I believe that these studies will give us the first realistic chance to consider development of high-speed rail and other modern forms of mass transit as way to move large numbers of people across Indiana," Austin said. "There is substantial evidence to indicate that switching to mass transit has helped many metropolitan areas in this country relieve traffic congestion and save both time and energy costs...

"I feel that mass transit offers unlimited potential in helping our state continue to expand its economic development efforts," Austin said. "These measures give us the chance to make that possibility become a reality."

Bravo, Representative Austin and Senator Lanane! Both these proposals passed and are now on their way to Governor Daniels office. If the Governor wants to stand by his PR catch phrase for transportation efforts, "Major Moves," he will sign it. Mass Transit options for a state that progresses often at the speed of a glacier, it would be a major move. For more on the proposal, visit Representative Austin's website.