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   Vol.65/No.35            September 17, 2001 
 
 
The Great Society
 
Capitalism--it warms your heart--"We've become much more efficient and the jobs are not needed any more."--A top dog at Ford explaining why they're firing some 5,000 white-collar workers.

No jail cell vacancies?--Authorities in San Francisco are hoping the courts will shut down Wins, a garment shop that employs some 200 immigrant workers.

They produce apparel for the Army, the Air Force, Kmart, and Walmart. The workers haven't been paid for more than three months. A company partner said they use a "slow pay" system to improve their cash flow.

Adds a touch of excitement--"A Delta jetliner pilot hurried his takeoff to avoid another jet that was crossing the same runway at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. The planes missed each other by 500 feet."--News item.

Stretch like a canned sardine--The World Health Organization is projecting a two-year study on blood clots suffered by passengers crammed in on long, airlines flights. (Data indicates at least 30 died during the past three years after arriving on long-distance flights at London's Heathrow airport.) Some airlines suggest passengers do leg exercises.

They should fix the planes as well--American Airlines and British Airways asked the U.S. Transportation Dept. to grant them immunity from antitrust laws so they can coordinate U.S.-United Kingdom flights and, also, fix fares. They submitted a 1,000-page application plus some 40 boxes of supporting evidence, perhaps to ensure nobody reads them.

Ho, ho--"Gap cuts 1,300 jobs to keep from losing its shirt"--Headline, Orange County, California, Register.

A few more 'bad apples'--In August, Denver demonstrators protested the cops killing two people. One man died after cops hog-tied him. Another died in a hail of 42 bullets from cops who claimed he tried to ram their car. And, in nearby Aurora, a man was killed by cops responding to an incorrect 911 dispatch.

How about office slumber parties?--The California Highway Patrol obligingly checks traffic-jam records to verify if that's why an employee really was late for work. Pacific Bell and Verizon Communications are the biggest users of the service. Declared a Verizon spokesman: "As traffic becomes worse, employees need to schedule more time to get to work on time."

Start with a briefing--Avon, the door-to-door "beauty" products empire, is shaping a drive to market a vitamin/cosmetic combo to teenage women and to recruit a battery of saleswomen of like age. To potential buyers and sellers, we would suggest a wonderful book: Pathfinder's Cosmetics, Fashions, and the Exploitation of Women.  
 
 
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