hopes/dooms du jour, April/2003
[Commentary] ©2003 Phil Hyde, The Timesizing Wire, Box 117, Harvard Sq, Cambridge MA 02238 USA (617) 623-8080 - HOMEPAGE

4/30/2003 wed
- keep hope-vs-doom acomin' with $25/yr subscrptn check to ‘ Timesizing.com with Phil Hyde’,
Box 622, Cambridge MA 02140 USA  - # visitors yesterday, all 594 files/pp: 856 (jan 816, oct 887) -
TIMEsizing in the news:
• Lufthansa reduced hours for 1000s of ground crew in 2 stages, from 37½ to 36 & then to 35
• GM unions in Brazil scrap their 40-to-36 hour workweek cut in favor of short-term pay goals
• AFL-CIO wastes energy fighting Bush's mixed OT proposal instead of fighting OT in general
vs.  doom du jourtm - for lack of timesizing
9 DOWNsizings, totaling 14,430 +?? lost jobs, mentioned in Wall Street Journal and/or New York Times:
• 13% staff cut (7000 lost jobs) as L. M. Ericsson mobile phones accelerates business slump by downsizing its workforce, instead of just trimming its workweek 13% (five 7-hour days for whole company including top executives), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning, & buying 87% as many mobile phone services as usual
• 3600 jobcuts by Pfizer   • 1900 by ABB   • 900 by Infineon   • 500 by Pulaski County Special District   • 350 by Corus   • 150 by Stanley Works   • 30 by Little Rock School District   • unspecified cuts by JDS Uniphase
+ 1 compound bankruptcy mentioned in WSJ &/or NYT:
• FountainView, Alexandria, Elmcrest, SycamorePark Convalescent Hospitals, et al.  

4/29/2003 tue
- keep hope-vs-doom acomin' with $25/yr subscrptn check to ‘ Timesizing.com with Phil Hyde’,
Box 622, Cambridge MA 02140 USA  - # visitors yesterday, all 594 files/pp: 910 (jan 789, oct 874) -
primitive TIMEsizing in the news:
• striking Renault metalworkers in Sao Paulo, Brazil,
win gradual workweek reduction from 42 to 40 hours a week
vs.  doom du jourtm - for lack of timesizing
5 DOWNsizings, totaling 4200 +?? lost jobs, mentioned in Wall Street Journal and/or New York Times:
• 7% workforce cut (1700 lost jobs) as Goodrich aerospace-supplies deepens recession by downsizing despite doubled profits, instead of just trimming its workweek 7% (34 minutes/day for whole company including top execs), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning, & shopping 93% as much as usual
• 1200 jobcuts by Getronics   • 900 by Spiegel   • 400 by ABN Amro Holding   • unspecified cuts by Dataram
+ 1 general bankruptcy story mentioned in WSJ &/or NYT: • high court to rule on whether
to waive deadline for objecting to debt cancellation in view of intent to debt  
+ disability in the news: • disabled unable to afford necessary
medical attention increased by 12% over past 5 years

4/26-28/2003 sat-mon (re fri biz)
- readers pls. mail $25/yr subscrptn check to Timesizing.com, Box 622, Cambridge, MA 02140 -
$80 buys new Time Trilogy (# different visitors F Sa Su, any page: 688 504 526, wk's avg 785)
strategic hope = primitive TIMEsizing in the news:
• Mazda plans shorter workmonths in May & June vs. excess inventory
vs.  doom du jourtm - for lack of timesizing  
6 DOWNsizings, totaling 6120 +?? lost jobs cited in Wall Street Journal (WSJ) &/or New York Times (NYT):
• 3000 jobcuts by French power giant Alsthom SA, in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Switzerland & the UK
• 12% workforce cut (2100 lost jobs) as KPMG auditing gets scrutinized for selling tax shelters, instead of just trimming its workweek 12% (to five 7hr2min days for the whole company, including top executives), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone working, earning & buying 88% as many financial services as before
• 500 jobcuts by Bayer   • 320 by Westpoint Stevens   • 200 by Reader's Digest   • ?? cuts by Republic Western
+ homelessness in the news: • soccer team made up of homeless from NY streets will represent U.S. in Austria
+ headlines from hell_tm • what if 9/11/04 re-election convention was attended by all the people Bush has terrorized with joblessness, vet benefit cuts, war-related family losses, pension cuts, no health insurance...
weekend roll-up from the WSJ & the NYT
** 5 issues/wk - avg homepage hits per issue this week: 74 **
hope of the weektm
• 6 TIMEsizing items (?? jobs saved)   • 1 UPsizing (?? new jobs)  
vs.  doom of the weektm
• 12 DOWNsizings, over 8,475 jobcuts  
• 5 bankruptcies   • 1 eroded-retirement item   • 1 homelessness story   • 1 prison story   • 1 work-linked murder-suicide
{{ Year-To-Date: 118 timesizngs (7400+ new or sav'd jobs) + 19 upsizngs (8019+ new jobs) + 6 makwrk (14000+ "jobs")
total 29419 = 8% of dnsz VERSUS 277 dnsz (351062+ cuts) + 95 bnkrp ($17.7B+) + 12 homlss + 25 prisn + 18 killngs}}

4/25/2003 fri
- keep hope-vs-doom acomin' with $25/yr subscrptn check to ‘ Timesizing.com with Phil Hyde’,
Box 622, Cambridge MA 02140 USA  - # visitors yesterday, all 593 files/pp: 800 (jan 754, oct 760) -
primitive TIMEsizing in the news:
• Nucor, our top US working model of timesizing, battles on
• more dangerous reverse-progress on working hours as trucking
corps. allowed to work drivers 14-16 hours continuous behind the wheel
vs.  doom du jourtm - for lack of timesizing
4 DOWNsizings, totaling 1480 lost jobs, mentioned in Wall Street Journal and/or New York Times:
• 31% backoffice staff cut (800 lost jobs) as InterContinental Hotels amplifies the war-SARS-economy downturn, instead of just trimming the workweek 31% (to four 6hr54min days) for all 2600, re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning, & going 69% as many trips using 69% as many hotels as usual
• 500 jobcuts by Standard Register   • 94 by Wellman pkg   • 80 by Exxon Mobil
+ 1 bankruptcy mentioned in WSJ &/or NYT: • TLC Healthcare/Staff Builders/US Ethicare  
+ work-related murder-suicide: • unemployed ex-boyfriend shoots actress-model, then self, in NYC

4/24/2003 thu
- keep hope-vs-doom acomin' with $25/yr subscrptn check to ‘ Timesizing.com with Phil Hyde’,
Box 622, Cambridge MA 02140 USA  - # visitors yesterday, all 593 files/pp: 1068 (jan 846, oct 805) -
primitive TIMEsizing in the news:
• (4/22) Franklin Town Library in Mass. has
saved jobs by cutting everyone to 4-day, 32-hour workweek
vs.  doom du jourtm - for lack of timesizing
1 DOWNsizing, totaling 275 lost jobs, mentioned in WSJ & NYT: Wall Street Journal and/or New York Times:
• 0.2% workforce cut (275 lost jobs) as Alcoa moves jobs out of 'costly' America (thus shrinking its own best markets), instead of just trimming its workweek 0.2% (1 minute a day for whole company including top execs), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning, & buying 99.8% as many aluminum utensils as usual
+ 1 bankruptcy mentioned in WSJ &/or NYT: • Aladdin Resort & Casino  
+ 1 prison-related item: • though same number of blacks & whites murdered in US since 1976, cases involving black victims reaped only 13% of resulting executions while cases involving white victims reaped 80%
+ headlines from hell_tm • more 'collateral damage' from Bushwar - Hilton Hotels's net plunges 74%  

4/23/2003 wed
- keep hope-vs-doom acomin' with $25/yr subscrptn check to ‘ Timesizing.com with Phil Hyde’,
Box 622, Cambridge MA 02140 USA  - # visitors yesterday, all 591 files/pp: 1102 (jan 781, oct 925) -
primitive TIMEsizing in the news:
• GM workers in Brazil demand 36-hour workweek
vs.  doom du jourtm - for lack of timesizing
eroding retirement: • WSJ advises how to protect yourself from collapse of your aging parents' retirement plans
• then turns around & plays dumb as to why so many people are taking reduced SocSec benefits before age 65
+ 2 bankruptcies mentioned in WSJ &/or NYT: • Alterra Healthcare   • SLI Inc. (Sylvania Lighting Int'l) et al.

4/22/2003 tue
- keep hope-vs-doom acomin' with $25/yr subscrptn check to ‘ Timesizing.com with Phil Hyde’,
Box 622, Cambridge MA 02140 USA  - # visitors yesterday, all 591 files/pp: 810 (jan 674, oct 771) -
primitive TIMEsizing in the news:
• Reuters reports fails to support charges of "social costs" against French 35-hour workweek
+ random hope - headlines from heaven: • 1 UPsizing - ?? new jobs
as Sony invests ¥200B in new microchip mfg facilities
vs.  doom du jourtm - for lack of timesizing
1 DOWNsizing, totaling 600 lost jobs, mentioned in Wall Street Journal and/or New York Times:
• 0.5% workforce cut (600 lost jobs) as Tyson Foods closes a chicken plant & cuts off half its chicken suppliers, instead of just trimming its workweek 0.5% (2½ minutes a day for whole company including top execs), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning, & eating 99.5% as well as usual
+ 1 bankruptcy mentioned in WSJ &/or NYT: • AT&T Latin America, shifts from forced to voluntary Ch.11

4/19-21/2003 sat-mon (re fri biz)
- slow-news weekend due to US mkt closing on Good(?) Friday -
- readers pls. mail $25/yr subscrptn check to Timesizing.com, Box 622, Cambridge, MA 02140 -
$80 buys new Time Trilogy (# different visitors F Sa Su, any page: 723 709 665, wk's avg 777)
strategic hope = TIMEsizing consciousness in the news:
• 22% of US employees are putting in an average of nearly 10 extra hrs/wk compared to last year
vs.  doom du jourtm - for lack of timesizing  
homelessness in the news: • workfare flops without education or market-targeted OJT
+ 3 prison stories: • easier entry - Ashcroft wants people detainable at Bush's whim, without lawyer  
• uglier stay - arrested demonstrators' privacy invaded   • beatings in NJ prison
+ headlines from hell_tm • rosy unemployment figures mask deterioration of our economy   • even readers are starting to hone in on economic irrelevance (or worse) of taxcuts for CEOs who already have far more spending power than they can spend   • pessimism remains the operative word   • except in the 'conservative' papers where the happytalk goes on & on   • because a tiny group of 'conservatives' (Bechtel, Halliburton...) have some big war-profiteering to do   • Tony Blair must wonder what happened to 'our coalition'
weekend roll-up from the WSJ & the NYT
** 5 issues/wk - avg homepage hits per issue this week: 67 **
hope of the weektm
• 9 TIMEsizing items (6000 jobs saved)   • 2 UPsizings (500 new jobs)  
vs.  doom of the weektm
• 15 DOWNsizings, over 11,491 jobcuts  
• 5 bankruptcies   • 2 eroded-retirement items   • 1 homelessness story   • 3 prison stories  
{{ Year-To-Date: 112 timesizngs (7400+ new or sav'd jobs) + 18 upsizngs (8019+ new jobs) + 6 makwrk (14000+ "jobs")
total 29419 = 9% of dnsz VERSUS 265 dnsz (342587+ cuts) + 90 bnkrp ($17.7B+) + 11 homlss + 24 prisn + 17 killngs}}

4/18/2003 fri
- keep hope-vs-doom acomin' with $25/yr subscrptn check to ‘ Timesizing.com with Phil Hyde’,
Box 622, Cambridge MA 02140 USA  - # visitors yesterday, all 591 files/pp: 860 (jan 738, oct 772) -
primitive TIMEsizing & TIMEsizing consciousness in the news:
• good: est. 94 jobs saved as Waterford Wedgwood commonly
uses 1-wk plant closings, eg: this June, to weather slow sales periods
• bad #1: Orange County NY is jiggering employees out of coffee breaks
• bad #2: employees who support US troops in Japan illegally average 44 hrs/wk
vs.  doom du jourtm - for lack of timesizing
eroding retirement: • employees at American Airlines lose pay &
pensions, while senior executives get more pay & pension guarantees
+ 5 DOWNsizings, totaling 1,791 lost jobs, mentioned in Wall Street Journal and/or New York Times:
• 3% workforce cut (890 lost jobs) as US Airways continues to decimate employees (& the domestic markets they support), instead of minimizing its problems by merely trimming its workweek 3% (14 minutes a day for the whole airline including top executives), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning, & flying 97% as much as usual
• 400 jobcuts by Unifi   • 290 by Hibernia   • 117 by Electroglas   • 94 by Waterford Wedgwood  

4/17/2003 thu
- keep hope-vs-doom acomin' with $25/yr subscrptn check to ‘ Timesizing.com with Phil Hyde’,
Box 622, Cambridge MA 02140 USA  - # visitors yesterday, all 591 files/pp: 947 (jan 764, oct 868) -
primitive TIMEsizing & TIMEsizing consciousness in the news:
• (4/16) Singapore's government has urged employers in war&SARS-hit tourism to introduce shorter working week to save jobs
vs.  doom du jourtm - for lack of timesizing
eroding retirement: • 45 of America's 100 biggest firms assumed ridiculous (9%) gains for their pension funds last year   • 140 of S&P500 firms don't have pension plans & those who 'top up' cut company growth
+ 5 DOWNsizings, totaling 4600 +?? lost jobs, mentioned in Wall Street Journal and/or New York Times:
• 2000 jobcuts by American Airlines   • 1300 by Merrill Lynch   • 800 by Akzo Nobel   • 500 by Maytag Corp.  
• unspecified Montana cuts as 113-yr-old M&M CigarStore saloon closes
+ headlines from hell_tm• unions risk losing relevance? too late!   • booze industry wants reconnect drinking & driving   • Iraq museum pillage devastating   • U.S. 'intelligence' caught in Mexican character assassination

4/16/2003 wed
- keep hope-vs-doom acomin' with $25/yr subscrptn check to ‘ Timesizing.com with Phil Hyde’,
Box 622, Cambridge MA 02140 USA  - # visitors yesterday, all 591 files/pp: 946 (jan 843, oct 862) -
primitive TIMEsizing & TIMEsizing consciousness in the news:
• 6000 saved jobs as Cessna furloughs 75% of Wichita workforce for 7 weeks in July-August
• reader urges John de Graaf to consider retirement fears to explain American overwork
• Liberals beat Parti Québécois & 4-day workweek by 45.9% to 33.2%
+ random hope - headlines from heaven: • 1 UPsizing
- 500 new or saved jobs at Cessna in Wichita
vs.  doom du jourtm - for lack of timesizing
3 DOWNsizings, totaling 1800 +?? lost jobs, mentioned in Wall Street Journal and/or New York Times:
• 4.3% workforce cut (1000 lost jobs) as Corning TV-screen glass over-reacts to imports by cutting employees (& the domestic markets they support), instead of just trimming its workweek 4.3% (21 minutes a day for whole company including execs), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning, & buying 95.7% as many TVs & monitors as usual
• 800 jobcuts by GE Aircraft Engines   • unspecified extra cuts by United Airlines
+ 1 bankruptcy mentioned in WSJ &/or NYT: • Venture Lighting International
+ headlines from hell_tm • US productivity slips most in 3 months   • while everyone moved on to $350B from $550B taxcut, Bush was still back at $726B!   • 'what's for dinar (Iraqi currency)?'   • Iraqis are out of jail but still homeless & jobless   • & why this war when no big bad weapons found? it trashed priceless museum artifacts, cowardly Dems kowtowed ('cept Howard Dean, antiwar candidate from the start)

4/15/2003 tue
- keep hope-vs-doom acomin' with $25/yr subscrptn check to ‘ Timesizing.com with Phil Hyde’,
Box 622, Cambridge MA 02140 USA  - # visitors yesterday, all 591 files/pp: 833 (jan 790, oct 686) -
strategic hope postponed = TIMEsizing news:
• looks like Liberals will clobber Parti Québécois & their proposed 4-day workweek for parents
+ random hope - headlines from heaven: • 1 UPsizing
- ?? new or saved jobs at 'Sung', Delta's new discount airline
vs.  doom du jourtm - for lack of timesizing
big takeovers: • Pfizer to buy Pharmacia for $57B   • Murdoch to buy control of DirecTV for $6.6B
+ 2 DOWNsizings, totaling 3300 lost jobs, mentioned in Wall Street Journal and/or New York Times:
• 3000 UK jobcuts right after Corus, world's 4th-largest steelmaker, announces new executive bonus plan
• 5% workforce cut (300 lost jobs) as Hillenbrand incubators, gurnies & coffins coddles executives while cutting employees (& their dependents & all the markets they all represent), instead of just trimming its workweek 5% (24 minutes a day for whole company including execs), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning, & buying 95% as many things to lie down on as usual
+ 4 bankruptcies mentioned in WSJ &/or NYT: • Leap Wireless   • Inacom   • Heartland Securities   • Grundig
+ 2 prison items: • Alabammy moves 70 women inmates to Louisiana prison to uncrowd Tutwiler   • Quitman County can't afford any but assembly-line justice from public defenders, so sues its state = Mississippi

4/12-14/2003 sat-mon (re fri biz)
- readers pls. mail $25/yr subscrptn check to Timesizing.com, Box 622, Cambridge, MA 02140 -
$80 buys new Time Trilogy (# different visitors F Sa Su, any page: 646 659 633, wk's avg 753)
strategic hope = TIMEsizing consciousness in the news:
• John de Graaf launches Take Back Your Time Day in a NYT op ed
• now a NYT mention of the Parti Québecois' four-day workweek proposal
• troubled Cathay Pacific urges staff to volunteer for unpaid vacations if possible
• in June, Germany adds 4 hours to weekly shopping hours, currently cut off at 4 pm Sat.
+ random hope/headlines from heaven: • corporate boards are coming down harder on executive pay - Planar Systems rewards employees starting at bottom, not top   • London mounts a satirical revue mocking White House at war = The Madness of George Dubya (& Tony Blear!)   • some good bankruptcy news - Senate stirs against easing conflicts-of-interest for investment banks
vs.  doom du jourtm - for lack of timesizing  
eroding retirement: • people 'not at all confident' about $retirement
increased from 10 to 16% last year, & over-45s planning to postpone up from 16 to 24%
+ 3 DOWNsizings, totaling 437 lost jobs cited in Wall Street Journal (WSJ) &/or New York Times (NYT):
• 211 jobcuts by American International Group   • 206 by Singapore Air   • 20 by Duke Energy  
+ 1 bankruptcy mentioned in WSJ &/or NYT: • Evolve Software  
+ 1 prison story: • Congress, against Chief Justice, just further limited
judges' discretionary ability to shorten sentences & save us millions on inmate upkeep
+ headlines from hell_tm • now that invasion over & occupation begun, the Iraq money tree springs to life for Cheney's Halliburton Corp. et al.   • even executives are now getting laid off (but with pain rising toward top, system feedback improves, impressing need for alternative to downsizing)  
weekend roll-up from the WSJ & the NYT
** 5 issues/wk - avg homepage hits per issue this week: 76 **
hope of the weektm
• 8 TIMEsizing items (?? jobs saved)  
vs.  doom of the weektm
• 21 DOWNsizings, over 24,425 jobcuts  
• 7 bankruptcies   • 1 eroded-retirement item   • 4 prison stories  
{{ Year-To-Date: 103 timesizngs (1400+ new or sav'd jobs) + 16 upsizngs (7519+ new jobs) + 6 makwrk (14000+ "jobs")
total 22919 = 7% of dnsz VERSUS 250 dnsz (331096+ cuts) + 85 bnkrp ($17.7B+) + 10 homlss + 21 prisn + 17 killngs}}

4/11/2003 fri
- 70th anniversary of 30-hour workweek bill was this Sunday, April 6 -
- keep hope-vs-doom comin' with $25/yr subscrptn check to ‘ Timesizing.com with Phil Hyde’,
Box 622, Cambridge MA 02140 USA  - # visitors yesterday, all 590 files/pp: 817 (jan 802, oct 714) -
strategic hope = TIMEsizing news:
• more on Parti Québecois' proposed 32-hr workweek for parents (rather than for jobseekers)
vs.  doom du jourtm - for lack of timesizing
6 DOWNsizings, totaling 8600 +?? lost jobs, mentioned in Wall Street Journal and/or New York Times:
• 4000 jobcuts as SAS Scandinavian Airlines freezes pay, redeploys planes & increases working hours
• 8% additional workforce cut (1800 lost jobs) as State Street bank continues to cut employees (& their dependents & all the markets they all represent), instead of just trimming its workweek 8% (to four 9hr12min days for whole company), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning, & doing 92% as much banking as usual
• 1800 jobcuts also by Nokia   • 1000 by Telstra   • unspecified cuts, as Rite Aid doles out too much dividend, & • Air France & British Airways end supersonic passenger travel à la Concorde
+ 3 bankruptcies mentioned in WSJournal &/or NYTimes: • CTC Communications   • Allied Devices   • Marconi

4/10/2003 thu
- 70th anniversary of 30-hour workweek bill was this Sunday, April 6 -
- keep hope-vs-doom comin' with $25/yr subscrptn check to ‘ Timesizing.com with Phil Hyde’,
Box 622, Cambridge MA 02140 USA  - # visitors yesterday, all 587 files/pp: 859 (jan 744, oct 776) -
strategic hope = TIMEsizing news:
• TWO overtime bills distinguished, one resetting range
& target, and this one annualizing current squishy 40-hr workweek cap
vs.  doom du jourtm - for lack of timesizing
takeovers: • US Steel will lay off 5700, 20%, of National Steel's employees if it wins its takeover bid
+ 2 DOWNsizings, totaling 2005 lost jobs, mentioned in Wall Street Journal and/or New York Times:
• 6.7% workforce cut (2005 lost jobs) as Stanley Works handtools closes 4 plants & 5 warehouses, instead of just trimming its workweek 6.7% (to five 7½-hour days for whole company), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone working, earning, & buying 93.3% as many tools as usual
• 1000 jobcuts by Qantas  
+ 1 prison item: • SC Justice Kennedy finds 2.1m inmates 'unacceptable' & knocks mand-min sentences

4/09/2003 wed
- 70th anniversary of 30-hour workweek bill was this Sunday, April 6 -
- keep hope-vs-doom comin' with $25/yr subscrptn check to ‘ Timesizing.com with Phil Hyde’,
Box 622, Cambridge MA 02140 USA  - # visitors yesterday, all 587 files/pp: 824 (jan 707, oct 779) -
strategic hope = TIMEsizing news:
• Moore's Law, the driver of Silicon Valley workaholism for nearly 40 years, is getting questioned
vs.  doom du jourtm - for lack of timesizing
takeovers: • UnionBanCal to buy Monterey Bay Bancorp for $96.5m
+ 3 DOWNsizings, totaling 3818 lost jobs, mentioned in WSJ & NYT:
• New York City adds 3200 teachers to the layoff casualties it racked up yesterday
• 2.4% workforce cut (550 lost jobs) as Tecumseh small engines excuses moving jobs overseas because 'customers demand lower prices,' instead of just trimming its workweek 2.4% (12 minutes a day for whole company), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning, & buying 97.6% as many lawn mowers & air conditioners as usual
• 68 jobcuts by A. Schulman plastics  
+ 2 bankruptcies mentioned in Wall St Journal &/or NY Times: • Recoton   • Managed Care Strategies
+ 2 prison items: • liberation US-style = 2 million inmates & 7 times lockup rate of Germany, Italy & Denmark  
• Manhattan jailers so 'patriotic,' they 'regrettably' take nearly 2 hours to release terrorist suspect's legal team

4/08/2003 tue
- 70th anniversary of 30-hour workweek bill was this Sunday, Apr.6 -
- keep hope-vs-doom comin' with $25/yr subscrptn check to ‘ Timesizing.com with Phil Hyde’,
Box 622, Cambridge MA 02140 USA  - # visitors yesterday, all 586 files/pp: 830 (jan 688, oct 793) -
strategic hope = TIMEsizing news:
• biggest German brewer, Holsten, cuts hours instead of jobs as beer sales slide
+ random hope - headlines from heaven: • Broadcom Corp. caps salaries at $110,000
vs.  doom du jourtm - for lack of timesizing
takeover news: • Xstrata buys MIM Holdings for $2B   • United Bankshares to buy Sequoia
Bancshares for $109m   • Brazil's president blocks Petroleo Brasileiro's takeover of Transener
+ 7 DOWNsizings, totaling 9565 lost jobs, mentioned in Wall Street Journal and/or New York Times:
• 60% workforce cut (3750 lost jobs) as GIAT Industries weapons gets hysterical over downturn in Euro arms spending, instead of just trimming its workweek 60% (to five 4¾ hours a day for the whole company), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning, & paying 40% as many taxes to buy more weapons
• 3400 jobcuts by NYC   • 1400 by Abbey National   • 455 by MeadWestvaco  
• 300 by Philips Electronics   • 140 by Microchip Technology   • 120 by Paxar Corp.  
+ 1 bankruptcy mentioned in Wall St Journal &/or NY Times: • Eagle Food Centers files for 2nd time in 3 yrs  
+ headlines from hell_tm • only 1 of our 535 House & Senate "representatives" has a son enlisted in the ranks  
• the hyperconcentration of income & wealth continues to induce foolish investing   • Oracle's CEO predicts woes that have already come, but the Sheraton & Westin Hotel chief is counting plagues

4/05-07/2003 sat-mon (re fri biz)
- 70th anniversary of 30-hour workweek bill is this Sunday, April 6 -
- readers pls. mail $25/yr subscrptn check to Timesizing.com, Box 622, Cambridge, MA 02140 -
$80 buys new Time Trilogy (# different visitors F Sa Su, any page: 651 413 537, wk's avg 697)
strategic hope = TIMEsizing consciousness in the news:
• (4/03) Lufthansa ready to cut from 37.5- to 35-hr workweek
if war in Iraq & SARS keep scaring away potential passengers
+ random hope: • some CEOs stand up against this fear&hate-spreading war - Alan Kligerman of AkPharma, Richard Abdoo of Wisconsin Energy, & former Air Force Lt. Col. Warren Langley, ex-pres. of Pacific Stock Exchange   • Mercator Software rejects $74m hostile takeover bid
vs.  doom du jourtm - for lack of timesizing  
eroding retirement: • Northwest Airlines hopes to shore up its pension fund with quasi-legal stock move
+ 4 DOWNsizings, totaling 625 +?? lost jobs cited in Wall Street Journal (WSJ) &/or New York Times (NYT):
• 0.5% workforce cut (300 lost jobs) as Georgia-Pacific paper products experiences overcapacity, instead of just trimming its workweek 0.5% (2½ minutes a day for the whole company including top executives), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together confident, working, earning & buying 99.5% as many paper products as before
• 205 jobcuts by InfoSpace   • 120 by Starbucks in Israel   • unspecified cuts by Transkaryotic Therapies
+ 1 bankruptcy mentioned in WSJ &/or NYT: • Evolve Software  
+ 2 prison stories: • Louisiana has highest lockup rate in the South, & the South highest in nation  
• more than one in ten American black men aged 20-34 are locked up   • prison riot in Honduras kills 86
+ headlines from hell_tm • jobs data suggest weak economy   • fund managers still don't have to disclose pay
weekend roll-up from the WSJ & the NYT
** 5 issues/wk - avg homepage hits per issue this week: 68 **
hope of the weektm
• 10 TIMEsizing items (?? jobs saved)   • 2 makework cases (?? new 'jobs')
vs.  doom of the weektm
• 23 DOWNsizings, over 12,962 jobcuts   • 4 bankruptcies  
• 3 eroded-retirement items   • 1 homelessness story   • 3 prison stories  
{{ Year-To-Date: 95 timesizings (1400+ new or sav'd jobs) + 16 upsizings (7519+ new jobs) + 6 makwrk (14000+ "jobs")
total 22919 = 7% of dnsz VERSUS 229 dnsz (306671+ cuts) + 78 bnkrp ($17.7B+) + 10 homlss + 17 prisn + 17 killngs}}

4/4/2003 fri
- 70th anniversary of 30-hour workweek bill coming up this Sunday, Apr.6 -
- we’re doing press releases to major newspapers about our time trilogy for that occasion -
- keep hope-vs-doom comin' with $25/yr subscrptn check to ‘ Timesizing.com with Phil Hyde’,
Box 622, Cambridge MA 02140 USA  - # visitors yesterday, all 584 files/pp: 782 (jan 585, oct 670) -
- late edition -
strategic hope = TIMEsizing news:
• overtime dilution works its way through Congress
• US student pressure helps Caribbean sweatshop unionize vs. overwork
• another mention of Lufthansa's trimming hours instead of chopping jobs
+ random hope - headlines from heaven:
• ideas for corporate redesign stirred by recent union lawsuit
• Kerry: 'we need regime change in U.S.' as well as Iraq - 'regime change' starts at home
• Bush appointee Tim Muris is actually functioning in megamerger-blocking role
vs.  doom du jourtm - for lack of timesizing  
makework rampant: • Cheney war makes companies, US & otherwise,
hire people to help them not look American overseas or French here
+ eroding retirement: • Goodyear axes employer contribs to employee 401Ks
• French government's plans to gut old-age pensions evoke nationwide protests
+ 7 DOWNsizings, totaling 5340 +?? lost jobs, mentioned in Wall Street Journal and/or New York Times:
• 8% workforce cut (4000 lost jobs) as Dow Chemical cuts employees & markets, instead of just trimming its workweek by 8% (38 minutes a day for the whole company), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone working, earning, & buying 92% as many chemical-infested products as usual
• 800 jobcuts by Midas   • 170 by Georgia-Pacific   • 150 by International Flavors & Fragrances  
• 120 by Alliance Resource Partners coalmining   • 100 by Buckeye Technologies
• unspecified jobcuts by Angela Cummings jewelry
+ headlines from hell_tm • now we're in housing bubble, they burst worse than stocks  
• Oregon bill seeks to jail war protesters for 25 years as terrorists  
• samples of lost-to-US public opinion from Arab front pages  
• German unemployment rises to 10.6%

4/03/2003 thu
- 70th anniversary of 30-hour workweek bill coming up this Sunday, Apr.6 -
- we’re doing press releases to major newspapers about our time trilogy for that occasion -
- keep hope-vs-doom comin' with $25/yr subscrptn check to ‘ Timesizing.com with Phil Hyde’,
Box 622, Cambridge MA 02140 USA  - # visitors yesterday, all 583 files/pp: 755(jan 338, oct 765) -
strategic hope = TIMEsizing news:
• Whirlpool Corp. does 6-wk leaves to retain staff through inventory glut
• first Britons, now Americans, are too overworked to have sex
+ random hope - headlines from heaven:
• Dems muster 3 antiwar candidates: Dean, Kucinich & Graham
• Senate moves to boost soldiers' pay, but...
vs.  doom du jourtm - for lack of timesizing  
eroding retirement: • Delta, Altria, LTV, UAL & Abbott Labs bulk up execs’ pensions while workers’
+ takeover news: • Western Union's parent, First Data, to buy rival Concord EFS for $6.8B
• Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway buys Clayton (mobile) Homes for $1.7B
• but on the good side, HP holders vote for 'poison pill' to block hostile takeovers
+ 6 DOWNsizings, totaling 1270 +?? lost jobs, mentioned in Wall Street Journal and/or New York Times:
• estimated 850 jobcuts as Eaton Corporation, a leading maker of hydraulic equipment, consolidates 5 plants  
• 30% workforce cut (170 lost jobs) as Atlas Air cuts employees & markets, instead of just trimming its workweek by 30% (to four 7-hour day-equivalents for the whole company), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning, flying & buying 70% as much as usual
• 130 jobcuts by Oxford Automotive   • 100 by Goldman Sachs Group   • 20 by Isis Pharmaceuticals
• unspecified jobcuts by Hong Kong Dragon Airlines
+ 1 bankruptcy mentioned in Wall St Journal &/or NY Times: • PSC Inc.  
+ headlines from hell_tm • reader lists impeachment charges vs. Bush   • Swiss cut rates again & Sw.franc drops
• ND cuts labor surplus the cynical way   • China needs cut labor surplus bigtime
• war & SARS hit travel industry   • World Bank says war saps growth

4/02/2003 wed
- 70th anniversary of 30-hour workweek bill coming up this Sunday, Apr.6 -
- we’re doing press releases to major newspapers about our time trilogy for that occasion -
- keep hope-vs-doom comin' with $25/yr subscrptn check to ‘ Timesizing.com with Phil Hyde’,
Box 622, Cambridge MA 02140 USA  - # visitors yesterday, all 582 files/pp: 847(dec 434, oct 739) -
- late edition -
strategic hope = TIMEsizing consciousness in the news:
• (3/28) Hooker Furniture surfs weak economic conditions on 35 hours a week
+ random hope - headlines from heaven: • Hopis plan new constitution
• Dean & Kucinich offer anti-war candidacies  • ex-generals defend their blunt comments  • Canada offers anti-war haven  • 2 British soldiers question legality of Iraq war
• ratings slide & networks trim Gulf news  • Israel forced to pursue peace?  • antitrust lawsuit on track vs. Visa & MC  • tighter fuel economy  • town dramatizes smoking's link to heart attacks
vs.  doom du jourtm - for lack of timesizing  
makework rampant: • Pentagon is providing below-GOP-radar gov't ‘jobs’ for surplus immigrants
+ 4 DOWNsizings, totaling 5050 lost jobs, mentioned in Wall Street Journal and/or New York Times:
• 20% of pilots cut (2500 lost jobs) as American Airlines continues self-fueling tailspin, instead of just trimming their workweek by 20% (to four 8-hour day-equivalents for the whole job category), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone together working, earning, flying & buying 80% as much as usual
• 2000 jobcuts by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines   • 450 by Computer Assocs.   • 100 by International Multifoods
+ 2 bankruptcies mentioned in Wall St Journal &/or NY Times: • Fleming Cos, owing $3.54B   • Air Canada
+ homelessness in the news: • NYC reaches 'settlement' on lawsuit charging change from assisting to arresting
+ headlines from hell_tm • congressional panels approve $74.7B war spending  • even WSJ sees economy headed into the tank  • Japanese execs pessimistic  • Calif. RCs sue Boston RCs over palmed-off priestly pervert

4/01/2003 tue
- 70th anniversary of 30-hour workweek bill coming up this Sunday, Apr.6 -
- we’re doing 'dust in the wind' press releases to major newspapers about our time trilogy for that occasion -
- keep hope-vs-doom comin' with $25/yr subscrptn check to ‘ Timesizing.com with Phil Hyde’,
Box 622, Cambridge MA 02140 USA  - # visitors yesterday, all 581 files/pp: 891(dec 527, sep 808) -
- late edition -
strategic hope = TIMEsizing consciousness in the news:
• children want to work fewer hours when they have children - Ms. Foundation wants to help
• Clear Channel not only stifles radio debate, it also cheats employees out of overtime pay
• for megahours, domestics in Mexico get low-level pay & high-handed abuse
• more on Lufthansa's efforts to save jobs by trimming hours
+ random hope - headlines from heaven: • conscientious objectors are few but spreading
• anti-war protests in India   • a city with clean streets & low crime - hint: T*r*nt*
• Vancouver BC springs for safe-injection sites to curb HIV & hepatitis
vs.  doom du jourtm - for lack of timesizing  
2 DOWNsizings, totaling 677 lost jobs, mentioned in Wall Street Journal and/or New York Times:
• 660 additional jobcuts by Kmart including 400 (15%) at corporate HQ - 59,000 Kmart jobcuts so far
• 18% workforce cut (1000 lost jobs) as Edgar Online financial data over-reacts to expected revenue decline, instead of just trimming its workweek by 18% (to four 8hr12min days for the whole company including top execs), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training, & keeping everyone working, earning & buying 82% as much as usual
+ 1 prison item:   • 5 detainees beaten in Boston jail 1998-99, 5 guards convicted
+ headlines from hell_tm • tax evasion   • fraud   • slipping mfg   • slow war cuz US betrayed Shiites last time
• Saudis develop own pilot licensing cuz U.S. decertified 4 Saudi pilots   • Euro consumer confidence slips
• Japan output slips   • S. Korean stocks slip   • Brazil goes with jumping up minimum wage (20%!) rather that creeping down workweek   • econ growth slips in India

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