For the Unemployed Over 50, Fears of Never Working Again
Despite impressive credentials and qualifications, a growing number of unemployed Americans in their 50s and 60s are finding it difficult to re-enter the workforce. “Of the 14.9 million unemployed, more than 2.2 million are 55 or older,” according to the New York Times. “Nearly half of them have been unemployed six months or longer, according to the Labor Department. The unemployment rate in the group—7.3 percent—is at a record, more than double what it was at the beginning of the latest recession.”
Older workers are being overlooked in favor of younger, less qualified applicants. Forced early retirement is pushing more older workers under the poverty line. It’s a startling trend, as more than a third of Americans say they plan to work past 65. The trend could also have a nationwide economic impact, as many of these workers will lose the ability to be self-sufficient.
Sickle cell testing of athletes stirs discrimination fears
All NCAA Division I colleges and universities are now requiring new athletes to be screened for sickle cell anemia. “The screening hopes to identify athletes at high risk for life-threatening complications from intense physical exertion,” according to the Washington Post. “That way, those with the gene could be monitored more closely and their training could be modified by, for example, allowing more time for rest and drinking more water.”
However, some believe the policy discriminates against black athletes, who are more likely to carry the sickle cell gene. “This could have an extraordinarily heavy impact on black athletes,” said Troy Duster, a sociology professor at New York University. “You are going to be picking out these kids and saying, ‘You are going to be scrutinized more closely than anyone else.’ That’s worrisome.” The mandate comes on the heels of a lawsuit from the parents Dale Lloyd II, a nineteen-year-old freshman on Rice University’s football team, who died after a tough workout in 2006. It was later discovered that he had the sickle cell trait, which can prevent the delivery of oxygen to tissues and organs during intense physical effort.
Utah wildfire forces evacuation of more than 1,000 homes
If you have a machine gun, don’t practice with it near the forest. Machine gun exercises at the Utah National Guard base at Camp Williams in Salt Lake City sparked a massive forest fire yesterday afternoon. It’s grown since then, forcing the evacuation of over 1,000 homes. “Literally, the whole mountainside is on fire,” said Lt. Don Hutson of the Unified Police Department. “The flames are just coming down the backyards and bumping up against many of the structures on the high part of the mountain.”
Utah Governor Gary Herbert said conditions worsened once the wind picked up. He expects that conditions will continue to be dictated by the weather. A state of emergency hasn’t been declared, but Herbert requested help from FEMA. 124 National Guardsmen are fighting the fire. No injuries have been reported.
70 million children get no education, says report
According to a report from the Global Campaign for Education, more than 70 million children worldwide can’t go to school on a daily basis. The report, which ranks the poorest countries based on their education system, found Northeast Africans are least likely to receive a good education.
Somalia has the world’s poorest education system, with only ten percent of children attending primary school. Eritrea, Haiti, Comoros and Ethiopia round out the top five. The study also notes that girls are much less likely than boys to receive an education in the world’s poorest countries. The problem is expected to worsen over the next five years. “Poor countries are on a worsening trajectory,” said David Archer, an author of the report, “as severe and deepening pressure from the economic downturn caused by the crisis of the rich world’s banking system bites on their budgets.”
Might you reconsider using the word “dude’? Instead would it not be appropriate, accurate and just plain old neutral to use ‘man or ‘men? “Dude” is affected and stilted and conveys a twenty or thirty something pseudo hipness that is actually a symptom of the very male point of view that you are attempting to confront and change.