Yup, clear as mud
on March 4th, 2011 at 5:52 pm
March 4 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. jobless rate unexpectedly fell to 8.9 percent in February, the lowest in almost two years, and employers added 192,000 jobs in a sign of growing confidence in the recovery.
The increase in payrolls partly reflected a return to more seasonable weather and followed a 63,000 gain in January, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of economists was for an addition of 196,000 jobs last month.
“Twenty months after the worst recession in decades, job creation remains anemic, weighing on economic growth and making it even harder for the long-term jobless to find work.
Don’t blame layoffs. They spiked in 2009 but have returned to pre-slump levels, according to Labor Department data. But job openings remain 30% below their level when the downturn hit in December 2007. Gross hiring is down by 843,000 jobs.”
“The CDC released a new report today, “Sexual Behavior, Sexual Attraction and Sexual Identity in the U.S.,” which looks at sexual activity in young Americans — some 13,500 of them, age 15 to 44. Among the big highlights? Abstinence is up among teens and 20-somethings, which could have implications for the state of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the U.S.”
[...]
“According to the CDC, the new data, compiled between 2006 and 2008, should prove particularly useful to public health researchers who want to better understand and target populations that are at high risk for contracting sexually transmitted infections — i.e., teens. The center estimates there are some 19 million new cases of STIs in the U.S. every year — over half of which occur among people age 15 to 24.
Which is why it’s notable that abstinence seems to be on the rise among Americans within that age range. Bill Albert, chief program officer for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, told U.S. News and World Report that he is encouraged by the news that more teenagers and 20-somethings are abstaining. He says that the general view among adults has been that teenagers are having more and more sex, but the new data appears to contradict that.”
And here’s your asterisk…
Jason D. Hans, Martie Gillen and Katrina Akande (researchers at the University of Kentucky) did an exhaustive study on how teens view and define sex. One of their main conclusions? Most teens did not view oral sex as “sex”.
I mention the above because the definition of sex is always being redefined. While this latest CDC report does show that that penile, vaginal sex of both males and females has gone down, the same report also shows that anal sex as gone up by a small percentage since 2002.
Last story~
Live ammo found at WI Capitol buildingDozens of live ammunition have been found at the Wisconsin state Capitol building, which has been the site of protests over a bill that the curbs union rights.
University of Wisconsin Police Chief Susan Riseling said that 41 rounds of 22-caliber bullets were found on Thursday morning scattered at three of the building’s entrances, AP reported.
Civility…with an asterisk 
