hopes/dooms du jour, Sept/2002
[Commentary] ©2002 Phil Hyde, The Timesizing Wire, Box 117, Harvard Sq, Cambridge MA 02238 USA (617) 623-8080 - HOMEPAGE

week ending 9/29-30/2002
/// six issues per week (playing catchup) - average hits per issue last week = 62 ///
weekend roundup, mostly from the NY Times & the Wall Street Journal:
• 17 TIMEsizing stories (?? jobs saved) & • 2 UPsizings (12,350 new jobs) reported
vs. doom of the week:
• 18 downsizings, totaling over 25,453 lost jobs   • 1 makework item (?? new "jobs," YTD 146000)   • 1 eroded-
retirement story   • 5 bankruptcies, totaling over $77.8m in debt   • 2 homelessness stories   • 3 prison stories
‹‹YTD: 399 tmsz(82530+ jobs)+125 upsz(96852+=27%) vs. 572 dnsz(829731+)+138 bkrp($72.3B+)+52 hmls+67 jail+28 vilc››
- hope of the weekend -
timesizing consciousness in the news:
• Phil Hyde's letter to Times wants substitute work sharing for unemployment coverup
• employers obsess over time for lunch & bathroom  • seminar on slavery = unlimited workweek
vs.   doom of the weekend -
headlines from hell: • # Americans without health insurance rose 3½% last 2 yrs
• competitive pressures & slowing volume encourage mergers - in all industries
+ 3 bankruptcies: • Asbestos Claims Management  • Velocita  • Knology Broadband
+ work-related suicide: • Nebraska trooper, guilt ridden, turns service revolver on self

9/28/2002 sat (re fri biz)
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing consciousness in the news:
• Japan recognizes an unusual case of karoshi = death from overwork
vs.  doom du jourtm  
4 downsizings, totaling 4092 +?? lost jobs, reported in WSJ &/or NYT:
• 2000 Canada jobcuts by Bombardier   • 1850 cuts by MobilCom in Germany
• 15% workforce cut (242 lost US jobs) by Varian Semiconductor Equipment Assocs, instead of just trimming its workweek 15% (to four 8½-hour days for whole company including top executives), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & buying 85% as much technology as usual
• unspecified US cuts by Meadwestvaco
+ 1 prison item: • new film portrays life in Irish 'prison convents'

9/27/2002 fri
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
basic timesizing, and timesizing consciousness, in the news:
• South Korea to 'take the plunge' & cut from 44 to 40-hr workweek
• AARP honors Stanley Group for, e.g., job sharing, reduced worktime
• NYT survey finds respondents who work full-time work 50 hours/week
• 3 Bangladeshis tour U.S. to publicize 98-hr workweeks at Shah Makhdum factory in Dhaka
vs.  doom du jourtm  
today's headlines from hell_tm • America's global soupirants obsess about U.S. economy
• W.'s "security strategy" = America über alles   • the real mystery of the Calif. energy crisis
+ 5 downsizings, totaling 17,996 lost jobs, reported in WSJ &/or NYT:
• 7980 jobcuts by Allianz unit, Dresdner (Kleinwort Wasserstein) Bank of Frankfurt
• 3.5% workforce cut (7000 more lost US jobs) as SBC continues its gratuitous downward spiral, instead of just trimming its workweek by 3.5% (17 minutes a day for whole company including top executives), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & banking 96.5% as much as usual
• 2750 jobcuts by Aetna   • 166 by Manugistics   • 100 by GoAmerica  
+ homelessness in the news: • advocate fears siphoning of homeless kids into foster care

9/26/2002 thu
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
basic timesizing in the news:
• another firm honored by Working Mother mag for job sharing = BP America  
• & one firm reamed for dissing overtime rules = Einstein Brothers Bagels
vs.  doom du jourtm  
6 downsizings, totaling 3240 +?? lost jobs, reported in WSJ &/or NYT:
• 13.3% workforce cut (1,800 more lost jobs) as HP continues its unnecessary merger-caused death spiral, instead of just trimming its workweek by 13.3% (to five 6hr-56min days for whole company including Carly Fiorina), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & buying 86.7% as many PCs as usual
• 800 jobcuts by Andrew Corp. cable   • 450 by Goodyear Tire   • 110 by Organogenesis  
• 80 by Handspring, and   • unspecified WV cuts by Alcoa
+ 2 bankruptcies in Wall St Journal (WSJ) &/or NY Times (NYT):
• LJM2 Co-Investment, an Enron shill, owing $70m, &   • Organogenesis, owing $7.8m net
+ homelessness in the news: • cops bust 2 Vegas kids for getting homeless to fight on video

9/25/2002 wed
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
basic timesizing in the news - 4 firms honored by Working Mother mag for job sharing
and other conveniences: • Bristol-Myers Squibb  • CIGNA  • Lincoln Financial Group  • Roche
+ today's headlines from heaven^tm  • 2 UPsizings, totaling 12,350 jobs:
- 10,000 at Lowe's over next 5 years   - 2,350 at Roadway Corporation already this year
• Germany blocks EU's latest try at zapping VW's takeover defense but no one else's
• Germany is also blocking layoffs, despite short-sighted employers' whining
• 'HongKong North' in Korea?   • Al Gore finally rips W.'s Iraq 'strategy'
vs.  doom du jourtm  
today's headlines from hell_tm • US poverty rate rose - middle class poorer
• billions of dollars in personal assets are gathering dust = sign of depression
+ makework rampant: • hearings set on advertising govt's own big 'replace your TV' scam
+ 2 bankruptcies in Wall St Journal (WSJ) &/or NY Times (NYT): • Communication Dynamics   • SAirGroup Finance
+ 1 prison item: • Vt. judge follows NYC judge in calling new federal death-penalty law unconstitutional

9/24/2002 tue
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
basic timesizing & timesizing consciousness in the news:
• Canadian employers have been cutting hours, not jobs, & reaping stronger recovery
• AARP lauds Baptist Health So.Fla. for job sharing & other practices appreciated by over-50-yr-olds
• AIM fingers not letting staff say no to overwork for underachievement & customer dissatisfaction
• Cuisine Solutions credits 35-hr workweek in France for its increase in food sales
• but meanwhile, Australia nationwide is getting 'Wal-Mart disease'
vs.  doom du jourtm  
today's headlines from hell_tm • hemorrhaging democracy in America
• costs of W's attempted war of distraction for America's working poor
+ 1 downsizing, totaling 50 lost jobs, reported in WSJ &/or NYT &/or BG (Boston Globe):
• 50 jobcuts as Applied Extrusion Technologies slams it Boston office in self-fulfilling expectation of loss
+ 1 bankruptcy in Wall St Journal (WSJ) &/or NY Times (NYT): • Cedar Chemical & Vicksburg Chemical

week ending 9/22-23/2002
/// six issues per week (delayed by travel) - average hits per issue last week = 68 ///
weekend roundup, mostly from the NY Times & the Wall Street Journal:
• 9 TIMEsizing stories (?? jobs saved) & • 1 UPsizing (700 new jobs) reported
vs. doom of the week:
• 3 homelessness stories   • 2 prison stories   • 3 work-linked murder/suicides
• 2 eroded-retirement stories   • 2 makework items (100000 new "jobs," YTD 146000)
• 13 downsizings, totaling over 16,122 lost jobs   • 5 bankruptcies, totaling over $?? in debt
‹‹YTD: 382 tmsz(82530+ jobs)+123 upsz(84502+=26%) vs. 554 dnsz(804278+)+133 bkrp($72.2B+)+50 hmls+64 jail+28 vilc››
- hope of the weekend -
pre-timesizing in the news: • tho 72% of Brits believe it will hobble their careers, 67% want flextime
+ headlines from heaven: • columnist in Philly pops the question, how many people can U.S. hold?
• buoyed by his criticism of Dubya's radical warlust, Schroeder wins election in Germany
vs.   doom of the weekend -
headlines from hell: • obscene CEO pay spurs calls for curbs
• cautious Iraq info from CIA filtered out of what Dubya hears
+ retirement omens: • over 1.5m people live in 17,000 nursing homes nationwide -
over 85 population will double in next generation & understaffing already acute
+ 2 downsizings, totaling 75 +?? jobcuts: • 2.4% of workforce cut (75 lost Mass. jobs) as Avici Systems internet
traffic controllers shuts a plant thereby reducing costs (& markets), instead of just trimming its workweek by
2.4% (12 minutes a day for whole firm including top execs), implementing overtime-targeted training
& keeping everyone together working, earning & spending 97.6% as much as before
• unspecified Pa. cuts as U.Penn. Medical Center closes Garfield Heights health center
+ 1 prison story:  • Calif. bans explicit pornography because of female guards' complaints

9/21/2002 sat (re fri biz)
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
primitive timesizing in the news:
• French govt has carefully disguised dilution of 35-hr week to fool unions
• new French rightist govt plans to reimburse health service for staff added due to shorter workweek
+ today's headlines from heaven^tm • Dennis Kucinich & 18 Dem. & indep. reps oppose starting war
• Dubya sets 70,000 cap on refugees   • Russia's population is shrinking without gov't effort
vs.  doom du jourtm  
today's headlines from hell_tm • arbitrary lockstep nationwide poverty line is still $18,100/yr for family of 4
• Bush is prying open a can of worms by trying to switch from deterrence to first-strike
+ 2 downsizings, totaling 10,720 lost jobs, reported in Wall St Journal (WSJ) and/or NY Times (NYT):
• 14% workforce cut (10,000 more lost jobs) as Alcatel telecom gear pushes the downward spiral in customer
spending, instead of just trimming its workweek by 14% (to five 6hr-53min days for whole company
including top executives), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping
everyone together working, earning & buying 86% as much phonerphanalia as usual
• 720 jobcuts by Ciena
+ 1 prison item: • 28 inmates die in Dominican Republic riot, 100 hurt
+ homelessness in the news: • 15,000 homeless mentally ill now cost NY state $40k each

9/20/2002 fri
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
primitive timesizing in the news:
• (1975 - golden oldie) American Optical employees in St. Louis get together to trim hours, not jobs
+ today's headline from heaven^tm • layoff-inducing mergers are down 45% so far this year
vs.  doom du jourtm  
today's headline from hell_tm • Krugman sees parallel & worsening of 1990 recession
+ 4 downsizings, totaling 928 lost jobs, reported in Wall St Journal (WSJ) and/or NY Times (NYT):
• 6.6% workforce cut (425 lost jobs) as Furniture Brands International closes a plant & worsens sluggish demand, instead
of just trimming its workweek by 6.6% (32 mins/day for whole company including top executives), re-investing overtime
savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone working, earning & buying 93.4% as much furniture as usual
• 400 UK jobcuts by Ford's Jaguar unit   • 60 cuts by Los Angeles RC Archdiocese   • 43 by AmeriServ Financial
+ homelessness in the news: • Bloomberg agrees to close jail 'shelter' & pony up $$millions held over from Giuliani yrs
+ 1 prison item: • 'your tax dollars at work' - Pennsylvania prison releases wrong inmate, son instead of father
+ 1 case of work-related murder: • Kansas City lawyer kills law partner for $$, a first in 25 yrs

9/19/2002 thu
- late edition -
timesizing consciousness in the news:
• France gets ready to blow out its new overtime limits
• the change will effectively take France back to its previous 39-hour workweek
vs.  doom du jourtm  
today's headlines from hell_tm • nothing substantial to underpin stocks
• 22% of '99 startups flopped, compared to only 15% in previous 7 yrs
• childcare prices rose 6.4% last year, outstripping housing, food & college
+ eroded retirement: • # of over-65 Americans still working grew an average of 3.5% over last two years
+ 1 downsizing, totaling ?? lost jobs, reported in Wall St Journal (WSJ) and/or NY Times (NYT):
• unspecified Calif. jobcuts by General Magic

9/18/2002 wed
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing consciousness in the news:
• French "conservatives" re-open economy to layoffs, overwork, joblessness & shrinking markets
+ today's headlines from heaven^tm • majority of Americans not 4-square behind Dubya but perplexed
• Sun ready to push Linux as alternative to Microsoft
vs.  doom du jourtm  
today's headlines from hell_tm • dollar down & blue chips too over Iraq
+ 4 downsizings, totaling 2774 lost jobs, reported in Wall St Journal (WSJ) and/or NY Times (NYT):
• 67% workforce cut (1050 lost jobs) as Alcatel continues its vrille, instead of just trimming its workweek by 67% (to
four 3.3-hour days for whole company including top executives), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted
training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & consuming 33% as many telecom services as before
• 900 jobcuts by Charles Schwab   • 524 cuts by TAM Linhas Aereas   • 300 by Nokia
+ 1 case of work-related murder: • shopkeeper poisons rival's pastries, 38 schoolkids & soldiers die, 6 others ill

9/17/2002 tue
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing consciousness in the news:
• Wall St Journal does an about-face & praises doing more in less time
• misnamed 'conservatives' in Portugal still equate more output with more worktime
+ today's headlines from heaven^tm • 1 UPsizing - 700 new jobs as Toyota Canada boosts output
vs.  doom du jourtm  
makework rampant: • 100,000 new reservation 'jobs' targeted by major powwow in Phoenix
+ 2 downsizings, totaling 1700 lost jobs, reported in Wall St Journal (WSJ) and/or NY Times (NYT):
• 19% workforce cut (1550 lost jobs) as WorldCom pursues its death spiral, instead of just trimming its workweek by
19% (to four 8-hour 6-minute days for whole company including top executives), re-investing overtime savings
in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & consuming
81% as many telecom services as before (or 119% because they have more free time)
• 130 jobcuts by Premcor   (+ 20 uncounted cuts by Publicis)
+ 3 bankruptcies in WSJ &/or NYT: • Bangor & Aroostook RR
• State Line & Silver Smith Casino Resorts   • ACandS insulation
+ 1 case of work-related suicide: • insurance exec in NYC shoots 2 co-workers, then himself

week ending 9/15-16/2002
/// six issues per week - average hits per issue last week = 55 ///
weekend roundup per the NY Times & the Wall Street Journal:
• 7 TIMEsizing stories (?? jobs saved) & • 0 UPsizings (0 new jobs) reported
vs. doom of the week:
• 17 downsizings, totaling over 17,560 lost jobs   • 2 eroded-retirement stories
• 1 makework item (9,000 new "jobs")   • 4 bankruptcies, totaling over $500m in debt
‹‹YTD: 373 tmsz(82530+ jobs)+122 upsz(83802+=27%) vs. 541 dnsz(788156+)+128 bkrp($72.2B+)+47 hmls+62 jail+25 vilc››
- hope of the weekend -
timesizing in the news:
• Reuters fears for Hyundai's profit if S. Korea cuts to 5-day, 40-hr workweek
+ headlines from heaven: • Maureen Dowd captures & pillories Dubya's M.O.
• Bronxville reader says US employees should have so-called "stagnation" they have in Germany
vs.   doom of the weekend -
headlines from hell: • Enron shafted California
• Iraq war would cost $100-200 billion - Bush aide
+ 2 bankruptcies, Chap.11: • American Homepatient   • Stirling Chemicals Holdings
+ retirement omens: • benefits for retirees in America's 'wonderful' healthcare system are drying up fast
+ makework rampant: • US Export-Import Bank - another makework bureaucracy that worksharing would dismantle
+ homelessness in the news: • with homeless increasing by 1/3 per yr & costing nearly
$34,000/family/yr, NYC wants to enforce 'beggars can't be choosers'

9/14/2002 sat (re fri biz)
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
primitive timesizing in the news:
• Organogenesis of Canton MA saves est. 8 jobs by furloughing 110 people for up to 2 wks
vs.  doom du jourtm  
2 downsizings, totaling 7550 lost jobs, reported in Wall St Journal (WSJ) and/or NY Times (NYT):
• further 17.5% workforce cut (7000 lost jobs) as Lucent comm gear worsens lagging sales & spurs own death spiral,
instead of just trimming its workweek 17.5% (to five 6.6-hour days for whole company including top executives),
re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning
& buying 82.5% as much technology as usual
• 550 jobcuts by Kwikset
+ 1 bankruptcy in WSJ &/or NYT: • Elektrim telecomms files in Warsaw, with $500m debt

9/13/2002 friday the 13th!
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing consciousness in the news:
• Sweden's Green Party advocates shorter workweek in Sept. 15 general election
vs.  doom du jourtm  
today's headlines from hell_tm • Tyco's Kozlowski & buds sink into ever deeper doodoo
• Dubya's State Department website has illegal partisan link to GOP join&buy site
• guess who's copying Dubya's let's-all-pile-on-Iraq war of distraction - Putin vs. Georgia
+ eroded retirement: • surprise! - few are using 'catch-up' provisions on their retirement investments
+ 3 downsizings, totaling 7950 lost jobs, reported in Wall St Journal (WSJ) and/or NY Times (NYT):
• further 4% workforce cut (4700 lost jobs) as Bayer spurs economic slump & lagging sales, instead of just trim-
ming its workweek 4% (19 mins/day for whole company including top executives), re-investing overtime savings
in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & buying 96% as many aspirins as usual
• 3000 more cuts by Fujitsu   • 250 cuts by Midwest Express
+ 1 bankruptcy in WSJ &/or NYT: • PurchasePro.com files

9/12/2002 thu
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
primitive timesizing in the news:
• South Korea angles to cut nationwide workweek from 44 hours to 40 (5½ to 5 days)
• meanwhile masochistic Americans are increasing their own & their kids' workweeks
+ today's headlines from heaven^tm • new software to let quadriplegics write with eye movements
• digital TV, happily delayed  • Linux on PCs challenges Microsoft  • NY Fed prez urges CEOs to
cut own pay  • more exposure of the kamekazi stupidity of becoming world's biggest aggressor
• both Canada & US have healthcare problems, meanwhile ALL Canadians are covered
vs.  doom du jourtm  
today's headlines from hell_tm • economy in 6-wk slowdown
• another taxbreak for those who need it least • another stock adviser found suckering his clients
+ 3 downsizings, totaling 512+?? lost jobs, reported in Wall St Journal (WSJ) and/or NY Times (NYT):
• 500 jobcuts by Jabil Circuit
• 7% workforce cut (12 lost jobs) as Performance Technologies networking gear overreacts to loss & trims 'expenses' by
trimming employees (& markets), instead of just trimming its workweek 7% (34 mins/day for whole company including top
executives), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning &
shopping 93% as much as usual
• unspecified cuts by Leggett & Platt
+ makework rampant: • French rightwing sinks right back to military makework, expands armed forces by 9,000 new 'jobs'
+ 2 bankruptcies in NYT &/or WSJ: • Metals USA filed Chapter 11 in Nov.
• Network Access Solutions & NASOP filed Ch. 11 in Aug.

9/11/2002 wed
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
primitive timesizing in the news:
• (5/19a)  Japanese discussion of Dutch work sharing (beefing up part time)
reveals a flaw - the Dutch still haven't escaped the Chesterton pan-utopian trap
+ today's headlines from heaven^tm • Europeans curb their appetite for the Wall Street casino
• Switzerland follows citizens' behest & at last becomes member of U.N. (the 190th)
• Daniel Barenboim is another heroic Israeli who stands up to Sharon
vs.  doom du jourtm  
today's headlines from hell_tm • Dubya wants to flick away Iraq without up-to-date arms info
• Flori-duh spends $30m on ballot reform & still screws it up     • Martha Stewart gets lucky
+ 3 downsizings, totaling 485+?? lost jobs, reported in Wall St Journal (WSJ) &/or NY Times (NYT):
• 345 jobcuts as Phoenix-based copper producer Phelps Dodge 'temporarily' idles plants in NC & NJ
• 33% workforce cut (140 lost jobs) as Avanex optical parts outsources jobs (& markets) to China, instead of trimming its
workweek by 33% (to four 6hr40min days for whole company including top executives), re-investing overtime savings in
overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & spending 67% as much as usual
• unspecified cuts as Mediaport closes

9/10/2002 tue
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
primitive timesizing in the news:
• (5/19)  Japan eyes Dutch approach to work sharing = beefing up part time
vs.  doom du jourtm  
today's headlines from hell_tm • foreclosures hit record levels  
• a secret tax break available only to those with $5m plus willingness to keep the secret
+ eroded retirement: • Cheney fiddled 400 people out of their pensions while CEO of Halliburton & grabbed the money
+ 5 downsizings, totaling 1048+?? lost jobs, reported in Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and/or The New York Times (NYT):
• 2.4% workforce cut (400 lost Swedish jobs) as Telia fiber optics cuts costs (& markets), instead of just trimming its
workweek by 2.4% (= 12 mins/day for whole company including top executives), re-investing overtime savings in
overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & shopping 97.6% as much as usual
• 400 UK & Dutch cuts by Interbrew   • 220 US cuts by Quantum   • 28 by Immune Responses  
• unspecified cuts as Warnaco Group closes 26 stores

week ending 9/08-09/2002
/// six issues per week - average hits per issue last week = 51 ///
weekend roundup per the NY Times & the Wall Street Journal:
• 12 TIMEsizing stories (?? jobs saved) & • 3 UPsizings (62+ new jobs) reported
vs. doom of the week:
• 20 downsizings, totaling over 37,168 lost jobs  
• 2 makework items (39,000 new "jobs")   • 2 bankruptcies  
‹‹YTD: 366 tmsz(82530+ jobs)+122 upsz(83802+=27%) vs. 524 dnsz(770596+)+124 bkrp($71.7B+)+47 hmls+62 jail+25 vilc››
- hope of the weekend -
timesizing in the news: • NSW, Australia is losing teachers from overwork as USA is losing nurses
+ headlines from heaven: • 'boring' is back as old-economy firms outlast new-economy flashes-in-pan
• readers hammer corporate cost cuts as recession-inducing
• sick Yankees seek hemp's relief in drug-war-free Canada
vs.   doom of the weekend -
headlines from hell: • long-term jobless jumped 50% in each of the last 2 years
• orders for machine tools drop 21% nationwide, 52% in the South, PC sales to slump
• 80% of Americans believe we're still in recession & that's more important than Iraq etc.
+ retirement omens: • in last 12-mon, over-55s in workforce swelled by 7% while all other age groups shrank
+ 1 downsizing, totaling 15 jobcuts reported in New York Times (NYT): • 15 NYC jobcuts as dRush ad agency dissolves

9/07/2002 sat (re fri biz)
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing consciousness in the news:
• French unions fear Chirac's overtime sleight-of-hand will simply restore the old 39-hour workweek
+ today's headlines from heaven^tm
• women threaten boycott (girlcott?) of Nigeria beauty contest over unwed mom's stoning sentence
• bank secrecy - EU pressures Swiss to quit gaining tax revenue from diminishing that of others
• Canada created 396,000 jobs Jan-Aug, most since '94, but unemployment still 7½%
vs.  doom du jourtm  
today's headlines from hell_tm • carsales boom due to temporary zero% financing & home refi's  
• Microsoft forgives $15m 'loan' to former executive   • FCC considers easing path for media monopolies
• Jo'burg - other countries worn down by US rejection of timetables for action
+ makework rampant: • August's entire 39,000-job gain in US employment
came from new airport security guards & other gov't employees

9/06/2002 fri
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing consciousness in the news:
• several U.S. libraries are reducing job cuts with hours cuts & 2-wk shutdowns
• Pinault-Printemps-Redoute exemplifies another French company that fights the 35-hr workweek
& its contribution to future consumer markets
+ today's headlines from heaven^tm
• a conservative finds reason for Iraq jitters in recent US war games
• finally a Democrat speaks out on Iraq - Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts
vs.  doom du jourtm  
today's headlines from hell_tm • a 'stumbling recovery'
• lavish lifetime perks for once-worshipped Welch of GE while small employers slash health benefits
• Dubya's distIraqtion from domestic issues   • Krugman linguistically analyzes Dubya' Kafkaesque-Orwellianism
+ 6 downsizings, totaling 8210 lost jobs, reported in Wall St Journal (WSJ) &/or NY Times (NYT):
• 6% workforce cut (4500 lost jobs) as insurer Zurich Financial Services reacts exacerbatingly to 1st ½ loss, instead of just
trimming its workweek by 6% (= 29 mins/day for whole company including top executives), re-investing overtime savings
in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & buying 94% as much insurance as usual
• 1800 jobcuts by PCCW in Hong Kong   • 950 by Bank Bali   • 800 US & Irish cuts by Tellabs  
• 100 cuts by Sonicblue   • 60 by State St Research & Mgmt

9/05/2002 thu
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing consciousness in the news:
• reader A says employees should demand shorter hours as they demanded childcare 10 yrs ago
• reader B calls for family time for family values for quality children for quality employees
+ today's headlines from heaven^tm
• Chainsaw Dunlap gets barred from assuming corporate responsibility for life & fined $½B
• behavioral economics makes economics more scientific, vs. simplistic laissez-faire
vs.  doom du jourtm  
today's headlines from hell_tm • Cheney & Shrub continue sandbagging on energy taskforce disclosure
• NYT raises questions about courts & judges who OK'd secret settlements on RC child molestation
• Dubya desperately seeks Congress's rubberstamp to invade Iraq = 'desperately seeking World War III'
• nationwide, computer arcades are conditioning kids to fight in Kommandant Busch's wars of distraction
+ 1 downsizings, totaling 1125 lost jobs, reported in Wall St Journal (WSJ) &/or NY Times (NYT):
• 2% workforce cut (1020 lost jobs) as Northwest Airlines downshifts to fall flight schedule, instead of just trimming its
workweek by 2% (= 10 mins/day for whole company including top executives), re-investing overtime savings in
overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & spending 98% as much as usual
• 105 jobcuts by CryoLife

9/04/2002 wed
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
timesizing consciousness in the news:
• French govt scared to repeal 35-hr law because it's too popular in France
• French companies still complaining about 35-hour workweek, ignoring market bonanza
• reprise of deteriorating working conditions for Americans - longer hours & more work for same pay
+ today's headlines from heaven^tm • 2 UPsizings - 50 new jobs as Ball Corp expands Milwaukee plant
- unspecified new jobs as Target plans first store in the Bronx at Major Deegan & W 225th
• how about field trips to white-collar prisons for students at ethics-challenged B-schools?!
vs.  doom du jourtm  
today's headlines from hell_tm • manufacturing remains weak, so...
• Dow plunges 355 points, yr's 2d-deepest, and S&P 500 has worst day since right after 9/11
• 'bad, but' - Bush & IMF snub Argentina, but Buenos Aires has same chance to leap ahead as all the rest
+ 7 downsizings, totaling 2333+?? lost jobs, reported in NY Times (NYT) &/or Wall St Journal (WSJ):
• 0.2% workforce cut (1400 lost jobs) as the U.S. Postal Service' snailmail battles email, instead of just trimming its
workweek by 0.2% (= only 1 min/day for whole agency including top executives), re-investing overtime savings in
overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & mailing 99.8% as much as usual
• 450 jobcuts by Boston University   • est. 300 cuts by VW/Mexico   • 140 by Stilwell Financial  
• 42 by Napster   • 1 by Kulicke & Soffa   • unspecified cuts by Publicis Groupe

9/03/2002 tue
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
primitive timesizing in the news:
• S. Korea auto mfrs sell more SUVs thanks to new 5-day workweek in financial & public sectors
+ today's headline from heaven^tm - 1 UPsizing: 12 new jobs as Lehman Bros. hires in Japan
vs.  doom du jourtm  
4 downsizings, totaling 19,500+?? lost jobs, reported in NY Times (NYT) &/or Wall St Journal (WSJ):
• 15,500 jobcuts as Consolidated Freightways collapses in Chapter 11 liquidation due to financing & surety bond gap
• 5% workforce cut (4000 lost jobs) as IBM's Business Innovation Services unit gobbles PricewatershouseCoopers, instead
of just trimming its joint workweek by 5% (= 24 mins/day for whole firm including top executives), re-investing overtime
savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning & shopping 95% as much as usual
• unspecified cuts, as bankrupt Adelphia Comms seeks to end 14 of its 17 local carriers,
& as • Moe Ginsburg Better Men's Clothing sinks from reorg to liquidation in downtown NYC
+ 2 bankruptcies in NYT &/or WSJ: • Consolidated Freightways Corp. files Chapter 11 liquidation
• Moe Ginsburg Better Men's Clothing moves from Ch.11 reorg to Ch.11 liquidation due to 9/11

week ending 9/01-02/2002
/// six issues per week - average hits per issue last week = 55 ///
weekend roundup per the NY Times & the Wall Street Journal:
• 10 TIMEsizing stories (60,050+ jobs saved) & • 10 UPsizings (50,350+ new jobs) reported
vs. doom of the week:
• 13 downsizings, totaling over 26,657 lost jobs   • 1 makework item  
• 2 bankruptcy items   • 2 homelessness stories   • 3 prison items
‹‹YTD: 354 tmsz(82530+ jobs)+119 upsz(83740+=23%) vs. 504 dnsz(733428+)+122 bkrp($71.7B+)+47 hmls+62 jail+25 vilc››
- hope of the weekend -
timesizing in the news: • 1925 Mother Jones quote recalls years of genuinely shortening worktime
• today, barely 10% of French leftwing comprehends the critical power lever in shorter workweek
• shorter-worktime (SWT) advocate Juliet Schor weakens her SWT advocacy with frugality advocacy
vs.   doom of the weekend -
headlines from hell: • Labor Day - US workers are just thankful to have a job (if they still have one)
• the low-down on disabled in America - compare homeless & prisoners, & Sweden
• poor kids in California come from working families
• why Wall Street is a casino that's rigged against you
• Export-Import Bank = another reverse Robin Hood
+ makework rampant: • IBM patents a smokescreen to let workers follow sports while looking busy
+ 1 downsizing, totaling 6000 jobcuts reported in New York Times (NYT) & Wall Street Journal (WSJ):
• 20% of workforce cut as Guatemalan Army slashes costs (& domestic markets!) instead of trimming
its workweek by 20% (to four 8-hour days for whole force including top brass), implementing overtime-
targeted training and keeping everyone together working, earning and shopping 80% as much as before