It can't be pleasant being in charge of the slow-motion sinking of the good ship Postmedia Networks, but Paul is making the best of it. Here's his take on the just released numbers that showed a $112 million loss for the last quarter:
“The transformation of Postmedia continued this quarter with the roll out of our paid content model to all of our newspapers, traction on our cost savings initiatives and the completion of our organizational redesign to a functional operating model,” said Paul Godfrey, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We will continue on this path, transforming a traditional media company into one that leverages future opportunities with a structure that supports a new model.”
Is that not some of the most inscrutable bafflegab you've ever tried to decipher? "The transformation continued" indeed! From a "traditional media company into one that leverages future opportunities."
I sure hope they arrive at that "functional operating model" soon. The dysfunctional operating model they've been operating with is getting a little long in the tooth.
And the shareholders must be holding their breath waiting to get a glimpse of the "structure that supports a new model." Will the new model be the first media network to operate entirely without paid employees? Can the operation be functionally operated with unpaid interns? Can they all telecommute from their homes, thereby saving the company the expense of office space?
Speaking of shareholders, one wonders what invisible hand is propping the share price up in the $1.50 range. Maybe it's time to sell off some of that $340 million in "intangible assets" on the balance sheet?
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
News of the future; Xstrada will pick Barrick out of bankruptcy for pennies on the dollar
But Munk and the bonus boy will be long long gone.
It's not looking good for Barrick shareholders. By the time they get that troublesome new gold mine down in South America on line, their debt will be way over their market cap.
Now I don't have an MBA or anything like that, but even I can see that this isn't going anywhere pleasant...
Unless you're the folks who pick Barrick out of the wreckage at ten cents on the dollar.
It's not looking good for Barrick shareholders. By the time they get that troublesome new gold mine down in South America on line, their debt will be way over their market cap.
Now I don't have an MBA or anything like that, but even I can see that this isn't going anywhere pleasant...
Unless you're the folks who pick Barrick out of the wreckage at ten cents on the dollar.
America rises!
This is going to be a hard pill to swallow for that Republican who sometimes reads this blog, but the fact is that Obama has done more for America's international prestige than anyone since Reagan beat back the commies in Grenada.
That was thirty years ago.
Under Clinton and the Bush family, America's rep only went backwards.
But look at the evening news today!
Egypt turns itself inside out to appease the legions of American "democracy activists" on the ground.
Countries large and small trip over themselves rescinding asylum offers from Edward Snowden.
Never in recent history has back-room arm-twisting had such a salutary effect.
The rise is reflected in the price of gold and the relative value of the American dollar against other currencies.
The Big Dog is back, and he means business!
That was thirty years ago.
Under Clinton and the Bush family, America's rep only went backwards.
But look at the evening news today!
Egypt turns itself inside out to appease the legions of American "democracy activists" on the ground.
Countries large and small trip over themselves rescinding asylum offers from Edward Snowden.
Never in recent history has back-room arm-twisting had such a salutary effect.
The rise is reflected in the price of gold and the relative value of the American dollar against other currencies.
The Big Dog is back, and he means business!
Obama "deeply concerned" about US-sponsored coup in Egypt
If I remember correctly the USA was similarly "deeply concerned" about Honduras and Paraguay.
The deep concern rests on considerations of public perception in the states that are the beneficiaries of America's largess. America does not connive in the overthrow of democratically elected governments.
Unless there's something in it for America.
In Morsi's case, it was obvious all along that relations between the Muslim Brotherhood and the US were something less than brotherly.
Going forward, one has to wonder how this turn of events will impact US relations with Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the two most indefatigable supporters of Islamic fundamentalism, and both US allies/proxies.
There will be interesting times ahead!
By the way, who do you suppose paid for that obviously pre-planned fireworks display in Tahrir Square tonight?
The deep concern rests on considerations of public perception in the states that are the beneficiaries of America's largess. America does not connive in the overthrow of democratically elected governments.
Unless there's something in it for America.
In Morsi's case, it was obvious all along that relations between the Muslim Brotherhood and the US were something less than brotherly.
Going forward, one has to wonder how this turn of events will impact US relations with Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the two most indefatigable supporters of Islamic fundamentalism, and both US allies/proxies.
There will be interesting times ahead!
By the way, who do you suppose paid for that obviously pre-planned fireworks display in Tahrir Square tonight?
What Toronto could learn from Emilio Colombo
Colombo was the 40th Prime Minister of Italy. Once safely retired he announced that he was prone to sniffing a line of cocaine now and then, and, by the way, "I'm gay."
Contrast that to the travails of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. Canadian media have been in a major flap for months because Mayor Ford may or may not have been filmed smoking a crack-pipe.
What's the big deal? Is he puffing that pipe during his working day? Mayor Ford has built more bridges to the black youth of his city than any Toronto mayor in history.
And apparently he's not even gay!
Let the man do his job.
Contrast that to the travails of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. Canadian media have been in a major flap for months because Mayor Ford may or may not have been filmed smoking a crack-pipe.
What's the big deal? Is he puffing that pipe during his working day? Mayor Ford has built more bridges to the black youth of his city than any Toronto mayor in history.
And apparently he's not even gay!
Let the man do his job.
Gandolfini proves playing a mafia boss much more lucrative than being one
James Gandolfini left back $70 million when he went to his reward a couple weeks ago.
The lion's share of that came from playing a mafia boss on the Sopranos.
How many actual mafia bosses can get their hands on $70 mil?
A few, I imagine, but it ain't their money. They have to give a cut here and give a cut there and the politicians and the judges and the chief of police need their cut, and so on down the line.
If a real-world mafia chief had $70 million in his hands today, he'd be down to twenty bucks by the end of the week.
But he'd have loyalty.
The lion's share of that came from playing a mafia boss on the Sopranos.
How many actual mafia bosses can get their hands on $70 mil?
A few, I imagine, but it ain't their money. They have to give a cut here and give a cut there and the politicians and the judges and the chief of police need their cut, and so on down the line.
If a real-world mafia chief had $70 million in his hands today, he'd be down to twenty bucks by the end of the week.
But he'd have loyalty.
Celebrating the basic human decency of a lying stooge
Must admit we made something of a faux pas with this post from a couple weeks ago, praising the integrity of former Liberal leader Bob Rae.
Bob has betrayed the trust we had in him with his unfortunate comments about Libya that appeared in the Globe and Mail today.
Bob did get one thing right; it's rare for an establishment commentator, especially one who was an enthusiastic cheerleader for the war, to admit that two years after the demise of Gaddafi the country is a shambles.
But here's the whopper that floored me; "Gaddafi did not invest in people, institutions, or infrastructure."
Gaddafi's people enjoyed free housing, health care, and education. Before we liberated them they enjoyed the highest standard of living on the African continent.
Under Gaddafi, tens of thousands of Libyans studied abroad at the expense of the state.
Gaddafi built one of the greatest infrastructure projects of all time, the Great Man-made river.
And notice how Bullshit Bob bemoans the fact that "aid money is drying up."
How is it possible that Gaddafi was able to do all the above without aid money, but now that we've liberated them the Libyans have become aid dependent?
Perhaps the key to this mystery is revealed by the note at the end of the article. Bob is working with the "National Democratic Institute." That is one of a multiplicity of US funded "democracy promoters" busy on the ground to help guide nascent democracies towards the "right" sort of democracy.
And only a Washington approved democracy will ever be the right sort.
Bob has betrayed the trust we had in him with his unfortunate comments about Libya that appeared in the Globe and Mail today.
Bob did get one thing right; it's rare for an establishment commentator, especially one who was an enthusiastic cheerleader for the war, to admit that two years after the demise of Gaddafi the country is a shambles.
But here's the whopper that floored me; "Gaddafi did not invest in people, institutions, or infrastructure."
Gaddafi's people enjoyed free housing, health care, and education. Before we liberated them they enjoyed the highest standard of living on the African continent.
Under Gaddafi, tens of thousands of Libyans studied abroad at the expense of the state.
Gaddafi built one of the greatest infrastructure projects of all time, the Great Man-made river.
And notice how Bullshit Bob bemoans the fact that "aid money is drying up."
How is it possible that Gaddafi was able to do all the above without aid money, but now that we've liberated them the Libyans have become aid dependent?
Perhaps the key to this mystery is revealed by the note at the end of the article. Bob is working with the "National Democratic Institute." That is one of a multiplicity of US funded "democracy promoters" busy on the ground to help guide nascent democracies towards the "right" sort of democracy.
And only a Washington approved democracy will ever be the right sort.
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