Posted on 09/07/2012 3:32:20 PM PDT by lbryce
Today's jobs report says the US added just 96,000 jobs in August, 34,000 less than expected. The unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent from July's 8.3 percent, but that's only because people stopped looking for work, not because they found a job.
It's hard out there on the ragged edge of the economy, but take a look at GlobalPost's 7 worst jobs. Earning an honest buck has never been this hard.
Henry Ford probably didn’t have China’s Foxconn factories in mind when he created his famous assembly line outside Detroit in 1913.
Eighteen Foxconn employees attempted suicide there in 2010, highlighting the job's tedious nature and poor working conditions at the facilities. Remember these workers the next time you complain about your overbearing boss.
Speaking truth to power has always been an occupational hazard for journalists, and that's still true. But for a lot of newsmen and women, getting the word out has never been easier. (Thanks, Twitter!) Making money in the industry is the trick these days. (Thanks, Internet!)
And while UN-Arab envoy to Syria is an honorable and imperative job, it's not an enviable position. It comes with a rather demanding job description: cease sectarian violence, mediate a truce between rebel forces and Assad’s regime, and bring peace to war-torn Syria.
And then there is, yes, the elephant sperm collector.
But that's not all. There are terrible jobs all across the world. Here are GlobalPost's seven worst jobs in the world:
1. Foxconn factory worker: inShare182 A Chinese worker assembles electronic components at Foxconn's factory on May 26, 2010, in Shenzhen, China. Last year multiple reports revealed inhumane working conditions that cited, among many egregious practices, the installment of suicide-prevention nets and a no-suicide pledge employees were asked to take. See GlobalPost's series on Foxconn. (AFP/Getty Images).
2. Emergency Fukushima power plant technician:inShare182 Workers gather in radiation protection suites near Iwaki city in Fukushima, 40 kilometers south of the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, on March 21, 2011. After a massive earthquake and tsunami hit Japan in 2011, the Daiichi plant reactors suffered a number of partial nuclear meltdowns. Workers evacuated, but technicians, fireman, soldiers and volunteers stayed behind to stabilize the reactors, risking lethal exposure to radiation. (Ken Shimizu AFP/Getty Images).
Hundreds of technicians, soldiers and fireman worked in shifts of 50 to prevent a nuclear meltdown. The media dubbed them the Fukushima 50.
3. Print Journalist: inShare182 An Iraqi journalist checks his lighter during a freedom of speech protest in Baghdad, Iraq, on Aug. 14, 2009. Reporting in countries like Iraq, Jordan, Turkmenistan, Syria, Iran, China and North Korea is dangerous and sometimes makes journalism a life-threatening occupation. But even if you work in an air-conditioned office in the US, Finland or England, it’s never been a worse time to be a print journalist, psychologically speaking. A study released in 2012 put print newspaper reporter in the number five slot for worst job of 2012, citing high stress and low hiring outlook. (Muhannad Fala'ah Getty Images).
4. Personal chef to North Korean dictator: inShare182 Late dictator Kim Jong Il’s personal chef from 1988 to 2001, Kenji Fujimoto (a pseudonym), shows an old picture of Kim Jong Un during a press conference in Seoul on Oct. 25, 2010. Fujimoto fled North Korea, leaving his wife and children, because he was suspected of spying on Dear Leader, according to his revelatory memoir, “I Was Kim Jon Il’s Cook.” Since then, he says, he's lived in constant fear. But in June this year, Fujimoto was invited by North Korea’s new leader, Kim Jong Un, to return for a two-week visit. Fujimoto took the trip and met Jong Un. He was told, "Your betrayal is now forgotten." (Jung Yeon-Je AFP/Getty Images).
5. South African platinum miner: inShare182 Police surround fallen miners after clashes near a platinum mine in Marikana, South Africa, on Aug. 16, 2012. Police killed 34 striking miners who'd armed themselves with machetes, sticks and metal rods. The Bench Marks Foundation recently published a study that, as Alex Duval Smith wrote for GlobalPost, paints “a grim picture of misery, death, poverty, illness and environmental pollution." The Lomin mine at Marikana experiences "high levels of fatalities," the report concluded, adding, "Residential conditions under which the company’s employees live are appalling." Sometimes 50 workers share a toilet. (AFP/Getty Images).
6. UN-Arab League envoy to Syria: inShare182 Former UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan at his office at the United Nations offices on July 20, 2012. Annan was appointed to the position on Feb. 23, 2012. Some called it mission impossible. On Aug. 2, 2012, Annan resigned after repeated attempts to end human rights abuses and violence that has now displaced over 100,000 Syrians and killed about 25,000 people, according to activists. Yet, he still believes "Syria can still be saved from the worst calamity." His replacement , Lakhdar Brahimi, is less optimistic. Earlier this week, Brahimi said ending the civil war between Assad's government forces and Syrian rebels was "nearly impossible." (Fabrice Coffrini AFP/Getty Images).
7. Elephant sperm collector: inShare182 Meet Cuddles, an African Elephant living in Dubbo, Australia. (Mark Kolbe Getty Images).
Meet Thomas, his job, and... yes, there's video if you dare.
He is flat, slap worn out to a frazzle!
#8. The Joe Biden gaffe pooper scooper - traveling right behind Ole Slow Joe cleaning up his messes.
Wasn't so bad with burning hides and the day old pallets of fresh ones with cool looking BIG wriggly parasites looking to live a moment longer; but when the right winds came from the mausoleum across the San Lorenzo river and mixed with the aroma of the Tannery the smells were; let's just say only worse than that is front lines after a brutal battle in hot climate and bloated bodies.
Okay enough, pay was better at the Tannery anyway. it's the stuff of bad dreams, and I can honestly say if folks could smell war, maybe there'd be less war.
But I digress big time,
sorry folks.
Emptying and washing the contents of Michelle Obama”s hamper!
When I lived in Western Kansas there was a rendering plant outside town. When you passed and the wind was blowing the wrong way you simply tried to hold your breath until you passed the place. I could not imagine having to work there.
I also saw an interview on TV of a woman who worked cleaning the large public toilets in India. She hated the job but could not get anything else as she was an untouchable. I really felt sorry for her.
“Wasn’t so bad with burning hides and the day old pallets of fresh ones with cool looking BIG wriggly parasites looking to live a moment longer; but when the right winds came from the mausoleum across the San Lorenzo river and mixed with the aroma of the Tannery the smells were; let’s just say only worse than that is front lines after a brutal battle in hot climate and bloated bodies.”
Had a similar jobs lumping skins into a tannery up north...bad in the winter cause the hides would develop sharps inside (frozen chunks of whatever) and of course, the smell and the slippery footing in the summer on the ramps. Those are jobs I’d like Dhimmocrat pols to have had for even a few weeks. One of the guys I worked with developed foot rot (not that uncommon) and still doesn’t walk right. Got $2300 dollars fo it.
What a garbage list.
The Foxconn workers are in a zero contaminate, air conditioned environment, with a job of placement of components much like an assembly line worker anywhere in the world, sweating away doing his/her job.
To the “worst” elephant sperm collector:
How about the low caste small young Indian girls, who must reach into the bamboo waste shoot of other Indians, to clean out the human waste that clogs up the zero water “toilet”, squat holes, probably for less than a penny apiece.
Mint leaves.
9) Barney Franks’ “Living Chair”
This thread is doomed.
My brother and I spent a week at a lead recycling outfit back in the 1970’s - the work consisted of smashing automobile batteries with a sledge hammer while wearing rain gear and a face shield, then separating the lead plates from the plastic and acid. Did I mention the pay was $3.00 per hour? The foreman was this huge black guy with silver eyes, scariest looking dude I’ve ever seen. Nice guy, though.
***When I lived in Western Kansas there was a rendering plant outside town.***
There was one of those near here many years ago. At night it would stink up the whole county. One night it burned down. No problems since.
When we lived in Panama City back in the 50s there was a paper mill on the East side of Town. When the wind blew from that direction it smelled pretty bad.
Now that I think about it, that was perfume compared to that rendering plant. I have noticed that paper mills have since figured out how to eliminate the odor.
Debbie Wasserman-Schultz’s hairstylist.
Five minutes a year is a pretty sweet job if you get a full salary for it. Not so good if it is an hourly job.
Barney Frank’s proctologist.
Bookmarking
It could also mean Farney Brrank’s neurologist.
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