2006-10-12
Thomas Palley
Globalization and IT
"In 2005 the U.S. trade deficit in information and communications products was $83.2G. The deficit with [Red China] alone was $50.8G, reflecting the huge off-shoring of IT production that has taken place. With regard to jobs, there has also been a clear contraction in the level of U.S. IT employment. In 1999 there were 4.9M technology-related jobs, but this had fallen to 4.6M in 2005 May -- a loss of 300K jobs. The bulk of these job losses were for workers earning less than $30K per year, but there was also significant job loss of 140K among computer programmers who made an average of $67,400 per year. WRT wages, the average real wage for lower paid technology related jobs was essentially stagnant between 1999 and 2005 May. For mid-level computer support specialists whose annual pay averaged $43,380 in 2005, real wages actually fell 1.3% annually over this 6-year period. However, the real pay of higher skill tech workers rose 1.6% per year."
2006-10-12 11:55PDT (14:55EDT) (18:55GMT)
_CNN_
Unemployed man asked judge for jail time
"A man who couldn't find steady work came up with a plan to make it through the next few years until he could collect Social Security: He robbed a bank, then handed the money to a guard and waited for police. On Wednesday, Timothy J. Bowers told a judge a three-year prison sentence would suit him, and the judge obliged... The judge told him: 'It's unfortunate you feel this is the only way to deal with the situation.'... 'It's not the financial plan I would choose, but it's a financial plan.', prosecutor Dan Cable said."
2006-10-12
Jeanne Hovanec & Gloria Carr _Courier News_
Bill Sarto issues ultimatum: withdraw ordinance to fight illegal immigration or lose committee posts
"Two village trustees have until late today to withdraw a proposed Illegal Alien Immigration Relief ordinance or they will be removed from the audit and finance committee, said village President Bill Sarto. The ultimatum was issued in an e-mail Sarto sent Trustees Judy Sigwalt and Paul Humpfer earlier this week in response to the ordinance they co-sponsored that would establish English as the village's official language and would set fines for employers and landlords who aid and abet illegal aliens. Sarto said removing the trustees from the key committee would 'send a message' to financial institutions such as the Intergovernmental Risk Management Agency (IRMA) and Northern Trust Bank as well as village businesses. 'I want these financial people to know that this is not sanctioned by the village.', he said... But Sigwalt and Humpfer said they are continuing to move forward with the ordinance and believe Sarto does not have the authority to remove them from their positions on the committee. They said they have consulted with Village Manager Craig Anderson... [Sarto] said when he was elected into office 18 months ago, Village Attorney James Rhodes gave him a pamphlet documenting his powers in office, and it read that the village president had the right to appoint people to office with approval of the board and the right to dismiss people from office at his own discretion... Anderson said the village received suggested steps it needed to take from the agency when drafting the ordinance. He said part of the village's due diligence is to provide procedural safeguards in the ordinance to allow residents an appeal process and an opportunity to state their case."
2006-10-12 12:18PDT (15:18EDT) (19:18GMT)
Mike Sunnucks _Phoenix Business Journal_
Mitchell, Hayworth & Severin battle over English as official language
2006-10-12 13:40PDT (16:40EDT) (20:40GMT)
_Times Daily_
Tallapoosa county couple charged with harboring and employing illegal aliens & money laundering
Alabama News Flash
Columbus GA Ledger-Enquirer
WTVM
WSFA
"A Tallassee, Tallapoosa county Alabama couple have been charged with harboring 24 illegal aliens and money laundering, authorities announced Thursday. Octavio Trejo Pitin, 33, and his wife, Ronda Baird, 37, were arrested on the federal charges following a 6-month investigation initiated by the Tallapoosa County Sheriff's Office. They were placed in custody of U.S. marshals in Montgomery. The investigation revealed the couple employed illegal immigrants to work for their subcontracting business, Rapid Dryway Company, state public safety officials said in a statement... Ramon Contrereas Rodriquez, who lived at the compound, was charged as an illegal alien in possession of a firearm, and 13 other male immigrants were taken into custody on federal immigration charges. They were taken to Gadsden for processing at the federal holding facility in the Etowah County Jail. Five women and 5 children living at the compound were released."
2006-10-12
Matthew Bracken _Free-Market News Network_
interview: Borders, Books and the Future of Freedom
"[The influx of illegal immigrants is] as serious as a new civil war. It's as serious as the USA losing control over the Southwest. That's how serious... First of all, build a modern multiple fence system. Such systems are cheap and 100% effective where they have been built near San Diego. Starting in a dozen or 20 places at once, it could be built in under a year from Brownsville to San Diego. The nation that built the Empire State Building and Hoover Dam 80 years ago can build a simple and effective fence system! Only the political will is lacking. It's pathetic that 5 years after 9-11, thousands of invaders per day can just walk into our country! Once the fence system was built, the present numbers of Border Patrol Agents could be effectively employed watching the very finite fence for breaches. Today, they are in the hapless position of playing Keystone Kops, running around 100K square miles of desert, looking for thousands of invaders who simply walked into the country and disappeared into the scrub lands... Gun control on the level of what I portrayed in my first novel would require a horrific 'trigger event' to stampede the sheeple into giving up their Second Amendment rights. I think the loss of the Southwest will be an independent phenomenon, based on language, culture and demographic tribalism. In one way, though, the subjects are related: the federal government will use a microscope to examine groups they are against for the most minute 'paper' gun violations. Anyone coming to the Southwest to defend it from the invasion would be stopped and inspected, and probably would be turned away or arrested for any number of pretexts. Technical gun violations would certainly fit the bill. The irony is amazing: the feds use a scanning electron microscope to detect the most infinitesimally small gun violations, while false-ID hawkers serve illegal aliens lined up on the sidewalks outside of every federal building. FBI, ATF, IRS and ICE Agents have to push blatantly obvious illegal aliens out of the way, to get to their offices to track down Joe Sixpack for the tiniest perceived or invented violations... In both books, there are really only a handful of truly evil and manipulative federal officers. They are far outnumbered by many more Constitution-defending 'good cops'. In the middle between them we have a vast number of 'SWAT' types who are in law enforcement for a pay-check and the chance to kick down doors and shoot lots of free ammo through their MP-5s. Many of these goons could not care less about the Constitution. They figure that it is a lawyer's job to worry about the Constitutional aspects of their jobs. They will just follow orders: good or bad. I've seen ads in military magazines directed to soldiers and Marines about to leave the service. They show a black-clad helmeted cop with a sub-machine gun. The caption is: 'Getting out? Still want the action? Join the Your City SWAT Team!' Somehow, I don't think these guys care much about the paper-work attached to the raids they conduct. Just look at what the BATFE is doing with local law enforcement in California today on gun raids... Just compare what the CFR has recently written ("Building a North American Community"), to how the so-called Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) is coming about within our federal government. It's a prepared script. We are being railroaded into giving up our national sovereignty, without a single vote being taken. Why do you think 'the powers that be' are resisting the construction of a simple fence system? A fence is 180° counter to their goal of merging the three nations of North America. That's why we'll never see the fence built."
Enemies, Foreign and Domestic
2006-10-12
| DJIA | 11,947.70 |
| S&P 500 | 1,362.83 |
| NASDAQ | 2,346.18 |
| 10-year US T-Bond | 4.78% |
| crude oil | 57.86 |
| gold | 580.30 |
| silver | 11.38 |
| platinum | 1,074.60 |
| palladium | 307.90 |
| copper | 0.211656 |
| natgas | $5.782/MBTU |
| unleadedgasoline | $1.4509/gal |
| heatingoil | $1.6877/gal |
I usually get this info from MarketWatch, which gets them from BigCharts.
2006-10-13 (5767 Tishrei 21) - 25 Days Until Congressional Election
2006-10-12 21:01PDT (2005-10-13 00:01EDT) (2006-10-13 04:01GMT)
Peggy Noonan _Wall Street Journal_
Why do leftist Americans believe only they have the right to dissent?
"It is not only about rage and resentment, and how some have come to see them as virtues, as an emblem of rightness. I feel so much, therefore my views are correct and must prevail. It is about something so obvious it is almost embarrassing to state. Free speech means hearing things you like and agree with, and it means allowing others to speak whose views you do not like or agree with. This -- listening to the other person with respect and forbearance, and with an acceptance of human diversity--is the price we pay for living in a great democracy. And it is a really low price for such a great thing. We all know this, at least in the abstract. Why are so many forgetting it in the particular? Let us be more pointed. Students, stars, media movers, academics: They are always saying they want debate, but they don't. They want their vision imposed. They want to win. And if the win doesn't come quickly, they'll rush the stage, curse you out, attempt to intimidate. And they don't always recognize themselves to be bullying. So full of their righteousness are they that they have lost the ability to judge themselves and their manner. And all this continues to come more from the left than the right in America."
2006-10-12 22:37:09PDT (2006-10-13 01:37:09EDT) (2006-10-13 05:37:37GMT)
_Fox 6 News_
Farming and Cheap, Easily Brow-Beaten Labor
"Farming is a $1.5G industry in San Diego County, but much of the work depends on [illegal aliens]... Ag officials in the county have been working with lawmakers to push for a Guest Worker Program. 'We need guest workers who can freely travel across the border come up here work, and when work is done be able to go home.', says Eric Larson, Executive Director of the San Diego Farm Bureau."
2006-10-13 05:45PDT (08:45EDT) (12:45GMT)
Greg Robb _MarketWatch_
Import prices fell 2.1% in September for USA
BLS data
2006-10-13 08:54PDT (11:54EDT) (15:54GMT)
Greg Robb _MarketWatch_
UMich consumer sentiment index rose from 85.4 in September to 92.3 in October
2006-10-13 09:34PDT (12:34EDT) (16:34GMT)
Rex Nutting _MarketWatch_
Retail sales fell 0.4% in September, rose 0.6% excluding gasoline
2006-10-13
Rick Rogers _San Diego Union-Tribune_
Many military families rely on donated goods to make ends meet
2006-10-13 13:14PDT (16:14EDT) (20:14GMT)
Steve Gelsi _MarketWatch_
Body shop SAIC rallies in $1.1G IPO
2006-10-13
William F. Jasper _John Birch Society_
Bush's border bamboozlement and betrayal continues
"The White House and the GOP Congressional leadership believe they have already obtained everything they wanted from the presidential signing and photo ops along the border: they have placated the restive masses of American voters, who were demanding with increasing bellicosity, that their elected officials secure our disastrous borders. Constructing a double-layer fence along 700 miles of our border with Mexico was but one component of a series of efforts by House members to beef up border enforcement. At present, we have only about 75 miles of our 2,100-mile U.S.-Mexico border fenced. That's right, 75 miles. Adding another 700 miles, especially targeting the current high-traffic areas where thousands of aliens illegally cross into our country every day, should be a bare minimum that everyone in Congress could enthusiastically support. Facing a revolt from angry constituents and their conservative activist base, House Republican leaders gave in last year and voted for the 700-mile fence construction. In the Senate, however, Majority Leader Bill Frist, Arlen Specter and other GOP leaders continued to side with the Bush White House and the Teddy Kennedy Democrats in demanding 'comprehensive' immigration reform that coupled more promises of future border security enhancement with a front-loaded amnesty and guest worker program. When it became too obvious to ignore that they would be severely punished in the November elections, the White House and GOP Congressional leaders opted for political expediency -- and survival... However, as the Washington Post reported on October 6, 'No sooner did Congress authorize construction of a 700-mile fence on the U.S.-Mexico border last week than law-makers rushed to approve separate legislation that ensures it will never be built, at least not as advertised, according to Republican lawmakers and immigration experts.' The legislation the Post refers to is the appropriations bill mentioned above that President Bush signed on October 4. The Post story reported that 'shortly before recessing late Friday, the House and Senate gave the Bush administration leeway to distribute the money to a combination of projects -- not just the physical barrier along the southern border'."
2006-10-13
Samuel R. Irwin _Advocate_
Neighbors want parish ban on bunk-houses
"Bayou L'Ourse residents jammed the Assumption Parish Police Jury meeting room Wednesday to lobby for a proposed parishwide ordinance banning bunkhouse lodging for temporary guest-workers... About 6 weeks ago and prior to the jury's decision to impose the moratorium, temporary labor provider Southland Services of Houma rented 2 mobile homes and 3 houses in Bayou L'Ourse to accommodate 20 to 40 industrial workers at McDermott Industries in Amelia. All of the guest workers are of Hispanic origin and speak little English."
2006-10-13 15:32PDT (18:32EDT) (22:32GMT)
_KGBT_
Another student may have contracted tuberculosis
2006-10-13
| DJIA | 11,960.51 |
| S&P 500 | 1,365.62 |
| NASDAQ | 2,357.29 |
| 10-year US T-Bond | 4.81% |
| crude oil | 58.57 |
| gold | 592.70 |
| silver | 11.68 |
| platinum | 1,083.30 |
| palladium | 315.95 |
| copper | 0.21334 |
| natgas | $5.659/MBTU |
| unleadedgasoline | $1.4684/gal |
| heatingoil | $1.7178/gal |
I usually get this info from MarketWatch, which gets them from BigCharts.
| |
"America goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom & independence of all. She is the champion & vindicator only of her own. She will recommend the general cause by the countenance of her voice, & the benignant sympathy of her example. She well knows that by once enlisting under other banners than her own, were they even the banners of foreign independence, she would involve herself beyond the power of extrication in all the wards of interest & intrigue, of individual avarice, envy & ambition, which assume the colors & usurp the standards of freedom. The fundamental maxims of her policy would insensibly change from liberty to force." --- John Quincy Adams
| |
2006-10-14 (5767 Tishrei 22) - 24 Days Until Congressional Election
2006-10-13 17:08PDT (2006-10-13 20:08) (2006-10-14 00:08GMT)
_AP_/_KGBT_
Last defendant in border sex slave ring has been sentenced
"The last of eight defendants in a Texas immigrant smuggling ring that extorted, enslaved and raped women must serve 10 years in prison... Soto was one of several brothers accused of being in a ring that kept and abused immigrants in 'safe houses' near the border and in Houston until their smuggling fees were paid... The 8 Mexican nationals are subject to deportation after prison."
2006-10-14 11:27PDT (14:27EDT) (18:27GMT)
_MarketWatch_
Media giants seek compensation from YouTube for distribution of their copyrighted material
"Attorneys for the group of media companies, including News Corp., GE's NBC Universal and Viacom have determined that YouTube could be penalized $150K per unauthorized video, according to the report. Viacom estimates that pirated versions of video clips from its MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon channels are watched 80K times a day on YouTube... YouTube attracts some 34M unique monthly visitors and hosts 100M video down-loads per month. To avoid any lawsuits, YouTube has been negotiating with the major media companies. To date, YouTube has struck deals with CBS Corp., NBC Universal, Warner Music and Vivendi's Universal Music Group."
2006-10-14
Steve Hirsch _Washington Times_
Judge gives go-ahead for employees to sue Tyson for depressing compensation by hiring illegal aliens
"Howard W. Foster, a Chicago lawyer for the Tyson employees, described the ruling in Winchester, TN, as a 'very big step', allowing him to seek damages for thousands of workers at eight plants -- including one in Glen Allen, VA -- instead of just the four original plaintiffs. The case, filed in 2002 under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), is one of a growing number across the nation challenging illegal aliens in the workplace. In August, a temporary agency in California sued its competitors under the state's unfair-competition laws. Mr. Foster has represented U.S. citizens seeking damages for wage depression caused by employment of illegal aliens in other cases, including one against Mohawk Industries and a class-action case against Zirkle Fruit Co., which has been settled... The 8 Tyson plants named in the suit are at Shelbyville; Corydon, IN; Gadsden, AL, Blountsville, AL, Ashland, AL; Sedalia, MO; Center, Texas and Glen Allen, VA."
2006-10-14
Steve Vaughan _Virginia Gazette_
Guest-worker visas, student visas, and controlling illegal aliens
2006-10-15 (5767 Tishrei 23) - 23 Days Until Congressional Election
2006-10-15
_Numbers USA_
Profiles of congress-critters on population growth and immigration
2006-10-15 03:01:32PDT (06:01:32EDT) (10:01:32GMT)
Jonathan Jones _Tri-Valley Herald_
Bruno vs. Stark
"On issues such as Iraq, immigration and homeland security, the contrasts between the two candidates couldn't be, pardon the pun, starker. Bruno is a former member of the Coast Guard and has overseen the deployment of medical ships to the Persian gulf... On immigration issues, Bruno said he supports efforts to secure the border and implement a guest worker program, as well as changing the laws on birth-right citizenship. Whether it is a virtual fence or a fence or additional Border Patrol, we have to secure our border, Bruno said. I think we do need to modify our laws. If you are born on American soil but your parents are here illegally, you do not have the right of citizenship under the birth-right citizenship law. I don't think it was intended under those circumstances. In contrast, Stark has voted against encouraging local law enforcement officials to enforce immigration laws and making it a crime to assist illegal immigrants. But he said hes supportive of President Bushs call for 'comprehensive immigration reform'."
2006-10-15
_Miami Herald_
Bronson vs. Copeland for agriculture commissioner
"Mr. Bronson understands that immigrant labor is essential to the survival of Florida's agriculture. He supports the federal AgJobs bill that would [flood the labor market even worse than it already is] by making... changes in the guest worker program."
2006-10-15
_Ill-Begotten Monstrosities_
Ill-Begotten Monstrosities is movint its procurement HQ to Red China
"IBM's global procurement headquarters is moving from Somers, NY, north of New York City, to Shenzhen, [Red China]. This will be the first time the head-quarters of an IBM corporate-wide organization has been located outside the U.S.A."
2006-10-15
Eileen Alt Powell _AP_/_Yahoo!_
Parents under-estimate college costs
"a study being released Monday by AllianceBernstein Investments Inc., an asset management firm based in New York...looked at the college saving habits and goals of parents with children under 18 and compared them with what college financial aid administrators have to say about college funding. The study found that 87% of parents believe scholarships and grants will cover at least part of their children's under-graduate expenses, and nearly three-quarters think their children are 'special or unique' enough to win a scholarship. Financial aid administrators said 92% of parents over-estimate the amount of scholarship money their children will receive... 'Parents with children ages 14 to 17 plan to have an average of $12K saved when their child reaches college age.', the study found. That would just cover the cost of one year's schooling at a four-year public college or university, according to the most recent data from the College Board, a non-profit association based in Washington, DC. It would fall far short of the $29,026 College Board estimate for one year at a private institution."
2006-10-15
William Petroski _Des Moines Register_
Minutemen rally against illegal invasion
"'Illegal aliens are coming into this country, and they are taking your jobs away.', said Craig Halverson, western Iowa leader of the Minuteman group... People at the event on the west steps of the Statehouse carried signs that read, 'Stop the illegal invasion', 'No amnesty for illegal aliens' and 'Secure our borders'."
2006-10-16 (5767 Tishrei 24) - 22 Days Until Congressional Election
2006-10-15 21:21PST (2006-10-16 00:21EST) (2006-10-16 05:21GMT)
Dan Stein _USA Today_
USA has been over-populated for decades
"The population of the USA will reach 300 million this week on a relentless march to half a billion before 2050. That's because about 80% of the current population growth in the USA is due to immigration policies — immigrants legally admitted, illegal immigrants, and births to immigrants after entering. Only a dramatic roll-back in overall immigration can reverse these trends. The time to act is now. 30 years ago, the Rockefeller Commission could find no benefit from further increases in the size of the U.S. population. In 2006, it is hard to see how the massive government-mandated population growth of the past 30 years has improved life for most Americans. The addition of a staggering 100M people since the late 1960s has accelerated virtually every environmental problem, exacerbated resource depletion, contributed to sprawl and congestion, and strained nearly all public services."
2006-10-16
"GKCfan" _Red State_
How Dare They
2006-10-16
Gabor Steingart _Der Spiegel_
How globalization drives down western wages (with graphs)
"The phrase wage scale autonomy is gaining a whole new meaning. In the past, employers and employees in the West negotiated wages independently of the state. In times of labor inflation, however, employers are able to set wages independently of the trade unions because, after all, there are millions of workers who are willing to underbid their fellow laborers. Wages are rising in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia and falling in the West, while those in [Red China] and India steadily remain at some of the lowest levels worldwide. Of the roughly 3 billion people currently active on the global labor market, about half earn less than $3 a day, which means two things: First, these people are dirt-poor and, second, their poverty wages are forcing down the wages of other, better paid workers. The fates of those at the lowest end of the wage pyramid are linked to those in the middle... There is a glut of workers on the new global labor market. 18M Europeans are now unemployed. Add to that the women who have opted to retreat into family life and the older workers who are being sent into retirement against their will, and Europe's real unemployment figure surges upwards to about 30M... The true extent of shrinking wages in Europe only becomes evident when one considers the unemployed and the employed together. Those who choose to see only the employed are blind to the scope of the problem. In reality, total wages are declining at a much faster rate than income statistics suggest. A decline in wages is taking place on the global labor market that no one in the West expected... No one should expect a rapid rise in incomes in the Far East or Eastern Europe, where the fact that millions of farmers and slum dwellers are still waiting for industrial employment creates an additional downward pressure on wages. Wages in the Far East are increasing at a substantially lower rate than the West would like to see... Where labor is needed is now only of interest to those who are unsuccessful in their efforts to enter the labor market. But even though the labor market has lost its borders, Western workers have no choice but to remain where they are [because employers are unwilling to relocate candidates and emplyees]."
2006-10-16
Andrew M. Sum & Paul E. Harrington _Boston Globe_
Two kinds of immigration
"The overall effects of new immigrant inflows from 2000 to 2005 on American labor markets are unprecedented. Between 2000 and 2005, the total number of employed workers 16 and older in the nation increased by 4.8M. Over the same time period, the number of new immigrants entering the nation and finding work was estimated to be 4.13M. This means that new immigrants accounted for 86% of the total gain in employment that the nation experienced over the past 5 years. Our analysis suggests that close to two-thirds of these new immigrant arrivals were unauthorized. Among males, all of the net growth in employment between 2000 and 2005 was attributable to new immigrants. This extraordinary finding casts serious doubt on the common contention that new immigrants simply take jobs that Americans do not want. Can anyone seriously claim that, of the nearly 2.8M new jobs obtained by male immigrants, not one would have been taken by an American male? Worse still, the impact of this displacement of native-born workers and established immigrants was concentrated among young people. The total number of native-born people ages 16 to 34 has increased over the past 5 years, while the number of these young people who reported being employed has fallen by 4.2M. At the same time, the number of new immigrants ages 16 to 34 who found work between 2000 and 2005 increased by 2.7M... The evidence -- ranging from employment rates to measures of changes in annual earnings, weekly wages, and employee benefits -- reveals a surplus of less-educated workers in both national and state labor markets... Over the past 5 years, only 1 of every 5 additional workers in private-sector jobs in the United States has ended up on the formal pay-rolls of national private-sector employers, where pay-roll and income taxes are withheld and workers are protected by laws regarding workers' safety, health, and wages."
2006-10-16
_Perth Sunday Times_
Guest-workers are being abused
Couier Mail
Herald Sun
"Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone has ordered an investigation by her department after 3 of the 8 men [Filippino welders], part of a group of 40 brought to Brisbane under the 457 visa system, said they lost their jobs today after joining a union. Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone has ordered an investigation by her department after 3 of the 8 men, part of a group of 40 brought to Brisbane under the 457 visa system, said they lost their jobs today after joining a union. The 8 were living in a 4-bedroom house where they each paid $175 per week in rent – a total of $1400 – but a former Dartbridge manager told Lateline the house was worth only $350 a week... The men told the ABC they were promised more than $40K a year in wages, but were receiving $27K."
2006-10-16 07:27PDT (10:27EDT) (14:27GMT)
_News Max_
Lou Dobbs 7 Days a Week
"'Lou Dobbs This Week' will air in the 18:00 slot on Saturday and Sunday, the same time period as his weekday show 'Lou Dobbs Tonight', and will include reports from earlier in the week and new segments taped on Fridays. Dobbs' week-day show averaged 762K viewers this year, up 22% from the same period last year, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. That's far behind Fox News Channel's Brit Hume, with 1.35M total viewers in that time slot."
2006-10-16
James Parks _AFL-CIO_
Abuse of illegal aliens continues in New Orleans
"In the course of interviewing more than 500 migrant workers who came to New Orleans to do the back-breaking, dangerous cleanup work after Hurricane Katrina, the center's Immigrant Justice Project (IJP) documented widespread labor abuses involving theft of wages by employers, violations of work-place health and safety standards and threats of retaliation against workers who assert their rights. Many workers reported they were denied over-time pay -- and some reported not being paid at all."
2006-10-16 14:47PDT (17:47EDT) (21:47GMT)
Michael Paige _MarketWatch_
Computer Associates (CA) board proposes poison pill
"CA declared a dividend of one right on each share of its outstanding common stock... the poison pill wouldn't kick into effect until an unwanted suitor acquired 20% of outstanding shares, rather than 15%. It also has a fixed term of 3 years instead of 10, according to the company."
2006-10-16
Mukesh Butni _Business Standard_
Tax breaks in Special Economic Zones
"Lately, policy-makers and corporate big-wigs have been at the helm of hullabaloo in the wake of an evolving law and controversies surrounding it. This pertains to Special Economic Zones [similar to the USA's Enterprise Zones], a concept which traces its origin to countries like [Red China] and the UAE. [Red China's] accomplishment and India's desire to replicate: [Red China] was an emulatory success story for Late Industry and Commerce Minister Murasoli Maran, who first championed the cause of SEZs for India Inc. Consequently, the concept made a formal entry via the EXIM policy and progressively climbed up the priority charts of successive governments. In 2001, the share of the 5 SEZs in [Red China's] total exports was 10.4%, in contrast to Indian SEZs' over 4%. An overwhelming emphasis in [Red China's] SEZ enclaves was on infrastructure, simplified procedures and cost-effective environment. [Red China's] astounding growth over the last 3 decades is largely attributed to SEZs [and very generous trading terms with the USA], which contribute 45% of total [Red Chinese] exports. A crucial factor has been the chemistry between [Red China] and Hong Kong, [Red China] being the manufacturing base and Hong Kong a trading hub [which, at least before being taken over by Red China, was also a manufacturing hub]. Simplified Customs regime provided tremendous operational ease. Low wage cost, flexible labour laws and lower compliance costs added to the advantage... [Red China] provides tax sops up to 3 years. Generally, a concessional tax rate of 15% (as against 33%) is available for SEZs... The [Bank of India] is expected to consider over 250 proposals with projected investment of $80G and employment potential of 1.8M, according to Commerce Minister Kamal Nath."
2006-10-16
| DJIA | 11,980.60 |
| S&P 500 | 1,369.05 |
| NASDAQ | 2,363.84 |
| 10-year US T-Bond | 4.79% |
| crude oil | 59.94 |
| gold | 598.50 |
| silver | 11.91 |
| platinum | 1,091.30 |
| palladium | 324.55 |
| copper | 0.2238 |
| natgas | $6.444/MBTU |
| unleadedgasoline | $1.4917/gal |
| heatingoil | $1.7565/gal |
I usually get this info from MarketWatch, which gets them from BigCharts.
2006-10-17 (5767 Tishrei 25) - 21 Days Until Congressional Election
2006-10-16 21:21PDT (2006-10-17 00:21EDT) (2006-10-17 04:21GMT)
Chris Oliver, Jennifer Waters & Gabriel Madway _MarketWatch_
WM to buy Red Chinese retailer for $1G
2006-10-16 22:00PDT (2006-10-17 01:00EDT) (2006-10-17 05:00GMT)
_World Net Daily_
Tony Snow says deportation is part of immigration solution: There are difficulties in identifying those who are in USA illegally
"Spokesman Tony Snow, responding to a question from Les Kinsolving, WND's correspondent at the White House, said that there are deportations, but there also are complications. Snow was asked why cannot the U.S.A. deport immigrants who have broken the law to enter the United States, and if it doesn't, isn't that disregarding the laws that the nation already has... There are many who believe that the border laws need to be enforced first, to dry up the gusher of illegal aliens moving into the United States, and then those who are here can be addressed. One of those groups is Americans for Legal Immigration, where spokesman William Gheen told WND earlier that without a solid enforcement of border access, there's no point in having other laws. 'That's where it comes down.', he said. 'For any law to be a deterrent, the punishment must be greater than the rewards. Illegal aliens never will be able to pay for illegally immigrating. They must leave. That's the only punishment we have that's greater than the crime.'"
2006-10-17 02:01PDT (05:01EDT) (09:01GMT)
Eugene R. Anderson & William G. Passannante _MarketWatch_
Protection rackets are still carrying on their old frauds
"The Insurance Information Institute (III) reports that property-casualty insurance carriers in 2005 earned a record $48.8G and increased their surplus to over $427G. Industry experts are forecasting a $60G industry profit in 2006, and the III boasts that current underwriting performance -- the profit derived from premiums minus claims payouts, excluding investment income -- is 'the best in a generation (or two)'. If anyone's reeling, it's policy-holders. Following every major disaster or scandal, a simple formula protects insurance industry profits: raise rates, reduce coverage and deny claims... As reported by the AP [and on abc's 20/20], Cori and Kerri Rigsby, two sisters who had long performed claims work for State Farm on a contract basis, have provided homeowners' attorneys and regulators with 15K pages of evidence suggesting that while processing Katrina claims, State Farm had its claims managers memorize language to avoid acknowledging wind damage when water contributed to the loss. Further, these brave whistleblowers allege that when State Farm disliked the results of an engineer's report, the company regularly substituted a second 'cookie-cutter' report concluding that the bulk of damage was caused by rising water (as opposed to wind) and therefore excluded. The Rigsby sisters state simply:, 'We believe State Farm has committed fraud, and we have turned it over to be investigated.'... calamities show how much the rest of us need for the industry to deliver honest, real-life, risk-transfer insurance. Instead, policy-holders receive miserly claims service, increasing premiums and narrowing coverage."
2006-10-17
Sam Hananel _News-Leader_
Candidates have common ground in opposition to Senate immigration proposals
"The question of how to curb illegal immigration to the United States — and what to do about millions of illegal residents already here — has caused sharp divisions in Congress this year and spilled over into Missouri's U.S. Senate race. Both Republican Sen. Jim Talent and his Democratic challenger, State Auditor Claire McCaskill, oppose the Senate bill for different reasons. Talent wants to focus more on border security, while McCaskill wants to crack down on businesses that hire illegal workers."
2006-10-17
Jerry W. Jackson _Orlando Sentinel_
No labor shortage is seen for citrus harvest
"With one of the lightest orange crops on the trees in nearly two decades -- an estimated 135M boxes, down 9% from a year earlier -- the harvest should go briskly, in contrast to last summer, when the harvest was the slowest in a decade."
2006-10-17
Jerome R. Corsi _Human Events_
Bush's messages on immigration and security are contradictory
"Bush has no serious intent of securing our borders. Instead, the building evidence, including that derived from FOIA requests by this author and by Judicial Watch, is that Bush agreed to erase our borders at the trilateral U.S.-Mexico-Canada summit meeting in Waco, Tex., on March 23. Here the 3 leaders issued what amounts to a press release declaring that now we are in the 'Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) of North America'. We have incontrovertible proof that terrorists have crossed our border with Mexico. On 2005 March 1, Mahmoud Youssef Kourani pleaded guilty to federal charges of using meetings at his home in Dearborn, Michigan, to raise money for Hezbollah's terrorist activities in Lebanon. Kourani was an illegal alien who had been smuggled across our border with Mexico after the bribed a Mexican consular official in Beirut to get him a visa to travel to Mexico. Kourani and a Middle East traveling partner then paid smugglers in Mexico to get them into the United States. He established residence among the Lebanese expatriate community in Dearborn, Michigan, and began soliciting funds for Hezbollah terrorists back home. Kourani was sentenced to 54 months in federal prison. In 2002 December, Salim Boughader Mucharrafille, a café owner in Tijuana, was arrested for smuggling more than 200 Lebanese illegally into the United States, including several believed to have terrorists ties to Hezbollah. Operating the posh La Libanese Café in downtown Tijuana, Boughader held court in his restaurant under the sign of the Cedar tree, the national symbol of Lebanon."
2006-10-17
Dan Margolies _Kansas City Star_
UMKC professor's suit against in-state tuition for illegal aliens rejected by corrupt judges: Appeals in the works
"On October 6, a state judge rejected the challenge to the California law, ruling that it lacked merit. The suit, brought on behalf of out-of-state students who are U.S. citizens, alleged that the law discriminated against legal U.S. residents who are charged higher tuition. The plaintiffs plan to appeal... The Kansas challenge was thrown out last year by a federal judge, who ruled that the plaintiffs — college students attending schools in the state — lacked standing to bring the suit. On Sept. 27, Kobach urged the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver to revive the Kansas case. Kobach argued that offering illegal immigrants in-state tuition violates a federal law barring states from offering [illegal aliens] residency-based benefits that aren't available to U.S. citizens... Kobach, who holds degrees from Harvard, Yale and Oxford universities, recently was approved to teach immigration law at UMKC..."
2006-10-17
John Vandiver _Asbury Park Press_
Day laborers gather in usual site in Lakewood
"There was no mustering at the muster zone Monday, where Lakewood's day laborers have been told they should wait for work in the mornings. Instead, the men are gathered where they always have, Clifton Avenue... Police officers patrol up and down Clifton issuing tickets and warnings to contractors parking illegally... On Monday, day laborer supporters carried signs that chastised the township for initiating a relocated muster zone. Activists, local and from out of town, talked of how the policy is inhumane and unsafe... There were also opponents of illegal immigration on the scene, opposed to both the muster zone and those who employ [illegal aliens]... Back at the muster zone, coffee and doughnuts waited for the men who never showed. 'I'm not surprised.', said June Stitzinger-Clark, pastor at Christ United Methodist Church. The church hired a person, Luis Morales, to serve as an advocate for the workers at the zone. For one month, Morales will be on the scene, keeping an eye out for the workers' safety and their rights. Morales, who sat in his car waiting for the workers, smoked a cigarette and read a newspaper... The workers have opposed going to the new muster zone for several reasons, safety being chief among them. Many workers ride bikes, and the route to the zone from downtown is regarded as perilous."
2006-10-17
_Daily Herald_
300M
"Sometime this week, most likely today, the 300 millionth person will enter the United States. It's not known if it will be by birth or immigration (legal or illegal). With its high birth rate, low death rate and growing immigrant population, Utah County is a near-perfect snapshot of what makes our country grow and the impacts we face because of it... In 2005, 11,295 babies were born in Utah. In the same time, 1,716 people died, according to the Utah Department of Health's 2005 annual report. That's less than one-sixth of the number of births. Statewide, 51,301 babies were born and 13,120 people died, a difference of almost 4 to 1. A good chunk of those births are from Utah County as well. The 3 Intermountain Healthcare hospitals reported 8,554 births in 2005, and Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem had 1,639. Through the end of September, Timpanogos has reported 1,481 births, American Fork Hospital has 2,222, Orem Community Hospital reported 986 births and Utah Valley Regional Medical Center has had 3,411 births. It's no secret that Utah has the highest birth rate and lowest death rate in the nation. The reasons typically fall to the Mormon culture; people start having children at a younger age and they have more children. Death rates are lower because of a generally healthier life-style... According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, similar trends are seen nationwide. Life expectancy was measured in 2002 at 77.4 years, the highest it has ever been... In 2003, birth rates for women aged 40-44 years went up 5% from 2002; it has more than doubled since 1981. For women aged 30-34 and 35-39, birth rates increased 4% and 6% respectively, while the rates fell for teenagers and women in their early 20s and stayed about the same for women in their late 20s, according to the CDC... older mothers are more likely to have complications, as are their babies. Those complications include diabetes, hypertension and pre-eclampsia for the mothers and numerical chromosome abnormalities like Down syndrome for their babies... And on August 8, when Ammon Hair was born to Wendy and Andy Hair, the number of grand-children from Dale and Mary Hair of Orem became an even 100. Mathematically, 100 grand-children isn't that difficult. Dale and Mary had 17 children. If each has 5.9 children, they hit the mark... The 2005 Census shows that Hispanics are Utah's fastest-growing minority, and Utah County is no exception. The county's Hispanic 2005 population of 36,386 was a 58.58% increase since 2000. It isn't close to the total population of 443,738, but businesses are taking notice... Utah County's Hispanic population makes up for 8% of its population... The Office of Immigration Statistics reports that there are 822 immigrants legally in the Provo-Orem area. That number does not include those born in the United States to legal or illegal immigrant parents. Most are from Central America... Director of the Utah office of Hispanic Affairs, Tony Yapias, told the Daily Herald that there were at least 45K [illegal alien] Hispanic workers statewide in 2004."
2006-10-17
Steve Lannen & John Stamper _Lexington Herald-Leader_
Illegal aliens are a hot topic according to multiple polls
"Even though voters in Kentucky's 4th Congressional District are thousands of miles from the Mexican border, a poll by a Washington immigration think tank suggests that immigration issues will weigh heavily on the minds of Northern Kentuckians in the upcoming election. The poll, sponsored by the right-leaning Center for Immigration Studies, also shows U.S. representative Geoff Davis, R-KY, with a lead of 5 percentage points over Democrat and former congressman Ken Lucas, although 21% of the 500 likely voters surveyed October 6-7 remain undecided. Davis led Lucas 40% to 35%. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. The Center for Immigration Studies asked voters nationally and in 10 battleground districts with tight congressional races what issues loom large as they decide which candidates to support November 7. In the 4th District, immigration ranks third, behind 'Iraq/terrorism' and 'health care/prescription drugs'. 13% of district voters surveyed said it is their most important issue, and an additional 44% said it was one of their top 3 issues. An additional 31% said immigration was important, but not in their top 3. Only 10% said it wasn't important at all. This follows a national Pew Research Center poll released recently that suggests most voters aren't thinking too much about the immigration issue. In that poll, 24% of voters named immigration as a key election issue, compared with 51% who cited Iraq and 37% who cited terrorism... the Center for Immigration Studies' poll shows that 54% of respondents in the 4th District are much more likely to vote for a candidate who wants to deny jobs and benefits to illegal immigrants... Lucas has criticized the most recently passed immigration bill in Congress, which calls for a 700-mile fence, as being too weak. He called the measure 'bubble-gum and bailing wire' and suggested that Congress doesn't really want to address meaningful reform. Both men oppose amnesty or any other path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and support border-strengthening measures. The candidates' only contrasting stances are on a possible guest-worker program for farmers. Lucas supports such a program; Davis does not."
2006-10-17 03:34PDT (06:34EDT) (10:34GMT)
Jim Kouri _Sierra Times_
Federal Reserve Bank assisting illegal aliens
"the Federal Reserve Bank is working with the Mexican government to make it easier for illegal aliens to export US money to their homeland.
The Fed is currently devising several programs that will extend banking services to illegal aliens, according to The Wall Street Journal. Most of this money transfer scheme is being created under the radar and few, if any, political figures are discussing the subject. One proposal is for a new remittance program with the ultimate goal of bringing illegal Mexican aliens -- who send money home -- into the mainstream the US financial system, regardless of immigration status. In other words, The Federal Reserve Bank is attempting to aid law-breakers in moving their cash around in the US and Mexico. 'Directo a Mexico', the name of the program, enables US commercial banks to make money transfers for Mexican workers through the Federal Reserve's own automated clearinghouse, which is linked to Banco de Mexico, the Mexican central bank. Few Americans are aware of the connection between the Fed and foreign banks and this program would be just another that exists in the shadow world of international banking."
2006-10-17
_Raw Story_
13 forced-labor prisoners killed in Red China mine explosion
"The families of the prisoners who died at Zhongpingtong have still received no compensation after mine managers refused to meet their demand for 200K yuan ($25K) each, the centre said... About 6K coal miners were killed in accidents in [Red China] last year, according to official figures. Out-of-date equipment, illegal mining as well as poor safety systems and supervision are behind many accidents."
2006-10-17
Joel Stonington _Aspen Times_
Judge cut bail for suspected drug king-pin by $650K
Post Independent
"Pitkin County District Court Judge James Boyd slashed the bail Monday for alleged drug ring leader Jose Jesus 'Chuy' Sanchez-Ceja. Sanchez-Ceja was arrested in late September following a 10-month under-cover operation. His bail originally was set at $750K; it was lowered to $100K... Sanchez-Ceja was apprehended after DEA agents, listening through a wire-tap on Sanchez-Ceja's phone, believed he intended to flee. Assistant District Attorney Gail Nichols restated Monday that Sanchez-Ceja faces seven felony drug charges, including 'being the supervisor of the conspiracy'. He faces an 8-year minimum sentence if convicted. Nichols also said Sanchez-Ceja went to Puerto Vallarta during the same month he was arrested, and wiretap evidence shows he was trying to flee the country. 'The evidence is so overwhelming and the penalties are so severe as to keep the bail high.', argued Nichols. Nichols also mentioned that she was not sure Sanchez-Ceja's papers showing he is a legal alien are legitimate. If he was in the country illegally, bail would be a non-issue because Immigrations and Customs Enforcement would have held him on those charges... Sanchez-Ceja was arrested in a series of valleywide drug raids, which led to the arrest of 6 suspected cocaine dealers and the seizure of $14K worth of cocaine and $64K cash. The DEA and the Two Rivers Drug Enforcement Team conducted the raids, which also resulted in the arrests of 36 suspected illegal aliens by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. DEA agents involved in the sting said they would have made additional arrests had there been time for more planning. However, with what agents believed was a significant flight risk in Sanchez-Ceja, they moved ahead."
2006-10-17
Jose Cardenas _St. Petersburg Times_
Grass-roots groups battle illegal immigration
"They aren't alone. Since immigration reform has stalled in Congress, the battle has shifted to city halls and state-houses around the country. Groups such as Americans Standing Tall make up a growing grass-roots movement bent on pushing undocumented immigrants out of their communities. By one count, the number of such groups nationwide has grown in 2 years from under 40 to more than 200. In Florida - one of the states with the most groups - the number has increased from 2 to 12. In a coming together of the statewide movement, Citizens Against Illegal Immigrants is hosting a rally Sunday in Fort Myers... have presented officials with a petition signed by about 1,500 people demanding that local governments prevent businesses from hiring undocumented immigrants, landlords from renting to them and that English be enforced as the official language. Each point, they contend, is backed up by an existing state or federal law that officials refuse to enforce... At first, there were 37 groups nationally that spoke out against illegal immigrants... Two years later, 223 such groups are actively organizing against illegal immigrants in virtually every part of the country... Citizens Against Illegal Immigrants... Silent Majority of Florida... In Ormond Beach, fighting unfair business competition led to the formation of People of the USA, said co-founder Brent Zdun. After working for decades in the construction trades in Florida, Zdun said he and his father, Larry Zdun, 61, found they could no longer compete with contractors who paid cheaper wages to [illegal aliens]... 'We are not against anybody coming to America. It's a melting pot.', said Brent Zdun, 33, adding that his group has gathered 8K dues-paying members in eight months. 'But what we want is for people to come here legally, melt into American society.'... [M said] he would have no problem if today's undocumented immigrants came to the country the way his parents did: legally through Ellis Island... A few years ago, Floridians for Sustainable Population in Pompano Beach and Citizens of Dade United were the lone voices against illegal immigration in Florida, a state with an estimated 800K undocumented immigrants. Now, according to the Center for New Community, there are many more: Americans Standing Tall, Cape Coral. Florida Minutemen, Fort Myers. We Are So P* Off, Pensacola. Minutemen Civil Defense Corps, Orlando. Silent Majority of Florida, Palm Bay. Florida ZPG, Palm City. Report Illegals, Pompano Beach. Floridians for Immigration Enforcement, Hialeah... People of the USA in Ormond Beach and Citizens Against Illegal Aliens in Fort Myers..."
Illegal Aliens US
2006-10-17 05:45PDT (08:45EDT) (12:45GMT)
Rex Nutting _MarketWatch_
PPI fell 1.3% as gasoline prices fell: Core PPI up 0.6%
BLS PPI data page
2006-10-17 06:40PDT (09:40EDT) (13:40GMT)
Rex Nutting _MarketWatch_
US industrial output fell 0.6%, capacity utilization down to 81.9% in September
Federal Reserve Board press release
2006-10-17
Simon Hayes _Austalian IT_
Banker warns of off-shoring back-lash
"Deutsche Bank has 5K staff in its Mumbai and Bangalore back-office centres, and another office in Poland, having shifted work there from Western Europe and the USA, but it retains call centres in the countries that it services [like the rapist is said to 'service' his victim]. Global transaction head Werner Steinmuller has warned banks to limit off-shoring to back-office processing, and keep customer service in-country. While banks were looking for savings -- Deutsche Bank saves 60% to 70% per employee by using India -- customers were looking for local service, for familiarity of culture and even religion, he says... Deutsche Bank out-sourced some of its operations in India, but brought the work back in-house because it was not happy with the quality... German back-office workers employed directly by the bank cost €75K ($125K) a year, on average, while workers in the eastern region cost €35K. Similar work costs €25K in Poland and €20K in India. Deutsche Bank dominates the global transactions industry, transferring €1.3T a day in funds, or 8% of US dollar transactions and 17% of euro transactions."
2006-10-17 09:10PDT (12:10EDT) (16:10GMT)
Rex Nutting _MarketWatch_
Flow of capital into USA reached $116.8G in August
"Foreign net purchases rose from $54.5G to $119.5G, while U.S. residents' purchases of foreign assets fell from $21.7G to $2.7G."
US Treasury press release
2006-10-17 11:46PDT (14:46EDT) (18:46GMT)
Rex Nutting _MarketWatch_
NAHB report
2006-10-17
David Phinney _Corp Watch_
A US Fortress Rises in Baghdad, Construction Workers Abused
"Not one of the 5 different US embassy sites he had worked on around the world compared to the mess he describes. Armenia, Bulgaria, Angola, Cameroon and Cambodia all had their share of dictators, violence and economic disruption, but the companies building the embassies were always fair and professional, he says. The Kuwait-based company building the $592M Baghdad project is the exception. Brutal and inhumane, he says... In the resignation letter last June, Owen told First Kuwaiti and US State Department officials that his managers beat their construction workers, demonstrated little regard for worker safety, and routinely breached security. And it was all happening smack in the middle of the US-controlled Green Zone -- right under the nose of the State Department that had quietly awarded the controversial embassy contract in 2005 July. He also complained of poor sanitation, squalid living conditions and medical malpractice in the labor camps where several thousand low-paid migrant workers lived. Those workers, recruited on the global labor market from the Philippines, India, Pakistan and other poor south Asian countries, earned as little as $10 to $30 a day."
2006-10-17 (5767 Tishrei 25)
Thomas Sowell _Jewish World Review_
Can we talk?
2006-10-17
Edwin S. Rubenstein _V Dare_
Illegal Immigration Partially to Blame for Critical Condition of US Emergency Rooms
"The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), enacted in 1986, requires every emergency room in the country to treat the uninsured for free. Naturally, this includes immigrants and illegal aliens... 'Not only did this unfunded mandate contribute to the closure of numerous emergency departments and trauma centers, it also created a perverse incentive for hospitals to tolerate emergency department crowding and divert ambulances while continuing to accept elective admissions. Rather than improving access to emergency care, EMTALA diminished it.' [Crisis in the Emergency Department by Arthur L. Kellermann _New England Journal Medicine_ 2006 September 28]"
2006-10-18 (5767 Tishrei 26) - 20 Days Until Congressional Election
2006-10-18 05:14PDT (08:14EDT) (12:14GMT)
Lou Dobbs _CNN_
Fighting back in the war on the middle class
2006-10-18 (5767 Tishrei 26)
Daniel Pipes _Jewish World Review_
Op-Eds now more central in war than bullets
"Soldiers, sailors, and airmen once determined the outcome of warfare, but no longer. Today, television producers, columnists, preachers, and politicians have the pivotal role in deciding how well the West fights... First, battling all-out for victory against conventional enemy forces has nearly disappeared, replaced by the more indirect challenge of guerrilla operations, insurgencies, intifadas, and terrorism... what the U.S. military calls 'bean counting' -- counting soldiers and weapons -- is now nearly immaterial, as are diagnoses of the economy or control of territory. Lopsided wars resemble police operations more than combat in earlier eras. As in crime-fighting, the side enjoying a vast superiority in power operates under a dense array of constraints, while the weaker party freely breaks any law and taboo in its ruthless pursuit of power. Second, the solidarity and consensus of old have unraveled."
2006-10-18 07:08PDT (10:08EDT) (14:08GMT)
Rex Nutting _MarketWatch_
Housing starts rose 5.9% in September to 1.772M, building permits down to 1.62M
census bureau press release
2006-10-18 13:28PDT (16:28EDT) (20:28GMT)
Tim Korte _AP_/_Yahoo!_
AOL to lay off 1,300 in NM and AZ
"also plans to sell its call center in Ogden, UT. The cuts include 900 lay-offs at the Albuquerque call center and 400 jobs at the center in Tucson, AZ, AOL spokesman Nicholas Graham said. The Arizona and New Mexico call centers each have operated for 10 years."
2006-10-18 14:41PDT (17:41EDT) (21:41GMT)
Stephanie I. Cohen _MarketWatch_
Tech firms dominate list of commuter-friendly businesses
"The report, sponsored by the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency, highlights companies that offer employees free or subsidized transit passes, subsidies for car-pooling or using a van pool [i.e. making themselves terrorist targets], the option to telecommute and a compressed work week. This year 133 companies made the list, up from 91 a year ago."
2006-10-18 15:09PDT (18:09EDT) (22:09GMT)
Rex Crum _MarketWatch_
Apple profit up 27% to $546M on both iPod & Macintosh sales
"Apple said it sold 1.61M Macs during the quarter, up 30% from last year, and a company record for a 3-month business period."
2006-10-18 (5767 Tishrei 26)
Walter E. Williams _Jewish World Review_
Foreign trade angst
Town Hall
"When I purchase $100 worth of groceries, my goods account (groceries) rises by $100, but my capital account (money) falls by $100. That means there's really a balance in my trade account. By the same token, my grocer's goods account (groceries) falls by $100 but his capital account (money) rises by $100, also a balance in his trade account... We sport a huge surplus in our capital account with foreigners. As such, they are dependent on us for a safe and profitable place to invest their earnings. That dependency contributes to our economic growth... Farm employment peaked between 1840 and 1870. In 1900, 40% of American workers were employed in farming; today, it's less than 2%. Technological advances made that possible. U.S. manufacturing employment reached its peak in 1950 and has been in decline ever since. This has more to do with technological innovation than out-sourcing. It's a worldwide phenomenon. Since 2000, [Red China] has lost 4.5M manufacturing jobs compared to the loss of 3.1M in the U.S.A. 9 of the top 10 manufacturing countries, who produce 75% of the world's manufacturing output (the U.S.A., Japan, Germany, [Red China], Britain, France, Italy, Korea, Canada, and Mexico), have lost manufacturing jobs, Italy being the exception. Because of technological progress, manufacturing output has risen while manufacturing employment has fallen... In effect, they're saying that if other governments rip off their citizens with business subsidies and import duties, forcing them to pay higher prices, our government should retaliate by using the same tools to rip off its citizens."
2006-10-18
| DJIA | 11,992.68 |
| S&P 500 | 1,365.96 |
| NASDAQ | 2,337.15 |
| 10-year US T-Bond | 4.76% |
| crude oil | 57.65 |
| gold | 592.60 |
| silver | 11.82 |
| platinum | 1,093.10 |
| palladium | 332.50 |
| copper | 0.2185 |
| natgas | $6.807/MBTU |
| unleadedgasoline | $1.4703/gal |
| heatingoil | $1.6959/gal |
I usually get this info from MarketWatch, which gets them from BigCharts.
2006-10-19 - 19 Days Until Congressional Election
2006-10-19 05:30PDT (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 270,944 in the week ending Oct. 14, a decrease of 36,682 from the previous week. There were 303,158 initial claims in the comparable week in 2005. The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.6% during the week ending Oct. 7, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,035,643, a decrease of 3,893 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 1.8% and the volume was 2,343,807. Extended benefits were not available in any state during the week ending Sept. 30."
2006-10-19
Charles Peck _Conference Board_
CEO and Directors' Pay Both Up Again
"In manufacturing, median total compensation for outside directors is now $109K, up from $91,250 in 2005. The service sector is $106,250 this year, up from $81,875 last year. Financial services increased from $64,500 in 2005 to $83K. Total compensation includes fees, retainers, committee pay, and all forms of stock compensation... Median total CEO compensation (salary, bonus and long-term pay) was highest in the construction industry at $2.604M. It was lowest in computer services at $848K. Total current compensation (salary plus bonus) was again highest in construction at $1,936K and lowest in computer services at $805K. The highest median salary, $700K, was in communications; lowest was computer services, which paid $441K."
2006-10-19
_Conference Board_
Leading Economic Indicators up 0.1% to 137.7
2006-10-19
Nick O'Malley _Sydney Morning Herald_
Bank staff refuse to train Indian replacements
"QANTAS has defended its decision to sack about 350 Sydney workers and move their jobs off-shore, while 60 St George Bank workers in Kogarah yesterday refused to continue training their Indian replacements... He said that Qantas had 37K staff, an increase of 17% in 6 years. Not all share-holders liked what he was saying. Jack Tilburn, a regular at Sydney annual meetings, said the decision was 'rotten, horrible and lousy... It is not on. I don't want the blood on my dividend cheque.'... One [St. George Bank] staff member, Cathy Samartzis, said it was like being asked to dig your own grave... The staff, who were warned last month that they would lose their jobs early next year, were told on Tuesday that they would assist with training the new staff through a buddy system. Their Indian replacements first appeared in the office on Wednesday. 'We have nothing against them, our problem is with the bank.', Ms. Samartzis said. She said management had not told the staff how much longer they had jobs and had not offered to help staff find work elsewhere."
2006-10-19
John Derbyshire _V Dare_
The War Against White Trash
2006-10-19
Robert Stacy McCain _Front Page_
How Not to Campaign on Immigration and National Security
"The insistence on linking enforcement to some sort of status-adjustment for illegals -- which has been the GOP elite line for more than 2 years now -- blows oxygen onto the embers of grassroots conservative resistance. The problem with Tamar Jacoby's argument in Foreign Affairs is that it fails to acknowledge how 20 years of non-enforcement of immigration law have eroded public trust in the federal government's bona fides on this issue. Simply put, many Americans don't believe that either party in Washington really wants to secure the border."
2006-10-19
Jean Schmidt _Cincinnati Enquirer Community Press_
Securing America's borders is an on-going initiative
"Illegal immigration is one of the biggest problems facing our nation today... the challenge is agreeing on how to stop the flow of illegal immigrants... However, the foundation of our nation is the rule of the law and those who enter our country illegally violate the law. Today, there are an estimated [8M to 20M] illegal [aliens] living in the United States. I find this number astonishing. What makes this number even more startling is the fact that a recent study found that nearly 10 million illegal aliens have arrived since 1990. That is why immigration reform and securing our borders is one of our most pressing priorities in Congress... In 1996, Congress mandated the construction of a 14-mile fence along the San Diego-Mexico border to stem drug trafficking and the flow of illegal immigrants. In that region, illegal alien apprehensions have dropped from about 200K in 1992 to about 9K in 2005. Further, crime rates have dropped by 47% since construction of the fence."
2006-10-19 10:54PDT (13:54EDT) (17:54GMT)
Bill Gray _Conservative Voice_
E. coli, TB, Leprosy making come-back
"It has become virtually impossible to comfortably eat in a restaurant or fast food--because of the lack of hygiene of the minimum wage "third world" workers in the back... As I was standing by the urinal, a young "third world" man came out of the toilet cubicle--and walked right out the door--not bothering to even wet his hands, much less wash them. Immediately, I followed to see where he went. Guess what? He walked right into the kitchen and went back to work. After washing MY hands, I went to our table and told Dory, 'Let's go. They can eat the dinners themselves.'... in the last few years there have been 16K cases of tuberculosis and 7K cases of Leprosy in the U.S.A. -- when those diseases had been virtually wiped out in America. Now, with the influx of illegal aliens; these diseases -- and E. coli are back big time."
2006-10-19
Barbara Ehrenreich & Tamara Draut _Nation_
Down-Sized but Not Out
"wasted knowledge piles up all around us, along with the blighted lives of people who made 'all the right choices', got their degrees and have either lost or never found their footing... It's a largely hidden problem, this quiet erosion of the middle class. While the chronically poor have been highlighted by the living-wage movement, downwardly mobile members of the middle class get short shrift, even from people of conscience. True, the college educated are a relative elite, constituting 28% of the population and earning, on average, a life-time total of $1M more than those who lack a degree. But the middle class has been roiled in recent years by what the economists call 'income volatility', or sudden changes in fortune, usually caused by lay-offs. The discarded shrink off in shame -- after all, they must have done something wrong -- and vanish from the unemployment statistics by going to Circuit City or Starbucks and taking whatever job they can get. To acknowledge their existence would be to admit that the 'knowledge economy' is a delusion and to raise a rude finger in the face of the American dream. For many, the trouble begins at commencement. Two-thirds of college graduates have borrowed heavily to pay for school, putting them nearly $20K in the red, on average. At current interest rates of 6.8% for federal student loans, that amounts to a $219 monthly payment for the next ten years. And those trying to buy more security with an advanced degree accumulate a combined student loan debt averaging a crippling $45,900. Once established in a professional-level job, many college graduates are finding their salaries inadequate to the rising costs of health-care, housing and energy, especially as benefits shrink: 21% of college graduates now have no health insurance, up from 17% 5 years ago. And in a corporate culture bent on cost cutting, few are ever really 'established'. Lay-offs -- a.k.a. down-sizings, right-sizings, smart-sizings and riffings -- can strike at any time, as 14K white-collar Ford workers just discovered. Those who 'land' again earn on average 17% less than they would have made had they not been laid off. Then once you hit 50, you're officially over the hill and unlikely to find re-employment at a middle-class level. As one middle-aged white-collar worker reported, 'You know what they call a 50-year-old person in a large corporation? Fat!'... This is the new world of the middle class -- haunted by debt, stalked by layoffs, pinched by vanishing pensions and health benefits, and forced into ever more contingent forms of work as 'real' jobs give way to benefit-free contract work. Far from being on an elite perch in the 'knowledge economy', the middle class hovers just inches above the working poor. Since the average household today has negative savings, meaning positive debt, a sudden job loss for whatever reason can dislodge a family overnight. The downward spiral is accelerated by companies' strange aversion to hiring the unemployed, who have unsightly 'gaps' in their resumes. The jobless find themselves stigmatized by their condition, although they did nothing to incur it, as illustrated by the management consultant who advises corporate recruiters to avoid job fairs: 'Who goes to job fairs? People without jobs! All you get are worthless resumes and lots of germs.'"
2006-10-19
Chantelle Janelle _WIS_
Escondido, CA, approves ordinance forbidding landlords from renting to illegal aliens
"Similar laws are on the books in cities in New York and Pennsylvania. Hispanics make up more than 40% of the population in Escondido, which is near San Diego."
2006-10-19
| DJIA | 12,011.73 |
| S&P 500 | 1,366.96 |
| NASDAQ | 2,340.94 |
| 10-year US T-Bond | 4.79% |
| crude oil | 58.50 |
| gold | 602.50 |
| silver | 12.16 |
| platinum | 1,094.80 |
| palladium | 337.40 |
| copper | 0.21912 |
| natgas | $7.135/MBTU |
| unleadedgasoline | $1.4894/gal |
| heatingoil | $1.7201/gal |
I usually get this info from MarketWatch, which gets them from BigCharts.
2006-10-20 - 18 Days Until Congressional Election
2006-10-20 03:29PDT (06:29EDT) (10:29GMT)
Simon Kennedy _MarketWatch_
Corus Group agrees to being taken over by Tata Steel for $8G
"Anglo-Dutch steel-maker Corus Group on Friday accepted a 4.3G pound ($8G) takeover bid from India's Tata Steel, foreshadowing the creation of the world's fifth-largest steel producer, though investors held out hopes for a better offer... The deal marks the latest step in what's been a consolidation trend among steel-makers. This has included the $32.4G take-over of Arcelor by Mittal Steel. In a conference call with analysts, Philippe Varin, chief executive of Corus, said the Tata deal's value compared favorably with the Mittal's take-over of Areclor. Varin declined to comment on speculation that another bid might arise. Also on Friday, South Korea's Posco Co. and Japan's Nippon Steel Corp. agreed to closer ties by increasing their holdings in each other through a share-swap. Under the deal, Nippon Steel will receive a further 2% stake in Posco, taking its total holdings to 5.32%, while Posco will get a further 1.64% of Nippon."
2006-10-20
_Electronic Design_
Understand the World of the Electronic Engineer
"Demand for electronic engineers has picked up markedly, with only 8% of you now saying your companies are planning to scale back engineering staff, versus 42% who say your companies are looking to increase the number of engineering jobs... The engineering workforce in the U.S. certainly looks very different than it did 20 years ago. Our survey shows that one-third of our readers are immigrants and that 26% aren't U.S. citizens, with 11% having H-1B visa status... As to why companies hire H-1B visa workers, about one-third of both H-1B visa holders and U.S.-based engineers believe the hiring is to save money, while an equal percentage believes companies couldn't have otherwise found qualified workers in the U.S.A. About 23% of H-1B visa holders and 18% of U.S.-born workers say companies hire H-1B workers because they're 'more qualified' than other engineers applying for the job. Still, 91% of non-H-1B survey respondents say their jobs aren't threatened by H-1B visa holders, though 3.6% believe they lost a job to someone with that status. Concerned about the future, 57% of resident workers say the government should more tightly restrict the number of H-1B slots for engineering positions."
2006-10-20
Joe Guzzardi _V Dare_
Endorsements reflect lack of better challengers
"First, 97.9% of incumbents have been re-elected since 1996, a huge advantage for Republicans. Second, in 2006 fewer open seats—the most likely to change hands—are up for grabs. Of the 21 total, Bush carried 18 of them in 2004 with an average of 61%... Whether 2006 will be the year that the voters are finally angry enough to throw out the incumbents remains to be seen."
2006-10-20
| DJIA | 12,092.37 |
| S&P 500 | 1,368.60 |
| NASDAQ | 2,342.30 |
| 10-year US T-Bond | 4.78% |
| crude oil | 59.33 |
| gold | 596.40 |
| silver | 11.965 |
| platinum | 1,082.10 |
| palladium | 330.50 |
| copper | 0.216375 |
| natgas | $5.659/MBTU |
| unleadedgasoline | $1.4672/gal |
| heatingoil | $1.68/gal |
I usually get this info from MarketWatch, which gets them from BigCharts.
| |
"The IRS has multiplied its use of force against American citizens in the last 15 years. Since 1980, the number of 'levies' -- IRS seizures of bank accounts and pay checks -- has increased 4-fold, reaching 2.253M in 1992." --- James Bovard 1994 _Lost Rights_ (Johnelle Hunter 1993-09-27)
| |
2006-10-21 - 17 Days Until Congressional Election
2006-10-22 - 16 Days Until Congressional Election
2006-10-22
Jay McSherry _Electronic Design_
EEs at Work
The average electronic engineer is a male college graduate, 47 years old, earns $96,319 per year after 21 years of experience, works 54 hours per week, has been at the current firm for 10 years, has received 2 promotions, and has worked for 3-4 companies throughout his career."
2006-10-22
Brian Lawson _Huntsville Times_
representative Aberholt still awaiting relief promised on socks
"In 2005 July, with the fate of a Central American free trade bill hanging in the balance, Bush administration officials pledged to help protect domestic sock makers and persuaded U.S. representative Robert Aderholt to change his mind and support the bill... The DR-CAFTA trade agreement passed 217-215, but Aderholt is still waiting for tariff protections related to Central America sock imports. Last week, Aderholt wrote current U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, noting the Bush administration's promises to him on socks have not come to fruition. He expressed concern about potential 'devastating job losses' in his district and asked that the issue be resolved with Dominican Republic officials next week during a White House visit... Lee said the other reality workers face is that when companies have the option of moving off-shore, it makes negotiations for increased wages and benefits difficult as the companies make it clear they have other options."
2006-10-22
Chip McLean _Renew America_
Illegal aliens: USDA approved
2006-10-22
Dave Lieber _Dallas Fort Worth Star-Telegram_
Competition in electricity may confuse some
"'Every possible combination and permutation is out there.', said Carol Biedrzycki, executive director of Texas Ratepayers' Organization to Save Energy -- or Texas Rose. She advises customers not to lock in on current rates because they are so high. Many North Texas customers pay in the vicinity of 13 cents a kilowatt hour -- with some plans as high as 16 cents or more. Customers elsewhere in the nation pay around 10 cents a kilowatt hour, experts say... Because of the variety of plans, customers should decide whether they want to be electricity gamblers and go with a plan like TXU's Energy Market Tracker+ -- which offers customers a variable electricity price that adjusts monthly based on the price of natural gas. Or maybe customers want to know that they will pay the same rate for the next 5 years -- found in TXU's Energy SureValue plan... approximately 70% of North Texas households remain with TXU. 'Ideally, we would have 8 or 10 or more electric companies that had equal market share, and each were competing hard to drive prices down.', Morstad says... The current system was devised by the state Legislature, starting in 1999. State representative Phil King, R-Weatherford, chairman of the House Committee on Regulated Industries, told a recent gathering of the Gulf Coast Power Association conference that constituents frequently ask him what he plans to do about high electric bills."
2006-10-22
Tim Carpenter _Topeka Capital-Journal_
Government officials aren't even trying to stem flood of illegal aliens
"When the vehicle came to rest on its top 500 feet down the highway, 3 men lay motionless. Tossed like rag dolls to their deaths were brothers Pedro and Fernando Montalvo-Ramirez and Juan Manuel Perez-Rosales. The 16 survivors, ranging in age from 3 to 60, also were ejected from the vehicle. Each was driven or flown to hospitals for treatment. Once healed, all but one was deported. The exception was Pilar. He went to jail... Interviews with city, county, state and federal officials indicate that a policy of reaction, rather than proaction, guides this Heartland state's approach to impeding the flow of illegal aliens. Major highways that slash through Kansas -- Interstates 70 and 35 -- along with lesser-known state roads are important routes for human traffickers. Law enforcement officers say untold thousands of illegal immigrants are smuggled into or through Kansas each year along these routes. Some aliens stay, adding to the state's total of illegal residents. Most, however, are headed for jobs and family elsewhere. There are occasional law enforcement roadside checkpoints along these Kansas corridors, but there are too few officers, too few jail cells and too few dollars to justify aggressive programs to root out people in the state illegally. In areas of Kansas where undocumented labor is the back-bone of the [under-ground] economy, local authorities operate under what amounts to a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy toward their guest labor pool. When an undocumented immigrant runs afoul of state or local police in Kansas, there is no guarantee U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, will take custody of the offender for deportation. In 2005, Kansas law enforcement officers made 2,429 inquiries about possible immigration violations to the ICE support center in Vermont. In 97 cases, ICE agents told local authorities to put a hold on a person for deportation... The federal prosecutor's docket is swamped this year with about 200 criminal cases involving illegal immigrants -- 5 times the case-load of 5 years ago... Look no further than the S.E. Carnahan Street exit off Interstate 70 in Topeka. The Kansas Highway Patrol and the Topeka Police Department conducted a license check lane from 8 p.m. Sept. 22 to 1 a.m. the next morning [5 hours] in the eastbound lane. Any drivers without a valid license were handed over to ICE agents. That led to the arrest of 49 people determined to be in the United States illegally. The 41 men and 8 women were from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. 36 of the 44 from Mexico were declared non-criminals, which meant they accepted voluntary return the next day to their homeland. The other immigrants were placed in ICE custody for formal deportation proceedings. Three of the aliens had been previously deported, making them subject to felony prosecution and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison... An average of 10 were taken into custody each hour. Extrapolate that over one year, and it could be argued that as many as 80K could be smuggled annually past that point in Topeka... U.S. District Judge Monti Belot last month sentenced the 22-year-old Pilar to 4 years and 9 months in prison."
2006-10-22
Steve Sailer _V Dare_
Average IQ by State
"NAEP scores for 4th and 8th graders are just from public school students. But in states with large black or Hispanic populations, there is substantial white flight from the public schools, lowering NAEP scores. For example, 13.7% of South Carolina's white students and 10.6% of California's are not in public schools. McDaniel adjusts for this, raising slightly the IQ estimates of states with heavy white flight. (State IQ was defined as 'the average of mean reading and mean math scores'.)... A massively representative national IQ test last happened in 1960, when Sputnik scared the federal government into giving an IQ test to 366K high school students as part of Project Talent. Four decades later, McDaniel's NAEP-based IQ estimate still correlated at the high 0.63 level with Project Talent's old results. In a mid-1980s study of Vietnam veterans, 4,321 took an IQ test, with results tabulated by their state of birth. The findings correlate 0.59 with McDaniel's... The Social Quotient web site estimated IQs from SAT and ACT college entrance exams scores. The results have a correlation coefficient of 0.71 with McDaniel's numbers. Finally, for whatever it's worth, the free Internet-based Tickle IQ test has published its averages by state. Tickle correlates 0.53 with McDaniel's numbers... even the largest difference between states' mean IQ—the 10.2 points between Massachusetts and Mississippi—is actually not at all enormous. And that's especially true compared to the differences among countries. There, gaps of 30 points or more are not uncommon (e.g. Austria vs. Congo-Zaire )... McDaniel notes: 'States with higher estimated state IQ have greater gross state product [per capita], citizens with better health, more effective state governments, and less violent crime.'... First, the NAEP isn't an IQ test; it's a school achievement test... The unpalatable truth: while we know how we could do a better job of keeping out low IQ foreigners, we really don't have a clue how to turn their children into high, or even medium, IQ adults on average... A second limitation in estimating IQ our way: the NAEP is given in English, so very recent immigrants score lower... California was 49th in 2003 on 8th grade reading, while finishing 'merely' 44th in mathematics , the universal language. But sadly, the low achievement levels of Hispanics don't vanish even when subsequent generations learn English. In 1992, the last time the NAEP asked test-takers about country of birth, American-born Latinos scored 0.72 standard deviations worse than non-Hispanic whites. That's two-thirds as bad as the notoriously debilitating white-black gap. Third, the most important limitation on our NAEP method: it provides IQ estimates for children, not adults... Republicans thrive where cheap housing prices and high wages relative to the cost of living provide 'affordable family formation'."
Michael A. McDaniel _Estimating State IQ_ (pdf)
VietNam veterans and Project TALENT average IQ scores by state
NAEP-based average IQ scores by state
2006-10-23 - 15 Days Until Congressional Election
2006-10-22 18:54PDT (2006-10-22 21:54EDT) (2006-10-23 01:54GMT)
Erin Texeira _AP_/_Yahoo!_
Indian community burgeoning in USA with influx driven by H-1B and L-1 guest-worker visa programs
"Roughly every third person who lives Edison, a New York suburb, is of Asian Indian ancestry. Many are new immigrants who have come to work as physicians, engineers and high-tech experts and are drawn to 'Little India' by convenience -- it's near the commuter train -- and familiarity... Although a steady stream of Indians have settled in the U.S. since the 1960s, immigrants positively poured into the country between 2000 and 2005 -- arriving at a higher rate than any other group. Not only is the Indian community burgeoning, it's maturing. Increasingly, after decades of quietly establishing themselves, Indians are becoming more vocal in the American conversation -- about politics, ethnicity and many other topics... Roughly 2.3M people of Indian ancestry, including immigrants and the American-born, now call the U.S. home, according to 2005 Census data. That's up from 1.7M in 2000. They have big communities in New Jersey, New York, California and Texas, and their average yearly household income is more than $60K -- 35% higher than the nation overall. Indian Americans, along with Indian expatriates worldwide, sent about $23G back to India in 2005, World Bank data show... The community recently saw three Sikhs elected to low-level offices around the city. 'It's a good first step.', Singh said... Indians also are working outside politics to influence broader society. They are overrepresented among college professors, engineers and technology workers. Between 10% and 12% of all medical school students are Indians, according to the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, the biggest physicians' group in the nation after the American Medical Association. Half of all motel rooms in the nation are owned by Indians, according to the Asian American Hotel Owners Association... Layered atop the dizzying diversity of India itself -- there are dozens of languages, and distinct regional differences in culture, politics and cuisine -- are growing class differences among Indian-Americans. About one-tenth live in poverty, and as many as 400K are [illegal aliens], said Deepa Iyer, executive director of South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow in Takoma Park, MD."
2006-10-23
Frosty Wooldridge _American Daily_
Wake Up And Recognize the Invasion
2006-10-23
Ilana Mercer _Free-Market News Network_
Libertarians differ on immigration
2006-10-23
Brian Kuebler _WREG_
4 illegal alien brothels busted in Memphis
abc WFTV
"According to federal indictments the customers would use poker chips or beads to show proof of purchase. A system that came crashing down as part of operation 'Latina Libre' earlier this month... 10 people where indicted Monday afternoon for money laundering, harboring illegal aliens and enticing women to engage in prostitution. It's an investigation that goes back to 2004 May but sources tell News Channel 3 it could stretch well beyond Memphis. That with some of these illegal women being shipped in from other countries... Memphis could be just a spoke in a bigger wheel... The indictment charges Raul Santillan-Leon, Raymundo Flores, Fernando Reyes-Santillan, Ramiro Sanchez-Garcia, Diego Cortes-Barrientos, Rafael Cortes-Barrientos, Martin Moreno, Eliseo Cortes-Barrientos, Rodolfo Cortes-Barrientos, and Cristobal Flores Angeles with Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering, in violation of Title 18 USC Section 1956, Harboring Illegal Aliens, in violation of Title 8 USC Section 1324, and Failing to File a Factual Statement About an Illegal Alien, in violation of Title 18 USC Section 2424. Raul Santillan-Leon, Raymundo Flores, Fernando Reyes-Santillan, Ramiro Sanchez-Garcia, Rodolfo Cortes-Barrientos, and Cristobal Flores Angeles are additionally charged in the indictment with Enticing an Individual to Travel in Interstate Commerce to Engage in Prostitution, in violation of Title 18 USC Section 2422. According to the indictment, the defendants were operating brothels located in various areas of Memphis, Tennessee which housed women, mostly illegal aliens, which had traveled from New York, Illinois, Georgia, and as far away as Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Colombia in order to work as prostitutes here in Memphis."
2006-10-23 13:45PDT (16:45EDT) (20:45GMT)
Jasmina Kelemen _MarketWatch_
Jeffrey Skilling has been sentenced to 24 years and 4 months in prison plus forfeiture of $45M: Appeal is already in the works
"All told, Skilling sold about $62M worth of company stock over the year leading up to Enron's headlong plunge into Chapter 11 on 2001-12-02 -- at the time the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history. [Kenneth Lay] was convicted on 10 counts of conspiracy and fraud, but those charges were vacated and the indictment against him dropped after he died of a heart attack in July, just more than a month after he was convicted by the same jury that convicted his protege."
2006-10-23
Peter Jackson _AP_/_Northeastern Pennsylvania News_
Hazleton mayor says law aimed at illegals, not every immigrant
Philadelphia Suburban News
"The illegal immigrants Hazleton has targeted in a new ordinance are Hispanics, but Mayor Lou Barletta said Monday that people with his own Italian ancestry would get the same unfriendly reception if they violated U.S. immigration laws in moving to the tiny northeastern Pennsylvania city."
2006-10-23
_WRIC_/_AP_
One escapee surrendered, hunt continues for 5 others
WOI
"One of them surrendered last night in Brownsville, after more than a month on the run. That suspect is 1 of 5 illegal aliens from Mexico who escaped, along with a former police officer. All were being held on drug-related charges."
2006-10-23
Andrea Milam _St. John TradeWinds_
Increase in apprehensions of illegal aliens is good news
"The number of illegal aliens arrested in the U.S. Virgin Islands has continually increased since 2003, and although this may seem to point to an increase in the number of illegal immigrants landing in the islands, it’s actually a testament to improved apprehension rates, thanks to the 2003 establishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to federal officials. Apprehensions of illegal aliens increased by nearly 60% from fiscal year 2005 (2004 October-2005 September) to fiscal year 2006 (2005 October-2006 September)... 304 illegal immigrants were arrested in FY2005, while 523 illegals were arrested in FY2006."
2006-10-23
Donald A. Collins _V Dare_
Oxford Analytica - another voice for clobbering the US citizen
"The supporters of true, patriotic immigration reform, namely 80% of all Americans, now know something which poor Ralph didn't: a fast ball is coming on the issue that is ruining their country."
2006-10-23
| DJIA | 12,116.91 |
| S&P 500 | 1,377.02 |
| NASDAQ | 2,355.56 |
| 10-year US T-Bond | 4.83% |
| crude oil | 58.81 |
| gold | 582.90 |
| silver | 11.67 |
| platinum | 1,074.40 |
| palladium | 321.35 |
| copper | 0.2156875 |
| natgas | $6.881/MBTU |
| unleadedgasoline | $1.4715/gal |
| heatingoil | $1.669/gal |
I usually get this info from MarketWatch, which gets them from BigCharts.
2006-10-24 - 14 Days Until Congressional Election
2006-10-23 17:56PDT (2006-10-23 20:56EDT) (2006-10-24 00:56GMT)
Nicholas Riccardi _Houston Chronicle_
A severely inadequate number of trainees set their sites on the border
"By day's end, the 50 new trainees of Class 620 had settled in at the U.S. Border Patrol Academy, where over the next 5 months they would be chiseled into America's first line of defense on the country's southern border... That has placed intense pressure on the Border Patrol Academy, which graduated 1,122 trainees last year but will enroll 3,600 this year... part police academy, part law school, part language institute. They learn to shoot, drive off-road and speak Spanish. Of all trainees, 17% do not complete the training... The job's benefits and pay are good -- after 4 years, agents can make about $65K with over-time. There's a pension after 20 years."
2006-10-24
Mike Cutler _Family Security Matters_
Foreign Nationals Watch USA Closely to Figure out How to Scam the System
"As you may know, the issue of marriage fraud is one of great concern to me, having served as an adjudications officer who conducted interviews to determine if aliens should be granted resident alien status as a result of being married to United States citizens or resident aliens. I was assigned to this position temporarily for approximately one year in the mid 1970s, just before I became a special agent of the former INS. Additionally, I spent several years, as a special agent, assigned to the Frauds Unit of the Investigations Branch of the New York office of the former INS where among the areas of concern that I became involved with was the issue of marriage fraud and the organizations that facilitated fraud marriages and other fraud schemes employed by aliens who wanted to circumvent the immigration laws. A critical area of vulnerability to the immigration system and, consequently national security is immigration benefit fraud... When an alien naturalizes and embraces the United States and participates in the American Dream, both the naturalized citizen and our nation benefits. When, however, an alien acquires immigration benefits through fraud and deception, the security of the system is breached and it leaves the door open to criminals and terrorists gaming the system to embed themselves in our country and potentially becoming a 'sleeper agent' who awaits instructions to participate in an attack against our nation."
2006-10-24
Larry Huss _Oregon Catalyst_
Impact of illegal aliens
2006-10-24
M. Haskell _College Board_
Tuition Increases Continue to Slow at Public Colleges According to the College Board's 2006 Reports on College Pricing and Financial Aid
"Tuition and fees represent only a fraction of the total cost of attending college. When living costs and other education-related expenses are considered, tuition and fees constitute 67% of the total budget for full-time students enrolled in 4-year private colleges and universities, 36% of the budget for in-state residential students at public 4-year institutions, and only 18% of the budget for two-year public college students commuting from off-campus housing."
2006-10-24
_Civil Engineering Connection_
Study questions Senate immigration change proposals
"Legislation pending before Congress 'would admit foreign computing and engineering (C&E) workers in numbers much greater than historical trends or casual assumptions about future employment levels', according to a recent study from Georgetown's Institute for the Study of International Migration, commissioned by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-USA (IEEE-USA). The study, Projected Numbers of Foreign Computer and Engineering Workers Under the Senate's Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act (S2611) (pdf), concluded that the estimated number of new, high-tech visas available under S.2611 over the next 10 years could be as many as 1.88M. The Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS] estimates the number of new C&E workers needed by the U.S. economy over the decade is 1.25M. Thus, the study concludes, Congress was considering authorizing enough high-skill visas to fill every C&E job created in the United States over the next decade and still have 630K visas left over."
2006-10-24
Edwin S. Rubenstein _V Dare_
Furchtgott-Roth vs. Malanga on the economics of immigration
"1% may indeed be a 'tiny fraction' of the total U.S. labor force. But it represents more than half annual labor force growth. Just compare the growth rates of foreign versus native-born persons in the U.S. labor force from 2000 to 2005: U.S.-born: +4.12M (+3.3%); Foreign-born: +4.337M (+24.3%); Total: 8.457M (+6.0%). Between 2000 and 2005 immigrants accounted for 51% of U.S. labor force growth -- and an even larger share (82%) of employment growth... Ms. Furchtgott-Roth notes, correctly, that unemployment among adult High School drop-outs in the labor force was a relatively benign 7.6% last year. But she ignores that fact that only 45% of them were actually in the labor force. The rest were too discouraged to even look for work... employment-to-population ratios for High School drop-outs in 2005: All drop-outs: 42% employed; Native drop-outs: 34.5% employed; Foreign-born drop-outs: 57.7% employed. By this measure, 58% of all drop-outs -- and a whopping 65% of native drop-outs -- were unemployed last year... An analysis of state and local governments in Florida finds that immigrant households are 50% more likely to receive Medicaid than native households, have more than twice as many high cost elderly in the program, and account for a disproportionate share of K-12 enrollment. [David Denslow, Tough Choices: Shaping Florida's Future (pdf) University of Florida, 2005 October. Pages 373-387.]... the average immigrant household pays $426 less tax and receives $1,385 more state and local government services than the average native household [for a net loss of about $1,811]."
2006-10-24
Butler D. Shaffer _Lew Rockwell_
The Voting Ritual
2006-10-25 - 13 Days Until Congressional Election
2006-10-25 07:14PDT (10:14EDT) (14:14GMT)
Rex Nutting _MarketWatch_
Existing home sales fell 1.9% to 6.18M in September: Sales are down 14.2% in the last year
National Association of Realtors
2006-10-25
Lara Jakes Jordan, Seth Borenstein & Sue Major Holmes _AP_/_Yahoo!_
Drug raid yields classified documents from Los Alamos National Lab
"Authorities in northern New Mexico have stumbled onto what appears to be classified information from Los Alamos National Laboratory while arresting a man suspected of domestic violence and dealing methamphetamine from his mobile home... Police alerted the FBI to the secret documents, which agents traced back to a woman linked to the drug dealer, officials said. The woman is a contract employee at Los Alamos National Laboratory, according to an FBI official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the case. The official would not describe the documents except to say that they appeared to contain classified material and were stored on a computer file... The federal charge of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of a year in prison and up to a $100K fine."
2006-10-25
Sheldon Richman _Future of Freedom Foundation_
Let's correct the political corruption
"we should abolish the congressional page program immediately... the congressional page program encourages high schoolers to worship and lust for power... nearly all congressmen teach pages that raw government power is a good thing. In a society that thinks of itself as free, this is intolerable... these high schoolers risk being corrupted because they are encouraged to think that wielding power is 'cool'. But power -- forcibly taking money from people (taxes), spending it in ways they would never approve, and regulating their lives -- is not cool. It violates individual freedom. The more power the government has, the less freedom the people have. But the pages are misled into believing otherwise. This indoctrination must stop or they will be scarred for life... Do we really want our young people admiring politicians? If they are going to have a role model, shouldn't it be someone who at least makes an honest living?"
2006-10-26 - 12 Days Until Congressional Election
2006-10-26 05:30PDT (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 290,497 in the week ending October 21, an increase of 19,410 from the previous week. There were 304,733 initial claims in the comparable week in 2005. The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.6% during the week ending October 14, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,122,889, an increase of 92,565 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 1.9% and the volume was 2,437,294. Extended benefits were not available in any state during the week ending October 7."
2006-10-26 07:21PDT (10:21EDT) (14:21GMT)
Rex Nutting _MarketWatch_
census bureau press release & data
2006-10-26 08:49PDT (11:49EDT) (15:49GMT)
Rex Nutting _MarketWatch_
Durable-goods orders were up 7.8% in September
census bureau press release & data
2006-10-26
Erin Einhorn _NY Daily News_
NY Education department suspended on-line tutoring from India
"The more than 2K struggling students at high-poverty city schools who signed up for federally funded help from Socratic Learning Inc. knew they'd be working online with a tutor they couldn't see. What they didn't know was that tutors were actually in India -- and that none had passed background checks authorizing them to communicate directly with city kids, according to schools investigator Richard Condon... The Plano, TX, company, which made $2.4M in New York City last year, is one of 91 groups that provide after-school tutoring to 80K kids at failing city schools under the No Child Left Behind Act."
2006-10-26 15:39PDT (18:39EDT) (22:39GMT)
Jim Gilchrist _CNN_
Don't fall for media's anti-Minutemen propaganda
"Minuteman volunteers only observe and report; they do not chase or confront and they do not drink on duty. There has never been a violent incident initiated by volunteers. By contrast, in the past 18 months, nonviolent Minuteman volunteers nationwide have been victims of more than 50 acts of violence against their property and persons by deviants opposed to freedom of speech. Much of this violence is encouraged by propagandist journalists like Navarrette, whose words inflame readers and foster hostility... The Minuteman Project is a multi-ethnic, pro-legal immigration, law enforcement advocacy group. Minuteman volunteers are teachers, college professors, taxi drivers, truckers, construction laborers, lawyers, college students, CPAs, surgeons and physicians, retired police officers, veterans, home-makers, authors, PhDs, politicians, grand-parents, and naturalized citizens -- Americans who simply want to help protect their country from the problems of illegal immigration. One would be hard pressed to find another national fraternity with a more diverse membership of race, color, creed, age, or vocation. Membership is about 25% non-whites and 55% women. The board of directors includes women and a black American with a master's degree from the University of Southern California."
2006-10-26
David R. Butcher _Thomas Net_
US design work has been moving east
"The U.S. tech industry began offshoring assembly and testing in the 1970s, followed by chip fabrication and much system design work in the 1980s and 1990s. Next went software development, which was out-sourced to offshore service providers, followed by business process out-sourcing (BPO). Now experts believe another off-shoring wave looms: engineering design."
2006-10-26
_Gateway Pundit_
ACORN voter fraud scandal in Missouri makes the national news
2006-10-26
Robert Jaques _Computing_
IEEE-USA president calls for strategy to cope with US loss of high-tech jobs from off-shoring and importation of guest-workers
High Productivity Computing
IT Week
"Ralph W. Wyndrum jr said at the National Academy of Engineering, today [that] the off-shoring of the US engineering enterprise is an almost inevitable outcome of globalisation [but offered few snesible suggestions, thus leaving the field of battle to such less stodgy organizations as the Programmers Guild, the American Engineering Association, and Techs Unite]."
2006-10-27 - 11 Days Until Congressional Election
2006-10-27 07:58PDT (10:58EDT) (14:58GMT)
Rex Nutting _MarketWatch_
UMich consumer sentiment index rose from 85.4 in September to 92.3 earlier in October to 93.6 in late October
2006-10-27
Eric Chabrow _Information Week_
Hacket Group sayd early 1.5M US back-office jobs seen moving off-shore: US citizens could lose $58G in earnings annually
"That translates to... the transfer of nearly 3K full time-equivalent jobs abroad for the typical Fortune 500 company... Now a growing number of permanent back-office jobs are being targeted to relocate off-shore. Some 15% of the Fortune 500 already off-shore G&A jobs, says Michel Janssen, the Hackett managing director who headed the study... Among the job functions targeted for offshoring are: application management and technology infrastructure within IT; general accounting and revenue-cycle activities within finance; data management reporting, compliance, and pay-roll administration within human resources; and purchase order processing within procurement. Janssen estimates that the 1.47M G&A jobs that will move off-shore represent about half of all G&A positions within the Fortune 500."
2006-10-27 09:36PDT (12:36EDT) (16:36GMT)
Greg Robb _MarketWatch_
US GDP grew at annualized rate of 1.6% in 2006Q3, grew 2.9% in the past year to $13.3T (with graph)
BEA data
"The personal consumption-expenditure-price index increased at a 2.5% annual rate, down from 4% in the second quarter. The core PCE price index -- which removes food and energy costs -- increased at a 2.3% rate, down from 2.7% in the second quarter. But the core PCE price index has increased 2.4% in the past year, up from 2.2% year-over-year growth in the second quarter. That's the fastest pace since the second quarter of 1995 [and] above the Federal Reserve's 1.5% to 2% comfort zone."
Is this part of a soft landing for the economy?
2006-10-27 10:02PDT (13:02EDT) (17:02GMT)>br />
Alistair Barr _MarketWatch_
Protection racket profits may have reached a peak
2006-10-27
_Riehl World View_
McCaskill Knew Of Previous ACORN Fraud Going Back to at Least 2003
2006-10-27
| DJIA | 12,090.26 |
| S&P 500 | 1,377.34 |
| NASDAQ | 2,350.62 |
| 10-year US T-Bond | 4.68% |
| crude oil | 60.75 |
| gold | 601.00 |
| silver | 12.08 |
| platinum | 1,1,079.70 |
| palladium | 323.00 |
| copper | 0.2128 |
| natgas | $7.153/MBTU |
| unleadedgasoline | $1.5599/gal |
| heatingoil | $1.6944/gal |
I usually get this info from MarketWatch, which gets them from BigCharts.
| |
"It rankles me when somebody tries to force somebody to do something." --- John Wayne
| |
2006-10-28 - 10 Days Until Congressional Election
2006-10-28
Lou Dobbs _CNN_
Mexico is an extremely wealthy country
George Grayson of College of William & Mary: "Mexico is an extremely wealthy country. It has everything: gold, silver, oil, natural gas. The problem is that the politicians don't pay attention to the poor. Mexico devotes less than 6% of its budget to education, 6% to health-care. Their tax collection level as a part of their national product is about the same level as Haiti and the corruption is ubiquitous. There is a saying in Mexico show me a politician who is poor and I will show you a poor politician... Mexico brings in 40K Guatemalan guest workers each year, and when you ask the big coffee growers in Chiapas why they don't hire local people because the unemployment rate is high, they say they won't work hard. They're irresponsible, you can't count on them, the same thing that growers say in this country about Americans."
2006-10-29 - 09 Days Until Congressional Election
2006-10-30 - 08 Days Until Congressional Election
2006-10-29 19:00PDT (2006-10-29 22:00EDT) (2006-10-30 02:00GMT)
_Business Wire_/_Research and Markets_
Technology spending in Red Chinese contact centers to rise as the sector grows
2006-10-30 04:40PST (07:40EST) (12:40GMT)
Jennifer Saba _Editor & Publisher_
Big Metro Papers Show Severe Declines in Circulation
"The Audit Bureau of Circulations... While the estimated decline 2.8% for daily circulation for all reporting papers may seem negligible, consider that in years past that decrease averaged around 1%. Sunday, considered the industry's bread-and-butter, showed even steeper losses, with a decline of about 3.4%. Big cities like Los Angeles, Miami, and Boston are feeling the effects of the Internet and the trimming of other-paid circulation. In New York, however, a 5.1% surge for the New York Post allowed it to leap-frog past its rival, the Daily News -- and The Washington Post -- into fifth place in daily circ. The Los Angeles Times reported that daily circulation fell 8% to 775,766. Sunday dropped 6% to 1,172,005. The San Francisco Chronicle was down. Daily dropped 5.3% to 373,805 and Sunday fell 7.3% to 432,957. The New York Times lost 3.5% daily to 1,086,798 and 3.5% on Sunday to 1,623,697. Its sister publication, The Boston Globe, reported decreases in daily circulation, down 6.7% to 386,415 and Sunday, down 9.9% to 587,292. The Washington Post lost daily circulation, which was down 3.3% to 656,297 while Sunday declined 3.6% to 930,619. Circulation losses at The Wall Street Journal were average, with daily down 1.9% to 2,043,235. The paper's Weekend Edition, however, saw its circulation fall 6.7% to 1,945,830. Daily circulation at USA Today slipped 1.3% to 2,269,509. The Chicago Tribune showed slight declines. Daily dropped 1.7% to 576,132 and Sunday decreased 1.3% to 937,907. Losses at the Miami Herald were steep. Daily circulation fell 8.8% to 265,583 and Sunday fell 9.1% to 361,846. While daily circulation stabilized compared to past reporting periods at The Sun in Baltimore, down 4.4% to 236,172, Sunday took a massive hit. Circulation on that day dropped 9% to 380,701. The Hartford (CT) Courant's daily circ was down 3.9% to 179,066 while Sunday dropped slightly, 1.5% to 264,539. At The Philadelphia Inquirer, daily fell 7.5% to 330,622 while Sunday declined 4.5% to 682,214. Daily circulation at its sister pub, The Philadelphia Daily News, dropped 7% to 112,540. The Star Tribune in Minneapolis reported declines. Daily was down 4.1% to 358,887 while Sunday dropped 6.3% to 596,333. At the Orlando Sentinel, daily circulation decreased 2.5% to 214,283. Sunday fell 4.2% to 317,226. Daily circulation at The Arizona Republic declined 2.5% to 397,294 and 2.6% on Sunday to 503,943. The Plain Dealer in Cleveland showed daily circulation almost flat -- a small victory -- with a decline of 0.6% to 336,939. Sunday was down 2.3% to 446,487. The New York Post got a leg up in the city’s tab wars. Daily circulation at the paper overtook the Daily News in showing gains of just over 5% -- perhaps the only major metro in the country to report such growth -- to 704,011 copies. The Daily News also increased its daily circulation, up 1% to 693,382. That said, Sunday is still a problem for the New York Post. Circulation grew a fraction of percentage up 0.4% to 427,624. At the Daily News, Sunday circ was almost flat, down 0.1% to 780,196. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch made advances in daily circulation up 0.6% to 276,588. Sunday was down 2.4% to 418,262. The Denver Post's daily circulation dropped 3.1% to 255,935. The Rocky Mountain News showed similar declines with daily down 2.9% to 255,675. Combined Sunday circulation fell 4.2% to 694,053. Newsday reported losses. Daily fell 4.9% to 410,579 while Sunday experienced similar declines, down 4.3% to 474,750. Daily circ at the Santa Barbara (CA) News-Press slipped 4.6% to 39,323. Sunday lost 5.4% to 40,801."
Top 25 Daily Papers
2006-10-30 07:00PST (10:00EST) (15:00GMT)
Rex Nutting _MarketWatch_
Core PCE inflation index fell 2.4%; Inflation-adjusted idsposable income up 0.8%
BEA press release
2006-10-30 08:18PST (11:18EST) (16:18GMT)
_Reuters_
US Standard & Poor's 500 profits up 16.4% for 2006 Q3 from 2005 Q3
2006-10-30
Ken Kusmer _Fort Wayne News-Sentinel_/_AP_
Feds reviewing potential $1G privatization pact
"The state is on course to privatize by [2007] January 1 the system of determining who's eligible for the food stamps, Medicaid and welfare received by one in six Indiana residents. The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration on Oct. 20 sent the U.S. Department of Agriculture a copy of its unsigned contract with a team of contractors, Lawrence F. Rudmann, a spokesman for the USDA's Chicago regional office, said Monday... One recent problem in another state was the theft in Denver of an ACS desktop computer containing personal information of some clients of the Colorado Department of Human Services. ACS, a Dallas-based information technology company, sent letters to the affected clients alerting them to the theft and advising how to protect their information, a spokesman has said."
2006-10-30
_PR News Wire_
Stanley awarded contract to provide passport book personalization services for State Department
2006-10-30
_Daily Record_
Happiness rare at Norwich Union: 450 jobs to be axed in Perth and Glasgow
"And now, to add insult to injury, they have been asked to help recruit new staff... When Norwich Union announced they were off-shoring those 450 jobs to India, unions accused them of betrayal. They were right... Norwich Union's parent company have just announced a 27% rise in half-year profits to £1.7G. And they can afford to pay executive chairman Patrick Snowball a cool £1.3M."
2006-10-31 - 07 Days Until Congressional Election
2006-10-31
Robert S. Whitehill _Pittsburgh Post-Gazette_
On immigration, let's get the basics correct first
"The most precious status that the United States can confer upon a person is citizenship. The road from entry to the United States as a nonimmigrant, through permanent residency, to naturalization, is long, arduous and complicated, yet many more people seek to become American citizens than are able [and it has proven not arduous enough to turn back terrorists and spies]. Most of us acquire U.S. citizenship upon birth. Since the passage of the 14th Amendment immediately after the Civil War, all persons born in the United States automatically are citizens. In addition, and subject to complicated rules, children born outside of our borders to U.S. citizen parents also are citizens at birth... Pittsburgh lawyer Robert S. Whitehill (rwhitehill@foxrothschild.com) is chair of the immigration group of Fox Rothschild, a firm with 400 lawyers and 14 offices [and thus makes his living from fees charged to those seeking visas and citizenship. The more people who are allowed to come through the system, the more he is paid.]"
2006-10-31
_Reuters_
Ill-Begotten Monstrosities, the same folks who helped the Nazis keep tabs on their victims, to set up development centers in India and Red China
"The new centres, in the [Red Chinese] capital of Beijing and Pune in western India, will each employ 500 people, Jeby Cherian, director of IBM's global business solutions centre, told Reuters in a phone interview from Bangalore. Earlier in October, IBM relocated its global procurement headquarters to Shenzhen in southern [Red China]. The company has also made India a global delivery hub for software needs and client services."
2006-10-31
Dana Flavelle _Toronto Star_
Businesses hire PR firms to search the web to gauge their reputations
"The couple's trip, however, was heavily financed by Working Families for WM, an organization created by Edelman, a PR firm, to counter union-led criticism of the retailer... the most important guiding principles for bloggers are 'transparency and honesty'... The best rule of thumb is to write as though your identity could be revealed at any moment, MacLellan said."
2006-10-31
Stephen Windhaus _Scripps_
Being a good leader can be profitable
"three characteristics common of employers with the best leadership skills _ respect for the employee, proper training and communication... Mergers, acquisitions, shut-downs, over-seas out-sourcing and more have profoundly impacted respect between employee and employer over the last 20 years..."
2006-10-31
_SmartPros_
GAO reports on IRS extortion out-sourcing
GAO report
2006-10-31 07:24PST (10:24EST) (15:24GMT)
Rex Nutting _MarketWatch_
Total compensation rose a seasonally adjusted 1% in 2006Q3, the most in 2 years
BLS data
2006-10-31 07:53PST (10:53EST) (15:53GMT)
Rex Nutting _MarketWatch_
Consumer confidence fell in October
Lynn Franco _Conference Board_
"The private research group said its consumer confidence index declined marginally from a revised 105.9 in September to 105.4 in October... The present situation index fell from 128.3 to 124.7. The expectations index rose from 91.0 to 92.6. The percentage of consumers saying conditions are good rose to 28.1% from 27.3%, but the percentage saying conditions are bad also rose, to 17.1% from 15.6%. The percentage of consumers saying jobs are plentiful declined to 25.8% from 26.2%, while the share saying jobs are hard to get rose to 22% from 20.9%... Consumers saying jobs are 'plentiful' declined to 25.8% from 26.2%. Those claiming jobs are 'hard to get' increased from 20.9% in September to 22.0%... Those expecting more jobs to become available in the coming months edged up from 14.7% to 15.2%, while those anticipating fewer jobs also increased from 16.5% to 17.5%. The proportion of consumers expecting their incomes to increase in the months ahead edged down from 20.2% in September to 19.6% in October."
2006-10-31
_Duke University_
Companies moving more work off-shore to access cheap talent
"a new study by Duke University and management consulting firm [body shop] Booz Allen Hamilton [the Off-Shoring Research Network and Indian lobbying organization NASSCOM]... [Vikas Sehgal, Principal at Booz Allen]"
Booz Allen Hamilton
Duke University (pdf)
Booz Allen Hamilton's conflict of interest in the issue is plain
Norm Matloff's comments
2006-10-31
Stephen Roach _Money Week_
How executives are trying to drive down quality of life of production workers
"What do the world's 3 largest economies have in common? The answer under-scores one of the key tensions of globalisation -- unrelenting pressure on labour income. The corollary of that phenomenon is equally revealing -- ever–rising returns to the owners of capital. For a global economy in the midst of its strongest 4–year boom since the early 1970s, this tug-of-war between labour and capital is an increasingly serious source of disequilibrium... in none of the three economies has a cyclical tightening in labour markets resulted in a meaningful increase in real wages and/or the labour share of national income. By our calculations, fully 57 months into the current cyclical up-turn, US private sector compensation is still tracking nearly $400G (in real terms) below the average trajectory of the past 4 business cycles. After a glimmer of revival in early 2005, stagnation is once again evident in Japanese real wages. Nor are there any signs of a meaningful upturn in German real wages; to the contrary, inflation-adjusted compensation per worker in the overall business sector has actually declined in 4 of the past 5 years..."
2006-10-31
Representative Ron Paul, MD _Lew Rockwell_
NAFTA Super-High-Way
"The proposed highway is part of a broader plan advanced by a quasi-government organization called the 'Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America', or SPP. The SPP was first launched in 2005 by the heads of state of Canada, Mexico, and the United States at a summit in Waco. The SPP was not created by a treaty between the nations involved, nor was Congress involved in any way. Instead, the SPP is an unholy alliance of foreign consortiums and officials from several governments. One principal player is a Spanish construction company, which plans to build the highway and operate it as a toll road. But don't be fooled: the superhighway proposal is not the result of free market demand, but rather an extension of government-managed trade schemes like NAFTA that benefit politically-connected interests."
| |
"The primary intent of the 2nd Amendment was to guarantee that the population retained the ability to resist domestic tyranny; maintaining a military force capable of defending the nation from invasion was a minor issue. By comparison, the various state analogs to the 2nd Amendment were (with a few exceptions) intended to guarantee a right to arms to protect against both domestic tyranny & private criminals. Under-lying both federal & state guarantees, however, was the assumption that individual ownership of arms was a fundamental right of freemen." --- Clayton E. Cramer 1994 _For the Defense of Themselves & the State_ pg 5
| |
2006 September/October
Carlos Garriga, William T. Gavin & Don Schlagenhauf _Federal Reserve Board of St. Louis_
Recent Trends in HomeOwnership (pdf)
2006 October
B. Lindsay Lowell & Micah Bump _Georgetown University_/_Alfred P. Sloan Foundation_
Projecting Immigrant Visas: Report on an Experts Meeting
2006 October
Abraham Mosisa & Steven Hipple _Monthly Labor Review_
Trends in labor force participation in the United States of America
Movies Coming Soon
External links may expire at any time.
Neither this page, nor the opinions expressed or implied in it are endorsed by Michael Badnarik, Ron Paul, Bob Barr, Wayne Allyn Root, Warner Brothers, Gary Johnson, president Donald Trump, nor by my hosts, Kermit and Rateliff.
