8:32am -- the business portion of the meeting is beginning, as the six items up for shareholder vote are mentioned and the election of directors being the first order of business.

8:39am -- these introductions are taking quite a while here. We're anxious to get to the director elections, since 90% of the voting shares are in attendance today.

8:43am -- we're moving to the six shareholder proposals and the accompanying votes. The first up regards humane poultry slaughter, and a PETA representative stands up to give the presentation and then present the proposal for vote. The PETA rep goes into specific detail about how poultry is killed and prepared for packaging and he describes the shareholder resolution to ensure Wal-Mart is making progress to make humane poultry slaughter a reality.

8:50am -- the second shareholder proposal is up to bat now. It centers around accountability -- it looks like a resolution to inject transparency into the WMT board and executives' influence in the political realm, and he's asking for complete visibility. I agree with this resolution, as the political involvement of WMT brass in politics needs to be fully transparent.

8:55am -- the third shareholder resolution is up for presentation and vote. This one centers around the election of WMT directors, and how the election of directors should be more challenging, with a majority of votes replacing the plurality of votes to ensure director elections stand with integrity. I hear ya -- this is a great proposal and it's directed solely at the controlling Walton family.

8:57am -- the fourth resolution is now up, and this one involves the publication of a comprehensive sustainability report, which would include the stewardship of Wal-Mart across almost every area of the business: labor, suppliers, logistics, expansion, subsidies, political contributions, employee pay and injury rates, and corporate procedures...among others. Wow, that would be a full library of reports if you ask me.

9:00am -- the fifth resolution is up and is going to involve executive compensation, and why the board of directors should report to WMT shareholders about all facets of Wal-Mart executive compensation. Great -- we need this in every public company if you ask me. I hope this resolution passes -- as the nation's largest employer and company, Wal-Mart executive pay and incentives need to be inline with performance. With WMT stock flagging at near no-movement for five years, this proposal is kind of bashing executive compensation, right now, as a scandal to the shareholders.

9:03am -- the sixth and final shareholder resolution is up, with about two minutes to go before the meeting moves on. This last resolution regards adding another woman to the Wal-Mart board of directors, and further, talks about more EEO involvement with Wal-Mart's needed transparency in hiring practices and with the election of the board even.

9:05am -- after all the shareholder resolutions, we are going to be treated to the recent American Idol winner Taylor Hicks, while the "crowd" goes wild. Um, okay. There's no better way to end the detail and passion of shareholder resolution presentations than with a singer from a reality show flavor-of-the-month year decade. Heh. I guess this is giving the Wal-Mart crowd a chance to re-group and recharge their Chinese-made batteries while preparing for what is in store next.

9:10am -- Ok, we're back. This sounds more like a multi-level marketing meeting now than a shareholder's meeting. Lots of cheering going on, and I think we're getting back to business.

9:13am -- some executives are being introduced, and the crowd sounds like a Springsteen audience. These people are loud!!! Why I'm not sure, though.

9:16am -- the senior leadership team is now answering questions they've taken from the crowd before the meeting. Up first is directed towards the U.S. sales chief -- he's the one making changes in Wal-Mart stores to make them more personable and likeable to many different customer segments. We've heard this before, so nothing really new here. "Customize the experience to the customer's need". We got it.

9:20am -- Ok, this folky Sam's Club comedy skit going on with the Wal-Mart brass is kind of chintzy -- and the crowd still continues to scream like a bunch of teenage ninnies. Hark, the herald employees sing!

9:28am -- an HR person with Wally World is talking about job opportunities for all Wal-Mart employees, and discussed the upper-movement potential all employees have. She's also talking about health care increases for all employees, even new part-time employees.

9:46. -- Amey Stone, here, signing on for Brian who had to step away. I'm tuning in in time to learn that Wal-Mart did just under $2 trillion in sales for the last 10 years. So far, I hae to say this sounds more like a pep rally than a shareholder meeting. All kinds of cheering. I hope it's not the analysts cheering. That would be a tad disconcerting.

9:50 -- "Impressive progress," crows Tom Schoewe, CFO. "Clearly this is a growth company." He cites double digit sales growth with earnings growing faster than that. "So I'm really proud and believe we have deliverered," he says. He keeps using the word "impressive." Don't you think that's for us to judge, Tom? Okay, it is impressive. I admit it.

10 -- Now he's talking about expansion. Tom says 60 million square feet to be added to Wal-Mart's footprint through international and U.S. expansion. The crowd keeps cheering when he talks about expansion into Latin America. Wall Street is expecting growth of , "a number north of $40 billion. Very, very impressive," he says.

All the cash it generates allows it to expand as well as buy back shares.

The topic now is inventory management. Wal-Mart is increasing sales much faster than inventory. Reducing inventory stored on top of risers, in back room and in warehouses are explanations. There is lots more the company can do to reduce inventory.  But the company promises to still keep products in stock for customers. Aye, there's the rub.

That's it for Tom.

10:05 -- Now Lee Scott, president and CEO, is stepping up to cheers galore. He's talking about Taylor Hicks a fair amount. That's called the warm-up. He also mentioned that he's looking forward to his upcoming vacation -- the first in 27 years. That's prompting some exploration of Wal-Mart's history. "Here's a new fact," he throws in, "Now appears Wal-mart worldwide serves 176 million customers per week."

10:10 Lots of talk about how much he values the workers/associates. "You are the heart and soul of this company." Know what they are thinking, I bet? "Show me the money!" In fact, he says Wal-Mart values "working families" who are its customers. I know where we're going with this. Here it comes... He cites a study, Wal-Mart saves the average family $2,300 per year. Now that's impressive. "Don't let anyone tell you Wal-Mart doesn't make a difference to the working family in this country and around the world."

10:15 Katrina hero story being told. These stories always make me cry. Trent, who saved dozens of senior citizens who were trapped without water, is standing and getting huge applause.  What a remarkable story and so wonderful to hear such tales of true human courage. I'm not sure Wal-Mart deserves the credit, but if it gives Trent the opportunity to stand up in front of a crowd of thousands and be called "Sir" by the CEO of Wal-Mart, I'm all for it. Go Trent! I hope you got a big bonus too.

10:20 Now he's talking about all the great opportunities given to Wal-Mart employees, including healthcare. Uh oh, dangerous ground. Critics I'm sure are listening closely.

10:25 More talk of international expansion. Plus making global supply chain efficient.

10:30 -- Wal-Mart's charitable efforts are the subject. Including creating clinics. Quickly moving on to Wal-Mart's environmental efforts. Lots of recycling going on it seems. He wraps it up with more accolades for Wal-Mart and its employees.

 10:37 -- A quick wrap-up of shareholder votes. Sounds like all the board of directors were re-elected and no surprises in shareholder resolutions. Now,  for more entertainment to wrap things up. A lot more cheering. Especially for Sam's Club.

 10:43 -- Here's where I show my ignorance. I lost my connection, had to log back on and find a woman singing and dancing on the Wal-Mart webcast. Did I mistakenly log onto AOL's music channel? I think it's someone I just saw there yesterday. Let me see if I can figure it out.  She's actually singing several songs. And it is Beyonce of Destiny's child, I hear.

10:53 -- Now the Q&A comes, but I'm not sure if that will be webcast or not. If it is, we'll be here.