Oracle of Delphi

Thank you, CadillacKing and Saturndood, I feel your pain, I don't know what I really feel about my father's death other than numb and the thought that I can never see him again in this life, which to me at this time, is so incredibly unbelievable, I can barely get my head around it.

Warning! Too much time in the kitchen may make you end up looking like Santa! HOHOHO!

Thinking about it.

I have an urge to call it Christine.

Hmm, one of these, just can't make up my mind. Cadillac CTS wagon, Cadillac BLS wagon or a Saab 9 3 wagon.

I would like to own that, just for the 69 Texas plate alone.

Who knows, maybe just list my body on EBay, see who bites. :AH-HA_wink:

Hope you find a new job soon Mikey! My backup plan is to sell my body!

Let's just say I didn't pick Pontiac, I like to bet on a sure thing!

Yeah you know us Germans, we're smarter than we look! :AH-HA_wink:

Allow me, I have fulll access to almost anything! Senator calls for 50 mpg as condition for aid WASHINGTON -- Automakers that receive federal aid should double the fuel economy of their fleets by 2020, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said today. Nelson's remarks during Senate floor debate suggest that Republicans are not the only lawmakers who may block emergency loans to the Detroit 3. In an interview, Nelson said a new energy law that raises fleetwide fuel economy to 35 mpg by 2020 -- about 40 percent higher than today -- falls far short. "Why should we be pouring taxpayer money into an automobile industry that has continued to resist higher miles per gallon, which has led us in part to the problems we're in?" he said. Nelson said he wants a fleetwide average of 50 mpg by 2020. Asked whether he would seek to block aid to the industry over that issue, he said: "All of that is process. That is yet to be determined." Nelson echoed other lawmakers who say the aid legislation should include pay limits for Detroit 3 executives. But he also said current senior management of the automakers should step down. General Motors declined to comment on Nelson's proposals, pending the release of the actual legislative language. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he plans to introduce a broad economic stimulus bill that includes aid to automakers. If that bill fails, Reid said, he will offer a bill that provides only for expanded unemployment benefits and aid to the Detroit 3, expected to be $25 billion in loans drawn from $700 billion already approved to rescue the nation's financial system. The White House says Congress should make it easier for automakers to get loans from a separate $25 billion previously approved to help with retooling for more fuel-efficient vehicles. Separately, in a Senate floor speech late this afternoon, Republican Whip Jon Kyl of Arizona argued against a federal bailout of the Detroit 3 and attempted to refute their claim that bankruptcy is not a realistic option. If the companies need to shed debts, employees, brands and dealers to become viable, that's exactly what bankruptcy protection is designed to help them accomplish, Kyl argued. He also revealed that Bush administration officials have discussed providing aid to automakers to help them get through reorganization under bankruptcy law since they contend normal sources of credit would likely be cut off. As for suggestions that the federal government would help manage automakers if they get a bailout, Kyl threw up his hands and said, "That is the last thing you want." Link: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti.../811170235/1200

General Motors' European unit "won't provide a single cent" of the aid it might get from the German government. General Motors might be burning its way through cash but it won't get a chance to even singe any bailout money that its European subsidiary might get. Adam Opel has said it will keep any funding it gets from the German government, even as its ailing parent company has revealed it is close to bankruptcy. "We as employees will make our contribution in this difficult time to ensure future investments," said Klaus Franz, deputy supervisory board chairman of GM in Europe said Saturday. "But we won't provide a single cent, which then would be burned from GM." On Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck and Economy Minister Michael Glos were scheduled to meet with top Opel executives to discuss the company's request for loan guarantees. Franz, who is also the top labor representative of General Motors' (nyse: GM - news - people ) European division, said that "Opel has no liquidity problem. This is purely a precautionary measure." Opel, which employs some 26,000 people in Germany, on Friday became the first European carmaker to request financial help from the state to maintain its business, a sign that it could no longer rely on its Detroit parent to cope with sliding demand. Michael Tyndall, an analyst with Nomura International in London, said it made sense for Opel to look after its own interests. "It's a case of local government needing to address the concerns of local businesses," he said. "Likewise, I'm not sure a rescue package in the U.S. will flow through to GM in Europe." Earlier this month, GM posted a net loss of $2.5 billion for the third quarter, compared with a net loss of $38.9 billion, in the third quarter of 2007. The company, which spent around $6.9 billion in the last three months, said it could run short of cash in just two months. Automakers in both the United States and Europe are facing slower sales as faltering economies spell weaker consumer demand and a lack of confidence in the financial sector affects their own financing. Consumers are also struggling to get loans to buy their cars, which is hurting the industry enormously. (See "Credit Crunch Hits European Autos.") Earlier this year, the U.S. Congress approved a $25.0 billion rescue package to help the three biggest carmakers in the United States survive a steep decline in consumer spending. European car manufacturers are currently pushing for a similar 40.0 billion euro ($50.7 billion) bailout package. Meanwhile, Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg said Monday that his government was considering measures for Swedien's auto industry, according to TradeTheNews, which could mean assistance for truck makers Volvo and Scania. Shares of Volvo slipped 0.6% and Scania was down 0.9% on Monday in Stockholm. Link: http://www.forbes.com/markets/2008/11/17/o...7markets04.html

¿Por qué no te callas? - Why don't you shut up? You just have to love Juan Carlos!

Yes I know, as the eldest son, I haven't even started the grieving process, it's my job to get my mother and siblings through theirs first. Someone needs to be in control, it's the German way.

A Michigan State University student, the trouble with it is, it's picked up by a lot of other colleges. Feel free to leave you comments there. Sometimes I don't think GM will surmount the negative bias that's out there.

Oddly, I agree with your assessment.

This is THE END. The auto industry is dead. Or just about. It's amazing the stories you hear about car manufacturers from where I sit, in an educated mid-Michigan community that is perfectly suited to retrain autoworkers into just about anything technical that is not auto-related. Governor Granholm was interviewed by the national media all week long, talking about how "the collapse of the auto industry would have a ripple effect throughout the nation." The entire Michigan congressional delegation -- Republicans, Democrats, Communists, Socilaists, all of 'em -- sent a joint letter to the legislative leaders and President Bush asking for help. Automaker leaders of Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler descended on Capitol Hill, begging for a Lee Iacocca-style loan out of the $700 billion bailout package, to be paid back with interest (of course). Problem is there are not enough leaders in DC taking the bait. Matter of fact, neither am I -- and I am also a Democrat from Michigan. See, we had this discussion at work around the water cooler, and my boss said "people don't realize that the auto industry is so strongly tied to our national economy." I just thought to myself -- "bull$h!." Sorry, outside of Michigan and Ohio, we might like to think that the auto industry is relevant... but it is not -- it shouldn't be if our future depends on it. It is a global industry now, with cars being built by different companies from different countries with different parts from all over the world. Where the hell were the pistons in my Canadian Buick Century made? -- same place as the Brazilian rubber Goodyear tires or the American engine block? I have no idea... The problem is that the American auto industry had it coming, and the fat cats at the top have been nothing short of blind, deaf, and dumb... with the exception to line their own pockets. THE END has been 30 years in the making, and the auto industry missed the boat with future technology. GM leadership for years have called hybrid cars a "bad economic model." Problem is, hybrids are all that people have been buying the last year. GM had no models designed, no fuel efficient vehicles glimmering in showrooms. The reality is that the squeeze of oil has finally been the push that moves advanced countries on this Earth closer to a George Jetson world. Now and forever people will be purchasing fuel efficient cars, and not gas guzzling Buicks, Chevys, and the like. Want proof? No more evidence than the 45% drop in GM sales last month coupled with a $18 billion (that's billion with a "B") loss this year which has the auto giant on its knees, with the gun of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson pointed at their head. The fact that auto industry leaders never made contingency plans -- or better yet, diversified their offerings --- has spelled doom. The collapse in the US and international credit economy has done nothing more than hasten the death of this very sick and ill patient. Even if the auto industry did get the money, there's no assurances that it would help. Matter of fact, let's call it like it is -- it IS too late. The only solution? What this industry needs is a swift kick in the ass. Leadership is all about taking risk and jettisoning the status quo. There is no leadership among the fat cats in American auto industry. Let this industry go bankrupt, which will force the leaders into a restructuring plan that will create Jetson-esque transportation for the 21st century and beyond. All those workers who lose their jobs... that is a tough issue, but that is why we have COLLEGE and COMMUNITY COLLEGES and RETRAINING. Get THEM folks EDJICATED. It's never too late, especially if you want to have a roof over your head and put food on the table. Pensions? Retiree benefits? Come on, welcome to 2008. Anything beyond a 401-k is so 1950-ish. The fact that automakers have been so willing to shell out billions for decades to people not working has finally come home to roost. There is this little matter of national security -- we do need a manufacturing base to be able to turn to in times of dire need, say if the Canadians or Chinese invaded and we needed our factories to make tanks, bombs, or bombers. But, bankruptcy can help get rid of all of the issues that have festered for years, and give America a new baseline for the auto industry that can design the industry for a more successful future. Sure it will hurt. But so did having my appendix out last week. A few painkillers, and you'll get over it. And, so will America. It is time to move on. Link: http://www.collegeotr.com/michigan_state_u..._chrysler_14752

Back in 2005, Opel opened in all respects, an embassy in Berlin, to be able to wheel and deal with the German politicians as they saw fit. GM, needs to set this up in Washington, D.C. as far as I am concerned, to help with North American Auto issues. For those that have visited the German capital, this is the Opel building you see there. One that is near and dear to me. German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder opens ‘Opel in Berlin’ 2002.05.14. Rüsselsheim/Berlin. The German Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, along with the Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, and the Chairman of Opel's Board of Management, Carl-Peter Forster, today opened ‘Opel in Berlin', Opel's new coordination center in the German capital. Located on Friedrichstraße, right next to the government district in the center of Berlin , the new complex provides the company with a direct link to the capital's political and business communities. 'Opel in Berlin ' will also serve as a forum for lively exchanges of ideas with trade and industry associations, the media and the general public. Among the 600 or so guests at the opening ceremony were many famous politicians and actors. “With our new 'Embassy' in the center of the German capital, we will be able to project our image as a modern, innovative and future-oriented company. We want to offer everyone an open forum, a place to meet and find out all the latest information about our cars and the Opel brand”, said Carl-Peter Forster in his welcoming speech. With a permanent exhibition of the latest models and numerous changing displays – extending from some of the cars from Opel's legendary past to the very latest state-of-the-art engineering and technology – 'Opel in Berlin' will be a genuine attraction for visitors. Art exhibitions and lectures will also be held from time to time, and there is an 'Auto-Media Café' for the general public, too. All in all, the company has invested around 12 million euros in the new complex since building work began in April 2000. In addition to the showrooms themselves, the building will house a boardroom and the eastern Germany sales office that was formerly located beside Berlin 's river Spree . The office has twelve staff whose job it is to look after the Opel dealer network in the eastern part of Germany . The 'Opel in Berlin ' center is located in a modern office and residential complex on Friedrichstraße, which is just next to the international commercial center. Adam Opel AG occupies around 4000 square meters in this representative building, spread over three floors. “The new location marks an important step in the history of Opel in Berlin ,” said Carl-Peter Forster at the opening of the new coordination center. The links between Rüsselsheim and the German capital have always been very good. It was as long ago as 1906 that the first official Opel branch began operating in Berlin , and in 1937 Opel began assembling refrigerators there. From 1964, the company manufactured bearing shells, connecting rods and flange bearings in the suburb of Lankwitz. Just one year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, in 1991, the Opel partners in Berlin joined forces and opened a 1200 square meter showroom ‘Opel an der Spree' next to the Friedrichstadt Palace. This will now be closed with the opening of the new ‘Opel in Berlin ' coordination center. Link: http://gm-press.com/HU/site/article.php?aid=589

I told you some weeks back that GME was working and pushing for a plan that would spinoff GME. However GME wants to bring GM Holden and GMDAT with it, and reincorporate as a new company with it's headquarters in Zürich, Switzerland. I kind of like the name Global Motors that has been bandied about.

For those I missed saying thank you too, it's been a tough week. So I will thank you now for your thoughts, prayers, and words of encouragement. It was and is much appreciated. der Bö®gÉr

I thank y'all for your words of encouragement and prayers. For those that don't know, my father was in one of the best facilities for Stroke victims in the country, which also happens to be in Delaware, near my home here. Today I will be flying with his body, back home to Plano, Texas, which is where my parent's home is, and where I grew up. There will be a Funeral Mass in Latin offered for him on Wednesday. That night we three boys will take my mother to St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, which is where my parents have a vacation home, to spend time with my mother in the place my father loved so much. I am taking at least a week off to be with her. After that, I have a feeling I will throw myself into my work for a while, so if you don't hear from me in a while, not to worry, I just need some time to adjust and decompress, for how ever long that takes me. Until then ...

This will be the first time in my life, I'll celebrate the upcoming Holidays without my father. My father died yesterday morning, and a piece of me died with him. It's funny, when I was a small child my father's word was law in our house, and I feared him. As a teen, I defied him, as a young adult in my 20's, I understood him and respected him, and as I entered my 30's, my father became my friend. As the eldest child of three boys, I feel lucky in the fact that I had the most time with my father. Time I would not trade for all the money in the world. My father and I had a simple and loving relationship, you see he suffered a devastating stroke last year which left him paralyzed on one side and almost unable to to speak. I watched him go through a lot of speech and physical therapy sessions in the last year, he did regain some speech back, but he was not back by any means to where he was before the stroke. Sometimes I think God sends things your way to humble you, not so much to humble my father, because he was a good man, but more to the point of humbling me. But there were more good times than bad. My father loved to fish, and he tried to instill that love in us boys, but I am a Gemini, which means I get bored easily, and after about waiting 15 minutes with no bite on the line, I convinced my brother to go look for bugs with me, and I set the rod down, when we returned the rod was nowhere to be found, you see biggest darn fish you ever saw took the bait and pulled the rod out into the lake. My father must have cast 100 times into that lake, until he actually hooked the rod and pulled it and the fish to shore. My father left me wonderful gifts that will sustain me throughout the rest of my life, my passion for nature, my curiosity about life, and my hunger for knowledge, these I will always treasure. As my father lay dying in the hospital yesterday, I whispered in his ear I Love You Dad! He tried to say it back to me, but he was too weak. I said I know Dad, I've always known. I will miss him more than he will ever know.

Look, I could care less what you think or say, I have more important things to worry about at this point in my life, my father is very ill and may just die, so if you want to back bite and snipe, feel free, in the grand scheme of things, I really don't care what you think of me anyway.

By Christopher S. Rugaber, The Associated Press WASHINGTON - Barack Obama's victory in the U.S. presidential race will give labour unions and the embattled U.S. auto industry a strong ally in the White House, and likely will put pressure on oil and gas producers and pharmaceutical companies. His election Tuesday also makes congressional approval of a fresh economic stimulus package - perhaps as large as $150 billion - more likely, economists said. "There is a general consensus that some kind of stimulus plan is called for," said Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics. The new president's biggest challenge will be to turn around an economy that many analysts already believe is in recession. A stubborn housing slump led to the worst U.S. financial crisis in 70 years, which has caused banks to reduce lending and consumers and businesses to sharply cut back their spending. The economic slowdown, plus a ballooning budget deficit that by some estimates could near $1 trillion in the budget year that began Oct. 1, will restrict Obama's ability to make good on some of his more ambitious promises, such as expanding health care coverage and subsidizing alternative energy. The Illinois senator has pledged to offset some expenditures by raising corporate tax rates and income taxes on families making more than US$250,000. Obama is expected to move quickly to put his stamp on the huge $700 billion financial bailout Congress approved last month, analysts said. Anil Kashyap, an economics professor at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business, said Tuesday that naming the next treasury secretary and his top deputies - who will oversee the bailout plan - should be the new president's top economic priority. In return for the rescue plan, banks, insurance companies, hedge funds and the rest of the financial sector will almost certainly face a regulatory overhaul effort by the Democratic Congress next year. Obama's reputation as a conciliator, meanwhile, will be sorely tested by the labour-backed Employee Free Choice Act, which would allow workers to form unions by getting a majority of employees to sign a card in support of a union, rather than through a secret ballot election. Business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce fiercely oppose the measure because they say the elimination of the secret ballot would open up workers to intimidation and harassment. The measure, supported by Obama and most Democrats in Congress, was approved in the House of Representatives last year but stalled in the Senate. Meanwhile, Obama has promised to help Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC by doubling a recently approved loan program to $50 billion to help the auto industry develop more fuel-efficient cars. Oil and gas companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., however, could face a windfall profits tax, which Obama has promised to impose to pay for a $1,000 "emergency energy rebate" for families. Also on energy, Obama proposes spending $150 billion over 10 years to speed the development of plug-in hybrid cars and "commercial-scale" renewables, such as wind and solar. Under an Obama administration, pharmaceutical companies will struggle to defend the lucrative Medicare drug benefit, which pays for medications taken by 47 million elderly people. Obama has pledged to allow the government to negotiate drug prices under the program directly with the pharmaceutical companies, saying it could save $30 billion. Link: http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/s/0511200...-companies.html

Work A four letter word that ends in K.