U.S. Department of Labor’s Big Fat Lie
Posted: February 3, 2015 Filed under: Economics, Politics, Think Tank | Tags: American Dream, Big Lie, Gallup (company), Jim Clifton, LinkedIn, Unemployment, Unemployment Rate, United States, United States Department of Labor, Wall Street, White House 2 CommentsNone of them will tell you this: If you, a family member or anyone is unemployed and has subsequently given up on finding a job — if you are so hopelessly out of work that you’ve stopped looking over the past four weeks — the Department of Labor doesn’t count you as unemployed. That’s right.
Jim Clifton writes: Here’s something that many Americans — including some of the smartest and most educated among us — don’t know: The official unemployment rate, as reported by the U.S. Department of Labor, is extremely misleading.
Right now, we’re hearing much celebrating from the media, the White House and Wall Street about how unemployment is “down” to 5.6%. The cheerleading for this number is deafening. The media loves a comeback story, the White House wants to score political points and Wall Street would like you to stay in the market.
“There’s no other way to say this. The official unemployment rate, which cruelly overlooks the suffering of the long-term and often permanently unemployed as well as the depressingly underemployed, amounts to a Big Lie.”
None of them will tell you this: If you, a family member or anyone is unemployed and has subsequently given up on finding a job — if you are so hopelessly out of work that you’ve stopped looking over the past four weeks — the Department of Labor doesn’t count you as unemployed. That’s right. While you are as unemployed as one can possibly be, and tragically may never find work again, you are not counted in the figure we see relentlessly in the news — currently 5.6%. Right now, as many as 30 million Americans are either out of work or severely underemployed. Trust me, the vast majority of them aren’t throwing parties to toast “falling” unemployment.
“And it’s a lie that has consequences, because the great American dream is to have a good job, and in recent years, America has failed to deliver that dream more than it has at any time in recent memory.”
There’s another reason why the official rate is misleading. Say you’re an out-of-work engineer or healthcare worker or construction worker or retail manager: If you perform a minimum of one hour of work in a week and are paid at least $20 — maybe someone pays you to mow their lawn — you’re not officially counted as unemployed in the much-reported 5.6%. Few Americans know this.
Yet another figure of importance that doesn’t get much press: those working part time but wanting full-time work. If you have a degree in chemistry or math and are working 10 hours part time because it is all you can find — in other words, you are severely underemployed — the government doesn’t count you in the 5.6%. Few Americans know this. Read the rest of this entry »
Endangered: 40% of Journalists are Out of the Profession at End of 3rd year, 70% by Year 5
Posted: January 28, 2015 Filed under: Economics, Mediasphere, U.S. News | Tags: Employment, Internet, journalism, LinkedIn, media, news, News Corporation, Raju Narisetti, Twitter 1 CommentBased on @LinkedIn‘s 300 mil profiles, 40% of journalists are out of the profession at end of 3rd year, 70% by year 5 pic.twitter.com/lw0ULiR0Fh
— Raju Narisetti (@raju) January 28, 2015
Two million Facebook, Gmail and Twitter passwords stolen by ‘criminal gang’
Posted: December 5, 2013 Filed under: Crime & Corruption, Science & Technology | Tags: BBC, Facebook, Google, Graham Cluley, LinkedIn, Twitter, Yahoo, YouTube 2 Comments
Hackers published two million passwords online, security experts have said (Picture: Alphaspirit/Getty)
The passwords for the compromised accounts are believed to have been collected by a botnet which uses infectious software to take note of the keystrokes of its targets.
Thousands of Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts were hacked with details published online by what are believed to be cyber criminals.
Of the passwords there were 318,000 Facebook, 70,000 Google (including Gmail, Google+ and YouTube), and 60,000 Yahoo accounts – though their age is unknown. Read the rest of this entry »
What’s worse than Instagramming about food? Singing about it: Alison Gold’s music video for ‘Chinese Food’
Posted: October 15, 2013 Filed under: China, Entertainment, Humor, Mediasphere | Tags: Ark Music Factory, Chinese cuisine, LinkedIn, Music video, Patrice Wilson, Rebecca Black, Snapple, YouTube 1 CommentThe Rebecca Black Corollary — a.k.a. Ark Music Factory — has spawned another evil, and this time she’s hungry (for more than just milk and cereal).
Any artist has been told to write/paint/sing what you know. Our girl Alison Gold (hopefully a stage name, so this won’t haunt her LinkedIn when she’s trying to land an entry-level marketing job in eight years) is just singing about her passion: “Chinese Food.” And more disturbing than this song’s terrible Auto-Tune is its cracked-out music video. WHAT IS HAPPENING?
From the time that I saw the video Tuesday morning, it has gotten a a million more views. I don’t want to alarm you, but it’s kind of a thing. In case you want to avoid having “get me broc-co-li, while I play Mo-nop-o-ly” stuck in your head for the next eight hours, but like staying abreast on viral YouTube world news, here’s a comprehensive breakdown of the video’s plot:
Before getting around to the chow mein event, Alison establishes some background information: “After ballin’, I go clubbin’, then I’m huggin’.” She’s standing in the middle of a suburban street, so it’s probably been a pretty long walk from the clubs, and hugging really works up an appetite. It only makes sense that she’s hungry.

Hark! What’s that?

It’s a Chinese restaurant that seems to be owned and operated by this 11-year-old girl. Her positive attitude has gotten her far in the restaurant-franchising industry.