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Friday, December 28, 2012

December 2012 News Factoids

“From fiscal 2009 to fiscal 2012, the deficit shrank 3.1 percentage points, from 10.1% to 7.0% of GDP . . . the federal deficit has fallen faster over the past three years than it has in any such stretch since demobilization from World War II." ~~ surprising source: the conservative Investors’ Business Daily!, Nov 2012

Did you see anything on the news about the one-day strike on November 29th by New York City fast food workers for pay above minimum wage? It was coordinated by FastFoodForward as well as the Service Employees International Union.

"During Obama's first term, the Dow Jones Industrial Average nearly doubled, corporations saw their profits grow an average of 78 percent per year, and banker bonuses remained high." ~~ TIME Magazine, Nov 2012

The nationwide drought is expected to lower the Mississippi River to 9 feet or less, which is too shallow for barge traffic between the Missouri River and the Ohio River.

The average age of the members of the Rolling Stones band, now on their 50th Anniversary Tour, is two years higher than the average age of the members of the U.S. Supreme Court. ~~ Associated Press item

Only 64 percent of students recently graduating with a science or engineering degree in America have found jobs, the lowest level in decades. ~~ per National Science Foundation survey

"[America's] 9,146 gun homicides in 2009 [is] a rate nearly twenty times higher than other supposedly civilized countries." ~~ Tomothy Egan, New York Times

Consumers! only 362 more shopping days till Xmas 2013!

Google made more than $20B in ad revenue in 2012, more than all U.S. print media combined. ~~ Atlantic Magazine website

The United States has the highest rate of gun ownership in the world, averaging 88.8 guns per hundred people. War-torn Yemen is second highest with 54.8 guns per hundred population, and Iraq is third with 34.2 guns per hundred population. ~~ per Washington Post
{AND the U.S. number went up sharply at the end of 2012}

MY WACKY NEIGHBORS!: The local Wal-Mart store in Los Lunas was burglarized around 2 a.m. on Christmas morning and the three masked crooks (caught on video) took $30,000 {sic} in assault weapons and ammunition and electronics.
~~ per Albuquerque Journal & KRQE-TV websites
Copyright 2012 by G.E. Nordell, all rights reserved

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