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updated: 2017-10-18
 

"Just when you think the politicians have learned some economics, they prove you wrong.   The recent (~1990) budget summit fiasco & the current push to raise tax rates illustrate the point.   The budget controversy tested an elementary intellectual ability, the ability to distinguish between changes in tax rates & changes in tax revenues.   Clearly the Republicans flunked the test.   If they had understood the distinction, surely they would have hammered home the fact that tax revenue collected from wealthy Americans has been growing rapidly as a direct result of the tax policies of the 1980s." --- James D. Gwartney _Tax Rates, Tax Revenues, & Fairness_

 
 

2011 Aug

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7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30	31

 

"Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no Constitution, no law, no court can save it." --- judge Learned Hand

 
 
 

captain William Scott's flag for the Republic of Texas.

2011-08-01

2011-07-31 18:54PDT (2011-07-31 21:54EDT) (2011-08-01 01:54GMT) (04:54Jerusalem)
Carina Lee _Daily Illini_
Duct-tape and card-board boats race
"Participants received a few different awards at the race, such as the Titanic Award, which is an award for the most spectacular sinking; the Peacock Award, which is an award for the best dressed boat passengers; and the Esprit de Boat Award, which is for the team that had the most fun participating in the event."

2011-08-01
_Conference Board_
Help-Wanted On-Line Ads down 217K

2011-08-01
Richard Viguerie _News Max_
Rotten deal is not a solution to continually increasing federal government debt

2011-08-01
Bob Ashby _Holland MI Sentinel_
International agreements (much less treaties) continue to erode US sovereignty

2011-08-01 13:38PDT (16:38EDT) (29:38GMT) (23:38Jerusalem)
Kent Faulk _Birmingham AL News_
Obummer's dept. of injustice files court challeng to AL law supporting federal laws against illegal immigration

2011-08-01
_Dice_
Dice Report: 81,498 job ads

2011-08-01 (5771 Menachem-Ab 01)
Scott Canon _Jewish World Review_
Obummer admin pushing forward with India-style insane nuclear pact with Saudi Arabia

2011-08-01 (5771 Menachem-Ab 01)
Mohannad Sabry _Jewish World Review_
Egypt "unity" rally turns into militant Islamic demonstration

2011-08-01 (5771 Menachem-Ab 01)
Steve Schmadeke _Jewish World Review_
Judge on a roll with toilet paper opinion
"In a legal battle between 2 titans of toilet paper, the court held this week that quilted bath-room tissue is too basic a product to be trade-marked, upholding a lower court that threw out the law-suit...   Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products LP, which makes Northern Quilted brand toilet paper, accused Kimberly-Clark Corp., maker of Cottonelle tissue, of infringing on its trade-mark..."
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-02

2011-08-02
Norm Matloff _H-1B/ L-1/ Off-Shoring News-Letter_
CHE op-ed by Salzman and Lowell
 
The Chronicle of Higher Education (CHE), a kind of trade paper for academics, is running an op-ed titled "A Size That Fits All for the Science-and-Technology Pipeline" in the July 31 issue.   The authors are Hal Salzman of Rutgers University and B. Lindsay Lowell at Georgetown University, whose names will be recognized by many of you.
 
Salzman and Lowell are the authors of the 2007 Urban Institute study that showed that, contrary to the quotes from industry executives that constantly bombard you in the press, the nation's colleges and universities are producing more than enough graduates in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields to fill our economic needs.   I reviewed the study in this article and this one.
 
Both Salzman and Lowell have done extensive research on H-1B and related issues.   Of the 2, Lowell has probably specialized more in H-1B, but Salzman work has been seminal too.   The much-cited research for the 2001 NRC report, which found that employers admitted to paying H-1Bs in "lower level" jobs (the term meant ordinary jobs, not the jobs taken by MIT grads and the like) less than comparable Americans, was actually conducte by Salzman.   Salzman was one of the presenters at the recent DC conference I reported on here (and Lowell was one of the organizers); you can view Salzman's slides.
 
I will quote excerpts [of the Chronicle of Higher Education column] and make comments.
 
...international testing that shows students in Shanghai at the top of the world... [an influential report] finds the deterioration of America's competitiveness so severe that it is likened to a Category 5 hurricane...   It reinforces a common worry over American students' lackluster international standing compared with those in several Asian nations and in a handful of small European nations.
 
We believe that those concerns are over-stating and mis-identifying America's challenges in science and engineering, and that they are missing the real opportunities for improving the nation's education and work force.
 
I commented rather extensively on this issue in my review of President Obama's State of the Union Address this year.
 
I pointed out first that though I admire Shanghai for its dynamism -- constructing 1 or 2 new sub-way lines every year! -- those test scores mean almost nothing.   First, Shanghai is the richest city in China, and thus is likely to do well, just like the upper class does well in the U.S.A.   I cited the Atlantic Monthly interactive charts that show that Caucasian students in DC vastly out-score the kids in Hong Kong and Taiwan, 2 of the countries that attain among the highest math scores in the world.
 
Second, and much more importantly, I stated that the worst thing we could do is emulate China with its innovation-quashing rote memory education system, known in Chinese as 填鴨, "stuff the duck".   The Chinese government itself is trying to move away from this approach, which it knows produces uncreative graduates and, as Chinese engineering professor Chen Lixin has put it, "results in the phenomenon of high scores and low ability".   I could add a number of similar quotes here, including one from none other than [Red China's] current premier, Wen Jiabao, but suffice it to say that the Shanghai test scores aren't very relevant and are clouding the real issues.
 
Our recent analysis of Department of Education data for 3 decades followed students from high school to the job market.   We found little in the way of overall change in students' pursuit of science-and-engineering studies or their entry into those careers over the past 30 years.   We found that while a steady proportion of college students graduated in science and engineering, no more than half of them landed jobs in a formally defined core science or engineering occupation.
 
So, given a steady supply, why do companies report difficulty in finding ideal workers?   Listen carefully and it sounds as if the employers would like entry-level workers to have skills not typical of newly graduated students.   Leading engineering companies seek technologists with a depth of skill in a technical area combined with a broad education across technical fields, business, and the social sciences.   Colleges find it difficult to develop all of that in only 4 years.
 
Here the authors are giving far too much credence to the PR the industry lobbyists have put out to support their push for expanded H-1B and green card programs.
 
In computer science, most bachelor's degree-level workers use at most 20% of what they learned in school.   [I disagree.   One of the anomalies of CS is that you end up using almost all of it...jgo]   Moreover, that 20% comes largely from course-work taken in their first 2 years.   The other courses can in principle form a valuable "culture" from which to draw, but most students (whether domestic or foreign) don't really do so.   In any event, a CS degree does not consist of 4 solid years packed with one special technology after another.
 
Nor does the industry want it that way.   In hiring new graduates, the industry does NOT want or expect an extensive technical skill set.   What it does want is really smart, energetic, reliable, and above all self-starter-type, people [willing to work cheap for a while because they figure they will quickly advance in their careers].   (Note how many of these are "soft skills", a point the authors also make.)   A firm foundation is important, but not the really esoteric skill sets.
 
At the graduate level, employers often do prefer students who have done research in some very specific field, but that is quite consistent with the nature of grad school, and does not contradict my above comments.
 
Employers claim to prefer new grads because the older workers lack the latest skill sets.   Again, that is just a pretext.   As I'm fond of saying, Where do those young hot-shots get their up-to-date skill sets, say the Python language, cited recently by the industry as a hot skill that older engineers don't have, or use of GPUs for parallel processing?   Answer: The young hot-shots learn those from ME, an old guy.   This is not quantum mechanics or brain surgery, folks.   A competent software engineer (would you want to hire an incompetent one?) can become productive in a new programming technology very quickly, through self study.
 
As I say in virtually every posting to this e-news-letter, the core of the H-1B issue is age.   Engineers over age 35 are considered too expensive by employers, both in terms of wages and benefits.   While it's true that H-1B also saves employers in labor expense by enabling them to hire young H-1Bs more cheaply than young Americans, they reap even bigger savings by hiring young H-1Bs instead of older Americans.
 
I cannot over-emphasize this point.   I've written extensively about it, but for a couple of quick sound bites, let me cite 2 concerning Intel:
 
1.   Intel's Craig Barrett, the firm's former CEO who BTW is in the vanguard of those saying the U.S. doesn't produce enough STEM grads, once said "the half life of an engineer is only a few years", graphically illustrating the throwaway nature of labor in the industry.
 
2.   According to the book _Inside Intel_, a management consultant hired by Intel to reduce costs recommended getting rid of older engineers.
 
So what H-1B is really about is age.   Unfortunately, this point is very poorly understood even by the experts.   In this week's senate [sub-committee] hearing, various remarks critical of the industry regarding H-1B were made (including by 2 senators), but the relation of the age issue to H-1B was never brought up, sadly.
 
This point will relate to the next excerpt from the Salzman/Lowell piece:
 
Finally, some industry lobbying groups and high-tech companies seek to augment the supply of domestic workers by importing foreign labor on temporary visas.   But this confuses the purpose of those programs with the country's immigration policy for citizens-in-waiting.   Immigration policy is driven by a long-term vision and a wide range of social and political objectives.   The original intent of temporary-visa programs, on the other hand, was to meet short-term, not structural, labor shortages.   Ensuring that labor markets are not distorted by short-term visas, which in their current form lead to a number of labor-market and social problems, is not anti-immigrant, and does not undermine the strength of U.S. science and engineering.   In fact, raising the numbers of temporary visas for foreign workers during cyclical talent shortages can distort labor markets and discourage domestic students from careers in engineering and the sciences.
 
As I sometimes mention, readers of this e-newsletter consist of programmers and engineers, academics, policy makers, journalists and so on.   Yet I would guess that only a small percentage of readers in any of these categories understand what is being alluded to above.   The phrase "long-term" is an allusions to employer-sponsored green cards, to be distinguished from H-1B.
 
One of the common themes among policy makers recently has been that green cards are good and work visas are bad, with the next step in the argument being to legislate some kind of fast-track green cards for international students who obtain graduate STEM degrees at U.S. universities.   I'm not saying that the 2 authors here necessarily support such legislation, but support for it is so broad that for example at this week's senate [sub-committee] hearing senator Schumer made a statement along the lines that people on all sides of the H-1B issue support fast-track green cards.   That's false.
 
As many of you know, I strongly disagree with that kind of thinking.   Aside from the point that it would flood the market with workers that Salzman and Lowell have shown are not in short supply, the salient issue is -- once again -- AGE.   Beneficiaries of these autogreen cards would in almost all cases be young, and thus displace even more of the Americans over age 35 than are displaced now.   I cannot think of a more wrong-headed way to go, and would submit that it would be even more harmful to U.S. citizen and permanent resident workers than would an increase in the yearly H-1B cap.
 
As the authors themselves say so succinctly,
 
The classic tried and true formulation is that supply follows demand or, less sanguinely, that depressed wages and discouraged workers result if supply out-strips demand.
 
That comment is directly relevant to the autogreen card proposals.
 
I will be commenting here on the Senate hearing, and on proposed legislation, sometime in the next few days.
 
Norm
---30---

2011-08-02
Thomas E. Brewton & Robert Curry _View from 1776_
Judeo-Christians and the American Enlightenment

2011-08-02
Thomas E. Brewton _View from 1776_
President Obummer's "cure" for the Great Recession within the Bush-Clinton-Bush-Obummer economic depression

2011-08-02
Thomas E. Brewton _View from 1776_
Government over-spending, the illfare state, and economic recovery
"First, no Federal intervention during recessions was needed, from 1776 until 1922, a period during which the United States grew to become the greatest economic power on earth.   Second, Federal intervention has never worked as predicted, but it has pumped up the cost of living roughly a thousand percent since 1933.   The real redistribution of wealth has been inflation's robbing the purchasing power of people's savings and retirement incomes."

2011-08-02
David Louie _KGO San Francisco CA_
Obummer's jobs council met in Palo Alto, where they could be closely controlled by corrupt tech executives

2011-08-02
Kimberly Weisul _BNET_/_CBS_
Sarcasm boosts creativity

2011-08-02
"Washington Watcher" _V Dare_
Lies in Obummer's speech to National Council of La Racists

2011-08-02
William L. Anderson
Debt and Delusion
"For all of the bad prose that these commentaries provide, I think that I can describe them in one sentence: We believe that government must spend and tax us into prosperity.   This is not possible, period."
graphs

2011-08-02 (5771 Menachem-Ab 02)
Scott Canon _Jewish World Review_
Meat without feet -- from a petri dish: Credible or inedible
"Nicholas Genovese is a lab-coated collection of incongruities.   He's being bank-rolled by an 'animal rights' group to make meat."

2011-08-02 (5771 Menachem-Ab 02)
Steven Emerson _Jewish World Review_
Justice is elusive for Americans killed in the Gaza strip
"Since 2003 Oct. 15, John Parsons of Wayne, NJ, has fought for a measure of justice for his brother Mark, one of three Americans murdered by terrorists in Gaza that day.   But the Palestinian Authority has blocked the FBI from investigating the murders of Mark Parsons, 31; John Branchizio, 36: and 30-year-old John M. Linde, Jr.   All 3 were employees of DynCorp, a Reston, VA firm that provided security for U.S. officials based in Tel Aviv.   Today, nearly 8 years later, no one has been brought to justice for the crime.   The State Department and the FBI have failed to press the issue for fear of undermining PA President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah organization, John Parsons told the Investigative Project on Terrorism.   FBI officials declined repeated requests for interviews about the investigation.   In May, the FBI released 124 pages of documents about the case under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).   The documents show that the Bureau and State Department officials moved quickly to investigate, with a seven-man FBI team arriving on the scene the following day.   But the crime scene was not secured; allowing unruly mobs to contaminate evidence, and U.S. investigators were struck by rocks as they tried to collect evidence."

2011-08-02 (5771 Menachem-Ab 02)
R' Yonason Goldson _Jewish World Review_
Legal Larceny: Investigating the hidden cost of "free" money
"I also can't help but apply the teaching of the sages in the Talmud when they remarked, 'Love work, despise lordliness, and do not become overly familiar with the government.'   The Hebrew word for 'work' employed here is malachah, derived from the root meaning 'walking' or 'traveling forward'.   To involve oneself in any pursuit that is productive, creative, or designed to benefit those with whom we share our world -- this is highest calling of civilized society.   This kind of work is truly the labor of love.   Moreover, by dropping the feminine ending, the word malachah becomes malach, commonly translated as 'angel'; when we strive to create a better world we simultaneously transform ourselves into divine emissaries of the Almighty.   In contrast, the sages warn us to despise 'lordliness', the lust for power that seeks to control others and harness their efforts for personal advantage.   More and more, we witness the investment of time and energy in profit without production, in clever tricks to generate income effortlessly without contributing anything to society in return, in seeking the spoils of lordliness at the expense of those who perform real work.   Finally, the sages warn us against over-familiarity with the government, since it is the nature of rulers to care for little except their own continued hold on power.   Even in our democratic government, too many of our elected officials are motivated either by their own lusts and avarice or by the conviction that they know what is best for the people no matter how much evidence testifies to the contrary."

2011-08-02 (5771 Menachem-Ab 02)
Samuel Doniger _News Max_
Thomas Jefferson advocated amendment prohibiting federal government debt

2011-08-02 (5771 Menachem-Ab 02)
Thomas Sowell _Jewish World Review_
Misleading Words part1
"it was one of the most valuable lessons, that words do not necessarily reflect reality.   Recent statistics on the average wealth or net worth of blacks are a painful reminder that rhetoric favoring blacks does not mean that politicians using such rhetoric are actually helping blacks.   The media seized upon the statistics published by the Pew Research Center to show that whites averaged far more net worth than blacks, and that this disparity was now greater than it was in years past.   But what is even more revealing is that the net worth of blacks in 2009 was less than half of what it was in 2005...   What happened was that the political words had no relationship to the economic reality.   But few people judge any administration's effect on blacks by what actually happens to blacks under that administration.   A finer breakdown of the data on the net worth of blacks shows that the most drastic loss of net worth was in the value of the homes owned by blacks.   This occurred after years of both Democratic and Republican administrations pushing policies designed to enable more blacks to buy homes...   Even when it was shown that blacks, on average, did not meet the same financial standards as whites, both politicians and the media denounced those standards as too stringent...   Racial discrimination was where it was at, as far as liberal politicians and most of the media were concerned.   And the familiar 'solution' was massive government intervention in the market.   Government agencies, from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to the Federal Reserve leaned on lenders to lower lending standards, and the Department of Justice threatened prosecutions for discrimination if the racial makeup of people approved for mortgage loans did not match their preconceptions.   It worked.   In fact, it worked so well that many blacks got loans that they could not have gotten otherwise.   Now the statistics tell us, belatedly, that blacks lost out, big time, from this 'favor' done for them by politicians.   These lowered lending standards applied to many others besides blacks.   Everybody lost out when the resulting risky mortgages led to a collapse of the housing market, followed by a collapse of the economy.   Lofty words led to bitter realities.   The same mind-set that led to these disasters is still prevalent in Washington.   Indeed, the very people who spearheaded those political crusades -- congressman Barney Frank and senator Christopher Dodd -- crafted new legislation offering the same kind of 'solution' to our current problems, namely more massive government intervention in the economy.   Words triumphed again."
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-03

2011-08-03
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols _Ziff Davis_/_CBS_
a cyber-espionage campaign has been going on for 5 years against more than 70 public and private organizations in 14 countries
InformationWeek mobile/UBM
Kelly Jackson Higgins: InformationWeek/UBM
Jim Finkle: Reuter
John Boudreau: San Jose CA Mercury News
"What we have witnessed over the past 5 to 6 years has been nothing short of a historically unprecedented transfer of wealth -- closely guarded national secrets (including from classified government networks), source code, bug data-bases, e-mail archives, negotiation plans and exploration details for new oil and gas field auctions, document stores, legal contracts, SCADA [supervisory control and data acquisition] configurations, design schematics and much more has fallen off the truck of numerous, mostly Western companies and disappeared in the ever-growing electronic archives of dogged adversaries...   a spear-phishing email containing an exploit is sent to an individual with the right level of access at the company, and the exploit when opened on an unpatched system will trigger a download of the implant malware.   That malware will execute and initiate a back-door communication channel to the Command & Control web server and interpret the instructions encoded in the hidden comments embedded in the web-page code.   This will be quickly followed by live intruders jumping on to the infected machine and proceeding to quickly escalate privileges and move laterally within the organization to establish new persistent foot-holds via additional compromised machines running implant malware, as well as targeting for quick exfiltration the key data they came for...   some observers suggest that [Red China] is behind what might be called a technology Pearl Harbor."

2011-08-03 08:15PDT (11:15EDT) (15:15GMT) (18:15Jerusalem)
_South Florida Business Journal_
CGC: 66,414 job cut plans were announced in July
Miami FL Herald
Marcia Heroux Pounds: Florida Sun-Sentinel/Tribune
Liz Farmer: Washington DC Examiner
Francine Knowles: Chicago IL Sun-Times
Chicagoist
Michael K. Far: CNBC
WCBS 880 NY
London Telegraph
Paul J. Gough: Pittsburgh PA Business Times
Jan Norman: Orange county CA Register
Tiffany Hsu: Los Angeles Times
San Francisco CA Chronicle
UPI
Rush Limbaugh
Ben Smith: Politico
Danielle Kurtzleben: US News & World Report
Adam Samson & Matt Egan: Fox
WISC Channel 3K/CNN
Jeffrey Bartash: MarketWatch
Scott Stoddard: Investor's Business Daily
Seeking Alpha
Ben Comer: Pharm Exec
Nathan Eddy: eWeek
66,414 job cut plans were announced in July
312,220 job cuts announced so far this year
13,493 in pharmaceuticals industry (86,980 ytd compared to 106,896 for the same period in 2010)
11,245 in retail
9,389 in government and non-profits
7,970 in computer-related work
6,704 in aerospace and defense
3,018 in the financial industry
1,914 in educationism
1,136 in chemical industry
Merck & Co., Borders, Cisco Systems, Lockheed Martin and Boston Scientific account for 38K cuts or 57% of the total
42,812 job cuts announced in CA
26,512 in NJ
23,028 in DC
10,923 in MI
2,955 in FL (16,021 ytd)
1,100 in IL

2011-08-03 08:51PDT (11:51EDT) (15:51GMT) (18:51Jerusalem)
Jeffry Bartash _MarketWatch_
ISM: Rate of service-sector growth slowed in July

2011-08-03
Jennie L. Phipps _Michigan Live_
Obummer admin again does end-around congress by imposing rule changes that make visas even easier to get
"One factor that he says should make a big difference is dropping the employer sponsorship requirement for a foreign entrepreneur who can show that his work is 'in the national interest'...   Yale-Loehr says that previously, an entrepreneur had to have an employee-employer relationship and the national interest had to be dramatic.   Now, the government says it will be more liberal about what constitutes national interest and it has made it easier for solo entrepreneurs to meet the standard."

2011-08-03 14:16PDT (17:16EDT) (21:16GMT) (2011-08-04 00:16Jerusalem)
Chris Jablonski _Ziff Davis_/_CBS_
Wireless net makes use of LED room lighting
"Scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI) in Berlin, Germany, have developed a new kind of optical WAN with enough throughput to allow 4 people in a room to watch a film from the Internet on their lap-tops, in HD quality."

2011-08-03
Diana Yates _U of IL_/_Eurekalert_/_AAAS_
Memory researchers have different beliefs from the general public about memory
"many people in the U.S.A. -- in some cases a substantial majority -- think that memory is more powerful, objective and reliable...   Nearly two-thirds of respondents likened human memory to a video camera that records information precisely for later review.   Almost half believed that once experiences are encoded in memory, those memories do not change.   Nearly 40% felt that the testimony of a single confident eyewitness should be enough evidence to convict someone of a crime.   These and other beliefs about memory diverge from the views of cognitive psychologists...   While studies have shown, for example, that confident eye-witnesses are accurate more often than eyewitnesses who lack confidence, Chabris said, 'even confident witnesses are wrong about 30% of the time'...   '[University of California professor] Elizabeth Loftus and her colleagues have managed to introduce entirely false memories that people believe and trust as if they had really happened'."

2011-08-03 (5771 Menachem-Ab 03)
Nicholas Blanford _Jewish World Review_
Why Arab "leaders" are largely silent on Syria's brutal crack-down
"there has been little response from Arab states to the 4-month crisis in Syria, which has left some 1,500 people dead and some 10K detained."

2011-08-03 (5771 Menachem-Ab 03)
Jonathan Rosenblum _Jewish World Review_
Beyond the range of rationality as anti-Semitism resurfaces

2011-08-03 (5771 Menachem-Ab 03)
Thomas Sowell _Jewish World Review_
Misleading Words part2
"If there were a contest for the most misleading words used in politics, 'poverty' should be one of the leading contenders for that title.   Each of us may have his own idea of what poverty means -- especially those of us who grew up in poverty.   But what poverty means politically and in the media is whatever the people who collect statistics choose to define as 'poverty'...   Official data cited by Rector show that 80% of 'poor' households have air-conditioning today, which less than half the population of America had in 1970.   Nearly three-quarters of households in poverty own a motor vehicle, and nearly one-third own more than one motor vehicle.   Virtually everyone living in 'poverty', as defined by the government, has color television, and most have cable TV or satellite TV.   More than three-quarters have either a VCR or a DVD player, and nearly nine-tenths have a microwave oven...   People who say they want a government program because 'I don't want to be a burden to my children' apparently think it is all right to be a burden to other people's children.   Among the run-away spending behind our current national debt problems is the extravagant luxury of buying political rhetoric."

2011-08-03 (5771 Menachem-Ab 03)
Walter E. Williams _Jewish World Review_
Cruel Laws
"What does it take to be able to own and operate a taxi and earn $30K, $40K or more a year? You need to purchase a used car and liability insurance.   Compared with other businesses, the startup cost to become a taxi owner/operator is modest; that's until you have to come up with money for a license.   In 2010 May, the price of a license, called a medallion, to own one taxi in New York City sold for $603K.   As referenced in my recent book, _Race and Economics_, New York City is not alone.   In Chicago, a taxi license costs $56K, Boston $285K and Philadelphia $75K.   It's not rocket science to understand the effect of laws that produce these prices: They discriminate against anyone getting into the taxi business who lacks tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars or bank credit to be able to get a loan.   Suppose you're a trucker with an interstate license to ship goods but you want to expand to shipping goods within your state.   Is it fair for the government to permit your competition to show up at your hearing, with their attorneys, to protest that your services are not needed and therefore you are denied what's called a 'certificate of necessity', which would allow you to ship goods within the state? Attorney Timothy Sandefur discusses this despicable process in his recent article 'CON Job', published by the Cato Institute (2011 Summer).   'Certificate of necessity' monopolistic restrictions exist across the country, governing a variety of industries, from moving companies and taxicabs to hospitals and car lots.   The intention and the effect of these laws is to protect incumbent practitioners from open market competition, enabling them to charge higher prices as a means to higher income.   Interior designing has almost no startup costs.   Not so if you want to practice in Florida.   State law mandates that anyone who wants to practice interior designing have 6 years of education and experience, including graduating from a state-approved interior design program and completing an apprenticeship under a state-licensed interior designer.   Then the applicant must pass a state-mandated licensing exam.   The sole purpose of the law is to keep the outs out so the ins can charge monopoly prices.   If interior designing is not for you, how about being a tour guide in Philadelphia or Washington, DC?   Neither city will permit you to be a tour guide without a government-issued license...   Arbitrary licensing and permitting laws foreclose many occupations that are ideally suited to people of modest means, particularly minorities.   Here's my bet: Ask any liberal politician, from the president and the Congressional Black Caucus to civil rights organizations and black local politicians, whether he'd take up the fight to eliminate these barriers to upward mobility.   You'll get answers, but they won't be a simple yes.   The reason is the ins contribute to their political campaigns and the outs don't."
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-04

1730-08-04: John Peter Zenger acquitted of sedition; freedom of the press established in law

2011-08-04
Paul McDougall _InfomationWeek_ mobile/_UBM_
"IT" workers say claims of difficulty in hiring are bogus
alternate link
"What IT labor shortage!?   That's what reps for unemployed programmers and other IT workers are asking in response to [tech executives'] claim that it needs to import more foreign help because the United States isn't producing enough individuals with the high-tech skills it needs.   Workers' advocates say that if big tech companies are having a tough time finding qualified employees it's only because they are limiting their searches to younger, less expensive workers.   'Experienced IT workers who are over 40 years old have a hard time even getting noticed by companies like MSFT.', said Rennie Sawade, communications director for WashTech, an affiliate of the Communications Workers of America.   'They're really after the younger, more inexpensive workers.'...   'Loop-holes in these programs have made it too easy to bring in cheaper foreign workers, with ordinary skills, who directly substitute for, rather than complement, workers already in America.', said Rochester Institute of Technology professor Ron Hira, who also testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee."

2011-08-04 05:30PDT (08:30EDT) (12:30GMT) (15:30Jerusalem)
Scott Gibbons & Tony Sznoluch _DoL ETA_
un-employment insurance weekly claims report
DoL home page
DoL OPA press releases
historical data
DoL regulations
"The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 339,348 in the week ending July 30, a decrease of 29,939 from the previous week.   There were 402,140 initial claims in the comparable week in 2010.   The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.9% during the week ending July 23, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week.   The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,663,134, a decrease of 89,947 from the preceding week.   A year earlier, the rate was 3.5% and the volume was 4,438,886.   The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending July 16 was 7,570,439, a decrease of 75,192 from the previous week.   Extended benefits were available in AL, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, ME, MA, MI, MN, MO, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, WA, and WV, during the week ending July 16.   States reported 3,184,621 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending July 16, an increase of 12,193 from the prior week.   There were 3,332,029 claimants in the comparable week in 2010.   EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.   [Note that the population used for calculating the "insured unemployment rate" changes
to 132,623,886 beginning 2007-10-06;
to 133,010,953 beginning 2008-01-05;
to 133,382,559 beginning 2008-04-05;
to 133,690,617 beginning 2008-07-05;
to 133,902,387 beginning 2008-10-04;
to 133,886,830 beginning 2009-01-03;
to 133,683,433 beginning 2009-04-04;
to 133,078,480 beginning 2009-07-04;
to 133,823,421 beginning 2009-10-03;
to 131,823,421 beginning 2009-10-17;
to 130,128,328 beginning 2010-01-02;
to 128,298,468 beginning 2010-04-03;
to 126,763,245 beginning 2010-07-03;
to 125,845,577 beginning 2010-09-25;
to 125,560,066 beginning 2011-01-15;
to 125,572,661 beginning 2011-04-02;
to 125,807,389 beginning 2011-07-02.]
EUC (Excel)
EB
graphs
more graphs

2011-08-04
Beckie Supiano _Chronicle of Higher Education_
When it comes to life-time earnings, education is not the whole story
"The new report, 'The College Pay-Off: Education, Occupation, Lifetime Earnings', released Thursday, is also based on data from the bureau's American Community Survey. In this case, the researchers calculated a life-time-earnings figure for full-time, full-year workers [but disregards those currently unemployed] with various levels of education, from less than high school to doctoral and professional degrees. Unsurprisingly, they found that median life-time earnings rise with education level: The typical worker with less than a high-school diploma earns $973K over a career, in 2009 dollars, while a worker with a professional degree (mainly in law or medicine) earns $3.6M."
College Pay-Off
"17% of people with a bachelor's degree make more than the median of those with a professional degree, for example."

2011-08-04
Thomas E. Brewton _View from 1776_
The Morality of Tax Hikes: Why the left are so persistent in demanding more and more government extortion

2011-08-04
William L. Anderson
Wrong and wrong
graphs

2011-08-04
Katie Pavlich _Town Hall_
hundreds of new regulations issued by Obummer regime

2011-08-04 (5771 Menachem-Ab 04)
Jeannine Stein _Jewish World Review_
Choose your genes well if you want to live a long time
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-05

2011-08-05 05:00PDT (08:00EDT) (12:00GMT) (15:00Jerusalem)
Jeremy Beck _Numbers USA_
"Labor Shortage" stories are unfounded
"The 'labor shortage' claim is an old lobbying gambit that reporters still haven't caught onto.   Mass-immigration activists learned decades ago that the press loves a scary story about shortages, whether it is true or not.   In 2007, just before the recession Michael S. Teitelbaum, Vice President of the Sloan Foundation testified before Congress and noted that interest groups have a right to promote their own interests, but 'politicians [and] journalists often believe, [and] Federal agencies often fail to analyze' the unsubstantiated claims of labor shortages.   His testimony rings as true in this jobless recovery as it did four years ago before the recession.   Consider these statistics: In the first 2 years of the recession (2008, 2009), the U.S. economy lost 8.2M jobs while adding 2.4M legal and illegal immigrants.   From 2000-2009, the U.S. government imported 10.3M permanent foreign workers, a new record, despite 2 recessions and jobless recoveries.   The U.S. government issues an average of 75K new permanent work visas every month.   8M U.S. jobs are held by illegal workers...   The U.S.A. has issued over one million permanent green cards every year for the past decade.   During that same span, American-born workers increased by 13.5M.   Yet fewer American-born workers were employed in 2010 than in 2000...   Hal Salzman of Rutgers University, and B. Lindsay Lowell of Georgetown University published an op-ed in the Chronicle of Higher Education that stated, 'There is actually no compelling evidence that, over all, the educational pipe-line is failing to meet demand.'"

2011-08-05
Norm Matloff _H-1B/ L-1/ Off-Shoring News-Letter_
wrong and the right ways to reform H-1B
 
Last week the senate Judiciary committee Immigration sub-committee held a hearing on immigration, largely focusing on H-1B and green card issues.   While the results were predictable -- there was only one panelist critical of H-1B, most of the senators served up softball questions to pro-H-1B panelists, and so on -- there were some interesting exchanges I'll discuss, and a noteworthy statistic that I'll mention.
 
A few days later a related Computerworld article came out, "A Guide to H-1B, Green Card Reform", 2011 July 29.   Starting from that article, the Senate hearing, and some inquiries I've made in DC (something I seldom do, by the way), I'll give you my analysis of what appears to be the thinking of people on the Hill in terms of reforming H-1B and employer-sponsored green cards.
 
I've previously given an item-by-item analysis of the Lofgren bill [see also the bill, itself, HR2161 at the LoC site], but in the posting here I will re-analyze that through the lens of new information on the ostensible motivation for the green card provision, including a new statistic that is quite relevant.
 
As most of you know, I consider the Lofgren bill to be based on invalid premises, and to likely make the situation worse instead of better for U.S. citizen and permanent resident workers.   Most of the other bills are similarly unattractive.
 
By the way, the Lofgren bill would also create some "perverse effects", i.e. unintended consequences, under which even the putative beneficiaries, such as university research programs, would lose to some degree.   I'll discuss some of the perverse effects here.
 
[Some of you may be able to] read written testimony, and view a video of the hearing.   [And the biased ComputerWorld article which fails to acknowledge the many calls for reduction in the numbers of H-1B visas and other proposed reforms.]
 
Other than skimming through professor Ron Hira's written testimony and glancing somewhat through MSFT's Brad Smith's, I didn't pay much attention to the written stuff, and in the video I fast-forwarded altogether over the verbal presentations.   Nothing surprising there, and I simply have no patience for Schumer's obfuscations.   (Prime example: Claiming that we're forcing foreign students back home after they graduate, when in fact they can stay up to 29 months under OPT, during which time most obtain an H-1B or other visa, etc.)
 
So, I went straight to the Q-and-A session, my favorite part of any congressional hearing or academic talk.   There were rather interesting exchanges between H-1B-skeptic senators Grassley and Sessions on the one hand, and pro-H-1B witnesses on the other.
 
Sessions was entertaining, pressing for a Canadian-style point system in spite of the witness' many attempts to duck the question.   (The witness may have been Smith, not sure.)   But when the witness said he wanted employers, not government, to make decisions as to who can immigrate, Sessions got serious and pointedly replied, no sir, this is fundamentally a governmental issue.
 
Grassley asked Smith why the industry was opposed to H-1B adding a requirement that the employer attest to having first sought an American to fill job.   Smith gave the standard, "We don't want any more red tape" answer, transparently weak (what's so onerous about simply signing an attestation, no supporting evidence required?), but Grassley let it go.
 
Smith offered a statistic that he likely thought convincing, but isn't: He noted that it's taking an average of 65 days for MSFT to fill core tech positions.   His meaning, of course, was that that was supposed to indicate a labor shortage.   But in Silicon Valley in 1999, the figure was 3.7 months, or about 111 days, approaching double that current 65 figure.   In view of the fact that no study in the 1990s, other than one sponsored by the industry, ever showed a labor shortage, Smith's figure for the current situation doesn't indicate a shortage either.
 
Similarly, Smith said MSFT has 4,500 openings now.   Out of MSFT's 89K employees, that's about 5%; but in the late 90s, the industry was quoting vacancy rates of over 10%.   So again, Smith's shortage numbers can be viewed as actually showing that we DON'T have a shortage.
 
As I reported in my last posting, I was saddened to see Schumer make the claim that all sides of the H-1B issue at least agree that Congress should enact special automatic fast-track green cards for holders of graduate degrees from U.S. universities.   (I'll call these "autogreen cards" for brevity here.)   I strongly disagree, and believe that the effect of such a program would actually be worse than an increase in the yearly H-1B cap.   Much of the remainder of this posting will be devoted discussing this in light of new information I've learned this week.
 
What I had not realized earlier is that a key issue seems to be research.   President Obama has said several times that tech innovation is our ticket to a revived economy, and you may have noticed that in the big budget deal this week, Obama emphasized that no matter what, federal research funding wouldn't be cut.   Obama's thinking appears to be common in DC, among both parties -- and has a direct impact on the H-1B/green card debate, as follows.
 
The section of the Lofgren bill on autogreen would grant the green card if the foreign national
 
...possesses a graduate degree at the level of master's or higher in a field of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics from a United States institution of higher education that has been designated by the Director of the National Science Foundation as a research institution or as otherwise excelling at instruction in such fields...
 
During the recent conference in DC that I've discussed here, we were told that the NSF list mentioned in the bill text above would consist of only about a dozen very elite schools.   This would be consistent with facilitating the immigration of "the best and the brightest", but it turns out that that information was in error.   I'm now told (from 2 sources) that the list would likely contain 100 or more "research institutions" in the bill text above, which of course wouldn't be selective at all.   And of course many additional schools would press the NSF to be declared as "otherwise excelling" in the bill's language, a demand that the pro-H-1B NSF would likely accede to more often than not.   And needless to say, over time the list would always expand, never contract.
 
But what I now realize is that the key word in Lofgren's phrasing above is "research", spiraling back to the Obama comments.
 
In other words, the thinking in DC on autogreen, which was originally billed as being motivated by a "best/brightest" view, is now directed at research.   Lofgren, Schumer et al believe that by offering blanket green cards to foreign students from research schools, the U.S.A. would increase its research output, continue to be a world leader in innovation, etc.
 
So, where does that argument go wrong?   Well, first as a tech professor -- and as a recipient of federal government research funds -- I would say that the vast majority of funding doesn't have the innovative effects Obama has in mind, at least in my fields (computer science, statistics, math).   In times when the nation can afford it, the funding is justified for other reasons, but its economic impact is small.   Remember, guys like Gates, Jobs, Ellison, Zuckerberg and so on never did research, and indeed never completed even a bachelor's degree.   (Google's Brin did some research as a grad student, but it was quite forgettable stuff and didn't have any role in forming Google.)
 
But let's suppose research does have as much economic impact as Obama thinks it does.   That consideration actually argues AGAINST having an autogreen program.
 
For openers, here's a statistic that I don't think I've shared here yet (from a forthcoming article of mine): In the area of computer science and electrical engineering, the former foreign students now working in the U.S.A. are actually LESS likely to be employed in an R&D (research and development) position than the Americans.   Granted, that statistic isn't specifically for the students from research universities, but it certainly is counter to the notion that the foreign students go on to dominate our industrial research labs after graduation.
 
Second, there is the point I often make concerning an "internal brain drain", the direct and indirect displacement by the H-1B program of many of our own American best and brightest.   Here I'll use an MIT focus.
 
For instance, one of the readers of this e-news-letter is an MIT grad who went on to obtain a PhD at a major university, worked as a researcher at a top U.S. medical school, but eventually was crowded out in a market dominated by foreign nationals.   This person is still invited to give talks at universities around the world, but can't get a job here.
 
There are actually several MIT grads among my readers.   None has a good, solid job in tech, a waste of their talent and education.   And I would argue that H-1B has played a causal role in that waste, either directly or indirectly.   Meanwhile, a Forbes Magazine article found that
 
Between 2003 and 2006 the percentage of graduates from MIT going into financial services rose from 13% to almost 25%...   One can hardly blame these young hires.   Financial firms offer considerably higher pay, better career prospects and insulation against off-shoring, than traditional science and engineering companies...
 
If MIT students are to be considered our own best and brightest, the above should make my point about an internal brain drain caused by flooding the STEM job market with foreign students.
 
The NSF document I often cite conceded that autogreen would drive U.S. students away from STEM at the PhD level, and it's clear that it would do so at the master's and bachelor's level as well.   Surely Lofgren and Schumer would not want such a thing, but that's what their reforms would cause.
 
Given that a flair for innovation is the one comparative advantage Americans have over the rest of the world, one can make a good argument that autogreen would thus result in a net LOSS of innovative capacity in the U.S.A.
 
Research could also suffer from perverse effects of autogreen.   There would certainly be unintended consequences of such a blanket giveaway.   In 1992, the Chinese Student Protection Act was enacted, giving automatic green cards to all Chinese nationals who were in the U.S.A. during the student revolt in Beijing in 1989, and a lot of odd stuff ensued from the legislation.   A number of romantic relationships broke up, for instance, due to one partner suddenly not needing to rely on the other for a green card.   That made for interesting gossip, but much more to the point, many Chinese students quit their grad programs, as they no longer needed that steppingstone to a green card.
 
A few years ago (and thus not related to the CSPA), I served on the PhD dissertation examining committee of a top student from China, who was on his way to writing an outstanding thesis.   Long-time readers have heard me state often my support for facilitating the immigration of the best/brightest, and he would certainly would have qualified in my view.
 
But then suddenly I got a call from an employer for a reference on the guy, whom the employer wanted to hire.   I of course praised the student highly, but I practically fell off my chair when the caller told me what position the student was being hired for -- system administrator!   Here he's a top engineering PhD student, yet he's quitting the doctoral program to take a job which involves maintaining user accounts, installing new machines, etc.   But he really wanted to start his green card process, so he left our program.
 
I have no doubt that passage of an autogreen law would result in many foreign post-docs in U.S. university science labs suddenly quitting too.   The post-doc situation suffers from a surplus, as I've explained before, so this action would not be entirely negative, but the universities would find themselves left in the lurch, at least in the short term.
 
Before leaving the topic of autogreen, let me repeat that the central problem with it is that it would exacerbate what is already rampant age discrimination in the tech industry, since most of the new foreign student graduates would be young.   This is, once again, the central issue with H-1B and autogreen, AGE.   Unfortunately, this was not brought up at the Senate hearing.
 
Before I get to the topic of what SHOULD be done to reform H-1B and green cards, I'll briefly remind readers the issue of the Indian "bodyshops" (IBs).   I've written quite a bit recently that Lofgren's bill, along with the views Schumer has expressed, wrongly focuses on the IBs.   As I showed in my recent DC talk, the main-stream U.S. employers also often pay their H-1Bs below-market wages.   So it's both unfair and ineffective to just pick on the Indians, when they have only 12% of the market and the abuse pervades the entire industry.
 
In this regard, I wanted to point out a recent McKinsey report to show just how entrenched the Lofgren/Schumer thinking is:
 
California also benefits from the H1-B guest worker visas to attract skilled workers for the innovation economy.   However, the program suffers from a massive over-subscription of the 65K quota limit, as well as apparent loop-holes in the program that bring in workers with "ordinary skills" rather than the intended engineers and scientists needed to grow California businesses.   For FY2011, enough H1-B petitions were received to reach the annual quota within 4 months.   The state must press for reforms.
 
OTOH, these are amazing statements for McKinsey to make, given the highly pro-H-1B, pro-off-shoring stance it's taken over the years.   One can see in that phrasing echoes of the work of Ron Hira, John Miano and myself.   But the implied message is still that the IBs are the core problem, which as noted is not the case.
 
What about instituting a Canadian-style point system, as senator Sessions asked?   The idea would be that if we are short on STEM graduates, then STEM applicants for immigration would get extra points.   This presumes there is such a shortage, which we don't have, but surely the industry would support it, right?   Well no; they've opposed proposals for point systems in the past.   Their stated reason has been that they need workers with really specific, narrow skill sets, rather than needing STEM workers in general.   That of course is completely at odds with the industry's constant claims that they need H-1Bs because U.S. universities aren't producing enough STEM workers in general.   Well, then, what does industry really want?   The answer is once again that they want YOUNG STEM workers, and H-1B greatly expands the YOUNG STEM labor pool.
 
As many of you know, I've strongly endorsed the Durbin/Grassley bill in the past, and continue to support it.   (I'm told it will be reintroduced.)   I regard the portions of the bill dealing with enforcement to be unnecessary, but the prevailing wage aspect of that bill, would go a long way to solving the H-1B and green card problems, in an extremely simple, clean matter.   Instead of having 4 experience levels as we have now, there would be just one, which would do a lot to address the age problem.   The wage floor would be at the 50th percentile of the overall market for that occupation.   Even better is the proposal of the Dept. of Professional Employees of the AFL-CIO, which would set the floor at the 75th percentile.
 
Norm
---30---

2011-08-05
Karl Henkel _Youngstown OH Vindicator_
B-17 visit offers historic flight experiences
"Before Thursday, Dixie Lee Kosovec of McDonald never had the chance to ride in a World War II-era B-17 bomber.   Kosovec, who'll be 75 in November, admittedly didn't know much about the war-plane either, despite having her name -- 'Dixie Lee' -- plastered along the nose of a B-17 and an uncle who flew one during the war.   'He didn't talk much about the war.', Kosovec said.   'I got some pictures back from him and some letters and stuff, but he never discussed anything that went on in the war.'   The B-17 bearing her name was shot down 1944 August 13, over Le Manoir, France...   Aluminum Overcast -- 74 feet 4 inches long -- is one of about a dozen B-17s still flying today.   In all, 12,732 B-17s were built for military use during war-time."
Seattle WA Post-Intelligencer

2011-08-05
Josh Smith _National Journal_
new White House CIO was MSFT dolt
NextGov
UPI
Dave Neal: London Inquirer/Incisive Media
"In 2009 van Roekel contributed $50K to [Obummer's] inauguration celebration...   VanRoekel gave Obama's campaign $4,600 in 2008,when he was an executive at Microsoft.   In 2009 and 2010 he contributed $7,300 to the Democratic National Committee while working at the FCC, according to Federal Elections Commission disclosures.   And in 2006 Washington Women for Choice received $1K from van Roekel.   In congressional races, van Roekel donated $1K to representative Michele Bachman's opponent Tarryl Clark last year.   He also contributed $1,750 to Rob Miller, who launched a failed challenge to SC GOP representative Joe Wilson, in 2010."

2011-08-05
_Fox_
The Myths of High-Tech Worker Shortage: interview with professor Ron Hira

2011-08-05
_YouTube_
Federal, Ohio investigation of Guelen school network (with video)

2011-08-05
Robert Stacy McCain _American Spectator_
Show-down in corn country
"Less than 10 days before the Ames Straw Poll on Aug. 13, Iowa is swarming with Republican presidential candidates, 9 of whom will appear on the straw-poll ballot."

2011-08-05
Robert Stacy McCain _American Spectator_
Michele Bachmann calls for Geithner to resign

2011-08-05
Matthew Vadum _American Spectator_
Obummer lied, the US government's credit rating died

2011-08-05
Quin Hillyer _American Spectator_
It's time for growth economics

2011-08-05
Andrew Cline _American Spectator_
Thomas Jefferson warned us
"Something that is broken does not work as intended.   It has been damaged by an outside force.   The debt ceiling negotiations revealed many things, but never that the United States government is broken.   On the contrary, the government worked exactly as designed...   Disagreements in Washington have been worked out in precisely that way for centuries, just as the Founders anticipated.   The U.S. government is not broken; it is dysfunctional.   That is, it functions, but in an unhealthy way, a way that needs to be corrected...   Unlike most state governments, the federal government has no mechanism that prevents prolonged deficit spending...   'No man is more ardently intent to see the public debt soon and sacredly paid off than I am.', [Thomas Jefferson] wrote to President Washington in 1792.   'This exactly marks the difference between Colonel Hamilton's views and mine, that I would wish the debt paid to-morrow; he wishes it never to be paid, but always to be a thing wherewith to corrupt and manage the Legislature.'   To Senator, and former House Speaker, Nathaniel Macon, Jefferson wrote in 1821, 'There does not exist an engine so demoralizing of the nation as a public debt.   It will bring on us more ruin at home than all the enemies from abroad against whom this army and navy are to protect us.'   Jefferson thought a perpetual public debt was so injurious to liberty that he theorized a way of preventing one generation from passing a debt on to the next.   In a letter to John Eppes in 1813, he wrote, 'What is to hinder (the government) from creating a perpetual debt?   The laws of nature, I answer.'   Each generation would be limited to accumulating only the debt that it could pay off before it died, he theorized.   'Suppose that a majority, on the first day of the year 1794, had borrowed a sum of money equal to the fee-simple value of the State, and to have consumed it in eating, drinking and making merry in their day; or if you please, quarrelling and fighting with their unoffending neighbors.'   If that generation tried to pass that debt to the next generation, 'Every one will say no...', Jefferson wrote, 'the laws of nature impose no obligation on them to pay this debt.   And although, like some other natural rights, this has not yet entered into any declaration of rights, it is no less a law, and ought to be acted on by honest governments.'   Jefferson's theory notwithstanding, this 'law' has yet to be acknowledged by our government, much less written into the Constitution or our statutes."

2011-08-05
Thomas E. Brewton _View from 1776_
reason and science vs. leftist pseudo-science

2011-08-05
Thomas E. Brewton _View from 1776_
the wrong premise
 
Proposed Bills 2011

2011-08-05

DJIA	11,444.61
S&P 500(SPX)	1,199.38
NASDAQ(COMP)	2,532.41
Nikkei	9,299.88
10-year US T-Bond(UST10Y)	2.55%
crude oil(CL1U)	$86.88/barrel
natgas(NG11U)	$3.94/MBTU
reformulatedgasoline(RB1U)	$2.81/gal
heatingoil(HO1U)	$2.94/gal
gold(GC1Z)	$1,651.80/ounce
silver(SI1U)	$38.21/ounce
platinum(PL1V)	$1,719.10/ounce
palladium(PA1U)	$741.75/ounce
copper(HG1U)	$0.2575/ounce
soybeans	$13.36/bushel
maize	$7.03/bushel
wheat	$6.79/bushel
dollarindex(DXY)	74.592
yenperdollar(USDYEN)	78.42
dollarspereuro(EURUSD)	$1.4269
dollarsperpound(GBPUSD)	$1.6360
swissfrancsperdollar	0.7666
indianrupeesperdollar	44.73
mexicanpesosperdollar(USDMXN)	11.9765
MorganStanleyHighTechIndex	586.85

I usually get this info from MarketWatch.
 
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-06

2011-08-06
W. James Antle iii _American Spectator_
The S&P down-grade and never-ending, ever-more-rapidly-increasing federal government over-spending

2011-08-06
Katie Mulvaney _Providence RI Journal_
judge acquitted UAE navy captain Arif Mohamed Saeed Mohamed Al-Ali of human trafficking charge
Filipino Inquirer/AP
Laura Crimaldi: Forbes/AP

2011-08-06
Robert Tracinski _Real Clear Markets_
The Peculiar Madness of Paul Krugman

2011-08-06
William L. Anderson
Down-grades, debt and more delusion
graphs
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-07

2011-08-07
_Youngstown OH Vindicator_
Explore history of industry in Salem OH
"The city's rich industrial history is now on display at Salem Historical Society Museum, 208 S. Broadway Ave... seasonal exhibit, titled 'Made In Salem, Ohio -- 1840-1956', features companies, many no longer operating, that contributed to the city's growth."

2011-08-07
William L. Anderson
The Times and Taxes
graphs

2011-08-07
Thomas E. Brewton & Robert Curry _View from 1776_
Scottish/American vs. French enlightenment

2011-08-07
Thomas E. Brewton _View from 1776_
Who is to blame?: Cause, effect, and correction

2011-08-07
Robert Moore _Cenantua_
"Do not expect to enter my house, if you disobey my orders.": Peyton Harison, Henry Tucker Conrad, Holmes Addison Conrad, Robert Young Conrad, David Holmes Conrad, John E. Fryatt, David Holmes Manor, Charles W. Manor, George Mullen, John Quincy Adams Nadenbousch
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-08

1902-08-08: Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac (son of Charles Adrien Ladislas Dirac & Florence Hannah Holten) birth-day

2011-08-08
Jeff Young _Chronicle of Higher Education_
Ill-Begotten Monstrosities pulled out of UIUC super-computer project

2011-08-08
Marc Perry _Chronicle of Higher Education_
eArmyU distance-education program being shut down
"The distance-learning program eArmyU will close next year, according to an Army Times report.   The initiative, which has served 64K soldiers since it began in 2001, provides access to online courses offered by 30 colleges.   But students can now seek out online degree programs from more than 1,500 colleges through the traditional tuition assistance portal of GoArmyEd, Army Times reported.   The 1,429 students in eArmyU have been notified that they will be transitioned to regular tuition assistance after 2012 March 31."
Jim Tice: Army Times
"So far this fiscal year, nearly 160K active-duty soldiers have taken 282,609 tuition assistance-courses at a cost of $173.9M, according to information provided by the Army Continuing Education System of HRC...   Of the 64,087 soldiers who have enrolled in eArmyU since its launch at the dawn of the war on terrorism, 11,741 have earned certifications and degrees."

2011-08-08
Gerri Willis _Fox_
US executives, stop sitting on your cash and start hiring US citizens
Matt Andrejczak: MarketWatch: Dow 30 have 18% more cash stashed than last year
"Caterpillar, which has been riding [Red China's US-subsidized] domestic boom through construction equipment sales, reported $10.7G in cash, up 3-fold from the year-earlier period.   MSFT, often needled by analysts for sitting on too much money, reported $52G in cash at the end of the quarter, up 43% from the 2010 June period.   Johnson & Johnson had nearly $30G in cash, up 57%, while Coca-Cola boosted its cash reserves by 38% to $14G. Chevron had $18G, a 36% increase."

2011-08-08
Edwin S. Rubenstein _V Dare_
New American Worker Displacement Index: There should be an immigration moratorium (with table, graph)

2011-08-08
Patrick J. Buchanan _V Dare_
Look at who down-graded US government debt instruments
"To see how absurd it is to blame Tea Party Republicans for the down-grading of America's debt, imagine this scenario: Representative Ron Paul is speaker of the House, senator Rand Paul is majority leader, [Michele Bachmann majority whip, Thomas Sowell is Secretary of the Treasury, Walter E. Williams head of the Fed], and representative Paul Ryan is president of the United States.   Does anyone doubt this trio would restore the U.S credit rating in a New York minute? Every [leftist] sacred cow in the federal pasture, from food stamps to foreign aid, would be hanging in the meat locker."

2011-08-08
Paul Craig Roberts _V Dare_
S&P federal government debt instrument down-grade

2011-08-08
Jim Kouri _Examiner_
Illegal aliens working in chemical facilities, despite expressed security concerns

2011-08-08
Audrey Williams June _Chronicle of Higher Education_
Scientists regret putting aside having children
David Ruth: Rice U/Eurekalert/AAAS
"One-quarter of male scientists reported that they had fewer children than they wanted, and that had a more negative effect on their life satisfaction than it did for women, said Elaine H. Ecklund, an assistant professor of sociology at Rice University, who co-authored the study with Anne E. Lincoln, an assistant professor of sociology at Southern Methodist University...   Nearly half of the women scientists surveyed by the authors said their careers kept them from having more children.   The study looked at data from more than 30 research universities and 2,500 scientists in the fields of physics, astronomy, and biology.   Graduate students and post-doctoral fellows were among those surveyed, and from their vantage point, work-life balance in the sciences looks pretty bleak.   Nearly 30% of women worry that if they choose to pursue science, then they will have to give up on having a family.   In fact, the study shows, once graduate students and post-docs have fewer children than they want, they are more likely to consider a different career."

2011-08-08
Kristina Reiss _Technical University of Munich_
school-children can learn complex math on their own

2011-08-08
Jeffrey Tucker _Ludwig von Mises Institute_
New Zurich Times calls for end of Keynesianism

2011-08-08
Lisa DeNike _Johns Hopkins U_/_Eurekalert_/_AAAS_
Math ability is in-born
"It seems we do, at least according to the results of a study by a team of Johns Hopkins University psychologists.   Led by Melissa Libertus, a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, the study -- published online in a recent issue of Developmental Science -- indicates that math ability in preschool children is strongly linked to their inborn and primitive 'number sense', called an 'Approximate Number System' or ANS.   Research reveals that 'number sense' is basic to all animals, not just human beings.   For instance, creatures that hunt or gather food use it to ascertain where they can find and procure the most nuts, plants or game and to keep track of the food they hunt or gather.   We humans use it daily to allow us, at a glance, to estimate the number of open seats in a movie theater or the number of people in a crowded meeting.   And it is measurable, even in new-born infants.   Though the link between ANS and formal mathematics ability already has been established in adolescents, Libertus says her team's is the first study to examine the role of 'number sense' in children too young to already have had substantial formal mathematics instruction...   Some comparisons were easy (like comparing five yellow versus 10 blue dots).   Others were much harder (like comparing five yellow versus six blue dots).   Children were informed of right or wrong answers via a high- or low-pitched beep.   (You can take a test similar to the one administered to the children on-line.)...   Still in question, of course, is the root cause of the link between number sense and math ability.   Do children born with better number sense have an easier time learning to count and to understand the symbolic nature of numbers? Or it is just that children born with less accurate number sense may end up avoiding math-related activities before they develop competency?...   This study was funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development."

2011-08-08 (5771 Menachem-Ab 08)
Owen Matthews & Anna Nemtsova _Jewish World Review_
Fascist Russia

2011-08-08 (5771 Menachem-Ab 08)
Sheera Frenkel _Jewish World Review_
More than 250K radical leftists take to the streets in Israel
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-09

1965-08-09: Singapore declared independence

2011-08-09
Robert Guttersohn _Youngstown OH Vindicator_
English Language Institute helping immigrants adjust

2011-08-09
Denise Dick _Youngstown OH Vindicator_
STEAM school to open August 22
"A new school opening this month will blend arts with science, technology, engineering and math for a kindergarten-through-fifth-grade curriculum.   Mosaica Education Inc. will open the STEAM -- Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math -- Academy on Aug. 22 on Oak Street...   'Our sponsor is the Richland Academy of the Arts in Mansfield.', said John Grahovac, the school's chief administrative officer.   Grahovac, a Youngstown native, served as both a teacher and principal in the city schools and as superintendent in both Struthers and Brookfield.   So far, 14 students have enrolled with another 20 possible enrollees, he said...   Melvin Brown, regional vice president for Mosaica's Ohio schools, said the school will use Mosaica's proprietary Paragon curriculum...   Brown said the new school isn't trying to compete with the Youngstown district's new Chaney, which opens this year with a STEM and visual and performing arts emphasis for sixth- through 12-graders.   Mosaica will open another STEAM school this Fall on Elm Road in Warren."

2011-08-09
Virgil Goode _Town Hall_
Job creation and immigration
"In 2010, only 0.2% of legal immigrants were investors, 5.2% received advanced degree visas, and 1.1% were listed as having 'extraordinary abilities'."

2011-08-09
Aaron Goldstein _American Spectator_
The Left have no humanity

2011-08-09
Jim Kouri _Examiner_
Prince William county suing DHS for info on disposition of criminal illegal aliens turned over to DHS
"suing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for records involving thousands of illegal immigrants who were arrested locally and turned over for deportation.   Officials in Prince William county suspect that many of the criminal aliens, like the drunk driver who killed a nun last summer in their jurisdiction, were simply released under Obama's back-door amnesty plan.   If so, there could be at least 3K criminal illegal immigrants roaming around the county, which is part of the Washington [DC] metropolitan area and has a population of around 400K, according to a non-profit group that investigates government corruption and waste...   Prince William County has transferred more than 4K criminal illegal aliens to DHS custody in the last few years and officials want to know their whereabouts."

2011-08-09
Linda Thom _V Dare_
Unemployment and labor glut

2011-08-09
Michelle Malkin _V Dare_
Van Jones announces yet another radical leftist scheme

2011-08-09
James Carlini
Where is the next big job surge?
"Once you give up an industry segment, it's gone...   As to the social media 'industry', it is no replacement for a real industry segment [or real innovation]...   others who are really into networking -- to try a find a real job that isn't there.   In order to get out of this recession/depression, we have to identify and support a new segment for growth, high-paid jobs and become the dominant country within that segment.   Otherwise, we are going to continue to wallow in a shrinking job market with jobs programs as well as educational curricula that doesn't match today and tomorrow's needs.   Shovel-ready projects did not work.   Key-board-ready projects might have been a better program to get the unemployed and under-employed back to work."

2011-08-09
Heather MacDonald _City Journal_
Back to the Future on Poverty Policy: mayor Bloomberg's latest program is a greatest-hits package of failed ideas

2011-08-09 (5771 Menachem-Ab 09)
Caroline B. Glick _Jewish World Review_
Norway's "Jewish problem"

2011-08-09 (5771 Menachem-Ab 09)
Jean Chatzky _Jewish World Review_
Surviving the US federal government debt deal

2011-08-09 (5771 Menachem-Ab 09)
Frank J. Gaffney ii _Jewish World Review_
It is "crazy" to ignore those pushing for Shariah
"A more compelling justification would be if we were fighting to prevent the success of those who, like the Taliban, adhere to the politico-military-legal doctrine they call shariah.   According to that doctrine, the entire world -- not just Afghanistan -- must submit to divine dictates as recounted by Mohammed and refined, interpreted and applied for over 1400 years by Muslim rulers (caliphs), scholars, institutions and jihadists.   It is the particular mission of the Muslim Brotherhood and its off-shoots, notably al Qaeda, to accomplish this objective and establish a new, global caliphate to rule in accordance with shariah.   Unfortunately, many in this country remain clueless about this threat.   A particularly egregious example of official willful blindness was evident in an outburst last week by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.   In response to criticism that he had appointed to his state's superior court a Muslim lawyer known for his ties to shariah-adherent terrorists and their sympathizers..."
Investigative Project: CAIR-Hamas-Muslim Brotherhood links
Discover the Networks: Muslim Brotherhood (MB)

2011-08-09 (5771 Menachem-Ab 09)
Peter Grier _Jewish World Review_
Navy SEALs and special operations units will have their duties increased in Afghanistan

2011-08-09 (5771 Menachem-Ab 09)
Thomas Sowell _Jewish World Review_
Random Thoughts
"Amid all the concerns about the sky-rocketing government debt, a front-page headline in the Wall Street Journal said: 'Families Slice Debt to Lowest In 6 Years'.   It is remarkable how differently people behave when they are spending their own money compared to the way politicians behave when spending the [tax-victims'] money."
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-10

2011-08-10
Richard E. Ralston _American Spectator_
Save us from Medicare

2011-08-10
Naomi Creason _Cumberland PA Sentinel_
Puppies at risk for parvo virus
"Parvo affects dogs, usually when they're puppies, and can often cause death.   'The disease dehydrates them.', said Robin Scherer, co-founder of FFN.   'It attacks their gastrointestinal system, so there's vomiting and diarrhea.   It's not something you want to deal with.'...   'It's a highly contagious disease.', she added.   'It's transferred through feces, and it can get on your clothes and on your shoes.   It just spreads like wild-fire, and it's a very hefty disease.   It can live in the carpet for up to a year.'   The only thing to kill parvo on the carpet is bleach...   At the clinic, FFN will offer vaccines for rabies, bordatella and distemper.   It is the distemper vaccine, or DHLP-P, that will help safeguard pets from parvo.   The combination vaccine will protect animals from distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parainfluenza and the parvovirus.   While puppies and dogs will see some benefit from the vaccine for parvo, Scherer notes that it's also important for cats to receive the vaccine for distemper, which is a fast-acting and deadly disease in cats...   Keeping a pet indoors won't necessarily protect them from disease, either, Scherer notes."

2011-08-10
Matthew Vadum _American Spectator_
ACORN fined maximum $5K for voter fraud scheme in Nevada
"Judge Donald Mosley said if an individual, as opposed to a corporation, had been before him, he would have handed down a 10-year prison sentence."

2011-08-10
Sona Rai _Columbia B-School_/_Eurekalert_/_AAAS_
When options are available, buyers go for better quality at higher price, but are still easily defrauded by experimenters
"When consumers are confronted with a proliferation of options, they will sharpen their appreciation of quality, and a switch to superior products will become more enticing. Subsequently, a switch to inferior products will become less tolerable."

2011-08-10
Mary-Ann Twist _U of WI_/_U of Chicago_/_Eurekalert_/_AAAS_
2011-08-10
"Theodore Dalrymple" _City Journal_
Leftist degeneracy on parade

2011-08-10
William L. Anderson
Yes, it IS politics!
Jeffrey Tucker: Ludwig von Mises Institute: Krugman's most evil column ever
Anthony Gregory: Lew Rockwell: The totalitarianism of the leftist mind-set

2011-08-10
Robert Moore _Cenantua_
Both confederates and unionists in the south complained of "oppression" and abuses during the Civil War... there seems to be a trend here...

2011-08-10 (5771 Menachem-Ab 10)
Warren Richey _Jewish World Review_
American Muslim pled guilty to using internet to solicit terrorism

2011-08-10 (5771 Menachem-Ab 10)
Casey Schwartz _Jewish World Review_
Why it's smart to be multi-lingual
"the regular, high-level use of more than one language may actually improve early brain development.   According to several different studies, command of two or more languages bolsters the ability to focus in the face of distraction, decide between competing alternatives, and disregard irrelevant information.   These essential skills are grouped together, known in brain terms as 'executive function'."

2011-08-10 (5771 Menachem-Ab 10)
Thomas Sowell _Jewish World Review_
A Pyrrhic "Victory"

2011-08-10 (5771 Menachem-Ab 10)
Walter E. Williams _Jewish World Review_
Ignorance, Stupidity, or Connivance?
"Back then [1990], Congress told us that the luxury tax on boats, aircraft and jewelry would raise $31M in revenue a year.   Instead, the tax destroyed 330 jobs in jewelry manufacturing and 1,470 in the aircraft industry, in addition to the thousands destroyed in the yacht industry.   Those job losses cost the government a total of $24.2M in unemployment benefits and lost income tax revenues.   The net effect of the luxury tax was a loss of $7.6M in fiscal 1991, which means Congress' projection was off by $38.6M.   The Joint Economic Committee concluded that the value of jobs lost in just the first 6 months of the luxury tax was $159.6M.   Congress repealed the luxury tax in 1993 after realizing it was a job killer and raised little net revenue."
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-11

2011-08-11 05:30PDT (08:30EDT) (12:30GMT) (15:30Jerusalem)
Scott Gibbons & Tony Sznoluch _DoL ETA_
un-employment insurance weekly claims report
DoL home page
DoL OPA press releases
historical data
DoL regulations
"The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 351,370 in the week ending August 6, an increase of 10,267 from the previous week.   There were 425,471 initial claims in the comparable week in 2010.   The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.8% during the week ending July 30, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week.   The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,573,254, a decrease of 107,475 from the preceding week.   A year earlier, the rate was 3.4% and the volume was 4,333,445.   The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending July 23 was 7,479,915, a decrease of 89,945 from the previous week.   Extended benefits were available in AL, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, ME, MA, MI, MN, MO, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, WA, WV, and WI, during the week ending July 23.   States reported 3,158,621 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending July 23, a decrease of 26,309 from the prior week.   There were 4,145,702 claimants in the comparable week in 2010.   EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.   [Note that the population used for calculating the "insured unemployment rate" changes
to 132,623,886 beginning 2007-10-06;
to 133,010,953 beginning 2008-01-05;
to 133,382,559 beginning 2008-04-05;
to 133,690,617 beginning 2008-07-05;
to 133,902,387 beginning 2008-10-04;
to 133,886,830 beginning 2009-01-03;
to 133,683,433 beginning 2009-04-04;
to 133,078,480 beginning 2009-07-04;
to 133,823,421 beginning 2009-10-03;
to 131,823,421 beginning 2009-10-17;
to 130,128,328 beginning 2010-01-02;
to 128,298,468 beginning 2010-04-03;
to 126,763,245 beginning 2010-07-03;
to 125,845,577 beginning 2010-09-25;
to 125,560,066 beginning 2011-01-15;
to 125,572,661 beginning 2011-04-02;
to 125,807,389 beginning 2011-07-02.]
EUC (Excel)
EB
graphs
more graphs

2011-08-11
Lauren McLane _Cumberland PA Sentinel_
Amazon planning to hire hundreds for full-time jobs in Carlisle, Lewisberry and Middlesex townships

2011-08-11
Denise Dick _Youngstown OH Vindicator_
HS senior attended Space Camp
"SR, 17, talks about the students he met from all over the world, the space simulations he experienced and the history of the U.S. space program the way many kids his age gush about the latest reality TV show.   He spent last week at U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL, a program founded in 1982 to promote the study of math, technology and math.   Students spend time in the class-room and in hands-on activities."
The winning team (3 students) from FutureCity gets a free trip to Space Camp.

2011-08-11 11:24:46PDT (14:24:46EDT) (18:24:46GMT) (21:24:46 Jerusalem)
_San Jose CA Mercury News_/_CA EDD_
Sili Valley employment report for June
"The unemployment rate climbed a little less than 1% in June, to 10.5%...   The computer and related fields added 3,500 jobs, up 9.7% compared to the same time last year.   Information services topped that with a 12.3% increase, with 5,400 more jobs compared to last year."

2011-08-11 11:36PDT (14:36EDT) (18:36GMT) (21:36 Jerusalem)
David Meyer _Ziff Davis_
Adamant privacy violation advocate Oracle on hiring spree in Europe

2011-08-11
Tom Lutey _Billings MT Gazette_
MT wheat acreage estimate cut by 500K: bad news for software pros, pizza price going up
"In a rare second look at production for Montana's largest industry, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday that earlier expectations for Montana's 2011 wheat crop were not only off by 500K acres, but that farmers would deliver 35.7M fewer wheat bushels to grain elevators as a result.   The adjustment is more than a $250M down-grade of the 2011 crop's value.   Acres of durum, a grain used in pasta, were reduced 21% from early July estimates, with the production off 40% from 2010...   The decline in durum production on the U.S. side of the border will mean higher ingredient prices for pasta companies and, in the end, consumers...   Earlier estimates for Montana's hard red Spring wheat crop also proved over-blown.   High-protein spring wheat is used in bread flour.   The state's spring wheat production might be down, said Greg Thayer of Montana Milling in Great Falls, but global supplies are ample.   He doesn't think price increases based on Northern Plains spring wheat production are likely.   According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, winter wheat production in Montana was forecast at 1.5G bushels, up slightly from earlier estimates.   That crop was planted last Fall.   Winter wheat production was also up 1% from 2010.   Barley yields were also unchanged."

2011-08-11
_Washington DC Compost_/_Bloomberg_/_AP_
Indonesia is latest tech cheap-labor fad-source

2011-08-11
John Tamny _Real Clear Markets_
Bernanke Fed promises at least 2 more years of economic pain

2011-08-11
Nck Miller _Cincinnati Children's Hospital_/_Eurekalert_/_AAAS_
guanylyl cyclase-C malfunction linked to ADHD
"Using a mouse model developed in Dr. Ralph Giannella's laboratory at the University of Cincinnati, in which the [guanylyl cyclase-C] GC-C receptor [in critical areas of the brain] is deleted, or knocked out, the researchers found the mice exhibit hyperactivity and attention deficits.   It is the first time that GC-C has been linked to neuro-psychiatric disorder, according to the researchers...   'We show that the neurons selectively express GC-C and that its activation amplifies the excitatory responses mediated by other receptors on dopamine neurons in the mid-brain.', said Dr. Luo.   'Working through a protein kinase called PKG, GC-C activity increases brain dopamine levels and thus regulate mouse attention and activity level.'   When the researchers treated the GC-C knock-out mice with amphetamine-based ADHD medication and a PKG activator, it reversed their hyperactive, inattentive behavior."

2011-08-11
William L. Anderson
The Keynesian game: Let's pretend we are rich even though it is just an inflation mirage

2011-08-11
Robert Moore _Cenantua_
What causes motivated Southerners to support the Confederacy
"They are in arms, but not for the same objects; they are moved to a common end, but by different and even inconsistent reasons."

2011-08-11
Thomas E. Brewton _View from 1776_
The irony of the illfare state

2011-08-11
Donna Cassata & Josh Loftin _Cybercast News Service_/_AP_
non-leftist Republicans praised back home for opposing over-spending, debt increases, spineless GOP losership
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-12

2011-08-12 02:44PDT (05:44EDT) (09:44GMT) (12:44 Jerusalem)
Larry Dignan _Ziff Davis_/_CBS_
Tech execs putting off "IT" investments

2011-08-12 03:42PDT (06:42EDT) (10:42GMT) (13:42 Jerusalem)
Rich Barbieri _CNN_
Americans' bleak outlook on jobs

2011-08-12 08:02PDT (11:02EDT) (15:02GMT) (18:02 Jerusalem)
Ruth Mantell _MarketWatch_
UMich consumer sentiment index dropped from 63.7 in July to 54.9 in early August
Federal Reserve Board St. Louis

2011-08-12 08:06PDT (11:06EDT) (15:06GMT) (18:06 Jerusalem)
Russ Britt _MarketWatch_
CBOE volatility index (VIX) averages 15% swings compared with usual 1%

2011-08-12 08:22PDT (11:22EDT) (15:22GMT) (18:22 Jerusalem)
Jeffry Bartash _MarketWatch_
Retail sales posted biggest gain in 4 months

2011-08-12 09:48PDT (12:48EDT) (16:48GMT) (19:48 Jerusalem)
Russ Britt _MarketWatch_
EDHEC-Risk Institute blasted 4 European nations for their ban on short sales

2011-08-12
Rich Lowry _Real Clear Politics_
Brotherly Love from Philadelphia's mayor, Michael Nutter
Patrick J. Buchanan

2011-08-12
Jeremy Warner _London Telegraph_
More quantitative easing/inflation? Give us a break
"QE is like a drug.   The first dose was quite potent, but the more frequently it is used, the less effective it becomes and the more the addict demands.   QE2 in the US, launched in response to a soft patch in the recovery similar to the one we are going through today, was almost certainly a mistake.   Sure enough, it boosted asset and commodity prices, but it did very little for ordinary people.   To the contrary, by raising food and fuel prices, it only made them poorer."

2011-08-12
Bryan Cain-Jackson _Technorati_
British prime minister David Cameron wants to ban privacy-violating, riot-facilitating "social media"

2011-08-12
Patricia Quigley _Inside Science_
Vacations, week-ends off boost health and productivity
"'We also know that the mind is very powerful and can help with healing, so a rested, relaxed mind is able to help the body heal better.', said Withers...   'Most people have better life perspective and are more motivated to achieve their goals after a vacation, even if it is a 24-hour time-out.'...   The on-line travel agency Expedia [which makes more money the more vacations people take] conducted a survey about vacation time in 2010, and according to their data the average American earned 18 vacation days -- but only used 14 of them.   Every European country included in the survey reported both more vacation days earned and used.   France topped the list, with the average worker earning 37 vacation days and using all but 2 of them.   And according to Expedia's data, only 38% of Americans said they used all of their vacation time, compared to 63% of French respondents...   45% of Americans agreed that 'they come back to work feeling rested, rejuvenated, and reconnected to their personal life' after vacation, and 35% said 'they return from vacation feeling better about their job and feeling more productive'...   Clinical psychologist Deborah Mulhern of Bethesda, MD, also has found that people who don't take enough time to relax may find it harder to relax in the future.   'Without time and opportunity to do this, the neural connections that produce feelings of calm and peacefulness become weaker...'"

2011-08-12
Marta Cyperli _U of Calgary, Alberta_/_Eurekalert_/_AAAS_
scientists highlight link between stress and appetite
"stress increases food drive in rats.   This new discovery, published online this week in the journal Neuron, could provide important insight into why stress is thought to be one of the underlying contributors to obesity.   Normally, the brain produces neuro-transmitters (chemicals responsible for how cells communicate in the brain) called endo-cannabinoids that send signals to control appetite.   In this study, the researchers found that when food is not present, a stress response occurs that temporarily causes a functional re-wiring in the brain.   This re-wiring may impair the endo-cannabinoids' ability to regulate food intake and could contribute to enhanced food drive.   The researchers also discovered that when they blocked the effects of stress hormones in the brain, the absence of food caused no change in the neural circuitry."

2011-08-12
Thomas E. Brewton _View from 1776_
Leftist and Keynesian economic models are unrealistic

2011-08-12
Rachel Wiseman _Chronicle of Higher Education_
The Public, Playing a Molecule-Building Game, Out-Performs Scientists with Theoretical Computer Models

2011-08-12
William L. Anderson
The hijacking of economic logic
"When Obama took office, accompanied by insurmountable Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, the government went on a spree of spending, new regulations, and massive entitlement increases.   The [Obummer] administration not only continued the destructive bailout policies of the [Shrub] administration, but also added to them.   By appointing a number of industry 'czars', [Obummer] even reached back to the days of the infamous National Industrial Recovery Act, as harebrained FDR scheme to organize the entire U.S. economy into a series of cartels.   (Yes, the idea was that if we could produce less and force up prices of goods and commodities, the higher prices would translate into higher incomes and lead to recovery.)   However, Krugman wants us to believe that the administration from 2009 to 2011 actually engaged in 'austerity' spending."

2011-08-12
Jonathan M. Finegold Catalan _Ludwig von Mises Institute_
Rethinking Depression Economics

2011-08-12 (5771 Menachem-Ab 12)
Scott Stewart _Jewish World Review_/_Strat For_
Global Economic Down-Turn: A Crisis of Political Economy

2011-08-12 (5771 Menachem-Ab 12)
Diana West _Jewish World Review_
the CIA should kowtow less to CAIR
"This week, a 3-day conference hosted by the CIA on 'homegrown radicalization' was supposed to have taken place at CIA headquarters.   It did not.   The conference was abruptly canceled -- or, softening the blow, 'postponed'.   Question: Did pressure from what we might (and should) call a certain 'homegrown radical' group -- the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) -- make this happen? Here is what we know.   On Monday, July 18, CAIR issued a press release headlined: 'CAIR Asks CIA to Drop Islamophobic Trainer'.   It revealed that CAIR national executive director Nihad Awad wrote a letter to now-former CIA director Leon Panetta to that effect.   The rest of the release is more opaque.   In referencing an [National Socialist Radio] report that slammed one counterterrorism trainer by name, former FBI agent John Guandolo, for 'allegedly smearing' an 'Ohio Muslim' in a presentation, CAIR noted that an entirely different trainer, unnamed, was 'scheduled to hold a similar session in August for the CIA'.   (Full disclosure: Guandolo and I are among 19 co-authors of _Shariah: the Threat to America_.)   The August CIA 'session' appears to be the driver of both the CAIR release and letter asking the CIA, as the headline put it, to 'Drop Islamophobic Trainer'."
Clarion Project: Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
Investigative Project: CAIR-Hamas-Muslim Brotherhood links
Discover the Networks: Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
anti-CAIR
Discover the Networks: Muslim Brotherhood (MB)
 
Proposed Bills 2011

2011-08-12

DJIA	11,269.02
S&P 500(SPX)	1,178.81
NASDAQ(COMP)	2,507.98
Nikkei	8,963.72
10-year US T-Bond(UST10Y)	2.24%
crude oil(CL1U)	$85.38/barrel
natgas(NG11U)	$4.06/MBTU
reformulatedgasoline(RB1U)	$2.82/gal
heatingoil(HO1U)	$2.90/gal
gold(GC1Z)	$1,742.60/ounce
silver(SI1U)	$39.11/ounce
platinum(PL1V)	$1,796.70/ounce
palladium(PA1U)	$748.20/ounce
copper(HG1U)	$0.250625/ounce
soybeans	$13.39/bushel
maize	$7.145/bushel
wheat	$7.3225/bushel
dollarindex(DXY)	74.594
yenperdollar(USDYEN)	76.72
dollarspereuro(EURUSD)	$1.4251
dollarsperpound(GBPUSD)	$1.6360
swissfrancsperdollar	0.7724
indianrupeesperdollar	45.34
mexicanpesosperdollar(USDMXN)	12.2675
MorganStanleyHighTechIndex	581.26

I usually get this info from MarketWatch.
 
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-13

2011-08-13
Peter Schiff _Real Clear Markets_
The fix is in
"Moving past the previously uncertain pronouncements that they would 'keep interest rates low for an extended period', the Fed now tells us that rates will not budge from rock bottom for at least 2 years.   Although the markets rallied on the news (at least for a few minutes) in reality the policy will inflict untold harm on the U.S. economy.   The move was so dangerous and misguided that 3 members of the Fed's Open Market Committee actually voted against it.   This level of dissent within the Fed hasn't been seen for years...   I believe that ultra-low interest rates are among the biggest impediments currently preventing genuine economic growth in the US economy.   By committing to keep them near zero for the next 2 years, the Fed has actually lengthened the time Americans will now have to wait before a real recovery begins.   Low rates are the root cause of the misallocation of resources that define the modern American economy.   As a direct result, Americans borrow, consume, and speculate too much, while we save, produce, and invest too little...   interest rate levels are best determined by the freely interacting forces of supply and demand.   In the case of interest rates, the determinative factors should be the supply of savings available to lend and the demand for money by people and business who want to borrow...   by specifically telegraphing policy, the Fed has now given cover to the most parasitic elements of the financial sector to undertake transactions that offer no economic benefit to the nation.   Specifically, it will simply encourage banks to borrow money at zero percent from the Fed, and then use significant leverage to buy low yielding treasuries at 2% to 4%.   The result is a banker's dream: guaranteed low risk profit.   IOW, it will encourage banks to lend to the government, which already borrows too much, and not lend to private borrowers, whose activity could actually benefit the economy.   This reckless policy, designed to facilitate government spending and appease Wall Street financiers, will continue to starve Main Street of the capital it needs to make real productivity-enhancing investments.   American investment capital will continue to flow abroad...   inflationary policy drives real wages lower, robbing Americans of their purchasing power.   The consequence is a dollar in free-fall, dragging down with it the standard of living of average Americans."

2011-08-13
Linda Feldman _Christian Science Monitor_
Iowa straw poll leaders: Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul

2011-08-13
Ashley Luthern _Youngstown OH Vindicator_
Firestone home to be moved to make room for tire testing facility parking lot
"Visitors to the testing site still can look across the street and view the area where Firestone went camping with Henry Ford and Thomas Edison and the remains of a horse track where Firestone first tested his rubber tires.   The Firestone Homestead where Harvey S. Firestone was born and grew up was moved to Greenfield Village at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI, in 1983.   The homestead, which included a barn, was built in 1828."

2011-08-13
Thomas E. Brewton _View from 1776_
Seeing through leftists' attempts to distort history
2010-02-02: Jonathan M. Finegold Catalan: Lessons of 1937
"That the deficit of 1937 was smaller than that of 1936 is undeniable.   In 1937 the deficit stood at $2.2G, as compared to a deficit of $4.3G in 1936.   However, it is also noteworthy that, while the deficit was half as much as that of the previous year, total government outlays decreased from $8.2G to only $7.6G.   Interestingly, during 1935 -- a year considered one of recovery -- total government outlays measured $6.4G, less than during both 1936 and 1937.   In fact, looking back to the years from 1933 to 1935, government spending peaked at $6.5G in 1934.   It suffices to say that explaining Roosevelt's recession by pointing at a decrease in government spending is severely dishonest.   It is not much more useful to look at deficit spending.   True, deficit spending in 1937 was at its lowest since 1933, but it is worth mentioning that in 1938 -- the same year as the economy rebounded from the 1937 dip -- total government deficit spending amounted to only $89M.   But wait, if government spending did not decrease by much in 1937, then how did the government avoid large deficits?   Government receipts -- money received through [extortion] -- increased from $3.9G to $5.4G between 1936 and 1937.   In other words, high government spending did not result in a high annual deficit because the government collected a far greater amount of tax money that year than in all previous years of the Great Depression.   It is unsurprising that in 1938, government receipts increased to $6.75G.   Finally, while government spending did decrease between 1936 and 1937, total expenditure in 1937 was still greater than all years prior to 1936.   If a contractionary fiscal policy led to a recession in 1937, how did less spending cause recovery only a few years earlier?"

2011-08-13 09:53PDT (12:53EDT) (16:53GMT) (19:53 Jerusalem)
Alexander Burns _Politico_
Ron Paul passing out copies of US Constitution, decrying persistent violations by the federal government

2011-08-13
Cindy Uken _Billings MT Gazette_
Visiting med student from Mongolia notes differences in maladies and health care systems
"Since 2008, MSU WWAMI and MSU BioRegions have cooperated to provide rural field experience for integrated teams of HSUM and WWAMI medical students, along with a resident physician from RiverStone Health Clinic.   The field experience includes conducting health screenings and trainings for rural health practitioners in Mongolia's remote villages.   This program also includes time to visit with physicians and hospitals in Ulaanbaatar and hosting the HSUM medical student for a summer visit to Montana where the student observes Montana physicians and hospitals in Bozeman and Billings.   The program was created to better the lives of the Mongolian people, many of whom are traditionally nomadic."
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-14

2011-08-14 03:35PDT (06:35EDT) (10:35GMT) (13:35 Jerusalem)
_Chicago IL Tribune_/_AP_
Foreign students fear Indiana immigration law may cut fellowships, tuition waivers and other aid from tax-victims
Indianapolis IN Star Press
Seth Slabaugh: Indianapolis IN Star Press
"'public assistance' for post-secondary education is only available to U.S. residents [US citizens and green card holders] or 'qualified aliens'.   International students using the F [student] or J [exchange] visa aren't included in the definition of 'qualified alien'."

2011-08-14
Robert Moore _Cenantua_
Looking for those who are no longer there...
"Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain said... 'In great deeds, something abides.   On great fields, something stays.   Forms change and pass; bodies disappear; but spirits linger.'"

2011-08-14
Judith Weingarten _Zenobia: Empress of the East_
little queen at Hadrian's wall
2010 May: Ann R. Raia & Judith Lynn Sebesta: College of New Rochelle
Arbeia Roman Fort & Museum: Baring street (also bounded by Beacon street, Roman road North, Henry street, Pearson street, Fort street), South Shields at the mouth of the Tyne river
Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums: map
Roman Inscriptions of Britain: Corbridge along the Tyne: "To the spirits of the departed: Barathes, from Palmyra, Syria, an ensign-/flag-bearer/-maker/-merchant; lived 68 years" (So, he had traveled some 3100-3250 and possibly more from Palmyra to Corbridge, roughly around the time 125CE-200CE.)
Wikipedia: Coria/ Coriosopitum/ Corstopitum/ Corie Lopocarium/ Corsobetum/ Corbridge Roman town (about 54.9776N, 2.0286W; West of the modern town of Corbridge, South of A69 & Corchester lane)
English Heritage.org: Corbridge Roman town and supply depot (just South of Hadrian's wall)
Roman Inscriptions of Britain: Arbeia the Roman fort for troops from Arabia/South Shields near the mouth of the Tyne: "To the spirits of the departed: Regina freed-woman, & wife of Barates from Palmyra, Syria, a Catuvellaunian, aged 30; Regina, the freed-woman of Barates, alas"
Wikipedia: Arbeia (It is about 28 miles from Corbridge to Arbeia/South Shields.)
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-15

2011-08-15 04:58PDT (07:58EDT) (11:58GMT) (14:58 Jerusalem)
Tracey Drury _Buffalo NY Business First_
USCIS director visited Buffalo
"H-1B visas, a program to bring specialized workers in from outside the U.S.A., has seen a significant decline in recent years.   In 2008, the agency received 163K applications within a week of the available application period for [about 110K] available visas.   That number fell to 42K applicants a year later...   The free, on-line E-Verify program has enrolled nearly 240K employers since its inception, with 1,300 new companies signing up weekly...   In its first year, USCIS maxed out its U visa program, issuing 10K visas to aliens who have suffered substantial physical or mental abuse as a result of having been the victim of certain crimes, including trafficking.   The agency did not reach the cap of 5K for T visas, which allows eligible victims to remain in the U.S.A. for up to 4 years.   Under both programs, visa holders are permitted to work and may be eligible to become permanent residents."
State Department reports declare that 129,552 H-1B visas were issued through consular offices in fiscal year 2011, which ended 2011-09-30; and additional H-1B visas were given out through other processes.

2011-08-15
Stephanie Overby _ComputerWorld_/_IDG_
Infosys whistle-blower presents evidence of B-1 visa abuse
"The $6G company, based in Bangalore and employing more than 130K worldwide, refuses to address the specifics of Palmer's charges.   But in an e-mail to CIO.com, a spokesperson for the outsourcer admitted that the company has since altered its internal visa processes.   Jack 'Jay' Palmer, a principal consultant in Infosys's enterprise solutions practice, provided written testimony to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security on July 26.   His testimony indicated that Infosys was using the U.S.A.   B-1 business visa—designed to allow foreigners to come to the U.S.A. for short periods of time for such things as meetings, contract negotiations or short-term training—to bring the outsourcer's Indian employees to perform software development, quality assurance and testing for U.S. clients.   The B-1 visas were easier to obtain than the increasingly scrutinized H-1B skilled worker visas, according to Palmer's testimony, and unlike H-1Bs, B-1s did not have to be paid a prevailing wage because visitors on a business visa are not supposed to be drawing a salary in the U.S.A. at all.   Since B-1 visa holders cannot be paid for work by a U.S. entity, Palmer has said that Infosys avoided using its standard HR systems and processes when compensating the foreign workers.   Instead, Palmer alleges the company made direct payments in rupees from India to bank debit cards to cover the Indian workers' wages and expenses.   According to Palmer's written testimony, Infosys employees travelling to the U.S.A. on business visas were required to obtain debit cards from one of 3 multi-national banks designated by the company.   By paying the visa holders in this way, the IT service provider avoided running afoul of visa restrictions (B-1 regulations only allow a business visa holder's business expenses to be paid in the U.S.A.), according to Palmer's lawyer Mendelsohn.   It also avoids having to pay taxes on the workers' earnings, the attorney adds."

2011-08-15
Jim Gallagher _Youngstown OH Vindicator_/_St. Louis MO Post-Dispatch_/_McClatchy_
Consumers take painful steps to steadily pay down debt
"Consumers started the last decade about $5.2T in debt.   That rose to $12.5T just before the 2008 financial crash.   As of March, that was down to $11.5T...   As of March, delinquencies on auto loans are at the lowest rate since the credit agency TransUnion began tracking them in 1999.   Credit card delinquencies were their lowest since 1996.   Debt levels per credit-card borrower dropped 5.8% in the first quarter to $4,679, the lowest since 2000.   Some claim that the drop in debt comes mainly from defaults, but TransUnion says it's mainly consumers' paying off debt.   Consumers paid $72G more than they borrowed on their cards in 2009 and 2010.   If anything, Americans are getting thriftier.   Consumer spending slid 0.2% in June, the biggest drop since 2009 September, after a tiny a 0.1% increase in May.   'That's not necessarily a sign of something good.', said Howard Wall, a former Federal Reserve economist who now directs the Institute for Study of Economics and the Environment at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO."

2011-08-15
Christine Keeling _Youngstown OH Vindicator_
Penchant for history pays off for student
"Dalton Bosz made it to the finals of the History and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's National Civil War Student Challenge.   The Canfield High School senior finished in the top 30 out of more than 22K students age 13 to 19 who participated in the nationwide contest...   Bosz qualified for a chance at a $15K college scholarship grand prize after he placed in the top 30.   To prepare, he said, he read about things he found more difficult on the qualifying test."

2011-08-15 01:00PDT (04:00EDT) (08:00GMT) (11:00 Jerusalem)
Marshall Frank _Treasure Coast FL Palm_
Obummer's attempt to unilaterally impose NIGHTMARE act provisions is all about power and its abuse
"38% of American voters were in favor of this legislation. Congress could not get it passed. So, when the president does not get his way, he issues an executive order... it rewards illegal immigration, which, in turn, will only serve as a magnet for future illegal immigrants. President Barack Obama's directive gives U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. attorney's office discretion on who can and cannot be deported or taken into custody, which translates to a hands-off policy as it pertains to student illegals... It's all about creating voters. Their voters. It is the most sought after [potential] power block in the country today."

2011-08-15 12:21PDT (15:21EDT) (19:21GMT) (22:21 Jerusalem)
_KGO San Francisco CA_
BART hacked, plus protest against BART likely this evening
"BART officials are asking the FBI to investigate the hacker attack on a web-site that released private information of 2K BART customers [which BART should never have had in the first place].   This comes as BART is gearing up for a demonstration at 17:00 at the Civic Center station in San Francisco...   The group's cyber attack was to retaliate against BART officials for shutting down cell phone service at some BART stations on Thursday.   A BART spokesman said they did it to prevent the group from protesting on the BART platform."

2011-08-15
Jie Jenny Zou _Chronicle of Higher Education_
Cornell U charging extra for excessive use of band-width
"Ms. L said she was charged about $90 each month during her freshman year for Internet use that exceeded the university's cap, mainly because of her heavy use of Skype, a popular video-calling service, which she used for at least two hours each day to chat with family and friends.   She also streams movies over the Internet from Netflix.   The student said that access to band-width is crucial to the social lives of Cornell students...   Tracy Mitrano, Cornell's director of information-technology policy, said that the vast majority of students will never hit the cap, and argued that there is no such thing as an infinite network.   According to Cornell's web site, less than 10% of students incurred charges for exceeding the 20GB limit during the 2010 Fall semester.   Students are charged less than a cent per extra megabyte but cannot be charged more than $1K per month regardless of use.   Of those charged, the average monthly fee was about $30...   Last month, Cornell raised the cap from 20GB to 50GB."

2011-08-15
Mark Krikorian _National Review_
Reform immigration, legal and illegal
"The basic package consists of items that any serious Republican aspirant should support.   With regard to illegal immigration, there are 2 main goals: fencing and mandating the use by all employers of E-Verify.   With regard to legal immigration, also 2 goals: ending the visa lottery and eliminating brother-sister chain migration...   60K adult siblings of U.S. citizens...are allowed to migrate to the United States each year simply because of their brothers or sisters.   Adult-sibling immigration means an ever-larger share of the globe's population has a claim to enter the United States, as the siblings of earlier immigrants enter with their spouses, who have their own siblings, whose spouses in turn have their own siblings, and so on.   No other country allows this, and there's simply no 'family re-unification' rationale for admitting from abroad whole new families of adults...   Limiting family immigration to the husbands, wives, and dependent children of American citizens would still allow in a pretty large number -- more than 350K of last year's 1.1M new legal immigrants would still have qualified -- but it would prevent endless chains of relatives from taking over the immigration flow."

2011-08-15
Con Coughlin _London Telegraph_
Pakistani military allowed Red Chinese military engineers to examine, test remains of US SEAL helicopter
Yeshiva World
Diplomat
David Cohen: Diplomat
Adam Martin: National Journal
abc
CNN
Erika Johnsen: Town Hall
Chris McGreal & Saaed Shah: Manchester Guardian
Calgary Alberta Canada Herald/Agence France-Presse
Lincoln NB Tribune/VOA
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
Massachusetts Republican

2011-08-15
William L. Anderson
delusion agenda

2011-08-15 (5771 Menachem-Ab 15)
Kristen Chick _Jewish World Review_
Why Egypt is angry over $65M in US grants
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-16

2011-08-15 19:08:01PDT (2011-08-15 22:08:01EDT) (2011-08-16 02:08:01GMT) (2011-08-16 05:08:01 Jerusalem)
Larry Rohter _San Jose CA Mercury News_
Composers, lyricists, performers take more control over their products from distribution/marketing firms
"With the recording industry reeling from plummeting sales, termination rights claims could be another serious financial blow.   Sales plunged to about $6.3G from $14.6G over the decade that ended in 2009, in large part because of unauthorized downloading of music on the Internet, especially of new releases, which has left record labels disproportionately dependent on sales of older recordings in their catalogs...   As a result the 4 major record companies -- Universal, Sony BMG, EMI and Warner -- have made it clear that they will not relinquish recordings they consider their property without a fight...   As the record companies see it, the master recordings belong to them in perpetuity, rather than to the artists who wrote and recorded the songs, because, the labels argue, the records are 'works for hire', compilations created not by independent performers but by musicians who are, in essence, their employees...   the earliest any recording can be reclaimed is 2013 January 1."

2011-08-16 03:50PDT (06:50EDT) (10:50GMT) (13:50 Jerusalem)
Patrick Thibodeau _ComputerWorld_/_IDG_
Out-sourced and fired, IT workers fight back: charge discrimination
ITWorld
"On the day they were fired early last year, about 40 IT employees at Molina Healthcare Inc. had been gathered in a conference room for what they were told would be a planning meeting.   At the same time, laptop computers were being collected from the assembled workers' desks.   During the meeting, Molina's then-CIO, Amir Desai, informed the workers that they were being laid off for financial reasons, 'not because of [their] performance'.   The lay-offs came amid rising tensions over a number of issues, including the expanding role of an off-shore IT contractor at Molina.   The workers raised the concerns with Desai during the meeting.   'I felt they were expecting us to be asking questions about Cobra and unemployment and all that.', said Bonita Shok, one of the laid-off IT employees.   'Instead, we were being quite confrontational about why they are laying us off and keeping all these H-1B workers.'   'I have never experienced a group of employees who were so angry.', said a human resources manager who was in the meeting...   Out-sourcing engagements often start when off-shore IT services companies bring in workers, typically on H-1B or L-1 visas, to learn a company's IT processes.   Then the work is moved over-seas.   Molina employees contend that's what happened to them.   James Otto, the attorney representing the Molina employees in the law-suit, claims that about 200 visa-holding workers have been brought into the company."

2011-08-16
Stephen Barlas _Human Resource Executive_
Abuses of business travel visas being investigated

2011-08-16
Marc Kovac _Youngstown OH Vindicator_
AG Mike DeWine vows continued fight against human trafficking
"The attorney general's office, citing statistics compiled by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, estimated that at least 100K children in the United States are forced into prostitution and related trafficking annually."

2011-08-16
Victor Davis Hanson _National Review_
Obummer's paradoxes

2011-08-16
John R. Lott _National Review_
How the academic leftists suppress honest debate

2011-08-16
Chelsea Krotzer _Billings MT Gazette_
4-H club members launch rockets at MontanaFair
"While Dalton's family has no military connection, they thought it would be good for him to join a 4-H club.   Dalton chose aeronautics.   He had never launched a rocket until Tuesday.   'I thought it was only going to 100 feet, not 1K.', Dalton said after retrieving his orange-finned rocket from the track, several yards behind the launch site.   In 2 more years, Dalton said he hopes to get into robotics.   In the mean-time, his goal is to launch a bigger, more advanced rocket."

2011-08-16 13:17PDT (16:17EDT) (20:17GMT) (23:17 Jerusalem)
Jonathan Stempel _Reuters_
Taiwan ROC's HCL suing Apple for patent infringements over iPad, iPod, iPhone tech
Jeremy C. Owens: San Jose CA Mercury News
Susan Decker & Phil Milford: Bloomberg
Larry Dignan: Ziff Davis/CBS
Aga Shah: ComputerWorld/IDG
WikiPedia

2011-08-16
Taimoor Zubair _Internet Revolution_
Software Piracy in the Third World
"According to a report from the Business Software Alliance trade group, the value of software pirated across the globe in 2010 was $59G.   Out of this, the value of pirated software used in emerging markets was over $31.9G...   Pakistan 84% piracy; India 64%; Philippines 69%; Kenya 79%; USA 20%; Denmark 26%; Japan 20%; Germany 27%...   Taimoor Zubair works as a software engineer at a leading [bodyshop] in Pakistan."
Business Software Association report (pdf)

2011-08-16
"Weaver"
College grad under-utilization 20.2% (5.059M)

2011-08-16
William L. Anderson
Save us from space alien economics
"I would say that in economic terms, space aliens will attack us before Keynesian 'solutions' set the economy on a correct and sustainable path.   According to Krugman, war (be it with Germans and Japanese or space aliens) is a great thing (even though he admits it gives us 'negative product social spending') because it both gives us more employment AND inflation!   I mean, what's not to like?   You can have prices rise and have empty store shelves -- but you have a job, even if you can't buy anything, as was the case in WWII."

2011-08-16 (5771 Menachem-Ab 16)
Dennis Prager _Jewish World Review_
Still the only solution to the world's problems

2011-08-16 (5771 Menachem-Ab 16)
Alana Semuels & Nathaniel Popper _Jewish World Review_
Recession/Depression Fears

2011-08-16 (5771 Menachem-Ab 16)
Richard A. Serrano _Jewish World Review_
BATF promotes supervisors who smuggled arms to Mexican gangs
"The 3 supervisors have been given new management positions at the agency's head-quarters in Washington, DC.   They are William G. McMahon, who was the ATF's deputy director of operations in the West, where the illegal trafficking program was focused, and William D. Newell and David Voth, both field supervisors who oversaw the program out of the agency's Phoenix office."

2011-08-16 (5771 Menachem-Ab 16)
Thomas Sowell _Jewish World Review_
On Social Degeneration part1 of 3
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-17

2011-08-17 02:21PDT (05:21EDT) (09:21GMT) (12:21 Jerusalem)
Ronald D. Orol _MarketWatch_
Grassley goes after SEC for destruction of evidence: May have destroyed Goldman Sachs and Madoff documents
"Flynn also alleged that the agency destroyed documents and information collected for preliminary investigations at Wells Fargo & Company, [Bank of India Corp.], Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and the now-bankrupt Lehman Brothers.   The letter goes into particular detail about Deutsche Bank, the former employer of current SEC enforcement chief Robert Khuzami as well as former enforcement chiefs Gary Lynch and Richard Walker."

2011-08-17 03:48PDT (06:48EDT) (10:48GMT) (13:48 Jerusalem)
Colleen Wixon _Treasure Coast FL Palm_
Martin and Indian River county students score above state average on ACT
"Martin students averaged a 21.5 composite score, with a 36 considered a perfect score.   The students exceeded the state average of 19.6 and the national average of 21.1.   Indian River students, with an average score of 19.9, also exceeded the state average, but fell just below the national average...   Nationally, members of the high school class of 2011 posted a slight gain on the ACT college entrance exam, but nearly 3 in 10 recent graduates failed to meet a single bench-mark that predicts they are ready for college."
jeff Schmucker: Tampa FL Tribune: 22% of MA grads took ACT, averaged 24.2; 66% of FL grads took ACT, averaged 19.6
Josh Wengler: Wayne Independent: 17% of PA grads too ACT, averaged 22.3
Sharon Roznik: Fond du Lac WI Reporter: WI ACT scores up with higher (71%) participation rate
Rosalind Rossi: Chicago IL Sun-Times: Illinois' average ACT score of 20.9 beat that of the 3 other states that mandate the ACT -- Colorado (20.7), Michigan (20.0) and Kentucky (19.6)
Valerie Strauss: Washington DC Compost: VA students scored higher than MD and DC: national average 21.1
Lisa Schencker: Salt Lake UT Tribune: Utah's seniors averaged 21.8
Maureen Downey: Atlanta GA Journal Constitution: 47% of GA seniors took ACT: average score 20.6
Chicago IL Tribune/AP: the 29% of Indiana's seniors took ACT, averaged 21.2; 72% of MN students took ACT, averaged 22.9
Jason Singer: Maine Sentinel/Press Herald: only 1,500 ME seniors took ACT, averaged 23.3
"Maine students averaged 23.3 out of possible 36 on the ACT this year.   Of the 50 states, only Massachusetts (24.2), Connecticut (23.9) and New Hampshire (23.7) performed better...   18% NH's most recent graduating class took the test, MA had 22% and CT had 26%.   Seven states -- CO, KY, IL, LA, MI, MS and TN -- had 100% of their seniors take the test."
Sheena Dooley: Des Moines IA Register: 61% of IA seniors took ACT, averaged 22.3
Scott Martindale: Orange County CA Register: 30% of CA seniors took ACT, averaged 22.1
Jessica Brown: Cincinnati Enquirer/Gannett: 69% of OH seniors took ACT, averaged 21.8
Terrence Stutz: Dallas TX Morning News: 36% of TX seniors took ACT, averaged 20.8
Kayla Webley: Time: 25% aren't ready for college: Race/ethnic achievement gap
Amanda Paulson: Christian Science Monitor: ACT scores up: a record 1.6M students took the exam
Van Wert OH Times Bulletin: 49% of US seniors took ACT, averaged 21.1

2011-08-17
Peter Ferrara _American Spectator_
Obummercare is going down

2011-08-17 13:31PDT (16:31EDT) (20:31GMT) (23:31 Jerusalem)
Felix Salmon _Reuters_
It doesn't matter where your kid goes to school
So, if academic achievement depends on genetics and learning, and wealth depends on "manners", then the best thing is to have lots of books and such in the house, send the children to a cheap juco and state U, then finishing school, and after that send them to an up-scale graduate or law school to make contacts and learn from their class-mates more about how to work the system...jgo

2011-08-17 (5771 Menachem-Ab 17)
Caroline B. Glick _Jewish World Review_
The Left's Faustian bargain

2011-08-17 (5771 Menachem-Ab 17)
Saeed Shah _Jewish World Review_
US considers funding $12G Pakistani dam project, despite dissipating anti-terrorism cooperation and the angering of India

2011-08-17 (5771 Menachem-Ab 17)
Shari Roan _Jewish World Review_
JAMA: Treatment of sleep-disordered breathing may prevent dementia

2011-08-17 (5771 Menachem-Ab 17)
Walter E. Williams _Jewish World Review_
Ominous Parallels
Town Hall
"During the first year of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's [FDR's] New Deal, he called for increasing federal spending to $10G while revenues were only $3G.   Between 1933 and 1936, government expenditures rose by more than 83%.   Federal debt skyrocketed by 73%.   Roosevelt signed off on legislation that raised the top income tax rate to 79% and then later to 90%.   Hillsdale College economics historian and professor Burt Folsom, author of _New Deal or Raw Deal?_, notes that in 1941, Roosevelt even proposed a 99.5% marginal tax rate on all incomes more than $100K.   When a top adviser questioned the idea, Roosevelt replied, 'Why not?'   Roosevelt had other ideas for the economy, including the National Recovery Act.   Dr. Reed says: 'The economic impact of the NRA was immediate and powerful.   In the 5 months leading up to the act's passage, signs of recovery were evident: factory employment and payrolls had increased by 23 and 35%, respectively.   Then came the NRA, shortening hours of work, raising wages arbitrarily and imposing other new costs on enterprise.   In the 6 months after the law took effect, industrial production dropped 25%.'   Blacks were especially hard hit by the NRA.   Black spokesmen and the black press often referred to the NRA as the 'Negro Run Around', 'Negroes Rarely Allowed', 'Negroes Ruined Again', 'Negroes Robbed Again', 'No Roosevelt Again' and the 'Negro Removal Act'.   Fortunately, the courts ruled the NRA unconstitutional.   As a result, unemployment fell to 14% in 1936 and lower by 1937.   Roosevelt had more plans for the economy, namely the National Labor Relations Act, better known as the 'Wagner Act'.   This was a pay-off to labor [union bosses], and with these new powers, labor unions went on a militant organizing frenzy that included threats, boycotts, strikes, seizures of plants, widespread violence and other acts that pushed productivity down sharply and unemployment up dramatically.   In 1938, Roosevelt's New Deal produced the nation's first depression within a depression.   The stock market crashed again, losing nearly 50% of its value between August 1937 and March 1938, and unemployment climbed back to 20%.   Columnist Walter Lippmann wrote in 1938 March that 'with almost no important exception every measure (Roosevelt) has been interested in for the past 5 months has been to reduce or discourage the production of wealth'."

2011-08-17 (5771 Menachem-Ab 17)
"SaynSumthn"
George Soros's daughter-in-law is a Planned Parenthood board member

2011-08-17 (5771 Menachem-Ab 17)
Thomas Sowell _Jewish World Review_
On Social Degeneration part2 of 3
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-18

2011-08-18 05:30PDT (08:30EDT) (12:30GMT) (15:30Jerusalem)
Scott Gibbons & Tony Sznoluch _DoL ETA_
un-employment insurance weekly claims report
DoL home page
DoL OPA press releases
historical data
DoL regulations
"The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 342,669 in the week ending August 13, a decrease of 11,739 from the previous week.   There were 405,484 initial claims in the comparable week in 2010.   The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.8% during the week ending August 6, unchanged from the prior week.   The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,535,364, a decrease of 45,069 from the preceding week.   A year earlier, the rate was 3.4% and the volume was 4,281,074.   The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending July 30 was 7,336,178, a decrease of 143,737 from the previous week.   Extended benefits were available in AL, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, ME, MA, MI, MN, MO, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, WA, WV, and WI, during the week ending July 30.   States reported 3,130,608 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending July 30, a decrease of 27,704 from the prior week.   There were 4,694,058 claimants in the comparable week in 2010.   EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.   [Note that the population used for calculating the "insured unemployment rate" changes
to 132,623,886 beginning 2007-10-06;
to 133,010,953 beginning 2008-01-05;
to 133,382,559 beginning 2008-04-05;
to 133,690,617 beginning 2008-07-05;
to 133,902,387 beginning 2008-10-04;
to 133,886,830 beginning 2009-01-03;
to 133,683,433 beginning 2009-04-04;
to 133,078,480 beginning 2009-07-04;
to 133,823,421 beginning 2009-10-03;
to 131,823,421 beginning 2009-10-17;
to 130,128,328 beginning 2010-01-02;
to 128,298,468 beginning 2010-04-03;
to 126,763,245 beginning 2010-07-03;
to 125,845,577 beginning 2010-09-25;
to 125,560,066 beginning 2011-01-15;
to 125,572,661 beginning 2011-04-02;
to 125,807,389 beginning 2011-07-02.]
EUC (Excel)
EB
graphs
more graphs

2011-08-18
David North _Center for Immigration Studies_
No Shortage of Skilled Workers

2011-08-18
Michael Falcone & Amy Walter _abc_
Friendly Fire: Obummer & Perry feeling the heat

2011-08-18
_Cumberland PA Sentinel_
Cultural exchange visitors protest outside Hershey plant over working conditions
"protest organized by the National Guest-Worker Alliance"
Pottsville PA Republican Herald

2011-08-18 06:33PDT (09:33EDT) (13:33GMT) (16:33 Jerusalem)
Yaakov Katz _Jerusalem Post_
At least 6 dead, 25 injured in terror attack along Israel/Egypt border near Eilat
Voice of America
Aaron Goldstein: American Spectator

2011-08-18
Quin Hillyer _American Spectator_
Obummer's InJustice Beginning to Boomerang

2011-08-18
Thomas E. Brewton _View from 1776_
Obummer is pouring tax-victims' money down the leftist environmentalist whacko rat-hole, creating "green jobs" over-seas
Investor's Business Daily
"As a White House-favored green-energy company files for bankruptcy, the Export-Import Bank announces $500M in loans for solar energy projects -- in India.   America is being thrown under the president's bus."

2011-08-18
Aaron Glantz _NYTimes_
Green jobs fail to live up to left's declared expectations

2011-08-18
William L. Anderson
Random commentary on krugmania

2011-08-18 (5771 Menachem-Ab 18)
Tom A. Peter _Jewish World Review_
Taliban will no longer receive American money to use against US troops

2011-08-18 (5771 Menachem-Ab 18)
Thomas Sowell _Jewish World Review_
On Social Degeneration part3 of 3
"The orgies of violent attacks against strangers on the streets -- in both England and the United States -- are not necessarily just passing episodes.   They should be wake-up calls, warning of the continuing degeneration of Western society."
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-19

2011-08-19
Norm Matloff _H-1B/ L-1/ Off-Shoring News-Letter_
surprising admission by Motorola CEO
 
As most of you know, one of the major themes in my criticism of the H-1B visa is that the program is largely about age.   Older (age 35+) workers cost more than younger ones, and a huge attraction to many if not most employers is that H-1B expands the young labor pool.
 
An article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal on Google's purchase of Motorola carried the following unusually frank passage:
 
Then there was the impact of job cuts [at Motorola], which at times replaced experienced engineers with young recruits.   [Motorola CEO] Jha said some of the older staff didn't have the newer skills required as the technology evolved.
 
Meanwhile, Motorola is usually among the top 10 or so users of H-1Bs.
 
Rob Sanchez, one of the most strident critics of the H-1B program, became interested in H-1B when he was laid off from Motorola, while H-1Bs were being hired.
 
So this little side remark by Motorola in the WSJ article is actually very big.
 
When the industry made its first pitch to Congress that we have a tech labor shortage, in 1998, I and others pointed to the fact that many older engineers had trouble finding work.   Congress responded by adding age to the issues it commissioned the NRC to investigate.   The NRC found that older engineers did have problems, but it dismissed this as a skills issue.
 
Thus the WSJ passage above might seem to be nothing new.   But on the contrary, this is the first time I've ever seen an industry executive actually admit that they've directly replaced older engineers by younger ones (for skills or whatever reason).   Yes, they have made statements like, "We have openings and we'd like to hire the older engineers, but they don't have the right skill set."   But that's very different from saying, "We just fired a bunch of our older engineers and replaced them with younger ones with new skills.", which is what the Motorola CEO said above.
 
And as can be inferred from Motorola H-1B data, in many cases the older American engineers are being replaced by younger H-1Bs.
 
I've written about the skills issue in great detail, so I won't repeat myself here.   I'll simply say again that it's a red herring (competent people can learn new skills on the job, even those with the new skills are often rejected, etc.), and refer the interested reader to my publications.   And solving the problem via retraining funds from H-1B user fees is also phony, as I've shown before, and as even Sun Microsystems has admitted.
 
But even if skills were a genuine issue, I don't think many in Congress would feel comfortable with the notion of importing young foreign workers to replace older ones.   If you are wondering why I consider the above admission by Motorola to be so significant, imagine what would happen if the industry were to be saying to Congress, both in the press and in their offices, "We need you to expand the H-1B program because we want to fire our older engineers and replace them with young ones, and we've run out of young American ones."   Even with the industry's vast campaign contributions, that would be a political nonstarter.
 
And yet, that is exactly what the H-1B program is being used for.   And that's what the proposed fast-track green card program for STEM foreign students would be used for.   It continues to baffle me why even many of those who sincerely want to reform the foreign worker programs are unwilling to tackle the age issue, which is CENTRAL.
 
Norm
---30---

2011-08-18 20:52PDT (2011-08-18 23:52EDT) (2011-08-19 03:52GMT) (2011-08-19 06:52 Jerusalem)
Jason Hiner _Tech Republic_/_Ziff Davis_/_CBS_
GE building world-class in-house data center in Louisville, KY
"The new data center was conceived and [designed] by GE's internal IT department (along with a few strategic partners) at GE Appliances & Lighting in Louisville, Kentucky.   The data center itself is located within the massive complex known as 'GE Appliance Park'.   Interestingly enough, the site has a distinguished history for IT innovation.   In 1954, the Louisville GE complex became home to the first UNIVAC computer that was deployed in a private business.   Before that UNIVAC at GE in Louisville, all computers had been part of government projects.   That first UNIVAC was used to run a single bidness application: employee pay-roll...   This new data center will house Enterprise Resource Planning [ERP] systems..."

2011-08-19 01:21PDT (04:21EDT) (08:21GMT) (11:21 Jerusalem)
Grover G. Norquist & Patrick Gleason _Politico_
Obama has doubled down on the profligacy of the Bush White House
"This year Cost of Government Day arrived August 12 -- meaning that the average American toiled 224 days to foot the bill for this year's total cost of government.   Of those 224 days, 103 went toward federal spending, and 44 days for state and local spending.   The regulatory burden, coming in at $1.8T, took up an additional 77 days of work.   Though president George W. Bush was no model for spending restraint, before president Barack Obama took office, Cost of Government Day never fell later than July 21.   Obama talks about inheriting a problem — and he did inherit an overspending problem from the Bush administration.   Instead of reversing course, however, the Obama White House, with the help of senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and then-House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), doubled down on the profligacy of the Bush White House.   Obama increased annual federal spending 31% -- from $2.9T in FY2008 to $3.8T in FY2011... in 1977 Cost of Government day was July 6; in 1978, June 30; in 1979, June 26; in 1980, July 4; in 1981, July 7; in 1982, July 21; in 1983, July 20; in 1984, July 9; in 1985, July 10; in 1986, July 12; in 1987, July 10; in 1988 & 1989, July 4; in 1990, July 8; in 1991, July 16; in 1992, July 19; in 1993, July 17; in 1994, July 12; in 1995, July 13; in 1996, July 10; in 1997, July 5; in 1998, July 2; in 1999, June 29; in 2000, June 28; in 2001, July 2; in 2002, July 8; in 2003, July 9; in 2004 & 2005, July 7; in 2006, July 8; in 2007, July 10; in 2008, July 16; in 2009 & 2010, August 14; in 2011, August 12."

2011-08-19 03:08PDT (06:08EDT) (10:08GMT) (13:08 Jerusalem)
Mackenzie Weinger _Politico_
Obummer plan is back-door amnesty for illegal aliens and their employers
Obummer to halt some deportations

2011-08-19
Karl Henkel _Youngstown OH Vindicator_
Tiger dad helps young inventor develop idea for Toaster Pop app

2011-08-19 05:00PDT (08:00EDT) (12:00GMT) (15:00 Jerusalem)
Becca Gregg _Cumberland PA Sentinel_
2 feed silos collapsed over-night in Monroe township
"Just a day earlier, on Wednesday, workers had put 'about 550 tons into the silo', Brymesser said.   'They were older silos.   They've been in existence for a while.   But we have maintained and maintenenced them continually every year.   We're really surprised.'  Clean-up began shortly after sunrise, around 06:30 Thursday, and lasted well into the evening, with neighbors turning out in droves to lend a helping hand to the Brymessers.   'Our biggest disruption is that it was our supply for a full year, heading into next Fall.', Brymesser said.   'I guess the day will come that we'll be back to normal again, but it'll take time.;"

2011-08-19 05:30PDT (08:30EDT) (12:30GMT) (15:30 Jerusalem)
Lauren McLane _Cumberland PA Sentinel_
Cumberland county ranked in top 10 in 2011 Digital Counties Survey
"Of counties similar in size -- those with populations from 150,000-249,999 -- Cumberland was ranked 7th nationally, he said."

2011-08-19 06:03PDT (09:03EDT) (13:03GMT) (16:03 Jerusalem)
_Numbers USA_
Obummer admin official says they plan to give work visas to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens
Miriam Jordan: Wall Street Journal

2011-08-19 09:42PDT (12:42EDT) (16:42GMT) (19:42 Jerusalem)
Paul Ivice _Treasure Coast FL Palm_
Treasure coast unemployment inched up slightly in July
"The combined rate for the 3-county region was 13.1%, compared with 12.8% in June and 14.3% in 2010 July.   The 13.1% jobless rate represents an estimated 32,775 Treasure Coast residents who are unemployed and actively seeking work.   That's almost 1K more people looking for work than in June, but 3,175 fewer than a year ago."

2011-08-19 12:37:37PDT (15:37:37EDT) (19:37:37GMT) (22:37:37 Jerusalem)
Pete Carey _San Jose CA Mercury News_
Bay area added a few jobs in July
"The Bay Area's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 10.1% in July...   Silicon Valley saw gains of 1,100 jobs, while Oakland decreased by 4,600 jobs -- far below the normal declines for July and mostly due to a seasonal drop in school employment...   There still were nearly 320K people looking for work..."
KGO/AP: CA unemployment rose to 12% in July
graphs

2011-08-19
John Hinderaker _PowerLine_
Darrell Issa sticks it to the NYTimes

2011-08-19
William L. Anderson
Say what? Issue more debt to relieve a debt crisis? Only in Wonderland!

2012-08-19
Jimmie L. Foster _American Legion_
No amnesty for illegal aliens
"Reports suggest ‘prosecutorial discretion' for certain violators, meaning the law won't be applied evenly, if at all.   That does neither the illegal immigrant nor our nation any good.   The American Legion has repeatedly spoken out against any amnesties for illegal aliens.   Across the country, dozens of American Legion posts conduct citizenship and naturalization programs for legal immigrants.   But for those who enter the nation illegally, tap into public services funded by U.S. [tax-victims] and provide under-the-table labor, the Legion opposes amnesty, no matter what it is called.   Legalization, regularization, guest-worker program, earned-status adjustment -- these are all just euphemisms for amnesty...   Section 328 of the Immigration and Naturalization Act specifically allows for naturalization of all foreign-born active-duty personnel, and those who are honorably discharged after service of at least one year."

2011-08-19 (5771 Menachem-Ab 19)
Caroline B. Glick _Jewish World Review_
Blood in the streets
 
Proposed Bills 2011

2011-08-19

DJIA	10,817.65
S&P 500(SPX)	1,123.53
NASDAQ(COMP)	2,341.84
Nikkei	8,719.24
10-year US T-Bond(UST10Y)	2.07%
crude oil(CL1U)	$82.26/barrel
natgas(NG11U)	$3.94/MBTU
reformulatedgasoline(RB1U)	$2.84/gal
heatingoil(HO1U)	$2.90/gal
gold(GC1Z)	$1,852.20/ounce
silver(SI1U)	$42.43/ounce
platinum(PL1V)	$1,874.90/ounce
palladium(PA1U)	$748.80/ounce
copper(HG1U)	$0.24875/ounce
soybeans	$13.685/bushel
maize	$7.2525/bushel
wheat	$7.6125/bushel
dollarindex(DXY)	74.008
yenperdollar(USDYEN)	76.39
dollarspereuro(EURUSD)	$1.4389
dollarsperpound(GBPUSD)	$1.6482
swissfrancsperdollar	0.7853
indianrupeesperdollar	46.1
mexicanpesosperdollar(USDMXN)	12.2808
MorganStanleyHighTechIndex	534.16

I usually get this info from MarketWatch.
 
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-20

2011-08-20 11:00PDT (14:00EDT) (18:00GMT) (21:00 Jerusalem)
Richard Barney _Steuben Courier_/_Bath Courier_/_Corning Leader_
Tom Reed's support of guest-work visa programs hurts Americans
Fairport-East Rochester NY Post
"In the August 10 issue of the Corning Leader, Tom Reed is opposed to reforming the H-2B (guest worker) program.   He is opposing increased efforts to hire American workers and to extend similar benefits to American workers as to foreigners.   The H-2B program is a government program which allows employers to hire temporary foreign non-professional, non-agricultural workers when they are unable to fill the positions with American workers.   Possible occupations include: Hospitality workers, Hotels / Motels, Chefs, Resorts and Theme Parks, Ticket Sales, Cruise ships, Construction workers, Maintenance, Janitorial, Ski Resorts, Landscaping, Golf Courses, Water parks, Security, Ride Operators, Restaurants and bars, Warehouse, and Retail Stores.   I have personally observed abuses of the sister (professional hire) H-1B program in 2 different companies.   These programs are a fraud to the American public.   Both companies hired foreign employees below US wages when there were plenty of local qualified workers.   The companies had claimed that they couldn't find programmers because they had low response to ads placed in remote locations, like Idaho.   Only one H-1B employee that I met was qualified and capable; the rest had to have additional training and help to do their job.   One company hired H-1B workers to train them here and move them and the entire operation over-seas.   According to the American Electronics Association (AeA), a major industry lobbyist that pushed Congress for increasing the H-1B quota, new statistics show that 96,700 new jobs in computer IT were created in 2001.   Since 163K H-1B visas were issued in 2001, and according to the INS 53% of those visas are computer/IT jobs, 86,390 of the jobs in 2001 were taken by H-1Bs.   IOW, 9 out of every 10 new computer/IT jobs in 2001 were filled with H-1Bs.   The H-XB programs only cost local jobs.   Tom Reed is entirely wrong when he says that it will cost local jobs to reform the program.   Check the list of jobs above and try find one that can't be filled by a local person instead of a foreign worker."

2011-08-20
Zach Benoit & Bob Zellar _Billings MT Gazette_
Threshing bee brings the past to the present

2011-08-20
Tom Lutey _Billings MT Gazette_
Winter wheat harvest is under way
"The yield is coming in at 50 to 65 bushels an acre, Kevin Downs said.   The protein has fluctuated from a disappointing 8.9% to an acceptable 11%.   Protein pays the bills for Montana wheat farmers, whose best protein grains are blended with wheat around the world to produce flour worthy of pasta and bread.   Deep snows and record-setting spring rainfall has protein levels across Montana fluctuating greatly, said Kim Falcon of the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee.   In areas where fertilizer washed away, protein levels are suffering, though 2 fields separated by a road can show significant differences in quality.   'Yields are kind of all over the board.', said Darren Crawford, extension agent for Fergus and Petroleum counties.   'Some places where the wheat was a little bit ahead before the weather came are looking pretty good.   I'm hearing fairly low protein, mostly between 10% and 11%.   So much water ran through the soil and it took the nitrogen with it.'...   Statewide, roughly 62% of the state's winter wheat crop was harvested by last Monday, the Montana office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service reported.   Last year, cool weather slowed crop progress across the state, resulting in only 34% of the crop being harvested by this point."

2011-08-20
Joseph Staw _NY Daily News_
Pete King crticizes Obummer's unilateral amnesty for illegal aliens

2011-08-20
Thomas E. Brewton _View from 1776_
Consequences of Obummer policies flow not from incompetence, but from his malice
Boyd Richard Boyd: American Thinker
"[Obummer] is not incompetent; he is an intelligent anti-American president.   [Obummer] is not a failure at his job -- his job is the failure of our country."
Dan Burton: Washington Times: Obummer's disastrous policies are intentional steps on road to socialism

2011-08-20
Steve Farrell _American Daily Herald_
Laying claim on the higher law

2011-08-20
Robert Moore _Cenantua_
Random adventures in the field
"While heading back to I-81 from Clear Spring, noting the Conococheague Creek from one of the bridges, I wanted to take a picture.   With no pull-off available, I took the next exit, and found myself on a road leading to Williamsport.   I knew that the creek was further to the right of the road, and took one of the offshoot roads, looking for another point where the road might intersect with the creek.   Ultimately, I ended up at a place called Kemp's Mill.   The site offered a nice opportunity for a photo of the creek, but for the life of me, I don't know why I didn't bother to take a photo of the building that was THE mill (though, it has been greatly altered from its original appearance).   Oh well...   Now, being who I am, as a part of my post-action activities, I had to invest a little time into the history of the place.   While the mill has roots back to the late 1700s (when the Swingley family owned it); during the Civil War, it was owned by Abraham Leiter, a Pennsylvanian (b: c. 1800, and residing in Maryland since, at least, c. 1835) who ran the place from 1855-1878..."

2011-08-20
Robert Moore _Cenantua_
< An Iowa lieutenant's love interest... in Union blue: another unsolved mystery of history
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-21

2011-08-21
James F. Baxter _American Daily Herald_
An American soldier reflects on war and peace
"The message is this: Trust Freedom.   Remember, tyrants never learn.   The restriction of Freedom is the limitation of human choice, and choice is the fulcrum-point of the creative process in human affairs.   As earth's choice-makers, it is our human identity on nature's beautiful blue planet and the natural premise of man's free institutions, environments, and respectful relations with one another.   Made in the image of our Creator, free men choose, create, and progress -- or die."

2011-08-21
Dave Gibson _Examiner_
Illegal alien charged in fatal DUI crash in MA

2011-08-21
Thomas E. Brewton _View from 1776_
Investment "genius", economic "zero"
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-22

2011-08-22
Toni Bowers _Ziff Davis_/_CBS_
Displaced IT pros sue former employer, Molina Healthcare, Amir Desai, and Cognizant
Tech Republic

2011-08-22 09:39PDT (12:39EDT) (16:39GMT) (19:39 Jerusalem)
Rachel King _Ziff Davis_/_CBS_
Deloitte claims 4G networks could produce 771K new jobs in USA by 2016
"U.S. wireless telecommunications companies are expected to invest $25G to $53G in the advancement of 4G between 2012 and 2016, according to a new report from Deloitte.   But even better, Deloitte argues that those investments could result in $73G to $151G in gross domestic product growth as well as potentially creating 371K to 771K new jobs."

2011-08-22 11:45PDT (14:45EDT) (18:45GMT) (21:45 Jerusalem)
Ed Marcum _Knoxville TN News Sentinel_
BAE Systems dumps 70 employees in Jefferson City
"In 2010, BAE closed its Grainger County plant and laid off about 200 workers in Jefferson City.   Since 1992, BAE Systems' Jefferson City plant has made about 520K tactical vests."

2011-08-22
Barbara Phillips Long _Cumberland PA Sentinel_
officials say it's time for change to "prevailing wage" law
"The CPI may not reflect changes in construction costs accurately, but it says that $25K in consumer goods in 1961 would cost $188,898 this year...   When the borough wanted to put an addition onto its public works building, estimates were that the construction would cost about $72K to $75K.   The borough budgeted $80K for the project.   With prevailing wage, the first set of bids in 2010 June brought a low bid of $108,896 and the second set of bids in July last year came in with a low bid of $97,900.   'We didn't build it.', Parshall said.   A quote for a building at Memorial Park came in about $98K to $100K without prevailing wage and at $140K from a contractor paying prevailing wage.   'That's 40% (higher).', Parshall said.   South Middleton Township went ahead with a project to build a public works building and do some modifications to the township building.   Supervisor Tom Faley said the township manager estimated the project would have cost about $3.3M if it had been bid for 'straight wages'.   As bid under the rules for prevailing wages, the project cost $4.3M."

2011-08-22
Mary Pickett _Billings MT Gazette_
Fair offers tips on genealogy tools

2011-08-22
Tom Lutey _Billings MT Gazette_
Montana hay heads to drought-stricken Texas
"The 1,400 miles from farmer Howdy Hildebrand's hay pasture to the heart of the Texas drought is an odyssey the men have come to know well...   Texas, where extreme drought has left livestock little to eat.   Some ranchers are buying bales at a cost of $110 to $150 a ton, hoping to keep their herds intact until it rains.   Others are rolling into livestock auction yards to sell severely under-weight animals.   Others are shipping their cattle out of state, as far north as Montana."

2011-08-22
Rob Jenkins _Chronicle of Higher Education_
Speaking up for tenure

2011-08-22
William L. Anderson
Krugman's freudian slip?

2011-08-22 (5771 Menachem-Ab 22)
Zev Chafets _Jewish World Review_
Why is Glenn Beck in Israel?

2011-08-22 (5771 Menachem-Ab 22)
Craig Steiner _Town Hall_
the Clinton surplus myth
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-23

2011-08-23 07:39PDT (10:39EDT) (14:39GMT) (17:39 Jerusalem)
Zack Whittaker _Ziff Davis_/_CBS_
Red Chinese military documentary shows Electrical Engineering University of Red China's People's Liberation Army attacking US cyber targets

2011-08-23
_Reuters_
S&P president Deven Sharma to be replaced by Citi COO Douglas Peterson
"S&P's parent, McGraw-Hill Companies Inc, said on Tuesday that Deven Sharma, who has served as S&P president since 2007, would step down on September 12, to be succeeded by Citibank chief operating officer Douglas Peterson."

2011-08-23 11:27PDT (14:27EDT) (18:27GMT) (21:27 Jerusalem)
_Knoxville TN News Sentinel_
C&F Group, based in Ireland to employ 450 at new Kingsport auto parts plant
"C&F Group, an auto exterior trim supplier, will invest $12.5M in the facility, its first U.S. location...   Headquartered in Galway, Ireland, C&F Group supplies decorative and functional trim components in aluminum and steel, racking for the data management industry, and small wind turbines...   The C&F Group operates locations in Ireland, Germany, Czech Republic, Philippines, [Red China] and the U.S.A."

2011-08-23
_IBN_
US diplomat says Anna fast is India's internal matter
"Half of the US H-1B visas issued worldwide were to Indians.   Over 90K such visas were issued last year. There are 2.8M Indian Americans in the USA..."

2011-08-23
_Times of India_
USA issues 500K non-immigrant visas to Indians every year
"Indian citizens formed the largest group of people to be issued H1B and L visas by the US over the last year."

2011-08-23
_KGO San Francisco CA_/_AP_
CA bill to stop incentive payments to firms which dump workers in one location and hire in another, turned down in committee

2011-08-23
Dave Gibson _Examiner_
Illegal alien charged with death of 4-year-old boy in CA

2011-08-23
John Miano _Center for Immigration Studies_
Advocates for cheap-labor guest-worker programs lack data in support of their positions, so they simply make it up
"The actual H-1B figures are available on-line from [USCIS and the State Department].   On page 4 [of the USCIS report on Characteristics of those whose applications were approved] one finds that there were 122,634 H-1B visa applications (not 150K) and that 109,335 visas were approved (not 65K) [and the State Department says 129,464 new H-1B visas were issued that year].   That means fully 89% of the visa applications that year were approved."

2011-08-23
_The Economic Collapse_
10 reasons why they devastating US jobs famine is sucking the hope right out of the USA

2011-08-23
Kay Abramowitz _Family-Owned Business_
Raising the next generation: Legacy families build and improve generation after generation
"To break cycle of rags to riches to rags in 3 generations will require intention and attention."

2011-08-23 (5771 Menachem-Ab 23)
doctor Dovid Lieberman _Jewish World Review_
Why we continuously re-energize painful/stressful experiences
"We continuously re-energize painful experiences by rehearsing the fictitious causal correlation between an event and our feelings.   Our memory of the experience is locked in a false impression, and we file that negative memory away in our minds as fact."

2011-08-23 (5771 Menachem-Ab 23)
Joshua Mitnick _Jewish World Review_
Israel's "Iron Dome" missile defense system
"Israel only has 2 of the systems and has said it needs around 15 batteries for optimal protection around Gaza and the Lebanon border.   Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Israel would have 2 more batteries by the end of this year, and nine by the end of 2013.   The US Congress has budgeted $203.4M in 2011 to help pay for more batteries, which cost $21M each.   The system can tell the operators to make decisions within seconds whether short-range missiles are on trajectory to hit a strategic or populated target.   Experts say the technology of Israel's anti-missile interceptors -- which also includes the Arrow II missile for Iranian ballistic rockets -- is based on the same concepts as the USA-conceived Star Wars missile defense program."
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-24

2011-08-24
_Bodyshopping Industry_
H-1B visa woes continue
2011-08-16: Stephen Barlas: Human Resource Executive: Abuses of business travel visas being investigated

2011-08-24
Karl Henkel _Youngstown OH Vindicator_
Earth-quake centered near Mineral, VA shakes DC, NY and the Mahoning Valley
Joseph Cress: Cumberland PA Sentinel
CNN
Christian Science Monitor
Hampton Roads VA Pilot
Lancaster OH Eagle Gazette
Winchester VA Patch
Martinsburg VA Journal
Barbara Miller: PA Patriot-News
USGS map
Marisol Bello: USA Today/Gannett (with maps)
Scott McCabe & Emily Babay: Washington Examiner
"The vibrations were felt as far away as Columbus, said E. Mac Swinford, assistant state geologist with the Ohio Division of Natural Resources, who said Midwest's geological make-up allowed for widespread after-effects."

2011-08-24 13:41PDT (16:41EDT) (20:41GMT) (23:41 Jerusalem)
Andria Cheng _MarketWatch_
back-to-school buying not up to retailers' hopes
"At issue: teen retailers, like their other apparel counterparts, are bracing for higher cotton costs and second-half cost inflation of 10% to 15%.   The sector faces an even higher risk because of its heavy cotton usage in clothing for teens and college students, analysts said.   At the same time, above nationwide-average teen unemployment rate and parents' worries about the economy mean that retailers have little room to pass on increased costs to shoppers already paying for higher fuel and food prices.   Chains need to be price competitive to lure budget-conscious consumers, analysts said...   The season represents an average of about 25% to 30% of retailers' total sales, behind the holiday season which accounts for as much as 35% of annual sales, Chen said."

2011-08-24
Phil Leggiere _HomeLand Security Today_
Poll: Likely voters see controlling borders as a key issue

2011-08-24
"Green Lantern" _American Spectator_
Government does not create jobs

2011-08-24
Peter Ferrara _American Spectator_
The Downward Spiral... Accelerating Downward Spiral

2011-08-24
Charles Campbell _Baltimore MD Sun_
"Free" trade is destroying the American economy
alternate link
"The jobs are in Bangalore, India and Guangdong Province in [Red China].   Infosys, with 130K employees, and Wipro and Tata, all based in India, have destroyed the U.S. software systems development industry.   In [Red China], with 900K employees, Foxconn is the world's largest manufacturer of consumer electronics as a sub-contractor producing high quality products for sale in the U.S.A. by Apple, Dell, HP andNokia.   Our problems are obvious.   With $60K per year software engineers, $25K per year call center employees, and $20 per hour manufacturing labor in the U.S.A., we, practicing free trade, cannot possibly compete with Asian countries practicing mercantilism with $10K per year software engineers, $3K per year call center employees and $2 per hour manufacturing labor.   Over the last 40 years we have hollowed out our industrial base and exported all or a significant portion of our wealth generating manufacturing industries to Asia...   Ross Perot, the founder of EDS, and Andy Grove, the godfather of information technology and founder of Intel, reach the same conclusion: Free trade is destroying our economy.   Warren Buffett targeted unequal trade agreements and proposed a method to eliminate the growing U.S. foreign exchange deficit.   Senator Russell Feingold converted Mr. Buffett's proposal to a bill named the Balanced Trade Restoration Act.   It was not enacted."
Tata median salaries by city
Wipro median salaries by city
Infosys median salaries by city

2011-08-24
Nile Gardiner _London Telegraph_
Marco Rubio talked about what makes the USA great

2012-08-24
Catherine Anderson
Heritability
"Heritability is an abstract concept with a resulting number between 0 and 1.   If a trait has a heritability of 1, it is purely due to genetic factors whereas 0 means that it is purely environmental.   Most traits are somewhere between 0.2 and 0.8.   If a trait has high heritability (closer to 1), it generally means that genetic factors strongly influence the amount of variation.   Remember this is a measure of variation.   The heritability measurement depends on the population being observed or measured...   People [often] twist a heritability of 75% (3/4 of the variation in a population is due to genes) to say that 75% of a trait is due to genes.   This is not the same thing!"

2011-08-24 (5771 Menachem-Ab 24)
George Friedman _Jewish World Review_/_StratFor_
Factors in the unfolding of the next Israeli-Arab-Persian crisis

2011-08-24 (5771 Menachem-Ab 24)
Melissa Healy _Jewish World Review_
Changed thinking on clogged arteries
"Released on-line Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study found that incorporating several cholesterol-lowering foods -- such as soy protein and nuts -- into a diet can reduce bad cholesterol far more effectively than a diet low in saturated fat.   In fact, the authors assert, levels of LDL [and VLDL], the bad cholesterol, can drop to half that seen by many patients who take statins, sold under such names as Lipitor, Crestor or Zocor.   That could drive down a person's risk of fatal heart attack or stroke by 10%, the authors suggested...   One of the most potent cholesterol-busters in that mix, plant sterols (sometimes called stanols), occurs in small amounts in many grains, nuts, vegetables, legumes and fruits and also can be added to foods or taken as a dietary supplement.   Plant sterols mimic LDL cholesterol particles in the gut, preventing the absorption of those particles so that they pass through the body and are disposed of as waste."

2011-08-24 (5771 Menachem-Ab 24)
Walter E. Williams _Jewish World Review_
Legal Obedience
"Another, perhaps more egregious example of the Supreme Court's impairing contracts came during president Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal [FDR's Raw Deal], when the government nationalized gold and made it a felony for any American to own gold.   Not only was gold ownership made illegal but it nullified all 'gold clauses' in private and government contracts [requiring payment in actual gold].   Writing contracts in gold was a way people protected themselves against government theft, namely inflation...   Decent people should not obey immoral laws...   the liberties envisioned by the nation's founders have been under siege, trivialized and nullified."
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-25

2011-08-25 05:30PDT (08:30EDT) (12:30GMT) (15:30Jerusalem)
Scott Gibbons & Tony Sznoluch _DoL ETA_
un-employment insurance weekly claims report
DoL home page
DoL OPA press releases
historical data
DoL regulations
"The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 341,436 in the week ending August 20, a decrease of 4,536 from the previous week.   There were 384,955 initial claims in the comparable week in 2010.   The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.7% during the week ending August 13, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week.   The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,452,004, a decrease of 101,224 from the preceding week.   A year earlier, the rate was 3.3% and the volume was 4,219,639.   The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending August 6 was 7,290,189, a decrease of 45,989 from the previous week.   Extended benefits were available in AL, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, ME, MA, MI, MN, MO, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, WA, WV, and WI, during the week ending August 6.   States reported 3,086,781 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending August 6, a decrease of 43,827 from the prior week.   There were 4,820,132 claimants in the comparable week in 2010.   EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.   [Note that the population used for calculating the "insured unemployment rate" changes
to 132,623,886 beginning 2007-10-06;
to 133,010,953 beginning 2008-01-05;
to 133,382,559 beginning 2008-04-05;
to 133,690,617 beginning 2008-07-05;
to 133,902,387 beginning 2008-10-04;
to 133,886,830 beginning 2009-01-03;
to 133,683,433 beginning 2009-04-04;
to 133,078,480 beginning 2009-07-04;
to 133,823,421 beginning 2009-10-03;
to 131,823,421 beginning 2009-10-17;
to 130,128,328 beginning 2010-01-02;
to 128,298,468 beginning 2010-04-03;
to 126,763,245 beginning 2010-07-03;
to 125,845,577 beginning 2010-09-25;
to 125,560,066 beginning 2011-01-15;
to 125,572,661 beginning 2011-04-02;
to 125,807,389 beginning 2011-07-02.]
EUC (Excel)
EB
graphs
more graphs

2011-07-25 11:16PDT (14:16EDT) (18:16GMT) (21:16 Jerusalem)
Rob Pegoraro _Discovery_
Steve Jobs and Apple: Looking back and forward
Voice of America
Gregg Keizer: ComputerWorld/IDG
CNET/Ziff Davis/CBS
KGO San Francisco CA (video)
MarketWatch (video)
"Too many chief executives get paid as if they're the primary reason for their employer's success: The company, c'est moi!   Steve Jobs has had far more reason to make that claim -- yet he's taken a salary of $1 a year since his 1997 return to the firm he co-founded on April Fool's Day in 1976.   That's a very Jobs thing to do.   So was the way he resigned as CEO of Apple, stunning people Wednesday evening with a short letter saying he 'could no longer meet my duties and expectations'.   By then, chief operating officer Tim Cook -- who has managed the company since Jobs took medical leave in January and did so during an earlier leave in 2009 -- had already filled Jobs' spot as CEO."

2011-08-25 14:23:52PDT (17:23:52EDT) (21:23:52GMT) (2011-08-26 00:23:52 Jerusalem)
Tapan Munroe _San Jose CA Mercury News_/_Contra Costa CA Times_
University researchers drive economic development
"Not surprisingly, the state benefiting most from MIT graduates is Massachusetts.   Nearly 1M jobs worldwide have been created by 6,900 alumni-founded firms with headquarters in the state.   These firms generate annual revenues of $164G.   California comes in second with 526K jobs from 4,100 alumni-founded firms in the state.   New York, Texas and Virginia are ranked third, fourth and fifth with 231K, 184K and 136K jobs, respectively."

2011-08-25
William Anderson
Space aliens and mines

2011-08-25
Robert P. Murphy _Ludwig von Mises Institute_
On the brink of inflationary disaster

2011-08-25 (5771 Menachem-Ab 25)
Clifford D. May _Jewish World Review_
Better understanding of Islamic thinking is needed: "Freedom go to hell"?!
"Nearly 10 years after the attacks of 2001 Sept. 11, many politicians, diplomats, journalists, and academics remain reluctant even to name America's enemies.   To take but one example: John Brennan, head of the White House home-land-security office, has argued that America is only 'at war with al Qaeda' and its closest affiliates.   I understand the impulse to frame the conflict as narrowly as possible...   But can we not say -- truthfully and without playing into al-Qaeda's hands -- that there are regimes and groups within the Muslim world that are implacably hostile to the West?   Can we not say that they subscribe to a belief system called jihadism?   The late Fr. Richard John Neuhaus defined jihadism as a religiously inspired ideology built on the teaching 'that it is the moral obligation of all Muslims to employ whatever means necessary in order to compel the world's submission to Islam'.   I would contend that there is a distinction, subtle but significant, between jihadism and Islamism.   Jihadists see warfare as the divinely ordained path to Islamic supremacy.   Islamists may prefer to utilize other means."

2011-08-25 (5771 Menachem-Ab 25)
Jeannine Stein _Jewish World Review_
older people may learn better through trial and error
"A study released Wednesday in the journal Psychology and Aging found that older people benefited from trial-and-error learning...   In the trial-and-error test, cues for a specific word were given, and then participants were allowed to guess the word twice before seeing the correct answer.   This is considered more taxing, since the brain has to make connections to get to the information.   In the errorless test, after a cue was given, the correct word was revealed.   This is considered a more passive way to learn.   The test subjects also were given a memory test that asked them to recall the context in which they learned the word , for example, if they learned it via trial-and-error.   In both studies, all participants demonstrated more benefits from trial-and-error learning than they did from errorless learning.   Older adults (average age 70) benefited more than their younger counterparts, who were in their 20s."
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-26

2011-08-26
_London Telegraph_
king Arthur's round table found near Stirling castle?

2011-08-26
Gary Shapiro _American Spectator_
What passes for economic thinking in the Obummer admin

2011-08-26
Brandon Gee _Nashville Tennessean_
Federal thugs assault Gibson Guitar plants over imported woods, calling them "wildlife", asserting they were exported in violation of India laws
Chris Parsons: Daily Mail
Fox
Annie Johnson: Memphis Business Journal
John Hayward: Human Events
John McCoy: WV Gazette
"U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents believe Gibson is illegally smuggling wood from India to make fretboards, according to a search warrant unsealed Thursday.   Hundreds of items were seized from Gibson's Nashville facilities including rosewood and ebony in various forms, shipping documents, travel records, guitars including several Les Pauls, product specifications and hard drives, according to the search warrant.   A Memphis facility was also raided Wednesday.   Juszkiewicz said the lost day of productivity could cost the company $1M...   the wood materials seized Wednesday are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council..."

2011-08-26 06:58PDT (09:58EDT) (13:58GMT) (16:58 Jerusalem)
Jeffrey Bartash _MarketWatch_
UMich consumer sentiment index fell from 63.7 in July to 54.9 in early August to 55.7 in late August
Business Week
Federal Reserve Board St. Louis

2011-08-26
_Build the Border Fence_
Build the Border Fence

2011-08-26
Ronald W. Mortensen _Center for Immigration Studies_
Rasmussen polls: Citizens in 23 countries view excessive immigration unfavorably

2011-08-26
Thomas E. Brewton _View from 1776_
stock market and giant money-center banks are raking in profits, while small businesses and unemployed workers languish

2011-08-26
Thomas E. Brewton _View from 1776_
Obummer's record of economic destruction
"The real failure is Obama's willingness to sacrifice the nation's recovery and future economic survival to theoretical egalitarian 'social justice' at any price."

2011-08-26
Jeff Haden _BNET_/_Ziff Davis_/_CBS_
9 traits that make very good employees great
"Everyone knows great employees are dependable, reliable, proactive, great team players, have strong work ethics...all the standard (yet often uncommon) qualities.   So what traits take a [very good] employee to the next level and make them a truly [great] employee?   The extra 1%: The qualities that often go unnoticed (and unremarked in performance evaluations) yet make a major impact on performance...   Quirky... off, but in a really good way [but] know when to reel it in...   Ignore job descriptions...   Eager to prove themselves...   [Great] employees recognize the contributions of others...   ask questions [especially for others who are hesitant to ask for themselves]...   [Great empployees invest more, and yet reasonable, amounts of extra effort required to improve the results.   Great] employees go a step farther and find ways to make those processes even better, not just because they are expected to but because they can’t just help themselves."

2011-08-26
Thomas E. Brewton _View from 1776_
Left's redistributive, Keynesian, easy-money policy depresses GDP growth and job creation, while aggravating income inequality

2011-08-26
William L. Anderson
more inflationary insanity

2011-08-26
Kay Abramowitz _Family-Owned Business_
Raising the next generation: Capital accounts: financial, intellectual, human, social

2011-08-26 (5771 Menacham-Ab 26)
Steven Emerson _Jewish World Review_
Glenn Beck's revealing visit to Israel
 
Proposed Bills 2011

2011-08-26

DJIA	11,284.54
S&P 500(SPX)	1,176.80
NASDAQ(COMP)	2,479.85
Nikkei	8,797.78
10-year US T-Bond(UST10Y)	2.19%
crude oil(CL1V)	$85.37/barrel
natgas(NG11U)	$3.934/MBTU
reformulatedgasoline(RB1U)	$2.93/gal
heatingoil(HO1U)	$3.01/gal
gold(GC1Z)	$1,797.30/ounce
silver(SI1U)	$40.95/ounce
platinum(PL1V)	$1,826.90/ounce
palladium(PA1U)	$756.35/ounce
copper(HG1U)	$0.25625/ounce
soybeans	$14.235/bushel
maize	$7.67/bushel
wheat	$7.97/bushel
dollarindex(DXY)	73.825
yenperdollar(USDYEN)	76.63
dollarspereuro(EURUSD)	$1.4483
dollarsperpound(GBPUSD)	$1.6341
swissfrancsperdollar	0.8067
indianrupeesperdollar	46.083
mexicanpesosperdollar(USDMXN)	12.4422
MorganStanleyHighTechIndex	556.01

I usually get this info from MarketWatch.
 
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-27

2011-08-27
Jan Falstad _Billings MT Gazette_
Prosecutors go after ponzi schemers' assets (they should do that with the creators & perpetuators of the Socialist Insecurity Abomination)

2011-08-27
Ashley Luthern _Youngstown OH Vindicator_
Mahoning county grand jury indicted illegal alien on DUI and vehicular assault charges
"Victor Manuel Galindo-Barajas faces 2 charges of aggravated vehicular assault and 1 charge of driving while under the influence of alcohol.   The Ohio State Highway Patrol reports that Barajas had a blood-alcohol content of 0.273.   The state legal limit is 0.08...   All 3 were taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center.   Reports indicate M suffered a broken right foot, broken pelvis and serious injuries to his legs that required surgery, and after the surgery, he was sent to the intensive care unit.   M's female passenger injured her arm.   Barajas did not have serious injuries, but was kept over-night for observation...   The highway patrol said Barajas was arrested July 26, after his hospital release and taken to Mahoning county jail.   He remains there on $10K bond.   Barajas does not speak English and was not asked to make a voluntary statement, troopers said...   Barajas was staying at his brother-in-law's residence in East Palestine for 3 days before the crash, reports state."

2011-08-27
Thomas E. Brewton _View from 1776_
Jeff Lukens speculates about the role of hedge fund managers in the 2008 presidential election and in the upcoming 2012 election

2011-08-27
Thomas E. Brewton & Robert Curry _View from 1776_
The unity of the US Constitution and the Scottish Enlightenment
"Though they were boldly proposing to take mankind where it had never gone before, neither Smith nor the Founders were utopian dreamers.   We now know that their thinking was quite sound.   Free markets work, and today even tyrants accept the need to stage elections and plebiscites to give their regimes at least the appearance of legitimacy.   The systems of Smith and the Founders showered the world with undreamed of prosperity and liberty, at least for those of us fortunate enough to live where their ideas were applied.   Smith and the Founders believed they had arrived at an understanding of human action much as Newton had explained celestial motion.   Washington said it best.   The Founding, he wrote in 1783, had occurred at a time 'when the rights of mankind were better understood and more clearly defined, than at any former period; the researches of the human mind after social happiness, have been carried to a great extent,... [and] are laid open for our use'."

2011-08-27
Thomas E. Brewton _View from 1776_
Obummer's Keynesian leftist interventionist policies have made economic conditions worse: Considering the alternatives
James Pethokoukis: Commentary
"President Warren Harding pretty much adopted that organic approach during the mini-depression of 1920–1921.   That nasty little downturn has been blamed on a variety of culprits, including rapid demobilization after World War I and overly tight monetary policy by the nascent Federal Reserve.   Unemployment surged to nearly 12% as the economy shrank by about 3%.   Rather than enact a major spending program, Harding responded by slashing government outlays by a fifth during 1921 and 1922, which is just what he had told voters he would do during the 1920 campaign.   At the Republican convention that year, he promised to 'strike at government borrowing... [and] attack the high cost of government with every energy and facility which attend Republican capacity'.   Mission accomplished.   About that period, economist Benjamin Anderson wrote, 'We took our losses, we readjusted our financial structure, we endured our depression, and in August 1921, we started up again.'   And then we raced right into the Roaring Twenties."
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-28

2011-08-28
"Weaver"
STEM occupations lost 219,720 jobs in 2010

2011-08-28
Rick Oltman _SF Examiner_
Obummer's illegal alien family: Uncle Omar ordered deported in 1992
James Bone & Catherine Philp: Australian
Investor's Business Daily
Maria Sachetti & Dan Adams: Boston Globe
Live Punjab
Jon Feere: Center for Immigration Studies
"We pause to ask how it is possible for Onyango to have resided illegally in the U.S.A. for decades and, after being ordered deported in 1982, to have secured a job, a MA driver's license and a federal [Socialist Inecurity Number, SIN], all without being detected or apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement [INS and then ICE]."

2011-08-28
Laura C. Morel _Sacramento CA Bee_/_Dallas TX Morning News_
Illegal alien arrested dozens of times and still in the USA
"Almost half of the nearly 393K immigrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement who were deported last fiscal year had criminal records.   But Graciano-Navarro, 63, is not the best poster child for the Obama administration's recent victory laps over increased deportation of criminal aliens who shouldn't have been in the U.S.A. in the first place.   Instead, the Graciano-Navarro case highlights the difficulty of [lack of conscientious effort to] keeping 'crimmigrants' out of the country...   At $87 a day, Graciano-Navarro has cost the system more than $8,100 since he went to a federal detention center.   That's a drop in the bucket compared with untold dollars spent on past prosecution efforts and jail time from his decades of crime."

2011-08-28
Thomas E. Brewton _View from 1776_
Bernanke's bail-out of foreign banks
"Wall Street and the world banking community have unexpected reason to love the Fed’s debasement of the dollar."

2011-08-28
Robert Moore _Cenantua_
Maryland's Southern Unionists continue to fill the ranks

2011-08-28
Robert Moore _Cenantua_
Found!(?) Union soldiers hung by Mosby's command

2011-08-28
William L. Anderson
NYC's 'stimulus plan' falls flat as it turns out that Irene was a dud
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-29

2011-08-29
Mark Krikorian _Center for Immigration Studies_
Rick Perry's support for amnesty for illegal aliens

2011-08-29
Laura C. Morel _Arizona Star_/_Dallas TX Morning News_
Serial returnees are a costly subset of illegal aliens

2011-08-29
Edwin Mora _Cybercast News Service_
Solis signs agreements with foreign governments to protect illegal aliens in the USA

2011-08-29
William L. Anderson
Bob Murphy on the keynesians and Bastiat's "broken window fallacy"
Robert P. Murphy: Ludwig von Mises Institute: The broken-window fallacy

2011-08-29 (5771 Menacham-Ab 29)
Steven Emerson _Jewish World Review_
Dept. of Injustice keeping Islamic Bank settlement secret
"The Justice Department has agreed to end its investigation into an international financial network with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and a Saudi prince in a settlement in excess of $30M, sources tell the Investigative Project on Terrorism...   Reports of a grand jury investigation into an IICG domestic affiliate called Overland Capital surfaced early in 2007.   Though the grand jury was convened in Boston in 2006 September, a terrorism-financing prosecutor from DoJ was leading the tax evasion probe into the bank, the Wall Street Journal reported.   Overland Capital allegedly was controlled by the Dar al-Maal al-Islami Trust (DMI), an Islamic financial institution founded by Saudi prince Mohamed al-Faisal and which had at least 2 influential Muslim Brotherhood figures on its board, the Journal reported...   IICG, meanwhile, is a 'wholly owned subsidiary' of DMI Trust...   Saudi prince Mohamed al-Faisal founded DMI Trust nearly 30 years ago [and] remains on its board...   Faisal Private Bank...was mentioned in a Hamas financing case involving transfers to the group and its current deputy political director, Mousa Abu Marzook."
Investigative Project: CAIR-Hamas-Muslim Brotherhood links
Discover the Networks: Muslim Brotherhood (MB)
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-30

1907-08-30: John William Mauchly, ENIAC designer, was born in Cincinnati, OH. i programmer

2011-08-30
Claudia Cruz & Rachel Stern _Mountain View CA Patch_
Taking blood from job seekers at Stanford

2011-08-30 09:10PDT (12:10EDT) (16:10GMT) (19:10 Jerusalem)
_Fox Chicago_
Real economic recovery demands a balanced budget amendment

2011-08-30 11:36PDT (14:36EDT) (18:36GMT) (21:36 Jerusalem)
Donna Gehrke-White _Orlando FL Sentinel_
Floridians' consumer confidence dropped
Douglas Hanks: Miami Herald
"This month's average mark of 62 is only 3 points higher than the record-low set in 2008 June, said Chris McCarty, director of the university's Bureau of Economic and Business Research...   Floridians were the most negative over U.S. economic conditions -- their confidence plummeted 6 points to 51, the survey found.   Their opinions over U.S. economic conditions in the next five years also dropped six points -- but it had been higher last month so it only fell to 63.   Floridians' confidence to buy big-ticket items such as cars and appliances dipped five points to 70.   Perceptions of personal finances now compared with a year ago dropped 4 points to 54, while expectations of personal finances a year from now fell one point to 74.   Women and older people were the most pessimistic.   Confidence among women fell 8 points to 59 while confidence among those age 60 and over plummeted even more to 57...   State unemployment remained steady at 10.7%, he said."

2011-08-30
_Chain Store Age_
Conference Board's US consumer confidence fell 14.7 points in August to 44.5
Scott Stoddard: Investor's Business Daily
Frederic Ruffy: Seeking Alpha
Conference Board
"Consumers' appraisal of present-day conditions weakened further in August. Consumers claiming business conditions are 'bad' increased to 40.6% from 38.7%, while those claiming business conditions are 'good' inched up to 13.7% from 13.5%. Consumers' assessment of employment conditions was more pessimistic than last month. Those claiming jobs are 'hard to get' increased to 49.1% from 44.8%, while those stating jobs are 'plentiful' declined to 4.7% from 5.1%."

2011-08-30
Courtney Rubin _Inc._
Rate at which unemployed start new business is at 25-year low
"Chicago-based out-placement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said the rate of unemployed managers and executives launching start-ups dropped to 2.5% in the second quarter of 2011, the lowest rate since the firm began tracking the statistic in 1986.   (The decade's high? The second quarter of 2005, when 13.1% of jobless took the entrepreneurship plunge.)...   Through the first six months of 2011, an average of 3.3% of job seekers decided to start their own businesses, according to the report.   That was down from the previous record low: 3.7% in the first 2 quarters of 2010."

2011-08-30
Hiede B. Malhotra _Epoch Times_
The curious case of vanishing US jobs

2011-08-30
Edwin S. Rubenstein _V Dare_
Illegal alien deportations lagging

2011-08-30
Paula Burke _iStock Analyst_/_Oklahoman_
Telecomms zero in on band-width hogs
"About 2% of home Internet users in Oklahoma are hogging the information highway, exceeding the data usage allowances on their respective monthly plans, Internet service providers say.   AT&T and Cox Communications recently introduced steps on how to bill or upgrade these so-called bandwidth hogs, and alerted customers to those conditions, as well as easy online meters to measure their own daily and monthly data usage -- or the amount of movies, photos, videos and other files they send and receive.   AT&T users are allowed 150GB in monthly data usage; 250GB if they're on a U-verse plan.   Data allowances for Cox customers range from 30GB to 400GB, depending on which plan -- and corresponding speed -- they buy.   In a May 2 email to customers, AT&T announced users -- starting the third month they exceed allowances -- will be billed $10 for each additional 50GB used monthly, up to $200...   Conversely, the average Cox customer uses only 10GB to 15GB of data a month, he said.   However, they choose packages with greater data allowances, he said, because they want higher speeds.   With 150GB of data, for example, most customers every month have the capacity to upload and download plenty: 10K one-page e-mails; 3K photos, 2K songs, 5K YouTube videos, 1K one-hour TV shows and stream 20 standard definition movies or 10 high-definition ones.   At AT&T, the 2% of excessive users hog 20% of the bandwidth, said Ryan Stafford, director of sales for Oklahoma.   AT&T's average consumer uses 18GB, he said."

2011-08-30
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of FL
HR2829: UN transparency, accountability and reform
"The United States pays... $7.7G in 2010, according to the White House Office of Management and Budget, [to the UN]...   A 2011 Gallup poll revealed that 62% of Americans believe that the United Nations is doing a poor job, a negative assessment shared by a majority of respondents from both political parties.   Research polling by another firm in late 2006 found that 71% of Americans think that the United Nations is 'no longer effective' and needs to be significantly reformed, while 75% think that the United Nations 'needs to be held more accountable'...   Unlike United States assessed contributions to the United Nations regular budget, which are statutorily capped at 22% of the total, there is no cap on voluntary contributions.   The United States, which contributes generously to international organizations whose activities it recognizes as credible, worthwhile, and efficient, contributes more than 22% of the budget of certain voluntarily funded United Nations Specialized Agencies...   It is the sense of Congress that the Durban I and Durban II conferences, and their preparatory and follow-on activities, were subverted by members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and irredeemably distorted into a forum for anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, and anti-freedom activity...   Issa Batran (now deceased), a commander of Hamas's al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades and senior rocket-maker who taught at an UNRWA school in Gaza;   Humam Khalil Abu Mulal al-Balawi (now deceased), who reportedly carried out a homicide bombing that killed seven Americans and one Jordanian at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Afghanistan on 2009 December 30, reportedly worked as a physician at an UNRWA clinic in Amman, Jordan, and had longstanding ties to violent Islamist extremism;   Said Siam (now deceased), a long-time Hamas official who eventually served as Hamas's Interior Minister in Gaza, and who taught at an UNRWA school in Gaza;   Awad al-Qiq (now deceased), a rocket-builder for Palestinian Islamic Jihad who served as headmaster of an UNRWA school in Gaza;   Nahd Atallah, an UNRWA staff member in Gaza, who was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment by an Israeli military court of using his UN travel document to bypass Israeli checkpoints in Gaza in order to transport armed Palestinian militants..."

2011-08-30
Cliff Kincaid _USA Survival_
media prepare socialist treaty trap for the USA in law of the sea treaty

2011-08-30
Dave Boyer _Washington DC Times_
Obummer's proposed additional regulations would cost billions of dollars per year

2011-08-30 (5771 Menacham-Ab 30)
Caroline B. Glick _Jewish World Review_
The perils of a remilitarized Sinai

2011-08-30 (5771 Menacham-Ab 30)
Karen Kaplan _Jewish World Review_
2 genes linked to taste for caffeine
"a report published in PLoS Genetics.   The first is CYP1A2, which had already been known to have something to do with caffeine metabolism, and the second is AHR, which plays a role in regulating CYP1A2.   Everyone has both of these genes, of course, but we don't all have the exact same kinds.   Those in the study who had the most caffeine-seeking version of CYP1A2 drank an average of 38 milligrams more of the stuff each day than those with the most caffeine-indifferent version.   People with the most caffeine-dependent version of the AHR gene consumed an average of 44 mg. more per day than their counterparts with the least caffeine-seeking version."

2011-08-30 (5771 Menacham-Ab 30)
Thomas Sowell _Jewish World Review_
An Unusual Economy?
National Review
Town Hall
Free Republic
Patriot Post
Detroit MI News
"Some very sharp down-turns in the American economy, such as in the early 1920s, were followed quickly by bouncing back to normal levels or beyond.   The government did nothing -- and it worked.   In that sense, this is an unusual recovery in how long it is taking and in how slowly the economy is growing -- while the government is doing virtually everything imaginable.   Government intervention may look good to the media but its actual track record -- both today and in the 1930s -- is far worse than the track record of letting the economy recover on its own...   As unusual as 9% unemployment rates may seem to the current generation of Americans, unemployment rates stayed in double digits for months and years on end during the 1930s.   Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration followed policies very similar to those of the Obama administration today.   He also got away with it politically by blaming his predecessor."
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

2011-08-31

2011-08-31
Chris Taylor _Pharmaceutical Jobs_
CGC: cut in pharmaceutical job leads large lay-offs in the USA
Mark Gongloff: Wall Street Journal
Robert Holmes: The Street
Mark Memmott: North Country Socialist Radio
Brendan Lynch: Boston MA Herald
CNN
South Florida Business Journal
Miami FL New Times
Kent Bernhard: Portfolio
Julie Steinberg: FINS Technology/Dow
UPI
51,114 total cuts in 2011 August compared with 66,414 in July, 41,432 in June; 67,611 in 2010 March; and 34,768 in 2010 August
Merck & Co., Borders, Cisco Systems, Lockheed Martin and Boston Scientific cut 38,100
363,334 year to date
18,426 government & non-profits (105,406 year to date)
13,493 in pharmaceuticals
5,901 retail
456 tele-communications, electronics and computers
157 in tele-comm (compared with 754 in July)
150 in electronics (compared with 342 in July)
149 in computers (compard with 7,970 in July)
45,105 in CA
33,481 in DC
27,706 in NJ
23,727 in MI
18,098 in FL
What's wrong with this picture?...jgo

2011-08-31 09:58PDT (12:58EDT) (16:58GMT) (19:58 Jerusalem)
_Greater Cincinnati Business Journal_
on-line job ads down in Ohio
"the Conference Board... said its Help Wanted Online gauge registered a drop of 5,800 on-line job ads in the state, following a drop of 6,400 job vacancies advertised on-line in July...   [Nationally, job ads] on-line dropped 163,900 to nearly 4M in August, coming on the heels of declines in June and July..."

2011-08-31
_CNN_
JM with degree in science, earned $160K in last year driving a truck 600-700 miles per day
Illegal alien with U Chicago econ degree makes $125K as window-washer
Radio ad salesman made $350K in NY, NY

2011-08-31
Denise Dick _Youngstown OH Vindicator_
Science fest at YSU draws attention to STEM fields

2011-08-31
David Louie & Amy Hollyfield _KGO San Francisco CA_
Solyndra declaring bankruptcy (with video)
"Solyndra's CEO Brian Harrison held a meeting with employees this morning to tell them that 1,100 people would be losing their jobs...   The facility was financed largely by $535M in [tax-victim] money.   The Department of Energy in 2009 gave Solyndra a low-interest loan as part of the federal stimulus program -- giving the government a stake in the company's success."

2011-08-31
Janice Kephart _Center for Immigration Studies_
Port watch-lists are an important tool

2011-08-31 12:28:12PDT (15:28:12EDT) (19:28:12GMT) (22:28:12 Jerusalem)
Margaret Talev _Bloomberg_
Executives promise ot add 6,300 engineering internships for cheap, young foreigners

2011-08-31
Emily Ekins _Reason_
Reason-Rupe poll: 54% favor allowing opt out from Socialist Insecurity abomination
"According to a recent Reason-Rupe poll, a majority of Americans favor reforming Social Security (61%) and Medicare (59%) if they are guaranteed to get back what they originally contributed into the system.   This reveals important information about how the public conceptualizes entitlements in general and what policy-makers must consider in order to reform the system.   Moreover, a majority of people would also favor allowing workers to opt out of [Socialist Insecurity] (54%) and Medicare (56%)."

2011-08-31
_Fox_
Obummer DoJ and Do Educationism tell Arizona that English teachers can have heavy accents and use improper grammar
Gary Grado: Arizona Capitol Times

2011-08-31
Tiffany Kaiser _Target Freedom_
New England's US 1st circuit court of appeals rules video-recording police is legal
"'The filming of government officials engaged in their duties in a public place, including police officers performing their responsibilities, fits comfortably within these principles [of protected First Amendment activity].', said the Court.   'Gathering information about government officials in a form that can readily be disseminated to others serves a cardinal First Amendment interest in protecting and promoting the free discussion of governmental affairs.'   The Court added that the police officers should have understood this all along, and that video-taping public officials is not limited to the press...   'news-gathering protections of the First Amendment cannot turn on professional credentials or status'."

2011-08-31
William L. Anderson
Confusing science with opinion

2011-08-31 (5771 Elul 01)
Brian Bennett _Jewish World Review_
Post-2011/09/11 assessment found glaring security gaps

2011-08-31 (5771 Elul 01)
Walter E. Williams _Jewish World Review_
Race and Economics
Washington Examiner
Amarillo TX Globe-News
Lew Rockwell
Front Page
Town Hall
Richmond KY Register
"Overall U.S. unemployment is 9.1%.   For white adults, it's 8%, and for white teens, 23%.   Black adult unemployment stands at 17%, and for black teens, it's 40%, more than 50% in some cities, for example, Washington [DC]...   Up until the late 1950s, the labor force participation rate [LFPR] of black teens and adults was equal to or greater than their white counterparts.   In fact, in 1910, 71% of black males older than 9 were employed, compared with 51% for whites.   As early as 1890, the duration of unemployment among blacks was shorter than it was among whites, whereas today unemployment is both higher and longer-lasting among blacks than among whites...   Between 1890 and 1940, a slightly higher percentage of black adults had married than white adults.   Today black marriage rates have fallen precipitously, where 72% of black children are born to un-wed mothers."

2011-08-31 (5771 Elul 01)
Mark Tapson _Discover the Networks_
Muslims' refusal to assimilate/integrate into Western cultures
 
Proposed Bills 2011
 
 

 
Proposed Bills 2011

USA Over-Population Clock
World + USA Over-Population Clocks
Jimbo Wales's WikiPedia on World Over-Population
 

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