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Chrysler to cut 1,100 jobs in Ontario
This week, he took a call from Chrysler brass informing him that sales of the 300 and its two sister cars built at Brampton - the Dodge Charger and the Magnum wagon - had slipped enough in North America to warrant a major cutback in production. The unbridled optimism in 2005 among the CAW and Chrysler executives that the car would stand the test of time has now hit a cold wall of realism suggesting it may not. And in a flash, Brampton's muscle car party is over. Blaming a slowing U.S. market, Chrysler announced Thursday it will discontinue the Magnum and cut the third shift at Brampton in February, putting 1,100 factory workers on layoff. It's part of a wider and deeper cutback effort under new owners Cerberus Capital Management that will see the automaker dump four models and cut an additional 10,000 hourly, 1,000 salaried and 1,000 contract jobs as it aims to steer the company back to profitability. More>>
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Part 1: Kauaians embark on Bhutan healing adventure
Few people in the country have vehicles and farmers live in houses often isolated high up on mountain slopes without electricity. Children characteristically walk two or more miles to and from school over mountainous terrain. Although many farmers grow rice and vegetables on multi-tiered terraced slopes, and keep cows or yaks, they may trek miles to village markets to supplement their diets. But as I am to learn, Bhutanese are enriched with a culture and religion that fosters contentment.We soon find out that the trekking time to any place is always given on two levels, one for the foreigners and another the Bhutanese (which is about half of the former time). Besides having the agility and stamina of mountain goats, it becomes apparent as the trip unfolds, that as well as loving their culture, Bhutanese people truly love nature.Except for the two-day trek with three nights camping, we stay in hotels and guesthouses. More>>
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Cohen's Turkey stance a puzzler
Unless he changes his mind, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen is about to sack his budding reputation as a human-rights crusader. And he'll do it with a vote against a resolution to officially label as genocide the World War I era massacre of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Turks. His stance on a resolution with broad bipartisan support is an unfortunate yet avoidable deviation from socially conscious positions Cohen has selected to stake out in his first year as a congressman. . More>>