Free Republic

Time Warner unveiled plans Thursday to spin off AOL as an independent company, an end to the massive media media marriage formed in 2001. "We believe that a separation will be the best outcome for both Time Warner and AOL," said Time Warner (TWX, Fortune 500) chief executive Jeff Bewkes, in a prepared statement. The 2001 merger between AOL and Time Warner was applauded at the time as a visionary attempt to meld old media with new media. But synergies between the two never materialized. [Snip] Bewkes said that an independent AOL will "have a better opportunity to achieve its...

OK, I'll make this a short, readable, "vanity" editorial because I know you're all busy. Here's my idea for a good solution to the UAE ports deal that should be a winner for the White House: I don't think partnering with an American company is going far enough to keep the GOP base happy. The UAE needs to do a spin-off of the American port operations into a new company, probably a limited partnership (LP). Then bring a British executive over from P&O Ports to be CEO and bring in somebody like Peter Ueberroth or Billy Payne to be Chairman...

<p>Since the dawn of the space age, both proponents and opponents of the manned space program have used the "spinoff" argument to buttress their respective cases.</p> <p>Many fans of Apollo, and the space shuttle and the International Space Station, and whatever the NASA manned space program happens to be doing at the time, make grandiose claims about the many benefits showered upon our nation because we sent a few people to the moon, or into orbit.</p>