Friday, December 6, 2013

First time after 2008, US unemployment falls to 7%; Rise of internet self-obsession; Meaning of 'outraged modesty' in India



1 First time after 2008, US unemployment falls to 7% (Christopher S Rugaber in San Francisco Chronicle) The US job market is showing signs of the consistent gains the nation has awaited in the 4½ years since the Great Recession. Employers added 203,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate fell to 7 percent, a five-year low, the Labor Department has reported. Four straight months of robust hiring have raised hopes that 2014 will be the year the economy returns to normal. The steady job growth could also hasten a move by the Federal Reserve to reduce its stimulus efforts.

A steadily improving job market could give consumers and business executives the confidence to keep spending and investing, even if a pullback by the Fed leads to higher interest rates. The Fed has been buying bonds each month to try to keep long-term borrowing rates low to spur spending and growth. The celebration on Wall Street suggested that investors think a healthier job market, if it fuels more spending, would outweigh higher borrowing rates caused by a Fed pullback.

The economy has added a four-month average of 204,000 jobs from August through November, up sharply from 159,000 a month from April through July. Even if the Fed does start reining in its stimulus, most economists think growth will accelerate next year. Drew Matus, an economist at UBS, forecasts that growth will top 3 percent in 2014, from roughly 2 percent this year. That would be first time growth had topped 3 percent for a full calendar year since 2005.

The report did contain some sour notes: Many Americans are still avoiding the job market, neither working nor looking for work. That's one reason the unemployment rate has fallen in recent months. The percentage of adults either working or searching for jobs remains near a 35-year low, at 63 percent. And America's long-term unemployed are still struggling. More than 4 million people have been out of work for six months or longer. Low-wage industries also still account for a disproportionate share of jobs added. About 45 percent of jobs created in the past year have been in retail, hotels, restaurants and entertainment, temporary positions and home health care.

http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/Consistent-hiring-points-to-stronger-economy-ahead-5040928.php

2 Rise of internet self-obsession (Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett & Holly Baxter in The Guardian) This is arguably the year in which internet self-obsession reached new heights. Not only did we see that digital chronicler of daily minutiae Instagram announce that it had surpassed 100m active users, but the Oxford English Dictionary people announced that "selfie" was to be official word of the year.

Little did they know that all the coolest, on-trend narcissists had already moved on to "yogis" (yoga + selfie) and "belfies" (bum + selfie), leading us to wonder exactly where self-absorption has to go from here.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/dec/06/selfies-status-updates-digital-bragging-web

3 Meaning of 'outraged modesty' in India (Joanna Jolly on BBC) In today's India, Dalits often still struggle to be treated fairly, but rape victims of all castes and classes are liable to find their own character made the focus of the court proceedings. Too often it's the victim who is blamed, campaigners say. Part of the problem lies in India's outdated laws. A non-penetrative sexual act is still described as "outraging the modesty of a woman" - a relic of a penal code written by the British in 1860.

A famous British doctor, Dr Norman Chevers, had written a medical jurisprudence textbook in the 19th Century, law professor Mrinal Satish says, "in which his assumption was that all Indians are unreliable and Indian women lie more than Indian men". A two-finger test is still in use today, despite a 2003 Supreme Court ruling that past sexual history should not be taken into account in rape cases, and further advice this year urging officials to stop subjecting women to it.

Even before a victim of sexual violence reaches the hospital or court, she may struggle to have her case taken seriously. In India, it's not uncommon for the police to refuse to register sexual crimes. The head of Delhi's Women and Children's Police Department, Suman Nalwar, says Indian police are now more sensitive towards victims of sexual violence, following last year's high-profile rape case.  Under new legislation, any police officer refusing to register a sexual assault case can face punishment. But, she says, the lack of women in India's police force - only 3% throughout the country - is a problem.

Although many criticise India's police and courts for old-fashioned bias against victims of sexual crimes, there are those who worry that reforms may open up the system to abuse. India is still a deeply patriarchal society where a high price is placed on a woman's virginity and sex before marriage is generally condemned.
This past year has seen positive changes in India surrounding sexual violence. For one thing, there has been a concerted campaign by newspapers to keep the issue on the front pages. But, say campaigners and victims of sexual violence in India, the country still has some way to go before all rape survivors receive the justice they deserve.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25231695

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