Iraq and the Arab World

Is the title of a longish piece by Fouad Ajami in the new issue of Foreign Affairs. It is well worth reading. Thanks to reader Barry K. for the URL.

The New Yorker's $1.2 Million "Profit."

I'm with Kaus on this. First of all, it's almost certainly not true. Second, isn't that what a magazine is supposed to do (turn a profit)?

The idea of throwing a party at which everyone is required to wear black because the magazine is "in the black" is silly. Does Microsoft have a party because they are profitable? Does People Magazine get down because they are in the black? Of course not. Profitability is a given or a near-term goal at any serious business institution. It enables things like benefits for employees and dividends for shareholders. Duh.

The more interesting question is this: Why are the folks at Conde Nast misrepresenting The New Yorker's financial position? Everyone assumes that it loses between $1 million and $2 million a month, as it has year after year since Conde Nast bought it from the Fleischmans. Why, in the midst of the worst ad recesssion that anyone can remember, is Conde Nast suddenly throwing "in the black" parties and insisting that The New Yorker is a money machine?

Santa Visits The Troops

The front page of the Westchester editition of The New York Times has a wonderful picture of Santa Claus visiting US troops in Kuwait. It's a reminder of the enormous sacrifice made by those who serve their country in uniform. God bless 'em.

Kill Them All

The Washington Post has a good year-end wrap-up story on the War on Terrorism in some of its parts. The more you think about asymmetric warfare, the more you realize how difficult and harrowing it has become.

Merry Christmas

I'll be off the blog for the remainder of the week. Back on Monday, 30 December.

Lazy Susan

What do you do when you can't make your revenue estimates? Swap! Company A "sells" Company B a basket of intangibles which Company B then repackages and "sells" back to Company A for the exact same amount of money. Both companies then book the "sales" as "revenue." Wall Street used to call these arrangements "Lazy Susans." They were all the rage at places like Qwest, AOL and Homestore, before the bubble burst.

This morning's Wall Street Journal has an excellent report on swaps, which you can read by clicking here. You need to be a subscriber to wsj.com to access the story.

After Napster

There was Kazaa, which has over 100 million customers using its file-swapping software. The record companies and the movie people and the TV types are trying to shut Kazaa down, but it's easier said than done. The Washington Post has a good story about the company today.

Ecto-Warriors

Scientific research into the creation of super-soldiers continues apace in both the US and China. Today, ABC News has a report on "the sleepless soldier." You will read more and more about this kind of scientific research in the years ahead. The creation of what has come to be called "ecto-warriors" is a growth industry around the world.

Department of Self-Promotion

My latest column for Fast Company can be found here. It's an unhappy appraisal of AOL's problems and prospects.

The Jacksonian Response

What to do if Iraq uses chemical or biological weapons against US forces? A majority of Americans believes the proper US response should be nuclear weapons. Jacksonian America wages war towards one end: the enemy's unconditional surrender.