Monday - June 14, 2010
What Was His Price?
We heard last week or so that TOTUS Obama is pushing efforts to “Save The Whales” by ending the 24 year old ban on hunting them. I guess his logic is that less whales will be culled by actual hunting then are being taken for “scientific research”. All the greenies, from the tree-huggers to the spotted owl lovers, have their knickers in a twist. So do lots of normal folks. Leave Moby alone!
Environmentalists, already peeved with the administration’s handling of the Gulf oil spill, are accusing President Obama of breaking his campaign pledge to end the slaughter of whales.
The Obama administration is leading an effort within the International Whaling Commission to lift a 24-year international ban on commercial whaling for Japan, Norway and Iceland, the remaining three countries in the 88-member commission that still hunt whales.
President Reagen (PBUH) helped put the ban in place, and since then the US has been firmly against whaling. I guess this is more of that Fundamental Change those 52ers were Hoping for.
But today the news story is that Japan has been blatantly bribing the International Whaling Commission, with bags full of money and sweet hoochie on the side! And, just as suddenly as Obama’s reversal on a very long standing US position, they too have reversed themselves!
Revealed: Japan’s bribes on whaling
A Sunday Times investigation has exposed Japan for bribing small nations with cash and prostitutes to gain their support for the mass slaughter of whales. The undercover investigation found officials from six countries were willing to consider selling their votes on the International Whaling Commission (IWC).
The revelations come as Japan seeks to break the 24-year moratorium on commercial whaling. An IWC meeting that will decide the fate of thousands of whales, including endangered species, begins this month in Morocco.
Japan denies buying the votes of IWC members. However, The Sunday Times filmed officials from pro-whaling governments admitting:
— They voted with the whalers because of the large amounts of aid from Japan. One said he was not sure if his country had any whales in its territorial waters. Others are landlocked.
— They receive cash payments in envelopes at IWC meetings from Japanese officials who pay their travel and hotel bills.
— One disclosed that call girls were offered when fisheries ministers and civil servants visited Japan for meetings.Barry Gardiner, an MP and former Labour biodiversity minister, said the investigation revealed “disgraceful, shady practice”, which is “effectively buying votes”. The reporters, posing as representatives of a billionaire conservationist, approached officials from pro-whaling countries and offered them an aid package to change their vote.
The governments of St Kitts and Nevis, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Grenada, Republic of Guinea and Ivory Coast all entered negotiations to sell their votes in return for aid. The top fisheries official for Guinea said Japan usually gave his minister a “minimum” of $1,000 a day spending money in cash during IWC and other fisheries meetings. He said three Japanese organisations were used to channel the payments to his country: the fisheries agency, the aid agency and the Overseas Fisheries Co-operation Foundation.
Japan has recruited some of the world’s smallest countries on to the IWC to bolster its support. A senior fisheries official for the Marshall Islands said: “We support Japan because of what they give us.”
A Kiribati fisheries official said his country’s vote was determined by the “benefit” it received in aid. He, too, said Japan gave delegates expenses and spending money. The IWC commissioner for Tanzania said “good girls” were made available at the hotels for ministers and senior fisheries civil servants during all-expenses paid trips to Japan.
(April 24, 2010)
The International Whaling Commission has announced a controversial proposal to save thousands of whales by allowing the first legal commercial hunts in 25 years.
The proposal, to be voted on at an IWC meeting in Morocco in June, sets out a ten-year plan that would bring Japan, Iceland and Norway back under the control of the 88-nation body.
The three nations have continued whaling by exploiting a loophole in the international moratorium on commercial hunting, passed in 1986, that allows lethal “scientific research”. Together, they kill about 3,000 whales a year, ten times as many as in 1993.
The new proposal, released in Washington last night, would replace the ban with legalised quotas and would allow the IWC to monitor all whaling. It is an attempt at a compromise between whaling nations and others such as the US and Australia that have long been opposed to it.
...
The proposal allows 400 minke whales a year to be hunted in the Antarctic for five years, then lowers that limit to 200 for the following five years. It also allows limited hunts of other species including fin, bowhead and grey whales in specific regions.
...
Earlier today Japan said that it would push for higher quotas in the IWC plan.
Bought and paid, folks, bought and paid. And they’re not even trying to hide it. And as soon as this measure passes, there will be higher quotas on the way. You know it. And suddenly Obama has a change of heart? Makes you wonder, don’t it?
On the third hand, Japan, Iceland, and Norway have killed more than 35,000 whales since the moratorium went into effect in 1986. Call it 1500 per year. For “scientific research”. Of all the whale species, only the smaller Minke is not considered to be seriously endangered. Maybe the ban never worked too well to begin with; out beyond the line, in the empty corners of the oceans, the only rules that can be enforced are those backed up with sustained and accurate naval gunfire.
Lending a bit of credence to the impending sellout ... IWC chairman Christian Maquieira is “suddenly ill” and will miss the meeting where the all-important voting takes place. What’s better than voting “present” on your own pet legislation? Not being there to vote at all, so you can escape any blame. Even though he introduced the idea to begin with.
The chairman of the International Whaling Commission has fallen ill and will not attend its annual meeting due to discuss his proposal to control the annual whale hunt, a spokeswoman said Monday.
The absence of Christian Maquieira could complicate efforts to negotiate a deal to end the stalemate between pro- and anti-whaling countries that has continued since a moratorium on commercial whaling was adopted 25 years ago.
Maquieira circulated a proposal in April to allow limited commercial hunting for 10 years. He has said it would halve the roughly 2,000 whales killed annually by Japan, Norway and Iceland, which exploit loopholes in the whaling ban.
Spokeswoman Jemma Jones said the commission has informed the 88 member states that Maquieira would miss the meeting starting next week in Agadir, Morocco. It will be chaired instead by his deputy, Anthony Liverpool, who co-authored the proposal.
No details of the Chilean’s illness were released.
Something stinks here. Smells worse than a beached and rotting whale.
Posted by Drew458
on 06/14/2010 at 10:44 AM
Filed Under: • Big Business • Environment • Obama, The One •
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Permalink • Friday - May 07, 2010
Protectionism? P&G Stocks “Too Big To Fall”?
In one of the most gut-wrenching hours in Wall Street history, the Dow plunged almost 1,000 points Thursday before recovering to close down 348, as erroneous trading in Procter & Gamble and several other stocks sparked a massive selloff.
Fears about the spread of the European debt crisis dragged on stocks through the early afternoon. But the selling picked up in intensity and the Dow reached its nadir at around 2:40 p.m. ET.
The selling was a result of technical glitches that caused some stocks, including Dow component Procter & Gamble (PG, Fortune 500), to plunge 37% to $39.37 per share from the close of $62.12 Wednesday. The consumer products maker recovered most of that loss by the close, ending just 2% lower.
But the faulty P&G trading was responsible for 172 of the 998.50 points that the Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost at its worst, the biggest one-day point decline on an intraday basis in Dow Jones history.
The huge drop in P&G’s stock - reportedly from more than $60 to less than $40 - is widely believed to have been a trading glitch.
At around 2:45 p.m. ET, P&G’s (PG, Fortune 500) stock had fallen 10% to $56 on the New York Stock Exchange, triggering a “circuit breaker.” At that point, the NYSE slowed the trading of the stock for less than a minute. During that short time, other stock exchanges were allowed to trade P&G’s stock price on their own, instead of getting the price from NYSE.
According to Procter & Gamble and the NYSE, the Nasdaq stock exchange may have misprinted a quote of $39.37 a share. It is also possible that the electronic trades actually occurred, but they were made in error.
...
Late on Thursday Nasdaq said it had no technology or system issues associated with the trading that occurred between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. ET.
But the exchange said that because it coordinates with other US Exchanges, “all trades executed between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. ET greater than or less than 60%” of the stock price as of 2:40 p.m. ET or immediately prior to that time will be cancelled.
Silly me, I seem to recall from a few stock market crashes ago that these automated sell-off programs had been outlawed, to prevent exactly this. And we have some voice at NASDAQ saying there was no problem with the system. So what gives? The market is a fickle place, and if a panic sell-off of P&G occurs, that’s what happens. The herd stampedes out, the herd stampedes back in. It seems rather falsely protectionist to pull the stock from trading, and then declare that the low ball trades were not actually real. Somebody offered shares at that price, and somebody else agreed to buy them at that price, even if those decisions were made by a computer. So how can that be in error?
Posted by Drew458
on 05/07/2010 at 01:45 PM
Filed Under: • Big Business •
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Permalink • Friday - April 23, 2010
Working Towards Freedom
I got this in my email this morning
Not bad. Nice effort. So, does this mean GM is now “free at last” and can operate as a privately owned company? Not hardly. They still owe the government zillions. This was just a drop in the bucket.
General Motors Co. has repaid the $8.1 billion in loans it got from the U.S. and Canadian governments, a move its CEO says is a sign automaker is on the road to recovery.
GM CEO Whitacre formally announced the loan paybacks Wednesday at the company’s Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City, Kansas, where he also announced that GM is investing $257 million in that factory and the Detroit-Hamtramck plant, both of which will build the next generation of the midsize Chevrolet Malibu.
GM got a total of $52 billion from the U.S. government and $9.5 billion from the Canadian and Ontario governments as it went through bankruptcy protection last year. The U.S. considered as a loan $6.7 billion of the aid, while the Canadian governments held $1.4 billion in loans.
The U.S. government payments, made Tuesday, came five years ahead of schedule, and Whitacre said they are a sign that the automaker is on its way toward reducing government ownership of the company. The payments on the Canadian loans were also made Tuesday.
GM still owes $45.3 billion to the U.S. and $8.1 billion to Canada, money it received in exchange for large stakes in the company. The U.S. government now owns 61 percent of the company and Canada owns roughly 12 percent. GM plans to repay both with a public stock offering, perhaps later this year.
GM officials say the company’s public stock offering will take place when the markets and the company are ready. They will not predict how much of the remaining government debt will be repaid from the stock offering, but said it likely will take years for the governments to divest themselves fully.
The stock offering hinges on GM posting a profit, which Whitacre has said could come this year. GM lost $3.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009 on revenues of $32.3 billion. After the event at the Kansas City plant on Wednesday, Whitacre heads to Washington, where he is scheduled to meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other lawmakers.
I don’t think they are ready for an IPO yet. Not until they have paid off enough of their government debt to be 51% privately owned. Or 65%, given the uncertainty in the automotive marketplace and the possibility that they might need large infusions of cash from the government at some future date. They screwed us all with their bailout and the government’s takeover. Never again.
So keep paying down that debt GM. This is a good first effort. But I won’t be buying your stock, or your cars, until you can show me a lot more than just a profit for one measly quarter. And throw out the unions, or at least rip out most of their teeth. I’ll be damned if I’ll put a nickel into your company until you do.
Posted by Drew458
on 04/23/2010 at 12:00 PM
Filed Under: • Big Business • planes, trains, tanks, ships, machines, automobiles •
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Permalink • Tuesday - January 12, 2010
A MOST EXPENSIVE PARTY LAUNCH. BUT THE PARTY’S OVER.
I don’t suppose many of you have followed this story much if at all. Being somewhat closer to this, Dubai has figured in the news here quite often since this SPECTACULAR opening of the resort for billionaires. We’ve been buried in beautiful photos of the place and at the beginning there were all these very positive comments and promises for the bright future ahead.
Well, Aladdin’s lamp has gone darkish as the place has all but gone bust. Empty and decaying (already) apt. complexes, restaurants that either never opened as scheduled or if they did have now closed. Nowadays the photos we see of this grandiose dream are sadly not so forward looking and the future does indeed look grim. The developers had hoped that one of the rich Arab countries might shovel in some needed cash, and they did indeed get some from one of the Arab states. I forgot which one.
Dubai is a place where a person goes to jail for an offense like a bounced check. They are very serious about that.
Photos we see now show expensive cars simply left in the street to collect dust as the owners have walked away, broke. They have left homes and apts the same way. Simply abandoned and very many have had to sneak out of the country. Not that they were involved in any criminal activity mind you. But they found the bubble had burst and their funds were either non existent or near to being so. They could no longer pay the staggering bills and faced jail, and so left. Many others have stayed trying as best they can to salvage something. The people one really has to feel sorry for, are the many who were recruited to work there as waiters and maids and low level jobs, who came from foreign countries and are now at the mercy of ppl who don’t have a large supply of that. While the money wasn’t huge by our standards, it was by the standards of the countries they were recruited from.
Until today, I hadn’t seen this 2008 video. In ‘08 I was busy 27/7 helping the wife with a bed ridden elderly mother and I guess I missed a lot.
Better late then never though because this really is a sight to see. Notice the cost of the party. They didn’t.
Dubai resort The Atlantis stages most expensive launch party ever
The global recession may be biting, but try telling that to the Hollywood celebrities and billionaire business moguls who attended the opening of Dubai’s latest luxury resort, The Atlantis.
By Anita Singh, Showbusiness Editor
Published: 4:07PM GMT 20 Nov 2008More than 2,000 guests attended the event on the man-made Palm Jumeirah island in the Persian Gulf. Robert De Niro, Janet Jackson, Denzel Washington and Lindsay Lohan were among them, while the British contingent included the Duchess of York, Sir Richard Branson, Dame Shirley Bassey, retail boss Sir Philip Green, television presenter Trinny Woodall and the singer Lily Allen.
They feasted on lobster and Middle Eastern mezze and the Veuve Clicquot champagne flowed freely, although the presence of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, and a sizeable number of other Muslim guests ensured that the drinks bill was relatively modest.
Security at the party was so tight that a two-mile exclusion zone was thrown around the island.
Kylie Minogue performed on stage for a reported £1.5 million fee but the real entertainment of the night was provided by the pyrotechnics. One million fireworks – almost 10 times the scale of the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony – lit up the Palm, with the organisers claiming the display was visible from space.
Even in Dubai, a part of the world renowned for excess, there had never been a party like it.
“We built something that’s quite extraordinary. We’ve got to tell the world about it,” said Sol Kerzner, the South African billionaire hotelier and casino tycoon.
The 1,539-room Atlantis took two years to build and cost £1 billion. Mr Kerzner admitted that the global economic downturn would have an effect on business.
“We are in a challenging time. The economy is basically in a recession and we have to adjust to the changing circumstances. We have to be careful with our cost levels” he said, although he did not believe he had splashed out too much on his guests: “I didn’t lay on private jets. They either came in their own private jets or by regular airline.”
Colin Cowie, the party planner, likened the logistics of organising the beachside party to the Normandy landings. He added: “People say, ‘How do you have a party like this in these economic times?’ But the funds were allocated a year ago, and you have to dream big to get a big result.”
From The Times
November 28, 2009The spectre of “Financial Crisis 2” continued to loom over global markets yesterday after Dubai’s revelation that it may not be able to meet its debt obligations.
Stock markets in Asia and the United States fell sharply while the dollar and Japanese yen rose as investors shifted their money to their perceived safety.
UK banks were also revealed to be the biggest lenders to the United Arab Emirates, which includes Dubai, with more than $50 billion owed by the Gulf state’s residents.
In another blow to the beleaguered UK banking sector, the Royal Bank of Scotland emerged as the largest single loan-arranger to Dubai World, the state-owned conglomerate that sparked this latest financial crisis when it sought a standstill on its debt repayments on Wednesday.
Related Links
RBS, which is owned by British taxpayers, has arranged loans worth up to $2.3 billion to Dubai World.The Financial Services Authority, the regulator, is understood to have sought assurances from banks that their exposure to Dubai will not threaten their financial strength. The FSA said it would continue to keep a close eye on the situation.
Dubai World, which owns a range of assets including the Turnberry golf club in southwest Scotland, sparked panic when it asked for the debt standstill. The company has liabilities of $60 billion and its Nakheel property division, which built the Palm Jumeirah development where the footballers David Beckham and Michael Owen own houses, was due to repay a $3.5 billion bond next month.
The standstill has raised the prospect that Dubai World and, by extension, the government of Dubai might default on their debt.
Here’s a link for a lot of other links on the subject. Makes for some fascinating reading.
notice the dates on these two stories. didn’t take long.
Posted by peiper
on 01/12/2010 at 11:03 AM
Filed Under: • Big Business • Economics • Finance and Investing • International • Middle-East •
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Permalink • Tuesday - November 24, 2009
Not so sure this is a great idea. Except for MSFT (mis-fit) if it works.
Microsoft (MSFT) kinda reminds me of the old Al Capp cartoon with General Bullmoose.
“If it’s good for General Motors, it’s good for the USA.” Bah. Most of you too young to recall that.
Hey ... finally felt well enough to get my butt in gear and go see the doctor. They have just moved to new and more modern offices less then a mile down the road. Or maybe almost a mile. Trouble is, there isn’t any bus from our general area that goes anywhere near there. Forget walking in this weather and anyway, all the damn coughing has played havoc with ribs and stomach. Not to mention chest. Walking is not an option as well when your feet don’t alway perform the way nature intended them to. So, the wife had to drive me there and sorry to say, she’s now developing what I just had. And she refuses to see a doctor. Who kind of gave me what for, for waiting so long to see him as I have this chest infection for which the over the counter stuff does nothing. I’m being long winded again but the reason for all this is my way of leading up to what I read in the instructions that came with the 50mg Doxycycline I was given. I think it’s funny. Here’s exactly what they say. You couldn’t make it up.
YOU SHOULD TAKE THE CAPSULES EITHER SITTING DOWN OR STANDING UP.
So I guess I can’t take em while laying flat on my back while reading a book. Which isn’t at all how I read a book anyway.
Standing up or sitting down. ??? What exactly have I missed? Must be here somewhere.
OK, bad news on the leaky roof thing and btw, we have a bad “rising damp” problem too. More on those later.
Microsoft makes move on the news
23rd November 2009
Rupert Murdoch has accused search engines such as Google of ‘stealing the news’
Microsoft has held secret talks with some of the world’s biggest media groups over a plan that could see millions of news stories pulled from Google.
In its most direct attack on Google yet, the software giant is understood to have offered to pay news organisations for providing their content exclusively through Microsoft’s Bing search engine.Microsoft has held discussions with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, which owns The Times and The Sun newspapers, along with a number of other media groups, sources said.
The move would see millions of news stories and feature articles blocked from the Google News service.
Severing his links with Google would represent a huge gamble for Murdoch, who like many other media owners is struggling to adapt to a world where consumers are used to getting news for free.Google brings millions of visitors to News Corp sites, which in theory should boost the conglomerate’s online revenues.
But Murdoch believes that Google gets the better end of the deal, recently accusing search engines of ‘stealing our stories’.
‘It costs us a lot of money to put together good newspapers and good content,’ the media mogul said last week.The Times will start charging visitors to its website in the spring, with other titles across the Murdoch empire expected to follow suit.
Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times already charge hefty subscription fees for access to their websites. But experts say this works only because business executives are prepared to pay for their specialised content.The case for getting consumers to pay for general news is less clear cut.
Online advertising revenues have so far come nowhere near to off-setting the collapse in newsstand and advertising revenues.
One possible solution is a system of micro-payments, where consumers would pay a small sum for each article or story they view.
For Microsoft, the friendly approach to the media industry is a bold statement of intent.Microsoft re-launched its search engine as Bing this year and looks to be prepared to pay out hundreds of millions to unseat market leader Google.
Microsoft and News Corp declined to comment.
Not too sure about Mr. Murdoch. Are you?
Posted by peiper
on 11/24/2009 at 11:00 AM
Filed Under: • Big Business • Economics • USA •
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Permalink • Monday - October 05, 2009
BBC wins bid to keep star salaries under wraps (and it only cost us £200,000)
The big deal about this bit of business, is that the BBC is publicly funded. For those who don’t know, people here pay a yearly TV license and they do try and collect using whatever means necessary. So why shouldn’t the salaries be made public?
Thankfully, just last week we gave away the perfectly good (for now) TV set as anything I want to see is not shown on television. The set belonged to the wife’s mom who didn’t even use it the final two yrs of her life. It just stood there in her room, silent. Truth to tell, we don’t miss TV and haven’t watched but one program in five years here. Thank heaven for You Tube.
Even if we hadn’t given the set away, I’d have fought tooth and nail and refused to pay as others have. Use my money to help pay millions a year to ONE foul mouthed,rude and crude individual? (pictured) Not bloody likely!
The surprise is how many folks simply buckle down and give up and pay. I guess addictions are like that and I can only assume it is an addiction as why else would so many watch what’s on offer? No thank You.
Think of it this way. What if you were required to pay a license (USA) for a channel hosting Howard Stern? Even if you weren’t demented enough to think he was funny or talented or whatever. Yes, I know millions do and millions are also tasteless and possibly very sick as well. But that’s not the point. At least in the US you aren’t forced to get a TV license to fund things you think are gross and in very poor taste. Like the fellow pictured here who thought it quite funny when he and his sidekick made public calls to a well known actor, on air, telling the old guy all about the enjoyable sex one of em had with his grand daughter. That’s what passed for entertainment, and this guy gets paid millions a year. Well, not with any of our money.
BBC wins bid to keep star salaries and Middle East report under wraps (and it only cost us £200,000)By Liz Thomas
Daily MailBig earner: Jonathan Ross earns a reported £6million a year
The BBC has won a High Court battle to keep the salaries of its stars a secret.
The corporation spent more than £200,000 ensuring those who fund the service never know how their cash is spent.
Three years of appeals and legal wrangles mean it will not now have to disclose what it pays on-screen talent, production staff or how much money shows cost.
Mr Justice Irwin concluded that the ‘BBC has no obligation to disclose information which they hold to any significant extent for the purposes of journalism, art or literature, whether or not the information is also held for other purposes’.
Although insiders insist that details of executive pay will continue to be publicly released, the BBC could still use this ruling as a further tool to ensure it does not have to disclose the salaries of top talent.
The BBC has come under fire for the eye-watering sums it pays stars such as Jonathan Ross, Graham Norton and Chris Moyles.
Ross earns a reported £6million a year and around 40 other stars are paid more than £1million annually.
Jeremy Hunt, Tory culture spokesman, said: ‘We have long called for the BBC to open their books to the National Audit Office so licence-fee payers can be sure they are getting value for money.
‘If the BBC was more transparent about its finances then court cases like these could be avoided.’
Matthew Elliott, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘The BBC’s behaviour is shocking and incredibly disappointing.
‘Firstly, the fact that the Corporation has blown a fortune on lawyers trying to obscure the truth shows they see zero need for accountability, even when it’s rightfully required of them.
‘Secondly, the BBC should be entirely open and honest about how it spends licence-fee payers’ money. If they can’t justify the amount they are spending, they shouldn’t do it in the first place.
‘This is yet another example of the BBC being out of touch with the concerns of the people it is supposed to be entertaining, and who pay its keep.’
The case went to the High Court because the BBC consistently refused to comply with freedom of information requests from newspapers and members of the public.
The broadcaster was taken to the Information Commissioner, and the Information Tribunal, who both ruled that it should release the information.
Ruling: The BBC will not be forced to disclose an internal report on its Middle East coverage, or details of staff salariesRuling: The BBC will not be forced to disclose an internal report on its Middle East coverage, or details of staff salaries
But the BBC appealed to the High Court, which found previous hearings had not properly taken into account its evidence.
It also ruled that the broadcaster was exempt from sections of the Act as a public body, and therefore did not have to give out information relating to its programming in journalism, arts or literature.
A spokesman for the BBC said: ‘The BBC was entitled to decline to disclose the information on the basis that the Freedom of Information Act did not apply to it.’
Macker and BMEWS… I didn’t have this when originally posted but, here’s the other sick no talent turd who once worked for the BBC and was in on the sick joke I wrote about. And this bit of filth btw is doing well I understand, in the USA. GAK!
Posted by peiper
on 10/05/2009 at 08:00 AM
Filed Under: • Big Business • Celebrities • CULTURE IN DECLINE • Economics • Television • UK •
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Permalink • Wednesday - September 30, 2009
Bye Bye EDS
A little follow up to Peiper’s post the other week about Dell Computer buying up Perot Systems.
EDS, an HP Company, Becoming HP Enterprise Services
HP today announced that EDS, an HP company, will become HP Enterprise Services.
The name change marks the next major step in a year-long integration of EDS into HP and emphasizes the growing global role of enterprise technology services in HP’s portfolio.
“Our clients expect us to harness the full power of HP’s portfolio to solve their business challenges,” said Joe Eazor, senior vice president and general manager, HP Enterprise Services. “Today we are combining the strong services brand equity that EDS has built over the last 47 years with HP’s technology leadership to become the leading IT services provider. We will continue to deliver the same service excellence that our clients have come to expect.”
To reflect the positive impact the EDS acquisition has made in expanding the breadth and depth of HP capabilities, the Technology Solutions Group will be renamed the HP Enterprise Business. This group is focused on business and government organizations of all sizes. In addition to enterprise services, its portfolio includes servers, storage, software, networking and technology services.
During the third quarter of fiscal year 2009, the HP Enterprise Business accounted for 47 percent of the company’s revenue and 60 percent of its non-GAAP operating profit.(1) All HP Enterprise Business units will continue to report to Ann Livermore, executive vice president of HP.
“Customers are facing tough challenges in their technology environments,” said Livermore. “Challenges such as a rigid infrastructure, increasing applications and information complexity are restricting the speed in which IT can add value to the business. HP is the best at helping customers manage and transform their technology environments to deliver better business outcomes.”
former EDS employees will appreciate my little graphical pun. For a long time EDS used “EDSolved” as an ad logo; see, we can solve all your problems! We (EDS employees at the time) always used to pronounce it as “ ‘e dissolved”. And now ... they have.
The rest of you can link to this YouTube video of one of their indecipherable commercials, either Running With The Squirrels or Herding Cats. We never understood them either, and we worked there at the time.
Posted by Drew458
on 09/30/2009 at 05:00 PM
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Permalink • Tuesday - September 22, 2009
A bit different but I find extremly interesting from the world of business and DELL
I don’t follow this stuff a close as I used to and ran across it tonight in the business section of the paper. A section I hardly ever go to these days.
I still follow the Q’s (QQQQ) but mostly I pass over things. Bet the folks who knew were buying a week ago. And there’s ALWAYS someone that knows.
This lights my fire even though I wasn’t playing.
Dell offers $3.9 billion for Perot SystemsAlexandra Frean, US Business Correspondent
Dell, the maker of PCs and laptops, has announced a $3.9 billion (£2.4 billion) proposed takeover of Perot Systems, the technology services provider founded by former presidential candidate, Ross Perot.
Dell will pay $30 per share in cash for the outstanding stock in Perot under the deal.
For Dell, the world’s second-biggest maker of personal computers, the deal represents an opportunity to expand its information technology services portfolio and to expand Perot’s reach around the world.
The two companies have a combined enterprise-hardware and IT-services revenue of $16 billion, with half of that coming from enhanced services and support.
Michael Dell, chairman of Dell, said the acquisition made “great sense” because of the obvious ways the two businesses complemented each other. “There will be efficiencies from combining the companies,” he added.
Terms of the agreement were approved on Sunday by the boards of directors of both companies, although it is still subject to government approval. Dell expects to close the deal in its November-January quarter.
Perot, which is now chaired by Mr Perot’s son, will become Dell’s service unit and will be led by the current Perot chief executive Peter Altabef.
Dell shares fell 0.9 per cent in pre-market trading to $15.79. Perot shares rose in pre market trading by 11.78 per cent to $29.69
AND ON THE SAME SUBJECT, THERE IS THIS.
Perots work the system to perfection
David Wighton, Business Editor’s Commentary
September 22, 2009Dell’s takeover of Perot Systems for $3.9 billion has a pleasing symmetry about it.
Last year Hewlett-Packard, Dell’s rival, expanded its own services unit with the takeover of Electronic Data Systems for $13.9 billion.
EDS was started in 1962 by H Ross Perot Sr, the former presidential candidate, who sold the company to General Motors for $2.5 billion in 1984 before going on to found Perot Systems in 1988.
His son, H Ross Perot Jr, is the chairman and he is expected to take a seat on the Dell board.
The Perots, in effect, have pulled off the same deal twice, making a great deal of money both times.
Dell did not have much option but to go for IT services. The company has been losing market share to rivals and seen profits dwindle. Its revenue comes almost exclusively from the battered hardware business of personal computers, while competitors such as IBM and HP have been diversifying into services for a number of years.
Dell is probably paying a little over the odds for its acquisition of Perot Systems. It is paying 1.4 times sales, while HP got EDS for 0.6 times. But there are not that many companies of Perot’s size and expertise out there.
The EDS deal seems to be working out for HP and Michael Dell will be hoping that some of the Perot magic will rub off on him, too.
But, on past experience, it will not be long before H Ross Perot Jr is off to set up a new systems company.
Posted by peiper
on 09/22/2009 at 01:00 PM
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Permalink • Tuesday - August 04, 2009
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
A Seattle bank teller learned that lesson the hard way last week when he thwarted a would-be robbery — and got fired for bucking company policy.
Jim Nicholson was working at a Key Bank branch on Tuesdaywhen a man wearing a beanie cap, dark clothing and sunglasses entered the bank and demanded money. That’s when instinct overwhelmed him.
“They tell us that we’re just supposed to comply, but my instincts kicked in and I did what’s best to stop the guy,” the 30-year-old Nicholson told The Seattle Times. “I thought if I let him go he would rob more banks and cause more problems.”
Rather than comply with the robber’s demands, Nicholson tossed his bag to the floor, lunged at the suspect and demanded to see a weapon.
“My intent was to grab his glasses off his face, or him,” Nicholson told the paper.
The man ran, and Nicholson chased him for several blocks before knocking him down with help from a passerby. Nicholson then held the suspect, Aaron J. Sloan, 29, until police arrived.
Nicholson’s reward? Two days after the failed heist, he was fired.
I’m sure that Key Bank is thinking through it’s lawyers. You certainly wouldn’t want to encourage heroism or bravery in your employees. Something could go wrong, then you’d be sued. Of course, tellers and bank security guards get beaten, raped, and shot for just standing there during other robberies. That doesn’t mean a thing to the legal beagles though. In their minds, if the bank doesn’t punish it, that means they support and encourage it, and thus are liable somehow when things go wrong. Dipshits.
The Bank of Drew would have a twelve foot long entrance corridor with bullet resistant glass doors on either end. During regular business hours the inner door will not open until the outer door is closed. Hit the silent alarm and the outer door locks, and arms the inner door. When that door is opened (robbers escaping) it drops a steel grate over the outer door, and, half a second later, a steel grate over the inner door, which also locks when closed. Installation options include a wide area pepper gas spray, or the RonKo RatsAway Xtreme Volume™ water flooding device. Rotating knives not available in New Jersey.
Posted by Drew458
on 08/04/2009 at 10:31 AM
Filed Under: • Big Business • Stoopid-People •
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Permalink • Monday - June 01, 2009
GM: the takeover begins
What was that bit about “controlling the means of production”?
General Motors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday as part of a plan under which the government will pump another $30 billion into the company with the aim of re-creating the troubled automaker.
GM’s bankruptcy filing is the fourth-largest in U.S. history and the largest for an industrial company. The company said it has $172.81 billion in debt and $82.29 billion in assets.
Under the plan, GM would eventually have 50 percent fewer liabilities and far fewer product lines. The $30 billion government infusion is on top of about $20 billion in taxpayer money GM already has received in the form of low-interest loans.
Senior administration officials, who declined to speak for attribution, said the U.S. government will be a “passive” investor but will oversee operations at the new GM because “the taxpayer will want us to.”
Not one of President Obama’s senior economic advisers could or would venture a guess as to when taxpayers would see a return on their massive and White House-engineered investment.
“We’re not here to predict,” a senior official said when asked about any timeline for taxpayer payback.
The White House was more certain about GM’s future access to the taxpayer till—it’s over.
“One never says never, but this is it in terms of support for GM,” a senior official said.
GM will follow a similar course taken by Chrysler LLC, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in April and hopes to emerge from its government-sponsored bankruptcy this week.
The plan is for the federal government to take a 60 percent ownership stake in the new GM. The Canadian government would take a 12.5 percent stake, with the United Auto Workers getting a 17.5 percent stake and unsecured bondholders receiving 10 percent. Existing GM shareholders are expected to be wiped out.
One of the 5 greatest companies the world has ever seen, run into the ground by poor management, greed, excessive government regulation and unionism. And the tens of millions of investors ... get nothing. With the government(s) now owning absolute controlling interest in the corporation.
“We’re not here to predict” how long it will take for the gov to turn the company around and start paying back some of that nearly infinite amount of taxpayer investment. Yeah? Well I will. It’s called the Twelfth of Never. As in : No Business Run By The Government Will EVER SHOW A PROFIT, EVER.
I fully expect Ocommie to come up with a new law REQUIRING all citizens to purchase their next vehicle from either branch of Government Motors. Which will put Ford out of business pretty soon.
Now, let’s add to the bullshit. Let’s add another dozen sheep to the amount of wool being pulled over the citizen’s eyes. You want to know how CNN is covering this story? Like this:
How’s that for effective misdirection? Oh sure, in t h e o r y it’s correct, because of that whole “government of the people, by the people” thing. But the reality is that you, me, and everyone else will not have as much as a whisper’s worth of input.
This is an outrageous act of Socialism. Communism. Fascism. The label doesn’t really matter. It’s the government taking over business and dictating terms. It’s a total loss of freedom, a death knell rung on the golden bell of Capitalism, a usurpation of everything that America is supposed to stand for. Better for GM and Chrysler to go out of business.
And what does the Communist Newspeak Network see it? They are GLEEFUL. It’s Pop The Champagne Time over there. Here’s the link.
Note how the article has not one but TWO sidebar links to “GM’s junk heap” which list a dozen or so less than classic vehicles the company has made over the years. Like the “unsafe at any speed” Corvair, which had balance issues when the owners removed the front fender weights, and the Vega, which sold by the millions when America wanted a cheap little car that got good mpg [and let’s ignore the underlying theory of assembly line sabotage because this was one of the first American cars built with lots of robotized automation], and the Aztek, which was an odd looking but actually highly practical crossover vehicle. All of these vehicles were attempts to open up new market areas for GM. They were all about risk taking, which is what Capitalism is all about. Sure, in the long run they may not have all been the best ideas. That’s what “risk” means: sometimes you don’t get it right.
Notice that there are also two links to the other sidebar on “GM’s declining market share”. Yes, GM has lost market share for ages now. How much of that was due to the media I wonder?
PS - the price of gas is soaring, as if you didn’t already know that. Almost 20 cents in 2 weeks. Expect it to get worse, far worse. $3.50/gal by August. This cycle will continue until the new Obamamobile hits the market, with it’s 3 cylinder 40hp engine and a top speed of 48mph, which will get you around just fine on the 5 gallons of gas per week you are rationed for.
Posted by Drew458
on 06/01/2009 at 09:07 AM
Filed Under: • Big Business • Commies • Corruption and Greed •
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Permalink • Thursday - April 02, 2009
Drew, bulk mail, and the Post Office
Instead of replying to each post on Drew’s article “San Francisco Passes “Do Not Mail” Resolution” (especially since Drew decided to not respond to any of my points in his response to my response…) I decided to just write an op-ed.
First, the USPS is losing money. Last year was bad. Each time the gas price goes up 1¢ the USPS shells out another $1 million/day. Unlike our competitors, like FedEx, UPS, etc, the USPS is not allowed to own their own aircraft. Without its own airfleet, the USPS cannot contract for ‘bulk’ fuel. USPS contracts with private airlines to carry mail. Add in gassing up the semi-trucks, and even my own route van, you’ve a huge cost right there.
And, yes Drew, when you and I were children postage was five cents. Gas was also 19¢. And back then, postage was subsidized by the taxpayers. Postage rates haven’t been taxpayer-subsidized since 1983.
There is no reason on earth why the Post Office should essentially underwrite commercial advertising.
The Post Office does not underwrite commercial advertising. The Post Office and its customers negotiate bulk rates, as all businesses do. Bulk rate mail gets discounted in a variety of ways:
Volume discount.
Reduced service. Bulk mail is not forwardable, for instance.
Longer time-frame for delivery. Delivery is not guaranteed within _ days.
Unlike Drew, who seems to,
I think of trees as a crop. We can always plant trees. In fact, the lumber industry does just that. The lumber industry wants a crop to harvest in the future. Trees are truely a ‘renewable resource’. So attacking bulk business mail on that front is ridiculous. Rather like ‘think of the grass’ each time you mow your lawn.…think of the trees, etc
If you have a problem with receiving bulk mail, it’s probably not the Post Office you have the problem with. It’s the marketers who sell their customer address lists to each other. That’s right, businesses sell your personal info, such as–Name, Address, Phone #, Buying habits–without your permission.
This can be stopped now. No laws necessary. All you have to do is contact the Direct Marketing Association, either by phone (212.768.7277, ext. 1888) or on their website (https://www.dmachoice.org/dma/static/learn_more.jsp).
The fact is, business mail, bulk or otherwise, is important to the economy. The Direct Marketing Association says this:
Why Do Not Mail Bills Are Bad Public Policy
To many consumers and policymakers, Do Not Mail bills may sound like an idea whose time has come. However, learning even a little about advertising mail and direct marketing quickly reveals the many problems that Do Not Mail registries would create.
* Advertising mail is a large and diverse economic engine creating $686 billion of economic activity annually that would be adversely affected by even just one bill becoming law. Businesses both large and small rely on advertising mail to provide consumers with information, announcements and savings opportunities. Additionally, millions of jobs are dependent on advertising mail and direct marketing - from copywriters in ad agencies to rural letter carriers in remote corners of a sparsely populated state.
* Advertising mail provides consumers with a convenient marketplace and an easy connection to local goods and services. As well, it provides significant necessary revenues that help fund the services offered by local post offices.
* Advertising mail often can level the playing field between large and small business. It offers a cost-effective entry into new markets for small businesses looking to introduce themselves to local customers. These businesses would be seriously disadvantaged without access to advertising mail to reach potential customers. Further, advertising mail offers larger businesses, who often bring jobs to small towns and rural areas, a way to reach broader audiences.
* Legislation is not needed to provide consumers with options for removing their names from marketing lists. Consumers have a variety of choices ranging from contacting an individual company, to registering their name with DMAchoice.
Keeping a strong and vital postal system is a great advantage to consumers by maintaining competition in the package delivery market. On-line commerce is reliant on package delivery and a competitive postal system helps keep shipping rates affordable.
Keep in mind that we are currently in a recession, though el presidente Hussein seems hell-bent on causing an actual depression. With that in mind, let us not hamstring businesses from advertising the cheapest way possible.
Or get government out of the private sector entirely and let UPS or somebody else do the job ... faster, and for less.
The Constitution authorizes Congress to ‘establish Post Offices’. Now, I daresay that Congress could do a better job IF they ignored the politics. Example, the Post Office has just eliminated/restructured many of it’s ‘districts’. My district was one that was eliminated. Doesn’t effect me as a ground-pounder, but does effect several mid-upper level management positions. Well and good, until you read the fine print. Seems that those districts that most needed to be eliminated had very strong congressional support for keeping them. Therefore, the inefficient, bloated districts are staying put.
Congress could also repeal the private express statutes. These are the laws that effectively make the Post Office a monopoly. They basically say that, yeah, it’s your mailbox, but the Gov’t owns the space inside it. Therefore nobody but the Gov’t mailman can put mail in your mailbox. These laws date from the 1880’s.
The plus: competition in mail delivery. Better service!? Maybe.
The minus: numerous. From having however many private mailmen walking across your lawn, to, well:
Example. The USPS was experimenting with ‘contracting out’ mail delivery to private companies a couple of years ago. This was in high volume big cities like LA and Miami, FL. The private companies bid for the contracts and the low bid won. So far, so good.
Then the private companies turned around and hired people off the street to do the mail deliveries. These ‘street people’ not only failed to deliver the mail in a timely fashion, many times they didn’t deliver it at all. Several of these ‘temporary hires’ were video-taped dumping the mail. Several have been charged and convicted of identity theft. Several more were illegal aliens. Sometimes they were the same.
It’s easy to bash the Postal Service because who else can you bash? You don’t hear about the FedEx screwups. Why? Because I (the USPS mailman, who’s there every day and knows the people by name) usually flag down the FedEx (or UPS) driver and tell them that ‘Hey, you left a parcel at a vacant house.’ Or ‘Hey, you left a package for a person who moved last month.’
Even more frequent are customers who try to refuse/return a FedEx or UPS parcel to me. I tell them to call whichever company delivered it. If I take it, they’ll have to pay postage. The fact is, Drew, that I, as a mailman, have over 700 deliveries a day, every day. UPS drivers don’t even come close. They just deliver parcels. If they had to go door-to-door each day it would cost them, and therefore you and me, just as much. And UPS charges a premium for Saturday delivery. I don’t know about FedEx.
Now, let me tackle the so-called cheaper e-commerce. Yes, I suppose it is cheaper to receive and pay your bills over the internet. Or is it? The ability to do that involves a large initial capital outlay, and indeed a constant monthly outlay. In otherwords, you have to be able to purchase a computer, and purchase internet access. Just using myself as an example, my initial capital outlay was $1600. This bought an iMac and an inkjet printer. The printer immediately decided to clog up. Sigh.
Now, for internet access I need either a landline phone, which I have at $22/mo, or a cable connection. I don’t have cable because of its humongous cost vs. benefit. So landline it is. Adding broadband to my landline was another $25/mo. Total, just for internet access PER MONTH is $47. See, I’d can the landline since the wife and I have cellphones now. But I can’t if I want internet access.
Now, that’s me, and no doubt the average BMEWS reader. I can afford it. Note that I’ve not even mentioned, until now, ‘the poor’. Can ‘the poor’ afford the initial capital outlay and the monthly internet bill? Without some sort of government subsidy?
The answer is no.
Also, e-commerce presupposes things like electricity being available and relatively cheap.
Availablility: The remnants of Hurricane Ike blew through Dayton last year and caused much damage. Parts of the city were without power for over three weeks. Can’t pay your bills online without power.
Cheap: el presidente Hussein is going to ensure that power is forever out of reach with is Gorbal Warming Cap-&-Trade policies. I daresay that part of Hussein’s goal is to shut down dissent on internet sites like BMEWS by making power too expensive to maintain a blog.
Miscellaneous items:
SwedeBoy mentioned
Stopping Junk Mail is only part of the Problem.
The Local Fishwrap has a “Shopper” hand Delivered.
There is no way to Stop it.
They will not comply with requests to discontinue Delivery.
The Bundle is Dumped on your driveway and Piles up if you are on Vacation.
I view this as a Security Issue as Much as a Waste Issue.
All the Burglars just look for the Piles to know you are Not at Home.
Indeed. This is one of the problems that third-party mailers discovered back in the early 90s. Several magazines like Time, Newsfreak… er… Newsweek, etc, got together to find a cheaper way of delivery. They contracted with private firms, who hired day workers to deliver the goods. I can’t tell you all of the times I remember stepping over a plastic bag with several magazines laying in the middle of driveways and lawns. My guess is that many customers were not enthused either.
I have much the same problem with our newspaper. All I ask is that they get it on the porch. Not on the driveway, not in the flowerbeds, not in the bushes, not on the sidewalk, etc. Yet, at least once a month I have to call up the newspaper and threaten them: “I’m a mailman, how would you like it if I just threw your mail in the yard, driveway, bushes, flowerbeds, sidewalk? All I ask is that you get it on the porch!”
And, at this time of year, don’t forget those phone books that are thrown on your driveway, in your bushes, in your flowerbeds, etc. I’ve several vacant homes that have multiple years of phonebooks on the porch. These same homes have been ransacked for copper piping, used for drug dens, etc.
Peiper, the Forever stamps came out a couple of years ago during a past postage increase. The Forever stamps say Forever on them and have a picture of the Liberty Bell. They are ALWAYS good for the one-ounce First-class letter rate, regardless of the current postage rate. You buy Forever stamps today at 42¢ and a hundred years from now they (theoretically) will still be good for the going rate of $42. 
My bottom line is this. There are two Constitutional duties of Congress, the Military, and the Post Office. There is massive fraud and waste in both. That is the fault of Congress.
Now, if I were President, the first order of business would be to abolish all government unions…
Posted by Christopher
on 04/02/2009 at 10:22 AM
Filed Under: • Big Business • Economics • Government • Personal • Politics • work and the workplace •
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Permalink • Friday - March 27, 2009
Parity
AIG political contributions over $30,000, 1989-2009:
Dodd, Chris (D-Conn) $281,038
Bush, George W (R-Texas) $200,560
Schumer, Charles E (D-NY) $111,875
Obama, Barack (D-Ill) $110,332
McCain, John (R-Ariz) $99,249
Baucus, Max (D-Mont) $90,000
Kerry, John (D-Mass) $85,000
Johnson, Nancy L (R-Conn) $75,400
Sununu, John E (R-NH) $69,049
Clinton, Hillary (D-NY) $61,515
Lieberman, Joe (I-Conn) $57,900
Rangel, Charles B (D-NY) $53,582
Giuliani, Rudolph W (R-NY) $50,250
Lazio, Rick A (R-NY) $48,600
Ensign, John (R-Nev) $44,569
Bayh, Evan (D-Ind) $43,700
Larson, John B (D-Conn) $43,000
Biden, Joseph R Jr (D-Del) $41,350
Baker, Richard (R-La) $41,032
Torricelli, Robert G (D-NJ) $39,000
D’Amato, Alfonse M (R-NY) $38,750
Carper, Tom (D-Del) $37,213
Bush, George (R-Texas) $34,000
Roth, William V Jr (R-Del) $33,400
Lowey, Nita M (D-NY) $31,800
Smith, Bob (R-NH) $31,750
Shelby, Richard C (R-Ala) $31,250
Reed, Jack (D-RI) $30,600
Yes, it’s a fairly even split between D & R. Of course it is. AIG is in business to be in business. Some of the amounts are pretty steep though, considering how long (or short!) a time some of the recipients have been in elected federal office. Ahem. In all these particular contributions total more than $9 million, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. AIG also sent major money through it’s subsidiaries and other PACS, to the tune of $9.7 million just last year alone. Lots more info can be found at Open Secrets, or by a few minutes with Google.
Posted by Drew458
on 03/27/2009 at 12:13 PM
Filed Under: • Big Business • Politics •
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Permalink • Sunday - March 22, 2009
Will They Never Learn?
Officials are looking into claims that Chinese-made drywall installed in some Florida homes is emitting smelly, corrosive gases and ruining household systems such as air conditioners, the Consumer Product Safety Commission says.
The Florida Health Department, which is investigating whether the drywall poses any health risks, said it has received more than 140 homeowner complaints. And class-action lawsuits allege defective drywall has caused problems in at least three states—Florida, Louisiana and Alabama—while some attorneys involved claim such drywall may have been used in tens of thousands of U.S. homes.
Homeowners’ lawsuits contend the drywall has caused them to suffer health problems such as headaches and sore throats and face huge repair expenses.
The drywall is alleged to have high levels of sulfur and, according to homeowners’ complaints, the sulfur-based gases smell of rotten eggs and corrode piping and wiring, causing electronics and appliances to fail.
“It’s economically devastating, and it’s emotionally devastating,” said Florida attorney Ervin A. Gonzalez, who filed one of the lawsuits. It would cost a third of an affected home’s value to fix the dwelling, Gonzalez said.
“The interior has to be gutted, the homeowners have to continue paying mortgages, and they have to pay for a [temporary] place to live,” Gonzalez said.
The CPSC has been investigating claims in Florida for more than a month, according to commission spokesman Joe Martyak. He would not confirm whether CPSC is checking other states or reveal how many cases it is probing.
The Florida complaints generally involve homes built or renovated in 2005 and 2006, when a building boom and post-hurricane reconstruction caused a U.S. drywall shortage that spurred builders to turn to imports, Martyak said.
The allegations come after a number of recent safety problems with other Chinese exports, ranging from toys to pet food.
“The breadth of this thing is a lot bigger than people think,” said Chaikin of the Parker Waichman Alonso law firm in Bonita Springs. Chaikin said the problem is perhaps more easily recognizable in Florida because humidity exacerbates it.
What the heck is drywall anyway, and why are we importing it?
Drywall is two layers of cardboard with a layer of gypsum between them. It is a wonderfully “green” product. The cardboard is made from recycled newspaper. The gypsum can either be mined, collected as a by-product of other chemical manufacturing processes, or even scraped from the air scrubbers in the smokestacks of coal fired power plants.
Where does it come from naturally? Huge amounts in the US and Canada. Lots of it in Europe. Some in Pakistan and Iran and Indonesia. None in China.
Ok, so what is gypsum? Gypsum is the same stuff as classroom chalk. It’s the same stuff as alabaster. Gypsum is very closely related to the burnt lime used in concrete. Heck, gypsum is used in concrete. Specifically,
Gypsum is the more common name for a mineral compound called calcium sulphate dihydroxide, or sulphate of lime. Gypsum is generally found underground near deposits of limestone or other minerals formed by evaporation. One of the most common forms of raw gypsum is a pure white crystal called alabaster.
...
Because the calcium and sulphur molecules in gypsum are chemically bound to water, gypsum is routinely heated in order to remove 50% to 75% of its original moisture. The resulting powder is considered burnt gypsum, although its white or translucent color does not change. Burnt gypsum is valued for its ability to solidify almost immediately after introduction to water.
...
Gypsum is naturally resistant to fire and heat, which helps it form a barrier between combustible wooden frames and the room itself.
The primary component of drywall is the mineral gypsum. It is a light-density rock found in plentiful deposits worldwide. Each molecule of gypsum (or dihydrous calcium sulfate) is composed of two molecules of water (H20) and one of calcium sulfate (CaSO4). By weight the compound is 21% water, but by volume it is nearly 50% water.
Before mixing the gypsum with water, it has to be calcined, which is a roasting process that drives off extra oxygen. It’s the same process that is used to turn limestone into lime (aka burnt lime) which is the basis for concrete.
So the stuff has sulpher in it, big deal. We mine the stuff, millions of tons of it a year. But you can create it in the lab too, by the very simple act of mixing sulphuric acid and chalk. This creates lots of carbonic acid fumes, but the solid stuff left over is gypsum. If you are a smart chemist, you condense that gas and mix it with more crushed lime, and that produces chalk. It’s easy to see that sulpher dioxide (SO2) could get into the mix, either because the raw gypsum used is poor quality, or the chemical reaction was poorly controlled, or the wrong kind of acid used.
So my guess is that the Chinese drywall was made with typical communist piss-poor quality control. IE, none at all. Any old shit thrown into a cardboard sandwich. And they probably got the cardboard from the shipping boxes that they used for nuclear waste. All kidding aside, it’s not worth the risk, even with such a basic product as drywall. Burnt rock paste between two slices of tree pulp. And they screwed that up too.
Buy American.
Posted by Drew458
on 03/22/2009 at 09:37 AM
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Permalink • Monday - February 23, 2009
BT suspends 30 call centre staff for circulating ‘harmless’ Irish joke by email. JEESH!WHAT NEXT?
BT - British Telecom.
What a sorry state we’re in when a silly joke based on misused words can get people sacked.
Or maybe they’re canned because the joke wasn’t really funny. Whatever. What the hell is the world coming to?
Yeah,yeah. I know. Just do not wanna face it.
The joke really wasn’t funny so much as it was silly. See for yourself.
But I guess it only takes one officious oaf to bitch about something for a company to, “take appropriate measures.”
Had an almost sleepless night and a long morning what with legal stuff and starting probate and just normal stuff right?
Then see an article with a really dumb move by a company being pc and it just raises hackles because there really isn’t any need for this kind of thing.
ONE STOOLIE COMPLAINS, MOMMY,MOMMY . 30 SUSPENDED FROM JOBS!
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 8:11 AM on 23rd February 2009BT has suspended 30 of its call centre staff after they were caught forwarding an email joke poking fun at the Irish.
Bosses at the telecoms firm did not see the funny side of the story, which involves four Irishmen, and an investigation is under way.
But the probe was today branded a waste of time and money, and a cynical ploy to axe staff during the recession.
One worker said yesterday: ‘Either BT have no sense of humour whatsoever or the bosses are deliberately trying to get shot of people without having to pay any redundancy money.
‘The joke was sent around the office as a bit of fun. Everyone is worried about their jobs but we all try and cheer each other up.
‘It was light-hearted but one person complained and suddenly managers were grilling people about the joke saying it was offensive and could be interpreted as a racist slur on Irish people.
‘I’m a quarter Irish and I didn’t think it was offensive. BT are being ridiculous and morale here has hit an all time low.’
John Midgley, of the Campaign Against Political Correctness said: ‘I sincerely hope that common sense is brought to bare on this and that political correctness does not cost these peoples’ jobs especially in the present economic climate.’
The Joke involves the death of three Irishmen. The first leaps with a budgie thinking he’s budgie-jumping; the second kills a parrot thinking he’s parrot-shooting and the third leaps off with a hen, believing he’s hen-gliding.
It was circulated around staff working at the BT call centre in Leicester - which employs 340 people - two weeks ago.
Managers suspended every worker who had forwarded the joke to someone else and warned them they face disciplinary action.One suspended worker said: ‘The joke was harmless fun and the sort of thing millions of office workers send to each other up and down the country.
‘I received it and forwarded it to a colleague without thinking about it.
‘The next thing I knew managers were demanding to look at my computer to see who I’d emailed the joke to.
‘The fact I could now lose my job over this is really scary and I’d leave if I could afford to but there are no other jobs anywhere.’
This month, BT saw its share price plummet to an all-time low of 7.8 per cent to 97p.
It also emerged that the firm is paying 1,000 workers to do nothing while operations are scaled back to save cash.
A BT spokesman said: ‘A complaint was made about a joke which could be offensive to some people.‘BT takes these matters seriously and will investigate any allegations.
‘We cannot comment on any investigation that may be taking place internally at the moment. These matters are treated in the strictest confidence.’
The Communication Workers Union (CWU), the UK’s largest union in the communications industry, blasted BT for suspending the call centre workers.
A spokesman said: ‘It’s incredible BT can spend this money on such a petty, meaningless investigation with customers very likely picking up the bill.’
The Leicester Irish Society also defended the employees, claiming BT bosses had lost their sense of humour.
A spokesman added: ‘The Irish are famous for their sense of humour but it appears BT have lost theirs.
‘The English and Irish communities have a long history of taking the micky out of each other.
‘The Irish probably have just as many, if not more jokes, about the English but they’re all meant in good spirits.
‘Suspending staff over a little joke is stupid and it would be funny if it wasn’t so serious for the people whose jobs are on the line.’
Posted by peiper
on 02/23/2009 at 11:19 AM
Filed Under: • Big Business • Daily Life • Nanny State • Stoopid-People • UK •
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On: 03/20/21 07:00
meaningless marching orders for a thousand travellers ... strife ahead ..
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Tracked at Casual Blog
[...] RTS. IF ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE IS CONSTRUED AS BEING CONTRARY TO THE LAWS APPL [...]
On: 07/17/17 04:28
a small explanation
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Tracked at yerba mate gourd
Find here top quality how to prepare yerba mate without a gourd that's available in addition at the best price. Get it now!
On: 07/09/17 03:07
DISCLAIMER
THE SERVICES AND MATERIALS ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE HOSTS OF THIS SITE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE OR ANY MATERIALS.
Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:
It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.
- Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
- Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
- Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
- Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere
THE INFORMATION AND OTHER CONTENTS OF THIS WEBSITE ARE DESIGNED TO COMPLY WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THIS WEBSITE SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ALL PARTIES IRREVOCABLY SUBMIT TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE AMERICAN COURTS. IF ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE IS CONSTRUED AS BEING CONTRARY TO THE LAWS APPLICABLE IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY, THEN THIS WEBSITE IS NOT INTENDED TO BE ACCESSED BY PERSONS FROM THAT COUNTRY AND ANY PERSONS WHO ARE SUBJECT TO SUCH LAWS SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED TO USE OUR SERVICES UNLESS THEY CAN SATISFY US THAT SUCH USE WOULD BE LAWFUL.
Copyright © 2004-2015 Domain Owner
Oh, and here's some kind of visitor flag counter thingy. Hey, all the cool blogs have one, so I should too. The Visitors Online thingy up at the top doesn't count anything, but it looks neat. It had better, since I paid actual money for it.
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