Gays and lesbians have long been encouraged to change their sexual orientation through therapy or other treatments, on the assumption that homosexuality is merely a lifestyle choice. That advice should change, psychologists now say. Mental health professionals should avoid telling clients that they can change their sexual orientation through therapy or other treatments, according to a new resolution adopted by the American Psychological Association. The reason: It won’t work, the group has concluded. Parents, guardians, young people and their families would also be wise to avoid sexual orientation treatments that portray homosexuality as a mental illness or developmental disorder, the resolution states. Instead, they should seek psychotherapy, social support and educational services ‘that provide accurate information on sexual orientation and sexuality, increase family and school support and reduce rejection of sexual minority youth.’ The resolution, crafted by a task force, was adopted yesterday at the group’s annual convention. ‘Contrary to claims of sexual orientation change advocates and practitioners, there is insufficient evidence to support the use of psychological interventions to change sexual orientation,’ said Judith M. Glassgold, chair of the task force. Researchers have not firmly concluded to what extent homosexuality is genetically […]
For the first time since the Depression, the American economy has added virtually no jobs in the private sector over a 10-year period. The total number of jobs has grown a bit, but that is only because of government hiring. The accompanying charts show the job performance from July 1999, when the economy was booming and companies were complaining about how hard it was to find workers, through July of this year, when the economy was mired in the deepest and longest recession since World War II. For the decade, there was a net gain of 121,000 private sector jobs, according to the survey of employers conducted each month by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In an economy with 109 million such jobs, that indicated an annual growth rate for the 10 years of 0.01 percent. Until the current downturn, the long-term annual growth rate for private sector jobs had not dipped below 1 percent since the early 1960s. Most often, the rate was well above that. As can be seen from the charts, there were some areas of strength in the economy. Health care jobs continued to grow, particularly jobs that involve caring for the elderly. […]
ATLANTA — America’s baby boomlet is showing signs of tapering off. U.S. births in 2008 dropped nearly 2 percent from 2007-the first annual decline in births since the beginning of the decade, according to new federal data. It’s not clear what caused the decline, but the nation’s economic downturn may have had something to do with it. Since the recession began in December 2007, the economy has lost almost 7 million jobs. Housing foreclosures worsened in 2007 too, and fell into a state of crisis in 2008. The largest decline in births in 2008 were in California and Florida, two states hit hardest by the housing crisis. But the downturn’s effect on the public psychology-and families’ willingness to have babies-may not have really hit until the fall of 2008, said Stephanie Ventura of the National Center for Health Statistics, the agency that put out the report. The nation had about 4,247,000 births in 2008, down about 68,000 from the year before. Of course, 2007 was a year in which more babies were born in the United States than any other year in the nation’s history. In the past, a fluctuation of births by […]
Volvo has unveiled a range of vehicles which aim to provide an eco-friendly option for consumers. The DRIVe cars offer an average fuel consumption of around 70 miles per gallon, according to its makers. Vehicles across the range include a C30, V50 estate and S40 saloon and share a 1.6 litre diesel engine featuring start-stop technology. The cars narrowly miss out on the 100g/km road tax emption limit, coming in at 104g/km, falling instead into the ã35 per year tax band. Super-clean diesels are coming The perception of diesel engines as frugal but dirty may be about to change. Particulate filters are now able to remove all trace of soot from diesel exhaust and the latest hybrids use the technology in tandem with electric motors. Volvo has announced plans for a new eco-friendly, plug-in hybrid car, which will boast CO2 emissions of less than 50g/km. The car will powered by both an electric motor and a diesel engine. Volvo claims that carbon dioxide emissions will be lower than 50g/km. According to Volvo, the lithium-ion battery pack that powers the electric motor takes about five hours to charge using a standard wall socket. The car […]
WASHINGTON — For the first time, more than 34 million Americans received food stamps, which help poor people buy groceries, government figures said on Thursday, a sign of the longest and one of the deepest recessions since the Great Depression Enrollment surged by 2 percent to reach a record 34.4 million people, or one in nine Americans, in May, the latest month for which figures are available. It was the sixth month in a row that enrollment set a record. Every state recorded a gain in participation from April. Florida had the largest increase at 4.2 percent. Food stamp enrollment is highest during times of economic stress. The U.S. unemployment rate of 9.5 percent is the highest in 26 years. Average benefit was $133.65 in May per person. The economic stimulus package enacted earlier this year included a temporary increase in food stamp benefits of $80 a month for a family of four. Food stamp enrollment Month Total May 34.409 million April 33.758 million March 33.157 million February 32.556 million January 32.205 million December 2008 31.784 million November 2008 31.097 million October 2008 31.050 million […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
