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"Mean peak life-time creativity was significantly higher in the index group than in the controls, with the highest levels of creativity being not in the manic-depressives but in the cyclo-thymes & in the normal relatives of people with mood disorders.   In interpreting the findings, Richards & her colleagues suggest that some of the normal relatives in question may have been hyper-thymic, or otherwise mildly affected with mood problems at the soft end of the bi-polar spectrum.   Not normalcy alone, but normalcy in the relatives of bi-polar patients, predicted greater creativity." --- Melvin Konner "Art of Darkness" _Why the Reckless Survive_

 
 

2007 June

U	M	T	W	R	F	S
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3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30

 
 

"'Good story' means something worth telling that the world wants to hear.   Finding this is your lonely task.   It begins with talent.   You must be born with the creative power to put things together in a way no one has ever dreamed.   Then you must bring to the work a vision that's driven by fresh insights into human nature & society, coupled with in-depth knowledge of your characters & your world.   All that... and... a lot of love." --- Robert McKee 1997 _Story_ pp 20-21

 
 
 

My 4*great uncle's (captain William Scott's) flag for the Republic of Texas.

2007-06-01

2007-06-01
_News Max_
This man leads plan to set off nuclear devices in USA

2007-06-01 06:26PDT (09:26EDT) (13:26GMT)
Rex Nutting _MarketWatch_
Core inflation increased 0.1% in April: Personal income fell 0.1% and real disposable income fell 0.4%

2007-06-01
Keith Regan _eCommerce Times_
Dell to cut 10% of its work-force
"Dell said Thursday it would cut some 8,800 workers from its pay-roll over the next year."

2007-06-01 07:31PDT (10:31EDT) (14:31GMT)
Greg Robb _MarketWatch_
UMich consumer sentiment index changed from 87.1 in April to 88.7 in early May to 88.3 in late May

2007-06-01 07:42PDT (10:42EDT) (14:42GMT)
Rex Nutting _MarketWatch_
ISM manufacturing index rose from 54.7 in April to 55 in May
"The employment index fell to 51.9 from 53.1 in April."

2007-06-01
Susan Jones _CrossWalk_
Border Insecurity
"The New York Democrat wants the Government Accountability Office [GAO] to examine the training, recruitment and attrition rates of border guards, following a highly publicized lapse involving a tuberculosis patient who was mistakenly allowed to cross the U.S.-Canada border.   Although a check of the man's passport flagged him as someone who should be detained, a U.S. border guard waved him through, reportedly ignoring the warning message on his computer screen.   'Even though the agent was warned that the man should be detained at all costs -- the individual was still allowed to drive into this country no questions asked.', Schumer said in a news release.   The Associated Press said the guard thought the TB patient looked perfectly healthy, so he disregarded the warning as 'discretionary'.   The guard has been reassigned to administrative duties, pending the outcome of the investigation.   'It's high time we have a top to bottom investigation of our border control practices.', Schumer said.   'These agents are our nation's first line of defense and we need to make sure they get the support and training they deserve.', he added."

2007-06-01
Joe Guzzardi _V Dare_
Good luck to US high school grads. They'll need it.
"Between 1965-1970, approximately 30K foreign college graduates came to California.   During the 5-year period between 2000-2005, the number increased to nearly 325K...   In 2006 alone, nearly 400K foreign-born college graduates entered the US workforce.   Since 2000, the total is 1.8M... &nnbsp; Harvard economist George Borjas discovered that even those Americans lucky enough to hold a job suffered a decline in their wages ranging from 3.2% to 5.9%, depending on years of experience, because of the increase in foreign labor."

2007-06-01
Paul Haynes _Tennessean_
In a radical departure from the norm Nashville Career Advencement Center used money from H-1B displacement fund to train US citizens for tech work

2007-06-01
Rush Limbaugh
RNC Faces Grass-Roots Revolt
"The Republican National Committee has been hit big time by a grass-roots donors rebellion over the immigration bill.   The Republican National Committee has fired all 65 of its telephone solicitors.   Ralph Hallow has this today in the Washington Times: 'Faced with an estimated 40% fall-off in small-donor contributions and aging phone-bank equipment that the RNC said would cost too much to update.'...   Well, something doesn't wash here.   Put the system in.   You realize how important this is, this is fund-raising!   The RNC fired the phone bank operators.   It's because they're not generating revenue.   It's because you people aren't donating, and I could imagine how these phone calls go.   'Hi.   I'm from the RNC, and I just want to confirm that your donation from last year you want to maintain.   Can we put you down for 75...'   'No, you can't put me down for anything.'   'Why not?'   'Well, because of the immigration bill.   Why should I continue to give money to people that are going to be reelected and do things that we don't want them to do?'...   'many former donors flatly refused to give more money to the national party if Mr. Bush and the Senate Republicans insist on supporting what these angry contributors call amnesty for illegal aliens.'   Meanwhile, John Derbyshire, National Review Online, has a good little piece here on temporary workers...   Derbyshire says, 'So the right question to ask is not, Do we need a temporary worker program?, but Why do we need another temporary worker program?...   there is nothing temporary about temporary workers.   Once you're in, you're in.   Case in point: me.   I came here in 1985 October as a temporary worker, on an H-1B visa -- good, in theory, for only 6 years.   I'm still here.'   Nobody's made a move to force him out.   '''Temporary worker program' is hog-wash.   There are no temporary workers, only settlers.   I'm here to tell you.''...   'employers don't want lawful, visa-ed temporary workers.   They want illegal immigrants, who are cheaper.'...   It's Ted Kennedy who's been wrong every time he's opened his mouth about this for 43 years..."

2007-06-01
Beryl Lieff Benderly _Science_
Who speaks for US scientists and tech workers?
"Despite these perceptions, tens of thousands of Ph.D.s, many of them American-born and American-educated, are stuck in dead-end positions, struggling to find careers commensurate with their training and experience.   Many others with technical expertise watch companies use H-1B visas to move their jobs off-shore."

2007-06-01 (5767 Sivan 15)
Caroline B. Glick _Jewish World Review_
For George W. Bush historical hind-sight is not 20/20

2007-06-01 15:00PDT (18:00EDT) (22:00GMT)
Lou Dobbs & Jamie McIntyre _CNN_
Hillary Selling Out Middle Class?; Lindsay Graham Tries to Sell Reprehensible Immigration Law Perversion to Home State
Lou Dobbs: And Senator Hillary Clinton tries to bolster her presidential campaign, trying to -- apparently, appease Silicon Valley executives on the issue of H1-B visas for foreign workers.   Is Senator Clinton selling out our middle class? We'll have that special report.
And the FDA issuing a warning about possibly contaminated tooth-paste from -- you guessed it -- communist China.   And you might be interested to know that this warning comes 2 weeks after other countries in this hemisphere told their people about the risk from Chinese tooth-paste.
Robert Gates, secretary of defense: At this conference the United States is not pressing the case that [Red China] is a growing threat.   Instead, it is taking the low key approach, hoping to encourage more Chinese cooperation.
Jamie McIntyre: One positive sign, said U.S. officials, is that [Red China] has sent the head of its military intelligence, Lieutenant General Zhang Qinsheng, to attend the gathering, something it hasn't done in recent years...
Lou Dobbs: Senator Hillary Clinton apparently selling out some interest in her battle to win the Democratic Party's nomination.   We'll have that story.   Pro-amnesty Republicans, such as Senator Lindsey Graham, well, they're having something of a hard time selling that grand compromise and their perspective to the constituents who put them in office...
Lou Dobbs: Senator Hillary Clinton is under fire for comments she made last night in California.   Appearing before a crowd of executives in Silicon Valley, Senator Clinton spoke out in support of bringing in even more cheap foreign labor.
Casey Wian: Senator Hillary Clinton told Silicon Valley executives she wants to create more high-tech jobs in the United States.   But for now, she's advocating more of those jobs go to immigrants from India and [Red China].   That remark was interrupted with the loudest applause heard during her campaign speech.
Hillary Clinton (D-NY): I am reaffirming my commitment to the H1-B visa and increasing the current cap.   So let's just face the fact that foreign skilled workers contribute greatly to what we have to do in being innovators.
Casey Wian: Already, corporate America has used up its allotment of H1-B visas for 2008, 65K high-tech workers and another 20K with advanced degrees.   Clinton did not specify how many more foreign workers she would allow, but she did propose ideas for creating more home-grown technology talent.
Hillary Clinton: We need to treat our young scientists and engineers with respect and provide real rewards.   They should know that our country needs them, because, in fact, we do.
Casey Wian: Those ideas included national standards for math and science education, more funding for National Science Foundation grants and even a reality television show to bring what she called sex appeal to science and math.
Casey Wian: But perhaps the Senator should begin with the basics, such as spelling.   On the same day a 13-year-old from nearby Danville, California, was crowned national spelling bee champion...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are correct for the championship.
Casey Wian: ...behind Senator Clinton, as she spoke of the need for more education, a slogan reading, "New Jobs for Tommorrow (sic)", but tomorrow is spelled incorrectly, with two "M's".   For the record, Senator, it's T-O-M-O-R-R-O-W.
Casey Wian: The Silicon Valley leadership group which hosted the speech says the graphic for that misspelled banner came from the Clinton campaign.   The campaign did not return our call seeking comment on the gaffe -- Lou.
Lou Dobbs: Well, maybe they could open up -- maybe they should use one of those H1-B visas, bring in a scholar for the senator.
Lou Dobbs: That's incredible.   The senator is certainly one of those most well-read and well-informed of the candidates.   She is -- and I don't know if you had the opportunity to talk with the campaign -- is she unaware that 7 out of 10 of those H1-B visas are going to Indian companies for [off-shore] out-sourcing?   Is she aware that 4 out of 5 of those jobs are level one, not level 4 -- high school jobs?
Casey Wian: We didn't get a chance to speak with the Clinton campaign.   They didn't return our phone calls.
Casey Wian: But what I can tell you is that one of the folks who was -- one of the executives in attendance at that speech says the group -- the executives in Silicon Valley are getting tired of candidates treating Silicon Valley like an ATM.   So perhaps Senator Clinton is giving them a hint of a return on their investment, Lou.
Lou Dobbs: Well, I'm sure the ATM aspect of it is not -- is not something she's given up on either.   But it looks like it is a straightforward swap.   But not one that makes a lot of sense for the American worker.   Thank you very much, Casey Wian...
Lou Dobbs: And a warning tonight about communist tooth-paste from [Red China].   The tooth-paste may contain toxic chemicals.   Just the latest in a long list of contaminated products originating in [Red China].   We'll have the story.   We'll tell you what your government is doing to protect you...
Lou Dobbs: The architects of this new grand compromise on illegal immigration legislation are having a tough time selling that bill to their constituents.   Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the handful of outspoken Republicans who helped in the efforts, spent the week defending that measure in his home state of South Carolina...
senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC): What's in season?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Strawberries.
Andrea Koppel: But Senator Lindsey Graham wasn't really looking to buy.   He'd come to the Greenville farmer's market to sell.
Lindsey Graham: The best thing I can do for South Carolina and this country is taking a broken immigration system that nobody can understand and rely upon and make it work.
Andrea Koppel: Work for many South Carolinians usually means farming, peanuts, vegetables or fruit.   Agriculture is the state's second largest industry.   It depends on cheap foreign labor.
Andrea Koppel: Just days before the Senate resumes debate on immigration reform, which could allow up to 200K temporary workers a year into the U.S.A.   Graham's pitch?   Passing the bill is critical to South Carolina's economy.
Lindsey Graham: It is in jeopardy if we do not act quickly to make sure that the farmers of the future can have the work force they need.
Andrea Koppel: A work face essential to farmers like Carlos Wingard, who says he supports Graham, even though the bill is far from perfect.
Carlos Wingard, vegetable farmer: We're willing to give up some of what we want so we can get a workable program to get -- for us to get affordable [i.e. cheap] labor into the country.
Andrea Koppel: But just down the street, truck driver Steve Zehr wasn't buying it.
Steve Zehr, truck driver: You can put all the spin on it you want, it's still amnesty and it still stinks.
Andrea Koppel: This may be Republican conservative country, but that didn't stop Republicans at the party state convention from booing Graham last month because he struck a deal on the immigration proposal with liberal Democrats like Senator Ted Kennedy.
Lindsey Graham: There are some people tell me, I'll never vote for you again if you do this.   Well, if I based every decision as a senator on that statement, I would do nothing.   So what I'm going to do is lead.
Andrea Koppel: Still, Graham confidently predicts that when the bill goes to a vote in the Senate this month, it will pass.   But between now and then, he and other lawmakers will have to do a lot more selling...
Lou Dobbs: Senator Graham's colleague from the state of South Carolina, Senator Jim DeMint, says that bill could be a disaster for the Republican Party.   He opposes the amnesty legislation, saying it undermines the rule of law in this country.  
Lou Dobbs: Up next here, President Bush intimates Americans are afraid of diversity.   Who in the world does he think he's talking to?   We are the most diverse nation on the planet.   We'll have that special report.
Lou Dobbs: And Democratic and Republican presidential candidates preparing for their election debates.   We'll preview the debates with three of the country's best political analysts.   And we'll try to figure out what in the world the president is thinking.
Lou Dobbs: And we'll tell you about that tooth-paste from communist China and why this country's consumers get a warning on it 2 weeks after a lot of the other folks in this hemisphere.
Lou Dobbs: The latest rhetoric from President Bush appears to be turning the debate on illegal immigration and his reform legislation into a debate over race and diversity.
Lou Dobbs: If that bill should become law, the nation's immigration bureaucracy may not be able to handle the demand.
Lou Dobbs: Bill Tucker reports on the president's taking of the fight personally, as he pressures his conservative base for support, after insulting them.   Lisa Sylvester reports on why -- the Customs and Immigration Service will be able to deal with an unexpected crush of visa applicants.
Lou Dobbs: But, first, we turn to Lisa Sylvester -- Lisa.
Lisa Sylvester: Lou, we have a situation here with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services [USCIS], where they are just overwhelmed with applications.   They have managed to go through a backlog of past applications, but now they have the prospect of having to deal with a new immigration plan.   And many critics are wondering how they will manage it all.
Lisa Sylvester: If the Senate bill becomes law, as many as 20M illegal aliens would be given immediate probationary status.   And each would be eligible to apply for a new Z visa.
Lisa Sylvester: The federal government would have to check when those millions of illegal aliens enter the country their work histories, conduct background checks, and collect the appropriate fines and fees.   Sounds like a lot of work?   That's not all.
Lisa Sylvester: The federal government would also have to process tens of thousands of guest workers and their families, under the Y visa program, tracking when they entered, how long they can stay, and whether their visas can be extended.   Most of the work will fall on the federal agency the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Dr. Steven Camarota, Center for Immigration Studies: The immigration bureaucracy, if this bill goes through, is going to be hit with a tsunami of paper-work.   And there's no indication that they're able to handle it.
Lisa Sylvester: USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez, in an interview in March, admitted, they're working with antiquated computers and technology.
Emilio Gonzalez, USCIS director: We need to modernize.   We need better facilities.   We need better training.   We need better technology.   All that has a price tag.
Lisa Sylvester: USCIS is seeking a fee increase to handle its existing work-load, independent of the current immigration proposal.
Lisa Sylvester: On the Senate floor, Senator Jeff Sessions urged his colleagues last week not to pass legislation that is unworkable and will swamp the system.
senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), armed services committee: We have been passing bills.   They have had loop-hole after loop-hole, gimmick after gimmick, impossibility after impossibility.   And they have never worked.
Lisa Sylvester: Worst-case scenario, according to Sessions and other critics, will be if the applications are merely rubber-stamped, and a terrorist slips through the mountains of paper-work.
Lisa Sylvester: And that actually did happen after the 1986 amnesty.   An Egyptian illegal alien who was working as a New York taxi driver submitted an application for amnesty as an agricultural worker.
Lisa Sylvester: His application was approved, and he later was convicted for helping plan the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center -- Lou.
Lou Dobbs: The idea that the CIS, the -- the Citizenship and Immigration Service, can't handle this, why is there this apparent disregard for that fact in the executive branch?
Lou Dobbs: It's been -- by the way, we should take some count.   Over the past 6 years, this president, his administration has had the ability to fix this, and hasn't even come close.
Lisa Sylvester: There's a real disconnect between what members of the Senate are talking about and reality here.   And many people who watch and observe the process, we -- we all know that it's going to be very difficult for USCIS to be up and running and to process these applications.
Lisa Sylvester: And that's why many people fear that this will be a rubber- stamped process, and that there won't be the scrutiny that this really deserves.
Lou Dobbs: IOW, another part of a piece of legislation that now has 100 amendments already that is laughable on its face.
Lou Dobbs: Lisa, thank you very much -- Lisa Sylvester from Washington.
Lou Dobbs: The debate on illegal immigration, border security and what to do about it all appears to be, in some quarters, turning in to be a debate over race.
Lou Dobbs: Thank you, Mr. President.
Lou Dobbs: Bill Tucker has our report.
Bill Tucker: The president is making it personal, even though he says he doesn't want to.
George W. Bush, president of the United States of America: I will do my best to make sure that this debate does not denigrate into name-calling.
Bill Tucker: President Bush has been striking a different tone in interviews with reporters, telling The Houston Chronicle -- quote -- "The truth of the matter is, a lot of this immigration debate is driven as a result of Latinos being in our country" -- in blunter words, if you oppose the immigration bill, you're a racist.
representative Ted Poe (R-TX): This bill has nothing to do with race.   It has everything to do with legalizing illegal conduct.   The whole word, key word, is people are in the United States illegally.
Bill Tucker: The issue of race was underscored again at a news conference on Friday.
George W. Bush: America must not fear diversity.   We ought to welcome diversity.
Bill Tucker: Perhaps someone should explain to the president, we are a diverse country.   1 in every 3 Americans is considered a minority.   Latinos make up 14.8%, followed by blacks at 13.4%, and Asians at almost 5%.
Bill Tucker: The United States issued almost half-a-million immigrant visas last year to people from literally every country, as well as another 5.8M non-immigrant visas, including students and guest workers; 1.25M people also became legal permanent residents last year, the majority of those from Mexico.
Bill Tucker: The founder of the group You Don't Speak For Me feels betrayed by the president's comments.
Albert Rodriguez of You Don't Speak For Me: He calls everyone that is opposed to the amnesty bill that he created a racist.   Well, let me tell you, Mr. President, I'm not a racist, as you can see.   I'm part of this great nation, a patriot of this nation.
Bill Tucker: Over 600K foreign nationals became naturalized U.S. citizens in 2005.
Bill Tucker: The simple, straightforward message is, race is not the issue.   Legality is -- Lou.
Lou Dobbs: Legality and a president who thinks he has to instruct.
Lou Dobbs: I mean, I -- I don't know how out of touch this president is.   But, for him to sit there before that group of people and say that Americans should even consider diversity as an issue -- this is the most diverse society on Earth.   And to speak in that patronizing, condescending, and, frankly, in my judgment, inarticulate fashion of his, whether it's studied or just a reflection of his own talent at speaking, it is, I think, just reprehensible.
Lou Dobbs: And I can't even imagine what this administration, this president is -- I can't imagine what they're thinking.   But it sure as heck isn't about anything that -- about a country that -- that I know.   And we're going to be dealing with that issue here later.
Lou Dobbs: Bill Tucker, thank you very much.   Appreciate it.
Lou Dobbs: That brings us to the subject of our poll: Do you believe the, as president intimated, that Americans fear diversity, yes or no? Cast your vote, please, at LouDobbs.com.   We will have the results here in just a few moments.
Lou Dobbs: One of the architects of the 1986 amnesty law is Senator Alan Simpson.   He joined me here last night.   And I asked him to take a look at the current legislation.   And he laid out the problem rather succinctly.
Lou Dobbs: Let's put this in the context of the 1986 immigration -- the amnesty.   I have said -- created just a straightforward syllogism.   I have said, you can't reform immigration laws in this country if you can't control immigration.
Lou Dobbs: And you can't control immigration if you don't control our borders and our ports.   And I have said that, if anyone will defeat the logic of that syllogism, I will sign on to whatever the heck they have got to offer.
Lou Dobbs: What do you think?
senator Alan Simpson: Well, I will buy the -- I will buy the drinks at Cassie's Supper Club, too... (LAUGHTER) ...because that is absolutely correct.
Lou Dobbs: That from one of the 2 principal architects of the 1986 amnesty legislation, and one of the finest and, I think, most respected senators to serve on Capitol Hill.
Lou Dobbs: One more consequence of our open-borders policy and illegal immigration crisis is garbage, lots of garbage.   You hear environmentalists talk about not wanting to build a fence along our southern border for environmental reasons.
Lou Dobbs: Well, get this.   Clean-up crews in southern Arizona have hauled about 250K pounds of trash -- that's a quarter-of-a-million pounds of garbage -- away from the border area.   But that figure, according to federal authorities, represents 1% of the estimated now 25M pounds of trash dropped by illegal aliens crossing the border from Mexico.
Lou Dobbs: Environmentalists, BTW, who are concerned about the impact of that border fence might take a look at the reality on the ground as we face it now.
Lou Dobbs: The Food and Drug Administration tonight is warning consumers not to use toothpaste from communist China.   That toothpaste may contain a poisonous ingredient, DEG [diethylene glycol].   Its primary use is in anti-freeze and solvents.
Lou Dobbs: The FDA advises consumers to throw away all toothpaste that is labeled entitled "Made in China".   The FDA decided to examine the products two weeks after several other nations in this hemisphere banned the tooth-paste, seeking to protect their consumers.
Lou Dobbs: The FDA intercepted one shipment of tooth-paste entering this country that contained DEG.   Some retail sampling turned up products with the poison.
Lou Dobbs: Some of the brands in the FDA warning include Cooldent Fluoride, Cooldent Spearmint, Dr. Cool, and Everfresh Toothpaste.   They're generally sold at discount retailers.
Lou Dobbs: For more on this alert, please go to our Web site, LouDobbs.com.   And we have laid out the products that are suspected of containing this toxic ingredient.
 

2007-06-01

DJIA	13,668.11
S&P 500	1,536.34
NASDAQ	2,613.92
10-year US T-Bond	4.96%
crude oil	65.08
gold	676.90
silver	13.74
platinum	1,295.60
palladium	377.45
copper	0.2128
natgas	7.878/MBTU
unleadedgasoline	NYMEX no longer trading
reformulatedgasoline	$2.2446/gal
heatingoil	$1.9228/gal

I usually get this info from MarketWatch, which gets them from BigCharts.
 
 

2007-06-02

2007-06-02
Norman Matloff _H-1B/ L-1/ Off-Shoring e-News-Letter_
senator Clinton comes out with guns blazing for H-1B expansion
"Yesterday senator Hillary Clinton came out with her "innovation agenda."
As I've been reporting, the word "innovation" is the buzzword that the industry lobbyists have chosen this year to get Congress to expand H-1B and employer-sponsored green card programs, as well as to give the industry other goodies such as various tax breaks.
The actual proposals made by Clinton are not new and thus not surprising.   But even I was surprised by the blatancy of the way she delivered her message, totally and blatantly pandering to the industry and its political campaign money.
Indeed, the industry was blatant in basically admitting that politicians do the industry's bidding, due to the campaign money.   Consider this quote from today's San Francisco Chronicle:
Carl Guardino, president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, said the appearance by Clinton -- and by the flurry of presidential hopefuls this week -- signaled a new pre-eminence of the region and its most critical issues in 2008 presidential politics.
"Silicon Valley is the traditional ATM machine for presidential candidates where they come solely for withdrawal.", Guardino said.   "But when they engage with the leadership on policy issues, in these visits, they are making a deposit as well."
And some politicians have in the past been even more explicit.   Senator Robert Bennett (R-UT) remarked in 2000, "Once it's clear [the H-1B visa bill] is going to get through, everybody signs up so nobody can be in the position of being accused of being against high tech.   There were, in fact, a whole lot of folks against it, but because they are tapping the high-tech community for campaign contributions, they don't want to admit that in public."   A major supporter of pending legislation which would increase the H-1B quota, representative Tom Davis (R-VA), said the same year, "This is not a popular bill with the public.   It's popular with the CEOs...   This is a very important issue for the high-tech executives who give the money."
Hillary Clinton has been especially supportive of Tata Consultancy Services and the other Indian-origin firms which are big users of H-1Bs and L-1s, and major players in the off-shoring business.   Yet most people don't realize just how tight the relationship is.   Note for instance this recent statement by USINPAC, the U.S. India Political Action Committee:
USINPAC is now involved in key planning and strategy sessions with Senator Hillary Clinton.   USINPAC had a large presence at the 100 Club dinner organized by the New Hampshire Democratic Party in honor of senator Clinton.   At the dinner she discussed her visit to India and trends in the political relationship between the US and India.   Senator Clinton commented, "I am impressed.   I see your members wherever I go."   USINPAC members also attended a private reception at senatorClinton's home.   At the meeting members engaged President and senator Clinton about the role of the Indian American community in her administration if she is elected.
The Indian firms have stated publicly that H-1B is key to their off-shoring operations, so much so that India's Minister of Finance recently called H-1B "the out-sourcing visa".
Now think about that very carefully, folks.   When senator Clinton gives the industry's favorite line -- we have a tech labor shortage now, so we need H-1Bs for the short term, but we need to fix American education so we don't need H-1Bs in the long term -- think about whether USINPAC wants that to happen.   Of course not.   They've said publicly they want that work done in India, or by Indian nationals in the U.S.A.   Do you think senator Clinton wants to cut down on their business, and jeopardize her close (and obviously well funded) relation with her?
Mind you, we don't have a tech labor shortage to begin with.   As I've often noted, the BusinessWeek study found that starting salaries for new graduates in computer science and electrical engineering, adjusted for inflation, have been flat since 1999.   If there were a shortage, wages would be sky-rocketing.   Vivek Wadhwa's Duke University study also showed we don't have a shortage.   But my point is that even if Clinton believes we have [a talent shortage], it is in her interests to KEEP IT THAT WAY.
It's sad that the press has for the most part not been calling Clinton on this blatant conflict of (the national) interest, nothing less than selling out.
One more thing: That San Francisco Chronicle article also notes that John Edwards has come out for expanding the H-1B program too.   This is very disappointing to me, as he was the only major candidate in 2004 to take a critical view of H-1B.   This week he slammed the oil companies for their greed, but followed the tech industry party line on H-1B.   The oil companies, after all, don't have an ethnic hyphenated American constituency for the politicians to court.
That's sad in another way, because it is both insulting and inaccurate for these politicians to blindly accept USINPAC's message that the Indian-American community wants more H-1Bs.   The fact is that many more Indian-Americans are being hurt by the H-1B program than are helped by it.
Norm
the Hildebeast attacks US science and tech workers, again
Froma Harrop: Hillary needs classier friends
Hildebeast woos Sili Valley executives

2007-06-02
Marianne Kolbasuk McGee _Information Week_/_CMP_
Hatch pitches evil plan to expand H-1B visa program when it should be reduced

2007-06-02
_Chicago Tribune_
Durbin to push tougher rules on H-1B work visas
Durbin: H-1B visa reforms needed
Durbin's site
"Durbin's plan would put tougher requirements on employers who make use of visa programs for foreign high-skilled workers.   Durbin fears the current system lets foreign workers into the country for tech jobs that unemployed or newly trained American workers could fill.   'Our first obligation is to fill jobs with American workers.', Durbin said at a news conference.   He plans to offer amendments next week to require employers to pay the prevailing [market] wage and to advertise high-skilled jobs online before seeking a visa and to add staff at the Department of Labor to oversee the program."
 

2007-06-03

2007-06-03 14:46PDT (17:46EDT) (21:46GMT)
_CNN_
4 charged with plot to blow up JFK airport

2007-06-03
Hugh R. Morley _North Jersey Record_
Kline & Company have moved to the dark side
"While America worries about immigrants' taking U.S. jobs, ITRI International is moving in the other direction.   It's offering Americans work abroad.   The Taiwanese R&D company on June 9 will hold its first East Coast job fair in Newark, hoping to recruit American engineers and managers for its 6K-strong work-force in Taiwan.   The company has about 100 mostly high-level vacancies for well educated, experienced candidates, said Sean Wang, president of ITRI International, the California-based subsidiary of Industrial Technology Research Institute.   The non-profit organization was founded by the Taiwanese government in 1973.   It conducts research in electronics, biotechnology, chemicals and other areas.   Many discoveries are later licensed by private companies.   The career fair comes amid an immigration debate in Washington that includes discussion of the controversial H-1b program.   Critics say it allows [not-so-skilled] foreign workers into the U.S.A. to do jobs Americans otherwise would fill.   American corporations, however, say that they have to look to [Red China], India and other developing countries for talent because the U.S.A. doesn't produce enough trained workers, especially engineers.   Wang said ITRI also looks for workers in those countries.   But American workers have more high-level experience and corporate training than workers in developing countries, he said.   For hired Americans, the jobs offer the chance to work in an intense environment of innovation and discovery, he said.   The take-home salaries are comparable to those in the U.S.A., he said.   And to sweeten the offer, ITRI offers researchers 25% of the royalties earned on the patent of a product or technology they invent."

2007-06-03
Paul Craig Roberts _V Dare_
Losing the economy to mythology
Contre Info
Baltimore Chronicle & Sentinel
 

2007-06-04

2007-06-04
Jennifer Learn-Andes _NE PA Times Leader_
Rally to support Hazleton's laws against illegal aliens may draw bus-loads from CT and NJ

2007-06-04
Carolyn Lochhead _San Francisco Chronicle_
Temporary and permanent work visa programs
"The United States already invites 3 times as many guest-workers through existing programs as through permanent-job-based channels: more than half a million visas a year, compared with 140K permanent-job-based slots.   Each year, more than 320K of these temporary workers are estimated to stay permanently...   The proliferation of temporary visas...   Many of these visa categories are uncapped, many allow indefinite renewals and most have been rising sharply.   Temporary work programs have become the first choice of many employers...   The H-1B explicitly encourages adjustment to permanent residence by allowing applicants to state that they may abandon their homeland.   Many H-1B applicants and their employers see the visa as a byway to a green card...   'Guest-worker programs tend to get larger, and last longer, than originally anticipated.'..."

2007-06-04 08:17PDT (11:17EDT) (15:17GMT)
Rex Nutting _MarketWatch_
Capital investment revised higher for April: Factory orders rose 0.3%: orders for core capital equipment rose 2.1%

2007-06-04
John Miano _Tucson Citizen_
Executives abuse H-1B visa pogram to import cheap labor and drive down compensation and opportunities for US citizens
"The H-1B is nearly exclusively used to import cheap labor.   The most offensive feature of the H-1B program is a well-known loop-hole in the law that allows employers to replace U.S. workers with H-1B guest workers...   The biggest use of the H-1B program is to support moving technology jobs to foreign countries.   India's commerce minister recently called H-1B 'the [off-shore] out-sourcing visa' and went on to explain why more H-1B visas were needed to increase the number of jobs moved from the U.S. to India.   More H-1B visas means more jobs being shipped over-seas.   H-1B workers are supposed to be paid at least the 'prevailing wage'.   However, the law allows the employer to determine the prevailing wage, and the law limits the approval process to checking whether the form is filled out correctly.   Employers can claim nearly anything as the prevailing wage, and it will be approved.   Employer prevailing wage claims for computer workers average $16K a year below the median U.S. wage for the same location and occupation.   With the huge discrepancy between U.S. and H-1B wages, it is no wonder employers are clamoring for more visas...   In 2005, employers using this system classified more than half of the workers as being at the lowest skill level, with just 5% at the highest.   When employers want more H-1B workers, they are 'highly skilled'.   But when it comes to determining their pay, these very same workers become 'low skilled'...   Since 2000, employers have imported enough H-1B computer workers to fill every computer job in America, and industry says this is still not enough.   H-1B needs to be cleaned up, not expanded."

2007-06-04
Sam Davis _Electronic Design_
IEEE joins in the engineer shortage propaganda

2007-06-04
_Wilmington News Journal_
Hundreds rally in Hazleton for enforcement of immigration laws
"Barletta called the Comprehensive Immigration Act, soon to be considered by the U.S. Senate, a 'bad piece of legislation'...   'We have nothing against immigrants.', Vento said. 'We just want them to be legal.'"

2007-06-04
Dale Powers _USA Today_
Don't waste more US brain-power by hiring more foreign workers for coveted jobs
"The truth is that there are fully qualified American job candidates, such as myself, who are trained right alongside foreign graduate students studying here.   To say that qualified candidates don't exist in the USA contradicts the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.   In this case, the 'Help Wanted' sign now reads, 'Americans Need Not Apply'.   Five years ago, I graduated with a master's degree in aerospace engineering from a U.S. university.   Back then, I heard about a fellow class-mate from Pakistan who was immediately assisted in getting an engineering job before his student visa expired.   To this day, I have yet to land a comparable engineering position, though my credentials declare me equally qualified.   Recently, since the quota for foreign employees has temporarily been filled, I've begun receiving more interest by engineering recruiters.   But if the cap on H-1B visas is further increased, I might never find a decent technology job in the USA.   It's regretful we are wasting our country's most important resource -- brain-power -- by farming out our highly honored jobs to cheap foreign labor.   If this continues, the rest of us might be settling for cut-rate, low-skill jobs."

2007-06-04
Ravi Mohan
Can we hire you: Body shopping
"Every single day, I get 3-5 emails from people trying to offer me a job.   The obvious form letters go into the trash can immediately, but I'm old fashioned enough to write a response to any mail that looks as if it has taken a human being some time to compose...   If your business model depends on body shopping (where body shopping is defined as 'we don't care what projects we work on or for whom and the business model is x number of developers farmed out to random clients for y $/hour'), no, I'll never work for you.   BTDT, got the T shirt.   There is nothing you can offer that I want.   I don't want to be an 'architect' who does 'high level design'.   I don't want 'extensive travel' or 'green card sponsorship'.   I don't want to be a Project Manager type and 'lead enterprise changing teams for Fortune 500 clients'.   I do not want to be an 'Agile Coach' (yuck!)."

2007-06-04
_Wheeling Intelligencer_
Reprehensible immigration law perversion bill is too flawed to pass
Jamestown Post-Journal
"No wonder Congress is rushing to approve massive 'immigration reform' legislation before its details become fully known.   With each passing day, yet another damning detail emerges to make one wonder if the measure wasn't written by P.T. Barnum."

2007-06-04
Jeff Sessions
20 loop-holes in Reprehensible Immigration Law Perversion bill (S1348)

1. Amnesty before enforcement
2. US VISIT full operation not among triggers
3. No more agents, detention space or fencing among triggers
4. 3 years in which illegal aliens will get preferential treatment to legal filers
5. Completion of background investigations not required for probationary amnesty
6. Child molesters still eligible
7. Connections with terrorists allowed, good moral character not required for amnesty
8. Gangsters eligible for amnesty
9. Those who ignored deportation orders are eligible for amnesty
10. Facility with English is not required
11. Earned income tax credit will be costly
12. Affidavits from friends accpeted as evidence
13. Tax-victims required to fund legal counsel & arbitration
14. in-state tuition, fees, and government-backed student loans will be available to those on probation
15. Inadequate merit system
16. Family visas would encourage over-stays
17. Will encourage chain-migration for several years
18. Does not require payment of back taxes, a better deal than US tax-victims have
19. Socialist Insecurity abomination credits for illegal aliens
20. Criminal fines not proportional to conduct

2007-06-05

2007-06-05
Jim Snyder _The Hill_
FINALLY, the Shrub is beginning to use veto, and merit requirement has tech executives worried
Orange county Register
San Jose Mercury News
"As the House committee wades into the spending debate, immigration reform will continue to dominate action on the Senate floor, with a possible vote later this week.   In a letter yesterday, a number of business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Information Technology Industry Council, the Business Software Alliance and the Business Roundtable, urged support for an amendment authored by senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and John Cornyn (R-TX).   The amendment would increase employers' ability to identify the [cheap] foreign workers they want over the current structure of the merit-based system now in the bill."

2007-06-05
Ephraim Schwartz _Info World_
Reprehensible immigration law perversion bill's high-tech impact: S1348 gets worse
"'The measure would flood the job market and thus reduce job opportunities and wages for Americans.', says Norman Matloff, professor of computer science at University of California at Davis, zeroing in on the heart of the controversy, Section 419, which will increase the H-1B cap from its current [over 85K] visas to [over 135K] visas in 2008, and then to 180K [200K?] per year after that.   Perhaps not surprisingly, management takes a different perspective on the proposed H-1B hikes.   'There is an inadequate number of H-1B visas provided in the bill.   It raises it to 115K; that is not enough.', says Jenifer Verdery, director of work-force policy at Intel.   UC Davis' Matloff counters that the requested increase in H-1B visas assumes a shortage of workers in technology.   But a BusinessWeek study found that starting salaries for new graduates in computer science and electrical engineering, adjusted for inflation, have been flat since 1999, he says [and BLS data shows employment is flat since 2001].   'You don't need a degree in economics to see that the flat salaries contradict the industry's claim of a labor shortage.', Matloff adds...   Matloff says the Cantwell Amendment would basically retain the current employer-sponsored green card system, while adding the point-based system to the mix.   'In other words, the industry would get even more green cards than under the previous immigration [2006] bill.', Matloff says.   And if approved, Section 530 of the bill, entitled 'Eliminating procedural delays in labor certification', will expedite the green-card process by shrinking the wage determination window to 20 calendar days.   According to the bill, 'If the Secretary of Labor fails to reply during such 20-day period, then the wage proposed by the employer shall be the valid prevailing wage rate.', leading some industry experts such as John Miano, past president of The Programmers Guild, to believe that Section 530 in effect 'undermines the prevailing wage requirement for green cards'...   Former Programmers Guild president Miano believes the current employer-sponsored green card process binds the employee to the employer.   'The industry has been consistent in their desire for indentured labor.', Miano says.   Under a merit system, he adds, workers would be free agents and would be able to change companies or to start their own companies...   'Now, even if unemployment exceeds 10% in some professions, Congress will continue to flood in workers with no labor market test.', Berry says.   Nevertheless, UC Davis' Matloff believes replacing the current employer-sponsored policy with a point system would reduce the de facto indentured servitude that foreign workers undergo as they wait years for a green card.   'Since this exploitability is 1 of the 2 main ways employers currently use to get cheap labor from the H-1B program, the proposal would benefit American programmers and engineers.', Matloff contends."

2007-06-05
Summer Harlow _Wilmington News Journal_
More than just Latinos wait for immigration law

2007-06-05
Arnold Schwarzenegger _All American Patriots_
Insane letter to critters

2007-06-05
Ronald Kessler _News Max_
Gupta's Info USA funds Clintons and Pelosi's son
"A data-base [privacy violation] company that has showered money on Bill and Hillary Clinton -- and is alleged to have aided scam artists -- now appears to have close links to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's family as well.   The firm InfoUSA, headed by major Clinton backer Vinod Gupta, has placed Pelosi's son, Paul Pelosi jr., on its pay-roll -- even though he has no experience in the company's main business activities..."

2007-06-05 11:12PDT (14:12EDT) (18:12GMT)
Rex Nutting _MarketWatch_
ISM services index rose from 56 in April to 59.7 in May: Body shopping is still all the rage
ISM press release

2007-06-05
Lou Dobbs & Bill Tucker _CNN_
H-1B visa program hurts American college students

2007-06-05 (5767 Sivan 19)
Frank J. Gaffney _Jewish World Review_
Muffling the Voice of America

2007-06-05 (5767 Sivan 19)
Thomas Sowell _Jewish World Review_
Adolescent intellectuals
"The truly dangerous period in life is the time when the child has learned the limits of his parents' control, and how to circumvent their control, but has not yet understood or accepted the under-lying reasons for doing and not doing things.   This adolescent period is one that some people -- intellectuals especially -- never out-grow."
 

2007-06-06

2007-06-05 20:30PDT (2007-06-05 23:30EDT) (2007-06-06 03:30GMT)
_Monsters & Critics_
Liberal arts may help grads more than tech
UPI
"'The more technical and specialized your degree is, the narrower your field of opportunities.', said John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.   'This is fine when the job market for these areas is strong, but when it is not, these individuals can have a very difficult time.   Those with degrees in liberal arts, history, English, etc., may be better able to move and adapt as conditions change.'   'Soft skills' are also growing in importance, as employers increasingly seek workers with enthusiasm, drive, creativity, critical thinking, initiative and oral communication, Challenger said.   'Employers [mistakenly believe] that if they find a worker with a solid foundation of soft skills, he or she can be taught the more technical aspects of the job.', he said.   'Soft skills, on the other hand, are much more difficult to teach.'"

2007-06-06
Norman Matloff _H-1B/ L-1/ Off-Shoring e-News-Letter_
senator Evan Bayh's proposal
As the Cantonese say, "exploding cold door" (the horse in the slow lane surprises everyone by exploding out of the gate and winning the race).
To my knowledge, senator Bayh has generally been supportive of expanding the H-1B program.   See for example his comments at (PDF page 25).   So, Bayh's proposed legislation, described in the press release enclosed below, is surprising -- and very welcome.
Bayh's legislation would require an employer to advertise the job on a national government data-base before being allowed to hire an H-1B.   This proposal is also in the Durbin/Grassley bill, and was in my own proposal for H-1B reform in 2003.
To be sure, Bayh's proposal would appear to be circumventable.   An employer could simply ignore all American applicants.   But the key is that the job would be out there in the open, for all to see across the nation, which is not the case today.   With this national data-base, rejected American job seekers would be able to make life very uncomfortable for the employers of H-1Bs, by complaining that they were qualified but were passed over for an H-1B.   This could lead to lawsuits, embarrassing press conferences, constant bombardment of politicians with complaints, etc.   This would definitely deter employers from hiring as many H-1Bs as they do now.
Sadly, though, Bayh has mischaracterized current law.   Contrary to the press release, other than a minuscule exceptional category, H-1B employers do NOT have to try to find Americans to fill the job before turning to H-1Bs.
It is also unfortunate that Bayh includes a provision on EINs.   Undoubtedly some fraud like this does exist, but it is a very small problem when compared to the loop-holes in the law, which form the major source of abuse.   Just as with the Durbin/Grassley bill, and later the [Reprehensible Immigration Law Perversion] bill, I'm concerned that the Senate may reject the Very Valuable part of Bayh's legislation and retain the Not Helpful part.
Norm
Inside Indiana Business
"The Department of Labor's own Inspector General has described the certification process as a rubber stamp, Senator Bayh said.   My plan would require quality assurance and quality control to make sure skilled foreign workers granted visas are being sponsored by legitimate U.S. firms.   Our H-1B visa program is critical to maintaining Americas competitive edge in the global marketplace, but qualified U.S. workers who possess the desired skills deserve the first bite at the apple."
Norman Matloff _H-1B/ L-1/ Off-Shoring e-News-Letter_
Bayh, Cantwell and Grassley/Sanders proposals
It turns out that instead of proposing that employers announce their intentions to hire H-1Bs by posting jobs in a government data-base, as in the Durbin/Grassley bill, Bayh's legislation would merely require that employers advertise jobs in a national data-base like Dice or Monster.   That's not very useful.   Americans wouldn't know, generally, which of these jobs are going to H-1Bs [whereas what they should be doing is posting these jobs in a dozen major newspapers and on a dozen web sites because the government job site is defective].
Bottom line: In my book, Bayh's proposal is just like Lieberman's, designed to have the appearance of being helpful while actually doing very little.
Meanwhile, concerning the Cantwell amendment, eWeek very seriously misquoted me in an article that appeared yesterday.   It stated that I considered the amendment to have one good aspect, in that it would ban employers from hiring H-1Bs while laying off Americans.   Actually, it's just the opposite -- the amendment would REMOVE such a provision which is in the current version of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill.   The article has now been corrected, but I did want to make sure everyone knows that I do not support ANY part of the Cantwell amendment.
I should note that Senators Grassley and Sanders are preparing another amendment to [the Reprehensible Immigration Law Perversion act] which would institute an anti-lay-off provision, similar to but slightly different from the one in [the Reprehensible Immigration Law Perversion act].   (The one currently in [the Reprehensible Immigration Law Perversion act] is from the Durbin/Grassley bill.)
Norm

2007-06-06 01:38PDT (04:38EDT) (08:38GMT)
Justin Webb _BBC_
There are two types of presidential candidate: "authentic" and "inauthentic".
"There are two types of presidential candidate: 'authentic' and 'inauthentic'.   I think Hillary Clinton is inauthentic.   So is Mitt Romney.   By this I do not mean that they are insincere or untrustworthy, but that they have trouble communicating a sense of 'what you see is what you get'.   They look [memorized, coached and rehearsed]...   But it is Ron Paul, the congressman from Texas, who has really caught my attention.   He is similarly authentic.   Mr. Paul got mugged by Rudy Giuliani in a recent debate: he pointed out that America's global foot-print (which he would like to reduce) was responsible for the conditions that led to the terror attacks of 2001.   He was not excusing the attacks, he was trying to explain them...   Mr. Paul has never wavered on his core beliefs...   Mr. Paul's beliefs are out of favour with the modern Republican party but they represent a very important strand of American political thought: Mr. Paul is a rational believer in freedom.   He is not, we may surmise, a social conservative, who wants the government to take an interest in what is going on in America's bed-rooms.   In fact he does not want the government to take an interest in anything much: he wants it gone from people's lives.   He does not want American power to be projected around the world because he does not want American power to be vested in Washington.   He prefers the notion that local control, local democracy, local power, is the genius of the American way...   Mr. Paul speaks, at least in part, for many Republicans who feel their party has been hi-jacked in recent years by two groups who do not really speak for them: the religious conservatives and the neo-conservatives.   As I say, Mr. Paul will not win and nor will Mr. Kucinich but to describe them as mavericks is to miss the point of these men: they are keepers of the consciences of their respective parties.   In the never-ending battle of ideas that shapes all human affairs, these 2 politicians are at least taking part...   the big beasts with the expensive coiffures kid themselves if they, or we in the media, believe that only they are relevant."

2007-06-06
K.C. Jones _Global Services_/_Information Week_/_CMP_
Cantwell amendment to Reprehensible Immigration Law Perversion bill would give tech executives even more power over H-1B visa-holders and hence over US tech workers
eWeek Channel Insider
eWeek
EE Times/Information Week
"'The [Cantwell/Cornyn] amendment makes huge expansions of the H-1B program and employer-based green cards, but they're unwarranted because we don't have a shortage.', Norman Matloff, a professor of computer science at UC Davis, in California, told eWEEK.   'Worse, it also removes one thing that was good about the immigration bill, a provision that an employer couldn't hire an H-1B worker within 180 days of a lay-off.', he said."

2007-06-06
Richard Lloyd Parry _Times of London_
US government stopped pro-American coup in Laos

2007-06-06 10:01PDT (13:01EDT) (17:01GMT)
_KRGV_
Challenger, Gray & Christmas says over 71K job cuts were announced in May
CNN/Money
Central Valley Business Times
Reuters
MarketWatch
composite: "The number of job reductions announced by big U.S. companies inched slightly higher in May to 71,115, up 32% compared with 53,716 in same month last year, according to an unscientific tally compiled by out-placement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas released on Wednesday.   May's job-cut total was virtually identical to April's 70,672.   Heavy downsizing in the computer industry dominated May job cuts.   Providers of software, hardware and technology services eliminated 13,631 jobs in May, nearly double the 7,161 job cuts announced by the second-ranked automotive industry.   May was the largest job-cut month in the CGC survey for the computer industry since 2006 August, when 17,371 cuts were announced.   These including 8,800 jobs announced on the last day of the month by Dell Inc.   The financial sector, which announced another 4,804 job cuts in May, is the leading job-cutting industry for the year.   More than one-fifth (22%) of the 55,025 job cuts announced by the sector since January are related to continued weakness in the housing market and the collapse of the sub-prime lending market.   The automotive followed with 34,731.   Computer companies have slashed 28,526 positions.   May is the second consecutive month with higher lay-offs than the corresponding month of 2006.   Through the first 5 months of the year, companies have announced 337,773 job cuts, 8.5% fewer than the 369,282 through the first 5 months of 2006.   'But the gap is rapidly closing.', Challenger said in a press release.   In all of 2006, Challenger tallied 839,822 job reductions.   The Challenger report covers only a tiny fraction of those who lose their jobs each month.   BLS estimates of mass lay-offs from large firms estimate that 1.3M workers were involuntariliy discharged in May, while 2.5M left jobs voluntarily.   A recent report by ChangeWave Research found that the percentage of companies planning to increase their spending has fallen to its lowest point in the last 4 years, dropping from 34% in November to 26% in May."

2007-06-06
Jane Norman _Des Moines Register_
Durbin and Grassley ask firms using H-1B visas questions, suspect jobs are being arbitrarily denied to US citizens
"Such visas are supposed to allow employers to offer jobs to foreign workers on a temporary basis, at prevailing wages, but Grassley and Durbin contend something else is happening.   'More and more, it appears that companies are using H-1B visas to displace qualified American workers.', Grassley said."

2007-06-06 10:28PDT (13:28EDT) (17:28GMT)
Rex Nutting _MarketWatch_
1% gain in productivity in Q1
"Revised data showed productivity growth in the U.S. work-place slowed sharply during the first quarter to 1% annual growth, down from the 1.7% estimated a month ago, as output throttled back in line with the slow-down in gross domestic product [GDP].   Productivity in the non-farm business sector is up just 1% over the past 4 quarters.   Meanwhile, first-quarter unit labor costs -- a key gauge of inflationary pressures from labor markets -- were revised higher to a 1.8% annualized rate, up from 0.6% earlier.   Unit labor costs are up 2.2% in the past year.   'That brings this trend into line with core inflation, which is 2% for the core [personal consumption expenditure] index and 2.3% for the core [consumer price index].', wrote economists for Goldman Sachs in a note."
BLS data release

2007-06-06
Bob Parks _Family Security Matters_
Reprehensible Immigration Law Perversion act for dummies

2007-06-06
Marianne Kolbasuk McGee _Information Week_/_CMP_
Sanders/Grassley amendment to Reprehensible Immigration Law Perversion bill would forbid mass lay-offs of 50 or more US workers while using H-1B
"A new immigration reform amendment that's being proposed by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) could make it a lot tougher for firms to plan mass layoffs of U.S. workers if those companies have also hired foreign workers on visas.   The bi-partisan Sanders-Grassley amendment, which the senators hope to have 'in the queue' for introduction before the Senate stops immigration reform debate, would require U.S. companies to certify to the Department of Labor that they haven't had any 'mass lay-offs' of American workers in the previous 12 months.   If so, those companies would need to file visa petitions with the U.S. government to hire any new foreign worker, according to Warren Gunnels, senior policy advisor to Sanders.   A company that does announce mass U.S. lay-offs after its received approval to hire new foreign workers must inform those foreign workers' that their visas will expire in 60 days.   So in essence, the amendment would require those companies to also cut their foreign workers if planning U.S. lay-offs...   While some observers are uncertain about how much support the Sanders-Grassley amendment will get from others in Congress, 'it sheds light on the dubiousness of the skills shortages being claimed by the high-tech industry', said Ron Hira, assistant professor of public policy on leave from Rochester Institute of Technology."

2007-06-06
Saxon Burns _Tucson Weekly_
Epiphanous moments as Ron Paul speaks
"Diane Kreinbring's long slumber is finally over.   A self-styled libertarian who bolted the party proper, she had an epiphany when she heard congressman Ron Paul -- the rebel GOP presidential candidate and recently anointed media darling -- speak.   Paul, who ran for the presidency in 1988 on the Libertarian Party ticket, says logical, thoughtful things most politicians... don't, according to Kreinbring...   To show her support, she's founded a [Ron Paul meet-up] group...   'You ask somebody what a Libertarian is, and if they're conservative, they think they're a bunch of pot-smoking old hippies.   If you ask somebody who's liberal, they think they're über-conservative.   We're not either...   A Libertarian is somebody whose basic life philosophy is: As long as what you're doing doesn't hurt me, fine...   they're not hurting anybody else...   Then I went to the New Hampshire Liberty Forum in Concord, NH, in February, and Ron Paul was a speaker at one of our dinners.   I just couldn't believe it; I sat there and listened to this guy and thought, He's real.   He's a real human being...   government has grown so large and so corrupt.   When you ask the government to do things for you, you give it power.   No matter how good your intentions are, no matter how much you want to promote this program that's going to help people, or save people, or make things more even or level -- every time you do that, you give the government more power.   And when it gets power, it abuses it...   [It] shows you how courageous and principled this man is, that he's not afraid of those guys.   He's been standing up to those guys for years; it's just that they've been able to ignore him.   Now they're forced to have to deal with him, because it's public.'"

2007-06-06
Brian Ross & Christopher Isham _abc_
Iran caught red-handed providing arms to taliban

2007-06-06
Paul West _Baltimore Sun_
Immigration gets attention of GOP hopefuls
"Representative Tom Tancredo, an immigration foe who is the closest thing to a single-issue candidate in the field of 10, said he is willing to do 'whatever is necessary' to defeat the immigration [increase] plan now before Congress.   'We're talking about something that goes to the very heart of this nation: whether or not we will actually survive as a nation.', said the Colorado congressman, who vowed to work for the defeat of any Republican who voted for the plan...   Tancredo said American forces should pull out if the current strategy fails, and representative Ron Paul of Texas said that 'it was a mistake to go, so it's a mistake to stay'...   Representative Duncan Hunter of California said he would authorize the use of tactical nuclear weapons 'if there was no other way' to keep Iran from using centrifuges to build its own nuclear bomb.   Other candidates declined to go that far but said they would not rule out any options."

2007-06-06 (5767 Sivan 20)
Walter E. Williams _Jewish World Review_
Compassion versus reality
"Politicians exploit public demands that government ought to do something about this or that problem by taking measures giving them greater control over our lives.   For the most part, whatever politicians do, whether it's rent controls to produce 'affordable' housing, or price controls to eliminate 'price-gouging', the result is a calamity worse than the original problem.   For example, two of the most costly housing markets are the rent-controlled cities of San Francisco and New York.   If you're over 40, you'll remember the chaos produced by the gasoline price controls of the 1970s.   Socialist agendas have considerable appeal, but they produce disaster, and the more socialist they are, the greater the disaster...   Free markets, characterized by peaceable, voluntary exchange, with respect for property rights and the rule of law, are more moral than any other system of resource allocation...   Say that I mow your lawn and you pay me $30, which we might think of as certificates of performance.   Having mowed your lawn, I visit my grocer and demand that my fellow men serve me by giving me 3 pounds of steak and a six-pack of beer.   In effect, the grocer asks, 'Williams, you're demanding that your fellow man, as ranchers and brewers, serve you; what did you do to serve your fellow man?'   I say, 'I mowed his lawn.'   The grocer says, 'Prove it!'   That's when I hand over my certificates of performance — the $30."

2007-06-06
Robert Reich _National Socialist Radio_
Market-Place Commentary
"A century ago, America's immigration policy was best summarized in Emma Goldman's famous lines on the Statue of Liberty: 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.'
I'm afraid that under the immigration bill now pending in Congress, it will be: 'Give me your rich, your well-educated, your young high-tech moguls yearning to make even more money.'
Supporters of this fundamental change in immigration policy say we need to import more well-educated talent if we're to stay competitive.
But exactly whose competitiveness are we talking about?   Not the competitiveness of, say, American-born computer engineers.   Adjusted for inflation, their earnings haven't gone anywhere in years.
That's in part because American companies have been sending so much of their high-tech work abroad.   Bringing more foreign-born engineers here under an expanded H1-B visa program, or a point system for that matter, will just depress wages even further.
Some argue that even with all the out-sourcing, we still don't have enough well-educated high-tech workers here in America.   But this mixes short-term and long-term logic.
You'd expect any shortage of talent in America would force companies here to raise salaries sufficiently to induce enough Americans to get the skills in demand.   Yet if those companies are allowed to import more high-tech workers, they won't need to raise American salaries.   Which means fewer young Americans will be attracted into these careers, thereby creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of too few native-born Americans to fill them.
Taking the pressure off American companies like this also means taking the pressure off them to help fix America's broken educational system in which American kids now place last in math and science among young people in all advanced nations.
Now don't get me wrong: I'm all in favor of immigration.   Our country was built on it.   But I worry about bringing in well-educated people with high-tech skills when we've failed to give enough Americans a good education -- or pay those who have it what they deserve."

2007-06-06
_Christian Broadcasting Network News_
Tom Tancredo works for a pause in all immigration until the system is under control

2007-06-06
Jon Greenberg _New Hampshire Socialist Radio_
View of GOP debate from Exeter
"Jay felt that Romney's sweeping statements did not make him sound presidential -- they made him sound political.   'Romney is artificial.'...   They liked Texas Congressman Ron Paul, especially his strong support for the separation of church and state."
Ron Paul interview (mp3) "it is wonderful to have a candidate that is true to his word."
Ron Paul interview (mp3)

2007-06-06
Michael Kraft _Charlotte Conservative_
Ron Paul interviewed by John Stewart
 

2007-06-07

2007-06-06 19:00PDT (2007-06-06 22:00EDT) (2007-06-07 02:00GMT)
Patrick Thibodeau _PC World_/_Computer World_
Sanders & Grassley propose amendment to Reprehensible Immigration Law Perversion bill to bar H-1B visas for firms that lay off US workers
Ars Technica
"'According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over the next decade, 2M jobs will be created in mathematics, engineering, computer science, and physical science.   That equates to about 200K jobs a year...', said Sanders on the Senate floor in May.   'Under this legislation, the number of H-1B visas would increase to as many as 180K a year.   That means virtually every job, about 90% that will be created in the high-tech sector over the next 10 years, could conceivably be taken by a H-1B visa holder.'"

2007-06-07 05:30PST (08:30EST) (13:30GMT)
Subri Raman & Tony Sznoluch _DoL ETA_
un-employment insurance weekly claims report
current press release
"The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 261,509 in the week ending June 2, a decrease of 12,407 from the previous week.   There were 260,263 initial claims in the comparable week in 2006.   The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.7% during the week ending May 26, unchanged from the prior week.   The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,259,000, an increase of 27,894 from the preceding week.   A year earlier, the rate was 1.7% and the volume was 2,163,894.   Extended benefits were not available in any state during the week ending May 19."
graphs

2007-06-07 12:35PDT (15:35EDT) (19:35GMT)
David Sirota _Huffington Post_
Bernie Sanders proposed measure to discourage under-payment of guest-workers
"the legislation 'would prohibit companies that have announced mass layoffs from receiving any new [H-1B] visas unless they could prove that overall employment would not be reduced by these lay-offs.'...   A company that is laying off workers in the United States... should not be allowed to simultaneously use a program designed for labor shortages.   This legislation is just straight-up common sense.   It makes sure the H-1B program isn't being abused by companies who want to use as a quiet way to drive down wages -- which the data shows is exactly what at least some companies are doing.   And in the process, it makes sure more H-1Bs go to the companies that truly can't find workers here at home."

2007-06-07
David Sirota _Working Assets_
Chamber of Communists pushes Lieberman measure to gut Sanders measure
"As an update to my last post, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's top lobbyist has sent a letter to all U.S. Senators urging them to vote against the bipartisan Sanders-Grassley bill that would bar companies that are engaging in mass layoffs of American workers from using the H-1B visa program to hire lower-paid foreign workers.   They are specifically asking senators to vote for a 'secondary amendment' by senator Joe Lieberman of CT that would gut the Sanders-Grassley proposal.   Here are a few excerpts: 'I urge you to oppose the Sanders-Grassley amendment to S1348, the [Reprehensible Immigration Law Perversion Act of 2007].   This amendment would prohibit companies from obtaining any H-1B workers if there has been a notice or a mass lay-off under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act in the past year, or if there will be a lay-off in the next 6 months.   Also, the Chamber urges you to support a side-by-side offered by Senator Lieberman.   The Sanders-Grassley amendment is unnecessary...   Further, this amendment sweeps too broadly, and is completely unworkable, as it would effectively bar an employer from using H-1B workers if it had a 'mass lay-off' in the past year or anticipated one in the near future.'   It's really unbelievable how shameless people are in Washington [DC] -- it is a city where it's just AOK to oppose legislation that would prevent abuse of the H-1B program by corporate executives who want to use it to lay off American workers and hire lower-paid foreign workers.   And I'm still amazed (though I know I shouldn't be) that Lieberman is carrying the bill to gut this common-sense proposal.   His corruption is now just so out there for everyone to see, bringing him down to a new level of shamelessness...   Chris V: 'a US company that wants to use H1-B labor can still do their lay-offs and then hire replacement H1-B workers by contracting through the Indian out-sourcing companies.'"

2007-06-07
_X-Tra Rant_
H-1B Visas, Lay-Offs and Gaming the Job Market

2007-06-07
Patrick Thibodeau _Computer World_
India's Patni Computer Systems to pay $2.4M in back wages
IT Business Edge
CNET
CIO Insight/Ziff Davis
"Labor officials said that Patni failed to pay the prevailing wages due the employees between 2004 January and 2005 December.   The law requires H-1B employers to pay wages similar to what a U.S. worker would receive for the same kind of work...   This may be the largest H-1B wage settlement case ever reached by government, and it involves an investigation that spanned 32 states, according to John Chavez, a labor department spokesman.   In total, the settlement would amount to nearly $40K in back wages per employee if the money were split evenly among them, which it most likely is not.   'The main objective (of the settlement) is to make [employees] whole.', said Chavez...   Patni, which has its U.S. head-quarters in Cambridge, MA, and global head-quarters in Mumbai, received 1,391 H-1B visas in fiscal year 2006.   The company was 1 of 9 firms that last month received letters from U.S. senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) seeking additional information -- including wage data -- about its use of H-1B visas.   Patini has about 13K employees and reported $156M in revenue for the quarter that ended March 31...   For a company to be considered a willful violator it must meet a list of conditions that includes misrepresenting information on the Labor Condition Application, which is used by firms to indicate prevailing wage...   The settlement's timing could raise eye-brows, and Ron Hira, an assistant professor of public policy at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York who has testified before Congress on the H-1B issue.   'Our focus should be on the fact that many companies are in compliance with the law but are able to pay lower wages' than those paid to U.S. workers."

2007-06-07
"an economist" _V Dare_
10 reasons the amnesty/immigration surge bill is appalling

2007-06-07 (5767 Sivan 21)
Rabbi Doctor Asher Meir _Jewish World Review_
Making up time for doing nothing on the job and off
 

2007-06-08

2007-06-08
Julie Hirschfeld Davis _AP_/_Yahoo!_
Reprehensible Immigration Law Perversion bill cloture vote failed
News Max
MarketWatch
"Supporters could muster only 45 votes to limit debate and speed the bill to final passage, 15 short of what was needed on the procedural maneuver.   Fifty senators voted against cutting off debate.   Most Republicans voted to block Democrats' efforts to advance the measure.   Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, who had made no secret of his distaste for parts of the bill, quickly pulled it from the floor and moved on to other business, leaving its future uncertain."

2007-06-08 08:40PDT (11:40EDT) (15:40GMT)
Greg Robb _MarketWatch_
Record exports were insufficient to eliminate trade deficit
"The U.S. trade deficit narrowed by 6.2% in April to $58.5G as exports set a monthly record, the Commerce Department said Friday... exports increased 0.2% to a record $129.5G. A big decline in consumer goods helped push down imports by 1.9%, to $188.0G... The year-to-date deficit is down 6.7% to $235.3G. Last year, the deficit totaled a record $758.5G."
BEA press releases

2007-06-08
Grant Gross _InfoWorld_/_IDG_
Tech executives urge return of Reprehensible Immigration Law Perversion bill

2007-06-08
Norman Matloff _H-1B/ L-1/ Off-Shoring e-News-Letter_
National Socialist Radio commentary by Robert Reich
A couple of weeks ago, one of the readers of this e-news-letter told me that he had gotten into an e-mail argument on H-1B with Robert Reich, Bill Clinton's secretary of Labor (first term) and now a professor at UC Berkeley.   I replied, "Why are you bothering with Reich?   He's hopeless."   I went on to say that Reich has repeatedly changed his positions on H-1B and off-shoring, alternately taking the view of a critic and an apologist.   You can read the history of his flip flops here and here.
But I then added that one should not give up, so did e-mail Reich one of my articles, cc-ing my reader.   One point I emphasized is the BusinessWeek finding that starting salaries of new graduates in computer science and electrical engineering, adjusted for inflation, have been flat since 1999.   Clearly we don't have a shortage, as salaries would be sky-rocketing.
Well, I suppose the [2007-06-06] radio commentary by Reich shows that my reader was correct not to give up on Reich.   Here Reich takes a stand that is more or less against expansion of the H-1B program, and cites stagnant salaries to buttress his argument.
However, his argument is still odd, and still at odds with what he has said at times in the past.
For example, although Reich notes the stagnant wages, he does not make the connection in terms of the implication that we do not have a tech worker shortage.   He says that the reason wages have been flat is that so much of the work has been off-shored.   That may be true, but the fact remains that the flat wages show that we have no shortage of workers to do the work performed here in the U.S.A.
He then in fact implies that we do have a shortage, given our apparently poor showing internationally in math and science at the K-12 level.   Actually those test scores are misleading (see below), but even if they were relevant, they would in the end simply be averages, with no implication that we don't have enough engineers.   A low average score does not imply that we have no high-scoring kids.
Those test scores are indeed misleading.   As I (and others) have explained before, the fact that American kids look only mediocre in international comparisons of math and science scores, relative to kids in Asia, is that the U.S.A. must deal with a large and neglected under-class.   The test scores in states like Utah, Iowa and Nebraska, which don't (yet) have a large under-class population are similar to those of the top Asian countries.   (See David Berliner, "Our Schools Versus Theirs" Washington Post 2001 January 28.)   And BTW, the biggest off-shoring countries, India and [Red China], refuse to participate in those international test comparisons.
It's also odd for Reich to blame off-shoring for the stagnant salaries, when he was defending off-shoring at a conference in 2005, as a key-note speaker (together with Newt Gingrich) in which he presumably was paid a hefty fee.
Granted, he kind of hedged his pro-off-shoring comments, but there is no doubt that the audience received them as his putting his imprimatur on off-shoring.
Reich is certainly correct in saying that the shortage shouters are creating a self-fulfilling prophesy, as H-1B and off-shoring drive college students away from majoring in tech areas.   Unfortunately, he is one of the shouters.
Norm

2007-06-08
Michael Mandel _Business Week_
Real cost of off-shoring
"The short explanation is that the growth of domestic manufacturing has been substantially over-stated in recent years.   That means productivity gains and overall economic growth have been over-stated as well.   And that raises questions about U.S. competitiveness and 'helps explain why wage growth for most American workers has been weak', says Susan N. Houseman, an economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research who identifies the distorting effects of off-shoring in a soon-to-be-published paper.   The under-lying problem is located in an obscure statistic: the import price data published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).   Because of it, many of the cost cuts and product innovations being made over-seas by global companies and foreign suppliers aren't being counted properly.   And that spells trouble because, surprisingly, the government uses the erroneous import price data directly and indirectly as part of its calculation for many other major economic statistics, including productivity, the output of the manufacturing sector, and real gross domestic product (GDP), which is supposed to be the inflation-adjusted value of all the goods and services produced inside the U.S.A.   (For a detailed explanation of how import price data are calculated and why the methodology is suspect, see page 34.)   The result? BusinessWeek's analysis of the import price data reveals off-shoring to low-cost countries is in fact creating 'phantom GDP' -- reported gains in GDP that don't correspond to any actual domestic production...   off-shoring may have created about $66G in phantom GDP gains since 2003 (page 31).   That would lower real GDP today by about half of 1%, which is substantial but not huge.   But put another way, $66G would wipe out as much as 40% of the gains in manufacturing output over the same period.   It's important to emphasize the tenuousness of this calculation.   In particular, it required BusinessWeek to make assumptions about the size of the cost savings from off-shoring, information the government doesn't even collect.   As a result, the actual size of phantom GDP could be a lot larger, or perhaps smaller.   This estimate mainly focuses on the shift of manufacturing over-seas.   But phantom GDP can be created by the introduction of innovative new imported products or by the off-shoring of research and development, design, and services as well -- and there aren't enough data in those areas to take a stab at a calculation."

2007-06-08 (5767 Sivan 22)
Caroline B. Glick _Jewish World Review_
George W. Bush administration pressuring Israel to endanger itself

2007-06-08 (5767 Sivan 22)
Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski _Jewish World Review_
Avoiding self-delusion

2007-06-08

DJIA	13,424.39
S&P 500	1,507.67
NASDAQ	2,573.54
10-year US T-Bond	5.12%
crude oil	64.76
gold	650.30
silver	13.040
platinum	1,286.80
palladium	370.60
copper	0.20359
natgas	7.878/MBTU
unleadedgasoline	NYMEX no longer trading
reformulatedgasoline	$2.1271/gal
heatingoil	$1.8988/gal

I usually get this info from MarketWatch, which gets them from BigCharts.
 
 

2007-06-09

2007-06-09
Mark Krikorian _National Review_/_CBS_
Overwhelming outrage against Reprehensible Immigration Law Perversion bill: By reaching too far, amnesty bill was destined to fail
National Review
"Immigration is one of those areas where public and elite views differ widely (for instance, see here and here).   But most of the time that doesn't really matter, because immigration seldom ranks high enough in voter concerns for politicians to take much notice.   This gives law-makers and bureaucrats a relatively free hand to cater to the preferences of businesses and racial-identity groups and anti-borders activists in promoting ever-higher immigration levels and ever-looser enforcement.   But that only works when you're pushing bills or administrative measures that are relatively narrow and targeted.   Most people have no idea what H1b visas are, let alone whether they should be increased or decreased.   The attorney general's decision to extend Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of Central American illegal aliens is something most reporters -- let alone ordinary readers -- don't understand, and thus receives little scrutiny in the media.   The accumulation of such small measures has a large effect, but it's hard for non-specialists to see, and so it continues, like the proverbial frog sitting still in a pot of water while the temperature approaches boiling...   The result has been an intense out-pouring of sentiment against the bill.   Senators Chambliss and Graham were actually booed at their own state Republican conventions.   Protesters gathered at the district offices of senators Lott and Kyl.   Senator Alexander made the mistake of holding a town meeting -- at which he got an earful about the bill.   Republicans in Arizona were tearing up their registration cards and the Republican National Committee saw a 40% drop in small-donor contributions.   And every Senate office was inundated by phone calls and faxes -- hundreds-to-one against the bill...   if the White House concludes that amnesty is unattainable, there will be a strong temptation to end the enforcement show that's been staged over the past 6 months or so, with work-place raids designed to bolster the administration's credibility on the issue.   A vigilant citizenry will be required to ensure that doesn't happen -- that enforcement is not only not discontinued, but that it's expanded, so we can end the Bush administration's 'silent amnesty' and get to work implementing a real strategy of attrition through enforcement."

2007-06-09
Tom Abate _San Francisco Chronicle_
Corrupt executives continue to scheme to make H-1B program worse
 

2007-06-10

2007-06-10
Kim Berry _Programmers Guild_
iTech abuse of H-1B visa program

2007-06-10
Michael Kraft _Charlotte Conservative_
Mel Martinez is on the anti-US-citizen list

2007-06-10
_California Job Journal_
Lay-offs were up in May

2007-06-10
Bonnie Harris _Des Moines Register_
Visa battle can strain US professionals
"Some officials have questioned whether H-1Bs are being misused by employers and displacing American workers.   Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), has pushed for a hard look at companies who employ large numbers of H-1B workers, and supports requiring businesses to make good-faith efforts to hire U.S. workers first, before they seek to sponsor a foreign-born worker.   Under the current system, employers don't have to advertise or recruit outside applicants for a position being held by an H-1B worker until that worker begins the process of applying for a green card.   At that point, companies must open up the job to other applicants for 30 days, and be able to show they couldn't find a qualified American worker to take the H-1B worker's place.   'It seems a little backwards to me.', said John McDonald, alien labor certification specialist for Iowa Workforce Development.   'Rarely will a U.S. worker get chosen over an H-1B worker who's been in the position potentially for 6 years, and has the institutional knowledge that's so imperative to a company.'   McDonald, who oversees employment-based immigration regulations for Iowa companies, said that if an employer has two equally qualified candidates and one is a foreign-born worker and one an American worker, he will always advise them to hire the latter.   'That's not only because they'll swim through shark-infested waters to get through the (H-1B application) process.', McDonald said.   'It's because the law says it should be that way, too.   These jobs should go to U.S. workers first.   They just should.'"

2007-06-10 09:13PDT (12:13EDT) (16:13GMT)
Richard Craver _NBC17_/_Winston-Salem Journal_
Jobs increasingly going abroad
"The shadow of out-sourcing is hanging over the information-technology department at R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co...   Reynolds employees told the Winston-Salem Journal that as many as 100 IT jobs could be affected.   Reynolds is not alone among major area employers pursuing cost savings through out-sourcing and off-shoring IT services.   A short list includes Aon Corp., BB&T Corp., Dell Inc., GMAC Insurance and Wachovia Corp.   Employment officials said that thousands of jobs could be at stake, either locally or within companies' domestic operations...   According to a Princeton University study, released in March, IT jobs are among the top occupations most vulnerable to out-sourcing and off-shoring, with computer programmers ranked first and computer-systems analysts ranked third.   'Elements of IT jobs are just like factory jobs in that you do the same task over and over.', said Peter Morici, a business professor at the University of Maryland.   'Jobs that are considered as commodity rather than expertise have been vulnerable for years to out-sourcing.   What's different is that the labor pool for knowledge jobs has built up enough in India and other countries that those jobs have become commoditized.'...   Alan Blinder, an economics professor at Princeton, ranked 800 occupations, as listed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, by how easy or hard it is to off-shore the work, either physically or electronically...   But Tourtellot said that the end result in some cases is a loss of jobs at the company doing the out-sourcing.   Some of them farm out that work to consultants from other countries here on a work H-1B visa or L-1 visa...   Morici's conclusion rings all too true to Matt Combs, a Lewisville resident who is struggling to find a full-time computer-programming job despite having 19 years as a software developer and consultant.   Combs said he made a good living serving as a self-employed consultant to two technology companies for several years.   But the work dried up in 2005, and one of his employers hired foreign consultants with U.S. work visas.   In 2005 November, Combs moved his family to Lynchburg, VA, for 2 IT jobs that lasted a combined 9 months.   Family illness led the Combses to move back to Lewisville last Fall.   Combs said that his family was fortunate that they hadn't sold their home and had savings.   'Searching for IT work in the Triad has been getting more difficult.', Combs said.   'More people are applying for a limited number of available positions because of lay-offs of IT staff at Triad area companies and the reduction of the IT work being done locally because of work being out-sourced or off-shored to India, [Red China], etc.'   Combs said that the lay-offs have reduced the networking opportunities for computer programmers, which he called 'a traditional means of acquiring an IT position'.   'There's also a lack of empathy by those who are not affected, as long as everything does OK and we reduce costs and make money.', he said.   Ron Hira, an assistant professor of public policy at Rochester Institute of Technology, said that for most displaced IT workers, there is no special retraining program to help them.   'They aren't being told anything, so they simply enter the normal government-service programs that any unemployed worker does.', Hira said.   'No one has a good answer for them, even the proponents of off-shoring.   They generally blame the worker for not keeping his/her skills up-to-date.'..."

2007-06-10 14:03PDT (17:03EDT) (21:03GMT)
Tom Salonek _Minneapolis Star Tribune_
Off-shore work can bring off-target results
"world's information technology out-sourcing market topping $27G...   But the highly vaunted benefits of global out-sourcing -- lower labor costs and higher revenue -- are proving to be somewhat elusive.   The main culprit: Unexpected transaction costs that are being driven by communications difficulties, project delays and compromised development quality...   many IT projects being done off-shore are plagued by: Poor team cohesion between IT workers in the United States and their off-shore counterparts.   Non-standardized and incompatible development processes.   Issues over intellectual-property rights and control over development.   Incompatible project management and business management styles.   In short, 'the benefit of low-cost labor must be weighed against the risk of missed deadlines, dissatisfied users and failure to reduce development costs', the [CACM] journal article said...   [BGSU assistant professor] Sivagnanam Sakthivel concludes that 'team-work with a high degree of interdependent tasks for a diverse team warrants face-to-face interaction...   A bad fit among development task, team and communication technology reduces task effectiveness, increases time and cost, and jeopardizes development quality.'...   Research and my own company experience in helping clients recover from poorly executed off-shore projects points to challenges such as different cultures, languages and time zones, not to mention widely varying notions of quality, accountability and grossly lower technical skill levels by off-shore workers in many cases.   Requirements analysis and quality assurance of user requirements are a prime example of how things can go awry when key IT players are operating in different cultural and geographic time zones...   the fast-growing H-1B visa program -- which allows a person to work in the United States for up to 6 years [more, with extensions], traditionally a stepping-stone to becoming a permanent resident -- is now viewed as 'the out-sourcing visa', according to Kamal Nath, the commerce minister of India...   the H-1B visa program has become 'a vehicle for accelerating the pace of off-shore out-sourcing of computing work and sending more jobs abroad'.   Holders of H-1B visas do the on-site work of understanding a client's needs and specifications -- and then most of the software coding work is done back in India...   How can exporting more IT work to foreign competitors make America stronger?"

2007-06-10
David Washburn _San Diego Union-Tribune_
More American jobs may be headed off-shore
"'This is the reality of a start-up company.', said Naser Partovi, chief executive of Sky Mobilemedia.   He estimates that he can hire 3 -- even 4 -- software engineers in Bangalore, India, for the cost of 1 in San Diego.   'The cost structure is prohibitive if you have everyone here.', he said...   Nearly 400K, or 31%, of local jobs have the potential to be moved over-seas during the next 2 decades, according to the analysis, based on an index created by Princeton economist and former Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Alan Blinder.   Nationally, Blinder estimates that 37.7M jobs, or 29% of the current U.S. work force, could be out-sourced to other countries within the next 10 to 20 years...   The Union-Tribune analysis showed that 7.5% -- or 95,795 -- of the jobs in San Diego County are 'highly offshoreable'.   This compares with 6.3% of all U.S. jobs that Blinder puts in that category.   Among the highly threatened local workers are biochemists and biophysicists.   These are bread-and-butter jobs in the county's biotech sector, which employs more than 36K people and is the third-largest concentration of biotech jobs in the nation...   Over the past 2 years, locally based Accelrys, which develops drug-discovery software, has cut 100 employees from its San Diego operation and shifted more work to a facility in Bangalore.   Last year, San Diego's Immusol laid off about a dozen of its 50 employees -- most of them scientists working in drug discovery -- while continuing to contract out work to companies in Shanghai and Beijing...   Yet, Cox said, local politicians are choosing to spend public money on ballparks, cruise ship terminals and convention centers, which create relatively low-paying jobs, rather than funding infrastructure and services for high-tech industries.   'What about biotech, environmental tech and software engineering?', Cox asked.   'Where is the public investment in these industries?   A few things in front of us today show we are not serious about these industries.'...   Min Kim, a senior software engineer, said job insecurity has been a part of his life throughout his 15 years in high tech.   'Many companies don't care about the engineer; they care about profit.', the 38-year-old said."

2007-06-10
Dan Farber _Ziff Davis Net_
Privacy International reports severity of offenses of various firms
Privacy International interim report on internet services (pdf)
 

2007-06-11

2007-06-11
Norman Matloff _H-1B/ L-1/ Off-Shoring e-News-Letter_
why the tech industry's PR people are so good at what they do
I use Google every day -- because I like Google's cute logo, NOT as an issue of superior technology.   I could do the Web searching for my work and personal life just fine with any of the other major search engines.
Keep this notion in mind when you read passages in the enclosed article like this one from a Google VP:
"It is no stretch to say that without these employees, we might not be able to develop future revolutionary products like the next GMail or the next Google Earth," Laszlo said in his testimony.
It IS a stretch.   I'll assume that none of you think that GMail is "revolutionary" -- talk about a STRETCH -- but presumably you enjoy using Google Earth.   Fine, but the point is that there is nothing technologically deep about it.   No one at Google is going to win the Nobel Prize (or the equivalent in computer science, the Turing Award) for developing Google Earth.
Accordingly, it is wrong to claim that there is no one in the U.S.A. who could have done the jobs filled by the H-1Bs on the Goo