Posted by Yardie Luke on September 6, 2010 under Making Money | 
For most Americans, Labor Day is a welcome holiday off work. Yet for others, it is just another day without work, following months without a steady source of income.
Almost 10 percent of Americans are facing unemployment, unable to support themselves and their families.
In response to the ongoing unemployment crisis, the U.S. Department of Labor is commemorating Labor Day 2010 by launching a new website to help out-of-work Americans find new opportunities.
Entitled My Skills My Future, the website provides tools for potential workers to search for jobs by entering in their previous work experience. An instructional video featured on the My Skills My Future homepage explains how to use the database to search for employment opportunities and local job training seminars.
Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis also released a video to give a “state of the American worker report.” SOURCE
Posted by Yardie Luke on under Jamaica Politics |
HE is not putting his cards on the table just yet, regarding his strategy to become prime minister of Jamaica one day, but rising star Andrew Holness is willing to admit one thing: “I want to lead my country.”
“If I had said no, you would say I am lying,” the education minister admitted to the Observer last Friday.
While declining to say more in terms of his own climb up the ladder to fulfil his dream, Holness said that the issue of leading the ruling Jamaica Labour Party now was not up for discussion.
“The issue of leadership is not a question in the Jamaica Labour Party right now. Of course, people have it (leadership) in their minds. It is a political party and everybody has ambitions. But right now, I am focussed on the things that I want to achieve in education. I think that they are far more important than any personal ambitions that I may have,” he said.
“My friends have said to me, you are doing all these things, what happens if you lose the next election. How are you going to survive? But I have never really been one to think of my own personal things like business. I have always been politically motivated. I am motivated by what I am doing now,” he explained.
“I wasn’t called to do law, or banking or anything like that. I was called to do this (politics),” said Holness, who is also member of parliament for West Central St Andrew, leader of government business in the House of Representatives and the JLP’s public relations top man.
Responding to calls for Prime Minister Bruce Golding to resign over his handling of the hiring of a United States law firm in relation to the extradition of former Tivoli Gardens don Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke, Holness said that there was no need for Golding to step aside.
“The person who is calling for him to resign has to make a judgement as to whether or not the population that elected him has lost total confidence in him,” Holness argued. “So I am sure the prime minister would be of the opinion that there is an element in the society that would have lost confidence in him, but I don’t think that we can say that the majority of the society has lost confidence in him.
“Indeed, the PSOJ (Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica), the churches, the civil groups that represent the broad areas of society have not called for his resignation. They have asked for atonement, and the political party that he leads has also said that he should atone — apologise and atone. We are trying to do everything for him to atone. There are items that have been placed on the agenda that must be achieved, like de-garrisonisation, campaign financing… those things would be part of the atonement package,” Holness said. SOURCE
Posted by Yardie Luke on September 5, 2010 under Health |
Some 76 million cases of foodborne illness are reported annually in the USA. About 300,000 of these cases are serious enough to result in hospitalization and sadly about 5000 persons die as a result. The most vulnerable are the elderly, pregnant women, young children and anyone with compromised immune system. However anyone can be affected by a severe or life-threatening case of food poisoning. Survivors of serious cases can have long-lasting health issues like kidney problems.
The recent massive egg recall was the reminder that dangerous pathogens like E. coli and salmonella lurk in our kitchens every day. To reduce the chance of catching serious food related infections here are some suggested practices.
Make it a habit to wash EVERYTHING!
Prepackaged fresh fruit and vegetables should be washed/rinsed before they are packaged and in most cases they are. But it is better to err on the side of caution. Rinse you lettuce, spinach and other vegetables before use.
To take it a step further, avoid the expensive bagging and buy fresh fruit and vegetables. Remove the outer leaves of items like lettuce and rinse thoroughly with clean hands. To make the job easier invest in a salad spinner
. Amazon have a good selection.
Well Done is the way to go
Eliminating harmful bacteria from meats and poultry can be easily done by cooking thoroughly. Visit Foodsafety.gov for a list of temperatures at which various foods should be cooked. It does not hurt to have a reliable meat thermometer
to ensure your meat is properly cooked.
Keep your Cutting Board clean
A surprising source of bacteria is the cutting board. Here is some good advice from the US Department of Agriculture:
The Meat and Poultry Hotline says that consumers may use wood or a nonporous surface for cutting raw meat and poultry. However, consider using one cutting board for fresh produce and bread and a separate one for raw meat, poultry, and seafood. This will prevent bacteria on a cutting board that is used for raw meat, poultry, or seafood from contaminating a food that requires no further cooking.
The same agency also makes the following recommendations:
To keep all cutting boards clean, the Hotline recommends washing them with hot, soapy water after each use; then rinse with clear water and air dry or pat dry with clean paper towels. Nonporous acrylic, plastic, or glass boards and solid wood boards can be washed in a dishwasher (laminated boards may crack and split).
Both wooden and plastic cutting boards can be sanitized with a solution of 1 tablespoon of unscented, liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of water. Flood the surface with the bleach solution and allow it to stand for several minutes. Rinse with clear water and air dry or pat dry with clean paper towels.
All plastic and wooden cutting boards wear out over time. Once cutting boards become excessively worn or develop hard-to-clean grooves, they should be discarded.
Consider Pasteurized eggs
Consider using pasteurized eggs to reduce the possibility of salmonella poisoning. Pasteurized eggs are heated in the shell to kill harmful bacteria and viruses but still taste and look like regular eggs. They are sold in most grocery stores and come with a red “P” stamped on the carton or on the eggs themselves.
For more info on food safely here are some useful links:
Foodborne Illness: What Consumers Need to Know
Food Safety Tips for the Budget-Conscious
Safe Food Handling
Meat Preparation
Thanks for reading – Yardie Luke
