Goodyear to cut 1,100 jobs

AKRON, Ohio - Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. said on Monday that it plans to close a plant in Tyler, Texas, despite a strike by workers who were upset about the tire maker's plan to shut down the factory.

The move will eliminate about 1,100 jobs and is part of Goodyear's strategy to end some of its private label tire business.

The plant, which opened in 1962, has produced approximately 25,000 passenger and light truck tires per day.

More than 12,000 United Steelworkers members in Tyler and 15 other plants in North America went on strike Oct. 5 after months of talks with the world's third biggest tire maker. No new talks have been scheduled.

The United Steelworkers, which represents Goodyear workers, said the announcement to close the Tyler plant was a slap in the face, particularly because the union took pay cuts, job losses and other concessions in 2000 to help get the company back on track financially.

"Now they seem committed to stripping away health care benefits from those who made the turnaround possible and to further close plants and abandon the business," said Tom Conway, USW vice president and chairman of the Goodyear negotiating team. "Their foolishness is outweighed only by their greed."

Goodyear has said the union refused to agree to help it remain competitive in a global economy. The union said the company's last proposal would have included two plant closings — the union says the other is in Gadsden, Ala. — and other concessions.

Goodyear said in June that it wanted to leave parts of the private label tire business and that the decision would mean a reduction in capacity. The company refused to name specific plants.

Goodyear previously announced to investors an aggressive strategy to reduce costs by more than $1 billion by 2008.

"We must take the steps necessary to reduce our costs and improve our competitive position," Jon Rich, president of North American Tire, said in a statement. "While this is an extremely difficult decision for everyone involved, it was required to help turn around our North American business."

He did not say when the plant will close.

At the company's headquarters in Akron, where union members have been keeping around-the-clock picket lines, strikers huddled around barrel fires for warmth said they were saddened by the closing announcement but not surprised.

"If they're closing that plant I'm sorry to hear it. You don't want to lose any jobs," said Frank Parravani, a 39-year employee who stood near about a dozen headstones made out of wood with the names of Goodyear plants on them, including Tyler, Gadsden and others.

The Tyler plant mostly makes small passenger tires, a segment that has been under considerable pressure from low cost imports.

Officials in Tyler, a city of about 84,000 people 100 miles east of Dallas, have been afraid of losing one of the area's largest employers. The city recently presented Goodyear with a $12 million incentive plan to keep the plant running.

Goodyear expects the Tyler closing to save it approximately $50 million a year after taxes. The closing will result in a restructuring charge of between $155 million and $165 million, with the cash portion of the charges estimated to be between $40 million and $50 million, the company said.

Goodyear shares rose 22 cents, or 1.47 percent, to close at $15.18 on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares have been trading between $9.75 and $19.31 over the last year.
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Guess it's not gonna be a good year after all

Wrong Place Right Time

Sometimes being in the right place at the right time is bad......

Who's Starbuck's Bitch?

Starbucks is bullying, accuse me, denies bullying the poor ol country of Ethiopia over beans.

Ethiopia has applied to trademark its most famous coffee names, Sidamo, Harar and Yirgacheffe, enabling it to capture more value from trade, control their use and allow farmers to receive a greater share of the retail price.

What's really in a name? Couldn't they just change the "Sidamo" to "Sadamo", kind of reminds of somebody from Iraq. Or perhaps "Harar" to "Horror" or "Yirgacheffe" to "Viagra Chef". I don't know about you but I'm in the mood for some Sadamo coffee right now and some Viagra Chef to get me to sleep.

New World Order!

With wars and murders going on, you just feel like nobody can save us from this world of hate. With a government being ran by toddlers looking for more power, things aren't getting any better no matter how they try to ruin it. The United States is worst now than it was before the Bush Era. Since we can't count on our own government to help us all, we have to look elsewhere.

Is there anybody that can help us? Falcons, where are you?

This is the gayest thing in the world.



I'm glad that the goverment is not the only one releasing dumb shit. The girl in the red, sexy.

I'm Going To Wheelchair Hell For This

Proof that anybody can get a girl.

LONDON - Renowned astrophysicist and best-selling author Stephen Hawking is getting a divorce, according to media reports Friday.

British newspapers reported he and his wife, Elaine, have lodged divorce papers at Cambridge County Court.

Graham Jones, the office manager at the court, said he could not comment on family cases.

Hawking's university spokeswoman, Judith Croasdell, declined to comment on the reports.

Hawking has been married to his wife, Elaine, 55, for 11 years. Hawking divorced in 1991 from his first wife, Jane, with whom he has three children.

The mathematics professor at the University of Cambridge has done groundbreaking work on black holes and the origins of the universe, making him one of the best-known theoretical physicists of his generation.

The 64-year-old scientist, author of the best seller "A Brief History of Time," is almost completely paralyzed by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease. He communicates with the help of a voice synthesizer, which was designed by his wife's previous husband.

Or maybe not.

Are You Racist?

I can't feel the pain black err African Americans deal with but stuff like that just makes me feel bad. Buckwheat would never say that. That's the most racist quote ever! But its cracking me up!

I've never been a racist. I generally hate all people equally.

So next time you see racism, you stop that person and you tell them, "You are a racist asshole! You need to rethink the way you treat other people. You wouldn't want them to disrespect you would you?" O-Tay.

Silence Broken By Gas Leak

LONDON (AFP) - A suspect was slammed in the cells after he broke wind in a British court then burst out laughing about it.

Joseph Wildy let rip and refused to apologise after he had a fit of the giggles with his co-defendants on Tuesday.

However, magistrate Simon Bridge, sitting in Blackpool, on the northwest coast of England, was not amused by his interruption. He found Wildy in contempt of court and ordered him to be locked up.

After cooling off in the cells, Wildy returned to court 90 minutes later and apologised to Bridge.

"He was laughing in court, that's why he was found in contempt," said a court spokeswoman.

"It was for interrupting the proceedings by laughing, and then refusing to apologise."

Wildy pleaded not guilty to handling stolen goods and was bailed to reappear at a later date at the same court.

Kim Jong-il In: The Bomberman!

Ok, so he blew up a nuclear bomb underground and now the world is going crazy. Do you think he cares? He's doing this on purpose for attention. He is to North Korea as Paris Hilton is to the United States. He's the Paris Hilton of North Korea! Can't way to see him on The Simple Life with Bush.

No School Today

GEORGETOWN, Pa. - Dozens of Amish neighbors came out Saturday to mourn the quiet milkman who killed five of their young girls and wounded five more in a brief, unfathomable rampage.

Charles Carl Roberts IV, 32, was buried in his wife's family plot behind a small Methodist church, a few miles from the one-room schoolhouse he stormed Monday.

His wife, Marie, and their three small children looked on as Roberts was buried beside the pink, heart-shaped grave of the infant daughter whose death nine years ago apparently haunted him, said Bruce Porter, a fire department chaplain from Colorado who attended the service.

About half of perhaps 75 mourners on hand were Amish.

"It's the love, the forgiveness, the heartfelt forgiveness they have toward the family. I broke down and cried seeing it displayed," said Porter, who had come to Pennsylvania to offer what help he could. He said Marie Roberts was also touched.

"She was absolutely deeply moved, by just the love shown," Porter said.

Leaders of the local Amish community were gathering Saturday afternoon at a firehouse to decide the future of the schoolhouse, and of the school year itself.

The prevailing wisdom suggested a new school would be built.

"There will definitely be a new school built, but not on that property," said Mike Hart, a spokesman for the Bart Fire Company in Georgetown.

Roberts stormed the West Nickel Mines Amish School on Monday, releasing the 15 boys and four adults before tying up and shooting the 10 girls. Roberts, who had come armed with a shotgun, a handgun and a stun gun, then killed himself.

Roberts' suicide notes and last calls with his wife reveal a man tormented by memories — as yet unsubstantiated — of molesting two young relatives 20 years ago. He said he was also angry at God for the Nov. 14, 1997, death of the couple's first child, a girl named Elise Victoria who lived for just 20 minutes.

Hart is one of two non-Amish community members serving on a 10-member board that will decide how to distribute donations that have come in following the global news coverage. One stranger walked into the firehouse Saturday morning and dropped a $100 bill in the collection jar.

The condolences flowing into the Bart Post Office filled three large cartons on Saturday — two for the Amish children and one for the Roberts clan.

"(It's) envelopes, packages, food and a lot of cards," clerk Helena Salerno said.

More than $500,000 has been pledged, some of which is expected to cover medical costs for the five surviving girls. They remain hospitalized, and one is said to be in grave condition.

As the Sabbath Day approached, close friends expected to spend Sunday paying visits to the victims' families.

The funerals for the five slain girls — Marian Fisher, 13; Anna Mae Stoltzfus, 12; Naomi Rose Ebersol, 7, and sisters Mary Liz Miller, 8, and Lena Miller, 7 — were held Thursday and Friday.

One Amish woman, an aunt to the Miller girls, set out Saturday to retrieve some of the flowers dropped near the school and bring them to the families.

She was traveling on an Amish scooter and tried to balance two potted plants before going home and returning for the task with a child's small wagon.

The massacre sent out images to the world not only of the violence, but also of a little-known community that chooses to live an insular, agrarian way of life, shunning cars, electricity and other modern conveniences.

By Saturday, the hordes of satellite trucks and stand-up reporters had mostly left the country roads, and a semblance of routine returned. Early in the morning, Amish farmers hauled farm equipment past the boarded-up school.

"It was just getting to be too much," said Jane Kreider, a 48-year-old teacher's aide in Georgetown. "It was just, 'Get out of dodge, get out of our town and we'll pull together.'"

The Amish seem to really forgiving people. It's just sad that still most people in the United States are exteamly happy that he shot himself dead.

Smoking + Pumping Gas = Ignition

Police said the woman was pumping gas at a Race Trac near the University of Central Florida when a cigarette butt sparked the fire.

Flames burned the gas pump and set her car on fire.

"The car is virtually ruined," a fire official at the scene said. "(It happened) just by doing something stupid by smoking while fueling her car."

Signs near the gas pump said "no smoking."

The woman will not be ticketed for the incident, Local 6 News reported.

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Luckily this lady was not harmed BY THE FIRE SHE STARTED BY PUMPING GAS WHILE SMOKING A CIGARETTE! But what are the chances of this happening. They say no smoking but you really don't believe it until you're on fire.