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The New York Times Co. is trying to sell its stake in the Boston Red Sox baseball team, seeking to raise cash and shield its newspaper franchise from rapidly falling revenue.
Under pressure from investors to sell noncore assets in recent years, executives of the Times Company have said repeatedly that they were open to selling the stake, but only on the right terms. But recently, they have been actively shopping the company’s stake in New England Sports Ventures, which owns the Red Sox. The Times Company informed its partners in the venture of its plans last month.
The company executives have suggested that the central aim of any sale is to protect the company’s newspapers, particularly the flagship Times. They have also been reluctant to consider the sale of About.com, an Internet site that is profitable and growing…
The Times Company reported on Wednesday that revenue from continuing operations in November was down 13.9 percent compared with the month a year earlier. For the year, it was down 7.6 percent.
Even competitors of the TIMES wouldn’t want to see it disappear. The standards they’ve always represented continue to be diluted and diminished by the “news as entertainment” Philistines.
Troops Moved to Border — How long will it be before these two countries lob nukes at each other? Not a good situation.
Pakistani officials say the Pakistani army is moving troops toward India amid tensions with New Delhi over last month’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
Witnesses say hundreds of troops are moving eastward from Pakistan’s northwestern border with Afghanistan, where soldiers have been fighting al-Qaida and Taliban militants.
The army has not officially confirmed the redeployment. But defense officials say the military has canceled leave for members of the armed forces, and put both the army and air force on high alert.
India has not immediately commented on the Pakistani troop movements. But India’s Foreign Ministry Friday advised Indian citizens that it is “unsafe for them to travel or be in Pakistan” as tensions rise between the two countries.
Know your geography!
City hit by ‘legal to pee’ prank
People should ignore signs telling them that it is legal to urinate in certain public places in Nottingham, the city council said.
The signs, which were put up by pranksters in and around Nottingham, are designed to look official.
They feature a toilet sign and include the words: “Public Urination Permitted After 7.30pm”.
Nottingham City Council is now urging the public to ignore the notices as it sets about removing them.
[…]
The notice reads: “In an attempt to reduce late night public nuisance, during the holiday period, Nottingham City Council has designated several public urination areas across the city.“This urination area will be cleaned daily between the hours of 5am and 6am.”
Since everyone is showing off their various “snowed-in” photos, I thought I’d wish the readers a Merry Christmas from from my abode on the Olympic Peninsula in Northern Washington with some views.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Here’s the front of the house. Note the landscaping.
Art makes itself in these conditions.
Look off the back deck to the grass covered hill and the neighbors. Lush.
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd sued Motorola Inc over claims the mobile-phone maker is improperly blocking it from offering jobs to laid-off Motorola workers, Bloomberg said.
RIM, in a complaint filed in state court in Chicago, asked for an order invalidating an agreement the companies reached this year not to solicit each other’s employees, the agency said.
The agreement expired in August and is no longer enforceable, the agency said, citing the complaint.
Motorola is improperly trying to expand the agreement “to prevent the RIM entities from hiring any Motorola employees, including the thousands of employees Motorola has already fired or will fire,” RIM was quoted as saying in the complaint.
Ah, the holiday spirit in Silicon Valley.
GM’s Finance Arm to Get Bank Privileges
Federal regulators will permit the financing arm of General Motors to become a bank and gain access to billions of dollars in government aid, a crucial step that will help ensure the survival of the company.
In a 4 to 1 vote, the Federal Reserve Board approved GMAC’s application to transform itself into a bank holding company “in light of the unusual and exigent circumstances” affecting the financial markets. The move will allow GMAC to tap as much as $6 billion in government bailout money. The approval came as GMAC bondholders were facing a Friday deadline to vote to approve a complex transaction that would significantly reduce the company’s outstanding debt.
Man in Santa Suit Kills Three — Cripes!
In a bizarre Christmas Eve rampage, a 45-year-old man in a Santa Claus outfit showed up at a party in a Los Angeles suburb and opened fire at a group of revelers, killing three people and injuring at least three others, including two children, the police said on Thursday.
The suspect, identified by witnesses as Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, later killed himself, the police said.
Maybe you had one as a kid, or knew someone who did. It’s the iconic little red wagon with the Radio Flyer logo. If so, you might not recognize the newest product dreamed up by the brain trust at Radio Flyer’s Chicago, Illinois, headquarters.
This wagon, called the Cloud 9, is equipped with enough high-tech bells and whistles to make the family minivan jealous.
“We approached this product much like an automotive company might with a concept car,” said Mark Johnson, Radio Flyer’s product development manager.
Outfitted with 5-point safety harnesses, padded seats, cup holders, foot brakes and fold-out storage containers, the sleek, curved Cloud 9 has every family covered for a ride through the park. But that’s just for starters.
There’s a digital handle that tracks temperature, time, distance and speed — just in case energetic parents want to track their split times around the playground. And there’s a slot for an iPod, complete with speakers, for some cruising tunes.
Well – it’s something-or-other 2.0
UPDATE: Consider “American car” to refer to one built by GM, Ford or Chrysler. Not Toyotas built in the US, etc.
Extraordinary times in the car industry mean extraordinary deals.
American carmakers are knocking thousands of dollars off the sticker prices of some cars with incentives ($10,000 or more in the case of big SUVs and pickups), while struggling dealerships are doing everything they can think of to beef up dwindling traffic. Even two-for-one deals are becoming increasingly common.
But is saving big bucks worth the risk of buying from an automaker that may soon be out of business?
Maybe. It depends on your financial situation, how much of a bargain hunter you are and how much risk you’re willing to shoulder.
These are probably NSFW, depending on where you work.
There just ain’t nothin’ like the classics this time of year!
BBC News – Tuesday, 23 December 2008:
A Canadian woman who went missing during a blizzard last week has been found alive, buried in 23in (58cm) of snow, police say.
Rescuers were shocked to find Donna Molnar, of Ancaster, west of Toronto, still conscious after she spent three days outside in freezing temperatures.
Ms Molnar, 55, vanished on Friday after her car became stuck in a snowy field, and is now being treated in hospital.
Police dog Ace and his handler Ray Lau have been credited with the find.
“When I came up to her she was covered in snow, just her face and her neckline were exposed,” rescuer Ray Lau said. “I was surprised she was alive.”
Mr Lau found Ms Molnar on Monday, just a few hundred yards away from her four wheel drive car, wearing little more than a winter jacket and suffering from hypothermia.
Police credited the insulating effect of the snow with keeping her alive.
Staff Sgt Mark Cox said she was suffering from frostbite and could lose some of her extremities, although she was expected to survive.
“That’s the miracle. That’s a Christmas miracle. Sometimes the good don’t die young,” said Mark Mackesy, a family friend who spent the weekend comforting Ms Molnar’s husband and son.
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