Goldman Sachs released a report today Wednesday for its clients about unemployment, and finds that extension of unemployment benefits in a recession does not actually make workers lazy and unwilling to work. READ MORE

In These Troubled Times, many Americans are seeking financial wisdom from an unlikely source: the Bible. READ MORE

With so many of us facing financial difficulties during These Troubled Times, "more consumers are turning to processed foods, either prepared, frozen or canned and often filled with fat-generating calories, refined grains and sugars. Experts said that's making more Americans chubbier and prone to obesity-related illnesses such as diabetes in what has been dubbed 'recession fat.'" The obesity rate rose by a full percentage point over the last year, which is, of course, Barack Obama's fault. When we voted for change, we didn't vote for a change in our waistlines, am I right, people? As for the 25% of people who were already obese before the recession, I guess we can just call that "boom blubber." [Via]

During a casual conversation with a small group of acquaintances this weekend I heard someone express the opinion that we were somewhere near the middle of a double-dip recession and that there was going to be a "white riot" when the second dip hit. This was more than a little troubling, since it certainly was not the first time I've come across that sentiment. I generally try to remind myself that due to the massive volume of political opinion I read, it's very easy to get caught up in whatever disaster scenarios people are trying to promote for political advantage, but I feel like this kind of fear-with its implicit helplessness and apathy-is becoming far more common. Maybe it's because people forgot what an actual recession is like, or didn't live through one in the first place. Maybe it's because there are no jobs and there seems to be little appetite to increase stimulus or regulation. Maybe it's because we live in an age where paranoia rules the day. READ MORE

Yesterday's news that the Versace Group would be cutting 26% of their international workforce-350 jobs-is deeply upsetting especially considering you can't google "Versace" without "Cunanan" coming up and especially considering their porcelain Medusa obelisk that they made in that one Rosenthal collabo was the hot sauce and matches my Medusa ashtray. (YES.) Versace USED to be cool. It was Linda Evangelista and Biggie Smalls and now it's not. Now it's old-timey-melanoma-white-pants-Euro and it's fun on some "look at me I'm smoking Capri's while wearing frosted coral-colored Revlon nail polish because I'm a fucking cut up" but is otherwise just super tragic. I mean, seriously, why isn't there a citizen's arrest happening on the coccyxtastic behind of one Allegra Beck Versace, a.k.a. Donatella's daughter, a.k.a. the classic type-a anorexic who holds a majority share of the company but can't grip it with her hands BECAUSE SHE IS JUST THAT HUNGRY. Hunger is bad for business.

By the metrics of things that don't include the staggering rate of unemployment, the recession might be over, said chief Federal Reserve dipstick Ben Bernanke. I laughed! Did you? You should have! Go on, laugh a little. You'll feel better. Then go and try to get a mortgage. Or shop at one of those fine American small business that closed down recently. Or, you know, go shopping in the New York Times cafeteria this week during Employee Appreciation Week! Where everything is "7 -90% off." READ MORE

Apparently the consultants are wrapping up at Conde Nast, with a report due in a few weeks. Through the process, it sounds like some staffers have had some stunning realizations! Here's what one Nastie says: "You don't need to send an entire posse to Joshua Tree for a shot in the desert! Who cares! If the photographer is good, and the clothes are good, the models are good, it's fine-you can shoot downtown." HERESY!

What is possibly to say? Shit is so broken. The official jobless rate is now 9.7%, which means it is conservatively 17%. Coupled with the massive surge in stock market profit-taking income among the wealthy over the last eight months, this country is being more, not less, divided into rich and poor during this "oh it's almost over yeah right" bullshit recession. I hate to get all Worker's Weekly on you, but this is disastrous, and I am not sure we will ever recover without, you know, pitchforks and torches and the seizing of the property of the entrenched inbred rich.

General Motors has announced it will remove the GM "Mark of Excellence" logo from its vehicles. The individual brands-Chevrolet, Cadillac, etc.-have been faring better than the corporate name in market testing. "What we're seeing is the GM brand gets dinged big time in terms of considering a GM vehicle," said Mike DiGiovanni, GM's PR marketing brand global honcho for talking. "But when you look at Chevrolet, Cadillac and our other brands, they haven't changed." Except when they have, obviously. "Also," DiGiovanni said "none of the cars are really that 'excellent,'" adding that the company is considering replacing the logo with a new one that says "BMW." (That last part: not really.)