• European Parliament Rips Global IP Accord
      The European Parliament delivered a political blow to Hollywood and the Obama administration, voting Wednesday 663 to 13 in opposition to a proposed and secret intellectual property agreement being negotiated by the European Union, United States and a handful of others. Wednesday’s developments concerning the Anti-Counterfeiting and Trade Agreement are sub […]
  • Violence Mars Greek Protest
    Flights were grounded and trains suspended amid a nationwide general strike Thursday, as Greek police fought running street battles with anarchist youths in fresh and violent signs of anger at the government’s austerity plans. Unions called a strike to protest wage and benefit cuts being put in place to trim Greece’s swollen budget deficit as the [...] […]
  • Thailand braces for massive political protests
    Thailand braced for anti-government demonstrations that began Friday and were expected to peak over the weekend with as many as 150,000 protesters on the streets. In anticipation, the government has mobilized 50,000 security forces, said acting spokesman Panitan Wattanayakorn. The mass rallies are expected to be peaceful but Army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewk […]
  • Brain scan can read people’s thoughts
    A scan of brain activity can effectively read a person’s mind, researchers said Thursday. British scientists from University College London found they could differentiate brain activity linked to different memories and thereby identify thought patterns by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The evidence suggests researchers can tell which mem […]
  • Obama Supports DNA Sampling Upon Arrest
    Josh Gerstein over at Politico sent Threat Level his piece underscoring once again President Barack Obama is not the civil-liberties Knight In Shining Armor many were expecting. Gerstein posts a televised interview of Obama and John Walsh of America’s Most Wanted. The nation’s chief executive extols the virtues of mandatory DNA testing of Americans upon arre […]
  • Drudge Virus Warning Blasted as Latest Free Speech Incursion
    The unusual e-mail sent to Senate staffers this week warning them not to visit The Drudge Report for fear of a virus has some critics crying foul, suggesting the missive is the latest attempt by Democrats to stifle dissent in the media. The Drudge Report, a popular Web site which aggregates news links, often trumpets [...] […]
  • Chief exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth says Devil is in the Vatican
    Sex abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church are proof that that “the Devil is at work inside the Vatican”, according to the Holy See’s chief exorcist. Father Gabriele Amorth, 85, who has been the Vatican’s chief exorcist for 25 years and says he has dealt with 70,000 cases of demonic possession, said that the consequences [...] […]
  • “Rather than monitoring hate groups, the Southern Poverty Law Center has become one.”
    A funny thing happened on the way to this week’s column — I got “targeted,” “frozen,” “personalized” and “polarized.” In other words, I got lumped in with the majority of Americans as the “radical right” — you know, the scary people who believe in God, the Constitution, family values, and an honest day’s work for an [...] […]
  • UK: Crackdown on dangerous dogs to make microchips compulsory for all
    All dogs are to be compulsorily microchipped so that their owners can be more easily traced under a crackdown on dangerous dogs to be unveiled today. The package will include extending the dangerous dogs law to cover attacks by dogs on private property to protect postmen, and making third-party insurance compulsory so that victims can be [...] […]
  • 11 More U.S. Airports Get Body Scanners
    Transportation officials announced Friday 11 more United States airports will begin receiving full-body imaging machines “By accelerating the deployment of this technology, we are enhancing our capability to detect and disrupt threats of terrorism across the nation,” Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a statement. Despite concerns of privac […]
  • UK: Spy chips hidden in 2.5 MILLION dustbins: 60pc rise in electronic bugs as council snoopers plan pay-as-you-throw tax
    The growing threat of a stealth tax on the rubbish we throw away was exposed by startling figures yesterday. More than 2.5million homes now have wheelie bins fitted with microchips to weigh their contents. This is an increase of nearly two-thirds in just a year. The bins, which can be electronically identified and weighed, are designed for [...] […]
  • Narus develops a scary sleuth for social media
    Narus is developing a new technology that sleuths through billions of pieces of data on social networks and Internet services and connects the dots. The new program, code-named Hone, is designed to give intelligence and law enforcement agencies a leg up on criminals who are now operating anonymously on the Internet.…Hone works in tandem with NarusInsight. [. […]
  • US Democrats would kill healthcare over abortion
    A dozen House of Representatives Democrats opposed to abortion are willing to kill President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform plan unless it satisfies their demand for language barring the procedure, Representative Bart Stupak said on Thursday. “Yes. We’re prepared to take responsibility,” Stupak said on ABC’s “Good Morning America” when asked if he and his […]
  • Two Pentagon Police Officers Shot – Gunman Killed
    Two police officers at the Pentagon were wounded Thursday evening when a man walked up to the entrance of the complex’s subway station and, without a word, opened fire on them, Pentagon officials said. Policemen patrolled the Pentagon after a shooting in Washington on Thursday. Police officers quickly returned fire, fatally injuring the gunman after hitting […]
  • Police shut down Mariposa hacker ring
    Police, private security experts and internet service providers said on Wednesday they had shut down the Mariposa botnet, one of the largest networks of hacked personal computers discovered. It had siphoned off financial and other information from inside half of the largest 1,000 US companies. Computers using about 12.7m internet addresses in 190 countries w […]
  • Saving Seeds: Cantaloupe
    Cantaloupes DO cross pollinate with other “melons” like other cantaloupes, musk melons, snake melons and Armenian cucumbers.  Separate therefore from other “melons” by a quarter mile. Choose early ripening, disease free fruits to save seed from. Wash seeds from ripe melons in a strainer, dry on a paper plate or paper sheet. Seeds are ready to store [...] […]
  • Saving Seeds: Squash and Zucchini
    Squash within the same species DOES cross pollinate, therefore species should be isolated by a quarter mile.  This will also reduce the danger of squash bugs spreading over all the crops if they pester one patch. Seeds should be taken from fruits that have surpassed maturity by 3 weeks already. Remove seed, wash, let dry on paper [...] […]
  • Saving Seeds: Cucumbers
    Cucumbers DO cross pollinate, so if you want pure seed, separate cucumber varieties from each other by a quarter mile. Seeds should be taken from fruit that has ripened past edible stage and begun to turn yellow and soften.  To get to the seeds, cut the cucumber lengthwise, scoop the seeds out, wash them and dry [...] […]
  • Saving Seeds: Carrots
    Carrots are biennial, that means, you can harvest seeds only in the second year. Carrots Do cross pollinate, so separate them 1/4 mile from other carrots in the first year.   In the second year, when they are going to seed, separate them also from Queen Anne’s Lace (about 1/4 mile). Dig carrots up before the hard frost [...] […]
  • Saving Seeds: Peppers
    Peppers DO cross pollinate, so separate varieties by about 500 feet, unless you can plant them in insect proof cages that are covered with window screen. Pick ripe, fully colored fruits that show no sign of disease to save seeds from.  Remove the seed core and place on a paper plate or thick paper sheet to [...] […]
  • Saving Seeds: Tomatoes
    Tomatoes usually do not cross-pollinate, at least not the modern varieties.  Potato leaf varieties should be separated by the garden’s length though. Pick one ripe fruit of each plant (at least), squeeze the seeds and juice into a strainer.  Then wash the seeds, spread them on a paper plate or thick paper sheet, and dry them. DO [...] […]
  • Saving Seeds: Beans
    Bean flowers are self-pollinating, so the danger of cross pollination is comparatively small.  It’s is recommended to separate different kinds of beans by a garden length though to ensure absolute purity. Save seeds from plants that ripen first and are disease free.  Harvest seed pods reserved for seed saving when they are dried completely.  Crush the [...] […]
  • Saving Seeds
    I know this might come a little early for many of you out there, but I will start a new “series” here, giving information about saving seeds of different plants. I guess you all know that it is not much use to save seed from hybrid plants as you never know what you are getting, but [...] […]
  • Tomato Suckers
    I mentioned suckers in an earlier post, saying that you can pinch them if you wish, but don’t have to – well, some people do not know what a sucker actually is. What is a sucker ? Suckers grow our between a tomato leaf branch and its stem.  If you pinch them off and stick them in [...] […]
  • Planting Cucumbers
    It is a good idea to plant cucumbers in hills so they can vine in peace and do not get too crowded. A week or two after your last frost date, make hills that are 4-5 feet apart from each other on all sides, and approximately 12” in diameter.  Plant 6-8 seeds per hill. After 3 weeks, [...] […]
  • Growing Tomatoes
    As tomatoes are most gardener’s favorite plant, especially but not exclusively amongst beginners, here are a few things that might be worth knowing about growing tomatoes.  If those among you who have decades of tomato growing experiences are unhappy with my information or have things to add, please feel free to comment Basically, all [...] […]
  • Marie Claire: How to plant a window garden
    Via: seattlepi.com 1. At a nursery, pick up seeds, potting soil, and a few small pots or a window box (it must be shorter than the length of your windowsill-measure first!). Get a container at least four to five inches deep with a drainage hole at the bottom. 2. Fill container with soil and place [...] […]
  • Good buys for gardeners
    If you are new to the wonderfully healthy and economical past time of gardening, this list might be interesting to you.  For all those who have been gardening for ages already, maybe you enjoy checking what this lady thinks is essential, and add what’s missing, from your own experience Via: baltimoresun.com By Susan [...] […]
  • The globalisation of addiction
    So here is a study that tells you, basically, that living in the countryside, close to nature, as a producer, instead of a synthetic, stressful environment where people live as consumers only, will prevent addictions, will even cure addictions, will be the best you can do for your children and yourself.  The addictions of our [...] […]
  • Gardening is getting more and more popular
    We finally got our seeds, accompanied by a nice letter from FEDCOs, and what they are telling their customers there did not come as a big surprise to us:  Fedco has had record sales this year, an over 40% growth in seed sales, which adds to the 20% growth they saw last year…  At a [...] […]
  • Planning your vegetable and herb gardens – Tips to save your family money by gardening
    Via: Seattle Garden & Kitchen Examiner A prolific garden can save your family a lot of money Food prices are continuing to rise while more and more products get recalled. It only makes sense that all of us considering ways to raise some of the food we eat. The more we food we raise, [...] […]
  • Have you ordered your seeds yet ?
    You might think it’s weird to think about the gardening season now, but it isn’t.  Even though your garden patch might be buried in snow right now, depending on where you are, you still need to get off your hindquarters and start planning now. 2009 might very well be the year when, for the first time [...] […]
  • Cloth diapers, again
    Just a short note today: We recently talked to a pediatrician who told us that she is seeing a lot more cloth diapers these days than she used to.   Most people are probably using cloth diapers now because they cannot afford throwaway diapers anymore, but it is still difficult to get decent diaper covers in any [...] […]
  • Apple Pie
    I suppose most of you have made millions of apple pies in your time, but if you are looking for a nice online description of how to bake one, I recently found a well made page about how to make apple pie from scratch, with lots of pictures and ingredients for both a lattice and [...] […]
  • An Old-Time “Refridgerator”, Easily Built: The Trash Can Root Cellar
    If you need storage that keeps your food cool without using electricity, a root cellar comes in very handy. There are a tremendous amount of different designs for root cellars out there – check out this site, for example: Root Cellars Their link to the garbage can root cellar is broken though, so here are some basic [...] […]

Dubai World debt strategy sends stock tumbling

Stock markets in Dubai were down this morning as investors reacted nervously to the latest proposed solution to Dubai World’s $22 billion (£14 billion) debt crisis.
The city’s main index, the Dubai Financial Market fell 0.83 per cent in early trading as it emerged that the troubled state-owned conglomerate plans to offer its creditors just 60 [...]

Jobless Suffer With Corporate Cash Climbing to $1.19 Trillion

A majority of companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index increased cash to a combined $1.19 trillion while simultaneously reducing spending, keeping a jobs recovery on hold.
Caterpillar Inc., Eaton Corp., Walgreen Co. and General Electric Co. are among 260 companies that ended last quarter with $522 billion more than a year earlier after [...]

Bailout panel cites commercial real estate danger

We’ve been waiting on this one for a while now…
Over the next several years, failed commercial real estate loans could litter American cities with empty stores and office complexes, cause hundreds of bank failures and weaken the economy, a watchdog report says.
Banks face up to $300 billion in losses on loans made for commercial property [...]

Employers Cut 20K Jobs in January, but Jobless Rate Drops to 9.7 Percent

The unemployment rate dropped unexpectedly in January to 9.7
percent, while employers shed 20,000 jobs, according to a report that
offered hope the economy will add jobs soon.
The unemployment rate dropped from 10 percent because a survey of
households found the number of employed Americans rose by 541,000, the
Labor Department said Friday. The job losses are calculated from [...]

Recession’s job losses likely to rise by nearly 1 million

As bad as the government’s jobs readings numbers have been during the Great Recession, we’ll soon find out the real situation likely was worse.
Much worse.
Job losses during the recession may have been underestimated by close to a million jobs. So instead of employers cutting just over 7 million jobs from their payrolls since the economic [...]

Pope urges ‘responsibility’ during tough times

Oh, ok…
Pope Benedict XVI has urged sense of responsibility from governments, employers and workers as they deal with job losses from the economic crisis.
The pontiff mentioned Fiat’s decision to stop auto production at a plant in Sicily, and Alcoa’s move to idle a smelter in Sardinia. Workers have protested these decisions.
Benedict said during his Angelus [...]

December Home Sales Take Largest Monthly Drop In More Than 40 YEARS

Sales of previously occupied homes took the largest monthly drop in more than 40 years last month, sinking more dramatically than expected after lawmakers gave buyers additional time to use a tax credit.
The report reflects a sharp drop in demand after buyers stopped scrambling to qualify for a tax credit of up to $8,000 for [...]

Sam’s Club cuts 11,200 jobs, 10 percent of workforce

Sam’s Club said it will use Shopper Events, a third-party company, instead of its own employees to run in-store product demonstrations and hand out food samples — a popular tactic used by warehouse clubs to entice shoppers to buy new items.
In a memo to employees, Cornell said Shopper Events will develop a demo program, called [...]

Europe’s Jobless Rate Unexpectedly Hits 11-Year High

Europe’s unemployment rate unexpectedly increased to the highest in more than 11 years in November as companies cut costs in the wake of the worst recession in more than six decades.
Unemployment in the euro area rose to 10 percent from a revised 9.9 percent in October, the European Union statistics office in Luxembourg said today. [...]

Employment-to-population ratio among men 25-54 hit all-time low in November

…as of November, 19.4% of American men in their prime working years didn’t have jobs. By this measure, the current job situation (for men, at least) is much, much worse than in any downturn since the BLS started measuring this stuff in 1948.

Source/Full Story: Curious Capitalist
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July 29, 2009 — The Real Unemployment Rate Hits [...]

Food Stamps Go to a Record 37.2 Million

A record 37.2 million people, or about one out of every eight Americans, received food stamps in September, as the recession drove a surging jobless rate, according to a government report.
Recipients of the subsidy for retail-food purchases climbed 18 percent from a year earlier, according to a statement posted today on the U.S. Department of [...]

U.S. housing market meltdown not over yet

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com in West Chester, Pennsylvania, said in an interview with Reuters home prices will resume their decline by early next year as foreclosure sales pick up again.
“The housing crash is not over,” he said.
The U.S. housing market has suffered the worst downturn since the Great Depression, and its impact [...]

US commercial mortgage default rate hits 3.4%

The default rate for commercial mortgages in the US climbed to a fresh 16-year high in the third quarter of this year, as the property market continued to struggle under the weight of tight credit and falling rents.
During the third quarter the commercial default rate rose from 2.88 per cent to 3.4 per cent, the [...]

Food banks go high-tech to feed the hungry

Food banks across the country are undergoing a high-tech revolution, adopting sophisticated databases, bar coding, GPS tracking, automated warehouses and other technologies used in the food industry that increasingly supplies their goods.
It’s a long way from handing out macaroni and canned soup from a church basement.

Source/Full Story:  Yahoo! News
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November 19, 2009 — Experts [...]

Obama’s feeble dollar sparks a new goldrush

Gold is at a new high this morning, @ 1,165.96
Visitors to America might have noticed the television ads urging us to buy gold. One such “spokesman”, formerly in charge of managing the government’s hoard of the yellow stuff, including the ingots buried at Fort Knox, points out that the value of gold has never fallen [...]

The worst is yet to come: Unemployed Americans should hunker down for more job losses

…So we can expect that job losses will continue until the end of 2010 at the earliest. In other words, if you are unemployed and looking for work and just waiting for the economy to turn the corner, you had better hunker down. All the economic numbers suggest this will take a while. The jobs [...]

US jobless rate surges above 10%

What economic challenges are still ahead? I thought the economy was recovering, and green shoots abound.
US unemployment surged above 10 per cent for the first time in more than a quarter of a century in October, increasing political pressure on the Obama administration.
According to figures revealed on Friday, the unemployment rate rose to 10.2 [...]

Job losses slow, yet jobless rate at 26-year high

Full Story/Source: Reuters
U.S. job losses fell to their lowest level in a year last month, but the unemployment rate jumped to a 26-year high, painting a mixed picture of an economic recovery hindered by weakness in the labor market.
The Labor Department said on Friday the jobless rate climbed to 9.7 percent in August, the [...]

U.S. home foreclosures set another record in July

U.S. home loans failed at a record pace in July despite ongoing federal and state programs to avoid foreclosures, which have severely strained housing and the economy.

Foreclosure activity jumped 7 percent in July from June and 32 percent from a year earlier as one in every 355 households with a loan got a foreclosure filing, [...]

The Real Unemployment Rate Hits a 68-Year High

When those adjustments are taken into account for May 2009, the unemployment rate soars to 16.4%. That is the highest rate since the BLS began calculating the U-6 rate in 1994. While not exactly comparable, it is also higher than the BLS’s earlier and yet broader adjusted unemployment rate called the U-7. The BLS began [...]

The Real Unemployment Rate Hits a 68-Year High

When those adjustments are taken into account for May 2009, the unemployment rate soars to 16.4%. That is the highest rate since the BLS began calculating the U-6 rate in 1994. While not exactly comparable, it is also higher than the BLS’s earlier and yet broader adjusted unemployment rate called the U-7. The BLS began [...]

Global Confidence Drops as Unemployment Surge Counters Stimulus

Confidence in the world economy dropped for the first time in four months in July as government stimulus efforts showed little sign of reducing unemployment, a Bloomberg survey of users on six continents showed.

The Bloomberg Professional Global Confidence Index declined to 39.13 in July from 43.57 in June. A reading below 50 means pessimists outnumber [...]

Biden: `We misread how bad the economy was’

 
Vice President Joe Biden said the Obama administration “misread how bad the economy was” but stands by its stimulus package and believes the plan will create more jobs as the pace of its spending picks up.
Biden, in an interview airing Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” said the nation’s 9.5 percent unemployment rate is “much too [...]

Jobs data dash recovery hopes: US unemployment rate hits 9.5% in June

Stock markets on both sides of the Atlantic tumbled on Thursday as investors took fright at a bigger-than-expected fall in US jobs last month that dashed hopes the recession was all but over in the world’s biggest economy.
The data showed that the number of people in employment fell 467,000 in June and the unemployment rate [...]

California unemployment rate hits record high

California’s unemployment rate climbed to 11.5 percent in May, the highest in modern record-keeping, the California Employment Development Department reported today. Sacramento County unemployment was at 11.1 percent in May, up from April’s 10.8 percent.
Nonfarm payrolls numbers statewide dropped by another 68,900 for the month. That’s roughly the same rate of job losses as in [...]

U.S. bailout panel: more bank stress tests needed

Bank stress tests should be repeated if the U.S. unemployment rate rises beyond levels assumed by regulators in a recent round of examinations that provided relief to markets, according to a report released by a bailout watchdog panel on Tuesday.
The Congressional Oversight Panel said in the report that the stress tests should also be repeated [...]

Jobless rate hits 9.4 percent in May; layoffs slow

With companies in no mood to hire, the unemployment rate jumped to 9.4 percent in May, the highest in more than 25 years. But the pace of layoffs eased, with employers cutting 345,000 jobs, the fewest since September.
The much smaller-than-expected reduction in payroll jobs, reported by the Labor Department on Friday, adds to evidence that [...]

Jobless Rates In U.S. Cities Zoom Higher In April

The weak labor market is hurting U.S. cities — centers of many industries and large housing markets — with 93 metropolitan areas registering an unemployment rate of at least 10 percent in April, according to Labor Department data released on Wednesday.
That is more than 13 times the number of cities that notched the same high [...]

Jobless Rates In U.S. Cities Zoom Higher In April

The weak labor market is hurting U.S. cities — centers of many industries and large housing markets — with 93 metropolitan areas registering an unemployment rate of at least 10 percent in April, according to Labor Department data released on Wednesday.
That is more than 13 times the number of cities that notched the same high [...]

Recession has features of a depression: California unemployment rate reaches 11.2%

Unemployment in California shot to 11.2% in March, the highest level since the state began keeping records. What’s more, the number of people out of work for almost a year rose by 9.4%, and has now doubled in the last 12 months.
Carpenter Luiz Vasquez knows the frustration all too well. In the last year, he [...]

Double-digit unemployment looms, OECD tells G8

The global economic crisis will hit jobs hard, with unemployment set to reach double digits in many developing and advanced countries, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said on Sunday.
“By the end of 2010 the unemployment rate could be approaching double digit figures in all G8 countries with the sole exception of Japan, [...]

U.S. Job Seekers to Face Falling Wages, Experts Say

Source:  FOXNews.com
After the Labor Department reported the nation’s unemployment rate bolted to 8.1 percent in February, the U.S. workforce will likely face another major challenge – stagnant, or even falling wages, Reuters reported.
Labor experts say that after landing a new job, workers can expect lower pay because the downturn doesn’t show signs of improving in [...]

U.S. job losses seen jumping to 648,000 in February

Source: Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Job losses in the United States likely accelerated last month and the unemployment rate probably surged to a 25-year high as recession-hit companies took drastic steps to cut costs, according to economists.
They reckon that the U.S. economy, reeling from the worst financial crisis since the 1930s and stuck in recession [...]

Buffalo-Niagara Falls unemployment rate soars to 9%

Source: bizjournals.com
The Buffalo-Niagara Falls labor market suffered a loss of 6,100 private-sector jobs in the last year while joblessness rose to its highest point in nearly two decades.
The state Department of Labor reported the unemployment rate jumped to 9 percent last month, compared with 6.3 percent in January 2008 and 7.1 percent in December. According to [...]

Welfare Aid Not Growing as Economy Drops Off

Source: NYTimes.com
The trends, based on an analysis of new state data collected by The New York Times, raise questions about how well a revamped welfare system with great state discretion is responding to growing hardships.
Michigan cut its welfare rolls 13 percent, though it was one of two states whose October unemployment rate topped 9 percent. [...]