Current Decade of Job Losses vs. Great Depression; How Did Quasi-Public Jobs Fare? Who is Whining?

It may surprise you to learn that job losses in the most recent decade ending February 2011 are reasonably comparable to the job losses from 1929-1939. Moreover, if we exclude government and "quasi- government" jobs, the latest decade is the worse ever, by far.Please consider A Decade of Labor Market Pain by Mike Mandel.In February 2001, nonfarm payrolls hit their business cycle peak of 132.5 million....

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HOW SAD IS THIS:

This posting contains an audio. To hear it properly please mute the sound on the "Ave Maria" music widget located on the right hand side of this page.HOW SAD IS TH...

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Gag limit

I believe there's a limit to the personal attacks that Canadians will tolerate.And the Conservatives have now passed it. Aga...

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UFO Appears Above Jet Airliner Downey California (Pictures)

Date: March 16, 2011Time: 3:20 p.m.Number of witnesses: 1Number of Objects: 1Shape of Objects: Disc (probably)Full Description of Event/Sighting: Hello, I was out taking a walk during my break at work, and as I am an avid sky watcher (for cloud photos) I was looking up as usual. I noticed the object flying across my field of vision fairly slowly, like a helicopter. In fact, that's what I thought it...

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Two Objects Split Into 5 Lights Over Laveen Arizona

Date: March 18, 2011Time: 7:00 p.m.Number of witnesses: 3Number of Objects: 2 (5 bits)Shape of Objects: Circle.Full Description of Event/Sighting: I was in in back yard facing the northwest when I saw two object falling. They looked like falling stars, but close. They then slowed down, almost stopped when they split in to four, to five smaller lights and stood still about 45 seconds and eventually...

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Alliance for Main Street (Walmart and Target) Press Amazon on Taxes; In Praise of Amazon

Mom and pop bookstores and other retailers have had enough. They cry foul on Amazon for not collecting state sales taxes. Moreover, Walmart and Target have now entered the battle and have sided with mom and pop against purported evil-doers like Amazon that have an unfair advantage.The Wall Street Journal reports Retailers Push Amazon on TaxesWal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp. and other large retailers are ratcheting up a political campaign to force Amazon.com Inc. to collect sales taxes, sensing...

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Qaddafi Pledges "Long War"; Photographs of the Wreckage; Usurpation of Legislative Power

Once again the New York Times leads the way with excellent coverage of happenings in the Mideast and Africa. Please consider Qaddafi Pledges ‘Long War’ as Allies Pursue Air Assault on LibyaA day after American and European forces began a broad campaign of strikes against the government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the Libyan leader delivered a fresh and defiant tirade on Sunday, pledging retaliation...

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Ben Bernnake Ponders Food Prices

It's been a while since my last Sunday Funnies. Here is a timely submission from reader Bill regarding Ben Bernanke, bank bailouts, and food prices.If you wish to contribute, please do so. The cartoon must be yours, not something you saw elsewhere.Mike "Mish" Shedlockhttp://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.comClick Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post L...

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the arabist: five questions few are asking about libya

Yippee, a no-fly zone, because it's much better for the West to kill Libyans than for Gaddafi to do it! Hey, those crazy Arabs can't liberate themselves, you know. They need our help. Just ask the Iraqis! Those who have survived, anyway.Some excellent analysis by The Arabist: 5 questions few are asking about Libya.Thanks to Hysperia for the Arabist post.Also:Stop the War Coalition (UK): The real reasons behind the United Nations' Libya vote:A new war has been declared in the Middle East. With the...

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malalai joya denied entry to u.s.: four things u.s. readers can do to help

As you may know, Afghan writer and activist Malalai Joya has been denied entry to the US. Joya opposes the Western occupation of her country, and with a clear majority of USians now opposing the war in Afghanistan, those who profit from the occupation want to prevent her injecting public opinion with facts and motivation. I saw Joya speak - report here and here - and I know the peace movement in the...

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Medicare Provider Bureaucratic Nightmare

John Peters, a practicing psychologist, just sent me an email regarding a complete bureaucratic nightmare that has prevented his firm from obtaining a Medicare Provider Number.John writes ...Hi Mish,I'm writing at the request of Customer Service at Palmetto GBA, the firm which handles all our Medicare processing.As a practicing psychologist with offices in Fairfield and Albany, California, I have been attempting to obtain a Medicare Provider number.I applied despite horror stories from doctors who...

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Sightings.com UFO Newsletter Issue #10

Date Of Release: March 19, 2011To join the free Yahoo Sightings.com UFO Newsletter, http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Sightings_com/ (Please note: To receive the Newsletter you have to get it through Yahoo Groups)Sightings.com website: http://www.sightings.com/ and the Jeff Rense radio program http://www.rense.com/. The Vike Factor UFO Blog http://the-v-factor-paranormal.blogspot.com/Brian Vike can...

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Solid Orange Pulsating Ball Of Light Over Marathon Florida

Date: March 18, 2011Time: 8:30 p.m.Number of witnesses: 2Number of Objects: 1Shape of Objects: Round.Full Description of Event/Sighting: Hi Brian, we were sitting outside on the front of our Houseboat here in the Florida Keys. It was a beautiful clear still night, not to many stars though. We were taking pictures of the moon when my camera batteries died. I went in the house to look for new ones....

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6 Orange Glowing Lights Over Vero Beach Florida

Date: March 18, 2011Time: 8:22 p.m.Hi, last night, (March 18th, 2011 - 8:22pm) my husband and I saw 6 orange glowing lights in the southern sky moving (floating) slowly in a southwesterly direction. At first we thought they were helicopters, but we noticed there was absolutely no noise and they were in an odd formation. We just watched them float and glow like candles and then they each burned out...

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Great line of the day

From Rev Paperboy, a prediction:Tune in next week when he tells us that us that the government being found in contempt of Parliament is an example of how Michael Ignatieff hates democracy and is just some Johnny-come-lately who is playing games with the economy and is the son of Russian aristocrats not a "real immigrant"and besides LIBYA! FREEDOM! Democracy! Whisky! Sexy! We are at War! Don't switch horses in midstream! And if that doesn't work, expect him to try proroguing the house again, ...

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The Obama Doctrine

Fascinating article by Marc Ambinder on the back story of Obama's no-fly resolution and what it means for US strategy in the Middle East.First, why did Obama flip?They argued that if nothing was done, despots and beleaguered leaders everywhere would vow never to repeat the “mistake” of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who yielded power without foreign military intervention. Iran, in particular, would find itself with an incentive to continue to spread its proxy forces to other countries and further...

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French Jets Strike Libyan Forces, Attack Tanks, Crowds Cheer; Hillary Clinton Influential in Decision to Attack

The Libyan intervention has begun, led by French military jets. The attack goes beyond a no-fly zone, striking at Libyan forces in the city of Benghazi, which is under heavy bombardment by Qaddafi’s forces. At least one Libyan tank has been destroyed.Please consider Obama Takes Hard Line With Libya After Shift by ClintonIn a Paris hotel room on Monday night, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton found herself juggling the inconsistencies of American foreign policy in a turbulent Middle East....

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Gallup Poll Pegs Unemployment Rate at 10.2%, Underemployment at 19.9%, Same as Last Year

I am very skeptical of BLS unemployment rates inching lower. Not only do the BLS reports discount millions of marginally attached and discouraged workers but BLS seasonal adjustments seem more than a bit unusual.Gallup polls paint a far different picture. Please consider Gallup Finds U.S. Unemployment at 10.2% in Mid-MarchUnemployment RatePart-Time Workers Wanting Full-Time JobUnderemploymentClick...

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Crazy

When Alberta MLA Raj Sherman kept talking about vendettas against doctors and coverups of lung cancer deaths, I started to think his accusations were just too bizarre and he was maybe a little nuts. But now we're finding out that accusing health system critics of being mentally ill is one of the sleazy tactics that has been used for years to discredit doctors and shut them up.No matter how cynical I get, I just can't keep ...

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Bright Neon Green Circular Light/Object Over Crystal Lake Illinois

Date: March 16, 2011Time: Approx: 9:05 p.m.I was driving down Huntley Road, Crystal Lake Illinois, United States at around 9:05pm on a Wednesday night. Out of no where a very neon, very bright, very circular, green light appeared above my car. This green light had an absolutely huge diameter, it looked as if it was an almost perfect circle too. Then, it flew and disappeared into the sky miles away....

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shocking photo: dog pack attacks alligator

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ANGINA NEWS EDITION NINE-GUESS WHAT EVIL THIS WAY COMES

This posting contains a video. To hear it properly, please mute the sound on the "Ave Maria" music widget located on the right hand side of this page.GUESS WHAT EVIL THIS WAY COM...

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greenwald: manning forced nudity = media tipping point

Glenn Greenwald, including links and emphasis: The forced nudity imposed on Bradley Manning followed by the forced resignation of P.J. Crowley has clearly created a media tipping point in this story. In addition to the scathing New York Times Editorial from Monday (Manning's treatment "conjures creepy memories of how the Bush administration used to treat terror suspects"), editorial condemnation has now come from The Los Angeles Times ("punishment, not protection, is the purpose of these degrading...

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Canadian and Australian Dollar vs. the Price of Crude; Reflections on the PPI and the Commodity Bubble

Here is a pair of interesting charts showing the correlation between the Canadian and Australian dollar vs. the price of West Texas Intermediate crude.Australian Dollar vs. CrudeCanadian Dollar vs. CrudeBoth the Australian and Canadian dollars have a strong correlation with crude going all the way back to 1997. Should the correlation continue to hold, and there is no reason to believe it won't, then...

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Horseshoe Shaped Silver UFO Hovering Over Lakeland Florida

Date: October 1962Time: Afternoon.Number of witnesses: 3Number of Objects: 1Shape of Objects: Horseshoe.Full Description of Event/Sighting: I was living in Lakeland at the time, the Cuban missile crisis was going on and the sky was full of bombers, some had 8 small jets surrounding each one. They were in the air continually then one day there was none. The sky was a perfect blue, no clouds and we...

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3 Bright Objects Over Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park Renton Washington

Date: March 17, 2011Time: 8:30 p.m.Number of witnesses: 1Number of Objects: 3Shape of Objects: Bright, hovering, could not make out shape.Full Description of Event/Sighting: I was walking my dog near Gene Coulon Park when I saw 3 large bright 'star like' objects hovering in straight formation, vertically, with space between them over the Renton area for several minutes. I was standing on Lake Washington...

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Prices Raised for Some US Mint Silver Products

The US Mint has just made effective pricing changes for certain products with silver coins. This includes the 2010 Silver Proof Set, 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set, and the upcoming 2011 Quarters Silver Proof Set.The change comes in response to the rising market price of silver. During 2010, the price of silver gained more than 80%. For the year to date, silver is up about 14.5%.In...

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Rand Paul on the "False Budget Choice", on Fixing Social Security "In Perpetuity", on Obama's "Abdication in Leadership"

Senator Rand Paul (Kentucky) and Senator Mike Lee (Utah) go after both Republicans and Democrats in a segment with Kudlow.URL if above video does not play: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqBGrl-nuT0&feature=player_embeddedRand Paul on Balancing the BudgetSenator Rand Paul: "I do not think we should shut down government but I do not like either the Democrat or the Republican proposal. Both of them perpetuate enormous deficits. The annual deficit will be $1.65 trillion under the Democrats and...

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UN Security Council Authorizes No-Fly Zone; Qaddafi Declares Cease-Fire, "Willing to Talk to Rebels"; Military Planning Continues; What's Next?

In a 10-0 vote with 5 abstentions, the UN security council authorized a no-Fly zone over Libya. Proving that Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi was prepared for this in advance Libya Calls Cease-Fire After Britain and France Vow Action ‘Soon’ Hours after the United Nations Security Council voted to authorize military action and a no-fly zone, Libya executed a remarkable about-face on Friday, saying it would call an “immediate cease-fire and the stoppage of all military operations” against rebels seeking to...

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time-of-use energy pricing coming to ontario; is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Beginning May 1, Ontario will begin time-of-use pricing for energy* use.With time-of-use pricing, electricity use will be billed at three different rates: off-peak (least expensive), mid-peak and peak (most expensive). Mid-peak is a higher rate than current billing, and off-peak is a lower rate. That is, under the new pricing plan, your bill cannot stay the same; it can only go up or go down.There...

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