dooms du jour, September/2000
[Commentary] ©2000 Phil Hyde, The Timesizing Wire, Box 117, Harvard Sq, Cambridge MA 02238 USA (617) 623-8080

9/30/2000 sat (re fri biz)
only 2 takeovers reported, totaling $662m
+ record 6 downsizings reported on one day, totaling 1,402 + unspecified lost jobs:
• 600 lost Ill. jobs as Unilever closes Chicago plant & moves production to other states
• 35% workforce cut (350 lost US jobs) as Rockwell scales back its electronic commerce
biz, instead of 35% workweek cut (to 26 hrs) & keeping everyone working & e-shopping
• 350 more US jobs lost as Mattel Inc. shrinks its HQ & its dividend
• 53% workforce cut (80 Dallas jobs gone) as Beal Aerospace goes
into sudden panic in response to "over budget & behind schedule"
• 20% staff cut (22 lost US jobs) as Space.com overgrows & consolidates with a
"thanks, now get lost," instead of doing a 20% hours&pay cut for all & keeping
everyone together, secure, working, earning, & playing around on the Internet
• unspecified jobcuts as Bausch & Lomb 'recovers' from its
takeover of Chauvin with lower & lower earning forecasts
+ omens: • savings low but spending up (so depression checked) but consumer debt ??
• GOP reveals its true big-government colors
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• Lieberman may be a bit too cozy with big corporations, but he can & does take time off
• new movement to revive Native American languages & their structuring of reality
• † songwriter Sigman - "Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think"

9/29/2000 fri
6 more takeovers reported, totaling $2.83B + $??
+ 1 downsizing reported: • 1100 Atlanta jobs cut as WebMD
consolidates & cuts costs (& its own throat) in the wake of its takeover of
Medical Manager - how about some managing instead of just acquiring & firing?!
+ omens: • Philadelphia mayor wants longer workday & workyear for teachers
vs. glimmers of intelligence: • 53% of Danish voters nix the Euro
• % of Americans with health insurance rises after falling for 11 straight yrs
• FDA approves abortion pill - Gore agrees, Bush disagrees
• Ways & Means approves more safeguards on SS ##
• † eternal-PM Pierre Elliott Trudeau - & his wit

9/28/2000 thu
6 takeovers reported, totaling $4.78B + $??
+ 4 downsizings reported, totaling 4,410 lost jobs:
• 10% workforce cut (3000 jobs lost) as Mexico's 3d-biggest bank amputates
toward efficiency, instead of just trimming hours&pay 10% for everyone (to
36/wk) including top execs & keeping everyone employed, earning & banking
• 1005 US & British jobs cut as First Data creditcards "tries to increase profits"
• 300 Texas jobs lost as Supreme Beef CEO Steve Spiritas would rather 'die' in Chap.11 if
he can't 'live free' with good old 'poke&sniff' meat inspections vs. modern scientific tests
• 25% staff cut (105 US jobs lost) as Viacom cuts MTVi in over-reaction to unsustainable
market for digital entertainment, instead of 25% hours&pay cut for everyone (to 30-hr
workweek) & keeping everyone employed & getting ideas on the Web's real potential
+ 4 corporate settlements ($??) noted: • 4 brokerages settle with SEC for poor oversight
+ 1 bankruptcy mentioned: • Texas meatpacker files for Ch.11
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• 2 UPsizings - 60 new jobs at Tvisions in New England & ?? new jobs at Land Rover in old England
• womens' top gripe is time crunch - Timesizing to the rescue!
• Putin prudently postpones impovershment of 1/3 of his military
• Canadians have more political choices than Americans - 5 viable parties

9/27/2000 wed
2 downsizings reported, totaling 1225 lost jobs:
• 1200 Illinois jobs cut as ABC-Naco RR products closes a
factory to save money (& effectively 'saves' a lot of local shopping as well)
• 45% staff cut (25 Calif. jobs lost) as Adatom.com cuts spending to focus on
partnerships in China, instead of 45% hours&pay cut for everyone (to 22 hrs),
keeping everyone employed & minimizing damage to consumer base
+ 11 takeovers reported, totaling $4.21B + $undisclosed
+ 2 corporate fines/settlements reported ($83.5m):
• Aetna $82.5m  • Caleb Brett $1m
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• Bucky Fuller posthumously gets his wish - fuel cells receive investment money
• 'modified rapture' - CEO of Clorox shares his $300k bonus - but only with senior mgmt

9/26/2000 tue
12 takeovers reported, totaling $14.31B + $undisclosed
+ 1 corporate downsizing reported (300 lost jobs) & 1 industry's stats (4805 lost jobs):
• 17% workforce cut (300 Euro jobs lost) as tiler Armstrong closes a British plant &
prunes unprofitable product lines & sales offices, instead of doing a 17% workweek cut
for everyone (to 33 hrs) & keeping everyone employed, spending & buying tiles &c.
• 4805 just-created jobs now gone as our hot new dot-com industry reaps the
grim harvest of founding startups just to get out rich - & fast
+ 1 corporate fine/settlement reported ($7.8m):
• #3 credit-card issuer hit for misleading ads re low-rate cards
+ omens: • reader despairs of relevance in the 2-party debates
• Q: why hasn't electricity cost dropped? (A: side-effect of dereg)
vs. glimmers of intelligence: • Senate approves $8B plan to aid Everglades
• taco recall spurs labeling of frankenfoods  • analyst Tom Brown opposes merger mania
• owner Charlie Butcher is sharing $18m with employees from sale of Butcher Co. cleaning supplies

9/24-25/2000
weekend roundup per the NY Times and the Boston Globe:
• 17 downsizings reported this past week, costing over 9,815 + lost jobs
• 23 takeovers reported this week, worth $11.71B + $undisclosed
• 4 bankruptcy mentions, with $1.1B debt + $unreported
• 3 corporate fines/settlements mentioned ($115.7m)
vs. 0 UPsizings (0 new jobs) + 0 UNtakeovers reported ($0)
< YTD:  409 dnsz (452,595+  jobcuts) +1748 takov ($1921.17B+) vs. 109 upsz (77,281+=17%) +112 untak ($111.26B+) >
+ twin $256m weekend settlements, totaling $512m - re Sotheby's & Christie's cheating buyers & sellers
+ 1 weekend prison story: • Prison Health Services, the "HMO behind bars"
+ weekend omens: • stock drops are just the surface - if your brokerage fails,
you confront the industry's sham insurance scheme, "SIPC"
• in Boston, 9-hour-workday dad forgets baby in car, baby dies
• firms will do anything but offer more pay & training and less work
vs. glimmers of hope: • in NC, Warren Wilson College involves students in its upkeep

9/23/2000 sat (re fri biz)
4 downsizings reported, totaling 4300 lost first-world jobs + unspecified:
• 5.4% workforce cut (2300 Japan jobs lost) as phone giant NTT shrinks regional
offices to save $560m & meet stiffer rivalry, instead of doing 5.4% workweek cut for
everyone (to 38 hrs) & keeping everyone employed, spending & making phonecalls
• 2,000 just-created jobs now trimmed as new Canada's new monopoly airline,
Air Canada, resumes workforce proportions before takeover of Canadian Air
• unspecified U.S. jobs lost as Wolohan Lumber closes 4 midwest stores
• unspecified Taiwan jobs lost as Sony Video moves to Malaysia
+ 2 takeovers reported, totaling $750m + $undisclosed
+ 1 corporate fine/settlement reported ($45.5m):
• judge slams pilots' union for ignoring meddlesome 'stop-strike' order
+ 1 prison mention: • looong-delayed inmate compensation for Attica overkill
+ omens: • U.S. still in 'helpless mode' on population expansion
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• US House votes to repeal retroactive part of '96 Immigration Law
• Swiss Senate votes to ease laws against reproductive privacy
• Clinton approves use of oil from US reserves to ease prices
- but should up tax earmarked for hybrid & electric vehicles
• Canada debates cutting exhorbitant fuel tax to ease prices
- & whose revenues are not earmarked for alternatives

9/22/2000 fri
2 downsizings reported, totaling 2900 lost jobs:
• 10% workforce cut (2300 midwest jobs lost) as KeyCorp saves money by cutting
its own best customers, its employees, instead of doing a 10% workweek cut
for all (to 36 hrs) & keeping everyone employed, earning, spending & banking
• 600 Belfast jobs lost as Titanic-builder Harland & Wolff
"rearranges the deckchairs" on its own corporate Titanic
+ 8 takeovers reported, totaling $1.98B + $undisclosed
+ 1 bankruptcy mention: • eSeated.com lists self on eBay to avoid Chap. 11
vs. glimmers of intelligence: • 1 UPsizing - 500, maybe eventually 900, heavily
subsidized new jobs in South Bronx as Webvan moves its e-distribution ctr
into Alexander's big old building (THIS is a labor shortage/job surplus??? [- and upsizing CANCELLED next day anyway by revelations of Webvan losses])
• another nurses' action against mandatory overtime, this time in New Jersey
• reader nails long(-winded) John Silber for proposing unelected elected officials
starting with His Ducal Majesty, Senator Edward M. Kennedy
• Boston reader nails Lexingtonian who spent 700 words explaining
why commercial flights sound different from airforce flights

9/21/2000 thu
3 more takeovers cited, totaling $3.4B
+ 4 more downsizings reported, totaling 1155 lost jobs:
• 500 + unspecified US jobs lost as Brown & Williamson Tobacco cuts costs
• 6.6% workforce cut (400 US jobs lost) as Saturn spins its wheels until new
projects start up late next year - but incentives of up to $25k are offered for job
sharing, a form of Timesizing, as well as quitting, early retirement & unpaid leave
• 145 US jobs lost or "moved" as New England Business forms 'shellgames' its
numerous plants, closing 2, moving a 3rd... - never mind employees
• 110 jobs cut as Optimark tries to save money by suspending
equity trading on Pacific Exchange & Nasdaq
+ 1 suicide story: • 3 wks trying to revive ailing
Japanese bank & new prez hits the Big Exit
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• Ky. hillbillies go green  • SW Indians go broadband
• Ralph Nader goes complementary (& complimentary)
+ Features: • "Mr. Timesizing" challenges Ted Kennedy & his $4m warchest in Y2K Senate race
• why all this Timesizing when we've got record "low unemployment"?!
• bibliography page • lost key to small government • website reactions
• embryonic legislation page  • 30-hour bill page  • opus errata

9/20/2000 wed
3 takeovers cited, totaling $2.16B
+ 4 downsizings reported, totaling 575 lost jobs:
• 11% workforce cut (400 Mass. jobs lost) as Informix
fights competition & slow sales implementation, instead
of trimming 11% of its workweek for everyone (to 35.6
hrs) & keeping everyone employed, earning & spending
• 175 NY jobs lost as Pseudo web entertainment shuts down
after failing to draw enough viewers to draw enough advertisers
• unspecified Dixie jobs lost as Archer Daniels shutters 2 cottonseed
plants + 2 cottonseed processing operations, citing poor market conditions
• unspecified Detroit jobs lost as Pro Air suspends flights after FAA revokes license
+ 1 bankruptcy mention: • Pathmark emerges from Chap. 11 with $1B debt-pay plan
vs. glimmers of intelligence: • 1 UPsizing - unspecified new jobs as Estée Lauder plans
up to 260 new stores (colleague Kate - "Like we need more cosmetics stores?")
• 1 UNtakeover - Informix splits to do own database & ebiz for rival databases
• labor lawyer sounds off on pervasive flouting of overtime laws in America

9/19/2000 tue
3 downsizings reported, totaling 885 lost jobs:
• 19% workforce cut (540 US jobs lost) as Kaiser really 'settles' a strike, instead of
trimming 19% of its workweek for everyone (to 32 hrs) & keeping everyone together
• 295 U.S. jobs lost as Mead packaging closes 3 plants, instead of closing down part of
their workweek & keeping everyone earning, shopping & creating a market for packaging
• 36% staff cut (50 U.S. jobs lost) as Deja.com product reviews misses the wave of
dot-com IPOs & tries to conserve cash by wasting its morale, instead of doing a 36%
hours&pay cut for everyone (to a 25.6-hr wk) & keeping everyone together working,
spending, using their own reviews, & 'chatting them up' on the Web
+ 4 takeovers cited, totaling $3.16B + $??
+ 2 corporate fines/settlements reported ($70.2m):
• Bayer US ponies up $14m for lying re wholesale drug prices
• 3 big paper firms to shell out $56.2m for price-hiking plot
+ 2 bankruptcy mentions: • Specialty Foods cookies does it
• General Cinema Theaters thinks about it (Chapter 11)
+ omens: • Ted Kennedy still pushing a wage floor instead of a workweek ceiling
- putting out maximum effort for minimum return
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• usually virtuous Canada gets WTO ban on exporting carcinogen
• Mainiac greens get a grip on their logging industry

9/17-18/2000
weekend roundup per the NY Times and the Boston Globe:
• 16 downsizings reported this past week, costing over 9,445+ lost jobs
• 41 takeovers reported this week, worth $50.36B + $undisclosed
• 1 corporate fine mentioned ($400k)
• 1 bankruptcy mention
vs. 3 UPsizings (700+ new jobs) + 2 UNtakeovers reported ($??)
< YTD:  392 dnsz (442,780+  jobcuts) +1725 takov ($1909.46B+) vs. 109 upsz (77,281+=17%) +112 untak ($111.26B+) >
+ 3 weekend takeover reports, totaling $256m + $undisclosed
+ weekend omens:
• 3 more readers see thru the evermore strained assurance that "we're doin' great"
vs. glimmers of hope: • major frontpage article on the workweek in the Sunday New York Times
• another reader debunks "labor shortage" in high tech (visible only to employers)
• Tennessee ends some abortion curbs • Brookline Mass. leads in green initiatives
• LA teacher touts performance-based assessment vs. standardized tests

9/16/2000 sat (on fri news)
4 downsizings reported, 650 lost jobs + unspecified:
• 6% workforce cut (400 U.S. jobs lost) as Dime Bancorp trims costs
(& its own best customers), instead of trimming 6% of its workweek
for everyone (to 34 hrs) & keeping everyone earning & banking
• 25% staff cut (225 U.S. jobs lost) as AltaVista tries for pre-IPO profitability,
instead of doing a 25% hrs&$$ cut for everyone (to 30/wk)
& keeping everyone employed & Web surfing & searching
• 20% staff cut (225 Mass. jobs lost) as MotherNature.com slashes costs
& chews off its own paws, instead of doing a 20% workweek cut for everyone
(to four 8-hr days) & keeping everyone together working & buying Web vitamins
• ?? Ala. jobcuts as Cargill finalizes layoff at plant closed 5 mons. before
+ 6 takeovers cited, totaling $245m + $undisclosed
+ 1 bankruptcy mention: • Singer emerges from Ch. 11
+ 1 prison mention: • murder in Nassau County jail - by guards
vs. glimmer of inspiration:
• Aaron Warner obit - fought a rearguard battle for labor

9/15/2000 fri
2 downsizings reported, 1,645 lost jobs:
• 9% workforce cut (950 U.S. & 650 Mex. jobs lost) as Burlington (textiles) overreacts to
trend toward casual & falling export demand, instead of 9% workweek cut for everyone
(to a 36½-hr wk) & keeping everyone together, working, earning, & buying clothes
• 45 more Calif. jobcuts reported today at LA Times (above yesterday's 125)
+ 7 takeovers cited, totaling $1.23B + $undisclosed
+ 1 corporate fine/settlement reported ($400k):
• DaimlerChrysler pays, over two recall delays [rhymes & scans!]
+ omens: • economists cost out gun violence at $100B/yr for Americans
vs. glimmers of hope: • 1 UNtakeover - U.S. Industries spins off Lighting Corp and Spear&Jackson
• Swiss group buys freedom for 4k slaves (27m still left)
• Nader beats MasterCard's wrap ("he's stealing our endorsement!")
• electricity mess, airline mess, phone mess embarrass true believers in deregulation

9/14/2000 thu
6 downsizings reported, 4500 lost jobs:
• 'a few thousand,' say 3000, to be cut as
Chase takes over JP Morgan & eliminates overlap
• 550 jobs to 'move' from Mass. to Texas as Verizon starts into its Raytheon act
• Navistar cuts another 500, this time in Springfield, Ohio
• 200 cuts in Colorado & Texas as Marathon Oil consolidates
• 15% staff cut (125 lost NYC jobs) as StarMedia strains to get into the black
by cutting costs & some of its own best boosters, instead of a 15% hours cut
for all (to a 34-hr wk) & keeping everybody working, earning, & together
• 125 more jobs lost, this time in Calif., as the LA Times abandons
14 local newspaper businesses to quit hemorrhaging $$
+ 10 takeovers cited, totaling $35.72B + $undisclosed
vs. glimmers of hope: • 2 UPsizings - 500 jobs at new Lowe's distrib center in Ohio,
?? jobs at new Panda Energy powerplant in Illinois   • 1 UNtakeover - Conexant spins off Web unit
• major US airlines urge FAA to shorten current 16-hour maximum workday for pilots & close loophole

9/13/2000 wed
2 downsizings reported, totaling 2,630 lost jobs:
• 0.9% workforce cut (over 2500 lost U.S. jobs) as J. C. Penney closes 45 department
stores & 279 Eckerd drugstores instead of merely trimming 0.9% of their workweek (22
mins/wk), adjusting workload & keeping everyone together, working, earning & spending
• 0.6% staff cut (130 lost Ohio jobs) as La-Z-Boy closes its Swanton furniture plant in
over-reaction to Asian imports, instead of just doing a 0.6% hours&pay cut (less than 15
mins/wk) & maintaining all of its own best customers & marketers = its own employees
+ 8 more takeovers cited, totaling $1.19B + $undisclosed
+ 1 bankruptcy mention: • broke Burnham malls should have
sold out at $13.50/share instead of liquidating at $6 a year later
+ omens: • Brit shutdown over 76% gov't gas taxes despite rocketing prices
• world model of sustainable energy in Boston convention center in peril
• broadcasting industry pays $11m to block US campaign finance reform
• cig firms researching ways to hide 2d-hand smoke without making it safer
• national poverty line too low, totally obsolete for New York & other cities
• Stone&Webster stiffs quality&service, rewards architect of own demise
vs. glimmers of hope: • Irish emigration reversed  • Selma elects black mayor
• GOP flips & wants pay down US debt  • Amtrak reports record riders & revenues

9/12/2000 tue
1 downsizing reported, unspecified lost jobs:
• layoffs in SD as Homestake closes goldmine
after falling gold prices zeroed rising efficiency
+ 8 takeovers cited, totaling 11.45B + $undisclosed
+ omens: • butterflies losing wintering grounds of Mexican forest
• nations needing Timesizing - post-apartheid South Africa & still-depressed Japan
vs. glimmers of intelligence: • 1 UPsizing - 200 Nice new engineering jobs at T.I. in France
• "good, but" - Japan noses up for second consecutive quarter but via higher government spending

9/10-11/2000
weekend roundup per the NY Times and the Boston Globe:
• 10 downsizings reported this past week, costing over 16,191+ lost jobs
• 48 takeovers reported this week, worth $55.31B + $undisclosed
• 3 corporate fines mentioned ($43m)
• 2 bankruptcy mentions
vs. 2 UPsizings (1,015 new jobs)+ 2 UNtakeovers reported ($1.1B+)
< YTD:  376 dnsz (433,335+  jobcuts) +1684 takov ($1859.1B+) vs. 106 upsz (76,581+=18%) +110 untak ($111.26B+) >
Also, 1 weekend downsizing report: • 15% workforce cut (20 lost Calif. jobs) as Shockwave.com refocuses on interactive entertainment, instead of 15% workweek cut (to 34 hrs) & everyone stays together, earning, spending & not in shock
+ 2 weekend takeover reports, totaling $523m
vs. glimmers of hope: • reader debunks "worker shortage" in high tech
• 16-yr-old lashes major parties as bor-ing & wants Nader to spice debates

9/9/2000 sat (re fri biz)
1 'industry'-wide downsizing reported, totaling 350,000 lost jobs:
• 30% workforce cut (350k Russian jobcuts) as Putin slashes the military to cut costs, when he should be enforcing a national 40-hour workweek by a severe overtime tax with complete exemption for reinvestment in on-the-job training & hiring in overtime-targeted skills, & then gradually lowering that overtime-tied reinvestment-engine, 30% if needed, to provide full employment & WallStreet-to-wages centrifugation of income&wealth
+ 3 takeovers cited, $$$ undisclosed
+ 1 corporate fine/settlement reported ($??):
• Streambox complies & pays RealNetworks for © violation
+ 2 prison mentions: • good - South Africa releases 11,000
• bad - Spain wants to treat young Basque fighters like adults
+ omens: • Antarctic ozone hole now 3x size of U.S. • Canada's jobless increase
• "if technology makes our lives easier, why are we so stressed out?"
vs. glimmers of intelligence:
• Calif. insists on more non-polluting vehicles - goodfornothing GM squawks
• Alberta will send every taxpayer two $100 cheques as gas royalty share
• Verizon will grant stock ops to most employees

9/08/2000 fri
3 downsizings reported, totaling 12,900 lost jobs:
• 15% workforce cut (12,800 lost US jobs) as Qwest boosts technology &
bashes humanity in the wake of its US West takeover, instead of doing a 15%
workweek cut (to 34 hrs/wk) for all & keeping everyone working & phoning
• 9% staff cut (100 Mass. jobs) as PictureTel overreacts to 3 yrs of losses,
instead of just doing a 9% hours&pay cut for everyone (to 36.4 hrs/wk)
& keeping everyone employed, focused & shopping near-normally
• unspecified Calif. jobcuts as Strouds goes Ch. 11 & closes 9 stores
+ 7 takeovers cited, totaling $6.38B + $??
+ 1 corporate fine/settlement reported ($37.5m):
• FTC slams 3 Calif. pornsite operators for fraudulent billing
+ 2 bankruptcy mentions: • broke APBNews' assets sold off to SafetyTips
• its bed&bath linens have turned into shrouds, as Chapter 11 claims retailer Strouds
+ 1 prison mention: • Justice reads Louisiana the riot act on its medieval youth-prisons
+ omens: • speaking of 'medieval,' U.N. touts charity  • French truckers' strike spreads
vs. glimmers of intelligence: • 1 UPsizing - 1000 new Chicago jobs by 2003 at new Ford parts plant
• 1 UNtakeover - Latin America's richest man spins America Movil off from Telmex
• Clinton's veto of estate-tax repeal survives in the House of Reps
• S.F. judge rules OK for docs to recommend marijuana
• reader says guns need liability insurance like cars
• more arguments to include Nader in debates

9/07/2000 thu
3 downsizings reported, totaling 2,939 lost jobs:
• 1900 lost UK jobs as Coats Viyella reacts disastrously to a
downturn in British clothing sales & guarantees a deeper downer
• 16% workforce cut (900 worldwide jobs) as former software powerhouse Novell
cuts costs & its own best markets & marketers, instead of just cutting 16% of its
workweek (to 33.6 hrs/wk) & keeping everyone employed & buying software
• 139 jobs lost as Corel guts its Dublin operation to 'slash' expenses
(& put another dent in the global consumer base)
+ 14 takeovers cited, totaling $32.08B + $??
+ 1 corporate fine/settlement reported ($5.7m):
• Harman Int'l must pay Bose for infringing patent
+ omens: • SEC names 33 for hyping stocks in chat rooms...
vs. glimmers of intelligence: • impossible! - unemployment drops again in
'uncompetitive' 6-wk-vacationing German economy (don't say our masochism is in vain!!!)

9/06/2000 wed
- back to 'normal' -
2 downsizings reported, totaling 288 lost US jobs:
• 40% workforce cut (220 lost Mich. jobs) as GM overreacts
to a 20% sales drop in its Cadillac Eldorados, vs. a 40% work
week cut (to 26 hrs/wk) & everyone stays employed & in the car market
• 85% staff cut (68 lost Calif. jobs) as DreamWork's Pop.com fails to find a buyer
& closes before opening (if they couldn't run it themselves, why'd they start it?)
+ 15 takeovers reported, totaling $9.45B + $??
+ omens: • more forced overtime - at EarthGrains
• HMO costs to take their third jump in Jan. by 10-30%
- 1/7 of small firms will drop health insurance - health costs "out of control"
vs. glimmers of intelligence: • 1 UPsizing - 15 new US jobs at eHotHouse
• 1 UNtakeover - Fisher Scientific veers away from $1.1B deal for PSS World Medical
• NYT columnist nails bogus 'labor shortage'  • Greenspan suggests dropping mortgage subsidy

9/05/2000 tue
- US mkts closed Mon, so -
no jobcuts reported, but...
7 cut-courting takeovers reported, totaling $1.5B +$??
+ 1 prison mention, but good this time: • inmates happy fighting fires
+ omens: • Arctic pack ice gone - RCMP boat does 27-mon. NW Passage in 1
• loons taking on methylmercury from incinerators &
coal-power plants, producing weak eggshells & half broods
• 30,000 Americans die yearly from gunfire, including 4000 kids & teens
vs. glimmers of intelligence: • consensus on flight delays = deregulation
• flexible temporary employment rising & gaining pay & benefits
• FTC threatens to block AOL-Time Warner merger - quit threatening & just DO IT!

9/03-04/2000
- Labor Day again, & still no progress -
weekend roundup per the NY Times and the Boston Globe:
• 12 downsizings reported this past week, costing over 6,004+ lost jobs
• 45 takeovers reported this week, worth $32.91B + $undisclosed
• 12 corporate fines mentioned ($3,842.59m)
• 1 bankruptcy mention, with $1B debt
vs. 1 TIMEsizing (Wed.) + 2 UPsizings (5,750 new jobs) + 4 UNtakeovers reported ($203m+)
< YTD:  366 dnsz (417,156+  jobcuts) +1636 takov ($1803.79B+) vs. 104 upsz (75,566+=18%) +108 untak ($110.16B+) >
Also, 2 weekend downsizing reports, totaling 52+?? jobcuts:
• 80% workforce cut (52 lost L.A. jobs) as Scour, sued for music
copyright infringement on the Internet à la Napster, fails to find further financing
• unspecified jobcuts as another big Japanese construction firm, Kumagai Gumi, begs for
$4¼B in debt forgiveness but Sumitomo Bank wants miracle - more work with less staff
+ 1 weekend takeover report - Abbey Nat'l buys Scots Provident for $2.9B
+ 3 weekend omens:
• Labor Day Y2K - working harder, longer
• "bad, but" - workplace stress & sickouts rising
- but one firm grants 10 new days-off = comp time (?)
• rising dependence on Wall St for personal security despite gyrations
vs. glimmers of intelligence: • Vanguard chief talks straight re saving social security
• "good, but" - hollow boom gives token boost to labor, but picked wrong horse in '30s:
maximum makework (& minimum wage), instead of maximum workweek (& minimum gov't)

9/02/2000 sat
no jobcuts reported, but...
4 cut-courting takeovers reported, totaling $295m +$??
+ 4 corporate fines/settlements reported (total $46.44m):
• $45m vs. Provident for obscuring true cost of insurance
• $1m vs. Microsoft for bait&switch in contract with small firm
• $250k vs. Merrill for breaching capital rqmts during currency crisis
• $192.4k for English-only on assembly line (regardless of safety, quality & output)
+ 1 bankruptcy mention: • court approves reorg plan of Pathmark Stores (7/13 bust)
+ 1 prison mention: • inmates & the vote
+ omens: • Aug. job growth slowed & mfg lost 79,000 jobs
• Clinton wants coddle US firms that export goods or make them abroad???
vs. glimmers of intelligence: • Clinton puts off Star Wars • assisted-death conference
• reader recalls 1932 book by rich man, Edward A. Filene, who argued for spreading it around
+ Features: • "Mr. Timesizing" challenges Ted Kennedy & his $4m warchest in Y2K Senate race
• why all this Timesizing when we've got record "low unemployment"?!
• bibliography page • lost key to small government • website reactions
• embryonic legislation page  • 30-hour bill page  • opus errata
• Newly edited - Popping the big question

9/01/2000 fri
1 downsizing reported:
• 25% workforce cut (1700 US jobs lost) as USA Education, nee Sallie Mae, consolidates
operations (& chills own mkts), instead of doing a 25% workweek cut (to five 6-hr days)
for all, including top mgmt, & keeping everyone working & sending their kids to college
+ 11 downsizing-inducing takeovers reported, totaling $1.07B + $undisclosed
+ omens: • Amazon.com 'harikaris' via customer privacy invasion & spam
• Calif. flirts with Internet sales tax • pols unseparating religion & politix?
• US mfg June-July slowdown is worst since records began in '58
• Raytheon strike hilites need for more private-sector training
• three-class-system proposal for US healthcare
vs. glimmers of intelligence: • 2 UNtakeovers - Hyundai & Lucent spinoffs
• French have long vacations, shorter hours, & now less taxes?! • Mexico pays off the IMF
• Bath Ironworks strike settlement focuses on crosstraining • Clinton quashes estate tax repeal
• downtown Boston to downtown NYC in 3h10m • great vaudeville op ed blasts God-talkin' pols
+ Features: • "Mr. Timesizing" challenges Ted Kennedy & his $4m warchest in Y2K Senate race
• why all this Timesizing when we've got record "low unemployment"?!
• bibliography page • lost key to small government • website reactions
• embryonic legislation page  • 30-hour bill page  • opus errata
• Newly edited - Popping the big question