I am a reader/commenter on a number of social action blogs and other online communities. One of the best parts about blogging IMHO is that you get to really become a member of a community of people. As part of any community, you get to learn of the perspectives, thinking and experiences of other like minded folks. One recent peek into the actions of other Americans yielded a somewhat heart rending sign of the times in our United States. An informal inquiry of mall Santas uncovered the impact the poor economy has been having on children. Follow me over the fold for some of what Santa’s Helpers have been hearing from the tots that cross their laps this year. Continue reading… Mall Santas Report: Kids Want Socks This Year
I am a reader/commenter on a number of social action blogs and other online communities. One of the best parts about blogging IMHO is that you get to really become a member of a community of people. As part of any community, you get to learn of the perspectives, thinking and experiences of other like minded folks. One recent peek into the actions of other Americans yielded a somewhat heart rending sign of the times in our United States. An informal inquiry of mall Santas uncovered the impact the poor economy has been having on children. Follow me over the fold for some of what Santa’s Helpers have been hearing from the tots that cross their laps this year. Continue reading… 
So, TIME magazine has selected Ben Bernanke as their person of the year. Two posts down, I make my personal case for or against all the contenders. I wrote that I believed that Bernanke and others in the top echelons of the banking industry ought to be in prison for what they did to destroy the economy and the savings of so many average Americans; all while paying themselves record bonuses. I admit, I haven’t yet read the issue to see what about this man was worthy of the recognition. Nonetheless, I doubt anything they write will change the contempt I feel for the man. How about you? What do you think of Ben Bernanke and his recognition as “Person of the Year”? Sound off in the comments. 
There is a new movie out called Invictus starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. The movie takes its title from a poem of the same name, “Invictus,” the best-remembered work of British poet William Ernest Henley (1849-1903). Invictus is a Latin word meaning “unconquered,” and the poem was written in 1875 as a demonstration of the poet’s resilience following the amputation of his foot due to tubercular infection. Freeman plays Nelson Mandela in the movie and the poem was recited by Mandela daily for motivation during the thirty years of his political imprisonment in South Africa. Click through to read more about the movie and the poem that was its inspiration.
Fortune Magazine and CNN Money recently put together a list of the top 10 blunders, screw-ups, missteps and SNAFUs made by candidates at employment interviews. The currently high unemployment rate has made it even more difficult than usual to land a job with about six job seekers for every available position. In normal economic times, there are about 2-3 seekers for every offered job. The list below the fold, adapted from the Fortune magazine list, was compiled by hiring managers from companies across a wide range of industry sectors. These are the folks who see hundreds of candidates each week. They see all kinds of applicants; the good, the bad and the ugly. Take their advice if you’re currently seeking gainful employment. 
According to the New York Times, the beef industry has initiated no less than 52 recalls of beef for contamination with E. Coli and other harmful bacteria. It seems like we hear stories with more startling regularity about how our food supply is inadequately monitored leading to sickness and death. Remember the tainted spinach last year? The deadly burgers from Jack in the Box the year before? Well, there are some interesting developments on the horizon that may make your 
Guest Blogger – Zippi Dvash
Asst. VP of Public Affairs
Long Island College Hospital
Emily Somers created, directed and choreographed this awesome music video in Portland last week for her Medline surgical glove division as a fundraiser for breast cancer awareness. This was all her idea to help promote their new 
Today is “Cyber Monday” the Internet enabled, 21st Century equivalent to the post-Thanksgiving, dirt-world doorbusting shopping spree known as “Black Friday”. The term black Friday, coined by retailers to describe the day after Thanksgiving, was so named because the deep discounts and sales they offered were supposed to draw enough consumers to the stores to enable retailers to recoup their investments into holiday inventory. This tsunami of Holiday season shopping was supposed to put the retailers’ balance sheets into “the black” or positive territory. With the rise of e-commerce, there is now a second wave of shopping that begins (unfortunately for employers) on the Monday after Thanksgiving when many return to the office to “work” (read: shop online on the company’s time). Online retailers put out their most attractive online sale prices of the year for Cyber Monday. But in this poor economic environment, are people buying? Are you? Follow me below the fold… 