Western Companies, Iran, China and the Media Backlash

Siemens AG and Nokia Corp are denying that their technology is being used by Iran to censor and spy on the online activities of their citizens.
Nokia Siemens Network announced on Monday that while Iran’s government did buy telecommunications systems. That equipment according to Nokia Siemens has built-in monitoring technology that will only work on voice communications and not on the Internet.

CBS reports:

“The lawful intercept capability is purely for local voice calls,” spokesman Ben Roome told CBSNews.com. “We don’t know who may have provided other Internet technologies to Iran.”

Any Western company that is linked with the Iranian governments monitoring of its citizens could have lasting business implications.

When Yahoo did business with China Washington’s politicians were quick to attack CEO Jerry Yang. Cisco faced the similar scrutiny when the company sold Internet switches and routes to China.

The Wall Street Journal has gone on the attack against Nokia Siemens Networks concerning Iran. On Monday’s front page the paper proclaimed: “Iran’s Web Spying Aided By Western Technology.”

“We didn’t know they could do this much,” said a network engineer in Tehran. “Now we know they have powerful things that allow them to do very complex tracking on the network.”

This claim can be disputed by the company but the headline will stick with readers during this time of unrest in the Middle Eastern country.

Spokesman for Nokia Siemens Networks, Ben Roome has had to face the accusations from the major news source pointing out the inaccuracies of the article. While there may be faults concerning wiretap-ready mobile phone networking that network has allowed for the rest of the world to hear communications from within the country during this crisis.

“Mobile networks in Iran, and the subsequent widespread adoption of mobile phones, have allowed Iranians to communicate what they are seeing and hearing with the outside world,” he said. “The proof of this is in the widespread awareness of the current situation.”

It is difficult to know what technology is being used by the Iranian government to track their citizens use of the Internet and mobile cell phones. In 2005 a Berkman Center report stated that Iran was using Secure Computing’s SmartFilter to block the use of the Web from its citizens.

At that time company president John McNulty was quoted as saying: “We have been made aware of ISPs in Iran making illegal and unauthorized attempts to use of our software. Secure Computing is actively taking steps to stop this illegal use of our products.”

The software is now owned by McAfee and marketed under the name McAfee SmartFilter.

CBS reports:

“We have never seen any direct evidence or hard proof that Iran has ever used any McAfee or Secure Computing product,” McAfee said in an e-mailed statement on Monday. “McAfee complies with all export laws and regulation applicable to its products. Rigorous due diligence was conducted prior to the acquisition of Secure Computing and there was no indication of any contract in Iran or support being provided in Iran.” (A U.S. economic embargo restricts trade with Iran.)

When nations like Iran purchase such software they can claim it is for lawful activity. Claims that the West is helping them can be a powerful media tool to harm a company’s name.

The reality is that Iran’s ability to monitor and block the Web and cell phone use could be home grown.

The West’s technology has been used though in the past by their own governments to tap citizens.

Jay Botelho, WildPackets’ director of product management, said the best way for an Iranian Internet provider to monitor its customers would be to use one bank of monitoring equipment for e-mail, another for Web browsing, a third for VoIP calls, and so on. “Using our product, the easiest way to monitor everything is to hook onto an (extra port) port off your main switch,” Botelho said. “The problem is that depending on the traffic, that could overload an appliance. But if you slowed everything down, you’d get everything.”

In Iran that does not pose a problem. The country has limited connectivity to the outside and download speeds are much slower than in many other nations.

Providing nations with the ability to allow their citizens to communicate with the outside world can put technology companies in a Catch-22. The network systems have to have filters and those filters can be used in the wrong way by some governments. The alternative is not to provide questionable nations with the equipment but then the citizens are without the media of communication.

There is no easy answer to the dilemma.

MySpace proposed restructuring will slash 300 international jobs

MySpace is restructuring its international operations in order to refocus personnel with a reduced area of territories. MySpace believes it will be able to retain a robust global consumer presence by doing this.
According to a press release from the company, MySpace’s international staff will be cut back from the current 450 international employees to 150. The company also announced four offices outside of the United States would be closed down according to a press release.

The MySpace offices in London, Berlin and Sydney would become the primary hubs for international operations under the proposed plan. Offices in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, India, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Sweden, and Spain would be placed under review for possible restructure.

Since the 2005 purchase of MySpace by News Corp., the company has faced difficulty adding to its user base. Facebook has surpassed MySpace in usage with more than 200 million members compared to the 125 million that are members of MySpace.

Jonathan Miller, the recently appointed CEO of digital media and chief digital officer at News Corporation has stated that MySpace had grew too big when one considered the marketplace in today’s economy.

“With roughly half of MySpace’s total user base coming from outside the U.S., maintaining productive and efficient operations in our international markets is important to users worldwide and our immediate financial strength,” said MySpace Chief Executive Officer Owen Van Natta. “As we conducted our review of the company, it was clear that internationally, just as in the U.S., MySpace’s staffing had become too big and cumbersome to be sustainable in current market conditions. Today’s proposed changes are designed to transform and refine our international growth strategy.”

Last week MySpace announced the company was reducing its staff by 30 per cent within the United States.

Times Online reports:

Owen Van Natta, the chief executive, said: “As we conducted our review of the company, it was clear that internationally, just as in the US, MySpace’s staffing had become too big and cumbersome to be sustainable in current market conditions.”

The total restructured work force for MySpace will go from 1,950 to 1,150.

The MySpace offices in Japan and locally owned MySpace China are not affected by the proposed plan.

Toronto Now a Star in Film, TV Productions

Toronto has long been a spot for film, turning the shots into whatever city is needed. New York, Chicago, Berlin – Toronto has been crafted into them. The tide is changing and now dramas are not only being shot in Toronto but the city is starring as well.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is being filmed in Toronto at the moment. Stars Michael Cera, Chris Evans and Brandon Routh can be spotted around town. A Starbucks on Spadina has served the young Cera a few times. One server who wishes not to be named told Digital Journal that the young star is friendly. While the spotting of the stars is nice for the city what’s more impressive is that Toronto is becoming the focus of many films.

Pizza Pizza can be seen as it really is. Casa Loma is featured as a real place in a battle scene. The spots that mean something to Torontonians are getting filmed as they are really known. Scott Pilgrim is a graphic novel set in Toronto.

Toronto can thank Hollywood writers for the nod to the city. Had it not been for the writer’s strike in 2007 Toronto may not be getting the recognition that it is now. When the writers in the States were striking Canadian shows started filtering onto US screens.

The Globe and Mail reports:

“Bathurst Street is practically the cerebral cortex of Scott Pilgrim,” said Miles Dale, one of the film’s producers, who stood at the back of the set wearing the de rigueur producer’s uniform of jeans, baseball cap and chin stubble. He also produced, among others, Hollywoodland (shot in Toronto but set in Los Angeles) and Talk to Me (shot in Toronto but set in Washington, D.C.). Mr. Dale calls Scott Pilgrim vs. the World – based on a series of graphic novels by Toronto writer Bryan Lee O’Malley – “the biggest movie ever identifiably set in Toronto. The books are super-specific in their local details, and Edgar Wright, from the beginning, was set on using images from the books. Universal never suggested setting it anywhere else.”

Atom Egoyan’s next film, Chloe, was meant to take place in San Francisco while being filmed in Toronto. The director convinced his French backers to switch the setting to Toronto. Because of that switch stars Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson and Amanda Seyfried are being filmed on McCaul Street, College Street, at the University of Toronto and other places around the city.

Flashpoint is a new hit TV show and also being filmed with Toronto as its backdrop. The Eaton Centre has been featured as well as other downtown spots.

Toronto has arrived. Being one of the Queen Bee’s for setting gives the city Hollywood clout.

Your weekly shopping bag could make you sick

Do you clean your reusable grocery bags each week before you put them away? If you don’t you could be setting your family up for a painful bout of food poisoning.

Using reusable bags for your marketing is a great idea for the environment but make sure you clean the bags after each use. Toronto-based Sporometrics research director Dr. Richard Summerbell warns of a food poisoning risk from contaminated bags as just one of several conditions. Other risks from a dirty bag include bacterial boils, allergic reactions, triggering of asthma attacks, and ear infections.

The study conducted showed that 64% of the reusable bags tested were contaminated with some level of bacteria and close to 30% had elevated bacterial counts higher than what’s considered safe for drinking water.

One key containment was the presence of faecal intestinal bacteria. All meat should be individually wrapped before being put in your shopping bag.

Don’t use your shopping bags for anything other than shopping for safety sake. Shopping bags are not multi-taskers.

One tip I can offer is reusing the bags for collecting recycling at your house. We use the bags for this and they hold up well week after week. Because the bags are only used for recycling they are not taken out again for marketing trips. The bags that are have to be cleaned after each trip.

US Cigarette Companies Lose Appeal In Federal Court

Cigarette companies in the United States will no longer be allowed to market tobacco products as “low tar,” “light,” “ultra light” or “mild.”

After deceiving the public for years cigarette markers were found in 2006 guilty of fraud and violating racketeering laws. That ruling was upheld on Friday in federal appeals court.

The companies must now change the labeling on cigarettes after the court upheld the 2006 ruling that “low tar,” “light,” “ultra light” or “mild” are deceptive terms and no safer than any other cigarette.

Today’s ruling also states companies must publish “corrective statements” on the adverse health effects and addictiveness of smoking and nicotine.

The changes were not required while the case was in the appeals process.

The case was filed when President Clinton was still in office in 1999. President Bush’s administration pursued the case after getting criticism for discussing the weaknesses of the case.

CNN Money reports:

“We affirm the district court’s judgment of liability in its entirety except as to (the trade groups) CTR and TI, with regard to which we vacate the judgment and remand with directions to dismiss them from the suit,” the three-judge appeals court panel concluded in its 92-page ruling Friday.

The final ruling today was against the defendants; Philip Morris USA Inc. and its parent, Altria Group Inc.; R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.; Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp.; British American Tobacco Ltd.; Lorillard Tobacco Co.; Counsel for Tobacco Research-U.S.A.; and the now-defunct Tobacco Institute.

The only company that was excluded from today’s ruling was the Liggett Group Inc. The court found that the company had come forward in the 1990s and admitted that smoking causes disease and is addictive. They have also cooperated with federal investigators.

Pfizer Program To Provide Free Medication To Unemployed In US

Pfizer, Inc. is announcing a new program on Thursday that will help those who have lost their jobs and health insurance remain on their medications.
The program will allow those who have been taking Pfizer medications including Lipitor and Viagra to receive the pills for up to a year free of charge.

The company will be providing more than 70 of its prescription drugs to Americans who became unemployed and uninsured regardless of what their prior income was as of January 1. To qualify a patient would have had to have been on the medicine prior to October 2008.

New York Daily Times reports:

“Everybody knows now a neighbor, a relative who has lost their job and is losing their insurance. People are definitely hurting out there,” Dr. Jorge Puente, Pfizer’s head of pharmaceuticals outside the U.S. and Europe and a champion of the project, told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview Wednesday. “Our aim is to help people bridge this point.”

To sign up for the program applicants have to sign a statement saying that they are having a financial burden and provide a “pink slip” or some form from their former employer. The program will accept applications until December 31 and those accepted will be provided up to 12 months or until the person is covered by insurance.

Patients may call 866-706-2400 to sign up for the program or sign on to PfizerHelpfulAnswers.com.

Pfizer has seven programs that offer free or reduced cost medication.

Pfizer employees proposed the idea to the company’s senior leadership team last month. The employees have also donated some of their own money to help with the costs and the Pfizer Foundation is matching those donations.

“The current economic environment has added considerable new stress to the daily life of millions of hard-working Americans, and our colleagues are responding to help their neighbors in the communities where they reside,” said Jeffrey B. Kindler, chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer. “The speed with which we created and approved this program is proof of our commitment to help people access the medicines they need to live healthier lives. With the launch of this initiative, which I am proud to say was proposed by our colleagues, we are doing what we can to ensure that recent loss of employment does not preclude people from managing their health.”

Craigslist Stopping Adult Ads, Will Lawmakers Go After Others?

Within seven days Craigslist will have removed the “erotic service” section from their US sites. This is a good step but what about ads in local newspapers for the same services? Will newspapers remove those?

New posting for adult services will now come with a price tag on Craigslist. The cost will be $10 for the first posting and $5 for any following posts.

Craigslist has been targeted by the media for having the ads after one of the ads lead to a murder in Boston. But what about crimes that stem from other newspaper adverts? Are they heading for the chopping block also?

Craigslist has worked with the police when an ad is targeted. An electronic trail helps to quickly catch criminals that use the service. They also post personal safety tips.

The craigslist blog reports:

Our announced intention to contribute 100% of net revenues for the “erotic services” category to charity has been fulfilled, and will continue to be fulfilled, notwithstanding criticism questioning our good faith in this regard. However, in light of today’s changes, and to avoid any future misunderstanding, we are making no representation regarding how revenue from the “adult services” category will be used. Our commitment to philanthropy remains, and craigslist will continue to develop its charitable initiatives.

Every week daily alternative papers features pages of sex ads. They find fund the smaller papers. Eye Weekly is one of those papers based out of Toronto. Owned by Torstar digital their adult ads are online but require a person to click a button saying they are 18.

When Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan stated to CBS, “It’s clear to everyone that Craigslist’s erotic services section was nothing more than an Internet brothel,” Madigan said in a statement. “I’m encouraged that Craigslist has agreed to fundamentally change how they operate and monitor their site. The steps they’re taking are the only effective way to prevent the exploitation of women and children.” Did she stop and look at the weeklies published in her state? The Chicago Reader has adult ads and it is online. Is Madigan going after this paper as well?

Craigslist is famous and that’s what makes it a target. If the lawmakers want to be fair though they need to either target all or none of publications that carry adult ads.

UK Loophole Turns Pub Vault Into Smoking Room At least For Now

No smoking in the pub is the law of the land but cleaver Kerry Fenton found a loophole for her establishment. Fenton’s pub is now a “Smoking Research Centre” letting patrons smoke while they down an ale.

Friend James Martin found the loophole in Section 9 of the 2007 Smoking Act. That loophole states that smoking ‘research’ can be undergone as long as there is no through bar.

Kerry’s bar The Cutting Edge has a vault that could apply with the exemption. Now the vault is a bar onto itself with a sign on the door labeled “Designated Smoking Room.” Patrons fill in a questionnaire about their smoking habits before they are allowed to light up.

The vault may have saved Fenton’s bar for a time.

BBC reports:

Fenton told BBC News: “This is something we really had to do, I didn’t have a choice.

“We have had estate agents bringing people to actually view the property because it’s up for sale.”

The owner of the pub, Punch Taverns is not happy though and neither are the Barnsley Council. Both are planning to putting the smoking room out of business.

The Barnsley Council’s Regulatory Services department planned a visit to the pub on Wednesday to let the establishment know that they may be wrong in their interpretation of the law.

The building has been put on the market by Punch Taverns who condemns the decision their licensee made.

The Daily Star reports:
The Home Office said: “It’s the Department of Health’s responsibility.”

But the Department of Health insisted: “It’s up to the Home Office to enforce the law.”

Friedman Resigns From Federal Reserve

Stephen Friedman, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s board of directors, has resigned on Thursday. The resignation is effectively immediately.

The Deal Book Blog reports that Friedman’s resignation letter states:

Mr. Friedman said his public service on the board was being characterized as “improper” despite his compliance with the rules. “The Federal Reserve System has important work to do and does not need this distraction,” he said.

The announcement came after it was revealed that Friedman remained on the board of Goldman Sachs, that he holds a substantial amount of shares in that company and that has continued buying shares even after Goldman came under the Federal Reserve’s supervision.

CNN reports:

“Today, although I have been in compliance with the rules, my public service motivated continuation on the Reserve Bank Board is being mischaracterized as improper,” Friedman wrote in his resignation letter. “The Federal Reserve System has important work to do and does not need this distraction.”

In December Friedman brought 37,300 shares of Goldman worth at that time $3 million. Those shares are now worth $17 million according to the Wall Street Journal. He did not check with the Fed about those buys. In January Friedman picked up another 15,300 shares the day after the waiver was granted.

CNN reports:

“With respect to Steve’s purchases of Goldman shares in December of 2008 and January of 2009, which have been the object of some attention lately, it is my view that these purchases did not violate any Federal Reserve statute, rule or policy,” Baxter said in a statement.

Google Goes To the Goats

Google is using an old fashion means to combat forest fires around its campus. They have ‘hired’ 200 goats to munch the grass and create buffer zones that firefighters advise dwellers in wildfire zones.

The company also hired a special shepherd named Jen, a border collie, to keep the troops in line. Not only are the goats working for less than most labourers they provide a constant source of free fertilizer.

Google reports:

“We have some fields that we need to mow occasionally to clear weeds and brush to reduce fire hazard,” Google director of real estate and workplace services Dan Hoffman wrote in a posting on the company’s official blog.

“Instead of using noisy mowers that run on gasoline and pollute the air, we’ve rented some goats … to do the job for us (we’re not “kidding”).”

Of course the goats are not free. It actually costs about the same as traditional mowing would but without the use of gas powered mowers that cause a little more pollution.

The goats are not being used in areas where they could wander into a board meeting demanding more money, instead their are employed for peripheral fields.

CNET reports:

“A herder brings about 200 goats and they spend roughly a week with us at Google, eating the grass and fertilizing at the same time,” a post on the official Google blog read. “The goats are herded with the help of Jen, a border collie. It costs us about the same as mowing, and goats are a lot cuter to watch than lawn mowers.”

Shaw Communications Picks Up 3 Canwest Stations For A Dollar Each

Talk about a good deal, Shaw Communications bought three television stations from CTV for a dollar each in April 2009. The move is not favored by all.

The deal added two A Channel stations, in Wingham and Windsor, Ont., and a privately owned CBC affiliate, CKX in Brandon, Man. to Shaw’s roster.

That news isn’t setting well with some.

Canadian Press reports that Duncan Stewart, director of research and analysis at DSam Consulting in Toronto is one such critic.

“I don’t believe the primary motivation … is that (chief executive Jim Shaw) really wants to run these three TV stations,” Stewart said

“I think he is doing this to embarrass the broadcasters, weaken their argument and put pressure on the CRTC and politicians.”

The move for Shaw to take on the three struggling stations is a bold one and politically based. The CRTC is caught in the middle of the big networks and the cable companies.

Ivan Fecan, president of CTVglobal wants the government to get back to regulating cable rates. The dispute between the CRTC and CTV got heated when Fecan said that it was willing to sell its three struggling stations for a buck each.

Shaw Communications fired back at Fecan with a full-page advertisement in the Globe and Mail taking CTV up on the $1 offer.

Canadian Press reports:

“We believe television has a bright future,” said Canada’s second-largest cable TV operator, which spun off its former radio and TV assets into a separate company, Corus Entertainment, (TSX:CJR.B) several years ago.

“These broadcasters are threatening to cut local newscasts, cut jobs and close television stations,” Shaw wrote in the letter.

“They are holding you hostage demanding a tax on subscribers as a ransom.”

CTV also ran a half-page ad thanking Shaw for making purchases.

The papers aren’t signed on the deal yet says Canwest spokesman John Douglas.

‘We have not heard from them,” said Canwest spokesman John Douglas.

‘It’s interesting that we’ve had a public process to sell our stations – Shaw expressed no interest. But if now they’re prepared to do that, we look forward to receiving an offer from them.”

Shaw couldn’t be reached after the deal was done according to the Globe and Mail. He’s said to have offered to buy up any other stations at the same price that Canwest needs to unload.

“Good for them,” Mr. Fecan said of Shaw. “I’m sure they will live up to the existing conditions of licence placed on these stations, which is wonderful news for the employees and for the people of Windsor, Wingham and Brandon,” Mr. Fecan said.

Station manager Don Mumford from Windsor was caught by surprise with the deal according to 2Canada.

“I’ve seen the various reports in the media as well. I’ve had some conversations with CTV, and — at this point in time — we’re just trying to confirm the seriousness of Shaw’s offer,” Mumford said. “I’m not quite sure where the report from Shaw originated.”

“I’m really not going to be saying anything. I know nothing on this,” he said. “This is beyond my scope, at this point.”

Shaw Communications is based out of Calgary. The company provides transmission of more than 200 television channels.

This month Shaw Communications posted $128 million in profit on continuing operations, including internet provider and digital phone services.

Iggy Pop In Commercial Controversy

Iggy Pop is in the news for starring in a car insurance television commercial that misleads the public in the UK. Iggy is shown golfing and being himself in the ad for an insurance company as an entertainer he couldn’t really be covered by.

The problem is the insurance company refuses to insure celebs because of added risks. Swiftcover’s ad has Iggy Pop stating, “I got it Swiftcovered! I got insurance on my insurance!”

The fact is the singer isn’t nor according to the company’s policies able to be insured.

Chart Attack reports:

“Because the policy was promoted by a well-known musician, which might lead some viewers to believe the policy covered those who worked in entertainment, when it did not, and because Iggy Pop did not have a policy with Swiftcover, we concluded the ad was misleading,” the ASA said in a report.

The company has no intentions of getting rid of Iggy even though the ad was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

Chart Attack reports:

“Iggy Pop and swiftcover.com have made motor insurance interesting for a change, increasing awareness of swiftcover.com and sending our sales soaring by almost a third, so we would be crazy to lose Iggy,” Swiftcover spokesperson Tina Shortle told British newspaper The Guardian.

The £25 million ($36 million) car insurance ad campaign started up in January.

Punk News reports:

According to a Billboard.com report, complaints object that it is “misleading because it uses a well-known figure from the music industry to promote an insurance service which they believe excludes musicians,” according to an ASA spokesperson. As a result, the ASA has launched an investigation to determine whether the ad breaches the U.K.’s TV Advertising Code.

The owner of Swiftcover, AXA UK says that there is no reference to Iggy Pop’s profession in the ad. He was selected because he’s known as a man who lives life to the fullest.

Opinion: Where’s The Money? TTC and Toronto Dropped The Ball

It’s a case of putting the horse before the buggy in Toronto as no money in the coffers may mean no new fancy Bombardier streetcars in two years.

The problem is that when the TTC and Bombardier got the contact all together the only thing missing was the money to fund the project. Oops.

This isn’t high school where Junior can ask Daddy for a few extra million to go to the dance.

Come on I am sure that the TTC has a spare $1.2 billion laying on the tracks hidden away. With only 60 days to find those bills there just may be a bit of a problem.

The price on the table with Bombardier goes away on June 27. If they aren’t happy they can just walk away or they can tell the TTC to cough up more money.

Premier Dalton McGuinty says that those funds weren’t in the budget planning. So where’s the money? The Toronto Sun reports:

“It would have been helpful had we had a better understanding … a more comprehensive list of their priorities,” McGuinty told reporters yesterday.

The folks that could soon be working at the Thunder Bay Bombardier plant hope it can be found.

The Globe and Mail reports:

“I heard the news, I was in Waterloo, ‘Oh the city have said they’re going to do the contract with Bombardier.’ And in the next breath I heard we were paying for it. So that was a bit challenging,” George Smitherman, Ontario’s Minister of Energy and Infrastructure said April 28 at an event on the revitalization of Regent Park, with Mr. Miller just steps away. “I’m little bit perplexed… I’m not really accustomed to operating in an environment where you have an announcement about the acquisition of a product and the entering into of a contract, absent of the financial resources to do that.”

It’s not like the TTC is asking for all the money. So far the piggy bank has $9 million in it. So asking for the one-third rest shouldn’t be a problem, should it?

Chrysler Entering Bankruptcy Protection

President Barack Obama is due to make a statement on the future of the US car maker. Obama has said that the company would become stronger after any move into bankruptcy protection.

Chrysler is entering bankruptcy protection after failing to get their debtors to write off their debts.

The move almost guarantees that the company will be given billions of state loans if they could restructure the business by midnight Wednesday.

Obama is set to speak at noon about the Chrysler situation, appearing with members of his auto task force.

According to sources for the Globe and Mail, the car maker will be gaining $15 billion from both the US and Canadian governments to help Chrysler survive through bankruptcy protection.

On Thursday morning it is expected that the signing of a strategic alliance with Fiat SpA imminent.

Fiat will take a 20-per-cent stake in Chrysler.

The company will be split into two companies with its key Canadian operation placed with the part of the company that will form the basis for the Fiat-Chrysler strategic alliance. Unwanted assets will be placed into another operation.

Yesterday Chrysler released a LLC Statement in Response to UAW Ratification of Contract.

We are thankful to the Chrysler UAW members for their support in ratifying this contract, especially during these challenging times. This was a necessary step as we move forward in revitalizing this great Company. Today’s vote enables us to continue our work to meet the conditions laid out by the U. S. Treasury Department. The entire Chrysler leadership team believes in and appreciates the men and women that make up our great workforce worldwide.”

The members of the United Auto Workers have ratified a settlement deal with Chrysler. The vote was 82 per cent of production workers and 80 per cent of skilled-trade workers in favor.

The agreement will take effect on May 4. This is the last piece of the plan that the company will take to the meeting with the U.S. government to meet with the Thursday restructuring deadline.

A similar agreement was reached this past weekend with Canadian Auto Workers.

The Canadian government is set to have a press conference about this issue at 2 p.m., according to Derek Mellon, media relations at Ottawa headquarters.

This is a developing story, check back for updates

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will make a joint announcement with Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty today. They are expected to announce that Canada and Ontario will have a two per cent equity stake in restructured Chrysler.

Officials expect that Chrysler to be in bankruptcy for 60 days only. The plan with the federal government is allowing the company to keep 30,000 jobs at Chrysler and its suppliers.

Fiat has agreed to transfer billions in cutting-edge technology to help Chrysler. Also, the United Auto Workers has agreed to further concessions, such cuts to benefits.

National Post to Stop Monday Editions During Summer

Canada’s National Post is going to stop Monday editions during the summer. The decision to stop the Monday edition is an attempt to lower newsprint costs starting June 29. The action will follow for the next nine Mondays.

The company is owned by Canwest.

Canwest is having problems with creditors itself. The company is carrying roughly $4 billion of debt.

Canwest is also considering selling five TV stations and has agreed to sell its stake in sports broadcaster Score Media.

The company owns a chain of daily newspapers in Canada. It also owns the Global network.

Reuters reports:

Analysts have said Canwest could file for bankruptcy protection, but the company thus far has continued to negotiate with creditors rather than involve the courts.

Fans of the Score Network don’t have to fear that its going anywhere.

” We’re not going anywhere,” Chris Suppa, a producer for the Score told Digital Journal.

“Regarding the stock, it’s great for the company long term, being able to invest in ourselves, it makes us stronger. Not many media companies can say they’re experiencing stability, much less growth, but we are,” Suppa said.

The total number of shares that Canwest sold back to Score was 16 million shares.

Veratech Inc. Warned Clients About Swine Flu Outbreak April 6

Veratech Inc. is on the cutting edge when it comes to searching the web for signs of pandemics. The two-year-old company had a hunch two weeks ago that something was up, a week before the CDC and WHO. How is that possible?

“In this rapidly evolving outbreak, early intervention can mean the difference between life
and death for people in countries potentially affected by swine influenza. We want to
provide Veratect’s services to everyone concerned about this outbreak so they can have the
information they need to respond in a timely and effective manner,” said Robert (Bob)
Hart, president and CEO.

The company combines computer algorithms with human analysts to monitor online and off-line sources for hints of disease outbreaks and civil unrest worldwide. Tracking ‘events’ the company ranks them for severity and posts them on their site for the paying clients who want in on early warnings.

In the past week Veratect and other companies that work with the same goal have been getting more clients.

They are able to track information about possible outbreaks by using blogs, online chat rooms, Twitter feeds and news media and government Web sites are full of data that public health agencies to see if there is a potential hot spot, often before the agencies can see a pattern forming.

The swine flu is a case in point. Veratect had posted a report to their clients on April 6 when there was an unusual number of respiratory illnesses in Veracruz, the new known epi-center of the outbreak. They also sent an email to the Centers of Disease Control on April 16 pointing out an outbreak of atypical l pneumonia in Oaxaca state when officials issues an alert.

Yahoo Tech reports:

“Playing the blame game is one of those indicators” that something unusual is going on, said Dr. James Wilson, Veratect’s chief scientist. When the company posted the La Gloria information, it treated the incident as a matter of “moderate severity.”

Of course there are some glitches with the program. Veratect reported that a Canadian lawyer was hospitalized in March with the swine flu after a trip to Mexico. That turned out to be wrong.

Still the company had already given their clients a head up before the world health authorities were on the case in a public way.

Dr. Scott Dowell, who heads the CDC’s international swine flu team, admits that his agency looks at the reports from companies like Veratech while monitoring outbreaks around the world. He says that Veratect is often useful about emerging threats.

Veratech leans towards the business client. They work with corporate, financial services, non government organizations, insurance and government agencies.

Veratect has less than 50 employees but that may be changing. They are actively looking for high-end employees.

The company is on twitter and gives updates often. Recent updates include:

* Spain: Number of confirmed swine influenza cases rises to four; most recent in Bilbao. #swineflu 11 minutes ago
* Costa Rica: Health Minister states laboratory results on a third “highly probable case” will be available soon. #swineflu 15 minutes ago
* Costa Rica: Second confirmed swine influenza case is a 29-year-old male who recently returned from Mexico. #swineflu 16 minutes ago

Paulette Zimmerman, a spokeswoman for the company Veratech answered the following questions for Digital Journal:

Can the average person become one of your clients?

Veratect’s service is geared towards federal and non-government organizations (NGOs) and Fortune 500 companies in a variety of industry sectors. However, the average the person can follow information provided by Veratect on disease outbreak and civil unrest via twitter.

How much does your service cost?

The cost will vary depending on how many reports and organization wishes to receive and the level of monitoring they need.

Do you send your information to public health groups (like the CDC) for free?

For this particular crisis (Swine Influenza), they are sending information for free.

Ms. Zimmerman also sent a pdf. file of James M. Wilson MD’s testimony in front of Homeland Security to Digital Journal.

James M. Wilson MD, Chief Technical Officer and Chief Scientist for Veratech addressed the Home Homeland Security Committee on July 16, 2008 about developing the art and science of timely, accurate, sensitive and specific detection and warning for disease – early enough to do something
about it before it enters the global transportation and commerce grid.

During the winter
of 2006 and 2007, the team issued nearly 3,000 event reports across 128 countries and 27
languages, which included 181 Advisories, 58 Watches, and 38 Warnings. Our team
identified hundreds of reports of a type A / H3N2 influenza virus that appeared to have
drifted away from the current vaccine strain of H3N2 beginning in early January 2007 in
Beijing, China, six weeks prior to the WHO Consultation on the Composition of
Influenza Vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere. We later found similar reports in a
multitude of countries and collaboratively worked with CDC to track this important
finding. The value of this information was validated when the World Health
Organization and its partners recommended a change in the southern hemisphere
influenza vaccine to include an updated H3N2 strain.

Veritech had at the time (2007) an estimated coverage of 82% of the world’s population now, in near real time. By the end of 2008, we will have expanded this coverage to more then 90%. (which they have done so)

The Mountain Equipment Co-Op is considering an Israel boycott

The resolution to boycott Israeli products at Mountain Equipment Co-op is expected to be proposed at the April 30 annual meeting. It is expected that members from British Vancouver Teachers for Peace and Global Education will introduce the motion.

The co-op screens the products that they sell to make sure that the workers are treated ethically.

B’nai Brith Canada expressed concern over reports of the motion, and said it was encouraged by the company’s official position that it does “not divide its supply chain along political lines” and will “not take sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” according to a news release.

The Calgary Herald reports:

“We just don’t think(MountainEquipmentCo-op)should be doing business with Israel until it changes its behaviour,” said Patrik Parkes, a spokes-man for BC Teachers for Peace and Global Education.

“Many of us are MEC members, and because MEC promotes itself as an ethical company, we believe their actions need to reflect that.”

On the MEC blog a posting deals with the fact that the company is being labeled a hypocrite for buying from China, Taiwan, US, India, Sri Lanka and just about everywhere else outside of Canada.

The company points out that the resolution to boycott Israeli suppliers is not being put forward by MEC or MEC employees. The resolution was table by members of MEC and will be voted on at the annual meeting.

Because the company is a co-op it must protect the right of members to participate in the co-op and allow for their views to be heard.

The company’s position is as follows:

MEC is a Co-op retailer with a mandate to get Canadians outdoor by selling them the right gear and giving them the relevant technical insight. MEC is neither a political activist group nor a human rights body. Nonetheless, we believe business can and should improve the human condition behind manufacturing. To this end, MEC takes a Canadian and international view of our global supply chain. Just as creed and country are not barriers to being an MEC member, we do not divide our supply chain along political lines. In short, we will not take sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Our human rights efforts are squarely focused on our supply chain—on working to improve the factory conditions and treatment of the workers that make MEC-brand products. As much as this is cowardice to some or a sell out to others, it is our conviction and our intent is to not veer from this belief.

Online Newspaper Readership Grows

As the print news industry suffers online news has grown. Websites that American newspapers operate attracted more than 73.3 million unique users a month in the first three months of this year.

Online newspaper readers average more than 3.5 billion page views per month so far this year. This is an increase of 13 percent over the same period last year.

The one problem that newspapers are dealing with though is keeping advertising revenues up to deal with the increased digital need.

Advertisers aren’t willing to pay premium prices online that they have in the past for print editions.

Losses in ad revenues is the chief reason that so many newspapers have folded in recent months.

Does violence in the workplace worry you?

If you can hold onto your job, should you be worried about that co-worker who didn’t? With headlines screaming about workplace violence some say they do worry.
Considering the news lately that has shown a violent wave of mass murders in the United States that worry may be well founded. Reports of multiple killings have spanned North America during this recession. Some companies have followed former employees because they fear what their actions will be.

Shanghai Daily reports:

“Tough times will cause people to do crazy things,” said Kenneth Springer, whose company Corporate Resolutions Inc did the surveillance. “People are taking more precautions.”

Does this increased violence mean that workers take up karate or another means of protecting themselves? For the health benefit it’s not a bad idea but for safety in the workplace it may not be needed. Karate chops still don’t stop a bullet. Being aware though of negative feelings of co-workers may though be an indicator of danger.

AOL.ca reports:

“People aren’t mushrooms sitting in a dark closet by themselves and all of a sudden one day explode,” Cawood said. “If you listen and observe what they’re actually doing and saying, they’re communicating.”

James Cawood, a security expert says he has been doing more training now than in recent years.

“People are flat out concerned,” said James Cawood, a security expert and author of “Violence Assessment and Intervention: the Practitioner’s Handbook.”

“People who are staying in companies where there has been significant downsizing … are worried at every level. Even in down economic times, I’m doing more training now than I’ve done in years.”

The pressures from job losses and economic hardship may be the reason behind the violent incidents in the news lately.

Workplace Violence News reports:

“Most of these mass killings are precipitated by some catastrophic loss, and when the economy goes south, there are simply more of these losses,” says Jack Levin, a noted criminologist at Northeastern University in Boston.

Experts say that you shouldn’t worry about everyone who loses their jobs turning into a mass murderer. Though some former co-workers could be suspect if they have already had mental and anger problems in the past.

Canoe reports Richard Earle, director of the Canadian Institute of Stress, said uncertainty — like that caused by economic chaos and job loss — is the main factor in stress elevation.

“Humans respond to uncertainty very badly,” said Earle. “Under high stress, people always catastrophize.”

Those who have gone on to commit acts of violence tend to have said they would before they do.

It’s safest to not fear your workplace. Fear is one of the key elements that can make matters worse according to Joel Shults, head of public safety at Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado.

“It makes it hard to tell ourselves that we’re safe because they seem like such ordinary people in such ordinary circumstances,” Shults said. “It’s hard for us to tell ourselves, no, that’s not going to happen us.”

Ironically, he added, a heightened sense of fear can make matters worse. “That might potentially actually increase the number of people snapping. It’s one more thing to worry about,” he said

Ford Donates $20 For Each Test Drive to Race for the Cure

For 15 years Ford has been working with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure charity. This year they are donating $20 for each Ford, Mercury or Lincoln that is test driven at a Ford dealership, up to $1 million.
Many dealerships are also pitching in an additional $20 up to $1,000.

Ford is the exclusive automobile manufacturer of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and a valued corporate partner.

Those who wish to participate are asked to present a test drive certificate available for download at fordcares.com and at Race for the Cure events across the country.

At the Ford Cares site you can also purchase apparel and accessories dedicated to the fight against breast cancer.

Ford Cares was launched in 2003 as part of the Warriors in Pink initiative. One hundred percent of the net proceeds for the sale of items goes to Komen.

If you want your ride to show that you are a Warrior in Pink, Ford offers a limited edition 2009 Mustang with a Warriors in Pink package. The package is available on V-6 Premium Coupe and Convertible models and on three body colors. Your ride will sport a unique grill with a pink ribbon and pony fender badge, pink Mustang rocker tape striping, charcoal leather seats, an aluminum-spoke steering wheel and charcoal floor mats, all with pink contrast stitching. Each of these Mustangs sold will also come with a donation by Ford of $500 for Komen.

To date Ford has given back to the Race for the Cure more than $5.5 million.

For members of Facebook there is a Susan G. Komen for the Cure® group.

Freddie Mac’s acting CFO found dead

The acting chief financial officer of Freddie Mac was found dead Wednesday morning from what initial reports say was a suicide.
David Kellermann, 41, was found home in Northern Virginia.

Kellermann was named acting chief financial officer last September after Anthony Piszel stepped down during the Sept. 2008 government takeover.

Kellermann was responsible for company’s financial controls, financial reporting and oversight of the company’s budget and financial planning.

He had been with Freddie Mac for the last 16 years.

Neighbours are saying that the stresses of the new postion were visible. Kellermann had lost weight since taking the reins in September.

AP reports:

Paul Unger, who lives across the street from the Kellermanns, called the family a “solid, salt-of-the-earth kind of family” that hosted the neighborhood’s Halloween party. “He was just a nice guy … You cannot imagine what kind of pressures he must have been under,” Unger said.

It has been reported that Kellermann’s body was found in the basement of his home that he shared with his wife Donna and five-year-old daughter Grace.

AP reports:

John Koskinen, the company’s interim chief executive, said in a statement that Kellermann, “was a man of great talents …. His extraordinary work ethic and integrity inspired all who worked with him.”

Canadians watched 3.1 billion videos online in February

One of the leaders in measuring the digital world, comScore released their findings on the Canadian online video market based on findings from February 2009 comScore Video Metrix data.
In February, 21 million Canadians viewed more than 3.1 billion videos online. The average Canadian spent 10 hours in front of their monitors watching videos during that month. This figure is up 53 per cent over last year.

“Canada’s high broadband penetration and tech savvy Internet users make it an optimal environment for online video to flourish,” said Bryan Segal, vice president of sales, comScore Canada. “The combined forces of reach, high engagement and ‘sight, sound and motion’ make online video a particularly attractive brand-building vehicle for online advertisers.”

Google Sites ranks first place for Canadian online video consumption with 1,625,244 hits. Other sites fell far below the hit volume of Google.

In order, the top ten video sites that Canadians tuned into are:

Google Sites-1,625,244
Microsoft Sites-55,645
Yahoo! Sites- 45,697
Megavideo.com- 36,828
CTVglobemedia- 25,200
Dailymotion.com- 20,930
Facebook.com- 19,470
Viacom Digital- 18,190
Turner Network- 12,368
Fox Interactive Media- 11,694

With 21 million Canadian viewers watching an average of 147 videos during the month of February, it’s clear marketers need to understand their viewing habits.

In a telephone interview with Mr. Segal I asked why Google Sites had so many more hits. The answer was YouTube.

YouTube is the biggest reason for the Google hits. Canadians have highest usage of YouTube, more so than any other of the 35 countries that we monitor.”

The average time on each video was 4.1 minutes which is also up from last year’s 3.3 minute average.

Nearly 88 percent of the Canadian population watched videos online. Canada has the highest penetration of the five countries that are currently being reported by comScore Video Metrix (France 82 percent, Germany 82 percent, U.K. 81 percent, U.S. 76 percent).

It seems that Canadians not only watch more videos but are at their computers for longer stretches of time. In February on average the Canadian video viewer consumed 605 minutes compared to the U.K. viewer at 540, the German viewer at 466 minutes, French viewers at 390 minutes and the average United States viewer’s 312 minutes.

For the website clients this information is vital. Knowing that their sites are getting heavy media viewer traffic is important not only for the front end of the business but the back end as well. As Segal told me:

“This knowledge not only increases the information for advertising but also in terms of what back end tools are needed to keep up with the traffic. The more views a site is getting the better the tools have to be. For instance the higher volume traffic sites have to have a prime media player that can handle the amount of traffic. It helps keep the clients and consumers happy with their viewing time.”

comScore, Inc. is one of the highest ranking sources of digital marketing intelligence with more than 1,100 clients including AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo!, BBC, Carat, Cyworld, Deutsche Bank, France Telecom, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Financial Times, ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestle, Starcom, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, the University of Chicago, Verizon Services Group and ViaMichelin. There has been a Canadian presence in Toronto for the past 10 years.

“You see, there are two major services that evaluate the size of a Web site’s audience, comScore Media Metrix and Nielsen Netratings … Only comScore, however, offers reporters access to an apples-to-apples comparison that measures the entire network of sites owned by each major player,” saidTed Leonsis, Vice Chairman of AOL

U.S. Waterways Carry Drugs From Pharmaceutical Companies

Waterways in the United States are routine dumping grounds for pharmaceutical manufacturers seeping the drugs into drinking water.
The water you may be drinking from your tap could contain a watered-down drug cocktail. That’s the findings of an Associated Press investigation.

The scary truth is no one in the federal government is looking into the issues of US water being contaminated by the runoff from manufacturing medicines.

With no one tracking which pharmaceuticals being dumped into the waterways U.S. manufacturers are free to release a potential environmental and health nightmare at will.

PharmaWater investigation is ongoing research by AP. The investigation found 22 compounds that have shown up in water supplies. Both the EPA and the Food and Drug Administration are supposed to be monitoring the compounds for the American public. There has been a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy regarding these drug companies.

Not only are drug companies to blame for the amount of contamination. Consumers excrete the drugs not absorbed by the body and flush drugs down the toilet.

There are also an estimated 250 million pounds of pharmaceuticals and contaminated packaging discarded each year from medical centers.

It is known that even diluted amounts of drugs can harm wild life. There has been research that shows that human cells fail to grow normally in the laboratory when exposed to trace concentrations of certain drugs. Yet water utilities say their water is safe.

Two chemicals, phenol and hydrogen peroxide, account for 92 percent of the 271 million pounds of what is coming from drug makers and other manufacturers. Both of those chemicals can be toxic and are harmful for the environment.

Pfizer is one of the companies that knows that water contamination has been happening. They are working on reducing the impact their company has on the environment in a negative way.

They are working through their company’s EHS Guideline on Water Conservation requiring their facilities to:

* Review and quantify their water use
* Identify and prioritize water conservation measures
* Develop, implement and report on water conservation action plans and targets
* Support community efforts during drought conditions

The drug companies say that they are in compliance and work to prevent leakage into the water supply.

AP reports:

“Manufacturers have to be in compliance with all relevant environmental laws,” said Alan Goldhammer, a scientist and vice president at the industry trade group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

When AP asked the companies point blank if they tested the waterways from their plants there was no direct answer.

“Based on research that we have reviewed from the past 20 years, pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities are not a significant source of pharmaceuticals that contribute to environmental risk,” GlaxoSmithKline said in a statement.

While Pfizer says it tests its waste water when investigated further it’s only the waters outside the United States.

“The government could get a national snapshot of the water if they chose to,” said Jennifer Sass, a senior scientist for the Natural Resources Defense Council, “and it seems logical that we would want to find out what’s coming out of these plants.”

This investigation has to be looked into further. Left unchecked the United States could end up with a situation like that in Patancheru, India where their water is a medical soup.

Shopaholics Can Rejoice, The Recession Is A Shopping Dream

The recession may be making life more difficult but for shopaholics this is a dream come true. So get out your visa and come along for some of the best buys this year.
Time reports that the picking is ripe for shoppers to pick up pricey items at bargain basement prices.

Do you love cashmere? This is the season to buy those sweaters that are a luxury item. At Target you can grab a Cashmere Capelet for a mere $37.49 that was going for $149.99.

Dressy clothes are also on the chopping block. If you want the ultimate bridal gown it might not cost you the price of a car if you hurry.

Maybe clothes aren’t your thing. Are you a tech lover? Now is the time to upgrade your computers. Two years ago it cost $200 to upgrade to 4 gigabytes, now you can do so for under $50.

Are you a shutterbug? Cameras cost a ton, or they used to. It’s now possible to get a 10-megapixel digital camera for $185.55 at the Shopping Channel.

The economy is down and going out is not in a lot of budgets. Staying home shouldn’t be a problem though if you grab a new flat-screen television for under $500 at Target.

Grab your wallet and hit the stores, the recession was made for those with shopper syndrome. And when you come home with all those bargains you can honestly smile while telling your partner that you saved them a bundle.

The Rebuilding of WTC Office Towers Could Take Decades

Because of the recession, failing real estate market and building costs the construction of office towers at the site of the WTC could be put off for decades. Analysis projections show that just one skyscraper could be built and occupied by 2036.
The Port Authority is dealing with the recession just like much of the world. Developer Larry Silverstein has been unable to secure financing for all of the towers and there is only $1 billion left in insurance money to pay for their construction.

The more the recession hits the harder the money will be to complete the project. About a week ago the Port Authority did agree to back about $800 million in financing but will that be enough.

AP reports:

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has committed city office space to the one tower the Port Authority agreed to back, said Thursday the 2036 date is “just a number out of the blue.”

“My hope is that things will get done a lot quicker. … The problem is that you sort of have to do everything or at least part of everything because if you don’t, then nothing works.

With the exodus of heavy hitters like Merrill Lynch and AIG from downtown Manhattan there is question also as to the need for the towers until about 2013. The Port Authority is now saying until the demand for office space is here the second two towers shouldn’t be completed. But considering the wording of the original leasing documents that would put Silverstein in jeopardy.

CBS 4 reports:

“The Port Authority’s obligation is to rebuild the site in the public interest based on the economic reality today,” the agency said in a statement. “That starts with keeping the memorial and the other public infrastructure on the timeline and budget we’ve committed to, and it extends to building the right amount of office space to meet what is now a very different market downtown.”

Silverstein has been asking the Port Authority to guarantee the financing of two of his towers. By doing so Janno Lieber, who is overseeing the trade center site, the Port Authority could collect for 90 years of the remaining lease that Silverstein has.

The Seattle Times quotes Lieber:

“Most important, from a public standpoint, this allows the Port Authority to honor its commitment to rebuild lower Manhattan – a promise that the agency has made many times since 9/11,” he added.

Analysis prepared by Cushman & Wakefield for the Port Authority sees that while two of the towers could be built by 2013, the second tower would not be fully leased until 2025. The third tower wouldn’t be built and leased until 2035.

Because of the wording of the lease Silverstein has to have all three towers built by 2013 or he will forfeit the rights to them.

AP reports:

“The option to build ’stumps’ instead of gleaming office towers must be rejected, as it would be a failure from which the site as a whole may not soon recover,” wrote Gary La Barbera, president of the Building & Construction Trades Council of Greater New York.

The new proposals have not yet been rejected by Silverstein but he’s not going to sing on the dotted line until a new deal is in place.

Silverstein is currently being paid $300,000 a day in late fees for not having the land completely excavated.

The Seattle Times reports:

“If you don’t have commercial tenants demanding the space, I don’t see it being developed,” Kathryn Wylde, chief executive of the Partnership for New York business group said. But she wondered at projections like the 2030 date, saying demand for new office space in lower Manhattan would happen long before that.

“It may take five years, it may take 10 years,” she said, “but it’s not going to take 21 years.”

Layoffs at Toronto’s Art Gallery of Ontario Prompts Protest

There are threats that more than 100 jobs could be in the balance at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) due to restructuring and organizational changes. Those changes may be the result of a 18-month review that studied a number of U.S. museums.
It may be better news though for AGO as new funding increased by the government has come in. Because of the funding the Ontario Public Service Employees Union is saying that AGO must reverse its decision to lay of staff. But will they?

On April 8 the Ontario government added $8.6 million to this year’s funding for the gallery and added an annual operating funding of $10 million.

That didn’t make any difference. On April 2 and April 6 the gallery laid off 26 full-time employees. Many of those who lost their jobs had been with the gallery for decades. They were all in specialty fields. According to literature that OPSEU was handing out on the street the total years of experience of those who were laid off totaled 275. One of the reasons the second lay off came according to Union Stewart Paula Whitmore was on April 2 the AGO had it’s annual fund raiser. Some of those that were let go the following Monday were part of the crew that worked long hours to put the fund raiser on. Ms. Whitmore said she knew of one employee who was laid off who had toiled 16 hour days in prepping for the event and then was without a job the next Monday.

The Union also contends that the layoffs came when the management of AGO knew the additional funding would be coming. The Ontario public Service Employees Union believes that that funding the the AGO received is a good enough reason to reverse the lay offs. All of the Union staff that were let go were in highly skilled positions. Ms. Whitmore told me that the Union is concerned that the gallery’s quality of work will suffer as a result of the lay offs.

“Who’s going to be looking out for the public interest. The collection belongs to the public. The quality of the art will be suffering because those who were full-time employees and skilled have been laid off and part-time employees will have to try to have to do the work of full time employees.”

On Wednesday, April 15 the OPSEU and members of the public picketed the gallery starting at 5:30 PM. The Union chose Wednesday night because it is Toronto’s free night each week at the AGO.

Marketwire reports:

OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas asked for an immediate halt to the layoffs. “We will not stand by while the AGO pretends to care about the public and at the same time uses union-busting tactics against decent working people who have thrown their lives into this work on behalf of the public,” he said.

OPSEU and members of the public will picket the gallery at 5:30 pm on Wednesday, April 15.

“I don’t know how Teitelbaum can look himself in the mirror after saying to our staff only last week that the new AGO is a wondrous thing, brimming with life and deep potential to change the way people experience the world,” Thomas said.
Executive Director of Public Affairs Susan Bloch-Nevitte says that the gallery only knew that there was the possibility of funding. That knowledge though wasn’t all that was in consideration when it came down to the lay offer. The changes were already in place regardless of if funding came in. It’s part of a restructuring period with the gallery, one that many other galleries and museums are also having to undergo to keep afloat during these times.

“It’s never easy to have to let employees go,” Bloch-Nevitte said, “No one likes laying folks off. It’s not like yippee bring it on. But the fact is the world is changing and so is AGO. It’s a different world and economic factors are different. We can’t stop change.”

Bloch-Nevitte is correct. The times are changing not only for AGO but for museums world wide. Membership and patronage have declined. At this time it’s not a wise idea in bringing in a lot of new works when the gallery has 23,000 pieces of art, many of which have not been seen by the public yet. It’s time to bring more attention to AGO’s permanent works. That doesn’t mean that there will no new pieces being bought, just fewer. Because of this some positions at AGO have had to be streamlined. In the end 23 people of the 600 employees had to be laid off in an effort to cut costs. No one entire department was let go and the lay offs affected many different areas.

When I asked Ms. Bloch-Nevitte why it was the older employees that were let go she said that while some of those who were laid off had been with AGO for years others had not. It was more of deciding where the existing employees fit into the new structuring of the AGO and who sadly didn’t fit in. What the gallery hopes to be doing in the future is adding new positions that those who have been laid off will be able to come back to work. That will take some time though.

The truth is AGO is changing with the times, like other fields in the arts where the recession and public interest effects the tides. There will be a newer on-line focus with the gallery as well as social media and networking aspects which will result in new career opportunities.

The management of the AGO has a hard road ahead. They have to be able to make provisions for quality and still be able to run a sustainable gallery.

Study Shows More CEOs Got Raises in 2008

The recession may be in full swing but for CEO’s it appears most have escaped unscathed. In 2008 more U.S. chief executives got a raise instead of losing their jobs, according to an AFL-CIO survey released on Tuesday.
Wall Street may have been under the microscope this year with federal tax dollars bailing out major financial firms using the Troubled Asset Recovery Program. It seems though that the bail outs may have helped those at the top continue being on top of the pay check food chain.

The executive pay study of major companies by the AFL-CIO didn’t just use the amount of dollars on pay checks to calculate total pay. The total figures used included stock options granted to CEOs but not yet vested.

Vikram Pandit, Citigroup Inc CEO therefore made $38 million in 2008. Citigroup was one of the banks granted a huge portion of the bail out, $45 billion.

Yahoo Finance reports:

“When it comes to CEO pay, many companies continue to hew to the fiction of pay for performance,” said Daniel Pedrotty, director of the AFL-CIO’s Office of Investment.

The survey used data from 946 companies in the Russell 3000 index with 2008 information available. According to the results 480 executives were taking home more at the end of 2008 than at the beginning. 463 of the executives did take a cut in pay.

The median CEO salary rose 7% in 2008. It wasn’t all bad news for those who took a cut in pay. Compensation packages averaged $3.9 for those CEOs.

The AFL-CIO also launched a web site that shows how the CEOs of the US fare compared to their workers. After you check out the differences in pay you may want to try out the game feature on the site, Boot the CEO!

Amazon accused of censoring books by removing gay titles

Amazon has dropped gay titles from search results. Is the self imposed censorship from Amazon or is it a glitch in the software program the company is using?
Amazon.com has been accused of censoring books with gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual themes.

An Internet fury was started on Sunday when writer Mark R. Probst wrote about the news on a blog. After contacting Amazon and being told that the books were now classified as ‘adult’ titles.” Mark Wagner warns that the action could be a result of a software glitch on Information Weekly.

Indeed, an Amazon spokeswoman said late Sunday that the change was a “glitch” in their software, they’re fixing it, and they’re still trying to figure out what’s going on. Even in text, she sounded tired.

My prediction: By the end of the day Monday, we’ll find out this is, indeed, a software glitch. Or maybe some bigoted middle manager got too big for his britches. I am confident that this is not a reflection of Amazon policy.

Queerty is one site that isn’t buying the ’software glitch’ excuse. Amazon sent out a statement to the site:

“We recently discovered a glitch to our Amazon sales rank feature that is in the process of being fixed. We’re working to correct the problem as quickly as possible.”

According to the article’s author running a search on homosexuality on Amazon brings up A Parent’s Guide to Preventing Homosexuality first. When Digital Journal typed the same word in it indeed brought up the book title first. Most of the first ten book shown indeed were of a religious theme.

Mark Probst, the author who started the furor received an email from Amazon after he asked two weeks ago why his gay-themed romance books were removed from the listings.

“In consideration of our entire customer base, we exclude “adult” material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists. Since these lists are generated using sales ranks, adult materials must also be excluded from that feature.

Hence, if you have further questions, kindly write back to us.

Best regards,
Ashlyn D
Member Services
Amazon.com Advantage”

The titles are still on the site, they have just been delisted. Amazon reports CNET has simply excluded ‘adult’ material from appearing on some searches and best sellers lists.

After a weekend of Twitters flying back and forth, one has to wonder if Amazon will take a hit over this matter? In times of economic crisis, any help can be devastating.

Providence Woman Accused Of Cyber-Stalking

A Providence, Rhode Island business owner has been accused of cyber-stalking a business competitor. The woman has allegedly been calling the other business woman places to have place call it day and night.
Owner of Bruna Puppets and Costumes, Bruno filled out applications in Tracy Sisson’s name which resulted in the woman having harassing phone calls. Sisson owns Absolute Fun Party Rentals in Cranston.

The pair have been feuding since 2001 when Sisson was not satisfied with a costume that Bruno had made for her business.

The phone calls after Sisson had arranged her mortgage through Able Financial Services. When Bruno was hired Sissons told her boss that she was uncomfortable working with Bruno and planned to leave. Bruno was laid off.

Ann Bruno, 59, is said to have used a computer at the local library several times a week to sign the other woman up for debt relief programs and the like. The misdemeanor charge was issued after she was caught in the act at the public library. Her court case is set for April 14.

When reporters asked the woman about the charges she donned a bunny head to do the interview.

The Recession Hits Shriners Hospitals Hard

They help the helpless but if the recession keeps on track Shriners may have to pull out of the hospital business within five years.
As the charity endowments shrink, the cost for care increases and donations leak instead of pour in the Shriners, based out of Florida may have to close some or all of their 22 hospitals across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The fund for the endowment has fallen to just $5 billion from the $8 billion it was at just a year ago. The slump has been going on longer than the recession though, since 2001 it has been declining.

This summer the group will gather and decide on the closing of the hospitals.

USA Today reports:

“Unless we do something, the clock is ticking and within five to seven years we’ll probably be out of the hospital business and not have any hospitals,” Ralph Semb, chief executive officer of Shriners Hospitals for Children, told The Associated Press.

The Shriners have been helping children since the doors first opened at the facility in Shreveport, Louisiana. At that time the need was polio care. By the 1960’s there were hospitals across the nation. Care expanded to include spinal cord injury rehabilitation, cleft lip and palate care and medical research.

More than a million children owe their lives to the hospitals.

In March the Shriners Board of Directors voted to close four of the group’s eight research centers and lay off about 40 people at its administrative office. On July 6-8 in San Antonio, Texas the annual meeting will convene. This year will be difficult as about 1,200 Shriners will vote on if its time to close their hospitals in Shreveport, La.; Erie, Pa.; Spokane, Wash.; Springfield, Mass., and Greenville.

Patients would still be treated at other Shriners hospitals that specialize in the illness or injury.

USA Today reports:

“The outlook is not good, but we know that we can right it,” Semb said. “And we can within a five-year period of time get our expenses down far enough to equal the income we have coming in and hopefully start building on that endowment fund.”

In Cleveland The Homeless Are Cleaning Foreclosed Homes

They have no home. The homes have no families due to foreclosure. A group in Cleveland, Ohio is quietly cleaning up the properties and sneaking families into the homes.
The families worry day and night that they will be discovered but a roof over their head is better than living on the streets.

Christopher Jackson, 43, and a group of tradesmen are doing something productive during the recession by cleaning the yards and gutters of foreclosed homes. They are covering up exposed wiring and unbarring windows. Then the group silently helps families that were in shelters learn the squatters life.

Some of those families have managed to use the hand up to get enough money to move into a home that has electricity and running water. Others find a way to get a generator and use gas grills to cook on.

In Cleveland one out of every 13 homes is vacant. The authorities are knocking on about 300 homes a week to hold out eviction notices.

MSN Business reports:

“I know it’s bad all over, but it is very clear that Ohio has something uniquely awful going on and this city is right in the middle of it,” Peter Bellamy, who manages the county’s three-year-old foreclosure prevention program.

“A lot of this is going to be permanent. It’s not like California or Arizona, people aren’t going to come back.”

No one is winning in the process of lost homes and displaced families. The city has higher costs because those families have no where to go but the shelters. The banks can’t sell homes that are neglected. Thieves enter in the black of night to remove plumbing, wiring, cabinets and anything else that is nailed down.

Renters are the ones that pay the hardest. The homes that they were giving their pay checks to are taken by the banks. With little money they haven’t a chance in this recession.

Brian Davis, executive director of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless says that the cycle has put a huge strain on local shelters.

“We’ve seen a dramatic increase in families in shelters, dramatic,” said Davis, who despite the rising need has had to lay off staff recently because of the sour economy.

“A lot of people who work with the homeless say this is the worst they have ever seen it.”

While other cities are starting to rehabilitate foreclosure homes in Cleveland it’s the homeless that have taken the lead.

“It’s happening more and more and there are even homeless who are acting as real estate agents and moving families into safe properties,” Davis said. “We are seeing desperation lead to some real creative measures.”

Since January 1, 2006 there have been about 45,0000 foreclosure case filings in the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. The East Side of Cleveland has been the hardest hit. The verdicts have come through for about 10,000 of those filings, foreclosure.

HUD may not be helping the problem. They are selling homes that the city has already condemned for pennies. One home was sold for $1,500 according to City Councilman Tony Brancatelli but the new owner wasn’t informed that the house had been condemned.

A few weeks later Brancatelli helped the new owner get out of the purchase by persuading HUD to do the right thing.

HUD is responsible for demolishing the homes that are condemned. Instead they are placing ads for the homes with price tags as little as $100.

In the end Brancatelli believes that HUD will make it so that the city is the one that pays the high cost of demolishing the homes.

Florida sues company over their Michael Vick chew toy

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum today filed a lawsuit against the company that makes the Caylee Sunshine Doll and the Michael Vick Chew Toy. It is being alleged that the company misrepresented where proceeds of the profits would be going.

Florida is suing toy seller Jaime Salcedo and his Jacksonville, Florida, company, Showbiz Promotions LLC. The case deals with a dog chew toy depicting Michael Vick and dolls that were modeled after Caylee Anthony.

The company falsely claimed charities would benefit when the products were brought. Attorney General Bill McCollum filed the lawsuit saying the company misled consumers that proceeds from the dog toys would go to animal shelters and that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children would be getting donations from the proceeds for the Caylee dolls.

It has been revealed that the charity was only given a token $10 for the sell of the dolls.

Legal News Online reports:

“This effort is outrageous and attempts to exploit the tragic murder of a child for personal benefit,” said Ernie Allen, the organization’s president and CEO. “NCMEC does not and will not ever be associated with any attempt to commercialize or raise money in connection with the victimization of any child.”

Caylee Anthony was found murdered late last year. Her mother has been charged with her death.

Michael Vick was sentenced in 2007 for 23 months in federal prisons for his role in dog fighting and animal cruelty.

Reuters reports:

“Any company that intentionally misleads innocent consumers to believe they are contributing to worthy charitable causes is absolutely reprehensible,” McCollum said in a news release. “It is disgusting that a company would exploit a tragic situation for personal gain.”

The investigation began last year after receiving 200 complaints about the dog chew toys.

McCollum’s lawsuit is asking for the judge to ban the sale of the doll and to fine the company $10,000 for each violation of the state’s law against deceptive and unfair trade.

It’s Time For Toronto’s Daily Bread’s Spring Food Drive

special for Digital Journal:

Toronto’s CityTv is kicking off it’s Spring Food Drive at a time when the Daily Bread Food Bank needs help more than ever.

On Wednesday the CityTV Spring Food Drive started collecting donations and offering people a chance to win 10,000 Airmiles and other prizes.

This morning at 6 a.m., Breakfast Television hosts Frank Ferragine and Jennifer Valentyne were at the Metro at 3003 Danforth Avenue to start receiving donations of non-perishable foods and monetary donations from the public. The early morning effort brought in $7,600 and more than 6,000 pounds of food.

Cash of course is always welcome but for those who would rather give food the most needed items are:

* peanut butter
* macaroni and cheese
* canned fruit and vegetables
* white or brown rice
* dried pasta and pasta sauce
* canned fish or meat
* baby food and formula

Those who want to contribute can do so by clicking on the Daily Bread Food Bank website or by calling 416-203-0050.

I spoke with Gabrielle Chackal, Communications & Marketing Officer of the GTA Daily Bread office, about the need for donations. Every month across the GTA The Daily Bread helps about 80,000 people have enough food to make it through the month. This spring the need for donations is even greater as the Daily Bread has started to see an increase at some locations in the GTA of up to twenty percent due to the recession.

Ms. Chackal said the charity is hoping that when people do their grocery shopping this weekend that they will take the time to plan out a few extras to drop in the collection boxes at most area grocery stores. Those who would prefer to make donations elsewhere can drop off food and money donations at their local fire hall.

While non-food items such as diapers and toothpaste are accepted the need at this time for healthy non-perishable food is greatest. Often commercial sponsors provide larger quantities of non-food products that are distributed to families in need.

“We tend to focus on food and financial donations,” Ms. Chackal said.

Those who are in need can call the Daily Bread at 416-203-0050 to get a referral for the Neighbourhood Food Bank closest to you.

You need to bring with you identification for all family members, proof of income and expenditures and proof of your current address. You will only need to bring this information with you the first time you visit a food bank and at times when updates are needed. You always will need to bring your ID with you. Once every six months to a year your information is updated.

The food banks can help you with a two to three day supply of food based on the number of people that are in your family.

Some of the monetary donations go into research. The Daily Bread is currently doing a survey of the amount of visitors to their food banks. Those results will be out in June.

“The Daily Bread works on the roots causes of poverty and hunger. They use statistics to help make change and to get to the root of the problems. Using the statistics the Daily Bread is able to educate the government on how to make realistic policy changes that can help rid the city of poverty and hunger,” Ms. Chackal told Digital Journal during a telephone interview.

The Daily Bread is a registered charitable organization. It’s registered charity number is:11888 1549 RR0001.

Kids being raised by their grandparents and the recession

Grandparents raising their children’s children are having a tough time during the current recession. While the unemployment rate is lower for those who are older once they lose their jobs it is more difficult for them to find work.

Adults who are raising their grandchildren already have enough on their plate without having to deal with the recession as well. With pink slips flying the recession can hit hard for those just making ends met at an age where finding a good job is close to impossible.The unemployment rate for those 55 and over have risen to 6.2% as of March. That is the highest figure since September 1949.

At the same tome the unemployment rates rise more grandparents have had to take on raising their grandchildren. In 2007 there were about 4.7 million children living in homes headed by at least one of their grandparents. The shift to grandparents raising their children’s offspring has risen due to several factors including more parents into drugs, AIDS, cancer and when struck by tragedy single adults leaving their children behind.

While not all grandparents are the sole providers most make significant contributions.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Not all of these grandparents are sole caregivers, says Kenneth Bryson, a director at Generations United, a Washington nonprofit, “but most are making important contributions,” providing “substantial care so that the parents can work or go to school.”

In the United States about twenty percent of grandparents or other relatives raising children other than their own receive grants. In New York that grant money comes to roughly $5,000 a year. That means the majority of those raising the kids are not getting any help.

Children who reside in foster care programs on average cost New York $22,000 per year for their care.

Toronto’s Distress Centres Taking More Distress Calls

special to Digital Journal:

Toronto Distress Centres are seeing an increase of suicide calls as the recession worsens. Volunteers are being trained to deal with more depressed called who are suffering the effects of the recession. Calls have been up 30 per cent since last October.

Toronto Distress Centres are seeing an increase of suicide calls as the recession worsens.

Volunteers are being trained to deal with more distressed callers who are suffering the effects of the recession. Calls have been up 30 per cent since last October and they’re steadily increasing every month since.

During a phone interview, Karen Letofsky, Executive Director of the Toronto Distress Centres, said they are amping up the number of volunteers on the Hotline. They are also educating the volunteers on the issues that the recession are bringing and arming them with more resources to help callers. Callers can now receive more referral numbers because of this information.

In areas where the auto industry is increasing the ranks of unemployment suicide calls have risen dramatically. Ms. Letofsky said that in the areas hardest hit by the recession calls have increased. In these times many people first try to carry their problems alone which is why more calls are starting to come into the centre.

Distress Centres is dealing with more relationship issues and suicides than in the past as well as more distress calls in general. They are also seeing an increase in newer needs from people who have never called crisis centres before.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” says Letofsky.

Distress Centres is an anonymous safe haven for those that are in crisis. The only time that outside help is called into play is when there is a high risk and intervention is needed.

In Toronto, if you are needing to talk with someone the Distress Centres number is 416-408-HELP. There are volunteers manning the phone lines 24 hours a day. Also in Ontario 211 is a number to call if you have needs for social service programs.

‘Guiding Light’ soap opera gets the curtain call

The 72-year history of the Guiding Light is about to end. The announcement came April 1 that the soap opera was not renewed by CBS for the fall.

The Guiding Light will end this September after a 72-year run, 57 of those years at CBS Television.
The show is listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running television drama.

The soap opera has been a front runner in storytelling and launched some of Hollywood’s biggest names like Kevin Bacon, Calista Flockhart, Allison Janney, James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson, Taye Diggs, Hayden Panettiere and Brittany Snow.

PR Newswire reports:

“Being on the air for more than seven decades is truly remarkable, and it will be difficult for all of us at the show to say goodbye,” said Executive Producer Ellen Wheeler. “I’m proud of everything we’ve been able to do, including outstanding storytelling, our community service around the country with Find Your Light and the launch of our new production model. This show has such a rich history, wonderful fans, and I’m honored to have been a part of the GL legacy.”

In 1937 Guiding Light debuted as a 15-minute radio show. In 1952 it moved to the small screen. The show started colour broadcasts in 1967 and grew to an hour from it’s thirty minute format in 1977. In 1966 it was the first soap opera to have leading African-American characters.

The LA Times reports:

“Guiding Light” has achieved a piece of television history that will never be matched; it has crossed mediums, adapted its stories to decades of social change and woven its way through generations of audiences like no other,” said Nancy Tellem, president of CBS Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group. “This daytime icon will always be an indelible part of CBS’ history.”

In recent years the ratings have declined. The final episode will air on September 18.

Domestic Violence or the Recession- Murder In North Carolina

The wife of the suspected gunman from Sunday’s murder spree at a North Carolina nursing home hid in a washroom in fear of her life.

On Sunday the gun man entered Pinelake at around 10 a.m. with more than one weapon. Witnesses report that he used both a deer gun and a shotgun as he blasted through the hallways. Several calls went out from inside the home to 911 operators saying that a man with a double barrel shotgun was shooting people.

Wanda Stewart hid out in a secured washroom while her estranged husband Robert Stewart allegedly went through the nursing home will a gun.

The password protected doors inside a locked area for the Alzheimer’s patients that resided at Pinkelake Health and Rehab may be why Ms. Stewart is alive tonight.

Her mother, Margaret Neal believes that her son-in-law was after her daughter. A month ago the woman left her husband and moved back to a home on her parent’s property. The couple had been married once before as teenagers divorcing a few years later. After several other marriages to others they remarried in June 2002.

AP reports:

“We’re certainly looking into the fact that it may be domestic-related,” said Carthage Police Chief Chris McKenzie.

Stewart’s former ex-wife has confirmed that her ex-husband had violent tendencies. Sue Griffin told reporters that although she had no contract with him since their divorce she had heard that Stewart had told family members that he had cancer and was planning a long trip to get away.

“He did have some violent tendencies from time to time,” Griffin said. “I wouldn’t put it past him. I hate to say it, but it is true.”

Stewart made his first court appearance on Monday. He was formally charged with eight counts of first-degree murder and a single charge of felony assault of a law enforcement officer. He is scheduled to return to court in April. He was sent back to the Central Prison in Raleigh where he is receiving medical care for the injuries he received at the scene.

The victims have been identified as Pinelake residents Tessie Garner, 75; Lillian Dunn, 89; Jesse Musser, 88; Bessie Hedrick, 78; John Goldston, 78; Margaret Johnson, 89; Louise DeKler, 98; and nurse Jerry Avant, 39.

While the motive of the shooting in North Carolina may never be fully understood it is fitting a pattern becoming all to familiar for law enforcement.

Last month four Oakland, California police men were gunned down. In Alabama a man went on a shooting spree in four separate locations. In Santa Clara, California six people died in an apparent murder-suicide on Sunday.

Could these murders all be linked to the recession? That is one theory that criminologists are leaning towards.

The Christian Science Monitor reports:

“Most of these mass killings are precipitated by some catastrophic loss, and when the economy goes south, there are simply more of these losses,” says Jack Levin, a noted criminologist at Northeastern University in Boston.

In past economically hard times violence increased. Domestic violence shelters have had an increase in demand for beds according to the Florida Department of Children and Families.

As the economic pressures increase will we be seeing even more of these horrible crimes? If the past is gauge sadly the answer may be yes.

The potential link between murder-suicides and the economy is an area of study for the Violence Policy Center in Washington. “We’ve been looking at this issue of whether there are more murder-suicides … [and] a pattern is starting to develop that may point in that direction,” says Kristen Rand, legislative director at the center. “Between the Texas Tower shootings in the 1960s until the McDonald’s massacre in 1984, it was extremely rare to see these types of mass shootings. Now we’re seeing them much more often, and they do seem to happen in spurts.”

The Recession Is Even Hitting Fall Television Programming

The television world is about to get less glitzy as the networks tighten their belts. From big name stars to set location Hollywood is having to keep on a tighter budget in order to entertain the masses.

One very visible change that the public will see this fall is the lack of big name stars. The heavy hitters will not be on tap as often because of the salaries that they demand. Case in point, the new show Big D was set to star Candice Bergen but when push came to shove her need for a huge salary gave a break for Deanna Dunagan. The Broadway actress doesn’t have the same asking price as the Murphy Brownstar.

To start on the small screen stars are having to see their paychecks reduced by 10% to 50%. Those who decide it’s not worth it can easily be replaced by newcomers who don’t mind a smaller paycheck at all.

Canada will be winning with the television networks battle with the buck. Filming in the Great White North can save networks as much as $500,000 an episode.

In the states local sites like Atlanta and Boston will be seeing more film sets as well. Gone are the days of splashy sets. Realism is now getting to be actually real.

Producers may be seeing a pink slip in their future as Hollywood tones down to a mean, lean only pay the working machine. The mega layers of producers who do little more than smile pretty are getting kicked to the curb.

Film quality may be going down to save on costs too.

So there you have it kiddies, even Hollywood has to deal with the real world in times of recession. But don’t worry as soon as the money train is back in gear the wallets will come out again.

Ford and GM Playing The Good Guy In The Unemployment World

Ford and General Motors are offering to cover car payments for those who are unemployed. The two automakers are trying to give a hand up in these harsh economic times.

General Motors and Ford have announced plans to help those who are unemployed keep their modes of transportation.

The “G.M. Total Confidence” will allow people nine months of payments up to $500 to be missed if they lose their jobs in the first two years of buying a car. The company is also eliminating any negative equity that exists when buyers sell or trade in their vehicle at least three years later. GM’s program will begin on Wednesday and will run for the month of April.

The “Ford Advantage Plan” helps the unemployed out a little more with payments of $700 and under for an entire year. Ford is the only one of the three top car makers in the United States that has not had their hand out for bail out money.

The New York Times reports:

“Consumers remain anxious about the economy and their own outlook for the future. We at Ford want to do our part to rebuild faith in the marketplace,” said Ken Czubay, vice president of Sales and Marketing.

The Ford plan will run until June 1. The company is also offering zero percent financing through its Ford Motor Credit on certain Ford, Mercury and Lincoln cars.

After the announcement shares for the automaker rose 1.5 percent to $2.80 Tuesday morning.

The two American car makers are following the lead of Korea’s Hyundai. The Korean automaker came out with their plan in January that allows buyers who lose their income within one year to return their vehicle without a penalty to their credit rating.

Car sales fell to a 16-year low in 2008 as tough economic times kept buyers off of car lots.

Opinion: Senior Citizens Can Expect To Shell Out A Bundle For Health Care

They have put their time into the work force but their golden years are beginning to be to costly if they become sick. Senior citizens health care coverage is set to hit wallets more in the near future.

A study put out by Fidelity Investments is saying that a couple that retired this year in the United States can expect to pay out about $240,000 for their health care until they die. That is assuming that the husband lives another 17 years and his wife survives him by the average three years. That figure also assumes that the couple qualifies for Medicare and neither spouse has employer-provided health coverage.

The figure this year is up 6.7 percent from 2008’s $225,000 projection.

That cost does not take into account over-the-counter drugs, long term care or dental costs.

Seniors have one day to make changes to their 2009 medicare benefits.

Fox Business reports:

“By now, seniors should have had some experience with their current benefit packages, whether seeing physicians, filling prescriptions or finally reviewing the packet of information provided by their health insurers,” said Bill Stapleton, president and chief executive officer of Health Plan One, the parent company of MedicareSolutions, an online insurance brokerage and Medicare information portal. “Some may be surprised to find out that their physicians are no longer in their plans’ networks or that co-pays and other costs had gone up more than they had anticipated.”

The following changes can be made before April 1, 2009;

– Individuals enrolled in Medicare Advantage Plans with prescription drug
coverage can disenroll back to original Medicare coverage and a separate
prescription drug plan.
– Individuals enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MAPD: undefined, undefined, undefined%)
plan can change to another MAPD plan.
– Individuals enrolled in original Medicare can enroll in a Medicare
Advantage Plan.

Seniors will low incomes are eligible for assistance for drug coverage through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The income requirements for the program is below $12,500 for individuals and $25,000 for couples.

MedicareSolution has a help center set up with customer service advocates to help individuals determine if they are eligible for federal and state programs. To take advantage of this go to www.medicaresolutions.com or call (800) 328-7305.

Gone are the days when the Golden Years meant a time to relax and play with the grandchildren. To survive in today’s world many seniors have to track down a part time job just to make ends meet. If they find themselves sick that is not a possibility.

The high cost of medicine both over and behind the counter is forcing many to have to give up their dreams. And with advancements in the health field that dream becomes a double edged sword. We are living longer. With longer life comes more chances of developing an illness that can wipe out any nest egg that has been put aside. Seniors have to be vigilant in investigating what programs and insurance policies they need to make it through their retirement years.

Lost Radioactive Nugget Found In China

Last week a radioactive nugget was lost in China during the demolition of a cement plant in Tongchuan city in Shaanxi province. The lead ball was found in the mill on Friday.

The piece that was missing was a radioactive nuclear scale that is used in making precise measurements. That little nugget contains Caesium-137. The isotope’s radiation can do a lot of damage to the human body if in the wrong hands. It is capable of destroying the nervous system, causing infertility and possible death.

AP reports:

“The production facilities were auctioned to a company called Sichuan Kangna. The company staff mistook the scale for steel scraps and sold it,” Quinling Cement official Mr. Gao said.

The nugget was lost as the walls to a 53-year-old building came tumbling down Monday. Shaanxi Qinling Cement Co. had been auctioned off to Sichuan Kangna. The provincial environment protection department believes that the ball was mistakenly sold as scrap metal.

Experts scoured metal scrap yards and steel mills in pursuit of the radioactive material during the week.
When the radioactive material was located at Xingbao Steel and Iron Co. Ltd in Weinan City on Friday inspectors found high levels of radioactivity around a smelter and steel slags. The ball itself had been melted at the plant.

The contaminated smelter and steel slags are being cleaned so that they will not threaten the environment.

Nuclear Power Daily reports:

Wang Xuhui, a researcher at the Xian-based Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology, said the plant’s products were safe, while most of the radioactive element had been mixed in the slags.

Opinion: Facebook, Thanks For Letting Me Help Drug Companies

Those real-life quizzes at Facebook are a marketing ploy. The answers are helping drug makers have information from the nine million people that have signed up and quickly clicked along the test. I am one of the sheep in the masses.
The quiz has 150 or so questions that cover lifestyle and family history to give users a “biological age.” The RealAge people then offer users ways of getting the biological age younger by suggesting multivitamins, eating breakfast and flossing their teeth.

The quiz even has a huge endorsement from Dr. Mehmet Oz, a popular author and regular on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

Guess who funds RealAge? Those crafty pharmaceutical companies pay the marketing company to send them the answers in an email.

That’s right kiddies, we’re all part of a marketing scheme that is helping the drug companies target the public.

But is that really so bad?

The bottom line is the quiz can give people a free way to learn how to improve their lives.

The New York Times reports:

“Our primary product is an e-mail newsletter series focused on the undiagnosed at-risk patient, so we know the risk factors if someone is prehypertensive, or for osteoarthritis,” said Andy Mikulak, the vice president for marketing at RealAge. “At the end of the day, if you want to reach males over 60 that are high blood pressure sufferers in northwest Buffalo with under $50,000 household income that also have a high risk of diabetes, you could,” he said.

The drug companies aren’t getting personal information from those who take the quiz. RealAge is the middleman. That means that drug companies are getting unbiased information.

That’s not a bad thing. Seriously, is it wrong for the drug companies to want to know the marketing information? We’re not being paid by them but we do need their knowledge when we’re sick.

Medcity.com reports that some health groups are not pleased with RealAge.

Peter Lurie, deputy director of the Health Research Group at consumer advocate Public Citizen has a problem with the way RealAge could use its patrons’ medical information.

“Literally millions of people have unknowingly signed up” for the RealAge newsletter, Lurie said. RealAge “can create a group of people, and hit them up and create anxiety even though the person does not have a diagnosis,” he told the Times.

In the end it’s a personal opinion. If you don’t want your information and thoughts given to companies by marketers don’t take online quizzes. No one is twisting your arm to click their button. You have the power to keep the marketing companies in business or not.

Welcome to the age of the Internet!

7,500 GM employees to take buyout package

General Motors union employees are lining up to take a buyout package. The package will give those who signed up for it $20,000 in cash and $25,000 toward a new GM car.

About 7,500 General Motor Corp. workers have accepted a buy out meeting the internal company goals. The Detroit automaker has been pushing their unionized work force to accept buyouts, retire or quit. The company has taken a hard hit due to the recession and is unable to guarantee job security. Without older workers leaving the workforce the company doesn’t stand a chance to survive.

Most of the more than 7,500 members of the United Automobile Workers union that took the buyout will leave their positions by the first of April. Many of the employees had a difficult time deciding if they were going to take the package. They fear that GM will not survive the recession.

General Motors needs for the employees to leave to allow for new hires that earn half of the older workers salaries. It has to be able to show President Obama that it is making real progress to cut labor costs in order to receive the $16.6 billion funding they say is the only way to survive in these tough economic times.

At GM’s Janesville, Wisconsin plant 624 workers have accepted the offer, the largest group at any one facility. The plant was forced to shut down at the end of last year and is planned to close in 2010.

The Grand Rapids metal plant also had a large number of employees take the money.

The New York Times reports:

“It’s a choice between the uncertainty of staying and the uncertainty of leaving,” said Gary N. Chaison, a professor of industrial relations at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. “At this point, the people who are accepting buyouts have turned them down before, so something has shaken them loose. These are really the saddest decisions of all because they know they could have taken a buyout before on better terms.”

Gary L. Cowger, group vice president for global manufacturing and labor relations, said the buyouts, along with other cost-cuts would “help ensure the long-term viability and future success of General Motors.”

The offer was made available to the 62,000 hourly workers employed by General Motors. About half of those who took the buyout did so after Friday.

Most of the workers that have gone for the offer are considered retirement eligible, having at least 30 years of employment with GM. Those employees are also eligible for a $37,000 pension a year.

Shares have climbed 11 per cent in premarket trading following the news.

Viewers Can Get Ready To View Repeats as CBC Slashes 800 Jobs

Today CBC staffers are awaiting word if they will be given a pink slip. The Canadian media giant will be cutting 800 jobs in light of government cuts to their budget. Later today staff throughout Canada will learn their fate.

CBC viewers will see shorter seasons for their favorite Canadian series like Little Mosque on the Prairie and The Border and plenty of repeats. New Canadian programs have been pushed back until next year.

The pink slips are expected to be given out at in late May and continue throughout the summer. The rumor mill is saying that the cuts may be to smaller regional CBC stations.

An unnamed source from the CBC said during a phone interview that for now the Internet media staff is safe from the 800 jobs that will be slashed at the CBC. According to the source the Internet is one of the few areas of the CBC that is growing.

The staff has heard rumbling for weeks that the job cuts were going to come because of the CBC not meeting their advertising quotas and the government not handing over their financial goals.

The CBC’s working budget comes from the government and advertising monies. When the advertising revenue falls short the government is expected to help out more. That is not the case this time around.

The CBC receives $1.1 billion a year in federal funding, about 60 per cent of its running costs, and, for the past decade, an additional $60 million annually in special transfer payments, or 5.6 per cent of the broadcaster’s annual budget.

The cuts will be divided between English CBC will 396 jobs to slash, French Radio-Canada will be slashing 336 jobs and 70 corporate positions are also slated to be cut according to CBC president Hubert Lacroix.

The Edmonton Sun reports:

The NDP blasted the Harper government for “using the pretext of the economic downturn to attack the public broadcaster” and accused it of being “fundamentally opposed” to the CBC.

Not only are pink slips being handed out but the CBC is having to liquidating assets. The sale from those assets are hoped to gain $125 million.

The union that represents CBC employees are putting total blame on the Harper government. They insist that the job cuts will affect the quality of programming for the Canadian public.

CJAD reports:

“Those services are very important even in the period we are facing now, because if the private producers cannot do this, who will do this if we don’t do it?,” said union president Alex Levasseur.

Lavasseur further stated that the government’s shortfall of $171 million is a disguise aiming to strangle the public broadcaster.

The man many have blamed the cuts on Canada’s PM Stephen Harper was quoted by The Toronto Star expressing concern.

“Obviously, broadcasters, both public and private, are having difficulties. It is a terrible thing when someone loses a job. We will obviously be monitoring the decisions of the board very carefully to make sure that it respects CBC’s mandate and treats its employees fairly,” Harper told the Commons.

The Edmonton Sun reports:

“People have to realize that the privates are also subsidized,” said Kirstine Layfield, CBC’s executive director of programming.

“For as much as we (CBC) are government subsidized, the privates also have a high level of government subsidy … and that money doesn’t always go to programming, it goes to their shareholders.”

Rising From The Ashes, Owen Thor Walker

Last year Owen Thor Walker was arrested after being investigated by authorities in the United States, Europe and New Zealand for his hacking skills. He was a mere sixteen when he wrote the software that stole millions.

A year later Walker has been hired by TelstraClear to advise corporate customers on Internet crime. His new job will see the young man presenting seminars and adverstising for Telstra’s New Zealand based TelstraClear as well as addressing security issues that may come up with company management.

As a hacker Walker was known by the screen name ‘Akill.’ His program enabled the cyber-gang to use their botnets to steal from private bank accounts. Investigators have said that his was the most advanced software code they had ever encountered.

After pleading guilty to six cyber crimes Walker admitted to stealing at least $20.4 million from private bank accounts. He didn’t take the money himself rather he crafted the software that gave a cyber-ring the ability to access usernames, passwords and credit card details.

Walker had to pay $10,000 in damages. He was discharged from conviction because he has a form of autism, Asperger’s Syndrome. Somehow Walker left all of the legal troubles without a record.

He has been hailed as a genius. Now Walker is nineteen and posed to take TelstraClear by storm.

Stuff.co reports:

“We found him pleasant to deal with and he genuinely wanted to help New Zealand businesses by sharing experiences,” said TelstraClear spokesman Chris Mirams

Mr. Walker will not have access to the computers in the TelstraClear network.

Walker has said that he wants to be as big as Bill Gates when he grows up.

The drug companies, stigmas and realities of HIV in India

In March 2005 India passed a bill to recognize and protect global patents in order to join the World Trade Organization.

“It is a sad irony that India is one of the biggest producers of the drugs that have transformed the lives of people with AIDS in wealthy countries. But for millions of Indians, access to these medicines is a distant dream” Joanne Csete, Director of the HIV/AIDS programme at Human Rights Watch.

The bill was an effort so that India could be able to provide generic drugs to the world. India’s generic drug trade is able to keep prices at a low level and under what is being charged by multinational pharmaceutical companies.

The media covered this bill with a business angle and failed for the most part to delve into the potentially devastating impact of the new rule on vulnerable populations.

Copyright Srinivas Kuruganti, posted with permission Journalist Sandeep Junnarkar and photographer Srinivas Kuruganti set out to document the lives of families that struggle to buy ARV (anti-retroviral) drugs in order to keep a family member healthy. They used audio recorders, photographs and video to show the world the challenges of AIDS patients deal with in India. These people are stigmatized and often unable to make enough money to buy the lifesaving drugs that their own country mass produces. The Lives in Focus Project Inc. is a non-profit media company that represents the voices of the forgotten. The company is based out of New York. As India entered the World Trade Organization their own people with HIV were to become the victims. Because of product patents the drug companies in India those living with the disease will be the most affected.

Copyright Srinivas Kuruganti, posted with permission This project looks at the effect of industrial pollution on the health of local communities in the Patancheru district of Andhra Pradesh and Ankleshwar, Gujarat where over 3000 chemical, pharmaceutical and dye factories release an alarming level of toxic waste into air, ground water and agricultural land. Alternate Law Forum reports that the Patent (3rd Amendment) Bill will affect those who need ARV the most. The fact is that while people who suffer from HIV AIDS are those who will be most directly affected by the amendment, the larger issue is the coming into place of a regime of product patents which signals a radical shift in the ability of pharmaceutical companies to reverse engineer drugs and make them available at lower prices. This is a much larger issue that cuts across all diseases and will become as much of a problem for other ailments as it is for HIV AIDS. As India becomes known at the ‘pharmacy of the developing world’ it has worked laws to make it to their advantage. Biz Community.com reports: “In many ways, India’s patent law is very progressive,” commented Jonathan Berger, a senior researcher at the AIDS Law Project, an organisation that fights for the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa. “It is the only country that has taken advantage of flexibilities in TRIPS; the real question is, why haven’t other countries done the same?” In India there are presently about 6 million people dealing with HIV. Most of those living with HIV reside in rural areas. With the huge pharmaceutical industry in India it would make sense that the citizens would have the best and latest medicines. That is not always the case however. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated in 2003 that nearly seven percent of AIDS patients in India acquired the virus through a blood transfusion. Those patients are often turned away from health care. WHO has found that unpaid donors are more likely than paid donors to provide safe and sustainable blood supply because they are less likely to lie about their health status and are also more likely to keep themselves healthy. In India HIV is associated with behaviors such as homosexuality, drug addiction, prostitution or promiscuity, behaviours that often result in shunning. Copyright Srinivas Kuruganti, posted with permission High risk behaviors can lead to HIV. A study by the International Center for Research on Women found that the stigmatization that Indians face is part of the problem. As Kangla Online reports: “The epidemic of fear, stigmatization and discrimination has undermined the ability of individuals, families and societies to protect themselves and provide support and reassurance to those affected. This hinders, in no small way, efforts at stemming the epidemic. It complicates decisions about testing, disclosure of status, and ability to negotiate prevention behaviors, including use of family planning services.” Dola Mohapatra, Asia Regional Director for Christian Children’s Fund, talked with Everyday Christian’s Peter Elliot about the challenges India faces with HIV/AIDS. Mohapatra stated that India is a time bomb when it comes to HIV and could in fact quickly overtake Africa’s patient counts in the future. In the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka the virus is at a pandemic stage. The most difficult problem in India is health care access, both in diagnosing and in then treating patients with the proper ARV drugs. While there are local pharmaceutical companies in India with more reasonably priced medications than the United States they are not available nationwide. In some areas the government has taken the lead and provides those who are sick with HIV free medication. India as a nation is trying to combat the stigmas that hit those with HIV. They are now running ads on television to say that it’s safe to touch something who has the virus and to provide assistance to them. Mohapatha said, “All CCF projects are involved in the “Linked Worker Scheme,” (LWS) where we train community level workers to provide counseling, care and support to AIDS-affected families and link them with health services. With the help of local governments and partners we provide ARV drugs to families and work with local youth groups in prevention efforts for contracting HIV/AIDS.” India faces HIV problems in every aspect, including their military. The first HIV-positive Assam Rifles soldier was detected in 1992. By 2005 32 soldiers had died of AIDS and another 180 were in serious condition from the virus. Health Dev.com reports: “The time has come to wake up with HIV infection among our troops assuming serious dimensions. Now we find more soldiers dying to HIV- AIDS than to bullets fired by militants,” Lieutenant General Bhopinder Singh, Director General of Assam Rifles, said in Meghalaya state capital Shillong on Friday. “We have a challenge at hand and we need to tackle it sensitively,” he told AFP at the force headquarters. Copyright Srinivas Kuruganti, posted with permission As India struggles to cope with the HIV/AIDS epidemic their health care still has issues with the stigmas that comes from the disease. Copyright Srinivas Kuruganti, posted with permission HIV patient in India The PGI is still turning people away in India. Times of India reports: After testing positive at a hospital in Patiala, the couple was shown the way to PGI for hope. “When we came here, doctors turned us away saying that our nearest anti-retroviral therapy centre was in Patiala’s Rajindra Medical College and, therefore, we should go there,” said a disheartened Sukhpal Singh, 38. Vineeta Gupta, the director of State AIDS Control Organisation discussed with Times of India the issue. Sensing the gravity of the issue, the director added, “Patients can forward their complaints to our grievance cell that was formed recently to address such issues and more.” On the defensive, PGI denied the allegations. “The patients have been asked to attend OPD for treatment and their tests will follow,” said Manju Wadwalkar, PGI’s official spokesperson. Whether or not any damage control follows remains to be seen at the institute that caters to patients from Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. Copyright Srinivas Kuruganti, posted with permission That incident though is in violation of the nation’s policy. The Supreme Court panel consisting of f Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, as well as Justices Ashok Bhan and P. Sathasivam has ruled that all of India’s states must treat people with HIV/AIDS “in a professional manner, treating them always with dignity and care” and with “no discrimination of stigma whatsoever.” Medical care is not to be denied to those dealing with the virus. Copyright Srinivas Kuruganti, posted with permission HIV in India All photography was provided by Srinivas Kuruganti. His work highlights those in India facing life with HIV/AIDS. He should be commended for bringing a face to the plight. I would also like to thank journalist Sandeep Junnarkar for his work on the photo project with Mr. Kuruganti. Thank you.

Opinion: Insurance and Employment In The United States

At one time having a job meant that a US citizen had insurance coverage. That was before the recession. Today businesses are cutting any extra cost that they can. That includes offering their workers medical coverage.

The American working class’s tax dollar pays for government health programs. Sadly they don’t always benefit when it comes to coverage for themselves and their families. To get federal medical insurance an individual has to either work for the government or be ‘poor enough.’ If one is working they have eased out of the poor enough equation.

A study for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that almost 1 out of every 5 workers have no insurance. Chances are their children are insured, nearly 90 percent of American children have one form of insurance. They also don’t have to worry about their elderly parents since if their parents worked at all they are covered. The workers only have to worry about their own medical needs.

It all comes down to cost. Employers are just making ends met and insurance companies are upping their fees. Premiums for employer plans have risen six to eight times faster than raises.

The Chicago Tribune reports:

“The thing I think is interesting is how many workers are newly uninsured,” said Lynn Blewett, director of the State Health Access Data Assistance Center at the University of Minnesota, which conducted the research. “In the last couple of years we’ve seen a deterioration of private health insurance.”

Instead of being able to pay for their own insurance American workers are paying to cover others with their tax dollars. Medicare is supported by payroll taxes. The poor and children get their doctor visits covered by Medicaid or state insurance programs. Those are funded by the tax dollars coming out of each and every pay check.

Ten years ago eight states had twenty percent of their working population facing life without medical coverage. Today that is the figure in fourteen states; Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, and Texas.

Boston.com reports:

“I don’t think we can delay action beyond this year,” said Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which sponsored the study and provides extensive financing for health care research. “It’s clear that we are at the brink.”

The Obama administration is already having to scramble to get support from the government to overhaul health care during the hard times of this recession. The estimated cost to do so is about $1.5 trillion dollars over a ten year period. The ones that will have to make the decision though don’t have the worry of insurance for their families.

They are in the government and have health insurance because of that.

Guess who helps cover the cost of their doctor pit stops?

That’s right America, the working class who can’t afford to go to the doctor themselves.

Michigan’s Ann Arbor News Will Soon Only Be On The Web

Ann Arbor News survived for 174 years before the recession. It will be shutting down in July. After the last print edition hits the stands folks will have to log on to their computers for the latest news.

In July the printing presses will stop running at the Ann Arbor News. In their place will be a community news operation that takes place on the Web. AnnArbor.com is planning to have a print edition twice a week but not the same format that is currently offered to their patrons.

The Ann Arbor News employees about 200 people. Most of those will be in the unemployment lines.

The Huffington Post reports:

“The Ann Arbor News was struggling as a daily print newspaper, with steep losses in 2008,” said Champion, who will be executive vice president of AnnArbor.com LLC. “At the same time the demand for local news and information in a wired community has never been stronger.”

The announcement was made on Monday by the Newhouse family’s Advance Publications.

In addition The Flint Journal, The Bay City Times and The Saginaw News will be cutting their daily print editions down to three days a week.

Advance will freeze pension plans at almost all of its 26 newspapers across the nation. Instead of a pension plan employees will have an increased amount added to their 401(k) retirement plans.

Employees will also be taking more time off each year without pay. It will be mandatory that staff take 10 unpaid days a year off.

The Huffington Post reports:

“When we looked at Ann Arbor, we saw a very special place. It’s unusually tech-savvy and a community that’s passionate about everything that’s going on,” Newhouse told The Associated Press. “At the same time, the daily print format was facing growing losses. We were at a crossroads.”

The paper is now turning to the community to help their web site grow. A community forum will take place on April 2 at the Campus Inn to get community input on the new web site with a second forum taking place on April 3 at 10 a.m. at Weber’s Inn.

At Michigan’s largest chain paper, The Grand Rapids Press times are hard also. With 310,000 daily readers the paper is having to cut costs to continue to provide the news. Salaries are being slashed and health care insurance is costing the staff more.

Detroit News reports:

“Even with a reduced number of pages, which reflects the economy’s impact on advertising, we believe putting a print edition on newsstands and into homes is still of significant value,” Booth Michigan CEO Dan Gaydou said in a press release Monday.

The paper is also having to reduce other key operational costs by centralizing the accounting, technical services, advertising productions, editing and some customer call center departments.

Last week Detroit-based Crain Communications Inc.announced that salaries would be shrinking for its staff that has survived the pink slip by 10 percent. Four of their publications, Automotive News Europe, Business Insurance Europe, Wireless News and FinancialWeek.com have already been put to sleep.

Daily Mail and General Trust Cutting 1,000 Jobs

The Daily Mail and General Trust is the latest media company printing out pink slips. There are plans to cut the Northcliffe Media regional staff by 1,000.

Northcliffe publishes 113 English papers with a circulation of more than four million readers.

The latest announcement doubles the cuts from November when the group first stated that job cuts were coming. In November it was estimated that the staff would be reduced by 24 percent. Today’s announcement now estimates staff reduction at 37 percent.

DMGT will be down to a staff of 3,500 by year’s end. In the last five months revenue has taken a huge hit, falling by 12 percent.

Newspapers are being hard hit by the recession in the UK as well as North America.

Norfork Archant, owner of the Eastern Daily Press and Evening News is set to slash 34 jobs. Scotland’s The Daily Record and Sunday Mai have merged with plans to cut 70 jobs. Newsquest is asking their staff to take unpaid leaves of absence in order not to have to cut jobs. Forty journalists have been sacked at the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo as the publication reduces editions.

BBC reports that the government is even concerned with the hard times media news is dealing with.

Culture minister Barbara Follett said the government would “work tirelessly to secure news for local communities”

Feeling the recession-nannies tackle toilets

Nannies tend to children, housekeepers clean the house. That was then. Welcome to multitasking nanny 101 as the recession shrinks down household staffs of the rich and famous.

Household staffers are feeling the pink slips season along with the rest of us. The rich and famous are having to tighten their belts and downsize. What was once a job for 2 or 3 is now being covered by one or two, without a raise in pay often.

At one time it would be unheard of asking the nanny to clean up the kitchen. Today the nanny is often also the housekeeper and at times covering the role of personal assistant. When it comes to job security a nanny will indeed scrub the toilet.

The ones that may feel the brunt of the multi-tasking nanny is the children. When housekeepers are asked to look after the tykes they may not have the training. If the nanny is asked to clean up she may not be the best at the job.

Then there is the question of what happens when the recession ends. Will those who have had to break their backs to keep their jobs be rewarded? If you let go of one of your staff to cut costs will you hire them back when cost isn’t a factor? Will you give the multi-tasker enough of a raise to make up for the extra duties?

If you don’t give that raise you will have a staff person just a little miffed at you and looking for work elsewhere.

Job Fair For Strippers In Rhode Island

If you don’t have the money for a new business wardrobe and live in Rhode Island there may be a position for you. The Foxy Lady strip club is hiring. They are throwing a job fair this Saturday at their Providence, Rhode Island club.

There are about 30 spots open for waitresses and strippers. Co-owner Tom Tsoumas is hoping that the recession will tip the turn out in his favor.

Fox Lady club manager Bob Travisono is looking for diamonds in the rough. He’s been taking a lot of phone calls that indicate that there will be a nice assortment of ladies to choice from on Saturday.

CNN reports:

“So many people in Rhode Island have been hit hard by the economy that we wanted to do our part,” he said, adding that he couldn’t think of a better place than the Foxy Lady to find that ideal job.

Rhode Island has been hard hit by the recession. The state is experiencing an unemployment rate of 10.3 percent as of January.

If you are planning on coming to the job fair bring your resume and be ready to answer a short questionnaire. New 24 quotes co-owner Tsoumas:

“I need more managers, I need more competent staff, and I need more attractive waitresses to go along with the ones I have right now,” said co-owner Tom Tsoumas.

Wal-Mart Set To Give Hourly Employees Bonuses

Wal-Mart employees are about to get a nice little bonuses the company announced Thursday. Employees are being awarded about $2 billion through financial incentives.

A memo was distributed to employees saying that hourly workers would be awarded roughly $2 billion, which includes $933.6 million in bonuses, $788.8 million in profit sharing and 401(k) contributions, millions of dollars in merchandise discounts, and contributions to its employee stock purchase plan.

Reuters reports:

“While economic challenges forced others to step back, we moved forward,” Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke stated in the memo.

The memo was given only to employees. Reuters was able to obtain a copy.

Jobless Rate In US Hits 5.47 Million

The jobless rate in the United States has climbed to 5.47 million in the week ending March 14 up from the previous week’s 5.288 million.

The four week average of new claims has risen from February 21st 646,000 to 654,750.

There is a slight bit of good news though as first time claims for unemployment benefits decreased slightly. There is an increase though for continuing claims. Last week’s estimate for this week was 658,000 for new claims. The actual number for new claims was 646,000 according to the Labor Department.

RTT News reports:

“The data speaks for itself and the story remains the same, more weakness, “said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak. “The hope though is that since this is a lagging indicator, the economy will start to improve before this data does, but who knows when.”

The increase of continuing claims shows that laid-off employees are having difficulty in finding new work.

The numbers are not completely accurate. There is an additional 1.5 million people who are getting benefits under an extended unemployment compensation program. The program started last year after being approved by Congress.

The job situation does not look good for many seeking employment as more and more companies are having to slash their work force in order to survive the recession.

Nokia sending out 1,700 pink slips

Nokia is set to send out 1,700 pink slips worldwide in an effort to cut costs. The world’s largest cell phone maker needs to reduce employees in several of the company’s departments.

Forbes reports:

“Nokia are step by step disclosing more information about expenditure cuts,” said Thomas Langer, an analyst with WestLB, on Tuesday. “There’s definitely more to come.”

According to Arja Suominen of Nokia about 700 jobs will go in Finland, with the US and the UK. The second hardest hit is expected to be the head office in Farnborough, Hampshire. Plans to talk to employees are to begin soon.

Earlier plans to survive the global economic crisis saw voluntary resignations from up to 1,000 workers. That program is open to employees until the end of May. Those employees have been offered resignation packages to employees and encourage them to take unpaid leave to cut costs.

Bloomberg reports:

“It’s a sign the mobile phone market is still deteriorating,” said Mauritz Redin, Stockholm-based head of equities at Alfred Berg AB, which manages $27 billion in assets. “That they were going to reduce headcount, and the size of the cutback, were pretty much as expected.”

The job cuts are an effort for the company to reach their goal of 700 million euros saved this year.

Feeling The Economic Pinch- US Museums

As the economic crisis continues museums in the United States are feeling the pinch. New York and Philadelphia are both slashing jobs, salaries and closing up shops as their endowments are being hit hard.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is down to only eight stores of their 23 across the United States. By July 21 ten percent of their work force will have been handed a pink slip.

Founded almost 130 years ago the museum has lost about $800 million since mid-2008 from their endowments. The Met is a nonprofit that survives only with the help of endowment, government aid, private donations and admission revenues.

On Friday The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia frozen hiring and announced that salaries would be slashed by 5 percent. In early 2008 the museum had $60 million in endowments, today that figure is less than $40 million.

People have had to stop coming to museums as wallets shrink. Even foreign tourist are shying away from the suggested $20 donation for admission fee.

In Toledo, Ohio the museum is also having to make staff cuts to stay afloat. The Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland has had to stop plans to build a new home until the economy recovers.

Across the country museums are having to let their staff go or cut salaries.

The super wealthy that funds museums are having to tighten their belts as their money is flying away quickly. Without the funding could the United States soon be without the culture that comes from a trip to the museum?

Perhaps it is time for people to skip a movie and take their family to see live action art in it’s glory. Wait to long and the art may no longer be available for viewing.

Recession Pinch Hits Summer Camps

There may be more family time this summer as summer camps begin to feel the pinch of the recession. Bonuses that used to pay the high camp fees are disappearing and as they do so are the funds for weeks away for the kids.

Camps are still enrolling children, but they are doing later enrollments than usual this year says a Wall Street Journal article. Peg Smith of the American Camp Association said that the 2,900 camps in their membership are expecting more demand for financial aid.

Some families are opting for less expensive versions of camp; day-camps. These tend to be run by nonprofits like the YMCA.

At Bunk1.com the numbers are clear. There has already been a drop of 10% to 15% less registrations for private summer camps this year. Nonprofit camps are seeing a rise in registrations.

The Kansas City Star reports that it is clear that while parents are still looking to send their children to camp this year they are budget shopping.

http://www.kansascity.com/842/story/1071924.html

“They want to make sure their kids aren’t sitting home all day playing video games this summer,” said Pam Watkins, director of operations for the YMCA of Greater Kansas City, which offers camp sessions all summer.

“Parents are absolutely going to cut back on summer vacations and weekend excursions, but as far as camp for their kids, it’s the one thing they’re willing to put the money out there for.”

Families may wait until later in the season to register their children hoping for deals that other years would not be available.

That may be a wise gamble. If the camps can’t fill their bunks they will have to be more flexible to survive.

Some camps are offering shorter seasons at their regular day cost. In the past The Aloha Beach Camp, a water-sports camp in Los Angeles, required a stay of at least 12 days at $107 per day. Last year they lowered the minimum to 5 days. This year if all a family can afford is two days they can get a two day spot.

Other camps are offering ‘early bird specials’ with discounts. That is what Berkshire Hills Emanuel Camps in Copake, N.Y. did this year for families signing up last summer. Instead of the $6,500 per child the cost in March was $6,100 for a full summer session.

Many camps offer ‘camperships’ for children who qualify for financial aid.

The UJA-Federation of New York will give $1,250 for kids attending a Jewish sleep away camp for the first time and $750 for the second time.

Not all camps can afford to offer funding. The River City Youth Foundation, an Austin, Texas, nonprofit, had funding cuts this year. The city says the camp should be spared but it is still dicey for the kids who could be attending a free summer day camp. If the funding doesn’t come through than low-income, at-risk children in Austin will not have the camping experience.

The National Camp Association and summercamps.com can help you do an online search for the camp that fits your families needs.

Some families have decided to have a family vacation this year instead of camp. With high session costs it is just more practical.

Adult acne and the recession

If the recession wasn’t bad enough, now comes news there are outbreaks coming. On your face, that is. Adult acne can flare up during times of stress.

The leading cause of adult acne is stress. Dr. Katie Rodan of Oakland, California has been seeing more of her patients for the skin condition. Many of the doctor’s patients are in the financial field or has a spouse in the biz.

Across the country in New York, Manhattan dermatologist Dr. Cheryl Karcher is seeing a slew of clients. They are in for eczema, acne and warts which are all covered by insurance. The clients have been cutting back on the botox and liposuction however. Insurance doesn’t generally cover the elective procedures.

Skin is a barometer of the emotions. When anxiety levels are high it tends to break out much more often.

Karcher says that products with salicylic acid or glycolic acid can help to unclog pores.

PM Stephen Harper Says Canada Will Emerge Strong From Crisis

Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper told those attending a luncheon in Brampton, Ontario that Canada will come out of the economic slump faster and stronger than the rest of the world.

Harper’s comments echo what experts in the financial world have been saying about Canada’s strong economic status.

The Prime Minister spoke to the Brampton and Mississauga boards of trade on Tuesday. The location for Harper’s first major speech on the recession was chosen because of southern Ontario region’s hard hit to the manufacturing sector.

CBC quotes Harper:

“We are responding with unprecedented speed because we are in a global recession, that has arrived with unprecedented speed,” he said.

“We are, as I’ve said, cutting bureaucratic red tape. And we need Parliament to cut its red tape, too. We cannot have the opposition in Parliament replacing bureaucratic red tape with political red tape.”

“Some in the opposition are even suggesting that the government should provide notice or even approval for each individual spending project,” said the prime minister.

“That is not realistic — ever. And certainly not realistic in today’s world.”

The speech differs from what Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told the Senate finance committee earlier in the day. Flaherty said that the economy will likely worsen with a rise in the coming months with unemployment. He urged the Senate to pass the current budget before next week’s vacation.

Canada’s current debt-to-GDP ratio is set as roughly 29 per cent. Estimations point to a rise of 32 per cent over the next three years as the nation will go into deficit to pay for stimulus spending.

While this is not good news it is much better than what other G7 countries could be facing. The average ratio for those nations is to rise above 50 per cent.

Harper had praise for the banking system in Canada. He reinforced that the World Economic Forum considers Canada as having the world’s strongest banking system.

“Ultimately, it is an opportunity to position ourselves so that when the recovery comes, we’re among the first to catch the wave.”

Canada was the last “advanced country” to fall into recession, he said.

“I say to you, as businesspeople, as community-builders, as citizens, if there ever was a time to put away that legendary Canadian modesty, it is now,” he told the audience, which responded with applause.

Harper has been credited with writing the 3,330 word speech himself. He only gave a small bit to the 1.3 million Canadians who are dealing with this crisis without a job. He mentioned improved unemployment benefits very briefly.

The government is due to issue its first quarterly report on its budget plan today.

Low income nations about to feel pinch warns World Bank

The global economic crisis is about to hit the poorest populations in the world warns the World Bank. They are estimating that about 129 developing nations will be dealing with shortfalls of $270 billion and $700 billion this year alone.

Thus far the poorest countries have dealt with the economic crisis better than the wealthiest ones. That is about to change comes a new warning. The World Bank believes that global growth in 2009 will be negative for the first time since the Second World War.

The World Bank is not the only one with this warning. The Institute of International Finance (IIF) warned of cut-off capital flows to the rising markets this year.

Xinhuanet.com reports:

“Channeling infrastructure investment to the developing world where it can release bottlenecks to growth and quickly restore demand can have an even bigger bang for the buck and should be a key element to recovery,” Justin Yifu Lin, World Bank chief economist and senior vice president said.

The World Bank says that 46 million people will be thrown into poverty as the global economic crisis begins to hit the third world sector. The warning came from WB president Robert Zoellick that ‘’social and political unrest” will cost some developing nations a shortage of $US270-$700 billion.

Canberra Times reports:

”This global crisis needs a global solution and preventing an economic catastrophe in developing countries is important for global efforts to overcome this crisis,” Robert Zoellick said. ”We need investments in safety nets, infrastructure, and small and medium size companies to create jobs.”

In just one year export trade has been halved in some nations because of the crisis. Japan has been especially hard hit by reduced trade.

Business Daily Africa reports:

“The slowdown in growth will likely deepen the degree of deprivation of the existing poor,” notes the World Bank in a statement released on Friday. “In many low income countries, large numbers of people are clustered just above the poverty line and are therefore particularly vulnerable to economic volatility and temporary slowdowns.”

With the higher food prices, reduced donor assistance and a fall in foreign direct investments and cash remittances from the developed countries the immediate future does not fare well for low income countries.

“When this crisis began people in developing countries, especially those in Africa, were the innocent bystanders yet they have no choice but to bear its harsh consequences,” said World Bank managing director, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Bloomberg News has predicted that East Asia would be hardest hit by falling global commerce.

Radio Australia reports:

The most concern is for the poor in Africa but Asia is not immune. This latest report comes on top of one in February saying 53 million more people could be trapped in poverty as a result of the global slowdown. The examples are mounting…more than half a million jobs were lost in India in the last three months of 2008. Cambodia has lost 30,000 jobs in the garment industry, its only significant export.

The international community will have to make a tremendous effort to reduce poverty. The wealthiest nations will be forced to shoulder heavy responsibilities to reduce the impact of the shrinking dollar and the costs of aid to those that are in most need.

Newsquest may ask employees to take a week off unpaid

The regional newspaper publisher Newsquest could be asking its staff to take an unpaid holiday in order to cut costs very soon.

Newsquest employs more than 6,000 people. They are the publishers of 17 daily newspapers and about 200 weekly papers across the United Kingdom.

The parent company Gannett, based in the United States, has already asked its staff to take a “furlough” last month. Those 31,000 employees are expected to have their unpaid week off by the end of March.

The unpaid week is a way the company hopes to avoid layoffs in the States.

Newsquest has yet to be confirmed. Chief executive, Paul Davidson, is not in the office until the end of the week. At that time it is expected that the staff will be formally informed of the plan.

In December the company imposed a pay freeze and is not increasing salaries until April this year. Staff can expect that the pay freeze will be extended until 2010. The Cheshire division of the company has already received a memo saying there will be no salary reviews this year.

It’s bonus time for Google execs

Google’s top brass are a happy bunch right about now. The end-of-fiscal-year bonus checks were rather nice this year. The top men all got bonus checks that most of the country would love to see as their yearly income.

On Tuesday Google announced that performance related bonuses were given to the top executives by the board of directors in 2008.

Jonathon Rosenberg, senior vice-president, product management, was given the highest dollar amount for his work. His check for $1.64 million shows that Google is not having as many problems as other companies during the recession.

In second place on the bonus ladder were Robert Eustace, senior vice president, engineering and research, and Omid Kordestani, senior vice president, global sales and business development, who both took home an extra $1.38 million.

The outgoing CFO, George Reyes, was given $675,000 while his replacement Patrick Pichette pocketed $1.24 million.

Google founders Sergey Brin, Larry and chief executive Eric Schmidt do not receive bonuses. This is standard policy for the trio.

Google reported a net profit of $382 million (USD) during the last quarter of 2008 on revenue of $5.7 billion.

Women In Workplace Could End Recession Says EU Commissioner

Could the key to ending the recession be women in the workplace? That’s what one EU is saying and stats of women run companies may back that theory up.

Studies have shown that women in the workplace makes for businesses that are more efficient. Those businesses also tend to not go for the riskiest investments.

DW-World.De reports:

“Discrimination produces inefficiency,” said European Equals Opportunity Commissioner Vladimir Spidla at the launch of a European campaign against the gender pay gap on Tuesday, March 3. “It is precisely during times of crises that we should be most active.”

One study of 15,000 small and medium sized businesses run in Finland by women tended to be 10 percent more efficient than those run by men.

Another study by Professor Michel Ferrary of the Ceram Business School in France showed French companies that have women on their board of directors perform better on the stock exchange. That study was published in Monday’s Financial Times.

According to figures in Europe only 30 percent of managers are women and only 10 percent of those work in large corporations.

Women are paid on average 14.7 percent less than men doing the same job.

Women in the work force in Europe tend to have lower positions than men. One of the reasons that this is commonplace is that women take more career hiatuses for family matters than males do. This lowers their career pay and the steps on the career ladder.

Erik Prince Steps Down As Blackwater CEO

The founder of Blackwater security company, founded in 1997 has stepped down as CEO and appointed new leaders. Prince will still helm the chair but no longer be involved in day to day operations.
The Washington Post quotes Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater.

“This started as a field of dreams: Build it, and they will come,” Prince told The Post two years ago. “It was a little success that led to another success to another success.”

Erik Prince used his inheritance from an auto parts store to build Blackwater. Depending on who is asked that company is either the world’s most respected or detested defense company in the world.

AFP reports:

“After a lengthy process of identifying the right people for the job, I am pleased to announce that we have two very capable individuals ready to sit at the company’s helm,” Prince said in a statement.

Prince has named Joseph Yorio as the new president of the company replacing executive Gary Jackson. Jackson is retiring. The new chief operating officer and executive vice president is Danielle Esposito.

Erik Prince will stay on as chairman of the company but no longer see to the day to day operations.

The company will continue to expand its training for law enforcement with a focus on international clients. Blackwater trained 25,000 people last year from civilians to law enforcement and military personnel.

Blackwater became headline news when it won the contract to protect United States diplomats in Iraq. Since that time questionable ethics have plagued the company. Prince’s contributions to politicians just being one of the questionable acts. Thousands of dollars were given to Pat Buchanan, Oliver North, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), among others.

In January Iraq ordered that the security company leave following charges of five of the company’s contractors with manslaughter and weapons violations. Shortly after Blackwater was told to leave Iraq they changed the company name to “Xe” to promote that the company is changing or as “what it is today and not what it used to be,” as a company spokeswoman put it.

Howard Stringer To Become President of Sony April 1

Howard Stringer has taken on the role of president at Sony, the Japanese company. Stringer was already the CEO and current Chairman. This move puts Stringer in total control as current president Ryoji Chubachi slides into the vice chairman seat.
The charges are slated to start April 1.

No this isn’t an April Fool’s Joke but the reality for Sony. Other plans are to set up two separate groups, one covering PlayStation and Vaio PCs while the other handles Bravia flat TVS, Cyber-shot digital cameras and Handycam camcorders. Kaz Hirai will head the division overseeing computers and gaming systems. He is a veteran of Sony who speaks fluent English. American Kunimasa Suzuki, Currently Sony Electronics President will become the senior vice president of Sony and deputy president of the new group.

Stringer was the first foreign executive to lead the Tokyo-based company when he took the reins in 2005. Since that time Sony has yet to be restored to its glory days as the head of the pack in media products.

Market Watch reports:

“This reorganization is designed to transform Sony into a more innovative, integrated and agile global company with its next generation of leadership firmly in place,” Stringer said in a statement Friday. “The changes we are announcing today will accelerate the transformation of the company that began many years ago.”

The changes announced come one month after Sony announced that for the first time in 14 years it had an entire year loss. Because of that Sony has been forced to cut 16,000 jobs from the electronic operations department and close six plants. The goal there is to save more than 100 billion yen in annual costs.

By the end of the financial year ending next month Sony is expecting to have an operating loss of 260 billion yen.

PC World reports:

“The changes we’re announcing today will accelerate the transformation of the Company that began four years ago,” Stringer said in a statement. “They will now make it possible for all of Sony’s parts to work together to assume a position of worldwide leadership and, together, achieve great things.”

Next Added Fee At Ryanair- Coin Slots On The Loo

One airline is considering charging its customers to use the loo during a flight. Ryanair has suggested that passengers hand over £1 to have a sky high potty break.

Ryanair is Europe’s biggest discount airline.

Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary says that the airline is investigating putting a coin slot on the doors of its fleets lavatory doors.

Times Online reports:

“One thing we have looked at in the past and are looking at again is the possibility of maybe putting a coin slot on the toilet door so that people might actually have to spend a pound to spend a penny in future,” he told BBC Breakfast this morning.

“We are always at Ryanair looking at ways of constantly lowering the cost of air travel to make it affordable and easier for all passengers to fly with us.”

This idea is angering consumer groups and airline crew members. Already this week the airline has announced that it is closing check-in desks and raising the fees for baggage.

CNN reports:

“It seems Ryanair is prepared to plumb any depth to make a fast buck and, once again, is putting profit before the comfort of its customer,” said Rochelle Turner, Head of Research at Which? Holiday.

Consumer groups note that passengers may forego their expensive drinks in order to avoid having to use the washroom on flights.

Still if Ryanair chooses to go this route it’s in accordance with the Civil Aviation Authority.

Mr. O’Leary’s team is trying to save some face and stop the anger.

“Michael makes a lot of this stuff up as he goes along and while this has been discussed internally there are no immediate plans to introduce it.

“Ancillary revenues, all of which are avoidable, help to reduce the cost of flying Ryanair and passengers using train and bus stations are already accustomed to paying to use the toilet so why not on airplanes?

“Not everyone uses the toilet on board one of our flights but those that do could help to reduce airfares for all passengers. Then again, maybe O’Leary was just taking the p*** this morning.”

The Rocky Mountain News Is Closing Shop

The Rocky Mountain News will publish its last paper on Friday just short of its 150th anniversary. E.W. Scripps Co., owner of the newspaper, made the announcement Thursday on the company web site.

The Associated Press reports:

“The Rocky will forever be remembered for its vital role in the city’s history and the city’s success,” said William Dean Singleton, chairman and publisher of The Post and CEO of MediaNews. “Although we competed intensely, the talented staff of the Rocky earned our respect with each morning’s edition.”

The Rocky Mountain News had been for sale but no buyers came forward forcing it’s demise. The paper lost $16 million last year as the ad revenue slumped and readers began turning away for Internet news services.

In the past 2 and a half months 33 United States daily newspapers have found themselves seeking Chapter 11 to survive. Many of those newspapers are on the market now looking for buyers.

Just this past weekend saw New Haven (Connecticut) Register publisher Journal Register Co. and by the owners of The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News. filing for bankruptcy.

In December newspaper heavyweight Tribune Co. filed for the protection that Chapter 11 offers.

Earlier this week Hearst Corporation announced that it will have to close or sell the San Francisco Chronicle if they can’t reduce the costs within just a few weeks.

Scripps CEO Rich Boehne said that the Rocky Mountain News staff will be paid through April 28. There are about 200 employees. 10 staffers have been hired by The Post. Scripps has owned the paper since 1926.

During the long history of the paper the world has changed. First covering the mining rush and the Indian Wars the newspaper has been a staple in the Rocky Mountain area.

The Denver Post is now the only daily paper in the Denver area.

Jobless Rate Tops 5.1 Million

The recession is making for an extremely high jobless rate in the United States. On Thursday that rate topped 5.1 million. Employers are having to shed positions to survive the economic crisis.

A year ago the jobless rate was at 2.8 million.

The Labor Department said Thursday that the request for unemployment benefits jumped from last week’s high of 631,000 to 667,000 this week.

The four-week average of initial claims is the highest in more than 26 years. That rate is likely to get worse before it gets better. Thursday JPMorgan Chase & co. has said that they will be handing out 12,000 pink slips. Even the NFL is having to slash jobs, 169 jobs have had to be cut. Milliken & Co. out of Spartanburg, South Carolina is letting go of 650 jobs worldwide. Zales, the jewelry company, is closing 115 stores which will put another 245 people on the unemployment lines.

Big-ticket items are also a victim to the global economic crisis both at home and abroad. In January the plunge on those products was at 5.2 percent.

The Associated Press reports:

Companies are “becoming extremely cautious and … shelving their capital spending plans and working with the minimal possible work force,” said Zach Pandl, an economist at Normura Securities International.

New Jersey is the hardest hit with Virginia, Rhode Island, Vermont and South Dakota following in last week’s claims for benefits.

Nearly 75 % Of Bush’s Staff Are Jobless

The unemployment lines are filling up with nearly 3,000 former members of the Bush administration out of work. It appears working for the former president is a sure ticket to unemployment benefits.

Nearly 75 percent of the Bush staff have yet to find a new job since their man left the Oval Office.

Raw Story reports:

“That ‘is much, much worse’ than when Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton left the White House,” Carlos M. Gutierrez, who served as Bush’s commerce secretary, told the paper.

With the Democrats in power in the Congress and the White House high-profile Republicans have little chance in gets a job with the standard think tanks.

Those employees that do find a spot are going the academic route. Henry Paulson is now a fellow at Johns Hopkins University’s Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. Along with her huge book deal the one who appears to come out ahead is Condoleezza Rice. She has her old job back at Stanford as a political-science professor and senior fellow at its Hoover Institution.

This Pop’s For You, US Airways Brings Back Free Drinks

On Monday US Airways announced that free beverages will be making a comeback on their US Airways and US Airways Express Flights starting in March.

Last year when US Airlines started asking a $1 for a cup of java and 2 bucks for a water and soft drinks they heard the boos. They are now receding that profit margin to get in the good graces of air travelers.

The move was an effort to offset the higher cost of fuel.

The New York Times reports:

“With US Airways being the only large network carrier to charge for drinks, we are at a disadvantage,” Mr. Parker wrote in the memo. “This difference in our service has become a focal point that detracts from all of the outstanding improvements.”

Passengers will soon be offered soda, juices, tea, water, and coffee to enjoy on their flights.

For those who require something a bit stronger beer, wine and cocktails for $7.

While the airlines is giving their customers a free drink don’t expect the baggage fees to shrink anytime soon. That is where US Airlines is making a huge profit.

The company is expecting to make between $400 and $500 million this year on checked baggage, premium seats and pillows.

In the last year US Airlines has moved up its service in terms of being on-time. They had the best record among the big six US carriers. The U.S. Transportation Department had ranked it at or near at dead last in prior years.

Perhaps the announcement has already helped the company. US Airlines shares were up to 5.77 percent at $3.30 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Business Laptops Need Better Security Protection

Business people are choosing laptops over desktops at record numbers. The business laptop user also tends to lose their laptops at the airport. Reports of lost and stolen laptops come in at a rate of 12,000 per week. How does one keep that laptop safe?

Considering the large number of lost and stolen laptops security has to be considered when purchasing a new model. More than 50% of those carrying their company’s confidential data and 65% of those not securing that data properly this is a real issue.

Ponemon.org reports:

“It’s staggering to learn that up to 600,000 laptops are lost in U.S. airports annually, many containing sensitive information that companies must account for,” said Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of the Ponemon Institute. “IT departments must re-evaluate the steps they’re taking to protect mobile professionals, the laptops they carry and company data stored on mobile devices.”

All business laptops need to have drive encryption. Passwords are not enough to keep hackers at bay. There is no technology available to bypass drive encryption at this time. When a thief can’t get into the machine, the machine is often thrown in the trash with the data undetected. Because of this security when a system is encrypted it doesn’t have to be reported. There is one problem though with encryption, if the system refuses to boot your computer is toast. That has made some users wary of it. Still it’s much safer business wise to have to rebuild a machine than chance that the data on it has been stolen.

Another way of protecting the data on your lost or stolen laptop is with built-in anti-theft protection. With this service a user or the IT department at your company can remotely disable a laptop. The prices are not so high that it’s out of range for most business travelers and the protection is well worth it. PC PhoneHome, Locate My Laptop and Lojack for Laptops are some services to look in to for this service.

One more service is actually being built into newer models, the finger reader. When the laptop will only operate for the finger then it’s much harder to hack. That is as long as the thief doesn’t decide to hack your finger with your machine.

Opinion: McDonald’s Denies Benefits To Hero Employee

Heroes are few and far between. Nigel Haskett is one of those unsung heroes who intervened when a man at the McDonald’s he was working at started beating a woman inside the restaurant. In that process Haskett ended up fighting for his own life.

McDonald’s is denying his claim for workers compensation benefits.

Last August Haskett was working in an Arkansas McDonald’s when he saw the assailant, later identified as Perry Kennon battering a lady at the fast food chain. After getting Kennon to leave the store Haskett stood guard outside the door to prevent the attacker from reentry. That heroic act almost ended his life.

Kennon went to his car to get a gun. Returning to the door Kennon pumped bullets into Haskett, now 22. Those bullets were the source of three abdominal surgeries. Haskett will carry for life a piece of a bullet lodged in his back.

When the hospital bills arrived they exceeded $300,000 according to attorney Philip M. Wilson.

The legal system worked. Within days Kennon was picked up and sits in the Pulaski County Jail. He is set to go to trial later.

McDonald’s is another story. The fast food giant has refused to grant Haskett his claim with Arkansas’s Workers Compensation Commission. The company’s claims specialist for insurer, Ramsey, Krug, Farrell and Lensing, Misty Thompson issued a letter to the Commission on why they are denying the claim. The Arkansas Times reports:

“we have denied this claim in its entirety as it is our opinion that Mr. Haskett’s injuries did not arise out of or within the course and scope of his employment.”

The franchise owner of that McDonalds is trying to smooth things over by saying, hey this isn’t my fault. As MSNBC reports:

“We are all grateful to Nigel and that’s why it is so unfortunate that he’s having a difficult time with the insurance claim however, the fact of the matter is that I do not have control over whether my employee’s claim is paid by Worker’s Compensation. It is my understanding that there has not been a final determination by the Arkansas Worker’s Compensation Commission. I am taking this very seriously, and doing what I can to help and I hope his claim will come to a quick resolution and the right thing will be done for my employee.”

Isn’t it nice to know that when a hero comes along the giants have no problem shooting them down.

The case is set to go to the court. Hopefully a judge can see to it that justice gives one to the good guy.

Disney Next Company On The Pink Slip Merry-Go-Round

On Wednesday the Walt Disney Co. announced that they would be handing out an undisclosed amount of pink slips. They are planning on combining their back-office operations for their two United States parks.

Disney is a key employer in Central Florida, already struggling with high unemployment rates. The Orlando based park employees 62,000 of their 80,000 Disney employees.

Employees affected work in the “operating infrastructure” that includes menu planning and purchasing.

The Orlando Sentinel reports:

In a memo to employees Wednesday, Parks and Resorts Chairman Jay Rasulo wrote that “organization changes require difficult decisions, including the elimination of some roles.

“These decisions were not made lightly and we know this will be a challenging transition. The people affected are our friends and colleagues, and they have made valuable contributions.”

Earlier this month Disney stated that their profits fell 32 percent in their first quarter. Operating profit in the parks-and-resorts division fell 24 percent during the last quarter of 2008.

Opinion: Obama Needs Canada and Harper Needs The US to Grow

On Thursday President Obama will make his first trip to Canada. Stephen Harper has to get it through the new president’s head that open trade between the two countries makes good economical sense.

President Obama is playing a game of buy American only. That game will backfire for both Canadians and the citizens of the United States. The United States needs the strength of the Canadian bank and Canada needs the ability to export to their largest buyer. Hand in hand we prosper, split both nations will have a hard road to walk.

The Canadian Press reports:

“It would be marvelous if there were a joint declaration by both Obama and Harper saying they resolutely reject protectionism,” said Thomas d’Aquino, head of the association representing Canada’s largest corporations.

“It’s not only good for Canada and the U.S., it would be a signal to the world that the two countries that are most heavily inter-dependent on trade feel strongly on this.”

That could change though if the US stopped buying Canadian goods and services. We’re talking about $560 billion in trade annually. Both countries would feel that pinch.

When you consider that Canada supplies much of the United States energy it’s not hard to visualize the huge costs that the citizens of the United States will have with higher energy bills. Those on the other side of the border will also suffer as the needs decrease for the product. Those lessened needs will result in job cuts.

While Canada’s banks are in good standing the nation’s manufacturers have taken heavy hits because of global money woes. And the near future may not be any rosier. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told a meeting of Group of Seven finance ministers this weekend in Rome that he expects that the numbers will continue to worsen each month this coming year.

The Globe and Mail reports that the United States recession is affecting the manufacturing sales in Canada.

“It’s coast-to-coast,” said economist Marc Pinsonneault of National Bank Financial. “This reveals how the U.S. recession, and the global economy, is taking its toll on Canadian manufacturing.”

Quebec seems to be getting off easiest in the recession game, with manufacturing sales down just 5.3 percent compared to Ontario’s 17.6 percent and Saskatchewan’s 14.2 percent. Prince Edward Island actually showed growth in the last quarter with manufacturing sales up 2.3 per cent.

Opinion: Canada’s Banks Could Show The World How To Thrive

How is the Canadian banking industry being affected by the United State’s economical turmoil? In reality not as badly as one would suspect considering the closeness of the two nations. Canada is holding its own and doing a decent job of it.

Even though Canada is often considered the little cousin in the corner by the United States the bankers have learned how to do ‘it’ right compared to the United States. Last year the banking industry in Canada was ranked the healthiest in the world. The United States was far below at a mere 40th and the United Kingdom even farther at 44th. How did the ‘new kid on the block’ rise up in the ranks during a time of world wide financial crisis?

Regulation is the main reason Canada’s banks aren’t falling into the recession crevices.

Canoe Money reports:

“We’ve had a couple of financial institutions in Canada that ran the risk of falling outside the capitalization requirements,” he said during a news conference on Wednesday.

“We required them… to maintain the appropriate capital requirements and raise capital as necessary, which was done months ago.”

While other world banks are collapsing Canadian banks are growing. In just one year the Toronto Dominion Bank has gone from the 15th largest bank in North America to fifth.

The underlining growth of Canadian banks can be accounted to one basic principle; common sense. Instead of allowing lenders with nothing to show free rein on the housing market Canadian banks aren’t afraid to just say come back when you can show us your money. Banks require at least a 5 percent down payment before the loan officers will start talking to you.

As Canoe quotes Brad Smith of Blackmont Capital:

“Some Canadian banks have experienced far more stress than others, but collectively the strong banks are carrying the less strong banks through.”

But, he said, for “domestic financial institutions to continue to outperform, you have to assume the economic environment here will continue to outperform – because if it doesn’t you’re going to get deterioration here as well.”

That doesn’t mean fewer Canadians own a home, the fact is in both countries home owners number roughly at 68 percent of the population. Canadians just don’t hit the foreclosure trail as often.

Some of the guidelines put into place by Jean Chretien nearly a decade ago are holding true to their promises. Canadian banks remain in a safe zone in part because of the refusal to approve any Canadian bank mergers.

The government in Canada has been in budget surplus for the past decade. The national pension plan has a solid footing. The citizens don’t fear losing everything because of a health crisis. Each of these issues are positives for the banker.

The most positive news though about the state of the Canadian banks came when on
Tuesday the International Monetary Fund report announced that Canada will lead the G-7 economics in 2009 with growth of 1.2 percent as the rest of overall global growth is slowing down.

The Donald Isn’t Doing So Well

It looks like The Donald is on his way to bankruptcy just like many other Americans. Donald Trump’s casinos are facing a meltdown as tourists aren’t looking at losing another fortune in Atlantic City.

Trump is facing $1.25 billion of corporate debt.

Press of Atlantic City reports:

“There is a restructuring plan the bondholders and the company hope to agree to. But we’re not there yet,” said Mark Juliano, Trump Entertainment’s chief executive officer.

If the Trump Corporation goes down it won’t be the first time. The company has faced rough times before. In 2005 used a Chapter 11 restructuring to clean up their balance and start over. Analysts say another Chapter 11 may be the only light at the end of the bill collector tunnel.

After four extensions since December, Trump will have to face the music on Tuesday.

Trump is blaming the bondholders for his company’s current woes. Casino Gaming Stock.net quotes Trump:

The bondholders “have made a series of bad decisions and encouraged wasteful spending, which has led to severe problems within the company.”

Both Pinnacle Entertainment and Penn National Gaming have cancelled plans for Atlantic City casinos recently. Atlantic City is not only dealing with the recession but other state’s opening slot parlors and the smoking bans in effect.

Online Casino Sphere.com reports that Donald Trump has resigned from the Trump Entertainment Board.

Donald Trump said of the trend, “It’s a disaster and I see what’s happened with so many others, and I don’t want to be a part of it.”

3,000 Workers Needed At Research In Motion

The makers of Blackberry phones is in need of 3,000 workers to keep up with the demands of their phones. Canada’s Research in Motion does not appear to be affected by the global economic crisis.

Research in Motion’s rise is in contrast of other cell phone companies who are having to slash their work force to keep afloat. Sony-Ericsson has plans to cut 2,000 employees. Nokia also had to reduce their workforce with last year’s 1,200 job cut.

AFP reports:

“We have grown our employees base by 50 percent in 2008. And we’re still hiring and we plan to keep hiring. We have growth in our business,” co-chief executive Jim Balsillie told AFP on the sidelines of an industry event.

“We hired about 4,000 people in 2008, currently we have 3,000 open jobs. We’re still hiring a lot.”

RIM reported a 66-percent increase in sales in the September-November period of last year, compared with the equivalent period of 2007.

The statements were made at the Mobile World Congress being held in Barcelona , Spain.

Panasonic Orders Staff To Buy Panasonic

Panasonic has come up with a way to beat slumping sales — order their staff to buy £1,000 of Panasonic products. It’s expected that corporate Japan will latch onto this ideal.

Toyota has given kudos to its top brass when they shelled out to buy new Toyota cars. Fujitsu has also jumped on the bandwagon sending out an e-mail letting their staff in on how it would be ‘nice’ if they would buy PCs and cell phones from their own company.

Panasonic employees have until July to give their hard earned money back to the company. Upper management is required to shell out at least 200,000 yen.

This order comes just two weeks after the same staff were told that they would be seeing their salary and bonuses cut a bit.

Panasonic just announced at that time that it is closing 27 factories and cutting 15,000 jobs.

The company has 230 production sites world wide.

Times Online reports:

“The company’s business conditions have worsened, particularly since last October, largely because of the rapid appreciation of the yen, sluggish consumer spe

Starbucks Is Going Instant

Starbucks is coming out with Via, an instant coffee. The coffee giant plans to announce the launch next week. It could be on sale at your local cafe as early as next month.

More information about this new product will be available after the company’s annual meeting on March 18.

I asked a local Starbucks employee in Canada about the new quickie brew and they were unaware about the product.

The instant coffee has been in the making for several years. It is designed to taste like the brew at local Starbucks.

The company hopes that Via will help change the image that Starbucks is just for people wanting to pay a ton for a latte.

This announcement comes on the heels of the $3.95 “breakfast pairings” that is hoped to give Starbucks a morning edge.

The instant packs will cost $2.95 for three quick java fixes or $9.95 for a dozen.

New York Starbucks clients will be the first to try out the instant brew in the coming weeks. More cities will follow.

Disney Lands DreamWorks Deal

DreamWorks and Disney have finalized a deal that will help DreamWorks cover cost gaps. Just three days ago Universal Studios dropped Steven Spielberg’s movie studio.

For the next 15 years DreamWorks has a home with Disney. The deal gives Disney the relationship with mega-director Spielberg that is a plus in Hollywood circles.

Disney will be pocketing 10 percent of every DreamWorks film while they are partners with Spielberg’s studio.

CNN Money reports:

“I don’t care if a Touchstone movie does $100 million on $30 million of cost,” Iger told me three months ago. “Its success doesn’t breed any other success in the company.”

The agreement gives The Walt Disney Studios distribution to about six films a year produced by DreamWorks Studios and DreamWorks co-founder Steven Spielberg. Those films will be made with partnership with Reliance BIG Entertainment.

The first of these films will be released under the Touchstone Pictures banner in 2010.

Xinhuanet reports:

“Disney is the birthplace of imagination and has always been as close to the worldwide audience as any company ever has,” Spielberg said. “I am so pleased that industry leaders like (Disney President/CEO) Bob Iger and (Disney Chairman) Dick Cook reached out to become our distribution partner. This is a major step forward for us and Reliance.”

Opinion: Who’s to Blame when Your Computer Dies?

Think your IT department is to blame when your laptop at work acts up? You’d be wrong. The chances are it is the fault of the user. Yes, that would be you.

Case in point? Houston’s Municipal Courthouse is closed today because of a computer virus.

Today the Houston Municipal Courthouse is closed because of a virus that infected hundreds of city computers. Staff began to notice the problems last week. The virus was isolated to 475 of the city’s 16,000 computers.

In other words the IT department’s nightmare.

People assume that passwords, keys, firewalls, locks on computer room doors and other systems-related tools will stop everything that can attack their computers. Sorry Charlie, while those stop gates do a decent job complete protection requires some basic common sense. That kind of thing tends at times to be missing if you are a member of the human race.

So want to have a fab machine that is almost perfectly secure?

First step keep the darn thing with you. Leaving your laptop open while you go get another donut at the coffee shop is quicker than taking it with you. That’s what some naughty people yearn for. Walk away from your machine and you may just come back with a problem. Are you ready to risk it?

Your company is doing some nifty stuff. You want to read about it right now, even though everyone in close proximity can see it when you bring it up on your screen. You’ve just given Eaves-dropper Evie a scoop to give her company. Her boss loves you now.

You’re the parent of the year! You always let your kids put their discs in your machine. Come on what kind of virus could a teen have on a disc anyway?

E-mail Eddy needs to borrow your machine just for a sec to scan her mail. She kinda forgot to let you know that she opened up a Bot Attack but hey that’s what your firewall is for anyway. Right? Cross your fingers and watch your computer die.

Come to think about it, Average Annie is not at fault at all. It’s got to be the IT guy that is growling in the corner trying to fix her machine.

Bank Of America Tried To Collect Debt From Dead Woman’s Son

Paul Kelleher had the hard task of calling his mother’s creditors after she passed away last month from cancer. Although not easy to do the calls were routine until Kelleher got to his mother’s Bank of America card.

TPMmuckraker reports the call between the bank rep and Mr. Kelleher, 30.

Paul Kelleher: Yes, I’m calling to inform you that my mom died on the 24th of January.

Bank of America Estates representative: I’m sorry. Oh, it looks like she never even missed a payment. That’s too bad. Well, how are you planning to take care of her balance?

PK: I’m not going to. She has no estate to speak of, but you should feel free to just go through the standard probate procedure. I’m certainly not legally obligated to pay for her.

BOA: You mean you’re not going to help her out?

PK: I wouldn’t be helping her out — she’s dead. I’d be helping you out.

BOA: Oh, that’s really not the way to look at it. I know that if it were my mother, I’d pay it. That’s why we’re in the banking crisis we’re in: banks having to write off defaulted loans.

The bank rep continued to try to get Kelleher to pay his mother’s bill alternating between saying he was legally and morally responsible. The truth is neither is the case. Kelleher talked to the rep’s supervisor who apologized but it was unclear what for.

TPMmuckraker researched to see if this was standard policy. They were informed that it is. Employees that are responsible for collections are encouraged to get the money as long as they don’t lie outright. Those messages that your call is being recorded aren’t for you, they are to see if the rep is getting the most money back that they can.

“We were obligated to collect 45 percent of the debt that rolled in to us,” said the former rep, adding that that figure fluctuated. Employees who consistently failed to meet that baseline might be fired. “People lost their jobs all the time for non-performance.”

Reps are issued as much as $5,000 a month in bonuses when they bring in a certain amount of “collectible money.”

Legally the children of a deceased person are not responsible for those debts unless they co-signed for the loans or credit cards. Spouses are a different think. Kelleher did what was required, notifying the creditors but that was the end of his responsibility. When there is an estate that estate is responsible to pay for the debts.

Facebook Looks At Marketing Research As A Means To Survive

Facebook is hoping to exploit personal information on its 150 million members by creating the world’s largest market research database.

The company has struggled to make money with advertising. The new approach will be to allow multinational companies to target members to research the appeal of new products.

By targeting specially selected members the companies will be able to get marketing results. After all the details are already part of the site’s member profile pages.

The Telegraph quotes Randi Zuckerberg, global market director of Facebook and sister of the founder Mark Zuckerberg, 24, on the new venture.

“I had tonnes of people saying ‘this could be so incredible for our business’. It takes a very long time to do a focus group, and businesses often don’t have the luxury of time. I think they liked the instant responses,” she said.

“Davos is really a key place to launch an instant tool like this,” Ms Zuckerberg said. “It’s beneficial for everyone to see us as a global community of 150m users. The vast majority are not just college students in the US talking about things in their bedrooms. We are showing how we are a serious and insightful community.”

Facebook is now promoting its social network’s users as “serious and insightful” adults. That change is a reflection of the company’s attempts to entice marketers.

This endeavor could help Facebook survive the high costs of storing photos and videos. That price has risen to more than an estimated $70 million a year.

“The book value of some social networks may be written down and some companies may fail altogether if funding dries up,” said Paul Lee, Deloitte director of research for technology and telecommunications. “Average revenue per user for some of the largest new media sites is measured in just pennies per month, not pounds.

“This compares with a typical average revenue per user of tens of dollars for a cable subscriber, a regular newspaper reader or a movie fan.”

Bailed Out Banks Seeking Foreign Workers

The bailed out banks are now trying to get droves of foreign workers into the U.S. for high-paying jobs. That’s the word from the Associated Press’ review of visa applications.

More than 21,800 requested visas for senior vice presidents, corporate lawyers, junior investment analysts and human resources specialists have been requested in the past six years. Their average salaries are $90,721. That is twice the average salary of the standard American household. You know the households where the taxpayers reside that footed the bailout of these banks.

It’s a little disgusting to know that taxpayers are paying people more than $150 billion when they themselves can not find a decent paying job.

When the banks that have received the bailouts pursue foreign workers instead of working in their own backyard something stinks in Corporateville.

Vast numbers of American bank employees were laid off last year. As those former workers lined up for unemployment the banks were requesting more visas for foreign workers.

While the number of visas actually granted is likely to be less than the 21,800 applied for it is still a slap in the face of the American taxpayer.

Opinion: Could That Foreclosure Be The Best Thing To Happen To You?

You bought a house plopping down the impressive $0 down payment. Your mortgage costs are a stretch but as long as that job you have holds on and your VISA is just this side of the limit all is well.

There is a crisis in the United States. More and more people have lost their homes due to foreclosure. When the magic of no down payment goes away the reality is families can’t afford that lovely huge home they didn’t scrap for.

Foreclosure. It’s a nasty word and yet for some it could be the best thing that ever happened to them.

You live and you learn. After leaving the house of your dreams and moving into a rented property you have to figure out what went wrong. Perhaps this crisis will teach people that credit is the crux of wanting and getting what you can’t afford. It’s a nice start, you have all these shiny new toys that your parents had to wait years for. You are proud of all your things and yet they really aren’t yours. They belong to the BANK. Foreclosure makes a person wake up and smell the power of saving. With saving comes the power of growing up. With growing up comes the power of visualizing a dream. And that dream comes into reach when you have taken the reins into your own hands and applied what your past has taught you about the future.

It may take the government years to figure out that credit is not the answer but you my friend have gotten it by round two.

Sure when you face foreclosure your credit is in the dumpster. Failure though is how success is achieved. The next round in your achievement path will be more realistic. You will know how much you need to have to get your dream. You will understand that a down payment for a home is a good thing. You will know that the most toys isn’t the path to happiness.

In the end you will look back at that foreclosure sign and grin. It may just have been the best gift you ever received.

Does AOL Plan To Put Bebo on The Chopping Board

Tech Crunch is reporting that AOL may be selling Bebo, its social network. Last year the Internet provider bought up the ‘next big deal’ for $850 million. It never lived up to its promise.

One I trust has touted that the network is on the bidding tables at a mere $200 million. But this could just be a rumor. Both AOL and Bebo are denying an talk of a sale.

In January 2007 Bebo was being marketed by founders Michael and Xochi Birch hired Joanna Shields as their international president.

Social networking was still the new hit ticket and every real Internet company wanted their own shining site to draw in the web traveler.

As Tech Crunch reports:

“Shields was extremely really good at getting the slightly dim media buying agencies to automatically tell their clients that they just had to be on Bebo.”

Bebo was not pitched as a standard social network though. It was better, had more appeal as a new era television network.

It looked great. There was a problem though, no one figured out how to engage the Bebo user. That is how a social network falls flat on its face.

“Bebo was great at the time but now we are disappointed because socnets [social networks]are not about sending loads of traffic to a profile page. At the time it was fine, but people are now disappointed. You don’t get ‘friended’ much as a brand. It’s not just about being inside one socnet but about being everywhere.”

So is it true that AOL is taking a $650 billion dollar loss just to get Bebo out of its portfolio? We’ll have to keep an eye out on this one.

Opinion: Those Funloving Guys At Citigroup Are Still Traveling in Style

itigroup may be suffering in the pocketbook but that’s no reason not to whip out $50 million for a new corporate jet. Don’t worry its not all their money, United States taxpayers are helping to foot the bill in a jet very few will ever travel in.

The bank’s stock is in the dumps. That’s A-okay though when it comes to Citigroup. Uncle Sam just handed them a $45 billion rescue obtained from the common man’s pocket.

After all those turning to frozen pizzas and Kraft dinners want the top cats at Citigroup to travel in style, don’t they? And style is how these execs will be traveling when their brand spanking new Dassault Falcon 7X hits the skies. Twelve of the top men at the company will work hard in the air sitting in leather seats and sofas. Everyone needs a break from time to time so the jet comes equipped with an entertainment center.

The Dassault Falcon 7X can soar at speeds of 559 mph and only needs refueling every 5,950 miles. The French made jets are rare in the United States. Only nine of the top-of-the-line aircraft grace a runway in the US.

Now granted the order for the jet came two years ago when Citigroup was swimming in cash but how is it right that the order wasn’t canceled when the cash flow dried up?

The New York Post reports:

“Why should I help you when what you write will be used to the detriment of our company?” replied Bill McNamee, head of CitiFlight Inc., the subsidiary that manages Citigroup’s corporate fleet, when asked to comment about the new 7X.

“What relevance does it have but to hurt my company?”

The company is quietly selling their older versions of the new plane. Worth an estimated $27 million each they are listed for sale on Aviation Professionals.

France Will Remove Ads From Prime Time TV

Television viewing has one constant — commercials. In France though that will soon be a thing of the past in the evening. In Canada though those commercials will remain on your television screen.

French television viewers used to sit down in front of the boob tube in the evening to watch the news and then 15 minutes of solid commercials before prime time shows hit the airwaves at 9 p.m. Last week the 15 minute ad time was taken off the air by the five national public broadcasting channels. There will be no further advertising on television after 89 p.m. In 2011 the French public won’t have to deal with commercials at all.

Don’t expect commercials to leave North America though. That all mighty dollar helps produce your favorite shows.

The CBC in fact is looking to increase their ad revenue.

“If we were to drop advertising, it creates an enormous financial problem,” said Richard Stursberg, vice-president of English services. “And my general sense is there’s very little appetite in Canada to increase money to the CBC from government sources.”

French television cites that creativity was being marred by that almighty buck. The audience will not be getting as many blockbuster movies but will have more culture on their screens.

In Canada the audience tends to want what is going on in the States to be on their own televisions. The Globe and Mail reports:

“The difference between English Canada and France is that the French prefer French shows, and here historically they prefer foreign shows and entertainment programs,” he said.

France also has different requirements for programming than Canadian television. At least 70 percent of what is programmed most be European and 50 percent of that programming most come from France itself. A reform bill is underway to make it so the majority of the European programming takes place during prime time.

The BBC airs its programming without ads. That isn’t reason though the French are taking out the ad dollar.

“Look at the BBC. They don’t have commercials. But at the same time, they run shows that would have no place on our stations,” said Alain Belais, director of international relations at the French broadcaster. “Not having advertising doesn’t necessarily mean we won’t be paying attention to programming that attracts an audience,” he added.

That means that the French will not be subjected to hours of reality shows like the Brits are. Just a few hours. Heck, like the silly cousins across the pond are. Of course those silly cousins don’t have the flair that the French have either.

The French debate is conducted in the language of ‘culture’ and ‘creation’ rather than in terms of the audience, where in Britain it’s seen as important that the BBC offers something that appeals to everyone,” said David Levy, director of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University in London and the only non-French member of the commission that proposed the France Télévisions reform.

Last year the top audience grabbing shows in France’s France 2 was a French movie Camping, Without a Trace, a television movie about a Maupassant story and the French-British rugby match.

In France only 30% of broadcasting budgets come from advertising revenues. The bulk of its $733 million funding comes from a tax of $189 on television sets. The French are also debating on using different sources to fund productions.

France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy wants to start taxing Internet providers and the private TV stations’ ad revenues to help make up that 30 percent that will be lost.

“I think advertisers are going to invest less overall,” said Rémi Babinet, the head of BETC, France’s biggest ad agency. “So there won’t be a transfer of the public television advertising spending to the private channels.”

The CBC is also looking for ways to supplement ad revenue that has been lost due to economic crisis.

“I’ve been in the TV business for a long time and in my life I’ve never seen a fall as precipitous as this one,” said Richard Stursberg, vice-president of English services. “We won’t get more money [from the government] so we’re trying to figure out a smart way through these challenges.”

Amador Bernabe Got A Pink Slip For Not Using Toilet Paper

Amador Bernabe was working at Townsville Engineering Industries in Australia on a working visa when he was fired. He didn’t get his pink slip for his job performance, it was the way he uses the loo. Bernabe of the Philippines does not use toilet paper.

He uses water instead to clean himself, like many from his native country.

The Townsville Bulletin reports:

“I went to go to the toilet and I took a bottle of water when my foreman saw me and he said `you can’t bring the water in there’,” Mr Bernabe said.

“I asked why and he said it wasn’t good but I said it’s our way and he followed me into the toilet.

“I said it’s my personal hygiene. I didn’t break any law, I didn’t break any rules of the company, why can’t I do this, and he said he would report me to the manager.

That single act resulted in Bernabe being let go the following day. When he reported to work he was informed that his manager wanted to see him. He was told unless he started to use toilet paper the way others in Australia did he would be let go. Bernabe responded with “sir, then you better terminate me.”

And that’s just what the manager did.

Rick Finch of Australian Manufacturing Worker’s Union is shocked by the incident.

“I think it is atrocious, an invasion of a person’s rights and cultural beliefs,” he said.

“The paradox of the toilet and a person’s actions is something that no boss can even think about interfering with and the thought that bosses think they have the control to get involved in the toiletry is a gross invasion of an employee’s privacy.

“If it wasn’t so disgusting it would almost be laughable.

Bernabe is being praised for standing up for his cultural beliefs.

Facebook May Have the Users But MySpace is Getting the Dollars

Facebook may be a traffic jam when it comes to social networks but the ad sales aren’t as wonderful as that traffic. MySpace still is at the top of the heap when it comes to getting the wallets out.

MySpace is still the largest social network going but that could change quickly as Facebook keeps growing. That’s not really worrying the execs at MySpace. Being big in ad numbers is much more important.

As adage.com reports MySpace has certain goals for its business:

“We are laser focused on building a sustainable global business which we measure by profits and revenue — not just eyeballs. In a tough economic climate, our international revenue is up 30% year over year and we continue to focus on those markets with the strong monetization opportunities.

Facebook may focus on getting more and more users but that may not be as profitable as the motives that MySpace has.

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“Additionally, MySpace continues to dominate the U.S. market — where the bulk of online advertising revenues reside — both in terms of monetization and user engagement with more than 76 million unique users and a 40% spike in engagement year over year.”

As for Facebook the news is pretty impressive as well. Twenty-two percent of all Internet users are members of the network. That is including Chinese users. More than a billion global users have been at the site.

Carol Bartz Named New Yahoo CEO

Carol Bartz, 60, has been named as the new CEO for Yahoo. The Silicon Valley legend is expected to bring in a no-nonsense style for the Internet company. For the past three years Yahoo has been in slump.

Bartz was lured from Autodesk Inc. after a two month search to replace Jerry Yang. Yang stepped down from his position after the death of deals with Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc. last year.

While company heads are positive about the choice of Bartz in control shareholders may not be. Yahoo stock when down 12 cents after she was named CEO. It recovered though by end of trading 15 cents.

Yahoo Tech reports:

“She is able to see the essence of things because she doesn’t spend a lot of time worrying about how people are going to feel,” said Nilofer Merchant, a former Autodesk manager who is now CEO of technology consultant Rubicon. “She is driven by doing the best thing for the business.”

She did a good job of turning struggling Autodesk around when she took the reins in 1992. Now the company has grown from a single software product to design software and computer programs that add special effects to the Boob Tube and Silver Screen. She achieved all of those while dealing with breast cancer. Just a short time after she was hired in 1992 she was diagnosed. Within four weeks she had a mastectomy and was back to work.

Obama Is A Cheap Dream Come True For The Makers of BlackBerry

If Barack Obama wasn’t going to be the leader of the United States his devotion to his BlackBerry could have made him a mint. Big name endorsements fetch millions. Jerry Seinfeld just pocketed $10 million for a Microsoft campaign.

The Seinfelds of the world are great for advertising firms but the biggest endorsement is being got at a basement bargain price.

Obama and his very public love affair with his BlackBerry is a marketing exec’s dream.

The New York Times quotes Obama on that love;

“I’m still clinging to my BlackBerry,” Mr. Obama said Wednesday in an interview with CNBC and The New York Times. “They’re going to pry it out of my hands.”

Those words are pure poetry to marketers. If Obama wasn’t a public servant he could get upwards of $50 million for those words. Instead the endorsement is coming in free and clear.

Somewhere a BlackBerry ad exec is sighing in pure bliss.

“This would be almost the biggest endorsement deal in the history of endorsements,” said Doug Shabelman, the president of Burns Entertainment, which arranges deals between celebrities and companies. “He’s consistently seen using it and consistently in the news arguing — and arguing with issues of national security and global welfare — how he absolutely needs this to function on a daily basis.”

Research in Motion, the maker of BlackBerry has started a ad campaign that positions BlackBerry as a consumer product much like the iPhone. With the new touch-screeen Storm the market is wide open. Using John Mayer to be one of the front faces is also a decent move. Just not as great as it would be if Obama’s smiling mug was on an ad blitz poster.

All of this endorsement doesn’t just help BlackBerry. Obama has profitted also with being seen as a man on the edge of the future. He is viewed as a man who is in touch with the reality of the real world and not just some stuffy politician.

“The BlackBerry anecdotes are a huge part of Obama’s brand reputation,” Fran Kelly, the chief executive of the advertising agency Arnold Worldwide said. “It positions him as one of us: he’s got friends and family and people to communicate with us, just like all of us. And it positions him as a next-generation politician.”

UBS Closes Some Accounts After Increasing Pressure From I.R.S.

The Swiss Bank UBS has closed the hidden accounts of about 19,000 wealthy American clients after being pressured by the I.R.S. It is suspected that those clients have undeclared money and Uncle Sam wants its piece of the pie.

The assets will be sent to other banks or divisions of UBS. Some account holders will have a chech for their accounts mailed directly to them. Thus a paper trail is in place for United States prosecutors looking to see if the monies were placed into an account to avoid paying taxes.

Those checks put the wealthy in a bind. If they do nothing they are throwing away money. If they are guilty and cash the checks then the I.R.S. has a paper trail leading them directly to prosecutors.

The New York Times reports:

“You can either take that check and throw it in the woods, or deposit it somewhere and get busted,” said a UBS client, who asked not to be named because of the investigations into UBS and its clients. “There’s nowhere to hide.”

It’s not illegal to use offshore accounts in the United States as long as citizens report them and pay their taxes. In July UBS announced that it would no longer be offering private accounts to American clients that went undeclared to the I.R.S. It’s believed that the world’s largest bank, UBS helped the upper tier of Americans to hide about $18 billion. That would mean keeping about $300 million out of Uncle Sam’s hands each year.

The United States Justice Department is putting a damper on UBS’s policy of Swiss banking secrecy.

Some Americans have found after being approached by the IRS that their accounts have been not been closed for up to three months. This could help those under the microscope as the I.R.S. is more suspicious if offshore money is moved just as the acount holders come forward.

William M. Sharp Sr., a tax lawyer who represents several UBS clients, said, “UBS has been very supportive of their American clients who have chosen to undergo disclosure.”

Still, he added that “our view is that if the account is closed and funds are moved to another institution, here or abroad, it could make the case tougher for the clients before the I.R.S., because it could be new violations of money-laundering controls.”

Hooters Waitress Awarded Benefits After Being Fired For Bruises

A Hooters waitress was awarded her denied benefits in court. Sara Dye had been fired from her job after recovering from an attack because her bruises did not maintain a ‘glamorous appearance.’

Hooters officials say that Dye abandoned her job. They also admit that her bruises made her temporarily ineligible to work as a “Hooter’s Girl.”

The administrative law judge that heard the public hearing recently on the behalf of Dye’s request of benefits ruled in the 27-year-old former Hooter Girl’s favor. Her “inability to work due to bruises” was not a matter of workplace misconduct.

During 2008 Dye had been the victim several times to domestic violence. On September 3 she was badly beaten and some of her hair cut off after she left work for the day.

The next day Dye and her employers talked, agreeing that she should heal for a few weeks before working in the restaurant. General Manager Gina Sheedy said that the bruises that Dye had would have been visible outside of the Hooters uniform.

As reported by the Des Moines Register she was then asked if Dye had asked to work immediately would she been allowed to Sheedy replied:

“No, probably not,” Sheedy replied. “She probably would not be able to work because of her black eye and the bruises on her face. … Our handbook states you have to have a glamorous appearance. It doesn’t actually say, ‘Bruises on your face are not allowed.’ It does talk about the all-American cheerleader look.”

Sheedy then went on to say that Dye could now resume working,assuming that she maintained a glamorous appearance.

Michelle Duvall testified that Dye talked to her about returning to work after she had been recovering for a week.

“She told me that she was very badly beaten, she (had been) unconscious, she was in the hospital,” Duvall said. “She was like, ‘I really want to work next week. …’ I said, ‘You need to come in and speak to Gina and let her see your appearance.’”

Judge Teresa Hillary asked Duvall what would happen if a waitress had to have her hair cut because of an injury from an accident. Duvall answered that the employee handbook states that a waitress’ hair must be styled in the manner as if they were going out on a big date or appearing in a photo shoot.

Dye testified that Hooters management had been supportive during her previous ‘personal problems’ but that when she called the restaurant about returning to work in late September she was told by a co-worker that she had been fired. Dye understood that she couldn’t work because of her appearance immediately after the attack because her body appearance wasn’t up to par.

Live Journal Slashes Staff Down To 8

Live Journal has slashed its staff of 28 employees to a mere 8. Those being given a pink slip are not receiving a severance package either.

LiveJournal was founded by Brad Fitzpatrick in 1999. Some of the software he created is used on Facebook and other sites. Fitzpatrick wasn’t able to turn the blog into a big business so he sold it to Six Apart.

Six Apart wasn’t making a bundle either. Not until they sold it for to Andrew Paulson, the founder of Sup, for $30 million a little over a year ago.

The eight left behind are finance and operations workers.

Other Web publishing groups that recently laid off staff include Gawker, Nielsen and Crain Communications

As Of January 1 No More Free Pens For Doctors From Drug Companies

Doctors are used to a slew of gifts from drug reps. The present parade has closed now that drug makers are saying no to the freebies.

Starting January 1 pharmaceutical companies have agreed to stop giving gifts they say were meant to foster good will. Others say that those freebies given to doctors helped slant the medical industry in their favor.

Pens, coffee mugs and t-shirts are gone from the drug reps tool kit. Still many are skeptical that this ban will make for big changes considering the larger freebies that the drug companies use to lure doctors.

The New York Times reports:

“It’s not just the pens — it’s the paper on the exam table, the tongue depressor, the stethoscope tags, medical calipers that might be used to interpret an EKG, penlights,” said Dr. Robert Goodman, a physician in internal medicine at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

In 1999 Dr. Goodman started No Free Lunch, a group that encourages doctors to reject the drug company’s gift bags. The group believes that health care providers should steer more to the information side of the drug company reps than the gimme something cool side

The new voluntary industry guidelines want to disprove the motion that goodies are used to influence doctors from writing their products on the prescription pads. The code was written by the y to counter the impression that gifts to doctors are intended to unduly influence medicine. The code, drawn up by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. It bars drug companies from handing out branded pens, staplers, flash drives, paperweights, calculators and other like items.

Larger ticket items were banned in 2002. those big ticket items included tickets to sporting events, resort stays and other expensive services.

Now the drug companies have to make due with educational type of freebies. Those can include free lunches and sponsored dinners as long as the talk is about the products.

Last year almost $16 million was given to doctors in drug samples. That little detail could be more influential than all the pens in China.

The industry is also still allowing for doctors to be paid tens of thousands a year as consultants.

“We have arrived at a point in the history of medicine in America where doctors have deep, deep financial ties with the drug makers and marketers,” said Allan Coukell, the director of policy for the Prescription Project, a nonprofit group in Boston working to promote evidence-based medicine. “Financial entanglements at all the levels have the potential to influence prescribing in a way that is not good.”

While 40 drug makers, including Pfizer and Eli Lilly & Company have signed on the code others have not.

Doctors scoff at the notion that getting a free pen turns the ink towards a certain drug company though. Some doctors even display the massive collections they have received over the years. Dr. Jeffrey F. Caren has a pillar in his office with more than 1,200 freebie pens. He doesn’t remember most of the drugs though, like others who use the free pens. They are just nice to have on hand.

Recycle In Winter Haven, Florida and You Could Get A Free Lunch

Recyclers in Winter Haven are about to get a free lunch. Beginning in January, the city and Florida Refuse will be handing out gift cards for a local diner to five random solid waste customers who put their blue bins on the curb.

The Recycling Rewards program will be running until the end of February with the hopes that the gift card will build up the program.

The Lakeland Ledger reports:

“We want to get people into the habit of recycling,” said Donna Sheehan, the city’s communications and marketing director

Winter Haven averages about 80 tons of recycled material per month that would otherwise be filling landfills. The program in the central Florida city started in November 2007. Since that time 935 tons of material has been recycled.

The gift cards also are a help to local restaurants that are facing a hit during the economical crisis. This is the second such program in Polk County according to Jean Wilson, Florida Refuse’s municipal marketing coordinator. When the company won a contract with the city a character dressed as one of the Blues Brothers rode through Polk County handing out gift cards.

Because of the holiday season Sheehan says this is the perfect time to promote the program. The packaging of gifts from the season fits snugly in the blue bins provided to solid waste customers.

In Winter Haven customers are charged $2.05 a month for the program whether or not they partake.

The city is turning green with city employees having recycling bins at their work stations.

Even the city parks are becoming greener. Florida friendly landscaping is replacing sod that is less drought-tolerant.

Mexico Bans U.S. Meat From 30 Plants

Mexico has banned 30 United States meat plants for being unsanitary. That ban sent hog and cattle prices spiraling downward sharply in the US. It is thought that the action comes in retaliation against a U.S. labeling law.

The labeling law, Country-of-Origin Labeling requires meat packages in the United States to carry a label of what country meat is raised in.

Reuters reports:

“Countries would go through dispute settlement under either (the North American Free Trade Agreement) or (World Trade Organization) — not use the action of plant-by-plant delistment,” said Amanda Eamich of USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Many of the plants now banned in Mexico include the largest United States meat processing centers. Mexico is the largest importer of American meat. By Monday though it is thought that Mexico will resume purchasing the meat.

Mexico states that the problems do not stem from the labelling law. Rather they state that the meat plants fall short on their standards of packaging, labeling and transportation conditions.

Both Mexico and Canada opposed the newly instated labeling rules. Both countries fear that the labeling will reduce in a buying out of country meat.

“It appears they (Mexican officials) are using this to send a signal to our government that they don’t like COOL,” Don Roose, analyst at U.S. Commodities, said earlier on Friday.

Earlier this year, Mexico had warned many U.S. meat plants of alleged “point of entry violations” and Friday’s suspensions may have been related to that, Jim Herlihy, spokesman for the U.S. Meat Export Federation, said early on Friday.

Bubble Wrap Yourself Through The New Year

Fans of popping bubble wrap on packages may fall in love with a new calendar out for 2009. Stephen Turbek is selling poster-sized calendars covered with plastic bubbles just waiting for their day to be popped.

The Bubble Calendars are being sold by the thousands according to the Brooklyn man. Ones with paperbacking sell for $30 while plastic versions go for $50 from his online shop.

The calendar is perfect for your friends who are obsessive unless they go a bit mad. It’s one pop a day, not a year in an hour.

Home Burials A Way To Save Money During The Final Passage

With the cost of funerals hovering around $10,000 many simply can’t afford the frills a funeral director tacks on the final passage of life. Some are even opting to bury their own as in olden days. In most areas this is legal.

Perhaps dying in these times of economic stress is too costly. More funerals and burials are being held at home instead of lining greedy funeral directors pockets. Being greener and the economic status of the nation is pushing the need for alternative ways of burial. Using less frills like embalming and grave liners families save money while at the same time not being a burden on the environment. Building a casket from cardboard or wood is legal for anyone.

Jerrigrace Lyons is a “death midwife” in the growing business of home funerals. Her tool kit includes makeup, cardboard caskets and a handbook on the proper way to ice and move bodies.

The LA Times reports:

“People want something that is in line with what their loved ones would have wanted,” Lyons said by telephone from Hawaii, where she was teaching a sold-out workshop. “But they also want something that they can afford.”

Lyons started the nonprofit organization Final Passages. The group holds workshops on how to care for a body that’s being kept in a family home and burying a body outside of the traditional graveyard. She also helps families with the legal paperwork that comes when someone dies. Instead of forking over $10,000 though her services run from $500 to $1,500.

“As a death midwife, I’m helping to usher a person out of this world and into the next,” said Lyons. “It is really the same threshold as birth. I think of it as the comings and goings of our spirit. We come in and we go out. But it is the same doorway.”

For families are opting for cremation. Thirty-five percent of deaths last year finalized the last journey by becoming ashes.

In most states it is legal for a body to remain in the home for at least 24 hours un-embalmed. Some areas allow for home burials also.

In California the rules for burial are;

“The law allows consumers to prepare their own dead for disposition. If you choose to do this, you must provide a casket or suitable container and make arrangements directly with the cemetery or crematory. A properly completed Certificate of Death, signed by the attending physician or coroner, must be filed with the local registrar and a Permit for Disposition obtained before any disposition can occur.”

Frank Alford Pays His Tax Bill the Heavy Way

Frank Alford owns several rental homes in New Albany, Indiana. At property tax time those homes add up. This year he owed $21,333. He paid in full at the city county building in New Albany using coins.

Alford used Susan B. Anthony dollar coins to pay off his taxes and make a statement at the same time. He carried a sign stating “Property taxes gone wild” when he toted a coin-filled garbage can into the building.

WFTV reports:

“I’m letting them know I’m a very unhappy taxpayer,” he said.

Since 2006 the man claims his property taxes have increased 48 percent. Recent tax relief passed in Indiana Legislature overlooks those with rental property. Alford says that if you don’t live in property you own you’re paying double the tax.

Alford is a retiree who has had two hip replacements. That may have made toting the 400 pounds of coins to the tax man a bit more difficult.

Deputy clerk Bette Buechler tallied up the Susan B. Anthony coins quickly after getting a Floyd County deputy sheriff’s help getting the can to the bank.

Last year Alford paid his tax in dollar bills. He has said that next year’s protest of taxes may be a little heavier. While the office doesn’t accept pennies that leaves him quarters, dimes and nickles to pay his outrageous tax bills.

Tennessee Dam Bursts In Harriman, Tennessee

Monday morning an earthen dam broke at the nation’s largest public utility in Harriman, Tennessee. Twelve homes were damaged and hundreds of acres are under water.

The Tennessee Valley Authority uses the 40-acre retention pond to hold ash generated by the coal-burning Kingston Steam Plant about 50 miles west of Knoxville. The road and railroad tracks leading to the plant were buried under several feet of dark gray ashy mud.

According to the authorities no one was injured when the dam gave way at 1 a.m.

An investigation is now underway to determine why the dam was breached. Heavy rains and freezing temperatures may hold one of the reasons.

MSNBC reports of one resident whose husband was trapped inside of their home while she was returning from Knoxville:

“I am still in shock,” said Crystell Flinn, 49, whose ranch-style house was pushed off its foundations and driven more than 30 feet onto a road. “I don’t think it really has hit me yet.”

Two people were rescued from partially collapsed homes. Using four-wheel drives the workers retrieved others who couldn’t get out of their driveways.

Those who are unable to live in their homes are being put up by the plant in motel rooms.

Nearly 100 people using 30 pieces of heavy equipment are involved in the cleanup effort. A dam on the Clinch River has been reduced in an effort to prevent pollution from the runoff of the flood.

Wall Street Still Living The Mile High Life

Wall Street bigwigs may have begged poverty earlier this fall but that doesn’t mean that they are going to live like paupers. Corporate jets are still their mode of transportation.

Six of the financial firms that received billions to bail them out still operate jet fleets to carry their executives to events and on personal trips.

The jets are equipped as offices making them time-savers for the bigwigs whose time is big money. Some firms, though, are cutting back, either by selling their jets or leasing them out.

American International Group, Inc. was granted $150 million in bailout money. It would make sense that the company would try to find ways of cutting corners but they have no intentions it appears from cutting their fleet. They own seven planes according to the Federal Aviation Administration. They do claim to have reduced the amount of air time their fleet is used though. Two jets were sold earlier this year and they have canceled plans to obtain four more planes that had been ordered to increase their fleet.

Those planes cost a lot of money. Just one cross-country trip takes about $20,000 out of the wallet. That is not including the costs of maintaining, storing and paying pilots.

Some of the biggest companies are now requiring their employees to fly commercial. Intel is one of those. They do though charter jets for execs when they fly overseas for security reasons.

The revelations about the big banks comes on the heels of Congress berating car companies on their use of company aircraft.

Theun reports that the car companies were shamed by members of Congress when they arrived via private fleets to ask for bailout money:

Couldn’t you all have downgraded to first class or jet-pooled, or something, to get here?” Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y., asked the CEOs.

An AP investigation founds that Citiflight Inc. is owned by Citigroup. In 2007 alone former CEO Charles Prince’s trips cost the company $170,972. Since being appointed in November 2007 current CEO Vikram Pandit reimburses the company for all personal travel on company planes. Only a few select executives are allowed on the fleet. They have been encouraged to fly commercial though whenever possible.

Morgan Stanley is down a plane since 2005. They now operate two jets. In 2007, CEO John Mack used those two jets for a total of $355,882. He is required for security reasons to use the fleet even for personal trips.

JPMorgan owns four Gulfstream jets. The most current one obtained in 2007 for the sum of $47.5 million dollars. CEO Jamie Dimon is required to fly exclusively on the company’s jets even for personal trips because of security.

The Bank of America owns nine planes. Scott Silvestri, the company’s spokesman has refused to discuss whether there have been any changes on corporate aircraft use after they accepted $25 billion in bailout monies.

Wells Fargo owns one single jet that is only for business purposes. They do not use government funds for corporate travel expenses.

While the SEC requires publicly held companies to disclose executives’ personal use of corporate aircraft there is a gray area on what is actually disclosed.

“If you use the plane for a personal trip but make one business call, should you report it?” David Yermack, a finance professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University said. “Or if you’re playing golf with potential business partners, does a company report that as business or personal?”

Healthy Produce Is Hard To Find In US Inner Cities

Inner cities are having a tough time finding fresh produce in the United States. The gloat of grocers that have small corner shops are a staple of the inner city. Those little stores though don’t stock fresh produce.

In West Los Angeles, home to 395,000 there are only 19 supermarkets. In South Los Angeles where 688,000 people live there are only six supermarkets.

Because of the high employment turnover and the lack of space in these areas retailers tend to head to different markets.

Some areas are trying to get more supermarkets into the inner cities. In Pennsylvania they got 61 supermarkets to move to the city but that was only after investing $30 million five years ago. New Orleans and Chicago are considering programs like that. Los Angeles though is not.

The areas in L.A. that lack supermarkets are also prone to violence. Residents in the Watts area complain of stale bread, rancid meat and rotten produce.

Healthy food is hard to come by but fattening fast food is not.

Still there is hope in Los Angeles. The city has the California Endowment program. It’s a private health foundation that gives grants to small grocers that promotes healthy food.

The Associated Press tells how one shop, Los Compadres Market and Restaurant changed their image with a grant. They removed chips and candy from the front aisles and a large cooler was added for fresh fruit and vegetables. Milk and cheese now is stored along side beer.

“These problems are really killing our communities,” said Marion Standish, a program director for the endowment. “They’re really disabling young people all over the state and limiting their potential in very serious ways, and limiting all of our potential as a result.”

Starbucks Donating To Help Save Lives Through Two Projects

From November 27 until January 2 Starbucks will be donating 5 cents for each peppermint mocha twist, gingersnap latte and espresso truffle served in their (Red) Campaign. It only takes 8.6 beverages to pay for one day’s worth of AIDS medicine in Africa.

So far beverage drinkers and Starbucks have made enough to provide a year’s worth of medicine for more than 3,800 people.

On Thursday Starbucks announced that it plans to keep up their commitment through 2009 with the Shared Planet campaigns. Shared Planet is a commitment Starbucks has from buying fair trade coffee to minimizing their environmental footprint.

Since we announced our partnership with (RED) I have been honored by the enthusiasm of our partners and customers who recognize their daily coffee routine could directly support communities in Africa,” said Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman, president and ceo. “Now more than ever, it is important to continue to be a responsible global company. We have a deep partnership with coffee growing regions in Africa and are proud to partner with our customers to contribute toward an AIDS-free Africa.”

If being part of the (RED) movement is something that appales to you this visit their website on ways to help.

Chrysler Closing All Plants For A Month

For the next month all Chrysler plants will be closed starting on Friday. The surprise announcement will help the automaker adjust production to slowing demands and conserve its cash flow.

The plants generally take a two-week holiday during this time of year.

Chrysler says that the tighter credit markets are keeping would-be buyers away. Because of the newer standards many dealers are unable to close sales because a lack of financing. The company estimates that 20 to 25 percent of their volume has been hit by the credit situation. In November sales for Chrysler slid 47.1 percent.

Without help from Washington both Chrysler and General Motors Corp. have said they will run out of cash within weeks. Chrysler says its cash flow will be down to $2.5 billion by December 31. That is the bare minimum to meet payroll, pay suppliers and run the company. By the beginning of January the company may not be able to keep up with the bills.

When the closing bells whistle on December 19 the plants will close for at least a month. A few of the plants will reopen on January 19, 2009 with others reopening on January 26.

The company is pleading for a $7 billion government loan to survive the recession. This is the worst slump in auto sales in the last 26 years.

Some of the plants will be down one shift when they reopen, including the Toledo Jeep plant in Ohio. More than 750 workers have had to be laid off to help the company survive. About 550 workers took an early retirement package and the other 200 have been laid off indefinitely.

Visa Boss Loses His Credit Cards

Joseph Saunders forgot his plastic the other day. That wouldn’t make a big deal if Saunders was any other man but when you’re the Chief Executive for Visa Inc it’s worth noting.

Thursday morning Saunders was due to speak at a Goldman Sachs financial services conference in New York. He had to leave his headquarters in San Francisco to do that. He made the trip but his credit cards didn’t.

As Reuters reports:

“I’m supposed to start off, and say that I’m very happy to be here, and I guess I am. But it’s 4:15 in the morning as far as I’m concerned, and I lost my wallet on the way here. It’s rather embarrassing when somebody steals my credit cards.”

Saunders gave his speech at 7:15 am EST. He didn’t elaborate on the incident nor did Visa return a call asking for further comment.

Jet Airlines Fired 1,000 Employees in September Without Media Knowing

Jet Airlines sacked employees in September without letting the media know. Around 1,000 employees were given pink slips before an additional 1,900 were laid off recently.

The company was able to keep the earlier lay-offs out of the media. Jet Airways CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer told investors that the company would be able to synergise after trimming its staff from Jet Airlines and JetLite, the budget branch of the company.

Times of India reports:

“On the staff numbers, we have reduced the headcount in September by further 1,000 entries and now able to synergise the operations between Jet and JetLite,” the sources said quoting Prock-Schauer.

In October another 1,900 were given walking papers cutting staff down to 13,000 employees. Than came the surprise move by Chairman Naresh Goyal. He overruled the Board’s decision of firing employees and reinstated them.

“I apologise for all the agony you had to go through for two days. You can all come back to work from tomorrow. We have decided to take back all the employees,” Goyal had said in a midnight press conference.

It’s The Gay Flu, Call In Gay Day Set For Wednesday

Supporters of same-sex marriages have proposed people against the vote in California for Proposition 8 to “call in gay” Wednesday. The official title is “Day without A Gay” is set to coincide with International Human Rights Day.

The plan is being modeled after similar work stoppages by Latino immigrants. Those who call in gay are encouraged to use their day off volunteering and not spending their money.

The idea was thought up by West Hollywood comedian Sean Hetherington and his boyfriend Aaron Hartzler. The couple had been reading about angry gay-right activists who were calling for an all day strike after the passage of Proposition 8. On election day voters reversed the Supreme Court decision that allowed for gay marriages.

Thinking instead of an angry protest a peaceful community service day would send out a more powerful message. Dozens of nonprofit agencies agree listing opportunities for volunteers on the couple’s Web site.

The Associated Press reports:

“We are all for a boycott if that is what brings about a sense of community for people,” said Hetherington, 30, who plans to spend Wednesday volunteering at an inner-city school. “You can take away from the economy and give back in other ways.”

While many are in favor of this form of non-violent protest others don’t think that it’s practical.

“It’s extra-challenging for people to think about taking off work as a form of protest, given that we are talking about people who may not be out (as gay) at work, and given the current economic situation and job market,” said Jules Graves, 38, coordinator of the Colorado Queer Straight Alliance. “There is really not any assurance employers would appreciate it for what it is.”

Around the nation people are gearing up to serve their community after they call in Gay to work.

Join The Impact is another online community that is backing tomorrow’s protest. They have a list on their Web site on ways to make an impact.

That said, here are 5 ways you can make an impact tomorrow:
1. Volunteer your time and services after work
2. Do not buy anything
3. Do not watch TV or use your cell phone
4. Do not go online (yup, don’t even visit this site tomorrow)… Online advertising is everywhere and a simple page load could cause money to be spent.
5. Do not buy lunch (and don’t go out today to get what you need for lunch tomorrow), find something you already have and pack your lunch.

Hetherington is urging one sector of the gay community to not make the call though. High school students have been asked to not walk out of their classes and college students should take their final exams without fearing they are being disloyal to the cause.

For those who can’t afford to miss a day of work show your support by spreading the word about Wednesday’s plan and write to members of Congress about federal gay rights legislation.

Car Buyers Can Buy One Get One Free at Cardoen in Belgium

Ready for a super holiday season sale? Belgians who love sales need to hop over to Cardoen. The Belgian car dealer sells about 10,000 new and almost new cars a year. Until December 15 when you buy one car he will throw in another for free.

There are catches, of course. Customers have to buy a new full price car. The cheapest car is 22,800 euro. Once that step is completed they get to pick a second car from a group of autos under the 14,000 euro range.

Reuters reports:

“People have been coming in from all over Belgium and abroad,” Cardoen’s Commercial Director Ivo Willems said, adding that Cardoen’s eight showrooms had seen more than 10 times their usual number of visitors since the promotion began.

“People will still buy cars, you just have to give them as much advantage as possible, to sell in an innovative way.”

While Cardoen says they have not been hurt by the current economic woes most of Europe’s car industry has. Belgian new car registrations have fallen 16.4 percent in November compared to a year ago. Spanish sales are almost half of last years.

Cardoen’s promotion is using cars bought by distributors in southern Europe eager to rid their lots of cars. They sold the cars to Cardoen at huge discounts.

It’s a win-win situation for all involved. The customer has two cars for one price, the car dealers who sold their stock have money in their pocket and Cardoen remains on top.

Move Over Tupperware, It’s time for Taser Parties

Selling items at home parties is a fun way for ladies to make a few extra dollars. Makeup, naughty bits and Tupperware have all been passed around living rooms but now it’s time for Tasers to have center stage.

Women are deciding to buy personal Tasers to protect themselves and their families. Some are doing so at home parties.

Feeling the fear of possible attacks is helping women buy into the use of Tasers. Knowing that the Taser is not meant to kill is an added bonus to some.

Tennessee’s WBIR reports:

“I work in healthcare field,” customer Mei Ling said. “I do see a lot of women, especially the young women get assaulted.”

Ling said she knows she could push the button on a Taser, but wouldn’t pull a trigger on a gun.

“A gun could hurt someone or kill someone but the Taser it’s just going to paralyze an individual for some time,” Ling said.

Tammy Hardin and her husband B.K. are Taser distributors. They have Taser parties to homes in East Tennessee. These parties have been popular in other parts of the United States.

Hardin, herself a gun owner, went through a frigthening ordeal while shopping at a local mall.

“I had my keys in my hand, that’s what you’re supposed to do. I picked up my pace got in my car, locked the doors he walked by and grabbed my handle.”

She’s not alone. The fear that many women feel helps drive up the sales for Tasers. The couple sells the Taser C-12 at these parties and show the safe way to operate the device with confidence. The version that is sold for consumers deploys bi-metal probes into an attacker that also gives a 30 second volt. That 30 seconds will down the ‘bad guy’ enabling a person to get away from a risky situation.

“If you deploy your Taser, you deploy it, drop it and run,” B.K said. “No matter how big you are or how strong you are, you will go to the ground. It will drop you because your muscles will tighten up, and you have no control.”

In Tennessee as in some other parts of the nation a permit is not required to carry a Taser. There is however a background check. Without the clearance from that check customers are not provided with the code needed for operating the Taser.

Tasers and cartridge cost roughly $400.

Because the idea behind the Taser is to fire it, drop it and run away the company will replace their product with a police report that verifies the incident.

With Fewer Viewers Daytime Soap Stars Are Feeling Economic Pinch

As pink slips float around in most businesses these days many believe the world of entertainment are immune. That’s not the case in the land of daytime love, greed and sex. Soaps are feeling the belt tightening just like the rest of us.

The stars are seeing their pay cheques shrink like a wool sweater thrown in the dryer. Susan Lucci, star of All My Children and cast mates Michael E. Knight and Ray MacDonnell are part of the crowd getting a taste of the simple life. All of ABC’s soaps are cutting costs.

MSNBC reports:

ABC Daytime on Tuesday confirmed a new focus on belt-tightening. A statement from the network spoke of “carefully and responsibly managing our costs, which include some production cuts, but in ways the audience will not see on screen.”

Lucci is lucky. Over at NBC those cuts include a pink slip for some stars. Days of Our Lives Deirdre Hall and Drake Hogestyn have been favorites on the show for decades. That didn’t help them, they will exit the soap in early 2009.

Agnes Nixon, the creator of ‘All My Children, has seen her pay cheque reduce year after year. She is now a paid consultant for the show. Since 2006 her pay has been cut in halves each year.

The soap stars can blame their money woes on O.J. Simpson. Ever since the 1995 trial for the murder of Nicole Simpson that preempted almost the entire year of shows audiences haven’t been as plentiful. Without the core audiences advertising revenue is reduced.

A decade ago a dozen soaps ruled the daytime television world. Now there are only eight shows still on.

The world may turn but it seems viewers want more than a general look at hospitals and young and restless people. Maybe being bold and beautiful just isn’t enough. There’s no guiding light leading us to passion in this one life we live.

Penn State Fans Now Have A Perfume To Savor!

If you have a fan of Penn State on your Christmas list have I got the perfect gift for you! The school has come out with their own perfume and cologne that captures the essence of the school’s colours!

Don’t worry that you’ll smell like the gridiron if you dab a bit of the scent on your pulse points. The $60 perfume is a blend of vanilla, lilac, rose and white patchouli. The cologne is more manly with blue cypress and cracked pepper vapor.

The blends are based on the essence of the school, it’s colours and the flowers and trees on the campus.

Masik is the company that has put out the fragances. Katie Masich is the company president. She has worked with Calvin Klein and Jennifer Lopez for other scents.

Masik also offers perfume and cologne for the University of North Carolina. Next year they are hoping to add six other universities to their collection.

Some of the proceeds from each bottle will go to the school’s scholarship fund.

Late To Work Because of the NYC Transit? Call For A Late Note

If you are late to school or work because of the New York City subway system you can get a late note. The notes come with official letterhead so this is one you can’t fake on your own.

For decades people have blamed being late to work because of the subway but without proof it was hard to believe them. Now if there is a delay on the system within two weeks a note will be sent in the mail.

Passengers have to call in the late notes to the NYC Transit. The NYC Transit then verifies the date and time of the delay sending an official note within a week or two. The system has been around for some time with 34,000 notes sent out a year.

The NYC Transit is working to have this process go online so the excuse letters can be emailed.

Bell Canada Cuts Jobs

Around 250 clerical workers for Bell Canada will be getting a pink slip this holiday season. The employees are located in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Hamilton,according to to a company announcement on Friday.

The company is hoping to relocate some of the employees to other jobs in the company. By February 10 the process of moving employees around and job cuts should be completed.

Bell spokesman Jacques Bouchard denies reports from the Communications, Energy and Paperwork Union of outsourcing. The union says otherwise.

“We must stop the bleeding now, Bell Canada will not revamp its image and
customer service by throwing our members out on the street. Instead, Bell
should invest in the employees of its call centers to, among other things,
reduce the waiting time for customers over the phone. Bell needs a competent
workforce to achieve it this can be done by maintaining our members in their
Canadian jobs.” had said Barb Dolan, CEP Ontario Region Administrative
Vice-President.

The union is understandably upset at the cuts. They say that employees have “already made significant concessions to allow the company to compete more efficiently.”

Focus on the Family Is Giving Out Pink Slips

Focus on the Family is being hit by the economy. The Christian based nonprofit group is having to cut 202 jobs. It’s the largest cut in the 32-year history of the Colorado Springs operation.

The announcement was made on Monday that Focus was going to reduce its 1,150 workforce to 950. Twenty percent of the cuts are in the management department.

The layoffs come just after Focus said that they would be outsourcing 46 jobs from its distribution department. Focus laid off 30 workers last September.

The organization has also cut its budget from $160 million to $138 million for the fiscal year 2009.

Because the organization depends on donations it expects problems will get worse before it gets better.

The groups’ online magazines will remain intact surviving the cuts.

The Gazette reports:

“It’s a sign of the times,” Colorado Springs Economic Development Corp. president Mike Kazmierski concluded. “In the case of Focus, we believe it’s part of the economy, and as the economy recovers we expect a lot of those jobs to come back.”

Bhs Sells Sexy Gifts Next To Children’s Toys

The British retail chain Bhs has a nice offering of edible thongs, nipple tassels and other sex gifts. There may not be a problem with that selection if it was located in any other area in the store besides near the children’s toy spot.

The Bhs stores owned by Sir Philip Green are coming under fire from families that think nipple tassels and doll babies don’t mix.

As the Daily Mail reports:

Mrs Moss, 45, from Ascot, Berkshire, said: ‘Selling this sort of tat normalises crudity. We just don’t need it.

‘I have a teenage daughter and I don’t expect youngsters out shopping with their parents to be confronted with this. It was only a few yards from the children’s department.

The store says it is sorry it’s upset anyone by placing their sex items so close to kiddie toys.

Maybe next time the retail chain will think twice before putting a bell to ring when your partner is ready for sex or a mug shaped like a breast where children can check them out.

Father Joe Ellis in Surrey adds:

‘They can be seen as funny but I find them offensive.

‘They are on shelves right next to the kids’ presents and either of my two children could just pick them up and ask me what they are.

‘I do think it’s wrong, I think they should be moved to a different part of the store.’

Michael Jackson Signs Deed To Neverland Ranch To Colony Capital LLC

Michael Jackson has given his Neverland ranch to a company he has partial control over. Jackson signed over the deed to Sycamore Valley Ranch Co. LLC according to Santa Barbara County clerk-recorder Tom Pearson.

Sycamore Valley Ranch Co. is a joint venture between Colony Capital LLC and Jackson. It is not known what will happen now with the 2,500 acre ranch that has an amusement park on it. The property is located 120 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

Earlier this year Colony Capital bailed Jackson out when it looked like he would lose the ranch to foreclosure. Colony Capital is run by billionaire Tom Barrack. The company also owns the Las Vegas Hilton.

Thousands of children have played on the ranch since 1988 when Jackson purchased the property. Jackson added a miniature amusement park that includes a zoo, Ferris wheel, roller coaster and other rides. He named it Neverland Ranch after the land that Peter Pan lived in.

Jackson has struggled to pay for the $24.5 million loan he has on the ranch since he was arrested on molestation charges in 2003. Jackson was not convicted of that crime. He no longer lives on the property.

Virgin Atlantic Gives 13 Pink Slip Because of Facebook Posts

Thirteen Virgin Atlantic employees who made criticisms about their employer have been fired. The airline states that their behaviour was out of line.

The company believes that those who commented that the planes were filled with cockroaches and insulting passengers could not uphold the standards of customer service.

The airlines are part of Richard Branson’s Virgin group. The comments were focusing on the planes that fly out of London’s Gatwick airport.

Physorg.com reports:

“Virgin Atlantic can confirm that 13 members of its cabin crew will be leaving the company after breaking staff policies due to totally inappropriate behaviour,” the airline said in a statement.

“Following a thorough investigation, it was found that all 13 staff participated in a discussion on the networking site Facebook, which brought the company into disrepute and insulted some of our passengers.”

Don’t Expect A Huge Company Holiday Party This Year, Downsizing Is The Trend

It’s the season of work holiday parties, except it isn’t. With the recent economic crisis ongoing the work party is downsizing. This year won’t be beanie weanies but it also won’t feature caviar and champagne if your company is even handing out invites.

Restaurateurs love the holiday season. Along with a steady increase of diners many cater employee holiday parties. This year though seems to be lacking in the general festive cheer. The grand party of last year is being changed for a less expensive version as wallets are being locked away for rainy day funds.

ABC News employees received word last week that their holiday party was a no go this year.

Caterers and party planners are feeling the pinch of bank failures and downsizing. This year they are seeing cancellations and toned down affairs.

As the New York Times reports:

“Everyone is very conscious of the fact that while Rome is burning, we shouldn’t be having a great time,” said Sean Driscoll, a partner in Glorious Food caterers. “Nobody’s ordering caviar as a first course.”

The cutting back makes sense in the business world. With many companies under the microscope for wild spending huge parties that cost a small fortune doesn’t make sense. With the increase of layoffs it could appear to be a slap in the face to those no longer with a job if those still at a desk are treated to lobster and steak while others shuffle through unemployment lines.

Perhaps the grand holiday party days are over and will be replaced with fun filled pot luck dinners. Still some companies may want to throw the mega gala to appear to be on top.

As this year winds down don’t expect a big celebration on your company’s dime. Even if your place of business is doing well they may be keeping up with the Jones by downsizing their party plans.

Lenders Are Having To Keep their Foreclosed Homes In Shape In California

In California the for sale signs and abandoned homes are a common site. Those homes are also in need of a little bit of cleaning. Dead grass and murky pools can breed fire and disease. The cities are starting to hold the banks responsible for that upkeep.

In July the state senate passed a bill allowing cities to fine owners of neglected foreclosed properties up to $1,000 a day.

Some cities have had a difficult time figuring out who to charge on these properties. In Fresno city officials are working on an ordinance that will make it easier to oversee and authorise those fines.

The city has 2,600 foreclosed homes making lenders the owners. Those banks so eager to evict those unable to keep up with payments are will soon be getting the bill to maintain pools and yards that they own.

In Selma the fines could reach up to $1,000 a day. Those lenders that don’t feel up to doing the work will have to pay the city. Selma is hiring workers to clean the properties and putting liens on homes where lenders aren’t paying up. After a 14 day notice that a property is in disrepair then the city will act.

Tumble,Tumble, Tumble Down Goes The Dow

In the final hour Thursday the Dow tumbled down over 675 points. It is now in the lowest level in five years after a major credit ratings agency said it was thinking about cutting its rating on General Motors Corp.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index also slide down more than 7 percent.

Just a year ago the Dow closed at a record high. It is now 39 percent down, that’s a total of 5,585 points down.

Today’s sloop was due to Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services putting GM and its finance affiliate GMAC LLC under review. The rating of GM may be cut because of weak United States car sales.

Yahoo reports:

“The story is getting to be like that movie Groundhog Day,” said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co. He pointed to the still-frozen credit markets, and Libor, the bank-to-bank lending rate that remains stubbornly high despite the Fed’s recent rate cut.

“Until that starts coming down, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone getting excited about stocks,” Hogan said. “Everything we’re seeing his historic. The problem is historic, the solutions are historic, and unfortunately, the sell-off is historic. It’s not the kind of history you want to be making.”

Opinion: Maybe I Am A Little Bitter Here, Time For A Spa Week

The AIG bigwigs have their nice little bailout package wrapped up and tied with a pretty little taxpayer ribbon so what do they decide to do? Why vacation of course, it’s been a tough time of it lately.

With $85 billion of the feds money sorting out the troubles that AIG had the executives thought that it was a great time to fly to the St. Regis Resort in Monarch Beach, California. How quaint. The rooms only carry a price tag of $1,000 a night. That $1,000 could help a family of four have a home for a month and some bills paid. Sorry was that my bitterness seeping in?

The final resort tally came up to over $440,000. Broken down that’s $200,000 for rooms, $150,000 for meals and $23,000 in spa charges. Those stressed out guys needed a bunch of pedicures and manicures. And hey it’s A-okay since the American taxpayer is footing the bill.

Say Sally Lou when was the last time you could afford a cheap spa treatment? I guess you’re not corrupt enough to laugh all the way to the bank.

ABC News reports:

“They’re getting their pedicures and their manicures and the American people are paying for that,” said Cong. Elijah Cummings (D-MD).

“This unbridled greed,” said Cong. Mark Souder (R-IN), “it’s an insensitivity to how people are spending our dollars.”

Now America we need to feel for our good buddy Robert Willumstad. You know, the CEO who cried from June to September, 2008 about how AIG was a victim.

Tell it to me Brother!

“Through the first week of September we were confident AIG could weather the crisis,” Willumstad testified. He said the federal government offered its $85 million bail out on the afternoon it prepared for bankruptcy. Willumstad said the Federal Reserve demanded he resign, and will turn down his AIG retirement package of several million dollars.

I was thinking, since all Americans are in effect a victim of these greedy manipulators, that a resort week would feel good about now. Wouldn’t it be nice to go off for a week of sun and fun and send the bill to each and every one of the CEOs that just stabbed the taxpayer in the back?

Sheriff Dart of Chicago Is Standing Up For Renters Living In Foreclosured Properties

Chicago’s homeowners may have a friend in Sheriff Tom Dart. The sheriff announced Wednesday that his deputies will not be evicting anymore people from their foreclosed homes. He’s tired of throwing renters out on the street who have done nothing wrong.

MSNBC reports:

“We will no longer be a party to something that’s so unjust,” a visibly angry Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said at a news conference.

“We have to be sure that when we are doing this — and we are destroying some people’s lives — we better be darned sure we’re talking about the right people,” Dart said.

It is Dart’s belief that he is the first sheriff to stop throwing people out on the streets by not participating in foreclosure evictions. Rick Sharga, senior vice president of the Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac, Inc., also believes that Chicago’s sheriff is right.

If the banks want Dart’s men to make someone homeless from now on they have to prove that the ones residing in a home are the actual owners and not a renter buying their monthly lease fee.

According to Illinois law renters have 120 days from the time a residence they are living in is foreclosure before being evicted. That law has often been ignored.

To often a renter who has been paying their rent has gone off to work in the morning only to return home finding their belongings on the curb and the locks changed. Often renters don’t even know that the home they are living in is in foreclosure.

An attorney asked a Cook County judge to hold Dart in contempt of court after refusing to allow his deputies to evict tenants unaware of their landlord’s financial problems. The judge refused. After speaking with the Cook County state’s attorney’s office Dart thinks he is standing on firm legal ground.

“My job as sheriff is to follow court orders, absolutely,” he said. “But I’m also in charge of making sure justice is being done here and it is clear that justice is not being done here.”

Foreclosures are skyrocketing in Cook County. In 2006 there were 1,771 foreclosure evictions. This year could top 4,500.

Sharga said that there are over 1 million United States homes in foreclosure.

For each of those homes are thousands of renters residing in them, paying their monthly rent and unaware that tomorrow they could be homeless.

Dart said nonpayment of rent evictions will stay go on with his department.

“You are talking about a lot of people in rental situations living paycheck to paycheck,” he said. “To think they are sitting on a pool of money for an up-front deposit, security deposit, is foolishness.”

Dow Drops Even Lower After The Feds Start Stepping In

The Dow has slide even further down as the federal government and the world’s central banks cut rates. After the Feds cut the half point there was a slight surge in trade.

Wall Street is being hammered by the economical crisis that is hitting the world. The Dow Jones Industrials fell almost 200 more points by the close of trading Wednesday. The loss today wasn’t as hard as Monday or Tuesday’s falls but it keeps the Dow under 10,000. At the end of trading Wednesday the Dow is at 9,256.

The falling stocks were hoped to make a turn-around when the government cut the half-point.

Investors are pleased with the cut but it may not be enough to to banks back to their old lending pace.

Iceland May be First Nation to go Bankrupt on Heels of Financial Crisis

Iceland is on the brink of bankruptcy. It may well be the first of many nations that teeter on the edge of global financial meltdown.

Iceland is home to 320,000 people living in an area the size of Kentucky.

Because of their Viking heritages the people of Iceland do things in a big way. That resulted in the world’s highest per capita incomes. Now the population can only watch as their currency is half of its value. Their banks are collapsing and closed. No money is going out and the people are unable to sell their stocks.

Yahoo reports:

The government had earlier announced it had nationalized the bank under emergency laws enacted to deal with the crisis.

“We have been forced to take decisive action to save the country,” Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde said of those sweeping new powers that allow the government to take over companies, limit the authority of boards, and call shareholder meetings.

Europe would see the shock waves if Iceland’s banks completely go under. Bauger, one of Iceland’s largest companies, owns or has stakes in dozens of European retailers. It is the largest private company in Britain.

Last week share trading was suspended at Kaupthing, the largest bank of the nation.

Perhaps Iceland will be back where it was before the 1990’s when it was considered a poor European cousin. The largest four banks now have foreign liabilities in excess of $100 billion. Those debts don’t have a chance considering the gross national product is $14 billion.

Iceland is unique “because the sheer size of its financial sector puts it in a vulnerable situation, and its currency has always been seen as a high risk and high yield,” said Venla Sipila, a senior economist at Global Insight in London.

This is one nation though that can’t blame the banks for having toxic debts. The banks were well-capitalized.

“I believe it is absolutely wrong to say these banks were reckless,” Richard Portes of the London Business School said. “Quite the contrary. They were hugely unlucky.”

New York Dommes Hope To Unionize With DomPAC

With the recent upheavals in the economic world a group of New York ladies have decided to group together and form a political-action committee and union. Meet the dommes of N.Y. who aren’t used to being spanked and rather not have to be punished.

The lovely dominatrixes have been having a rough time of it lately in New York. First they have had to deal with a series of local prostitution raids and now with Wall Street acting up their paddled clients are having a hard time paying for their pleasurable pain.

The New York Post reports:

“It’s never been worse. Business is down 70 percent,” said Mistress Johanna, owner of Chelsea’s Le Salon DeSade. “We’ve had all these busts, and now the economy is out of control. The uncertainty is torturing us.”

Last Thursday 10 dominatrixes at DeSade were dressed to thrill with no one to pay homage to them. Only two clients ventured into their place of business. That has become the norm on Dungeon Alley, the heart of S&M New York.

The lovely latex clad ladies say not only is the stock market to blame. Recent raids at Rapture NYC, Rebecca’s Hidden Chamber and Avalon have some high profile clients in hiding.

The NY Times quotes lawyer John Campbell who is representing a dozen or so of those facing charges:

“This isn’t like the escort industry, where there’s a lot of illegality and everyone knows it,” said Campbell, who also represents escort agencies. “In the BDSM [bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism] industry, virtually everyone was operating under the belief that what they were doing was legal.”

Two weeks ago the dominatrixes took matters into their own hands. They are setting up an informal union to represent their interests. Mistress Johanna, owner of Chelsea’s Le Salon DeSade, has an unnamed business partner who is laying out the legal groundwork to start DomPAC. DomPAC will lobby lawmakers to rewrite prostitution laws to protect BDSM practices. Dommes hope that in the future they will be able to have 401(k)s, health insurance and other benefits that workers are used to.

“Ultimately, this is about America . . . This is about having the right to express yourself in the lifestyle of your choice,” Mistress Johanna’s business partner said.

eBay Trimming Its Work Force And Buying Up Three Firms At The Same Time

The online auction company eBay is laying off 16,000 of its workers including 1,000 of its permanent employees. Based in San Jose, California the company is also in the works to send $1.35 billion to acquire Bill Me Later, Den Bla Avis and BilBasen.

Most of the layoffs will be in its marketplace division, which has been declining while online commerce has been going at a steady clip.

The layoffs are the first significant cuts in the company’s history.

The company will be doubling down on what it feels are the most promising parts of the business, one of which is online payments. PayPal, acquired in 2002, is expected to grow at 35 percent this year as more companies offer it as a payment option on their Web sites.

The due to buy Bill Me Later is another proposed growth area. EBay is paying $920 million cash and options for the eight-year-old firm located in Timonium, Maryland. The concept of the company is to allow people to get short term 30 day loans to purchase items online. At the end of 30 days the person then buys the bill straight or takes out a loan. Using a person’s birth date and the last 4 numbers of their Social Security number they are able to perform a rapid credit check. Because the address of the person is on the shipping form it is a safer risk.

Last year Amazon.com invested in Bill Me Now. It is not clear if that business relationship will continue after the buy-out.

On Monday eBay stock fell 5.5 percent to $17.89, a five year low.

The New York Times reports:

In an interview, John J. Donahoe, eBay’s chief executive, said the layoffs were the first significant cuts in eBay history, and that he would be communicating via webcast with eBay’s employees around the world to convey the bad news. “We are treating the affected people with the kinds of values you would expect out of eBay,” he said.

“We feel a little like Warren Buffett. We are a strong company, and at times like this we can move to take advantage of the market environment,” he said in an interview.

EBay already owns Kijiji, Gumtree, Marktplaats, LoQuo and mobile.de. and a 25 percent stake in Craigslist.

The ‘Sarah-Cuda’ Hunting Bow Hits the Market

In honour of Sarah Palin, an Ohio manufacturer has made the “Sarah-Cuda,” a pink camouflage hunting bow for that lady who wants to arrow into game.

Lakota Industries Inc. of Xenia, Ohio announced on Wednesday they have come out with a pink camouflage bow named the “Sarah-Cuda.” The bow is in honour of Alaska governor Sarah Palan and her lifelong passion of hunting.

The bow weighs 3.4 pounds and made for women. It sells for $590.

10 per cent of sales will be donated to the National Association for Down Syndrome. Palin’s youngest child, Trig, has the condition.

Users Are Getting Free Access To Movies Due To Hole In Adobe Software

There’s a black hole in Adobe Systems software security that is allowing users to get free access to record and copy movies and TV shows from Amazon.com.

Just like music piracy this problem lets Adobe users steal from movie studios and television networks.

MSNBC reports:

“It’s a fundamental flaw in the Adobe design. This was designed stupidly,” said Bruce Schneier, a security expert who is also the chief security technology officer at British Telecom.

The problem is that the software doesn’t encrypt online content but only the basic orders for online content. Those orders are the stop and play button that is sent to a viewers video player. It would take a simple security feature to make sure online video feed wasn’t able to be recorded. That feature was dropped though to boost the speed of downloads.

Earlier this month Adobe sent out a bulletin about the best ways to protect users online content. They asked their users to add a feature that verifies the validity of their video player.

Amazon says that the content on their company’s Video On Demand service cannot be pirated using video stream catching software.

Reuters, however was able to use at least one program to record online video from Amazon. The Replay Media Catcher from Applian Technologies was able to capture the frames from the site and other sites that use Adobe’s encryption technology.

Japan’s Breweries Decline As Business People Get Younger And Healthier

Brewers in Japan are feeling the health craze. More young people in that nation have cut back on their drinking to help their wallets and improve their overall health. That healthy lifestyle has cut beer sales down 5 percent this year.

Since the peak of beer drinkers in 1994 the industry’s alcohol sales have fallen 10 percent by 2006.

Consumers are more likely to drink a less fattening canned cocktail drink based on shochu than beer today.

IHT.com reports:

“Beer has been walloped by cheaper and perceivably healthier alcohol drinks,” said Tokushi Yamasaki, an analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research. “Over all, Japanese do not drink as much as they used to.`

As the culture gets healthier they are less likely to do late night benders with their co-workers before heading home. Today`s business person is also more cautious about their spending habits. The the fate of the United States economy being watched that thrifty nature may increase even more.

“Drinking in Japan was about bonding with your colleagues,” said Ron Carr, a professor at the Japan campus of Temple University in Philadelphia. “But Japan’s declining economy shifted corporate structure and it doesn’t require workers to drink together any more.

“When I first came here in the early ’90s there were still so many drunken salarymen at the end of the year, drinking beer and spilling out on the streets. I’ve seen a huge decline in all that.”

As the nation ages brewers Asahi, Kirin, Suntory and Sapporo are working harder at attracting their declining market. Because of that Japanese breweries will spend upwards of $2.7 billion to increase their sales market overseas.

Alternative beers may be the saving grace of these breweries for their homeland though. That market showed an increase of 17 percent in the first half of this year.

Business Could Learn From Politicians How To Spin Their Products In The Best Light

Businesses can learn from politicians when it comes to controlling your online story. Politicians are the masters of marketing. If a negative story comes out, the spin doctors are ready to prescribe a new set of stories to right the ‘infection.’

Businesses that are hit by a scandal can also get their spin doctors out in force with the magic of the Internet.

In a perfect world the Internet would only feature the truth. This is not a perfect world.

The Internet can be used to smear a good name just as it can raise up wrongs that look right with enough spin.

In recent days we have seen lipstick spun in two different directions. On a hockey mom it’s good, on a pig it’s bad. Palin’s spin makes her look tough enough to handle the big boys and still go home and tend to her family. Obama’s spin has been made to look like he’s a sexist.

In business do you want your product to be the hockey mom or the pig? The way a product is spun on the web is the way the public perceives it.

Politicians have learned to use the Internet and its features such as Digg, Twitter, YouTube and Wikipedia to their advantage. In May Obama hired a Web marketer to make sure all was going well. Both candidates have Web sites that are professional and spin ready.

In big business not hiring a Web marketer can be viewed as being behind the times. The right marketing plan will increase your net intake. The right marketing department overseeing your web site means more dollars in your bank account.

Years ago the marketing departments focused on print and television ads. That was yesterday. Today the public is more likely to get their news online. They want more information and appear to be more informed. The spin doctors work hard to ensure their clients are seen in the best light.

Business like politics is competition. The best appearing candidate wins. It’s no holds barred. Tooth and nail and a spin cycle wins the game.

Are you playing yet?

Stealing Your Money Without A Gun, What A Security Research Company Found At The Bank

How hard is it to walk out of a bank carrying the information it would take to steal a couple of million? Surprisingly it’s not as hard as it should be according to researchers from TraceSecurity Inc.

Security researchers disguised as fire inspectors, exterminators or government safety monitors were almost always successful when it came to slipping past bank tellers and stealing confidential data about customers.

The study made public on Tuesday by researchers from Baton Rouge, La.-based TraceSecurity Inc. showed just how trusting bank personnel are. If that shocks you image the surprise of the banks that hired the security team to find holes in their branches.

The researchers visited almost 1,000 branches between 2003 and 2008. During that time they were able to walk out the doors with loan applications, laptops, backup tapes of customer databases and even big computer servers by using easily obtained items to disguise themselves.

What is most shocking is the fact that only 6 times were they questioned for something as dumb as wearing the wrong colour shirt. There were only 31 times that they were not able to steal sensitive information.

Employees almost always allowed the researchers to wander through the banks alone.

This study makes one wonder how safe their information honestly is sitting at a bank.

E-Mail Screw Up Shows The Prep Staging Of A Company About To Do A Major Layoff

It looks like media agency Carat made a big boo-boo when an e-mail meant for senior managers was sent around to the entire agency. The e-mail was an early announcement that a major restructuring of its U.S. operations and layoffs are planned.

The e-mail was a rare look into the way senior management runs in the face of prepping for layoffs. The e-mail told how employees would learn their fate and what should be said to those who remained. Also their what to tell vendors and clients were detailed. When the mistake was discovered the IT department pulled it back but not before a copy was obtained by Advertising Age.

Carat President Scott Sorokin depicted the coming moves as being in the best interest of the companies clients and was a response to “client needs.”

Sorokin nor a company spokeswoman would comment on if any disciplinary action would be forthcoming from this goof up.

Last week Aegis Group, the parent company of Carat, had indicated that layoffs were coming. At that time the scope of the terminations were not revealed.

The e-mail also did not reveal the names of those to be let go. It did however state that the buying team in New York was to be consolidated and those announcements were go out later this month. The offices affected will be New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The agency has recently lost accounts for Hyundai and New Line Cinema.

One of the scripts for the layoffs is as follows:

“If you would like to go home today and come back tomorrow to clean out your desk or office, you are free to do so. We would like you to meet with your manager following our meeting to transition your work. We will be communicating to your team today. Your manager will be contacting clients. We ask that you do not contact your clients to discuss this situation.”

The proposed script for clients:

“Mary Smith will be moving off your business. Now that we understand your business better, we are replacing her with someone whom we feel will be a better partner for you.” The document offered an alternative for times when the “staffing change” affected a longer-standing relationship with the client: “Mary Smith will not (sic) longer be working on your business. In order to serve you better and provide greater innovation we have made a staffing change to your business.”

The inside look of how layoff preparations take place is interesting. Still, those with the company are sure to be wondering if they will be among the ones given a pink slip when the axe falls.

As Car Sales Plummet In Scotland Scooter Sales Are Going Strong

In Scotland, scooters are making a comeback. Half a century ago scooters were the preferred mode of transportation. Today, Families struggling to make ends met are selling their second cars and buying Chinese scooters today.

The lure of the two-stoke engine scooters include 160 miles to the gallon and free parking. Low insurance costs and a mere 15 pound road tax are other incentives for these low CO2 machines.

The Motor Cycle Industry Association has reported a sales increase of 22% for the month of July. Car sales dropped 13% during the month.

Simon Small of the Motor Cycle Industry Association said: ”There are two things driving the market. In October the bike test changes to a more difficult, time-consuming and expensive test, so many are rushing to get bikes and take tests.

“The more significant thing is the economic situation. The housing market is in difficulties, fuel bills are so high, so people are looking for savings in all parts of their life including how they get around. As a result, they are turning to scooters and bikes as day-to-day transport and for commuting. It saves money, avoids congestion, enjoys free parking and makes commuting less stressful. People are also interested in the lower CO2 emissions than travelling by car.”

The scooters cost 795 pounds. Customers from the ages of 16 to 90 have jumped on the bandwagon for the old mode of transportation.

Scooters are expected to become even more popular as they get cleaner and safer for the environment.

The United States Is In For Harder Economic Times

There’s more doom coming for Americans according to Kenneth Rogoff. The former IMF chief economist is predicting a large US bank to fail within the next few months.

According to a BBC report Rogoff has a gloomy forecast for the United States when it comes to economics:

“I would even go further to say ‘the worst is to come’,” he said.

“We’re not just going to see mid-sized banks go under in the next few months,” said Mr Rogoff, who held the IMF role between 2001 and 2004.

“We’re going to see a whopper, we’re going to see a big one, one of the big investment banks or big banks.”

Within a few years Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be a thing of the past says the Harvard professor. He also says that by the huge cuts of interest rates earlier this year by the federal government was not a fix but rather like sticking a finger in a dam’s hole. Sooner or later that finger will get tired and a flood will come.

The United States will be looking at inflation for at least the next few years because of that interest rate cut.

Kroger Co. Recalls Hulless Corn Puff Poppers-Extreme Butter

Kroger Co. is recalling packages of Kroger Hulless Corn Puff Poppers-Extreme Butter. The products may contain milk which is not listed on the label. Those allergic to milk could face serious reactions if they ingest the product.

The products were sold in much of the eastern part of the country. The following states are included in the recall: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

Kroger stores as well as Baker’s, City Market, Dillons, Fry’s, Hilander, Jay C, King Soopers, Owen’s, Pay Less and Scott’s locations sold the packages. The recalled items have a Nov. 8 sell by date. They are the 8 ounce packages.

Consumer information can be obtained at (800) 632-6900.

For those with milk allergies a good rule of thumb is to steer clear of any product that claims a butter flavor.

Even Those In Print Media’s Upper Management Turn To The Web

Headlines tell the tales of woe for print publishing but how do those publishers consume media themselves? Not surprisingly they are like the rest of us, flocking to the Internet instead of shelling out money for printed copy.

Twenty-nine dinner guests at a Veronis Suhler Stevenson e-media conference for portfolio companies in New York were polled Monday by their host VSS’s Jeff Stevenson about how they consumed media.

The guests were all upper management at traditional media companies, mostly magazine companies. Most of those attending were over the age of 30.

So what did the managers from the likes of Advanstar Communications, Access Intelligence and Red 7 Media say of their personal media consumption habits?

* More than two-thirds of all media consumption is online: 19 attendees
* More than two thirds of all media consumption is print: 4 attendees, including one who is a commuter
* Media consumption is split equally between print and online: 6 attendees

With those in the biz converting to Web consumers is there any wonder why print media is struggling?

A Bath On Mr. Unstable’s Birthday Gets Him Canned

Timothy Tackett is in the unemployment line after having a birthday bath at the Burger King fast food  chain he worked at. Tackett may have gotten away with it if he hadn’t posted a video of him and the bubbles on MySpace and YouTube.

The 25-year-old from Xenia, Ohio is known to others as “Mr. Unstable.” That’s an apt moniker considering his idea of a little birthday fun.

He decided to fill up one of the restaurant’s large sinks with soap suds and water and slish slash in the buff while diners ate in the front of the Burger King he worked at.

Posting the video of his little unstable moment on the web proved his undoing. Folks watched and let the big wigs in Miami what was going on at the local Xenia eatery. Needless to say Tackett had to the deal with the store having it their way as they canned their employee and two others who were involved in the stunt. Another person involved quit on their own.

It is possible that any bacteria that had been on Tackett’s skin could have gotten diners ill. So far though that hasn’t happened.

Tackett does feel for those affected by his actions.

“It’s the other people who have been affected by this,” he admits. “I made my own bed so I’m going to have to lie in it. But anybody else’s lives that are personally affected, I really regret that. That’s not what was the intention. This, it was something that I set out light-heated and funny, turned into bad.”

Unclaimed Property Is Hitting State Budgets Sooner Than In The Past

As the states suffer from bank deficits many have turned to taking charge of unclaimed property years sooner than before.

You only have three years to claim unclaimed property in Washington, Alabama and Oregon now instead of five years. The change is said to be helping some of the states’ budget woes. Other states have loosen some of the time periods on unclaimed properties allowing the funds to go to work in the state budgets.

In 2006 there was roughly $5.2 billion in unclaimed property.

People should keep track of their assets and old bank accounts or face losing those funds. When there is no activity for a certain period those accounts go to the state’s coffers.

“I’m not going to deny that (some) states have looked at this as a revenue-generating activity,” says Michael Fitzgerald, past head of the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. “But there’s a vast majority of states that want to return the money to rightful owners.”

Layoffs Set For September At Lakeland, Florida Newspaper

The Lakeland Ledger is laying off 36 employees due to a deteriorating Florida economy publisher Jerome Ferson announced on Thursday. Eleven of those positions were in the newsroom for the largest newspaper in Polk County, Florida.

This is the fourth round of layoffs within the past year. The latest round will affect every department at The Ledger.

“It is with deep regret that we find ourselves in circumstances that require us to reduce the workforce. It’s never an easy decision to come to,” Ferson said. “This is a very dynamic time we are in. I would characterize it as a struggle of epic proportions, but we have a base of talented employees that are capable of rising to the challenge.”

The latest round of layoffs will take effect on September 21. In 1999 the newspaper had 415 employees compared to the 284 that will remain employed after this latest round of layoffs.

Newspapers across Florida are struggling to keep up with readers that have turned to the internet to get their news. With the economy in a major slump advertisers are not as able to provide the extras that can keep a newspaper running at full tilt.

The Ledger is part of The New York Times Regional Media Group.

Toronto Gas Prices Set To Rise

If you live in Toronto you have a little more than an hour to fuel up before a 2.6 cent a litre increase comes into effect at midnight.

The price of fuel was a bit lower earlier this week but it seems that is over with for the time being. The price of gasoline is set to go to 127.7 cents at midnight.

Liberal MP Dan McTeague blames the weakening Canadian dollar and the increasing fuel costs south of the border.

Birmingham City Council Bans Atheist And Wiccan Sites

In the UK the Birmingham City Council is censoring web sites its staff can look at. While banning some sites, including Wicca and atheism it allows other religious sites to be viewed. Playing Big Brother could soon land the Council into legal action.

Very few people would argue that blocking sites on sexual deviancy and criminal activity during office hours is okay. But a thin line has been drawn by the Council when they included sites on “witchcraft or Satanism” and “occult practices, atheistic views, voodoo rituals or any other form of mysticism” to be blocked while allowing sites regarding Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and other religions to be viewed. Is the Council saying with their move that Wiccans are in the same class as criminals?

The fact of the matter is the Council is discriminating workers because of religion or beliefs. That discrimination is against the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003.

National Secular Society president Terry Sanderson will be asking the council to change their policy. If changes are not made then legal action will be pursued.

In a BBC report Mr Sanderson said: “It is discriminatory not only against atheists but they also are banning access to sites to do with witchcraft.

“Witchcraft these days is called Wicca, which is an actual legitimate and recognised religion.

“We feel very strongly that people who don’t believe should not be denied the access that people who do believe have got.”

Considering a fourth of the population in the UK consider themselves atheist the Council would have a strong case against them if they chose to ignore the protests.

The city council though is citing that the changes are due to taking control of Internet access.

A city council statement said the authority had a “long-standing Internet usage policy for staff”.

“We are currently implementing new Internet monitoring software to make the control of Internet access easier to manage.

“The aim of this is to provide greater control for individual line managers to monitor Internet usage, and for departments, such as trading standards and child protection, to gain access, if needed, to certain sites for business reasons.”

That sounds like a lot of words to say it’s just fine to discriminate

Bennigans Closes Their Doors

The restaurant chain Bennigans has filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The company wants to liquidate its assets and shut down. Only company locations are closing. Local franchisees will remain open.

There are about 160 franchise locations that will not be affected by the bankruptcy.

Employees are the company owned Bennigan’s are not as lucky. At the Plano, Texas location employees were greeted by “WE ARE CLOSED. THANK YOU.” on the front door. Staff were informed on Tuesday morning that they were out of work by a telephone call.

The Chapter 7 filing lists 38 locations classified as debtors but does not list which locations are no longer open for business.

With food costs up and the economy down many restaurants are feeling a tight squeeze there days.

Metromedia Restaurants, owner of Bennigans indicated that they have 49 creditors and are unable to pay them.

Holly Branson Gives Up Medicine To Work With Father Richard

Holly Branson has given up a career in medicine for the near future to work with her father, Sir Richard Branson. The 26-year-old has just completed five years of study in medical school and one year of hospital training.

Branson has decided to take an internship with her father’s company instead of entering her second year of hospital training.

She is in line to inherit quite a nice slice of the fortune her father has made.

She told the Daily Mail: ‘I’m leaving medicine next Tuesday to start working with my dad.

‘He’s just offered me such an exciting opportunity I couldn’t turn him down. I trained very hard to get into medicine, so I won’t say I’ll never go back to it.

‘But I want to give this new project my all, so I’m deferring my medical training for a year.’

It is thought that the young Branson will be working on a network of super-surgeries that could replace standard GP practices.

Branson has been vocal in the past that though he was proud of his daughter’s educational achievements he wished for both her and his son Sam to follow in the family business.

McDonald’s Launches Product Placement on Morning News

Product placement is big business. The very shows we love push products as the actors go through their motions without saying a word. Still, one doesn’t expect to have the fiction of product placement on the morning news. Leave it to Fox to change that.

Fox 5 TV news in Las Vegas’s morning anchors are currently sharing their desks with two cups of McDonald’s iced coffees. Those coffees aren’t being drunk; in fact that would be impossible. Those iced drinks are fake and weigh about seven pounds each.

KVVU news director Adam P. Bradshaw says the cups that go into place after 7 a.m. when the hard news leaves is a “nontraditional revenue source.”

The station nor McDonald’s are talking about the price tag for the product placement but you can be sure it isn’t pennies.

Bradshaw stresses that just because the Golden Arches has their little advertising on the desk doesn’t mean if a negative story about the fast food giant comes over the wire it won’t be reported. After all this is the news.

Don’t try telling that to Kelly McBride, the ethics group leader for Poynter Institute. She is worried that now news stations have slipped down a gray slide where conglomerates control what’s being pushed out of news anchors mouths.

If that is the case Las Vegas isn’t alone on that slippery slope; Seattle, New York and Chicago are all playing the product placement game.

As for Las Vegas? Bradshaw is already thinking of two ceramic mugs of hot black McDonald’s coffee will be sitting on the morning news desk come the fall.

Budweiser Is Going Belgium

Amheuser-Busch maker of Budweiser and Bud Light has been bought out by Belgian brewer InBev for $52 billion. The deal creates the world’s largest brewer and the fourth-largest consumer product to be merged under the name of Anheuser-Busch InBev.

On Sunday the board of directors for Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. accepted the offer that InBev SA put before them. InBev is the maker of Stella Artois and Beck’s. Shareholders will receive $70 a share under the new deal, a increase of $5 for an offer that the Anheuser-Busch company rejected in June.

All of the details are not clear on the merger that has concerns coming from both Missouri politicians and Mexico’s Grupo Modelo which is Anheuser-Busch has a 50 percent share of.

“Our agreement with Anheuser-Busch was carefully constructed to ensure we have a definitive say in who our partner is. We are confident that our agreement, which is governed by Mexican law, gives us the right to decide whether or not to consent to the potential acquisition of Anheuser-Busch by InBev,” Grupo Modelo said in a statement.

Fans of the beer are not happy with the merger. Two websites, SaveBudweiser.com and SaveAB.com are already up and running trying to reverse the decision.

InBev has not yet said if layoffs will be part of the merger or how the takeover will affect the 6,000 employees of the brewery. Still with the company having to plan to cut pension and health benefits for salaried employees to stay afloat the merger may be the best bet for those who work for the makers of the `King of Beers.`

Francisco And Casilda Figueiredo Have A Lasting Job Making Male Members

Francisco and Casilda Figueiredo of Portugal are part of a dying breed. The couple makes traditional ornamental ceramic penises.

For over three decades the couple has been carefully shaping thousands of penises. In a small workshop the pair aged 68 and 65 shape their units and paint them in life like colours before shipping them to Germany, France and North America.

“The days of the ceramics trade here are numbered, I see no possibility of survival,” Francisco said as he prepared moulds of the couple’s top-of-the-range two-foot phallic-shaped bottles in his workshop. “It will never be like it was in the past.”

The tradition started in their village of Caldas da Rainha after King Dom Luis asked for local potters to make something interesting. Since his rule from 1861 to 1889 the potters have been doing just that.

Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro came up with the first pottery art of the male member.

Some of the products that the couple makes include ceramic mugs with a penis sticking out of the bottom or the side, penis-shaped bottles and ceramic soccer figures with the male organ popping out. At one point they were producing 1,000 bottles a month sending their wares to Germany, France and Canada.

Now they are the lone ceramic penis makers in their village and sell mainly to visitors and local shops. Their two-foot phallic-shaped bottles sell for 15 euros.

Starbucks Closing 600 U.S. Stores

Starbucks Corp. announced Monday that it will be closing 600 of its stores in the United States. The closures are part of the company that started in 1971 to transform the company.

The closures are part of an effect to transform the company. All of the stores that will be closed are under performing other company stores.

Most of the stores will be closed during the 2008 fiscal year and the first half of the 2009 fiscal year.

The closings will cost approximately $200 million of asset write-offs that will be shown on the third quarter of the 2008 fiscal year.

Starbucks expects to pay out $8 million in severance packages. By closing the stores the company expects a net cash outflow of $100 million.

The coffee powerhouse bases in Seattle also plans on opening fewer stores in fiscal 2009.

The employees that stores are being closed could be placed in other stores according to the company.

Air Canada To Cut 2,000 Jobs This Fall

Air Canada is having to reduce 2,000 positions this fall to deal with the rising cost of fuel. There are also warnings that more cuts can be expected.

The largest airline in Canada made the announcement on Tuesday that it was having to make some drastic measures to keep up in spite of the rising cost of fuel.

Not only will jobs be cut but flights will be taken off the schedule by seven percent coming this fall and winter.

“The loss of jobs is painful in view of our employees’ hard work in bringing the airline back to profitability over the past four years,” president and CEO Montie Brewer said in a statement.

“I regret having to take these actions but they are necessary to remain competitive going forward. Air Canada, like most global airlines, needs to adapt its business and reduce flying that has become unprofitable in the current fuel environment.”

“If fuel prices remain at current levels, we can anticipate further capacity reductions.”

For every dollar increase per barrel it costs the airlines over $26 million a year. That increase has been reflected in tickets, an average round trip ticket costs $230 compared to last year’s $146.

Best Flats in Britain Rent For Just 75 Pounds

A brand new property in Poole Harbour, Dorset has views that rival the millionaire’s playground of Sandbanks but the rent is one of the best deals in the nation. For a mere 75 Pound a week you can reside like a Hilton.

The flats include en-suite bathrooms, walk-in closets and fully equipped kitchens in the two bedroom apartments. They are being sold for 525,000 Pound or rented out at 9oo Pound per month unless you are among the council tenants.

This great deal is the result of government legislation that states that any residential development with more than 15 homes must have a certain percentage set aside for social housing.

Harbour Reach was built by Bryant Homes. The property has 12 five storey blocks of flats and 10 rows of town homes. The percentage of the 340 home leaves a total of 115 for social housing. This is not going over well with some tax payers who can only dream of living in such splendor.

Nor are estate agents happy about the properties having social housing tenants. They believe the prices will drop if other tenants find out that their next door neighbours are paying a mere 350 Pound a month for their homes.

“You have to ask the question is it right to have an unemployed person paying £75 a week for the same flat somebody is paying £500,000 for?,” Tom Doyle, of Lloyds estate agents said.

“People thinking about buying there will be thinking ‘do I want to spend so much and have some unemployed person in the next block giving me grief?’

“If you are a young couple working your butts off to get on the property ladder, is it fair to have unemployed people living in a luxury flat with stunning sea views for very little?

“On Sandbanks people pay twice as much for a sea view. People pay £1,000 per square foot for a flat with a view.

“I’m all for social housing but it should be in a less salubrious area where you can get twice as much accommodation for your money.”

Mark Wallace, spokesman for campaign group Tax Payers Alliance is one of those outraged that social housing is being included in such a prime location. His group doesn’t think that the development should have to be the location of where council tenants are placed but rather in a different location with perhaps not quite as pricey specs.

The social housing flats though were part of the condition of the planning requirements set by Poole Borough Council according to Raglan Housing Association .

“Raglan offers affordable homes both to purchase on a shared ownership basis and rent through the local authority.

“These rents are set to government guidelines and are based on property values and local earnings levels.”

When asked about the quality of the properties, he said: “I think we should let the scheme speak for itself.”

Florida Likely To Take A $40 Million Hit While Waiting Clearance For Their Tomatoes

The salmonella outbreak in the Western U.S. has caused a ripple effect to growers in Florida who stand to lose $40 million unless the federal officials clear them quickly.

“The fact that the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) has not located the cause of the outbreak has caused havoc in the marketplace,” said Reggie Brown, manager of the Florida Tomato Committee, a federal marketing agency that regulates the state’s fresh tomato growers.

The outbreak of salmonella has appeared in three types of tomatoes: round red tomatoes and the smaller Red Plum and Red Roma tomatoes. Cherry and grape tomatoes and those that are sold in bunches attached to a vine are unlikely sources of the infection.

As of Saturday there have been 145 cases of poisoning by the uncommon “Salmonella Saintpaul” strain. Those poisoning have resulted in 23 hospitalizations since April.

Round, Red Plum and Red Roma tomatoes have been cleared for use in Georgia, both of the Carolinas and Canada by the FDA. Florida was not part of that clearance.

If the Florida tomatoes are not cleared within two days spoilage will cause major losses. What’s more the ripe tomatoes on Florida farm vines will not be harvested in time causing even larger losses.

Most of the salmonella outbreaks occurred in western states where the tomatoes come from Mexico and other western states. The market for Florida tomatoes is east of the Mississippi River.

There has been three cases though (two in Virginia and one in Connecticut) that are being investigated.

Tomato production in Florida produces 1.3 billion pounds annually. Most of the 39,000 acres of the fruit are for the fresh market.

Bob Goddard, president of John Goddard Produce Inc. is one wholesaler having to deal with the effects of the outbreak. Major restaurant chains have stopped buying his product including Arby’s, Bennigan’s and Steak & Ale. His company has had to stop purchasing tomatoes until they have FDA clearance.

Lakeland, Florida based Publix Super Markets Inc. is another major company affected. They have halted the sale of the three varieties of tomatoes since this past weekend. That is a total of 936 stores that no longer have the produce available to their clientele.

Evicted Tenants’ Landlord Has Power Turned Off

The evicted tenants at a Bartow, Florida apartment building got a hot wake up call Monday. Their landlord had the city turn off the electricity to the units of the motel-turned-apartments.

“When I got a second call from the Police Department last week about the problems there, that was the last straw,” Betty Claytor, who owns the property at 245 W. Van Fleet Drive said. “People are just gouging the building there, taking the copper wiring and pipes. They’ve even torn out a sliding glass door so they could get the aluminum frame around it. I can’t let that go on.

“I think I’ve given the tenants plenty of time to find another place to live,” she said. “I’ve tried to help them out, but it’s getting to be too much now.”

Three tenants are still residing in the building even after being evicted on May 13. Claytor, who resides in Virginia, then gave the residents a week to find another place to live. she agreed to give them free rent while they searched for a new home but encouraged them to move quickly.

Most of the tenants in question were renting by the week. Nine families had already moved out of the twelve unit dwelling. One of the residents still on the premises Patricia Via has plans to move to a place in Tampa this weekend.

“We didn’t know she was turning the power off,” Via said. “We didn’t see this coming at all.”

Tonya Scarbrough is another resident being affected by the loss of electricity. she and her husband had just gotten their groceries over the weekend and the lack of refrigeration is making for a major problem.

“Everything in the refrigerator will be ruined,” she said. “I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

Scarbrough’s husband was laid off at the same time the eviction notice appeared. She works at a fast food place in Bartow providing their only income. While they have been looking for another place to live they have yet to find something within their price range.

Claytor is not without sympathy for those who have had trouble finding a new place to reside but is also having to protect her own investment.

“To me, they are trying to hang on and gouge the place for everything they can,” she said. “I feel like I have given them adequate time to do something. They just need to move on now.”

Claytor and her investors have plans to convert the motel built in 1960 into a office complex. They have the funding to move forward with those plans and its time for those that who had made the place their home to get out.

Get Married Or Get Fired

A company in Iran is giving all of its single employees until September 21 to be married. State run Pars Special Economic Energy Zone Company, the owner of Iran’s gas and petrochemical facilities of the Gulf has a rule that employees must be married.

In Iran sexual relations outside of marriage are illegal and most marry in their 20s.

Not only does Pars Special Economic Energy Zone Company except its workers to be married but they expect that bundles of joy (babies) be quickly made.

The company will annul employee contracts if they are found to be single by October 22.

Those employees are typically young men wanting to have a good income who are willing to work in refiners in Assalouyeh. The temperature during the summer can reach 50 Celsius. Not exactly a great environment for raising a family.

The company believes that marriage will ensure that the men will not look for sexual temptations while they stay at the energy hub.

“Unfortunately some of our colleagues did not fulfil their commitments and are still single,” Etemad newspaper quoted the company’s directive as saying.

“As being married is one of the criteria of employment, we are announcing for the last time that all the female and male colleagues have until September 21 to go ahead with this important and moral religious duty.”

The country is undergoing a strict moral crackdown. Women by the tens of thousands are being warned by law enforcement if their dress is not deemed to be Islamic.

It’s Pays To Be A Simpson

The actors who make up the cast of the cartoon show The Simpsons will have a little extra in their pay cheque next season. The stars have been given a rise to $400,000 an episode.

The voice actors and 20th Century Fox TV had been in talks over salaries. Those talks have delayed production so much that instead of 22 shows this coming season only 20 will be made.

The Simpsons is the longest running show on prime time. The will be the 20th season for the show that highlights Homer Simpson and his family. Castellaneta, who is the voice of Homer has also been named a consulting producer on the show. He will also be one of the writers this coming season.