Word: hammered
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WASHINGTON: The bullying of the attorney general continues. GOP hammer Dan Burton wants Janet Reno to appoint an independent counsel to tackle Clinton/Gore campaign finance allegations. Failing that, he's asked that the administration turn over two memos to Reno (one by FBI chief Louis Freeh and one by prosecutor Charles LaBella, both of whom agree with Burton). But Reno, says TIME Justice Department correspondent Elaine Shannon, isn't about to do either -- even if Burton's committee votes Thursday to hold her in contempt...
Then again, no one would confuse personal-injury lawyer Jim ("the Hammer") Shapiro with the Pillsbury Doughboy. He is experimenting with several versions of his one-second spot, at $35 each, in upstate New York. In one ad he yells "Hurt!" while the word comes hurtling at the viewer in large orange letters, above his phone number. Even at a second, the ad is as subtle as a car wreck--and, Shapiro hopes, just as likely to bring him new clients...
This lavish system worked fine when the buyer was the U.S. government or a regulated airline that could pass the entire expense on to its passengers. But such customization no longer flies in an era of deregulated fare wars. Says Robert Hammer, vice president in charge of bringing Boeing production techniques into the 21st century: "This is the largest, most complex business-redesign effort in the world. And we should not be proud of that. It's like saying you've got the biggest spring-housecleaning job in town...
Boeing is thus staking its future on efficient manufacture rather than on developing flashy products that fly ever higher, faster and farther, the usual mantra for new aircraft. "For years we were able to raise the price of airplanes based on technology," says vice president Hammer. "But we can't do that anymore. If I want to make a profit, I've got to lower the cost...
Every few pages, McPhee takes out his English major's rock hammer and prizes out a sample of whizbang geology lingo: plutons, grabens, horsts, gabbro, incompetent rock, punk rock, catsteps. Slickensides, if you please. Too much gong banging would become grandiose noise, however, and too much info simply another second-year geology text. McPhee, who is beguiled by his geologists and can make you see why, has a good feel for when to ease off into anecdotes. He goes after the rock wonks with butterfly net and magnifying glass...