Tuesday Open Thread

by Helen Tue Jul 8th, 2014 at 11:23:21 AM EST

Visitors welcome....

Tuesday Open Thread | 41 comments (41 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

A bit of New Age music so's I can wish hard....

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Jul 8th, 2014 at 11:24:31 AM EST

Restructuring (4.00 / 8)

As I indicated in May, I spent the last few months fearing for my job.

I work for a relatively independent branch of the state railway, which already suffered through a number of company "restructurings" (for example in 2007) which invariably meant a reduction of the workforce and denial of investment. In the last two years, our main problem was that we lacked certain certifications (no funds or manpower to do the paperwork), and the resulting loss of some customers pushed us into the red. So – as we finally learnt from various unofficial sources a few weeks ago – the top management saw us as good candidates for lay-offs in the next "restructuring", until some of our in-company customers told that we are needed and have no alternative (at least not anywhere near our price level). So as "compromise" it was decided that our profile shall be streamlined and the workforce reduced accordingly.

That hit us heavier than expected. We were invited to an "informative meeting". Well that lasted a single minute. Then the top management guy told that now they want to meet every single of us eye-to-eye for at most ten minutes. Almost half of us received their dismissal in those 'meetings' and were told to quit work the very next day. I wasn't among them, and it was horrible to feel relieved sitting next to the fired soon-to-be-ex-colleagues. Oh, and how surprised the management guys were that instead of going home in single file, the whole group sat through the hours and waited until everyone finished.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Tue Jul 8th, 2014 at 02:02:15 PM EST

Re: Restructuring (none / 1)

Shit, I'm sorry you're going through this.

Of course, you realise that this isn't over, don't you?

Once a company starts cutting into operational effectiveness, there's only one outcome

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Jul 8th, 2014 at 02:13:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Restructuring (4.00 / 5)

Financial capitalism and neoliberal ideology don't need engineers.

Have you read Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections? It's partly in praise of railway engineers.

Glad you got through, but the whole story is chilling.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Tue Jul 8th, 2014 at 02:28:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Restructuring (4.00 / 4)

Sucks. And of course Management doesn't understand loyalty and cohesion and emotional support -- no surprise there. I'm sorry for the others but was holding my breath until you said you weren't fired.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher

by Wife of Bath (kareninaustin at g mail dot com) on Tue Jul 8th, 2014 at 04:24:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

Hunter reviews Sarah Palin's latest speech for dKos

STOP SAYING WORDS. Dear God, just stop. It's like a dog ate a copy of Atlas Shrugged and the conservative welfare circuit vowed to print whatever ended up on the lawn the next day.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Jul 8th, 2014 at 03:02:50 PM EST

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

I missed the first goal.

I saw the next four, but couldn't quite believe my eyes.
Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of guys. Back to basics for Futbol.

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue
- Queen Elizabeth II}

by eurogreen on Tue Jul 8th, 2014 at 04:46:13 PM EST

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

Scolari didn't replace Neymar and Silva, he just left a hole.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Tue Jul 8th, 2014 at 04:55:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

Without them, Brazil is definitely a mediocre team. Illusions were still high - a perilous mismatch. Germany can pound weaknesses, as it already demonstrated against Portugal.

by das monde on Tue Jul 8th, 2014 at 06:01:54 PM EST
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Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

Dante is an excellent defender, so it's a bit of a mystery why replacing Silva with him should have resulted in this.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Tue Jul 8th, 2014 at 06:17:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

There was no midfield defense or pressing from Brazil. 'Schland was already better at quick "whatever one calls turnarounds (schnell umschalten)," and the passes were the best since the opening match.

Dante was not the problem, he played a fine match.

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Tue Jul 8th, 2014 at 06:45:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

At the first goal, which resulted from a corner kick, a grand total of five Brazilians were guarding Hummels while none guarded Müller. That's a total defence blackout.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Wed Jul 9th, 2014 at 03:45:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 4)

The 0-1 defeat of the US is looking pretty good right now.

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre

by ATinNM on Tue Jul 8th, 2014 at 05:16:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

Same for France, actually...

by Bernard (bernard) on Wed Jul 9th, 2014 at 04:13:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

1 - 7 (none / 0)

Wow

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre

by ATinNM on Tue Jul 8th, 2014 at 06:15:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: 1 - 7 (none / 1)

The scrollbar was needed pic.twitter.com/9GgPceJ79H
— #GrimmieNewSingle (@xdanic33) julio 8, 2014

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Jul 8th, 2014 at 06:27:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: 1 - 7 (none / 0)

It could have been 0-8, just before that 1.

by das monde on Tue Jul 8th, 2014 at 06:45:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: 1 - 7 (none / 0)

That meme swept through every handy i saw before the match.

heh.

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Tue Jul 8th, 2014 at 06:58:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: 1 - 7 (none / 0)

Unexpected. Not so much the win - brazil was at best middling the whole WC - but the score...

by IM on Tue Jul 8th, 2014 at 09:06:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: 1 - 7 (none / 0)

Nassim Taleb would be right to call this game a black swan.

Yet, that's a possibility when a host team is being pulled up by most referees. Like with financial markets, the gap between reality and the image was increasingly bemusing.

Brazil was without strategic options for this flow of the game. They still have to think about a win after the fast 0-1, and then suddenly they were thorn between finishing a game without yet more embarrassment and scoring a consolation goal.

by das monde on Wed Jul 9th, 2014 at 02:32:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: 1 - 7 (4.00 / 2)

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Wed Jul 9th, 2014 at 03:21:29 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: 1 - 7 (4.00 / 2)

Brazil were playing without a midfield. There was no way to get the ball from the back to the front but hazardous long passes or individual runs. Meanwhile Germany were free to build attacks from the midfield. Scolari should have reacted at 2-0, and brought his attackers back to the middle. He didn't, and a few minutes later it was 5-0.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Wed Jul 9th, 2014 at 03:30:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: 1 - 7 (none / 0)

The midfield was pretty useless. I tried to spot what Paulinho is doing - he played like a Lithuanian.

by das monde on Wed Jul 9th, 2014 at 07:38:19 AM EST
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Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

I'm speechless. Historic.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Tue Jul 8th, 2014 at 06:16:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

I'm especially glad for Miroslav Klose, former Werder Bremen striker from the top period. Most goals of anyone in the Cup.

It's pretty crazy here right now, for a semi-final win. But it only lasted an hour, perhaps because it's still raining.

I'm also satisfied that ZDF went into the favelas, and reported from there even 15 minutes before first kick.

the Bread and Circuses are almost over; then we return to what governments have passed while no one was looking. For example, the new German EEG.

But i don't wish to take away from Herr Klose.

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Tue Jul 8th, 2014 at 06:56:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

I usually don't watch. Mostly because I always predict Germany will lose (that's how German I am). If favorable circumstances materialize, I usually hear some screaming outside my window. I looked up the score when people kept screaming like drunkards. A bit surreal.

_{Schengen is toast!}

by epochepoque on Tue Jul 8th, 2014 at 08:18:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

Was it anywhere near like in Buenos Aires?

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Wed Jul 9th, 2014 at 03:43:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mattlynley/germanys-world-cup-goal-flurry-sends-twitter-into-a-frenzy?s=mobi le

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Tue Jul 8th, 2014 at 11:46:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

I had to get up early, so I was able to go to bed at half time comfortable who was going to win.

But I think the germans lifted the gas a bit after the 5th. Don't get hurt, don't get booked.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Wed Jul 9th, 2014 at 01:45:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

some comments that even with their foot off the gas, Germany still managed to win the second half by 2-1

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Wed Jul 9th, 2014 at 11:38:08 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

somebody in Essex bet £5 at 500-1 on a 7-1 scoreline.

Personally I think 500-1 is positively scrooge like

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Wed Jul 9th, 2014 at 12:13:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

I read somebody bet $20 on 7-1 and Khedira scoring and won over $46k...

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jul 9th, 2014 at 12:18:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

As a direct consequence from this, Rousseff will struggle to get reelected.

_{Schengen is toast!}

by epochepoque on Wed Jul 9th, 2014 at 02:46:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

Before the game:

Why do Brazil and Germany never play one another? - SBNation.com

No two nations have done as much World Cupping as today's semi-finalists, Brazil and Germany. This edition's hosts are the only side to play at all twenty competitions; the Germans have missed only two. Brazil have won it five times and played 102 matches in the process; while their European opponents have only lifted the trophy on a mere three occasions, they've actually played 104 games at the finals. And yet, when they meet later today in Belo Horizonte, it will be only the second time they've met at a World Cup.
[...] Perhaps that's why Oliver Kahn spilled the ball so limply in the 2002 final. He was completely overwhelmed by the awkwardness of the situation.

It got only more awkward.

by das monde on Wed Jul 9th, 2014 at 08:48:32 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Durable $100 oil (none / 1)

Paging Jérôme...

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Jul 8th, 2014 at 06:50:53 PM EST

Re: Durable $100 oil (none / 1)

Brent is even higher. Oil production entered a new historic age in 2005. When marginal production like tar sands cost $80 to produce and fracking $70 it's not difficult to see where the new floor price is. We will never have cheap oil again -- though compared to its usefulness it's still very cheap. We're running out of booster rockets. What's the next stage? Sticking giant electrodes into tar sands that are powered by nuclear reactors?

_{Schengen is toast!}

by epochepoque on Tue Jul 8th, 2014 at 08:24:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Durable $100 oil (none / 0)

although a lot of people are talking about this being driven by middlemen forcing profit expansion

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Wed Jul 9th, 2014 at 01:43:35 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Durable $100 oil (none / 0)

Or a market rigged by speculators, any time now it will crash...

Still waiting.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Wed Jul 9th, 2014 at 03:34:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Durable $100 oil (none / 0)

What's the next stage? Sticking giant electrodes into tar sands that are powered by nuclear reactors?

Well... Big oil getting desperate: Making oil with nuclear energy by Jerome a Paris on September 24th, 2005

Total May Use Atomic Power At Oil-Sand Project (WSJ, behind subscription wall)
PARIS -- French oil giant Total SA, amid rising oil and natural-gas prices, is considering building a nuclear power plant to extract ultraheavy oil from the vast oil-sand fields of western Canada.

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jul 9th, 2014 at 08:24:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Durable $100 oil (none / 0)

We're doomed.

I won't even bother adding the ™

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Wed Jul 9th, 2014 at 09:02:32 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Durable $100 oil (4.00 / 2)

Doom is in the public domain now.

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jul 9th, 2014 at 09:20:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Tuesday Open Thread | 41 comments (41 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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