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To: Gib Bogle who wrote (71928)	12/31/2009 8:42:35 AM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Respond to of 74559

US Jobless Claims -22K To 432K In Dec 26 Week By Luca Di Leo and Sarah N. Lynch Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The number of people filing new claims for unemployment benefits in the U.S. unexpectedly fell in the latest week to its lowest level in 18 months, a sign the labor market may have turned a corner. Meantime, the Labor Department said in its weekly report Thursday that the number of people collecting jobless benefits for more than a week also continued to decline. Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 432,000 in the week ended Dec. 26, the lowest level since July 19, 2008. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast claims would rise by 3,000. The Labor Department revised the initial claims level for the week of Dec. 19 to 454,000 from an originally reported 452,000. The tally of continuing claims, or those drawn by workers collecting benefits for more than one week, fell by 57,000 to 4,981,000 in the week ended Dec. 19. The four-week average of new claims, which aims to smooth volatility in the data, dropped by 5,500 to 460,250 - marking its 17th consecutive drop. That was the lowest level since Sep. 20, 2008. The unemployment rate for workers with unemployment insurance for the week ending Dec. 19 remained unchanged at 3.8%. U.S. Federal Reserve officials earlier this month said the deterioration in the labor market was abating, but reaffirmed plans to keep interest rates near zero for several months due to still-high unemployment. Recent data signal that the U.S. recovery from the worst recession in decades is taking hold. Orders for durable goods, or those intended to last more than three years, were up 0.2% in November as strength returned to the manufacturing sector. Robust retail sales and improving consumer confidence, meanwhile, have raised expectations for strong economic growth in the fourth quarter. That's prompted some optimism that employers may resume hiring early in the next year. The U.S. unemployment rate declined unexpectedly to 10% in November as employers cut jobs at the slowest pace since the recession began at the end of 2007. The Labor Department is set to release December unemployment and nonfarm payroll figures next Friday. Economists at Wrightson ICAP predicted in a note Wednesday that the jobless rate may have inched lower to 9.9% in December. In Thursday's report, Michigan reported the largest jump in new claims - 8,382 - during the Dec. 19 week due to an increase in layoffs in the automobile industry. Regional figures are not adjusted to reflect seasonal fluctuations. Tennessee reported the largest decrease in initial claims - 2,972 - but did not provide a reason for the drop. -By Luca Di Leo and Sarah N. Lynch, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6682; luca.dileo@dowjones

To: Gib Bogle who wrote (71928)	12/31/2009 11:05:09 AM
From: average joe	Respond to of 74559

"As my Mum used to say, the quality of mercy is not strained," A good lady obviously... PORTIA: The quality of mercy is not strain'd, It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes: 'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes The throned monarch better than his crown; His sceptre shows the force of temporal power, The attribute to awe and majesty, Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings; But mercy is above this sceptred sway; It is enthroned in the hearts of kings, It is an attribute to God himself; And earthly power doth then show likest God's When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew, Though justice be thy plea, consider this, That, in the course of justice, none of us Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy; And that same prayer doth teach us all to render The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much To mitigate the justice of thy plea; Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice Must needs give sentence 'gainst the merchant there.

To: Gib Bogle who wrote (71928)	1/3/2010 7:52:18 PM
From: Maurice Winn	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Gib, after a few days, I'm going to leave your question in the too-hard basket. Certainly in some form, but it's not just an age issue. <OK, it's an extreme example, but it illustrates the general point that society - probably any society that we'd call civilized - accepts the idea of protection for the weak, the stupid, the vulnerable. Do you accept this idea in any form?> When I was 20, I worked at Auckland Sheltered Workshops [not as an inmate]. I was a driver and supervisor. I would not have taken kindly to somebody trying to sell them much of anything though I don't recall any particular rules. They were adults but lacked the mental horsepower to cope with regular life. But I don't object to people selling things to regular self-determining people. Knowingly doing harm to ignorant people amounts to fraud and such crimes are not in my free-market mantra of allowed activity. I have had 4 children and now a couple of grand-children. My aim is to help them be fully autonomous as soon as they feel capable. I have been complimented by them so I guess I did a reasonable job. There needs to be protection of children from other people, but they also should be left to learn from an early age that they have to develop an intense sense of self-preservation. That means taking responsibility for their decisions. They seem to get by with no government rules for all the poisonous plants we live among. Mqurice