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Economists, investment advisors and political strategists are closely watching the unemployment rate. But few commentators acknowledge just how faulty the employment statistics are. One key problem is that a crucial group of people can’t be tracked and measured. These are the so-called discouraged workers, who have given up looking for employment. They are the economic equivalent of astrophysicists’ dark matter – the particles scattered throughout the universe that can’t be seen but have enough mass to alter the course of everything we can see.
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How 'Shadow Inventory' Is Killing the U.S. Housing Market | Business | TIME.com
Recently, there have been lots of positive signs coming out of the real estate market. Foreclosure rates are down, housing starts are up, and homes have appreciated in value in some markets for the first time since 2006. Even so, two reports surfaced last week indicating that, for the nation as a whole, home prices dropped by 3.5% to 5% in 2011. And one factor hurting the prices of homes that are for sale is the enormous number of homes that aren’t for sale — but that should be.
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Europe’s Debt Crisis: Back from the Brink? | Business | TIME.com
So it looks like Greece will dodge a default, at least for now. The Greek parliament passed a new $4.4 billion austerity package on Sunday, which includes a painful 22% cut in the minimum wage and 150,000 public sector job losses. Greece’s euro zone partners were demanding the country approve these painful measures in return for a second, $170 billion bailout. The vote clears the way to finalizing that bailout – first approved way back in July – along with an arrangement between Athens and its private-sector bondholders to restructure some $265 billion of the nation’s sovereign debt.
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China economy shows strain as policy shift eyed | Reuters
China betrayed signs of spluttering domestic demand on Friday as imports crumbling to their lowest in more than two years and weaker-than-forecast bank lending signaled to investors that policymakers would soon make a fresh bid to bolster growth.
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Trial Opens 2 Years After Feds Break Up Militia : NPR
DETROIT (AP) — Seven members of a Midwest militia accused of plotting to overthrow the government are set to stand trial, where jurors will decide whether federal authorities prevented an attack by homegrown extremists or simply made too much of the boasts by weekend warriors who had pledged to "take our nation back."
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Pakistani prime minister to stand trial for contempt - The Washington Post
Islamabad, Pakistan — The Supreme Court formally charged embattled Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani with contempt Monday.
Gilani, who pleaded not guilty, has steadfastly defied court orders to reopen old corruption cases against Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari. If convicted, Gilani faces six months in jail and possible removal from office. -
Interpol supports death penalty for tweets | MetaFilter
Saudi journalist Hamza Kashgari was arrested in Kuala Lumpur and deported to Saudi Arabia for at the behest of Interpol. Mr. Kashgari faces the death penalty in Saudi Arabia for a series of tweets insulting the prophet Muhammad, including 'I have loved things about you and I have hated things about you and there is a lot I don't understand about you I will not pray for you.' (BBC, Al Jazeera)
Fair Trials International's Jago Russell said "Interpol should be playing no part in Saudi Arabia's pursuit of Hamza Kashgari, however unwise his comments on Twitter. .. If an Interpol red notice is the reason for his arrest and detention it would be a serious abuse of this powerful international body that is supposed to respect basic human rights, including to peaceful free speech, and to be barred from any involvement in religious or political cases."
Fair Trials International has a campaign against the blanket enforcement of Interpol red notices because the international police agency has a poor record of respecting freedom of speech cases (pdf).
posted by jeffburdges (54 comments total) [add to favorites] 8 users marked this as a favorite [!] -
The DOJ’s escalating criminalization of speech - Salon.com
Over the past several years, the Justice Department has increasingly attempted to criminalize what is clearly protected political speech by prosecuting numerous individuals (Muslims, needless to say) for disseminating political views the government dislikes or considers threatening. The latest episode emerged on Friday, when the FBI announced the arrest and indictment of Jubair Ahmad, a 24-year-old Pakistani legal resident living in Virginia, charged with “providing material support” to a designated Terrorist organization (Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT)).
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Gamasutra - Features - Principles of an Indie Game Bottom Feeder
Ever since I founded Spiderweb Software and released my first game in January of 1995, I have been a proud indie game bottom feeder. I have fed and grown fat upon the scraps left behind by the mighty predators above. I have learned well the secret power that writers of indie games can use to actually make a living: We can find a small niche long-abandoned by the big companies, settle into it, and thrive.
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Racist stereotype (i.imgur.com)
submitted 6 hours ago by periodicflip to funny
367 commentssharesavehidereport -
Goodbye, state funding for California libraries | KALW
The bad news is that state funding for California libraries has been completely eliminated. There’s not really any good news about that except that it was expected. This past July, state library funding was sliced in half, and there was a trigger amendment attached to the budget that would eliminate state funding for public libraries at midyear if the state's revenue projections were not met. Needless to say, they weren’t.
Monday, February 13, 2012
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