Just another coincidence

Former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin is joining the board of Delta Air Lines, the carrier announced Thursday. …

When the Federal Aviation Administration and then-airport manager Ben DeCosta said provisions in the proposed lease deal between the city and Delta could limit competition at Hartsfield-Jackson, Franklin defended the lease, emphasizing the relationship between Delta and the city. City officials estimated the lease would cost the airport $17 million a year in revenue. At the time, Franklin was eager to get the deal signed before she left office.

Since then, some members of the Atlanta city council and others have criticized the Delta lease as being too favorable toward the airline, and expressed concerns about the impact of the lease on the airport’s finances.

Someone tell Atlanta Spirit they sold the Thrashers

	Atlanta Spirit, LLC is the parent company of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers and owns the operating rights to the world-class entertainment venue Philips Arena.

Corporate-speak, FTW

Overheard (second-hand, thank God) at a international conglomerate’s mobile summit: “We are curating serendipity.” So they’re overseeing or organizing fortunate discoveries by accident? Unfortunately, he wasn’t laughed out of the room.

Also, authenticity is the new buzzword, apparently, replacing pivot. So now you know.

(FTW = For the win, I’m told.)

Why people hate corporate America

Transocean Ltd. gave its top executives bonuses for achieving the “best year in safety performance in our company’s history” — despite the explosion of its oil rig that killed 11 people, including nine of its own employees, and spilled 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Not race, but time

It’s mere coincidence that ethically challenged House members Charlie Rangel and Maxine Waters are black (or Democrats, for that matter). But combined they have spent 58 years in Congress. No coincidence there.

Two years ago Nancy Pelosi claimed she’d “drain the swamp.” Republicans will say the same thing if they retake Congress in 2010. It’ll never happen.

Term limits aren’t the solution, but they wouldn’t hurt. The longer one stays in Congress, the more likely they are to abuse the institution’s flimsy ethical standards. You gotta have influence to peddle it.

All about profits

BP is facing fresh scrutiny into whether it was involved in the release of the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, after the oil giant admitted lobbying the British government over a prisoner agreement with Libya.

The Evil Empire caves to fundamentalist thugs

America’s media conglomerates have zero balls (and fewer principles). None is more soulless than Viacom, which has once again bowed to the threats of extremist gasbags.

On Thursday morning, a spokesman for Comedy Central confirmed that the network had added more bleeps to the episode than were in the cut delivered by South Park Studios, and that it was not giving permission for the episode to run on the studio’s Web site.

Among the bleeps: any reference to the “Prophet Mohammed.”

I shouldn’t be surprised. This is the company that owns MTV, responsible for the most nihilistic programming in the history of broadcasting. If only Mohammed was a product — they’d never censor a money-making opportunity.

Corporate folly

I’d rather gargle thumbtacks:

Descriptions of Team Building Activities, Initiative Games, & Problem Solving Exercises
Helium Stick	Deceptively simple teamwork activity.  Form two lines facing each other.  Lay a long, thin rod on group’s index fingers.  Goal: Lower to ground.  Reality: It goes up!
Toxic Waste	A popular, engaging small group activity.  Equipped with a bungee cord and rope, a group must work out how to transport a bucket of “Toxic Waste” and tip it into the neutralization bucket.  Can be used to highlight almost any aspect of teamwork or leadership.
Mine Field	Objects are scattered in an indoor or outdoor place.  In pairs, one person verbally guides his/her partner, a blindfolded person, through the minefield.
Zoom	A group tries to create a unified story from a set of sequential pictures.  The pictures are randomly ordered and handed out.  Each person has a picture but cannot show it to others. Requires patience, communication, and trying to understand from another’s point of view in order to recreate the story’s sequence.
Pipeline/Gutter Ball	A fast paced activity that can be modified to suit age and setting. Each participant gets one gutter or half pipe tubing. The object is to move a marble or assorted size balls using lengths of guttering from point A to point B without dropping them.
Keypunch	A powerful teambuilding exercise for medium sized groups. Participants must touch the randomly placed numbers, in sequence, within a given time frame in multiple attempts.
Warp Speed	A team building exercise based on the icebreaker “Group Juggle“.  Groups are challenged to juggle as fast as possible.  Invite group to “tender” a time they can deliver.
Balloon Activities	Group activities that can be done with balloons.  Promotes gentle, fun physical movement, people getting to know one another, trust and working together.

The Greediest of Empires

The NFL, which has no problem squeezing retired players injured in the line of duty, has turned its lawyers loose on New Orleans’ mom-and-pop vendors. The league has sent cease-and-desist letters to anyone attempting to capitalize on “Who Dat,” the Saints’ trademark cheer.

While “Who Dat” was trademarked by the NFL years ago it clearly belongs to Saints fans. Based on its history, don’t expect the NFL to yield. Sorry, New Orleans. but the league needs the money more.

Two Recent Decisions I Will Never Understand

1. The Supreme Court’s decision lifting the ban on corporate spending in elections. Those who equate corporations with individuals when it comes to free speech remind me of Second Amendment absolutists who see no harm in allowing some redneck to stock up on Uzis. The disconnect with reality boggles the mind.

Fact: Corporations spend millions on 30-second ads without blinking. If I saved every paycheck I might be able to afford 10 seconds on public access TV. How is that fair? There’s only one reason corporations spend money on elections — to make more money. That’s what they do. I don’t believe corporations are inherently evil, though I’m not naive enough to think they always act in the public interest.

2. Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to prosecute 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in federal court. KSM is undeserving of the rights guaranteed American citizens, and hard-earned intelligence shouldn’t be risked in favor of misplaced idealism. There are other (humane) ways to prosecute this monster.

Pardoning Marc Rich is no longer Holder’s most foolish decision. Just when we thought Fredo was out, Obama pulled him back in.