HCP Announces Second Quarter 2010 Results

LONG BEACH, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–HCP (the “Company” or “we”) (NYSE:HCP) announced results for the quarter ended June 30, 2010 as follows (in thousands, except per share amounts):         Three Months EndedJune 30, 2010           Three Months EndedJune 30, 2009   Amount           Per Share Amount           Per Share Funds from operations (“FFO”) (1) $ 161,875 $ 0.55 $ 146,094 $ 0.55 Impairments   —   —   5,906   0.02 FFO before giving effect to impairments $ 161,875 $ 0.55 $ 152,000 $ 0.57 Ne

See the article here:
HCP Announces Second Quarter 2010 Results

THQ Achieves Successful Turnaround in Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2010 and Reports Strong Fourth Quarter Results

AGOURA HILLS, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended March 31, 2010, demonstrating the company’s significant financial turnaround in just one year.         Three Months Ended         Twelve Months Ended March 31, March 31, ($ thousands except EPS)   2010             2009     2010             2009     GAAP Net sales $ 197,668 $ 170,259 $ 899,137 $ 829,963 Operating income (loss) (9,380 ) (87,149 ) (9,649 ) (38

Follow this link:
THQ Achieves Successful Turnaround in Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2010 and Reports Strong Fourth Quarter Results

HCP Announces Results for the Fourth Quarter and Year Ended December 31, 2009

LONG BEACH, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–HCP (the “Company” or “we”) (NYSE:HCP) announced results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009 as follows (in thousands, except per share amounts): � � Three Months Ended December 31, 2009 � � � � Three Months Ended December 31, 2008 Amount � � � Per Share Amount � � � Per Share Funds from operations (“FFO”) $ 106,040 $ 0.36 $ 121,029 $ 0.48 Impai

Read the rest here:
HCP Announces Results for the Fourth Quarter and Year Ended December 31, 2009

It is High Time the US Ended Its Embargo Against Cuba

Since the Cuban revolution took place on New Year’s eve of 1959 the United States has had 10 Presidents who have had many of the same ideas while differing on many of which but if there be one consistent it was and still is their repetition of the now ridiculous expression “Castro will soon fall!”. Yes, this will eventually happen after all who has not been born who will or has not already died so technically speaking Castro will some day fall but it will not be because of an American embargo which in its 48 years has not produced any positive results in either bringing an end to Castro’s reign or improving the lives in any way shape or form of the people of Cuba. I would even say along with many others that this policy has done the complete opposite which is to strengthen the position of Fidel Castro’s regime as the average Cuban citizen has no other choice but to depend on it for everything he or she needs to survive. Furthermore I can add that it would be an act of obstinacy rather then anything else that would lead any to continue this failed foreign policy as it does not require much astuteness on anybody’s part to see that if this strategy were going to work it would have done so already and if it has not done so after 48 years then any man or woman who has even some use of common sense can see that it is not going to. 

Sometimes or rather quit often the truth as to why things are done or not is what we need to look for ourselves specially with regards to politics were it is not always convenient for those in power to reveal it to us. Let us look at Cuba, yes it is true they are not a democratic society and do not even pretend to be one and we are told this is the reason the United States has resorted to an embargo. Of course one could seriously argue weather an embargo has ever or will ever produce changes anywhere of any kind other then negative ones for the people of the country given that those in power always manage to get by more then nicely. With regards to Cuba’s democracy or lack of which to this I would say that it is not every government that can maintain the principles of democracy as well as some of our other trading partners such as China, Saudi Arabia, Chile (under Pinochet), Vietnam and even the Soviet Union. This last country being one whom we never had an embargo (other then the grain embargo which was quickly drooped) against even during the worst tensions of the cold war. With regards to Vietnam, I can give the example of how an American Vietnam Veteran asked if America does not have an embargo against a country like Vietnam; whom we were once at war with, why does it have one against a country which technically speaking we were never at war with? I might even add it was us who tried to invade Cuba and not the other way around.  

This last point brings me to a conclusion which I feel can not be totally wrong and it being that if we look at what Cuba has. The answer would be nothing of any real value to offer the US as what it has is sugar which we can produce ourselves or buy somewhere else very cheaply. For instance The Dominican Republican which was even known to use child labor to in its production of the same commodity. Cuba has beautiful beaches which I hope to visit one day even if my country (much to what should be the shame of Americans) does not lift its embargo but then again it is not like Americans do not have beaches in the US or other nearby Caribbean countries. Cigars is another thing Cuba has to offer; which based upon my knowledge though not experience are reported to be the best in world but again as is the case with sugar; it is not that this a product which is all that vital to our economy and which we could not get in another country (though perhaps not of the same quality) like Jamaica.

Once we eliminate these three items Cuba has little to offer the American economy however I ask if they had oil as does Saudi Arabia or a huge population with costs of labor being dirt cheap as they are in China; would we then be overlooking their human rights record or lack of democracy as we conveniently do so with the above mentioned countries? This is a question which at best can be retorted with an educated guess which would come in the affirmative. 

Some would say another reason for the embargo is the “Cuban Missile Crisis” but this lacks as much sense as the embargo does because if we look at the events that lead up to this crisis it was the Soviet Union putting missiles in Cuba that created it. Cuba merely allowed its territory to be used for this purpose. A decision which perhaps might have even been forced on Castro as the Soviets were not ones to give their satellites much in the way of options as was the case with countries like Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, the DDR, Romania and Bulgaria. We may speculate weather or not Castro willingly went along with Khrushchev on that one but let us claim that for all intensive purposes, since we have not concrete proof otherwise that he did so on his own free will. If this was the case then why place an embargo on only the country that allowed missiles to be put on their territory aimed at us and not the country that actually put those missiles there in first place. Of coarse always bearing in mind that we too had missiles of our own aimed at the Soviet Union, also from countries which were close to them such as Turkey and West Germany.

As for the Castro’s government many things can be said against it but let us not forget the facts which perhaps some want to keep us in the dark about. First; Castro did win the elections in Cuba several years before the revolution which the Batista government chose not to honor so with regards to Castro taking power; this in reality one could say was done with the support of the people of Cuba. At least back then now weather he still rules with it is another issue though in Cuba there is no sign of revolt against him. Second; I speak not in favor of communism as I have seen the damage it can do specially during my time in Poland and have read about all the atrocities of Stalin and Mao but again let us recall that Batista’s Cuba was also a dictatorship with the basic difference being that the American mafia could benefit from it.

Castro on the other hand for all his shortcomings in human rights has lead a country which has eliminated illiteracy, has a medical system which is amongst the world’s best and this despite of the American embargo and having had Soviet founding cut over 15 years ago. As for change; Cuba is moving slowly toward a free market by allowing small private businesses to emerge much like China. I for my own can not help but think of all the further changes toward a free market and society that would have come about if the United States had seen Cuba in the same light as they do China or even Vietnam; which in not only my opinion but that of many others are clear examples of what transformations may occur when embargoes are not applied.

In all this it is fortunate for the people of Cuba that the European Union does not have to pamper to the wishes of a select few as they are taking the steps which they should have done so a long time ago by lifting their embargo of the island. Naturally this lifting of sanctions brings along strings that come in the form of requiring the Cuban government to release political prisoners, engage in dialogue with their political opposition and an overall improvement of human rights that would include a freer press. I might go further with this line by claiming that as much as I am against the institution which is the Vatican; I would have to admit though it pleases me not in the least to do so that the late Pope (John Paul II) brought about more democratic changes in Cuba with one visit then the American embargo has in 48 years. This being the case with his visit which lead to some political prisoners being released along with churches being allowed to open for the first time since the revolution.

According to polls taken in recent years and some even going back as far as the 1992 Presidential elections; most Americans are opposed to the American embargo on Cuba but it is not most Americans that are deciding American policy toward Cuba but a small group of Cuban Americans (some of which have not as much as set foot in Cuba) living mostly in Florida who have been given the undeserved right to dictate American policy toward Cuba simply because they come from this country. I say undeserved because if we look at history did any other ethnic group ever get to decide American foreign policy toward the nation they came from? Did German Americans get to decide American policy toward Germany during W.W. I or W.W. II or did Russian Americans get the same privilege with regards to the Soviet Union or did Vietnamese Americans or those who came from Vietnam get to do likewise with regards to American policy toward the country they had left? They did not and theirs was an opinion that was not even requested so I enquire why should Cuban Americans get to decide the policy of our nation as a whole toward their country of origin when other ethnic groups did not receive the same privilege. Also taking in to account that American foreign policy toward Cuba does not only effect Cuban Americans but all Americans.

This boils down to the real issue as to the reality of this absurd embargo’s raison d’être which is to obtain the votes of those Cuban Americans living in Florida that are crucial to any candidate wishing to win this vital state. I for my part claim to be of the notion that if not for a voting system (Electoral College) which is even more antiquated and senseless then the embargo I argue against; the issue would be decided by our nation as a whole who would be allowed to debate the matter. Instead of a handful of Cuban Americans who from my point of view seem more concerned with being vengeful against their country of origin then in bringing about real change. I however do not deny that there might be some Cuban Americans who wish well for their country. Therefore it is to those who truly want democracy in Cuba as opposed to those who simply want a regime change so they might get their hands on some cheap land before the price goes up that I say that history has made it clear that the way to bring about change is not embargoes or sanctions but negotiations which should not be confused with appeasement.

In conclusion I will say that if one thing I share with those who desire to prolong America’s embargo on Cuba; it is that I like they wish to see the end of Castro’s communist dictatorship but unlike them I feel the way to go about it is another. Dialog instead of sanctions or embargoes is what not only I but millions through out the United States are calling for and yet our voices are not being heard simply because we contrary to those who wish to continue the embargo can not vote in Florida.

My Road to Jung: How I Ended Up 10,000 Feet Under the Ground

It turned out that I would have many confirming dreams about training, applying for training, and Jung himself. Early on, however, my road to Jung was paved not by initiatory dreams or visions (at least, I do not recall any), but by a sequence of pivotal events in my life. These events have had for me a feeling of fate about them, as if I had been led or called in a specific direction, one for which I unconsciously yearned. It was as if I had been guided through a dense fog without knowing it at the time–until much later, when I would be able to identify and choose the path more consciously.

As background, I must first say that I was clearly on a spiritual search throughout my college years. Never initiated or grounded in the religious tradition of my parents, Judaism, I was left on my own to explore the answers to the perennial questions about life. Most of my early interests were in Eastern philosophy and practices, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism–or at least the Western versions of them taught by Alan Watts, Ram Dass, Stephen, and others.

At the same time, I was drawn to the study of psychology, and pursued undergraduate and graduate degrees in the field, particularly clinical, or applied, psychology. For a long time, these two interests–spirituality and psychology– ran parallel in my life, rarely touching one another (one exception I recall was a class at Long Beach State University called “Yoga and Psychology”). Generally, I studied psychology in school and spiritual disciplines in my personal life. When I was accepted for doctoral studies in clinical psychology at the University of Arizona, I requested permission to minor in religious studies, but was denied. My advisor matter- of-factly informed me that my area of study, clinical psychology, was already the “softest” specialty in psychology. Religious studies were simply out of the question. He said I needed to pick a “hard” scientific area in which to minor, like statistics or experimental psychology. So I ended up selecting something I could live with, developmental psychology.

Meanwhile, I fell in love with a woman I met at the mental health facility where I worked. Among the things we had in common were strong spiritual and metaphysical penchants. I discovered that she was particularly fond of the writings of Jung, about which I knew nothing. I remember her showing me Man and His Symbols and her prized volumes of Jung’s Collected Works. I also recollect her talking to me about the meaning in dreams. However, I was only superficially interested in what she told me, focusing more on getting through my doctoral studies (which completely excluded Jungian psychology). I looked at her and my dreams with about the same seriousness

that I read the newspaper horoscope (i.e., as a form of play). Jungian psychology was something I was simply not able to grasp at the time.

Probably the biggest turning point came when it was time for me to leave the university campus and complete a year-long clinical internship. I conscientiously sought a position with good financial support and a desirable geographical location (I was interested in living a simple, back-to-the-land lifestyle somewhere in the Pacific Northwest). By an odd sequence of events, right before the deadline for applications an advisor at school suggested I apply to Camarillo State Hospital in California. I looked it up in my internship guidebook and it didn’t sound very inviting. It offered the minimal NIMH stipend, just $3,600 for the year! Even worse, it was less than an hour’s drive from my city of birth, Los Angeles, to which I had no desire to return. Not to mention the fact that I had already applied to twelve other locations! “Well,” I thought, “I guess I could apply to Camarillo as a back-up in the unlikely event that all the other applications fall through.” “No one would want to go there!” I figured. “I know I’ll get accepted!”

A month or so later, rejection notices started rolling in and–you guessed it–I ended up being accepted only at my last choice, Camarillo State Hospital! After getting over the shock and disappointment, I resigned myself to my fate, packed up my bags, and headed out west to Camarillo, California. Soon after arriving, I met two psychology interns who told me they’d come from far away across the country. They had chosen Camarillo’s mental hospital as their first choice because of the Jungian analyst on the staff! I believe this was probably the only internship in the country with a Jungian analyst on staff. Well, this piqued my curiosity, to say the least. And the seeds my girlfriend had planted seemed to get a few drops of moisture.

Shortly after I arrived at the hospital, the analyst there, Russ Lockhart, was asked to give a talk to the psychology staff. He showed the film Face to Face and commented briefly on the things Jung discussed in the BBC interview. I don’t recall much of what Russ said, only that I was moved and drawn to it. The other psychologists and interns showed little or no interest, but the two east coast interns and I were hungry for more. We collectively asked Russ to meet with us informally, once a week, over a brown bag lunch, and he agreed. It wasn’t really a seminar, but more a chance to ask Russ questions and discuss various of Jung’s thoughts and ideas. I didn’t understand all of what he said, but what I did grasp made a great deal of sense, much more than what I was being taught elsewhere in the hospital. I just knew, somehow, that it was right. It resonated with something inside me. The seeds were beginning to sprout.

I started reading Jungian books and articles, and began working with an analyst in Los Angeles. At the hospital, Russ instructed our little group in the use of sandtray therapy and supervised my work with an adolescent patient. I remember being touched by how respectful Russ was of the human psyche. He encouraged me to take seriously the utterances of my psychotic patient (she claimed her twin babies had been killed by hospital attendants). He taught me to pay attention to the images and patterns in the unconscious, and to listen to what the soul was saying. Elsewhere in the hospital, I saw patients being medicated, treated behaviorally, and taught how to relax (having drowsy, heavily sedated patients led through relaxation exercises seemed rather bizarre!). But I was most intrigued by Jungian psychology. Still, it wasn’t time to enter training yet. I had other tasks to fulfill first.

I sensed that I needed to begin my psychology career and start earning a living. So I headed out to a mental health center in desolate Rock Springs, Wyoming (why there is another strange twist of fate I will not go into here). Soon, however, I began feeling pretty sterile myself. I was empty and depressed. My life lacked something, but I didn’t know what it was. I was lost and confused professionally, too. I tried my best with my clients, but I had learned so many different therapeutic modalities (my Ph.D. program was eclectic), I really didn’t know quite what to do in any given case. I believed in the Jungian approach philosophically, but wasn’t certain how to apply it in a practical way. I had gone through a fully accredited four-year doctoral program in clinical psychology and yet I still was not aware of how to work meaningfully with my clients. I was experiencing a major identity crisis.

Fortunately, I found my way out of the Wyoming wasteland and out of my own barrenness as well. Attending a conference in Denver on humanistic psychology, I happened to attend a talk by a Jungian analyst, Jeff Raff. Once again, something in me felt nourished, and I knew I needed to get to Denver so I could get back into analysis and study Jung again. At first my way was stymied, but I eventually achieved this goal. Upon reflection, I am impressed with how auspiciously things worked out–how lucky I was to move to Denver for a well-paying job, one that allowed me both the time and money for analysis and training. In fact, all along the way, things curiously seemed to occur just when I needed them to. I got money when I required it most. Likewise, when I needed time to study, it was there. When it was necessary to have analysands for the control stage of training, they appeared. It was a remarkably affirming and sometimes magical process, but not one without setbacks and hardship as well. It was necessary for me to learn to trust the unconscious–and that took many painful lessons.

Before closing, there is one dream that deserves to be mentioned in terms of initiation. It actually came somewhere in the middle of my formal Jungian training, three or so years into it. But it was an initiatory dream all the same. I would say that it initiated me into the deeper level of the process–into the mythic nature of the training in which I was involved. I was starting to question what I was doing in training. I had failed one of my exams and was required to wait a year to take it again. I thought perhaps it was time to stop. After all, I had already earned B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees, and had passed psychology licensing exams in Wyoming and Colorado. Furthermore, my psychology practice was going very well. Hadn’t I jumped through enough hoops? Hadn’t I completed enough school and taken enough exams? Why was I still trying to satisfy the “Father?” Couldn’t I stand on my own authority by now? I stewed and thought about all these things. Then I had the following dream:

I am employed as the assistant to an alchemist. There is a woman helper as well. The alchemist reminds me of Jungian analyst

Arny Mindell (who was my analyst’s analyst, someone I thought of as my spiritual grandfather). I am questioning what we are doing and have decided to pull out. For this, I am considered a heretic.

Then the alchemist comes and talks with me. He says we have performed only part of the opus. There is still one major stage to complete. He tells me that I am the only one who can do it. It involves cooking and transforming the alchemical substance in a

large outdoor oven or container that looks very much like a huge hole dug in the earth. But there is a problem. The surrounding

community considers it dangerous and illegal, fearing the contamination it could cause. The alchemist says he does not know how to solve this problem–that only I can solve it. It is up to me.

I awoke profoundly moved by this dream. My doubts and questions of the days before were entirely gone, and in their place there was a strong conviction that I had to continue with the process of becoming an analyst. I understood from the dream that the training program was not about jumping through hoops to please the “Father” or achieving yet another diploma for my wall. It was a deep (literally, in the ground!) mythic process of transformation. It was not even for me, really, but for the sake of the alchemical materia–which I imagined to be the still unrealized Self. Yet it was only I who could complete the task. Unquestionably, the training process of becoming a Jungian analyst carried new meaning and depth for me.

Finally, the image of the underground alchemical furnace reminds me that one of the first dreams I can recall–long before my interest in Jung emerged–was that I was pulling up carrots out of the ground. They had big leafy tops above the earth, but scrawny roots underneath. Remarkably, one of the last dreams I had before graduating Jungian training was that the process of analysis had taken me deep into my interior; in fact, the image in the dream was that I was literally 10,000 feet under the ground! I had at last found the depth and grounding for which I had been searching.

For more information on this therapist and other articles, visit www.therapylinx.com!

Whos Firing? Layoffs for week ended 10-23-09

Who’s Firing is a weekly survey of organizations announcing (or rumoring) layoffs for the week ended 10-23-09. Not only is this valuable for job seekers, but for business analysts, corporate strategists, marketers, salespeople, investment analysts, financial advisers, and others who are interested in companies that are contracting.

Layoffs announced and rumored this week were in the Government, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Pharmaceutical, Financial/Banking, and Publishing sectors.

Inclusion on this listing doesn’t mean the entire industry is down, as many from the same sector appeared on the “Who’s Hiring” article published 10/19/09. It is interesting to note that while Federal hiring is on the rise, a number of State and Local governments have continued to see cutbacks for over the past month.

Health care organizations were laying off such as Valley Mental Health, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Cook County Health System, Oak Forest Hospital, Pfizer, Carestream Health, Navilyst Medical, Eli Lilly, Smith Medical.

Publishers continued to shed jobs as Time, The New York Times, The Charlotte Observer, and McGraw-Hill announced layoffs, while rumors swirled all around Conde-Nast about which units would face job cuts.

Job seekers: You might want to look in greener pastures than these companies.

Organizations announcing or rumored layoffs week ended 10/23/09:

Alstom Transport, Hornell NY (500)
Electrolux, Webster City IA (850)
Valley Mental Health, Salt Lake City UT (up to 125)
Time Inc, NYC (approx 600)
Sun Microsystems, National (3,000)
International Paper, National (1,600)
Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Evansville & Mt Vernon IN (115)
Cook County Health and Hospitals System, Chicago IL (335)
State of Iowa (793)
Oak Forest Hospital, Oak Forest IL (200)
Emerson/Schneider National, Bridgeton MO (330)
NCR Corporation, National (2200)
Modine Manufacturing Company, Harrodsburg KY (110)
Nautilus, Independence VA (173)
Expedia, Tacoma WA (200?)
New Page Corp, Whiting WI (100?)
Pilkington Automotive Glass Plant (NSG Group), Clinton MI (130)
Sallie Mae, National (1-2K?)
State of Massachusetts (726)
Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto CA (150)
Pfizer, Overland Park KS (200)
Regions Financial Corp, Birmingham AL (1700 YTD)
Sullivan County, NY (100)
Lexmark International Inc, Lexington KY (825)
Mohawk Industries, Waynesboro VA (120)
Jakks Pacific Inc, Malibu CA (100+)
Chicago Transit Authority, Chicago IL (1000+)
Missouri Department of Natural Resources (Division of State Parks) (100+)
BAE Systems, West Manchester PA (130)
City of Chicago, IL (220 positions eliminated)
New York Times, NYC (100)
Workforce Solutions, East Texas (50)
Standard Chartered Bank, Miami FL (72)
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, National (57)
Forum Health Inc, Youngstown OH (52)
Carestream Health Inc, Windsor CO (70)
State of Iowa (791)
Kronos Inc. (Stromburg), Lake Mary FL (70)
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach FL (21)
General Shale, Spring City TN (19)
Navilyst Medical, Glens Falls NY (51)
Sacramento County, CA (76)
Pilkington Automotive, Clinton MI (130)
LHI Enterprises Inc, Hartland WI (80)
Georgia Pacific, Fordyce AR (300)
Extreme Networks, Santa Clara CA (70)
Lockheed Martin, Archbald PA (50)
Goss International, Dover NH (unknown)
Eli Lilly, National (unknown)
Freescale Semiconductiors, Austin TX and National (unknown)
Shuttle America, Honolulu HI (74)
CNH Global, International (10-12%)
Child Protective Services, Sacramento CA (76)
St. Joseph County, IN (54)
Estes Express Lines, Knoxville TN (unknown)
21st Century Insurance, Vestal NY (54)
State of Pennsylvania (unknown)
Mothers Against Drunk Driving MADD, National (unknown)
The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte NC (unknown)
Arizona Department of Public Safety (unknown)
Smith Medical, Waukesha WI (104)
Wausau Paper, Appleton WI (55)
Tree Top Inc, Rialto CA (75)
Assurant Specialty Property, Santa Ana & Tustin CA (74)
The McGraw-Hill Cos, Woodland Hills CA (85)
West Marine Products, Watsonville CA (325)
Curtiss-Wright Controls, Integrated Sensing, Long Beach CA (81)
Kavlico, Moorpark CA (169)
Baker Hughes Incorporated, Houston TX (62)
Fluor Enterprises, Inc, Sugar Land TX (617)
Redcats USA, Universal City TX (490)
Big Stick Media, National Sports Services, Las Vegas NV (unknown)
FormTech Industries, Minerva, OH (68)
Coca-Cola Enterprises, Havre de Grace MD (50)
Faurecia Automotive Seating Inc, Walton KY (68)
Farmers Group Inc, Vestal NY (54)
The Really Cool Food Company LLC, Syosset NY (78)
Matrx (Midmark Corporation), Orchard Park NY (87)

Source: Google, Twitter, AllPinkSlips.com, Telonu.com, TechCrunch.com, CoStar.com, Gawker, Screwedd.com

Readers – If you know of employers announcing significant layoff plans, or employers reducing large numbers of employees, please comment below to add to this list.

Trackback: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2009/10/whos-firing-week-ended-10-23-09.html