Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
AFL-CIO NOW BLOG | Millionaires Killing Jobs
Today, 1.2 million jobless workers lose their extended unemployment insurance (UI) because some Senate millionaires think a $300 a week unemployment check will make people too lazy to look for a job.
Monday, June 28, 2010
All McNuggets not created equal
U.S. McNuggets not only contain more calories and fat than their
British counterparts, but also chemicals not found across the Atlantic.
CNN investigated the differences after receiving a blog
comment asking about them.
American McNuggets (190
calories, 12 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat for 4 pieces)
contain the chemical preservative tBHQ, tertiary butylhydroquinone, a petroleum-based
product. They also contain dimethylpolysiloxane, “an anti-foaming agent” also
used in Silly Putty.
By contrast, British McNuggets (170 calories, 9 grams of fat, 1
gram of saturated fat for 4 pieces) lists neither chemical among its
ingredients.
“I would certainly choose the British nuggets over the American” says
Ruth Winter,
author of “A Consumer’s Dictionary of Food Additives.”
McDonald’s says the differences are based on the local tastes: In the
United States, McNuggets are coated and then cooked, in the United
Kingdom, they are cooked and then coated. As a result, the British
McNuggets absorb less oil and have less fat.
"You would find that if you looked at any of our core food items.
You'd see little, regional differences," says Lisa McComb, who handles
global media relations for McDonald's, which has more than 32,000
restaurants in 117 countries. "We do taste testing of all our food items
on an ongoing basis."
One apparent difference is only a matter of labeling, according to
McComb. U.K. McNuggets list ground celery and pepper, which are labeled
simply as "spices" in the United States, she says.
Marion
Nestle, a New York University professor and author of “What to Eat,”
says the tertiary butylhydroquinone and dimethylpolysiloxane in the
McNuggets probably pose no health risks. As a general rule, though, she
advocates not eating any food with an ingredient you can’t pronounce.
Dimethylpolysiloxane is used as a matter of safety to keep the oil
from foaming, McComb says. The chemical is a form of silicone also used
in cosmetics and Silly Putty. A review of animal studies by The World Health
Organization found no adverse health effects associated with
dimethylpolysiloxane.
TBHQ is a preservative for vegetable oils and animal fats, limited to
.02 percent of the oil in the nugget. One gram (one-thirtieth of an
ounce) can cause "nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears, delirium, a
sense of suffocation, and collapse," according to “A Consumer’s
Dictionary of Food Additives.”
In 2003, McDonald’s launched smaller, all-white-meat McNuggets after a
federal judge dubbed the food “a McFrankenstein creation of various
elements not utilized by the home cook." Among the ingredients that
remained in the new McNuggets: tBHQ and dimethylpolysiloxane.
Christopher
Kimball, the founder and publisher of Cook’s Illustrated magazine
and host of the syndicated cooking show America’s Test Kitchen, says he
suspects these chemicals are required for the nuggets to hold their
shape and texture after being extruded into nugget-shaped molds.
“The regulations in Europe, in general, around food are much stricter
than the U.S.,” Kimball says.
______________________________________________________________________________
From CNN http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/25/a-tale-of-2-nuggets/?hpt=T2
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Friday, June 25, 2010
Whooping Cough
Widespread vaccination has gone a long way toward curbing whooping cough, a highly contagious infection that can be especially dangerous for babies too young to be immunized.
CDC
These little red specks are the bacteria that cause whooping cough.
We've never seen anyone sick with it — or heard the characteristic cough. But maybe that's because we're not in California. The state's health department says the infection has come roaring back this year and is now an epidemic.
By the middle of June, California had reports of 910 cases of whooping cough, or pertussis. At the same point last year, the state had seen only a quarter that number — or 219 cases.
Pertussis waxes and wanes. During the last peak five years ago in California, there were 3,182 cases and eight deaths, the health department said.
Already this year, though, whooping cough has claimed the lives of five infants, all of them less than 3 months old. If the cases keep rolling in as they have been, this could be the worst epidemic of whooping cough in the state in 50 years.
Babies can get their first shot against whooping cough at 2 months. But it takes three shots, usually done by 6 months, before the kids' immune systems are able to mount a strong defense against the bacteria that cause the cough.
The full battery of childhood vaccination against the illness consists of five shots, completed between ages 4 and 6. But the protection against pertussis isn't permanent, disappearing by the time kids reach middle school.
To protect babies, new parents should be get booster shots or full immunization before the birth. Same goes for relatives, kids and any other people who'll be around the new baby.
What are the signs of whooping cough? It starts like a regular cold but after a few weeks severe coughing spells set in. Kids can be sick for weeks or even months.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
UnNews:Natalie Merchant inducted into Muzak Hall of Fame - Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia
From Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia.
| This article is part of UnNews, your source for up-to-the-microsecond misinformation. |
Fayston is not alone in his tepid appreciation for Merchant's music. Amber Lee Murphy, a second-shift cashier at a White Hen Pantry in Newburyport, Mass., has her own story to tell. "It was about halfway through my first week here," she said. "I was restocking the ice freezer and I suddenly heard this voice singing this incredibly unremarkable song [on the store's music system] about how 'these are the days we'll remember,' or something, and I realized that the voice sounded familiar. About forty five minutes later the voice comes back, only this time it's singing about 'have I been blind' or something, I really can't remember. And that was how I met Natalie Merchant."
In an official statement, Muzak Hall of Fame chairman Grover Hammond said that Merchant "really earned this award," citing how she manages to strike the perfect balance. "She's really a rare find," he wrote. "Perhaps more than any other singer-songwriter in recent memory, Natalie Merchant has this gift for writing songs that you can really listen to without being interested in. Supermarkets, call centers and medium-distance commuters nationwide owe Ms. Merchant a debt of gratitude for this fantastic body of music that nobody would ever actually consider paying money to hear."
At the official ceremony, which was attended by over six people, Merchant was presented with a galvanized bowling trophy and a coupon for free bread sticks at Pizza Hut. Her likeness, in the form of a grainy blow-up of her driver's license photo, will hang in the Hall next to such greats as Jewel and Train for the next six months, at which point the building is scheduled to be demolished to make way for a methadone clinic.
UnNews:Natalie Merchant inducted into Muzak Hall of Fame - Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia
Nevada takes dubious jobless title from Michigan
June 18th, 2010 12:16 PM michaelmoore.com 
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Nevada's jobless rate hit a record high last month and and is now the highest in the nation, the first time in four years that Michigan doesn't hold that distinction, according to a government report released Friday.
The Silver State's unemployment rate climbed to 14% in May, the highest in the state since 1976 when the Labor Department began collecting the data. It was up from 13.7% in April.
Meanwhile, joblessness slipped to 13.6% from 14% the previous month in Michigan, which has been ravaged by the struggles of the auto industry. The state has been the leader in unemployment rate since April 2006.
During the last year, Nevada has lost a net total of more than 29,000 jobs, and posts the highest percentage increase in unemployment at 2.5%. What if there's no fix for high unemployment?
"So much of Nevada's economy is tied to the gaming industry and housing sector, which continue to weigh on Nevada's labor market across the board," said Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo. "Consumer spending on travel and leisure is still in a pullback, and while the housing market is no longer in a free fall, there are still a lot of vacant homes in Nevada."
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., also said in a statement that mounting unemployment in the state is a sign that Nevada continues to suffer from extreme economic conditions.
"This increase in our unemployment rate only emphasizes the need to diversify our state's economy and create jobs," said Reid, who is in a difficult fight for re-election.
Though it's still the second highest in the nation, Michigan's unemployment rate has improved after peaking at 14.5% in December.
"Auto sales and production are up, and that has helped generate a little improvement in Michigan," said Vitner, highlighting that the state added 4,500 manufacturing jobs in May, likely due to hiring at auto plants. 0:00 /4:02Romer: 'We are adding jobs'
Meanwhile, a majority of U.S. states welcomed lower unemployment rates last month, the report said.
A total of 37 states and the nation's capital posted declines in jobless rates in May on a monthly basis. Unemployment increased in six states and seven states reported no changes.
On an annual basis, the job market is still sluggish. Joblessness climbed in 31 states and in Washington, D.C., from a year earlier, and only eased in 17 states.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Thursday, June 03, 2010
VetJobs June Veteran Eagle
On the economic fron, unemployment rose from 9.7% to 9.9% as many people re-entered the job market. When reading unemployment reports in the press, keep in mind there are two employment reports. One report is called the Current Population Survey (CPS), which is also referred to as the survey of households. This is a phone survey of 60,000 households nationwide conducted each month. The other report is the payroll report, compiled from data gathered from payrolls nationwide. Not all the payroll information is available in a timely manner each month, which is why the unemployment numbers are sometimes revised up or down. The age groupings of the two reports are different. The payroll survey includes teen age employment, starting at the age of 16. The household survey starts at age 18. Due to these differences and the methodology used in the collection of data, the two reports will occasionally have different unemployment rates. Most press articles cite the payroll report.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported the economy added 230,000 jobs in March, much more than the 162,000 jobs originally forecast. It revised figures in February to show that 39,000 jobs were added to the economy. I predict that as the economy improves and more workers re-enter the market in their search for a job in the coming months, the unemployment rate will remain in the realm of 9.8% to 10% or possibly higher.
As reported in the May 8 Wall Street Journal, the rise in unemployment from 9.7% to 9.9% was due in large part to the surge of some 805,000 into the labor force, as once-discouraged workers got back into the game as they perceive there may be signs of a stronger jobs market. However, many economists predict we will hover around 10% for at least a year before things really begin to turn around. With current economic and especially political conditions, employers, especially small employers, are not eager to start hiring. Small businesses are what have led America out of every recession in the past.
The good news is the April job growth of 290,000 was fairly widespread, with gains in manufacturing, professional and business services, health care, and leisure and hospitality. Nonfarm employment has risen by 573,000 since December, with 483,000 jobs added in the private sector. Manufacturing continued to add jobs in April (44,000). Employment in this industry has increased by 101,000 since December. Three industries--fabricated metal products, machinery, and primary metals--have accounted for more than half of factory job gains so far this year.
Federal government employment rose in April, reflecting the hiring of 66,000 temporary workers for Census 2010. Employment in state and local governments was essentially unchanged, which is a reflection of the financial crisis many municipalities and states face due to falling tax revenues. There is always a lag between improving employment and tax collection.
But there are some concerns. The overall jobless rate, including people who have stopped looking, jumped to 17.1%, which is the highest rate this year. More disturbing, the share of those out of work for 27 weeks or more reached another record of 45.9%. This means that some 6.7 million Americans have spent more than half a year without maintaining the skills and contacts they will need to compete across a lifetime of work.
I agree with The Wall Street Journal‘s attributing some of the unemployment to the many expansions of the jobless insurance that Democrats insist on passing, thus increasing the incentive for long-term jobless people to hold out for a better-paying job that may take much longer to arrive, if it arrives at all. This is a false and very expensive compassion that hurts everyone.
And final good news, the U.S. manufacturing sector added an estimated 44,000 jobs during April, the largest monthly gain in nearly 12 years! More than 100,000 new manufacturing jobs have been added during the past four months alone.
The bottom line is there are a lot of conflicting currents currently in the economy. While things are improving, the improvements are anemic at best. But at least we are now off the floor of this recession and starting to move forward!
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported the economy added 230,000 jobs in March, much more than the 162,000 jobs originally forecast. It revised figures in February to show that 39,000 jobs were added to the economy. I predict that as the economy improves and more workers re-enter the market in their search for a job in the coming months, the unemployment rate will remain in the realm of 9.8% to 10% or possibly higher.
As reported in the May 8 Wall Street Journal, the rise in unemployment from 9.7% to 9.9% was due in large part to the surge of some 805,000 into the labor force, as once-discouraged workers got back into the game as they perceive there may be signs of a stronger jobs market. However, many economists predict we will hover around 10% for at least a year before things really begin to turn around. With current economic and especially political conditions, employers, especially small employers, are not eager to start hiring. Small businesses are what have led America out of every recession in the past.
The good news is the April job growth of 290,000 was fairly widespread, with gains in manufacturing, professional and business services, health care, and leisure and hospitality. Nonfarm employment has risen by 573,000 since December, with 483,000 jobs added in the private sector. Manufacturing continued to add jobs in April (44,000). Employment in this industry has increased by 101,000 since December. Three industries--fabricated metal products, machinery, and primary metals--have accounted for more than half of factory job gains so far this year.
Federal government employment rose in April, reflecting the hiring of 66,000 temporary workers for Census 2010. Employment in state and local governments was essentially unchanged, which is a reflection of the financial crisis many municipalities and states face due to falling tax revenues. There is always a lag between improving employment and tax collection.
But there are some concerns. The overall jobless rate, including people who have stopped looking, jumped to 17.1%, which is the highest rate this year. More disturbing, the share of those out of work for 27 weeks or more reached another record of 45.9%. This means that some 6.7 million Americans have spent more than half a year without maintaining the skills and contacts they will need to compete across a lifetime of work.
I agree with The Wall Street Journal‘s attributing some of the unemployment to the many expansions of the jobless insurance that Democrats insist on passing, thus increasing the incentive for long-term jobless people to hold out for a better-paying job that may take much longer to arrive, if it arrives at all. This is a false and very expensive compassion that hurts everyone.
And final good news, the U.S. manufacturing sector added an estimated 44,000 jobs during April, the largest monthly gain in nearly 12 years! More than 100,000 new manufacturing jobs have been added during the past four months alone.
The bottom line is there are a lot of conflicting currents currently in the economy. While things are improving, the improvements are anemic at best. But at least we are now off the floor of this recession and starting to move forward!
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