creating unspecified new ‘jobs’ (archives):
- Bush signs corporate tax bill with $140B corporate taxcut - bill derided by critics as a giveaway to special interests (10/23 t.B1>4)
- big science, big giveaway - Calif.'s Prop 71 is a state initiative to fund stem-cell research that would eventually cost taxpayers $6B (10/25 j.A18)
vs. doom du jour tm for lack of timesizing, in j, t, & g (Boston Globe):
DOWNsizings - weekend's total = 1200 +?? jobcuts that made it into j (WSJ) or t (NYT):
- 1100 layoffs planned by American Airlines (10/23 t.B13, 10/25 j.C6)
- 100 jobcuts as Louisiana-Pacific Corp. shuts plant in Woodland ME (10/23 t.B4)
- unspecified cuts as Yahoo closes PayDirect service (10/25 j.C6)
DOWNsizing overviews noted in (j) WSJ or (t) NYT or (g) Boston Globe (archives):
in swing states, growth of jobs has faltered - 15000 jobs lost last month in Mich., 7000 in Wisc., 2200 in Minn., 9500 in Fla. (10/23 t.B1)
DOWNsizing results = bankruptcies (archives) in WSJ (j) and/or NYT (t):
American Commercial Lines LLC et al. in Chapter 11 jointly (10/25 j.B6)
headlines from HELL (tm) from (j) Wall Street Journal or (t) NY Times or (g) Boston Globe (archives):
- investments in venture capital cooled in third quarter (10/25 j.C4) - after Bush gave them all those taxcuts???
- Dow ended week at 11-month low of 9757.81 (10/25 j.A1)
- natural gas prices surge to highest in 1½ years, $8.105 per million BTUs, as oil settles at $55.17/bbl (10/25 j.A1>C2)
- further declines in the dollar are seen amid oil, trade jitters - the dollar is finding few friends these days (10/25 j.C2) - neither is Bush's America, unless you're desperate 3d-world ready to sell anything
weekend roll-up -
5 issues/wk - wk's avg homepage hits/issue: 72
hope of the weektm from the WSJ & the NYT:
•
82 TIMEsizing items
(1000+ new or saved jobs)
• 1 UPsizing
+ artificial ‘hope’ • 5 makework items
vs. doom of the weektm from the WSJ & the NYT:
• 12 DOWNsizings, over 11,580 +?? jobcuts
• 4 bankruptcies
• 1 eroding-retirement story
{{ytd: 1679 timsizg (2638+ new or sav'd jobs)
+ 129 upsizs (113764+ new jobs)
+ 375 makwrk (36816+ 'jobs') =
tot:153218=32% of cuts VS. 425 dnsz (476594+ cuts) +162 bkrp($416m+) +>32 hmlss +>151 jail +>20 deth}}
10/29/2004 friday
- playing catchup after trip to relatively sane Canada -
- we have 737 textfiles: #visitors yesterday 10/28/th: 1013 (10/30/03/th: 894; 10/31/02/th: 722) -
strategic hope = TIMEsizing news (click here for DETAILS):
- est. 1000 US jobs saved as GM gears down production by 7% with 1- to 4-wk furloughs in 4 states in response to glut at dealers - unspecifed jobs saved as Ford selectively closes 1-2 plants a week since Oct.1
- Barbara Brandt's work with Mass. Council of Churches pays off - Rev. Paul Sinnott of House of Prayer Lutheran Church in Hingham MA does Take Back Time article for Hingham Journal
- plus 9 other worktime-related items mainly from yesterday's GoogleNews
- Boston-MA area workaholics who want to kick the habit - try *Workaholics Anonymous on Thurs.eves at 7:30 pm, 1st Baptist Church, 5 Magazine St, Central Sq, Cambridge
+ random glimmers of hope indexed to today's (j) Wall St Journal or (t) NYTimes (archives):
- UPsizings: • industry-wide - retailer hiring is expected to be lackluster this holiday season amid an uncertain sales outlook - some retailers are cautious about adding jobs for holidays (j.A1>2)
- Boston-area readers who want real news - try 90.3 FM 12-1pm Mon-Sat and 6-10am Sunday for "Radio Free America for Americans" dba *Democracy Now
+ clouded hope = makework = PUFFsizings, creating unspecified new ‘jobs’ (archives):
- Congressional investigators say the Bush administration, by barring generics from India, pays double what AIDS groups do for drugs (j.A1>B1)
- FBI is investigating big contracts with Halliburton to repair Iraq oil fields (t.A8)
vs. doom du jour tm for lack of TIMEsizing - in WSJ (j) and NYT (t) -
DOWNsizings (archives) - today's total, 330 jobcuts that made it into j (WSJ) or t (NYT):
- 6% salaried workforce cut (250 senior & mid-mgmt jobs lost) as Tenneco Automotive over-reacts to rising steel costs by cutting consumers, instead of just trimming 6% of its workweek (29 minutes a day for everyone, including executives), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training & hiring & keeping everyone together working, earning & spending 94% as much as before (t.C4)
- 80 HongKong jobcuts as the Far Eastern Economic Review goes from weekly to monthly (t.W1)
DOWNsizing overviews noted in (j) WSJ or (t) NYT or (g) Boston Globe (archives):
- jobless claims climb 20,000 in week, showing uneven recovery (j.A1>2, t.C4) - or continuing depression
- resentment toward GM is growing in Germany as GM's Opel division shifts production (& jobs) to Poland (t.W1)
DOWNsizing results = bankruptcies noted in (j) WSJ or (t) NYT (archives):
- Ogden New York Services Inc. et al. in Chapter 11 jointly in NY (j.B7)
- ACR Management LLC et al in Chapter 11 jointly in Pa. (t.C6)
headlines from HELL in (Wall St. Journal) j & (New York Times) t & (Bos.Globe) g (archives):
- oil firms must now cope with huge gusher of cash - soaring prices are giving the big players massive amounts of free cash (j.A1) - evidently much more than they can invest to create jobs, yet Bush is still pouring the national income toward them - compare main headline: oil giants splurge for investors - many major companies make share buybacks as high prices leave firms with piles of cash - '7 sisters' expect to generate $71.3B in free cash this year (j.C1) - meanwhile...
- study puts Iraqi deaths of civilians at 100,000 (t.A8)
10/28/2004 thursday
- playing catchup after trip to relatively sane Canada -
- we have 737 text files: #visitors yesterday 10/27/w: 1100 (10/29/03/w: 1021; 10/30/02/w: 896) -
strategic hope = TIMEsizing news (click here for DETAILS):
- prestigious fatigue studies slam long hours of US medicos
- travel writer Rick Steves says that from a European point of view, it’s unbelievable how docilely Americans accept the shortest vacations in the rich world
- cut hours to retain older staff, says Statistics Canada
- plus 15 other worktime-related items mainly from yesterday's GoogleNews
- Boston-MA area workaholics who want to kick the habit - try *Workaholics Anonymous on Thurs.eves at 7:30 pm, 1st Baptist Church, 5 Magazine St, Central Sq, Cambridge
+ random glimmers of hope indexed to today's (j) Wall St Journal or (t) NYTimes (archives):
- Ohio - GOP bid to knock tens of thousands of registered voters off the voting rolls is blocked by Cincinnati Federal District Court Judge Susan Dlott (t.A21)
- Boston-area readers who want real news - try 90.3 FM 12-1pm Mon-Sat and 6-10am Sunday for "Radio Free America for Americans" dba *Democracy Now
vs. doom du jour tm for lack of TIMEsizing - in WSJ (j) and NYT (t) -
DOWNsizings (archives) - today's total, 1060 jobcuts that made it into j (WSJ) or t (NYT):
- 11% workforce cut (510 jobs lost) as LSI Logic Corp. over-reacts to $282m loss by cutting employee-consumers, instead of just trimming 11% of its workweek (to five 7hr,7min days for everyone, including executives), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training & hiring & keeping everyone together working, earning & spending 89% as much as before (j.B7, t.C6)
- 300 jobcuts as Kodak shuts 3 labs in Spain & Norway (t.C4)
- 250 cuts as Culp Inc. closes fabric plant in Pageland SC (t.C4)
DOWNsizing results = eroding non-executive retirement (archives):
how does Lucent show gratitude to retirees? - it doesn't = ½-page ad by Communications Workers of America (t.A16)
headlines from HELL in (Wall St. Journal) j & (New York Times) t & (Bos.Globe) g (archives):
- where are the economists? - in the push for greater regulation after the corporate scandals, economists are notably absent (t.C1>2) - could that possibly be because most economists merely describe - & thereby bolster - the status quo, however dysfunctional?
- 'dollar bears' end hibernation of 2004 - currency traders have no lack of factors to growl over, like the idea of not cyclical but secular weakness for US dollar, higher oil prices, election uncertainties, Spitzer's insurance-industry probe, & consumer confidence drop following sluggish job growth - this week the dollar fell to 106.46 yen, an 8-month low - with US taxcuts & low interest rates, the economy ought to be jumping & it's not, says John Taylor of FX Concepts (j.C1) - how can it jump when the taxcuts are funneled not to spenders but to investors, who already have no spending constraints - ever more money to the rich, & then the repeated question, why aren't they investing more? (A: they've vacuumed the spending power out of potential investments' markets)
10/27/2004 wednesday
- playing catchup after 6-day trip to make sure the relative sanity of Canada is still there -
- we have 737 textfiles: #visitors yesterday 10/26/t: 1079 (10/28/03/t: 1063; 10/29/02/t: 887) -
strategic hope = TIMEsizing news (click here for DETAILS):
- Hedonism Handbook in Britain joins Welcome Laziness in France to reinforce Europe's leadership in shorter workhours
- movement in Britain to create more 'bank holidays'
- plus 12 other worktime-related items mainly from yesterday's GoogleNews
- Boston-MA area workaholics who want to kick the habit - try *Workaholics Anonymous on Thurs.eves at 7:30 pm, 1st Baptist Church, 5 Magazine St, Central Sq, Cambridge
+ random glimmers of hope indexed to today's (j) Wall St Journal or (t) NYTimes (archives):
- UPsizings: • unspecified new US jobs as Rupert Murdoch plans to move News Corp.'s HQ from Adelaide, Australia to USA (t.C4)
- policing business on a shoestring - in Spitzer's office, hours of drudgery, moments of 'gotcha' (j.A1>9)
- Province of Ontario moves towards banning pitbulls after recent attacks in Toronto (t.A8)
- Boston-area readers who want real news - try 90.3 FM 12-1pm Mon-Sat and 6-10am Sunday for "Radio Free America for Americans" dba *Democracy Now
vs. doom du jour tm for lack of TIMEsizing - in WSJ (j) and NYT (t) -
DOWNsizings (archives) - today's total, 8000 jobcuts that made it into j (WSJ) or t (NYT):
- 9% workforce cut (4600 jobs gone) as Electronic Data Systems offers early retirement to 9200, instead of just trimming 9% of its workweek (43 minutes a day for everyone, including executives), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training & hiring & keeping everyone together working, earning & buying 91% as much stuff as before (t.C4)
- 3400 jobcuts by KB Toys over past 8 months (j.A14)
DOWNsizing results = bankruptcies noted in (j) WSJ or (t) NYT (archives):
ATA Airlines seeks Chapter 11 (j.A3, t.C1)
headlines from HELL in (Wall St. Journal) j & (New York Times) t & (Bos.Globe) g (archives):
- consumer confidence slips in Oct. as worries over jobs persist (j.A2)
- ahead of the tape - waiting for companies to spend their dough feels like waiting for Godot - even with wads of cash weighing down their pockets & a taxbreak meant to spur equipment purchasing set to expire at year's end, corporate willingness to spend has fallen far short of expectations (j.C1) = more evidence that funneling money to the rich stifles, not spurs, spending & economic dynamism & growth
- block the vote - as a final gambit, parties [mainly Republican] are trying to damp turnout - attack ads & fliers encourage opposition to stay home (j.A1) - let's cut the crap & move to Australia's system - go for 100% turnout with easy mail, phone, in-person, whatever voting with full ID required & steep fines if you don't participate
- Monsanto can use a gene-modified corn in Europe (t.C4) - EU is betraying its population by caving to reckless & greedy US agrobiz
- Malden Mills rejects purchase bid from former owner Aaron Feuerstein (t.C4) - Malden Mills & Dragon Systems (enmeshed in Lernout & Hauspie bankruptcy, 11/29/2001 #4) stand as a warning: if you love your company, don't sell it
10/26/2004 tuesday
- playing catchup after 6-day trip to make sure the relative sanity of Canada is still there -
- we have 736 textfiles: #visitors yesterday 10/25/m: 1054 (10/27/03/m: 1033; 10/28/02/m: 874) -
strategic hope = TIMEsizing news (click here for DETAILS):
- Seoulites rejoice in S.Korea's new 40-hour workweek after years of working Sat. mornings to make up 44-hour week
- Europe has shorter workweek than US, Japan, Australia
- leisure lovers want America to be more like Europe
- plus 5 other worktime-related items mainly from yesterday's GoogleNews
- Boston-MA area workaholics who want to kick the habit - try *Workaholics Anonymous on Thurs.eves at 7:30 pm, 1st Baptist Church, 5 Magazine St, Central Sq, Cambridge
+ clouded hope = makework = PUFFsizings, creating unspecified new ‘jobs’ (archives):
incredible compensation: letter by Gregg Beaty of Cincinnati - CBO calculates that 60% of Fannie Mae's govt subsidy goes to mortgage buyers & not to help increase supply of affordable housing - add to that allegations that Fannie has been cooking its books & providing slush funds to friendly politicians at taxpayer expense (j.A25) - the kleptocracy spreads
vs. doom du jour tm for lack of TIMEsizing - in WSJ (j) and NYT (t) -
DOWNsizings (archives) - today's total, 970 jobcuts that made it into j (WSJ) or t (NYT):
- 10% workforce cut (820 jobs lost) as Kemet Corp electronics mfr cuts costs (& markets), instead of just trimming 10% of its workweek (48 minutes a day for everyone, including executives), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training & hiring & keeping everyone together working, earning & buying 90% as much electronics as before (t.C4)
- 150 jobcuts as Citigroup Inc.'s CEO says he will shut a 2nd Tokyo operation (j.A3)
DOWNsizing overviews noted in (j) WSJ or (t) NYT or (g) Boston Globe (archives):
- a technology recovery in post-exuberant times - companies learn to use computer systems more efficiently, & cut new investment (t.C1>16)
- resentment toward GM is growing in Germany as GM's Opel division shifts production (& jobs) to Poland (t.W1)
headlines from HELL in (Wall St. Journal) j & (New York Times) t & (Bos.Globe) g (archives):
- Dow fell to 9749.99, another 11-month low (j.A1)
- US currency declines broadly as weakening trend gains force (j.C4)
- meanwhile, US senators' stock picks outperform the pros' by avg 12%/yr (j.D2) - oh what a surprise, you don't suppose they had any special information now, do you
- please, sir, a bit more? as companies trim costs, white-collar workers see salary increases held down (j.B8) - funny how CEOs see nothing suicidal in cutting spending power, the stuff & substance of their own markets
10/23-25/2004 sat-mon (re fri biz)
- playing catchup after 6-day trip to make sure the relative sanity of Canada is still there -
- #visitors to any of our 735 files, F Sa Su: 746,587,662 - wk's daily avg: 896 -
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
TIMEsizing awareness = strategic glimmers of hope in weekend's GoogleNews:
- Jeremy Rifkin points out that the American Dream has passed to Europe & focuses on the most basic freedom, more Free Time
- in terms of long working hours, 'has-been' USA has already entered the Third World
- plus 30 other worktime-related articles - click here for details
+
random glimmers of hope indexing (j) Wall St.Journal, (t) NYTimes or (g) Bos.Globe (archives):
analysts, traders are splitting up (10/25 j.C4) - but didn't we just UNsplit brokers, insurers & bankers by repealing Glass-Steagall?!
+ clouded hope = makework = PUFFsizings, creating unspecified new ‘jobs’ (archives):
- Bush signs corporate tax bill with $140B corporate taxcut - bill derided by critics as a giveaway to special interests (10/23 t.B1>4)
- big science, big giveaway - Calif.'s Prop 71 is a state initiative to fund stem-cell research that would eventually cost taxpayers $6B (10/25 j.A18)
vs. doom du jour tm for lack of timesizing, in j, t, & g (Boston Globe):
DOWNsizings - weekend's total = 1200 jobcuts that made it into j (WSJ) or t (NYT):
- 1100 layoffs planned by American Airlines (10/23 t.B13, 10/25 j.C6)
- 100 jobcuts as Louisiana-Pacific Corp. shuts plant in Woodland ME (10/23 t.B4)
- unspecified cuts as Yahoo closes PayDirect service (10/25 j.C6)
DOWNsizing overviews noted in (j) WSJ or (t) NYT or (g) Boston Globe (archives):
in swing states, growth of jobs has faltered - 15000 jobs lost last month in Mich., 7000 in Wisc., 2200 in Minn., 9500 in Fla. (10/23 t.B1)
DOWNsizing results = bankruptcies (archives) in WSJ (j) and/or NYT (t):
American Commercial Lines LLC et al. in Chapter 11 jointly (10/25 j.B6)
headlines from HELL (tm) from (j) Wall Street Journal or (t) NY Times or (g) Boston Globe (archives):
- investments in venture capital cooled in third quarter (10/25 j.C4) - after Bush gave them all those taxcuts???
- Dow ended week at 11-month low of 9757.81 (10/25 j.A1)
- natural gas prices surge to highest in 1½ years, $8.105 per million BTUs, as oil settles at $55.17/bbl (10/25 j.A1>C2)
- further declines in the dollar are seen amid oil, trade jitters - the dollar is finding few friends these days (10/25 j.C2) - neither is Bush's America, unless you're desperate 3d-world ready to sell anything
weekend roll-up -
5 issues/wk - wk's avg homepage hits/issue: 89
hope of the weektm from the WSJ & the NYT:
•
84 TIMEsizing items
(2+ new or saved jobs)
• 2 UPsizings
(3000+ new jobs)
+ artificial ‘hope’ • 8 makework items
vs. doom of the weektm from the WSJ & the NYT:
• 10 DOWNsizings, over 7767 +?? jobcuts
• 4 bankruptcies
• 2 eroding-retirement stories (time-constrained under-counting begins)
{{ytd: 1597 timsizg (1638+ new or sav'd jobs)
+ 128 upsizs (113764+ new jobs)
+ 370 makwrk (36816+ 'jobs') =
tot:152218=33% of cuts VS. 413 dnsz (465014+ cuts) +158 bkrp($416m+) +>32 hmlss +>151 jail +>20 deth}}
10/22/2004 friday
- playing catchup after 6-day trip to make sure the relative sanity of Canada is still there -
- we have 736 textfiles: #visitors yesterday 10/21/th: 999 (10/23/03/th: 928; 10/24/02/th: 760) -
strategic hope = TIMEsizing news (click here for DETAILS):
- New Hampshire Public TV will have a 12.5% paycut starting Dec.1 to help balance budget in the form of reduced hours for employees based on a new 35-hour workweek to save 2 colleagues from having to pack up their offices & find new jobs
- 6-7 more jobs potentially saved by 32-hour workweek in Ohio
- plus 13 other worktime-related items mainly from yesterday's GoogleNews
- Boston-MA area workaholics who want to kick the habit - try *Workaholics Anonymous on Thurs.eves at 7:30 pm, 1st Baptist Church, 5 Magazine St, Central Sq, Cambridge
+ clouded hope = makework = PUFFsizings, creating unspecified new ‘jobs’ (archives):
US Army plan would let Halliburton's KBR unit keep $3B of $12B it was paid for work in Iraq that Pentagon auditors say is questionable or unsupported by documentation (j.A1)
vs. doom du jour tm for lack of TIMEsizing - in WSJ (j) and NYT (t) -
DOWNsizings (archives) - today's total, 357 jobcuts that made it into j (WSJ) or t (NYT):
- 250 jobcuts by Imation Corp. CDs, mostly in Minnesota (t.C4)
- 107 cuts by Strong Financial Corp. in Wisconsin (t.C4)
DOWNsizing results = bankruptcies noted in (j) WSJ or (t) NYT (archives):
- deal on Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts debt includes Chapter 11 in NY (t.C3)
- Omni Facility Services Inc. et al. in Chap.11 jointly (t.C2)
- Met-Coil Systems LLC (fka Corp.) in Chapter 11 (j.B5)
headlines from HELL in (Wall St. Journal) j & (New York Times) t & (Bos.Globe) g (archives):
- leading indicators fell last month - decline is 4th in a row - hurricanes, high oil prices slowed growth of economy (j.A2)
- voting and counting - Bush is in trouble - and so are we - votes for Mr. Kerry will be systematically undercounted (t.A23)
10/21/2004 thursday
- playing catchup after 6-day trip to make sure the relative sanity of Canada is still there -
- we have 736 textfiles: #visitors yesterday 10/20/w: 1080 (10/22/03/w: 1048; 10/23/02/w: 805) -
strategic hope = TIMEsizing news (click here for DETAILS):
- Phil Hyde & Barbara Brandt plan Take Back Your Time Day events in Somerville, plus Time Day article in the Boise Weekly
- job sharing in Virginia
- extra week of vacation in Alabama
- 5-minute 'pee break' in Frankfurt
- plus 11 other worktime-related items mainly from yesterday's GoogleNews
- Boston-MA area workaholics who want to kick the habit - try *Workaholics Anonymous on Thurs.eves at 7:30 pm, 1st Baptist Church, 5 Magazine St, Central Sq, Cambridge
+ random glimmers of hope indexed to today's (j) Wall St Journal or (t) NYTimes (archives):
- Sinclair Broadcast's stock picks up after cutting amount of anti-Kerry it would show (t.A21) = disciplining Rove's paws where it counts
- Boston-area readers who want real news - try 90.3 FM 12-1pm Mon-Sat and 6-10am Sunday for "Radio Free America for Americans" dba *Democracy Now
+ clouded hope = makework = PUFFsizings, creating unspecified new ‘jobs’ (archives):
- US elections are to set record for spending at $3.9 billion (j.A4) - this is 'efficiency'??
- patent debates embroil industries - dozens of 'enterprises,' such as Solala Technology, were created in past decade solely to buy patents & collect licensing fees from any company that, in their view, infringes - annual number of US patents tripled over past 2 decades to 187,017 in 2003, but patents are also source of growing litigation, 1553 in 1993, 2814 in 2003 (j.B1)
- train trips in USA - Bastiat's makework fantasy for a "negative railway" is reality - Boston's North & South Stations don't connect, neither do New York's Grand Central & Penn Stations, creating work for taxis - Amtrak's Vermonter and Ethan Allen trains don't connect in Vt. - Boston section of LakeShore Ltd doesn't connect with Adirondack to Montreal or Maple Leaf to Toronto without overnite stay (we suggest Motel 6 in Utica) - no Boston buses stop at Albany-Rensselaer Amtrak or reach Albany in time to catch Montreal or Toronto trains... (source: Amtrak, Greyhound schedules as of today) - check other realms of American makework
vs. doom du jour tm for lack of TIMEsizing - in WSJ (j) and NYT (t) -
DOWNsizings (archives) - today's total, 5350 jobcuts that made it into j (WSJ) or t (NYT):
- 5% workforce cut (4700 jobs lost) as Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. overreacts to first-quarter loss by cutting its own best markets, instead of just trimming 5% of its workweek (24 minutes a day for everyone, including executives), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training & hiring & keeping everyone working, earning & shopping 95% as much as before (j.B10)
- 400 jobs cut by Delta Woodside Industries fabrics of Greenville SC (t.C4)
- 250 by Convergys Corp. telecom billing in Cincinnati (t.C4)
DOWNsizing overviews noted in (j) WSJ or (t) NYT or (g) Boston Globe (archives):
French Cabinet approves bill to make layoffs easier (j.A17) - we welcome France into the Race to the Bottom
headlines from HELL in (Wall St. Journal) j & (New York Times) t & (Bos.Globe) g (archives):
- industrial average touches 9804.19, below its previous low for the year of 9814.59 (j.C1)
- economic scene - changes in US patent system have contributed to deterioration in patent quality - a patent that protects a better mousetrap spurs innovation, but what about one for a new way to amuse a cat? (t.A21)
10/20/2004 wednesday
- playing catchup after 6-day trip to make sure the relative sanity of Canada is still there -
- we have 735 textfiles: #visitors yesterday 10/19/t: 1131 (10/21/03/t: 990 again; 10/22/02/t: 925) -
strategic hope = TIMEsizing news (click here for DETAILS):
- Kerry & Bush - minimal shorter-hours relevance
- Take Back Our Time Day article from Gordon College, Mass.
- plus 10 other worktime-related items mainly from yesterday's GoogleNews
- Boston-MA area workaholics who want to kick the habit - try *Workaholics Anonymous on Thurs.eves at 7:30 pm, 1st Baptist Church, 5 Magazine St, Central Sq, Cambridge
+ random glimmers of hope indexed to today's (j) Wall St Journal or (t) NYTimes (archives):
- UPsizings: • 3000 new store jobs in UK at J. Sainsbury PLC (j.B10)
- Social Security benefits to rise 2.7% in cost-of-living increase (j.A1>2) - this should somewhat centrifuge & activate the national income - 'the less $concentration, the more circulation'
- polls show gains for Kerry among women in electorate - a group that once favored Bush now appears to offer Kerry solid support (t.A23)
- Boston-area readers who want real news - try 90.3 FM 12-1pm Mon-Sat and 6-10am Sunday for "Radio Free America for Americans" dba *Democracy Now
vs. doom du jour tm for lack of TIMEsizing - in WSJ (j) and NYT (t) -
DOWNsizings (archives) - today's total, 860 jobcuts that made it into j (WSJ) or t (NYT):
- 750 HQ jobcuts by J. Sainsbury PLC (j.B10)
- 110 jobs cut by CuraGen in Connecticut (t.C3)
DOWNsizing overviews noted in (j) WSJ or (t) NYT or (g) Boston Globe (archives):
- towns hand out tax breaks, then cry foul as jobs leave (t.A1)
- the lowdown on labor lost - how blameworthy are those 'Benedict Arnold' outsourcing CEOs? (j.D12) - as blameworthy as any other near-sighted suicides
DOWNsizing results = eroding non-executive retirement (archives):
- growing numbers of Americans push back retirement dates (j.D10) - the desperation spreads - once the babyboomers hit the job market in the 1970s, insecurity drew housewives into the market, then immigrants flooded in, now retirees are coming back in - & wages & consumption are flatter & flatter
- insurance scandal jolts industry but devastates workers - drop in Marsh & McLennan stock hurts employee retirement plans (t.C1)
headlines from HELL in (Wall St. Journal) j & (New York Times) t & (Bos.Globe) g (archives):
- tuition rises sharply at public colleges, 11% this year (private, 5.7%) = slightly less than last year's 14% but students are borrowing more & 25% are charging their credit cards (j.D1, t.A16)
- signs of crack in voting bloc - Bush has gained ground among black voters (t.A21) - if true, they're suicidal, but makes no diff, cuz they're the main group the Republicans are targeting for disenfranchisement anyway (via spurious inclusion on felons' lists)
10/19/2004 tuesday
- playing catchup after 6-day trip to make sure the relative sanity of Canada is still there -
- we have 735 textfiles: #visitors yesterday 10/18/mon: 1064 (10/20/03/m: 990; 10/21/02/m: 771) -
strategic hope = TIMEsizing news (click here for DETAILS):
- Quebecers work fewer hours than other Canadians
- workweek cuts have forestalled jobcuts for staff in NHL strike
- plus 8 other worktime-related items mainly from yesterday's GoogleNews
- Boston-MA area workaholics who want to kick the habit - try *Workaholics Anonymous on Thurs.eves at 7:30 pm, 1st Baptist Church, 5 Magazine St, Central Sq, Cambridge
+ random glimmers of hope indexed to today's (j) Wall St Journal or (t) NYTimes (archives):
- UPsizings: • unspecified new jobs as world's biggest consumer electronics maker Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. to make its biggest investment in China ($247m) to date: new industrial park in Hangzhou (t.W1)
- end the rate increases - we don't need a recession to tame inflation (j.A18) - oh no? then what else have you got to tame it with? - we timesizers have incentive-balancing
- Boston-area readers who want real news - try 90.3 FM 12-1pm Mon-Sat and 6-10am Sunday for "Radio Free America for Americans" dba *Democracy Now
+ clouded hope = makework = PUFFsizings, creating unspecified new ‘jobs’ (archives):
- 2 shipbuilders get big $500m breaks in new tax bill that passed Congress last week: General Dynamics & Northrop Grumman (t.C1)
- party time - recent official report said Transportation Security Administration spent nearly $500k on awards banquet for employees last Nov. (t.C6)
vs. doom du jour tm for lack of TIMEsizing - in WSJ (j) and NYT (t) -
DOWNsizing overviews noted in (j) WSJ or (t) NYT or (g) Boston Globe (archives):
- treasury troubles; John Snow, you're no Alexander Hamilton - if George Bush loses in Ohio, he can blame Treasury Secretary John Snow, who went there last week & suggested it was 'myth' that fewer people are employed in the US today than 4 years ago (j.A4)
- when offshoring doesn't make sense - Toyota still makes Corollas in Silicon Valley, one of the costliest places on earth (j.A8) - offshoring never makes sense unless you want to cannibalize your customer base
- autoparts suppliers are facing a new round of weak earnings & jobcuts because of soaring prices for steel & plastics (j.A1>2)
headlines from HELL in (Wall St. Journal) j & (New York Times) t & (Bos.Globe) g (archives):
- feeling the draft - don't believe Bush's assurances that there won't be any after the election if he wins (t.A29)
- & the new "Republicans" have put themselves in a position where no one will believe the election was honest unless they lose - see 'electronic vote in NJ faces a fight - lawsuit claims results cannot be trusted' (t.A25)
- US will pay $2 billion interest on national debt (j.C6) = another Bush failure
10/16-18/2004 sat-mon (re fri biz)
- playing catchup after 6-day trip to make sure the relative sanity of Canada is still there -
- #visitors to any of our 735 files, F Sa Su: 868,567,733 - wk's daily avg: 909 -
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
TIMEsizing awareness = strategic glimmers of hope in weekend's GoogleNews:
- Court upholds Renault's 35-hour workweek
- Belgian unions want workweek for PO workers reduced from 38 to 35 hours in line with their 2001-2004 contract
- plus 7 other worktime-related articles - click here for details
+
random glimmers of hope indexing (j) Wall St.Journal, (t) NYTimes or (g) Bos.Globe (archives):
- UPsizings: • unspecified new jobs as ESPN Inc. of Bristol RI in Dec. will launch Chinese-language monthly magazine targeting young men (10/18 j.B6)
• economy-level: a 'monster' rally? China's turbo-charged economy may be shifting into a lower gear, but the most-populous nation can still crank out [or steal] new [low-wage] jobs at a world-beating [& impoverishing] rate of 15m annually [10/18 j.C1]
- David Brooks of all people poses The Big Question (10/16 t.A31)
vs. doom du jour tm for lack of timesizing, in j, t, & g (Boston Globe):
DOWNsizing appetizers = takeovers (archives):
FNB Corp. [nee First National Bank?] to acquire NSD Bancorp for $135.8m (10/16 t.B4)
DOWNsizings - weekend's total = 700 jobcuts that made it into j (WSJ) or t (NYT):
700 jobcuts by Sprint (10/18 j.A1>B4, 10/16 t.B1>2)
DOWNsizing overviews noted in (j) WSJ or (t) NYT or (g) Boston Globe (archives):
- for labor markets, definition of 'normal' is changing - recent job gains have lagged the norm for a recovery (10/17 g.D1) - so, duh, maybe the 'recovery' is all spin
- outsourcing booms, although quietly amid political heat - many companies are reluctant to divulge details on overseas destinations of jobs (10/18 j.B2)
- case in point = India: profit at outsourcing business, Wipro, increases 65% in 2Q04 over 2Q03 to 3.8B rupees - added 34 customers & 5500 employees during quarter despite US political tension over issue (10/16 t.B3)
DOWNsizing results = eroding retirement noted in (j) WSJ or (t) NYT or (g) Boston Globe (archives):
SEC investigates 6 unidentified big companies on pension, benefit accounting (10/18 j.A3)
DOWNsizing results = bankruptcies (archives) in WSJ (j) and/or NYT (t):
Windsor Woodmont Black Hawk Resort Corp. aka Black Hawk Casino by Hyatt, in Chapter 11 in Colo. (10/18 j.B6)
DOWNsizing results = prison news (archives):
- ex-inmate's suit offers view into sexual slavery in prisons - recognition of the equal-protection rights of homosexuals abused in prison (10/16 t.A1>9)
- Utah: new DNA evidence prompts recommendation for ending 19-year imprisonment of innocent Bruce Goodman, convicted in 1984 of killing his girlfriend (10/18 t.A9)
headlines from HELL (tm) from (j) Wall Street Journal or (t) NY Times or (g) Boston Globe (archives):
- Dow industrials ended week down 121.82 pts at 9933.38 (10/18 j.A1)
- wealth gap widens in US between minorities & whites (10/18 j.A2)
- consumer confidence slips (10/18 j.A4)
- federal judge overturned ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone & Grand Teton (10/18 j.A1)
weekend roll-up -
5 issues/wk - wk's avg homepage hits/issue: 93
hope of the weektm from the WSJ & the NYT:
•
89 TIMEsizing items
• 7 UPsizings
(100+ new jobs)
+ ‘hope’ • 15 makework items (13+ new ‘jobs’)
vs. doom of the weektm from the WSJ & the NYT:
• 8 DOWNsizings, over 20,155 +?? jobcuts
• 1 bankruptcy
• 10 eroding-retirement stories
• 3 prison stories
• 1 suicide story
{{ytd: 1513 timsizg (1636+ new or sav'd jobs)
+ 126 upsizs (110764+ new jobs)
+ 362 makwrk (36816+ 'jobs') =
tot: 149216 = 33% of cuts,
VS.
403 dnsz (457247+ cuts)
+ 154 bkrp ($416m+) +32 homlss +151 jail +20 deth }}
10/15/2004 friday
- playing catchup after 6-day trip to make sure the relative sanity of Canada is still there -
- we have 735 textfiles: #visitors yesterday 10/14/thu: 1091 (10/16/03/th: 969; 10/17/02/th: 772) -
strategic hope = TIMEsizing news (click here for DETAILS):
- public servants in Taiwan will have 60 days off next year
- 3 Dutch unions ask public-transportation drivers to strike in protest against cabinet plans to lengthen workweek from 36 to 40 hours
- Hong Kongers gather outside 1st Q&A session between HK leader Tung Chee-hwa & HK's new lawmaking council, & call shorter working hours
- plus 25 other worktime-related items mainly from yesterday's GoogleNews
- Boston-MA area workaholics who want to kick the habit - try *Workaholics Anonymous on Thurs.eves at 7:30 pm, 1st Baptist Church, 5 Magazine St, Central Sq, Cambridge
+ random glimmers of hope indexed to today's (j) Wall St Journal or (t) NYTimes (archives):
- UPsizings: • unspecified new jobs as Starbucks plans to expand from current 8500 stores to 30,000 stores worldwide in the long-term, including 1500 next year (t.C3) - begins to sound like Boston Chicken-like overconfidence & Macdonalds-like overexpansion, which will lose its current, still surviving, underdog penache
- chemicals sickened Gulf War veterans, new study says - a sharp reversal in thinking about why so many who served in the Gulf are ill (t.A25)
- Boston-area readers who want real news - try 90.3 FM 12-1pm Mon-Sat and 6-10am Sunday for "Radio Free America for Americans" dba *Democracy Now
+ clouded hope = makework = PUFFsizings, creating unspecified new ‘jobs’ (archives):
- multinational companies get a tax break, as do foreign gamblers, in the new tax bill passed this week, called the American Jobs Creation Act (t.C1) = another sick joke from our Republican-dominated Congress
- Congress extends tax break for business-jet purchases - bowing to pleas from a handful of small-aircraft makers, Congress included 1-year extension of break on planes costing over $200,000 in tax bill so the ultrarich could still fly the friendly skies at a discount (j.A6) = Republicans are determined to give the rich more money & see that they spend less & less of it - result? disguised depression
- still leaking - Congress closed loophole in student-loan program that lets lenders make loans at 3.4% interest yet get a 9.5% government guarantee, but it left two others open - up to 40% of student loans will still have the higher guarantee & the partial fix is only for one year (j.A4)
vs. doom du jour tm for lack of TIMEsizing - in WSJ (j) and NYT (t) -
DOWNsizings (archives) - today's total, 17500 jobcuts that made it into j (WSJ) or t (NYT):
- 12000 jobcuts as GM struggles in Europe (t.W1)
- 5500 German jobs lost thru attrition or by offering employees alternative jobs within the company as KarstadtQuelle AG reaches agreement with VER.DI union to cut costs (j.A11)
DOWNsizing overviews noted in (j) WSJ or (t) NYT or (g) Boston Globe (archives):
myth-firing - Democrats pounce on Treasury secy Snow's claim that charges of a net job-loss under Bush are 'myths' - Snow says his remarks were 'misconstrued' (j.A4)
headlines from HELL in (Wall St. Journal) j & (New York Times) t & (Bos.Globe) g (archives):
- five articles today on pre-election irregularities, mostly on the part of the once-conservative, now radical-right, neo-con Republican Party = another Bush failure?
- Dow industrials dragged down under 10000 [again] - fell 107.88 points, or 1.08%, to 9894.45, as oil prices rose $1.12/bbl to a 21-year high of $54.76 (j.A1>C1) = another Bush failure?
- as US debt ceiling is reached, Bush administration seeks to raise it once again (t.A20) = another Bush failure?
- fiscal 2004 budget deficit grows to $413B & Treasury is using accounting maneuvers to stay under the $7.384 trillion debt cap (j.A1>C4) = another Bush failure?
- US trade deficit widened to $54B in August, its second-highest level ever, pushed by rising oil-import prices (j.A1>2) - outacontrol oil prices with a White House full of oilmen? = another Bush failure?
- initial jobless claims rose by 15,000 for week ended Oct.9 (j.A2)
- Sun Microsystems reports smaller loss & calls it a turnaround (t.C3) = Orwellian spin spreads apace = another Bush failure?
- UMich has 15% fewer black freshmen than last year, citing fallout from Supreme Court affirmative-action case (j.A1) = another Bush failure?
- State Dept. authorized departure of nonessential personnel from Haiti (j.A1) = another Bush failure?
10/14/2004 thursday
- 'hope isn’t a plan', but we have a plan
- we have 734 textfiles: #visitors yesterday 10/13/wed: 982 (10/15/03/w: 920; 10/16/02/w: 868) -
NOTE UPCOMING GREATER BOSTON EVENT -
- Mon, Oct.25, 7-9pm: Time Day Talk & Discussion - Topic: Boosting the ‘Recovery’ by Trimming Hours, Not Jobs, in Today’s Workaholic America, led by Phil Hyde, introduced by Barb Brandt, at West Branch Library, 40 College Ave (2½ blocks N of Davis Sq), Somerville MA 02144
strategic hope = TIMEsizing news (click here for DETAILS):
- leisure phobia sweeps America
- long workhours ruin British family life
- plus 28 other worktime-related items mainly from yesterday's GoogleNews
- Boston-MA area workaholics who want to kick the habit - try *Workaholics Anonymous on Thurs.eves at 7:30 pm, 1st Baptist Church, 5 Magazine St, Central Sq, Cambridge
+ random glimmers of hope indexed to today's (j) Wall St Journal or (t) NYTimes (archives):
- UPsizings: • at least 100 new pilots at UPS over next year, most based in Louisville (j.A14)
- unspecified new jobs as H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) keeps up expansion - cheap & trendy clothing giant moving into Italy & Eastern Europe while still trying for goals in US - 1 store in Slovenia in 2003, 4 in Czech Republic 2004, 16 in Poland 2005 (t.C1)
- unspecified new jobs as Deere & Co. plans to build second factory in Brazil (t.C4)
- Nordic countries come out near top among most competitive economies (World Economic Forum survey) & best places to do business (World Bank survey), despite high taxes, costly public healthcare & general socialism (t.C3)
- Time reporter again held in contempt in CIA-leak case - Matthew Cooper faces 18 months in prison for refusing to reveal White House sources (t.A16, j.A1) - should be life for treason - it's not his job to betray his country & jeopardize lives for partisan reasons
- GOP rebuff in Nevada - Clark County registrar of voters Larry Lomax rejected effort by former Republican Party official Dan Burdish to purge 17,000 Democrats from the voter rolls as inactive voters in state where candidates are in dead heat (t.A24)
- blowin' in the wind - better technology & govt stimulus, along with higher oil prices, are driving renewed optimism about wind power (j.A1)
- Boston-area readers who want real news - try 90.3 FM 12-1pm Mon-Sat and 6-10am Sunday for "Radio Free America for Americans" dba *Democracy Now
+ clouded hope = makework = PUFFsizings, creating unspecified new ‘jobs’ (archives):
- airport-security agency spent $461,745 for an awards banquet & its executive bonuses are unusually rich, an internal report obtained by AP says - long hours are justification, spokeswoman said (j.A1) - then cut them
- indebted retailer Daiel said that it will seek assistance from a Japanese government-sponsored turnaround project (j.A1)
vs. doom du jour tm for lack of TIMEsizing - in WSJ (j) and NYT (t) -
DOWNsizing overviews noted in (j) WSJ or (t) NYT or (g) Boston Globe (archives):
- firms outsource computer projects at increasing pace (j.B7)
- Europe's car makers face turmoil as Japanese gain in market share, up to 17.4% in 2004 from 14.8% in 1999 - US & local companies are responding to fierce competition by shedding thousands of jobs - while top 5 Asian brands gained 1% market share in Europe in first 9 months of 2004, US & European firms lost 1.2%, setting in motion massive layoffs (j.A1)
DOWNsizing results = eroding non-executive retirement (archives):
- Bush's secret plan to fix Social Security - well, it isn't exactly secret & it's not exactly a plan - 'do not open till after election' (j.A2) - hopefully he'll never get the chance
- hard-to-swallow lesson on pension plans - Halliburton uses loophole to reduce payouts at an upstate NY unit - so much for early retirement (t.C1>4)
- new tax bill exempts members of the PGA Tour from rules that apply to most other high-end retirement plans - with Wall St. & corporate brass out of favor, Congress is showering tax benefits on a sector whose popularity is enduring: professional golfers (j.A1>3) = more favoritism & class warfare
- more retirees may see health cuts - some employers will be allowed to cut benefits for more retirees - provision in new tax bill allows employers to alter how benefits are trimmed - will now have option of cutting costs for all instead of cutting some people (j.A1>5) = heads, employees lose - tails, CEOs win (but lose more markets)
- popular funds for retirees are nearly dead - some stable-value offerings succumb to regulatory pressure, forcing a search for alternatives (j.D1)
DOWNsizing results = prisons noted in (j) WSJ or (t) NYT (archives):
US considers reopening inquiry into possible abuse before Iraq prison scandal - 4 Iraqis who worked for news organizations say they were mistreated (t.A14)
headlines from HELL in (Wall St. Journal) j & (New York Times) t & (Bos.Globe) g (archives):
- fear of commodities bubble pushes share prices lower - DOW back to 10,002.33 (t.C13, j.A1)
- gasoline futures climb to 21-year high of $53.64/bbl as Hurricane Ivan's effects linger in Gulf of Mexico petroleum operations (t.C13, j.A1>C1)
- Treasury may have to take steps to finance government operations as US seems poised to hit $7.384 trillion national debt limit (j.A1>C6)
- HCA issues warning due to storms, more uninsured - Hospital Co. of America continues to experience a rise in number of uninsured patients seeking treatment at its hospitals (j.A5)
- study of US students' college readiness finds no progress in a decade: ACT study (t.A25)
- Jordan denied Israeli newspaper report that US is holding top Qaeda figures in prison there - CIA declined to comment (j.A1) = pre-election surprise?
10/13/2004 wed.
- 'hope isn’t a plan', but we have a plan
- we have 734 textfiles: #visitors yesterday 10/12/tue: 1031 (10/14/03/t: 999; 10/15/02/t: 862) -
NOTE UPCOMING GREATER BOSTON EVENTS -
- Sun, Oct.24, 1-3pm: Take Back Your Time Day Speakout, on Boston Common at Parkman Bandstand, with Pam Kristan, Barb Brandt, Phil Hyde & anyone else with up to a 10-minute rant on our time bind
- Mon, Oct.25, 7-9pm: Time Day Talk & Discussion - Topic: Boosting the ‘Recovery’ by Trimming Hours, Not Jobs, in Today’s Workaholic America, led by Phil Hyde, introduced by Barb Brandt, at West Branch Library, 40 College Ave (2½ blocks N of Davis Sq), Somerville MA 02144
strategic hope = TIMEsizing news (click here for DETAILS):
- Bahrain MPs want to cut Ramadan working day from 6 to 5 hours for
government staff
- VERDI, big German union, remains opposed to longer working hours - we should hope so
- plus 3 other worktime-related items mainly from yesterday's GoogleNews
- Boston-MA area workaholics who want to kick the habit - try *Workaholics Anonymous on Thurs.eves at 7:30 pm, 1st Baptist Church, 5 Magazine St, Central Sq, Cambridge
+ random glimmers of hope indexed to today's (j) Wall St Journal or (t) NYTimes (archives):
- UPsizings - unspecified new jobs as: • Caesars Entertainment Inc. plans $600m casino in London (j.D15)
• Walt Disney Co. plans to open its theme park in Hong Kong a year from tomorrow (j.D1>14)
- sure, country is divided, but Bush country too? - W. Leon Smith is editor in chief of Lone Star Iconoclast, which losing sales & getting hate mail for endorsing Kerry (t.A1) - Leon Smith is a hero = 'blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven' (Matt.5:10) - so, after all their spin about 'Bush haters', the Bushies are the real haters, blinded to the anxiety-amplifying stockmarket-stifling policies of this 'business-friendly' White House - "but that’s because of oil prices!" - under a White House full of oil men & friends of Saudi royals?! - then there's
- Bush’s big government,
- Bush’s fiscal irresponsibility of uncontrolled deficit & national debt,
- Bush’s redistribution of wealth to the wealthy (socialism for the rich) at the expense of our stabilizing consumer markets = the more $concentration, the less $circulation
- Bush’s world-alienating unilateralism with Krushchev-like NO's to Kyoto protocols, test-ban treaty, World Court & on & on & on
- Bush’s obsessive unprovoked war on 9/11-unrelated target,
- Bush’s war on our own soldiers with military & veteran benefit cuts,
- Bush’s war on seniors with threat of privatizing Social Security via 'personal accounts',
- above all, Bush’s attack on honest elections by disenfranchising black voters, discarding new Democrat registrations, building voting machines with 2 sets of returns & no paper trail
- Bush is not a kind of conservative that's familiar to us - the parties have switched again & Kerry is actually more conservative, than a Bush who talks the talk of an American but walks the walk of a fundamentalist utopian dictator
- Boston-area readers who want real news - try 90.3 FM 12-1pm Mon-Sat and 6-10am Sunday for "Radio Free America for Americans" dba *Democracy Now
+ clouded hope = makework = PUFFsizings, creating unspecified new ‘jobs’ (archives):
- Homeland Security grants are still streaming to rural states (t.A1)
- Air Force asked Pentagon to widen its inquiry into charges of favoritism in Boeing contracts to include more contracts, after former USAF acquisition officer Darleen Druyun acknowledged they were improperly awarded to Boeing (t.C1>2) - we thought the Air Force was the Pentagon
- Kentucky: protests by several state lawmakers over spending for governor's house, incumbent Republican Ernie Fletcher - employed 13 full-time employees, including 7 housekeepers & 3 chefs & spent over $300k for operations in FY ending 5/2004 (t.A24)
vs. doom du jour tm for lack of TIMEsizing - in WSJ (j) and NYT (t) -
DOWNsizings (archives) - today's total, 855 +?? jobcuts that made it into j (WSJ) or t (NYT):
- 2% more workforce cut (425 jobs lost) as State Street overreacts to drop in earnings by nicking its own best markets, instead of just cutting 2% of its workweek (10 minutes a day for everyone, including executives), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training&hiring and keeping everyone together working, earning and banking 98% as much as before (j.C3)
- 400 jobcuts as Hitachi Ltd.'s Calif. units cuts 10% by year end (j.C15)
- 30 cuts as Allied Waste Industries of Scotsdale AZ reorganizes (t.C5)
- unspecified cuts in Levi Strauss & Co.'s reorganization plan which includes more plant closures & sale of Dockers line (j.C15)
DOWNsizing overviews noted in (j) WSJ or (t) NYT or (g) Boston Globe (archives):
- big companies will use much of their windfall from corporate-tax legislation passed this week to reduce debt, buy back shares, or make acquisitions, although they lobbied Congress for the measure on the grounds that it would spur job growth - so it may not boost hiring despite claims (j.A1)
- dollar rebounds from selloff induced by weak jobs data (j.C2)
DOWNsizing results = wastefully astronomical executive pay, perks & pensions:
tax bill targets 'deferred compensation' plans for executives (j.D2)
DOWNsizing results = eroding non-executive retirement (archives):
use of retirement plans increases, reversing a 2-year decline (j.D2) = slight reversal of erosion
DOWNsizing results = suicides - lack of work-life balance kills (archives):
Japanese police said 9 bodies found in two parked cars may be the nation's largest group suicide ever, a pact believed sealed on the Internet (j.A1, t.A10)
headlines from HELL in (Wall St. Journal) j & (New York Times) t & (Bos.Globe) g (archives):
- Bush won't attend AARP's convention in Vegas this week, though he'll be in same city & though they gave a boost to his Medicare law last year (j.A1, t.A17) - another slap at black Americans
- Republican Congress left an unusually long list of unfinished business (j.A1) - but 'hard work' & sacrifice is OK for everyone else
- Homeland Security report questions if adequate evalution process is in place for possible shifts to private airport screeners (j.A1>D14) - they haven't learned anything from privatizing military supply, prisons & interrogations?
- the intimidating face of Bush's America - photo shows supporters of Afghan president Karzai shying away from (privatized?) American security guard in Kabul recently
10/12/2004 tuesday
- 'hope isn’t a plan', but we have a plan
- we have 734 textfiles: #visitors yesterday 10/11/mon: 1094 (10/13/03/m: 948; 10/14/02/m: 686) -
strategic hope = TIMEsizing news (click here for DETAILS):
- Int'l Steel workers in Indiana vote to sacrifice a little more free time every 2 weeks for shorter workdays & more predictable lives
- want your employees drunk on the job? then lengthen the workweek, because tiredness at work has the same effect as drunkenness
- plus 15 other worktime-related items mainly from yesterday's GoogleNews
- Boston-MA area workaholics who want to kick the habit - try *Workaholics Anonymous on Thurs.eves at 7:30 pm, 1st Baptist Church, 5 Magazine St, Central Sq, Cambridge
+ random glimmers of hope indexed to today's (j) Wall St Journal or (t) NYTimes (archives):
- Kerry faults Bush on rising energy costs (t.A21) - Bush is an oilman with a whole White House full of oilmen & gas prices are still going up off the charts?!
- top law firm agrees to aid NY City against gun makers (t.A28)
- Boston-area readers who want real news - try 90.3 FM 12-1pm Mon-Sat and 6-10am Sunday for "Radio Free America for Americans" dba *Democracy Now
+ clouded hope = makework = PUFFsizings, creating unspecified new ‘jobs’ (archives):
- Homeland Security grants are still streaming to rural states (t.A1)
- Air Force asked Pentagon to widen its inquiry into charges of favoritism in Boeing contracts to include more contracts, after former USAF acquisition officer Darleen Druyun acknowledged they were improperly awarded to Boeing (t.C1>2) - we thought the Air Force was the Pentagon
- Kentucky: protests by several state lawmakers over spending for governor's house, incumbent Republican Ernie Fletcher - employed 13 full-time employees, including 7 housekeepers & 3 chefs & spent over $300k for operations in FY ending 5/2004 (t.A24)
vs. doom du jour tm for lack of TIMEsizing - in WSJ (j) and NYT (t) -
DOWNsizings (archives) - today's total, 1100 jobcuts that made it into j (WSJ) or t (NYT):
1100 jobcuts as Royal Sun & Alliance Insurance shifts UK jobs to India over next 2 years (j.B13, t.W1) - = time to cancel your policy with them
DOWNsizing results = wastefully astronomical executive pay, perks & pensions:
recovering executives' bonuses remains infrequent despite emphasis on corporate reform (j.C1)
DOWNsizing results = eroding non-executive retirement (archives):
economic challenge of retiring boomers too big to ignore (j.A4) - so just match it up with challenge of weakening consumer base, remove cap on flat Social Security tax & restore World War II levels of graduated income tax
DOWNsizing results = disability noted in (j) WSJ or (t) NYT (archives):
disability claims related to obesity are raising premiums - such claims have doubled since 1996: recent UnumProvident study of 1.2m claims - 1% of sample claims are specifically for obesity, but including related conditions bumps total to 5.65% - claims for hypertension & diabetes rose 100% & for musculoskeletal-disorder 78% (j.D1>2) = pig out & get free ride with health insurance, but must not diet or all is lost
headlines from HELL in (Wall St. Journal) j & (New York Times) t & (Bos.Globe) g (archives):
- group of bishops using influence to oppose Kerry - abortion is their single issue (t.A1)
- being pResident means never having to say he's sorry - can Bush appeal to women if he can't admit mistakes? (t.A31)
- the potential heartbreak in 'open' adoptions - Lori Miller of Englewood CO: my birthmother was in and out of my life & I would not wish an 'open adoption' arrangement on any child (j.A23)
10/09-11/2004 sat-mon (re fri biz)
- miss yesterday's hope du jour? see Features below -
- #visitors to any of our 733 files, F Sa Su: 847,597,709 - wk's daily avg: 743
-
TIMEsizing awareness = strategic glimmers of hope in weekend's GoogleNews:
- 35 worktime-related articles - click here for details
+
random glimmers of hope indexing (j) Wall St.Journal, (t) NYTimes or (g) Bos.Globe (archives):
- UPsizings, economy-level: • Canadian economy powers ahead, adding jobs - after slipping into reverse in Aug., Canada created 43,200 jobs in Sept., more than twice the forecast 15,000 & unemployment dropped from 7.2 to 7.1% (10/11 j.A17)
- Republicans are looking for Kerry vulnerablity beyond the 'flip-flop' label as Bush sounds increasingly on the defensive on Iraq (10/11 j.A1>6) - Kerry is flexible, not 'flipflopping' & Bush is rigid, not 'consistent' = linguistic reframing du jour
- among Black voters, a fervor to make their ballots count (10/11 t.A1)
- US oil companies face more scrutiny on role they played in UN oil-for-food program after CIA report by chief arms inspector Charles Duelfer that disclosed how extensively Saddam had abused oil profits (10/11 t.A1>11)
- online today: eyes on the road - Honda's Accord Hybrid kicks into gear soon & could fundamentally change the way environmentally friendly cars are sold (10/11 j.A1)
- China's new fuel-efficiency standards may cool its SUV market & prompt foreign auto makers to develop new technologies (10/11 j.A1>17)
+ clouded hope = makework = PUFFsizings, creating unspecified new ‘jobs’ (archives):
- corporate tax measure nears passage in Senate (10/11 j.A2)
- Congress approves doubling US troops in Colombia to 800 - the capital Bogota welcomes aid, while human rights monitors, warning of a sharp escalation in conflict by Marxist rebels, condemn it (10/11 t.A5) - here we go a-ga-a-ain! - 'America, the world's nosiest busybody' - with this mentality, the sooner Bush bankrupts America, the safer the world will be
- FCC's chief Michael Powell turns into a pitchman for converting nation to digital TV (t.C9) - ohboyoboy, that exercise in preciosity should keep a few employees spinning their wheels for a couple of years! - see makework realm #4
vs. doom du jour tm for lack of timesizing, in j, t, & g (Boston Globe):
DOWNsizings - weekend's total = 1590 +?? jobcuts that made it into j (WSJ) or t (NYT):
- 750 Dutch jobcuts by KPN NV telecoms (10/11 j.C14)
- 600 cuts by Global Crossing (10/09 t.B2, 10/11 j.A8)
- 175 cuts by DDI Corp. electronic components (10/09 t.B2)
- 65 mgmt & admin cuts by Tennant Co. cleaning products in Minneapolis (10/11 j.C14)
- unspecified cuts as IMF closes office in Harare, Zimbabwe (10/09 t.A5)
DOWNsizing overviews noted in (j) WSJ or (t) NYT or (g) Boston Globe (archives):
- tepid job creation suggests high oil prices & uncertain consumer-spending outlook leaves employers hesitant to hire = hesitant private sector - job data highlights corporate wariness [thanks a lot, Bush! - '4 more years' & depression will be inconcealable] - Sept. nonfarm payrolls increased by only 96,000 new jobs, fewer than forecast - growth seen as sluggish (10/11 j.A1>2, 10/09 t.B1>A1) = a meager recovery - last job count before election: always a politicized number (10/09 t.B1)
- shares drop as jobs report produces sharp reaction (10/09 t.B4)
DOWNsizing results = eroding retirement noted in (j) WSJ or (t) NYT or (g) Boston Globe (archives):
partisan arguing & fine print seen as hindering Medicare law (10/11 t.A1)
DOWNsizing results = prison news (archives):
- Abu Ghraib - inmates were reportedly kept off books to speed transfer (10/09 t.A7)
- Texas: inmate Ed McDaniel & guard Vickie Sanford captured - she helped him escape & he was serving 20-year sentence for shooting deputy in leg (10/09 t.A16)
headlines from HELL (tm) from (j) Wall Street Journal or (t) NY Times or (g) Boston Globe (archives):
- despite piles of cash, businesses get stingy about spending - signs emerge that buying by consumers may slow; oil, jobs are wild cards, car sales may hit speed bump - firms are returning cash to shareholders because they can't find investments - uncertain outlook (10/11 j.A1) - overstuffed mattresses of cash & inability to find sustainable investments are classic symptoms of depression - concentration of national income so intense that it's cannibalizing its own consumer base & suctioning the spending power & markets away from its own potential investments - compare the reason stocks went way above historic P/E ratios in 1990s = investors had nowhere else to put it all - & now they don't even trust stocks!
- Sinclair Broadcasting Group to pre-empt primetime programing on its stations which include affiliates for all 6 of major broadcast networks in swing states of FL, OH, WS, NV, PA for anti-Kerry film 'Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal' (10/11 t.A19) - never mind that Bush never made it to Vietnam at all
- House rejects outside check into DeLay (10/09 t.A16) = circling the honey wagons?
- SEC member Harvey Goldschmidt says agency has bowed to corporate executives (10/09 t.B1) - no kidding
- flu shot shortage shows system flaws (10/09 g.A1) - if Bush is really vetoing cheaper drugs from Canada due to safety concerns, how come he outsourced our flu-vaccine production?!! - compare: US uncovered problems at Chiron Corp's UK plant in 2003 - quality control issues were similar to ones that shut down facility last week - shortage of flu vaccine is raising tensions between haves & have-nots (10/11 j.A3)
- crude oil futures surged again, 64 cents this time, to new high of $53.31/bbl (10/11 j.A1)
- US refiners' reluctance to upgrade plants to use the cheaper & heavier high-sulfur oil now flooding the market is contributing to higher gas prices (10/11 j.A1) - alternatives? ...
- problems cited at Salem nuclear powerplant in S/W New Jersey, including leaky generator [leaking WHAT?], unreliable controls on a reactor [uncontrolled reaction = meltdown = badda boom!] & workers who are so discouraged by lack of maintenance that they've stopped calling for repairs (10/11 t.A1) - & we're supposed to believe that George Bush Jr. has made us SAFER? - with policies like this, who needs terrorists?!
- Britain feeling pressed for power - as North Sea sources wane, nuclear gets another look - a blustery island lags the Continent in use of wind energy (10/09 t.B1) - Brits are getting stupider & stupider (not that we're in any position to talk)
- West Coast hedgefund firm, Marin Capital Partners, is putting limits on withdrawals (10/11 j.A1>C4) - so you can get in but you can't get out? - compare website 'stickiness' - or a 'cockroach motel' for your money - compare Keynes' concept of "compulsory investment" (Heilbroner's Worldly Philosophers, 6th ed., p.282)
- Australia's conservative John Howard beat Mark Latham to win 4th term on Sat. - 52.6% of vote with 75% counted (any election stealing down under?) - discontent over Iraq was a pillar of Labor's challenge but economic issues were key in the end - Aussie expanding for over 12 years = longest boom among major industrialized nations & better than US record in 1990s (10/11 j.A1>17) - but Australia is bustin' its unions & cannibalizing its consumer base same as US did, so their 'boom' is increasingly a pyramid scheme like ours, probably aided by favorably defined economic indexes, like ours
weekend roll-up -
5 issues/wk - wk's avg homepage hits/issue: 70
hope of the weektm from the WSJ & the NYT:
•
77 TIMEsizing items
• 4 UPsizings
(811+ new jobs)
+ ‘hope’ • 15 makework items
vs. doom of the weektm from the WSJ & the NYT:
• 16 DOWNsizings, over 19,255 +?? jobcuts
• 1 bankruptcy
• 5 eroding-retirement stories
• 4 prison stories
{{ytd: 1424 timsizg (1636+ new or sav'd jobs)
+ 119 upsizs (110664+ new jobs)
+ 351 makwrk (36803+ 'jobs') =
tot: 149103 = 34% of cuts,
VS.
395 dnsz (437092+ cuts)
+ 153 bkrp ($416m+) +32 homlss +148 jail +19 deth }}
10/08/2004 friday
- 'hope isn’t a plan', but we have a plan
- we have 733 textfiles: #visitors yesterday 10/07/thu: 952 (10/09/03/th: 916; 10/10/02/th: 714) -
strategic hope = TIMEsizing news (click here for DETAILS):
- student adviser at UColo/Boulder has soaked up some of Juliet Schor's & John de Graaf's messages & is relating them to rising tuition costs
- overwork culture entrenched in entrepreneurs - data from Canada
- overtime in a long historical view
- plus 4 other worktime-related items mainly from yesterday's GoogleNews
- Boston-MA area workaholics who want to kick the habit - try *Workaholics Anonymous on Thurs.eves at 7:30 pm, 1st Baptist Church, 5 Magazine St, Central Sq, Cambridge
+ random glimmers of hope indexed to today's (j) Wall St Journal or (t) NYTimes (archives):
- UPsizings: • 800 new jobs in India by end of next year as Reuters Group triples its 400-strong this-year staff in Bangalore data center (j.B3, t.W1)
- online today: macro investor - the economy is growing but Bush's ratings are slipping - the growth is benefiting companies [=CEOs], not workers (j.A1)
- NYT reporter found in contempt for refusing to testify before grand jury in CIA-leak probe - Judith Miller remains free pending appeal (j.A1>B3) - why are these reporters protecting sources in this White House on a White House breach of national security? - what's this White House ever done for them?
- Kerry slammed Bush for seeking justifications for war 'after the fact' - called Bush & Cheney the last 2 people on the planet who won't face the truth about Iraq (j.A1) - 'what planet do they live on?'
- ignorance isn't strength: Krugman - problem with 'infallible' leadership (t.A27) - the Iraqi weapons that weren't: 6 letters to editor (t.A26) - Bush: 'don't confuse me with facts, my mind's made up!'
- some 9/11 families join Edwards in asserting administration had security lapses, eg: screening only 5% of container shipments from overseas (t.A17) - & endangering our own secret agents by 'outing' them?!
- law group NY Civil Liberties Union sues NYC over arrests of peaceful protesters during Republican convention (t.A25)
- war in Iraq plays role in Australian elections (t.A12) - now that the Spanish have dumped Bush-suckup Aznar, maybe the Aussies can dump Howard, the Brits can dump Blair, & we can dump Bush lui-meme
- SEC is preparing actions against American, National & Philadelphia stock exchanges for lax rule enforcement - in-house regulators failed to provide protection for investors (j.A1>C1) - a new morality makes old deceptions expensive for Wall Street (t.C1)
- Boston-area readers who want real news - try 90.3 FM 12-1pm Mon-Sat and 6-10am Sunday for "Radio Free America for Americans" dba *Democracy Now
+ clouded hope = makework = PUFFsizings, creating unspecified new ‘jobs’ (archives):
- House passes corporate tax bill providing $136B in breaks - measure ends export break but lowers rate to 32% for varied 'manufacturers' (j.A3, t.C3)
- House votes to curb subsidies paid to student loan companies (t.A20) - followup: Congress unanimously passes bill to close loopholes that have enabled student loan companies to bill the federal govt more than $1B in what lawmakers & regulators describe as unnecessary subsidies since the mid 1990s (10/12 t.A24)
- legislation on military marketing [of e.g. insurance] - a team of senators is trying to prevent financial firms from exploiting members of the military through use of abusive sales tactics & sale of unsuitable products (t.C1>2)
- a growing military contract scandal - more Air Force deals with Boeing are questioned (t.C1) - Boeing's bid to provide aerial-refueling tankers to the military for roughly $23B was rejected by House-Senate conferees (j.A1>3)
- FTC files first suit involving 'spyware' vs. SmartBot.net of PA & NH, Seismic Entertainment Productions of NH & their owner Sanford Wallace - accused of infecting computers with problem & then trying to sell people the solution (j.A7) - compare our 'realms of American makework' #8
vs. doom du jour tm for lack of TIMEsizing - in WSJ (j) and NYT (t) -
DOWNsizings - today's total, 15,950 jobcuts that made it into j (WSJ) or t (NYT):
- 12% more workforce cut (7000 jobs lost) as AT&T retreats from consumer market, instead of just cutting 12% of its workweek (to five 7-hour days for everyone, including executives), re-investing overtime savings in overtime-targeted training&hiring and keeping everyone together working, earning and buying 88% as many phone services as before (j.A1>2, t.C1)
- up to 4500 more jobcuts by Bank of America (j.C5, t.C1>4)
- 2000 cuts by Bombardier in Montreal & Belfast (t.W1)
- 1400 general & admin cuts (4%) by Unisys (j.B2)
- 600 cuts as Unilever closes Birds Eye plant in Grimsby UK (t.W1)
- 450 cuts as Reuters moves jobs to Bangalore from White Plains NY, Tiverton UK & Singapore (t.W7)
DOWNsizing overviews noted in (j) WSJ or (t) NYT or (g) Boston Globe (archives):
toll of tech bust in Calif. has been severe, survey shows - over 50% of people working at tech companies in early 2000 had left the technology field or the state by end of 2003, & over 40% experienced declining incomes over that period: Sphere Institute (j.B4)
DOWNsizing results = eroding retirement (archives):
airline workers see their security quickly vanish - over last week, both US Airways & Delta employees have learned they will not have company-paid healthcare benefits when they retire (t.C1) - now project the effect that will have on their consumer spending starting immediately
headlines from HELL in (Wall St. Journal) j & (New York Times) t & (Bos.Globe) g (archives):
- critical eye on voting flaws in Florida: Lee Jin of US Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) - CCR found high level of nonfeasance, ineptitude & neglect resulted in voter discrimination against African-Americans [Democrat-leaning] & heard evidence that Fla. was fully aware felon-purge lists held flawed data & neglected proportionatedly or accurately to identify/purge Hispanic [Republican-leaning] felons (j.A17)
- retailers post disappointing sales - damped in Sept. by high gas prices, hurricanes & tepid wage boosts for shoppers (j.A1>2) - at last WSJ connects dots between shoppers & wages - next dots, labor surplus & overlong workweeks for our levels of efficient technology
- crude oil extends rise, up 65 cents to new high of $52.67/bbl amid widespread supply jitters - hits 6th high in two weeks - strikes in Nigeria & Norway add to worries on supply - natural gas up sharply (j.A1>C4)
- stocks slump as oil prices continue climb (j.C1) - enriching Bush's oil pals with bloated profits
- with oil prices up, it could be a long winter (t.C1) - or a looong four years if neo-con artists steal another election
- in his new attacks, Bush pushes limits on the facts - taking a page out of the Lee Atwater campaign book (t.A17) - surprise, surprise
- divisions sharpened in the House after DeLay draws second ethics rebuke in days, including even Republican murmurs for leadership review (j.A1)
- a very bad deal - most Americans approved of post-9/11 idea of letting govt make minor infringements on civil libeties in exchange for well-planned & -executed ops that would make us safer - instead we got a mounting pile of bungled operations ranging from merely inept to scandalously abusive, & military prisons filled with innocent people with Arabic names (t.A26)
- federal tax revenue below Y2000's despite growth in corporate profits (t.A20) - Bush is determined to bankrupt the US Govt & 'starve the beast'
10/07/2004 thursday
- 'hope isn’t a plan', but we have a plan
- we have 732 textfiles: #visitors yesterday 10/06/wed: 1011 (10/08/03/w: 1045; 10/09/02/w: 776) -
strategic hope = TIMEsizing news (click here for DETAILS):
- 2 letters to editor elicit fullest Timesizing prediction/design for future of retirement
- public library in Clairton PA has 30-hour week
- plus 9 other worktime-related items mainly from yesterday's GoogleNews
- Boston-MA area workaholics who want to kick the habit - try *Workaholics Anonymous on Thurs.eves at 7:30 pm, 1st Baptist Church, 5 Magazine St, Central Sq, Cambridge
+ random glimmers of hope indexed to today's (j) Wall St Journal or (t) NYTimes (archives):
- what the election means for investors - Kerry victory could benefit (a) alternative-energy companies, (b) mtg giants Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, (c) mass-mkt retailers, (d) generic-drug makers (j.D1) - so Americans will have (a) more energy independence from Mideast mess, (b) more home ownership, (c) stronger consumer base, (d) cheaper Rx drugs
- US report finds Iraqis eliminated illicit arms in 90s - did little to get them after Gulf War, inspectors found - in a report matching conclusions of David Kay, which the White House belittled as only preliminary, chief inspector Charles Duelfer laid out evidence that Saddam had to watch WMDs wither under UN scrutiny - weapons capability had eroded before Bush Jr's war, inspector says - report revived questions about how Bush so misread the situation & whether there was a rush to war (j.A1, t.A1) - of course there was, because Bush & Cheney are ideology-bound & reality-blind - '4 more years' will destroy America
- report by chief US arms inspector disputes Bush's assertions on existence of Iraqi WMDs - says Iraq abandoned its chemical, biological & nuclear weapons a decade ago & they remained dormant even as the Bush administration was alleging that the US had intelligence indicated the programs were active (j.A3) - more evidence of a lying, ideology-based, reality-blind Bush administration - America is in greatest danger from within and from the top
- so the verdict is in: editorial - sanctions worked, weapons inspectors worked - that is the bottom line of the long-awaited report on WMDs in Iraq, written by Bush's handpicked investigator (t.A30)
- VP debate - Edwards pointed to latest evidence of mess in Iraq & said Bush was in denial & thus unable to deal with problems realistically (j.A1) - the neo-cons who have radicalized the Republican Party base everything on ideology, not reality - they don't and can't LISTEN
- VP had to back away from his attempt to slam Edwards' Senate attendance record by claiming he'd never met Edwards till Tuesday's debate (j.A1) - NYT prints photo of Edwards & Cheney together at prayer breakfast on 2/01/2001 (t.A25)
- battle of the pump: op ed by Tom Friedman - of all the shortsighted policies of pResident Bush & VP Cheney, none have been worse than their opposition to energy conservation & a gas tax (t.A31) - so even former Bush pimp Tom Friedman has turned!
- online today: battlegrounds - Kerry is reclaiming ground lost during Bush's Sept. surge (j.A1) - is the devastating, radical reality of the Bush years finally getting through to dumbed-down independents & suckered conservatives?
- Boston-area readers who want real news - try 90.3 FM 12-1pm Mon-Sat and 6-10am Sunday for "Radio Free America for Americans" dba *Democracy Now
+ clouded hope = makework = PUFFsizings, creating unspecified new ‘jobs’ (archives):
- new corporate taxcuts - in act of pre-election largess, House & Senate negotiators approved corporate tax bill that would provide corporations & farmers in swing states with $145B in new taxcuts (t.A1>C1) = more Bush taxpayer-punishing vote-buying depite costly Iraq war of choice
- how a big tax shelter with cities shortchanges federal treasury - eg: Chicago sells its 911 system & then leases it back for big tax deduction - use of sale-leaseback deals, worth billions each year, is target of a new bill (j.A1)
- Italy: govt rescue of Alitalia with E400m loan moves closer with agreement on layoff packages for 3700 employees (t.W1)
vs. doom du jour tm for lack of TIMEsizing - in WSJ (j) and NYT (t) -
DOWNsizings - today's total, 465 +?? jobcuts that made it into j (WSJ) or t (NYT):