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updated: 2016-09-01
 

"It should never be forgotten that the one decisive factor in the rise of totalitarianism on the Continent, which is yet absent in England and America, is the existence of a large recently dispossessed middle class." --- Friedrich A. Hayek 1944, 1963 _The Road to Serfdom_ pg209

 
 

2010 December

U	M	T	W	R	F	S
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30	31

 

"The guiding principle that a policy of freedom for the individual is the only truly progressive policy remains as true today as it was in the 19th century." --- Friedrich A. Hayek 1944, 1963 _The Road to Serfdom_ pg240

 
 
 

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

2010-12-01

2010-12-01
CocoaHeads is an international Mac programmer's group.   Meetings are free and open to the public.   We specialize in Cocoa, but everything Mac programming related is welcome.
 
Australia
Sydney - Thursday, 2010 December 2, 18:30
 
Canada
Ottawa/Gatineau, Ontario - Thursday, 2010 December 9, 19:00
 
France
Bordeaux - Thursday, 2010 December 9, 22:00
 
Germany
Hamburg - Thursday, 2010 December 2, 19:00
Hannover - Monday, 2010 December 6, 19:00
 
Sweden
Göteborg - Thursday, 2010 December 9, 19:00
Stockholm - Monday, 2010 December 6, 19:00
 
U.S.A.
Boston, MA - Thursday, 2010 December 9, 19:00
Boulder, CO - Tuesday, 2010 December 14, 19:00
Chattanooga, TN - Saturday, 2010 December 4, 09:00
Chicago, IL - Tuesday, 2010 December 14, 19:00
Cleveland, OH - Monday, 2010 December 13, 18:00
Colorado Springs, CO - Thursday, 2010 December 9, 19:00
Columbia, MO - Thursday, 2010 December 9, 18:00
Columbia, MD - Tuesday, 2010 December 14, 19:00
Denver, CO - Tuesday, 2010 December 14, 19:00
Lake Forest, Orange county CA - Wednesday, 2010 December 8, 19:00
Minneapolis, MN - Thursday, 2010 December 9, 18:00
New York, NY - Thursday, 2010 December 9, 18:00
Pittsburgh, PA - Thursday, 2010 December 16, 19:30
 
Some chapters may have yet to post their meeting for next month.   Meeting times may change. CocoaHeads locations and more information.
 
Also be sure to check for an NSCoder Night in your area.

2010-12-01
Marc Kovac _Youngstown OH Vindicator_
governor-elect John Kasich defends job applicants' privacy

2010-12-01
Alexis Levinson _Daily Caller_
"Patriotic" millionaires push increased federal extortion, but won't voluntarily pay more to the government out of their own pockets

2010-12-01
_abc_/_Reuters_
CGC: 48,711 planned lay-offs announced in November
Henry Unger: Atlanta GA Journal-Constitution
Kevin Kastner: iMarket News
Alex Kowalski: Bloomberg
Central Valley CA Business Times
Employers announced 497,969 job cuts from January through November.
The government and non-profit sector announced 10,761 lay-offs (138,979 so far this year).   Consumer-product companies reported the next-largest number of cuts, with 8,748.   (The pharmaceutical industry announced 50,168 so far this year.)
Ohio led all states with 10,353 announced job cuts, followed by New York, with 8,045.
graphs2010-12-01 10:33PST (13:33EST) (18:33GMT)
Ed Marcum _Knoxville TN News Sentinel_
Industrial espionage trial begins
"two Greenback engineers are accused of photographing sensitive production equipment at a Goodyear plant in Kansas for a China client.   Clark Alan Roberts and Sean Edward Howley are accused of bluffing their way into a Goodyear plant in Topeka, KS, in 2007 May and using a cell phone camera to take 7 photographs of equipment used to produce tires for heavy duty construction equipment.   The 2 defendants were employees of Wyko Tire Technology at the time and federal prosecutors contend they violated the Economic Espionage Act..."

2010-12-01 10:59PST (13:59EST) (18:59GMT)
Jeannine Aversa _Knoxville TN News Sentinel_/_AP_
Fed named companies they gave bail-outs totalling some $3.3T
Steve Goldstein: MarketWatch
NY Times
Blogging Stocks
Bloomberg
Richard Clark: Op Ed News
Wall Street Journal
The Australian
Bank of India/Merrill Lynch, McDonald's, J.P. Morgan Chase (over $13G), Caterpillar, CitiGroup, Harley-Davidson, Dresdner Bank, WestLB, Deutsche Bank, France's BNP Paribus, Switzerland's UBS, Societe Generale, MetLife, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, AIG, Wells Fargo, Royal Bank of Scotland, Dreyfus, BlackRock, Pimco, Oppenheimer, Morgan Stanley, DWS, Janus and T. Rowe Price, Verizon Communications, Oppenheimer Institutional Money Market Fund, Ally Bank (GMAC), Chrysler Financial Services, Allianz SE's Pacific Investment Management Co., General Electric (over $16G)... in some 21K transactions.

2010-12-01
David Glenn _Chronicle of Higher Education_
Measurement of learning is reaching grad schools

2010-12-01
_Magnolia Science Academy web log_
Magnolia Science Academy and the Gülen (Guelen) movement: American Teachers in LA are you part of the massive lay-off?

2010-12-01
William L. Anderson
Spending and indebting ourselves to wealth

2010-12-01 (5771 Kislev 24)
Andrea Simantov _Jewish World Review_
The beauty of "nice"

2010-12-01 (5771 Kislev 24)
Walter E. Williams _Jewish World Review_
Minimum Wage, Maximum Folly
"The higher the price of something, the less people will [buy] of it; and the lower its price, the more people will [buy] of it[.]   The law of demand applies to wages, interest and rent because, after all, they are the prices of something.   In 2007, the Democrat-led Congress and White House enacted legislation raising the minimum wage law, in steps, from $5.15 an hour to $7.25.   With some modification, the increases applied to our Pacific Ocean territories [where certain members of congress had close relatives employing people]...   increases in minimum wages have had a devastating impact on American Samoan workers...   According to SamoanNews.Com, in August, 300 workers received lay-off letters in phase one of Starkist's down-sizing plans...   Does the law of demand that we've seen applying to American Samoa also apply to the U.S. mainland? It does and particularly for teenagers and especially black teenagers.   In 2007, the unemployment rate for all teens was 15%; today it's 25%.   For black teenagers, in 2007, unemployment was 26%; today it's over 50%.   Overall unemployment is a little over 9%.   Those who argue that the minimum wage has no effect on labor markets in the U.S. but has an effect in American Samoa are either liars, lunatics or idiots, and that includes those 650 economists who signed that petition suggesting that a 'modest increase in the minimum wage would improve the well-being of low-wage workers'."

2010-12-01 (5771 Kislev 24)
Thomas Sowell _Jewish World Review_
Can Republicans talk? part2
"Internal Revenue Service data show that there were 206 people who reported annual incomes of $1M or more in 1916.   But, as the tax rate on high incomes skyrocketed under the Woodrow Wilson administration, that number plummeted to just 21 people reporting $1M a year in income five years later.   What happened to all those millionaires? Did they flee the country? Were they stricken with fatal diseases? Did they meet with foul play?   Not to worry.   Right after Congress enacted the cuts in tax rates that Mellon had been urging, there were suddenly 207 people reporting taxable incomes of a $1M or more in 1925.   As Casey Stengel used to say, 'You could look it up.'   It is on page 21 of an Internal Revenue publication titled _Statistics of Income from Returns of Net Income for 1925_...   The government, which collected less than $50M in taxes on capital gains in 1924, suddenly collected well over $100M in capital gains taxes in 1925.   At lower tax rates, it no longer made sense to keep so much invested in tax-exempt securities, when more money could be made by investing in the economy."

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

2010-12-02

2010-12-02 04:43PST (07:43EST) (12:43GMT)
Charles Martin Cosgriff _Wayne county Examiner_
Statute Repeal Amendment: one good idea
Brian Calle: Orange county CA Register
Matt Canham: Salt Lake UT Tribune
Orlando FL Sentinel
James M. Simpson: Big Government
Repeal Amendment.org
++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes

2010-12-02 05:24PST (08:24EST) (13:24GMT)
_Knoxville TN News Sentinel_/_AP_
Retailers report strong November sales
Andria Cheng: MarketWatch

2010-12-02 05:30PDT (08:30EDT) (12:30GMT)
Scott Gibbons & Tony Sznoluch _DoL ETA_
un-employment insurance weekly claims report
DoL home page
DoL OPA press releases
historical data
"The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 410,617 in the week ending Nov. 27, a decrease of 54,196 from the previous week.   There were 457,669 initial claims in the comparable week in 2009.   The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.9% during the week ending Nov. 20, a decrease of 0.2 percentage point from the prior week.   The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,659,067, a decrease of 211,927 from the preceding week.   A year earlier, the rate was 3.6% and the volume was 4,791,687.   The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending Nov. 13 was 8,909,882.   Extended benefits were available in AL, AK, AZ, 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, PR, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, WV, and WI, during the week ending November 13.   States reported 3,944,168 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending Nov. 13, an increase of 142,874 from the prior week.   There were 3,781,434 claimants in the comparable week in 2009.   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.]
EUC (Excel)
EB
graphs
more graphs

2010-12-02
Cyn Wells _Spot.US_
H-1B guest-workers [described in 8 USC 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b)] virtually enslaved in Sili Valley

2010-12-02
Grace Wyler _Youngstown OH Vindicator_
4K unemployed in Mahoning river valley are still in limbo

2010-12-02 18:07:05PST (21:07:05EST) (02:07:05GMT)
Mike Cassidy _San Jose CA Mercury "News"_
Steve Wozniak is a Sili Valley treasure
"It was a fun and informative tour, but it got me thinking more about Wozniak himself than about the massive IBM RAMAC disk stack or the Control Data Corp. 6600 supercomputer or the Data General Nova minicomputer he stopped to talk about."

2010-12-02
Stephanie Overby _CIO_/_
Marie Lee: I off-shored application development to Red China to take advantage of the cheap labor

2010-12-02
Catherine Rampell _NY Times_
The longer you're unemployed, the more difficult it becomes to get work (with graph)

2010-12-02
Gloria Towolawi _Houston TX Examiner_
The unemployed vs. US congress

2010-12-02
_Magnolia Science Academy web log_
Latest Gülen (Guelen) Cry Baby Award goes to Magnolia Science Academy -- Suleyman Bahceci

2010-12-02 (5771 Kislev 25)
Amina Khan _Jewish World Review_
New estimate: 3 times as many stars
Paul Basken: Chronicle of Higher Education
Ron Cowen: Science News
"The new census, based on analysis of the light signature of the galaxies using instruments at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, pushes the total number of stars in the universe to 300 sextillion (that's 100G squared, multiplied by 30).   Red dwarfs are often a mere 10% to 20% of the mass of the sun, and hundreds of times dimmer.   That makes them so faint as to be undetectable at great distances.   To make up for what they couldn't see, astronomers for decades have assumed that the proportion of red dwarfs in other galaxies would be similar to the ratio known to exist in our own, said Yale University astronomer Pieter van Dokkum, the study's lead author."

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

2010-12-03

2010-12-03
_BLS_
graphs

2010-12-03 03:00PST (06:00EST) (11:00GMT)
Bob Barr _Atlanta GA Journal Constitution_
Convenience vs. Security vs. Privacy

2010-11-03 11:45PST (14:45EST) (19:45GMT)
Bob Fowler _Knoxville TN News Sentinel_
Oak Ridge, TN plans to become carbon fiber R&D center
"The 50K-square-foot Carbon Fiber Technology Center -- bank-rolled by a $30m federal stimulus act grant to Oak Ridge National Laboratory -- is planned on a 10-acre tract in Horizon Center."

2010-11-03
Brett French _Billings MT Gazette_/_Lee_
Bow hunter discovers sea reptile fossil
"Bradt snapped some photos of what he had found.   On his way home from the 8-day hunt, he stopped at the CMR headquarters in Lewistown, told them what he'd seen and also gave them a GPS waypoint.   He later e-mailed them copies of his photos.   CMR staffers investigated, took their own photos and reburied the find, carefully protecting the site to prevent the possibility of theft...   Judging by the photos, Montana State University paleontologist Jack Horner said he thinks the fossil is likely a plesiosaur — a long-necked, four-finned aquatic reptile that roamed the CMR when it was part of a vast inland sea, the Cretaceous Seaway of North America -- roughly 75M years ago.   The sea extended from the Arctic to the Gulf of Mexico.   Although its boundaries fluctuated, at one time it was 1K miles wide and spread from Minnesota west to the Rocky Mountain Front.   Plesiosaurs would have roamed the sea much like whales today -- breathing air and feeding on fish and other prey.   There were several varieties, the largest of which were 40 feet long.   This discovery may be of a smaller plesiosaur because it is believed to have between 19 and 26 neck vertebrae.   Larger specimens could have nearly 70 neck vertebrae."

2010-12-03
William L. Anderson
Krugman freezes out Obama

2010-12-03
Niall O'Dowd _Irish Central_
thousands of E-3 and H-1B1 visas are not being claimed each year: Irish want a piece of the action

2010-12-03
Michelle Malkin _Human Events_
No More Illegal Alien Waivers

2010-12-03

DJIA	11,382.09
S&P 500(SPX)	1124.71
NASDAQ(COMP)	2591.46
Nikkei	10,178
10-year US T-Bond(UST10Y)	3.013
crude oil(CLF11)	$89.19/barrel
gold(GCG11)	$1,406.20/ounce
silver(SIH11)	$29.27/ounce
platinum(PLF11)	$1,728.50/ounce
palladium(PAH11)	$770.10/ounce
copper(HGF11)	$0.250875/ounce
natgas(NGF11)	$4.35/MBTU
reformulatedgasoline(RBF11)	$2.35/gal
heatingoil	%2.49/gal
soybeans	$12.96/bushel
maize	$5.675/bushel
wheat	$7.78/bushel
dollarindex(DXY)	79.15
yenperdollar(USDYEN)	82.54
dollarspereuro(EURUSD)	1.3415
dollarsperpound(GBPUSD)	1.5773
swissfrancsperdollar	0.9933
indianrupeesperdollar	45.12
mexicanpesosperdollar(MXN)	12.3715
MorganStanleyHighTechIndex	651.85

I usually get this info from MarketWatch.
 

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

2010-12-04

2010-12-04
Anthony Cherniawski _Market Oracle_
US unemployment hits 9.8%: America's love affair with stocks may be over
graphs

2010-12-04
Peter H. Milliken _Youngstown OH Vindicator_
US Constitution to take lead role at Oakhill hearing

2010-12-04
_Magnolia Science Academy web log_
Gülen (Guelen) movement's Interfaith Dialog Foundation put up the initial $100K for the Magnolia Science Academies

2010-12-04
Michael Snyder _Daily Markets_
Jobless lack of recovery in the USA

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

2010-12-05

2010-12-05 08:39PST (11:39EST) (16:39GMT)
Susan Salisbury _Palm Beach FL Post_
25% more for butter?! Rising food prices add to shoppers' economic woes
"Prices have spiked recently for such staples as beef, pork, poultry, cheese, milk, butter, sugar and coffee.   Economists say that's just the beginning...   U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service [USDA's ERS]...is forecasting 2% to 3% food inflation for next year.   Food prices as a whole have not increased much this year, with the USDA predicting overall increases of 1% to 1.5% for 2010.   But zeroing in on specific items provides some startling exceptions, such as butter's roughly 25% increase, attributed to short supplies...   'Soybeans are on pace for the sixth consecutive year of record exports, mainly due to China.   China's population has turned to a more protein-rich diet, which means more meat.   Soybean meal is fed to hogs and chickens.', said John Sanow, a grains analyst with Telvent DTN in Omaha, NE."

2010-12-05
Cindy Uken _Billings MT Gazette_/_Lee_
WWAMI med school program could be cut
"With Montana facing a projected biennial budget deficit of up to $370M, every state program is in jeopardy, including the popular 37-year-old program that places 20 state residents in the University of Washington School of Medicine.   The state-funded WWAMI program -- from which at least 531 Montanan doctors have graduated and gone on to practice medicine -- has received a $3.5M appropriation for the next fiscal year.   Of those Montana doctors, at least 293, or 55%, have practiced at least one year in Montana."
How WWAMI works
"Students who enter the program are enrolled in the University of Washington School of Medicine, but take their first year of medical school basic science courses in their home states.   First-year programs exist at Montana State University in Bozeman, Washington State University in Pullman, Washington State University in Spokane, the University of Wyoming in Laramie, the University of Alaska in Anchorage and the University of Idaho in Moscow.   At each of these sites, first-year medical students participate in a curriculum compatible to the University of Washington School of Medicine's first year.   After the first year, WWAMI students join their classmates on the Seattle campus.   There are currently more than 275 clinical faculty members teaching in the Montana WWAMI program, or one-eighth of the active physicians in Montana.   There are more than 25 required WWAMI clerkships in 8 communities available in the state.   This year there are between 15 and 22 third and fourth year WWAMI students at these sites at any one time.   This past summer there were 31 WWAMI students, including 18 from Montana, spending one month at a rural and underserved community in Montana."

2010-12-05
Thomas E. Brewton _View from 1776_
The Red Chinese behemoth we cannot ignore

2010-12-05
Ben Lieberman _NY Post_
New Obama admin regulations generating more pink slips
"Even before the BP spill, Obama's Interior Department had cracked down on domestic drilling.   In 2009, regulators allowed less than $1G in new oil and natural gas leases on federally controlled areas -- both onshore and offshore -- compared to $10G under President George W. Bush the year before...   For example, several new Environmental Protection Agency permit requirements have shut down the construction of coal-fired power plants needed to provide manufacturers with affordable electricity.   Jeffrey Holmstead, a former top air-quality EPA official, noted that in 2009 the incoming Obama bureaucrats 'withdrew permits that had already been issued', and that 'dozens are being held up today because they have no way to meet a new standard that EPA has put out'...   coal-mining jobs are feeling the pinch...   Obama's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is imposing strict fishing limits, even where there is little or no evidence of an overfishing problem."

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

2010-12-06

2010-12-06
_Fox_/_AP_
J-1 visas being abused for cheap, pliant labor
"John Woods, deputy assistant director of national security for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement [ICE], told the AP there were at least 2 federal investigations under way into human trafficking related to J-1 visas."

2010-12-06 03:00PST (06:00EST) (11:00GMT)
Patrick Thibodeau _ComputerWorld_/_IDG_
Jobless recovery in IT blamed in part on off-shoring
"The biggest jump in job losses came in 2009, with a net loss of 311K IT back-office jobs in the U.S.A. and Europe, according to Hackett Group figures...   In better economic times, about 3% to 4% of IT budgets on average were spent on off-shore out-sourcing.   Today, IT departments allocate an average of 5% of the budget on off-shoring, and that allocation is expected to rise to 7% in 2011, said Luftman...   According to SIM surveys, employers are now are seeking a good balance of skills from IT professionals, including technical skills, general business knowledge, industry knowledge, negotiation and communications skills, and a [flexible] sense of ethics, said Luftman."

2010-12-06 07:57PST (10:57EST) (15:57GMT)
_Knoxville TN News Sentinel_/_AP_
Supremes to hear utilities vs. warmist hysteria suit
"American Electric Power Co.... Cinergy Co. [formerly Cincinnati Gas & Electric Co., now a subsidiary of Duke Power], Southern Co. Inc. of Georgia, Xcel Energy Inc. of Minnesota, and the federal Tennessee Valley Authority [TVA]... CA, CT, IA, NJ, NY, RI, VT and WI.   The Open Space Institute, the Open Space Conservancy and the Audubon Society of New Hampshire also are plaintiffs."
Supremes docket #10-174

2010-12-06 09:17PST (12:17EST) (17:17GMT)
Steve Goldstein _MarketWatch_
Supremes to hear WM appeal over class-action in sex-discrimination
Knoxville TN News Sentinel/AP
"The suit, Wal-Mart Stores vs. Dukes, argues whether the complaints of six women should represent between 500K and 1.5M Wal-Mart female employees...   Wal-Mart has argued that the proposed class would represent employees in 3,400 stores, 170 different roles and both male and female supervisors, making the class too disparate to lump together.   Altria, [Bank of India], General Electric (GE), Intel, MSFT, PepsiCo (PEP) and the United Parcel Service (UPS) are among several companies who have written to the Supreme Court in support of Wal-Mart...   The women suing Wal-Mart noted that the district court found that 65% of hourly employees were women but only 33% of management.   Wal-Mart's representation of women in management had a statistically significant short-fall compared to rivals in nearly 80% of its stores, they said, and women's pay was 'significantly' lower than men even after seniority, turn-over, store, job performance, job position, part-time and full-time status factors were taken into account."
Supremes docket #10-277

2010-12-06
Charles W. Kadlec _Forbes_
Economic incompetence and mal-feasance among the political class

2010-12-06
William L. Anderson
the Herbert Hoover "solution" to depression

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

2010-12-07

2010-12-07
Thomas E. Brewton _View from 1776_
What the Debt Panel Missed: Need for public discussion of what to cut from federal budget
"Most of all, voters must become aware that welfare handouts, to businesses and to individuals, can no longer be regarded as unassailable entitlements."
Robert J. Samuelson: Washington DC Post

2010-12-07 10:54PST (13:54EST) (18:54GMT)
Sarah Portlock _Newark NJ Star-Ledger_
Newark-based Peri Software charged with under-paying H-1B guest-workers
Gloria Towolawi: Houston Examiner
"Newark-based computer consulting company has agreed to pay more than $765K in back wages and penalties to workers for violating provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the U.S. Labor Department announced today.   The company, Peri Software Solutions Inc. and its owner, Saravanan Periasamy, sponsored foreign workers to work as programmer analysts across the country under a visa program known as H-1B [described in 8 USC 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b)].   Companies can hire temporary workers with these visas for professional jobs and must pay the same wages as U.S. workers who perform the same type of work.   But the labor department charged Peri Software Solutions with improperly compensating these employees and not providing the appropriate labor condition applications in their offices."

2010-12-07 (5771 Kislev 30)
Christi Pasons & Batsheva Sobelman _Jewish World Review_
Every-day low dose of aspirin can greatly reduce some cancer risks
CNN
"In the new study, Rothwell and colleagues started with 8 clinical trials involving 25,570 people.   They found that during the period of the clinical trials, which typically lasted for about 4 years, the risk of death from cancer declined by about 21% among those who were in the aspirin group...   Over a 10-year period, baby aspirin was linked to a 32% reduction in the risk of lung cancers in non-smokers and a 30% drop in the risk of death from adenocarcinoma, the study found.   Longer term, aspirin was associated with a 64% decrease in fatal cases of esophageal cancer, a 58% drop in fatal cases of stomach cancer and a 49% reduction in the risk of death from colorectal cancer, the study found."
"salicylic acid... resembling what's in modern-day aspirin, can be found in jasmine, beans, peas, clover and certain grasses and trees."

2010-12-07 (5771 Kislev 30)
Thomas Sowell _Jewish World Review_
Rhetoric Rides Again

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

2010-12-08

2010-12-07 20:48PST (2010-12-07 23:00EST) (2010-12-08 04:00GMT)
Samantha Bakall _Daily Illini_
U of IL offering Master's of Bidness Admin via privacy violation site Facebook

2010-12-07 23:00PST (2010-12-08 01:00EST) (2010-12-08 06:00GMT)
W. Zachary Malinowski _Providence RI Journal_
RI attorney general elect to adopt ICE immigration finger-print check
"Attorney General-elect Peter Kilmartin plans to adopt a federal initiative that would allow law-enforcement officers to finger-print people under arrest and have them automatically checked against an immigration database to see whether they entered the country legally.   Officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement said that Rhode Island is just 1 of 17 states nationwide that has yet to implement the cross-checking program known as the Secure Communities Program.   The government hopes to have the program up and running in all 50 states within 2 years...   Citing estimates that place the state's illegal immigrant population between 20K and 40K, Kilmartin said that he wants to ensure the safety of law-abiding residents of Rhode Island.   'Secure Communities is a proactive method of making neighborhoods safe by dealing with illegal immigrants committing crimes against us.', he said.   Kilmartin used other statistics from ICE showing that the program has screened almost 2.6M people from 2008 October through last May and more than 30K have been identified as illegal immigrants with serious arrest records.   He said that another 205K were identified as illegal immigrants with less serious arrest records...   Trainor said that Chafee is 'comfortable with the implementation' of the program in Rhode Island because he does not see it as an attack on all illegal aliens.   He said that an illegal would have to have prior contact with ICE -- an arrest, conviction or detainment -- to gain entry in the national data-base."

2010-12-08
Walt Gardner _Education Week_
Put PISA in perspective
"About 5,100 students only from Shanghai were chosen.   But Shanghai is hardly representative of [Red China] because it is an industrialized center with scores of modern universities.   In contrast, the U.S. selected students from both public and private schools across the nation.   Most important, the entire matter is over-blown.   According to a study in the International Journal of Education Policy & Leadership in 2008 April, the relationship between student achievement rankings on international assessments of reading, mathematics and science and a nation's future economic growth is untenable and not causal."

2010-12-08
George Williams _Chronicle of Higher Education_
Universal Subtitles, Scripto add sub-titles to your videos

2010-12-08 06:18PST (09:18EST) (14:18GMT)
Jessica Dickler _CNN_
Laid-off twice by age 24
"the job pool for college grads continues to shrink.   In November, the unemployment rate for those post-college age (20-24) was almost 16%, compared to 9.8% for the nation.   And according to a recent Pew Research Center study, nearly 40% of 18-29 year olds have been un-employed or under-employed since 2007 December... Michael Whelply, 27, graduated in 2006 and has since been looking for a full-time high school teaching position. 'Unfortunately with the downturn, a lot of towns are cutting budgets so there's not a lot of opportunity to get into a school district.'... Brooks Holtom, associate professor at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business. 'One of the challenges that people who graduate in a recession face is lower aggregate life-time income.'"

2010-12-08 09:10PST (12:10EST) (17:10GMT)
Katerina Bolos _Daily Illini_
Half of graduating students are in debt: Student loan debt increasing

2010-12-08 09:42PST (12:42EST) (17:42GMT)
Hugh Willett _Knoxville TN News Sentinel_
DHS/ICE agents raid military contractor, EOD Technology, in Lenoir City
"Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] and the federal Department of Homeland Security, assisted by Lenoir City police, were seen escorting company employees to their cars this morning.   A Homeland Security Department [DHS] agent said the agencies were executing a federal search warrant on the company, and a Lenoir City Police Department dispatcher said the department was providing support."

2010-12-08 12:22PST (15:22EST) (20:22GMT)
Ed Marcum _Knoxville TN News Sentinel_
Espionage trial of Clark Alan Roberts and Sean Edward Howley goes to jury

2010-12-08
W. James Antle iii _American Spectator_
Deportation Distortions
"Brecker reports that in order to reach the 392,862-deportation finish line, ICE included more than 19K illegals who had departed in the previous fiscal year.   They also extended a Mexican repatriation program by an additional 5 weeks in order to be able to count 6,500 exits that 'would normally have been tallied by the U.S. Border Patrol'.   Worst of all, when it looked like immigration authorities were going to fall short of the goal, they began to encourage immigrants to leave through 'voluntary return'.   This speedy process leaves no mark on the individual's immigration track record, leaving them eligible to apply for legal residence or travel to the United States later.   Some of the people so processed would have normally gone before an immigration judge to contest charges they had committed offenses like drunk driving, domestic violence, and misdemeanor assault -- and now there will be no record.   Once the deportation record was broken, this unusual use of voluntary return was reportedly halted.   An ICE employee in Louisiana told Brecker that over a two-week period, he saw 100 to 150 Mexican nationals, some of whom had multiple drunk driving convictions, reassigned to voluntary return.   Others reported similar numbers.   Amnesty through enforcement!   'Without these efforts and the more than 25K deportations that came with them', Brecker reported, 'the agency would not have topped last year's record level of 389,834, current and former ICE employees and officials said'."

2010-12-08
Amol Sharma _Wall Street Journal_
Raving India commerce minister says US law should give even more favoritism to guest-workers from India

2010-12-08 (5771 Tebeth 01)
Christi Pasons & Batsheva Sobelman _Jewish World Review_
Obama dropped demands for israel to re-impose settlement freeze in Jerusalem

2010-12-08 (5771 Tebeth 01)
Warren Richey _Jewish World Review_
federal judge rejects suit to remove accused terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki from "kill list"

2010-12-08 (5771 Tebeth 01)
Walter E. Williams _Jewish World Review_
Moral or Immoral Government
"Immorality in government lies at the heart of our nation's problems.   Deficits, debt and runaway government are merely symptoms...   If we accept the notion that people own themselves, then it's easy to discover what forms of conduct are moral and immoral.   Immoral acts are those that violate self-ownership.   Murder, rape, assault and slavery are immoral because those acts violate private property.   So is theft, broadly defined as taking the rightful property of one person and giving it to another."

2010-12-08 (5771 Tebeth 01)
Thomas Sowell _Jewish World Review_
Walter E. Williams's Memoir _Up from the Projects_
"The first chapter, about Walter's life growing up in the Philadelphia ghetto, was especially fascinating.   It brought back a whole different era in black communities— an era that is now almost irretrievably lost, to the great disadvantage of today's generation growing up in the same neighborhoods where Walter grew up in Philadelphia or where I grew up in Harlem.   Although Walter's memoir is titled _Up from the Projects_, the projects of the era when he was growing up bear virtually no resemblance to the projects of today.   For one thing, those projects were clean, and the people living in them helped keep them clean, by sweeping the halls and tending to the surrounding areas outside of the buildings as well.   The people living in the projects then were probably poorer than the people living in the projects now.   But they had not yet succumbed to the moral squalor afflicting such places today. More important, they -- and the whole black community of which they were part -- were far safer than today.   As late as 1958, when Walter was a young taxi driver in Philadelphia, he used to park his cab in the wee hours of the morning and take a nap in it.   As he points out, 'A cabbie doing the same thing today would be deemed suicidal.'...   There were also teachers, and then professors, who played a role in developing his mind— especially hard-nosed teachers in Philadelphia who chewed him out when he messed up and UCLA professors who bluntly told him when his work wasn't good enough."
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

2010-12-09

2010-12-08 21:09PST (2010-12-09 00:09EST) (2010-12-09 05:09GMT)
Denise Dick _Youngstown OH Vindicator_
400 members of the Association of Classified Employees at Youngstown State U getting $2,625 bonuses (total $1.065M)
"'They are to receive a $375 bonus per year for every half-percent enrollment increase.', Cole said.   'This year, the enrollment increase is 3.5%, so every [ACE] employee will receive $2,625.'...   About 15,194 students were enrolled at YSU fall semester.   That's 512 students more than the 2009 fall semester -- a 3.5% increase.   It is the highest enrollment since 1990, when the number of students on campus was 15,454.   Since 2000, YSU's enrollment has climbed by 3,407 students or 29%...   In December 2009, each member received a check for about $4,500.   In 2008, it was about $1,125 each, according to Vindicator files."

2010-12-08 23:00PST (2010-12-09 02:00EST) (2010-12-09 07:00GMT)
_London Telegraph_
Ambassador from India complains at being treated the same as US citizens at US airport, with exposure to ionizing radiation and groping
"She said, 'I will never come back here.' [and Americans are still celebrating]."

2010-12-08 23:55PST (2010-12-09 02:55EST) (2010-12-09 07:55GMT)
Mark Niquette _Columbus Dispatch_
Ohio rated 4th in disclosing tax incentives for companies
"The bad news is that the state still gets a grade of only C+, and its ranking at that level is due in part to the fact that other states have far worse -- or non-existent -- disclosure. 'Ohio looks good mainly in comparison to a lot of other states that are terrible.', said Philip Mattera, research director for Good Jobs First, a non-profit, non-partisan research center in Washington, DC... Ohio received an average score of 66 out of 100 for its disclosure efforts, behind only Illinois (82), Wisconsin (71), and North Carolina (69)."

2010-12-09 05:30PDT (08:30EDT) (12:30GMT)
Scott Gibbons & Tony Sznoluch _DoL ETA_
un-employment insurance weekly claims report
DoL home page
DoL OPA press releases
historical data
"The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 582,007 in the week ending Dec. 4, an increase of 169,085 from the previous week.   There were 665,685 initial claims in the comparable week in 2009.   The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.3% during the week ending Nov. 27, an increase of 0.4 percentage point from the prior week.   The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 4,188,560, an increase of 522,787 from the preceding week.   A year earlier, the rate was 4.1% and the volume was 5,400,752.   The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending Nov. 13 was 8,297,938.   Extended benefits were available in AL, AK, AZ, 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, PR, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, WV, and WI, during the week ending November 20.   [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.]
EUC (Excel)
EB
graphs
more graphs

2010-12-09 05:49PST (08:49EST) (13:49GMT)
Michael Alison Chandler _Global Post_
How South Koreans prepare to study in the USA
"These days, instead of reaching for his blue uniform in the morning, he pulls on jeans and a sweatshirt and goes to a private academy where he attends a school of one.   He spends hours each day in a closet-sized classroom, working through American text books and practicing English grammar.   With help from a personal tutor, he's catching up on the first half of the eighth grade curriculum at San Marcos Academy in Texas, where he will enroll this January...   South Korea has been a leading sender of students to the United States for two decades.   More than 70K students were enrolled in American colleges and universities last year, a figure outpaced only by China and India.   Increasingly, Korean students are leaving home earlier -- going abroad for high school or even middle school -- so they can learn English and have a better chance at admission to American colleges.   American schools offer more creative instruction and an alternate way up the career ladder.   Students with average grades or study skills have a difficult time gaining entrance to Korea's ultra-competitive universities, which are crucial gatekeepers for well paid and respected jobs.   But American degrees and English fluency are also highly prized in the job market here...   Still, going abroad is expensive, with a price tag of up to $70K per year for tuition and related costs.   And the transition can be jarring.   Studies have shown that even the most academically successful Korean students struggle when they get to Ivy League colleges, and many drop out.   For younger students, the shift can be more stressful...   'Mothers and teachers design it and plan everything for them.', she said...   In addition to getting academic lessons, the students prepare for new expectations, such as speaking up in class or getting involved in sports or after-school clubs.   And they learn about different taboos, such as plagiarism.   In Korea, copying information from the internet for a school assignment is normal, but in the United States, it can get you expelled...   Until recently, his day started at 08:00 at public school and ended at 23:00 at the private cram school where he took extra lessons in science, math and English.   He likes to play sports but has never had a chance to be on a team.   He has lots of friends, but little down time to spend with them."

2010-12-09
Nick Miroff & William Booth _Washington DC Post_
local citizens are banding together to fight the crime the Mexican governments have failed or refused to stop

2010-12-09 09:10PST (12:10EST) (17:10GMT)
Amy Hoak _MarketWatch_
Zillow.com says US homes to lose cumulative $1.7T in value this year
"About $9T in value has been lost since the market peaked in 2006 June, according to the report.   By comparison, the cost of the war in Iraq from 2001 to the end of 2010 September was $750.8G, Zillow said, citing a report from the Congressional Research Service."

2010-12-09 11:46PST (14:46EST) (19:46GMT)
Brent Snavely _Knoxville TN News Sentinel_/_Detroit MI Free Press_
Ford to hire 1,800 in re-tooling of KY plant
San Jose CA Mercury "News"/AP
"Ford said Thursday it plans to invest $600M to re-tool its Louisville, KY, Assembly Plant so it can build its next-generation Ford Escape.   The Dearborn, MI, auto-maker also said it plans to reveal a concept version of the SUV in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.   The announcement confirms media reports over the past year from many publications, including the Detroit Free Press, which said Ford planned to move production of the Escape from its plant in Claycomo, MO, to Louisville, where the Explorer had been built.   When production of the Escape starts in late 2011 the plant will operate on two shifts with approximately 2,900 employees -- up from 1,100 employees."

2010-12-09 13:18:26PST (16:18:26EST) (21:18:26GMT)
Brandon Bailey _San Jose CA Mercury "News"_
Power outage at Toshiba NAND flash memory chip plant in Japan may cut supply by 20% over the next couple months
"A power outage at a Japanese chip-making plant is causing big headaches for Toshiba, which is a major supplier of flash memory for popular consumer gadgets such as Apple's iPad and iPhone.   Toshiba said the disruption means its shipments of so-called NAND flash chips, a type of memory chip that's used in a host of consumer electronic products, may be reduced by up to 20% for the next 2 months."

2010-12-09
Janet Tavakoli _CSPAN_
government's role in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac idiocies

2010-12-09
Aisha Labi _Chronicle of Higher Education_
U of Cambridge created a web site, data-base for study of endangered languages

2010-12-09
Nels P. Highberg _Chronicle of Higher Education_
Multiple measures of kinds of intelligence

2010-12-09
_CBS_
He may have been a serial killer, but this illegal alien sure worked cheap: Survivor to tell her story Saturday

2010-12-09
Rob Sanchez _Job Destruction News-Letter_/_V Dare_ #2133
Need a Job? "Dream on Americans!", say congress-critters pushing the NIGHTMARE act

2010-12-09
Julie Borowski _Freedom Works_
Ron Paul to chair monetary policy committee in 112th congress

2010-12-09
Charles Krauthammer _Investor's Business Daily_
Leftists are deftly out-gaming the Republican pols

2010-12-09
_Investor's Business Daily_
Reagan recovery from Carter recession vs. Obama admin digging a deeper hole in the bottom of the Bush-Clinton-Bush-Obama depression

2010-12-09
_Boston Herald_
NIGHTMARE act

2010-12-09
Wade Roush _Xconomy_
High-tech jobs continue to evaporate by the thousands in Detroit and SF Bay area, but Boston, San Diego & Seattle hold their own
The Hill
"Between 2008 and 2009, high-tech employment nationwide fell by 195,607, or 3.2%.   The decline in Boston was far milder—just 1% -- and tech employment held steady in Seattle (though it declined slightly in neighboring Portland).   The TechAmerica report found that San Diego actually added a small handful of jobs—500, an increase of 0.4%.   The situation was much worse, however, in Xconomy's other two home regions, Detroit and the San Francisco Bay Area.   Of all U.S. cities on TechAmerica's top-60 list, Detroit was by far the hardest hit: an alarming 16,737 tech jobs evaporated there, representing nearly one-sixth of all tech employment in the region.   The Bay Area lost almost as many jobs -- 16,147 -- but that represented only a 3.9% decline, thanks to the region's much larger base of technology workers.   Keep in mind that these are 2009 figures, and don't take into account any gains in employment that may have occurred in 2010.

1. Bay Area (Oakland + San Francisco + San Jose/Silicon Valley) 394,290
2. National Capital Area (Washington, DC + Baltimore) 369,782
3. New York City (including Long Island, Westchester County, northern NJ, and Pike County, PA) 316,971
4. Greater Los Angeles (including Orange County, Riverside, and San Bernardino) 289,847
5. New England (Boston + Worcester + Providence) 262,920
6. Northwest (Seattle + Portland) 211,005
7. Dallas-Fort Worth 174,848
8. Chicago 161,799
9. Philadelphia 134,235
10. Houston 127,760
11. Atlanta 123,582
12. San Diego 110,985
13. Minneapolis-St. Paul 98,583
14. Detroit 95,042
15. Denver 88,936

2010-12-09 (5771 Tebeth 02)
John Kass _Jewish World Review_
Trendy toys don't stand up to the play-things of yore

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

2010-12-10

2010-12-10 03:09PST (06:09EST) (11:09GMT)
David Case _Global Post_
Red China following in Nazi Germany's foot-steps WRT Nobel award and opposition to democracy and individual rights

2010-12-10
Joseph Lawler _American Spectator_
Oil Prices, the Economy, and Politics (with graph)

2010-12-10
David Skolnick _Youngstown OH Vindicator_
7 more houses to be torn down, 27 on the list
"Seven more vacant houses, suspected by city officials of being havens for criminals on the South Side near St. Dominic Church, will be demolished shortly as part of 'Operation Redemption'.   The city's board of control approved a $23,059.85 contract Thursday with All Demolition & Company of Poland [whose state registration has been cancelled] to take down houses at 29, 44 and 46 E. Lucius Ave. and 2928, 3006, 3007 and 3111 Southern Blvd.   The work should be done in a few weeks.   At an Oct. 2 prayer vigil in response to a series of violent crimes near the church on East Lucius, Mayor Jay Williams vowed to demolish 27 vacant houses near the church by the end of the year...   The reverend Gregory Maturi, St. Dominic's pastor, gave the mayor a list of 20 properties he wanted demolished near the church.   With the help of Councilwoman Janet Tarpley, D-6th, who represents that area on city council, Williams added 7 structures to the list."

2010-12-10
Walt Gardner _Education Week_
NSF: No shortage of math and science talent
"A record 49,562 doctorate degrees were awarded in the 2008-2009 academic year, representing a 1.6% increase over the 2007-2008 year.   According to the foundation, the growth was largely due to increases in the number of degrees in science and engineering.   In 2009, 67.5% of all doctorates were in these two fields, a 1.9% increase over the previous academic year...   Government data show that Indian outsourcing companies, for example, account for nearly 80% of the visa petitions approved for the top 10 participants in the program...   In 2007 Oct., B. Lindsay Lowell and Harold Saltzman reported in 'Into the Eye of the Storm' that about 3 STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) graduates exist for every new STEM position, not counting openings caused by retirees.   They also found that 2 years after graduation, 20% of STEM bachelor degree holders were still in school, albeit not in STEM fields.   Moreover, 45% of STEM graduates in the workplace were not in STEM jobs.   They concluded that the educational system is producing a supply of STEM graduates far in excess of demand...   TIMSS is given to [selected] students in their final year of school.   As a result, it allows anyone between the ages of 17 in the U.S.A. to 21 in other countries to be counted.   Clearly, the differences in ages are significant, but curiously not noted in reportage."

2010-12-10 05:58PST (08:58EST) (13:58GMT)
Randal Edgar _Providence RI Journal_
Charles J. Fogarty appointed to head RI labor and training
"Fogarty said he was 'honored and surprised' to be approached by Chafee to fill the post, which pays about $113K."

2010-12-10 07:01PST (10:01EST) (15:01GMT)
_Knoxville TN News Sentinel_/_AP_
shoe/hat retailer Genesco victim of cyber attack

2010-12-10 07:31PST (10:31EST) (15:31GMT)
Dave Flessner _Chattanooga TN Times Free Press_
Olin plans $160M upgrade of Charleston, TN plant
"The conversion of the Charleston facility which, in addition to chlorine and caustic soda, also produces potassium hydroxide, hydrochloric acid and bleach...   Olin Corp. also announced today it will make a similar change to reconfigure its plant in Augusta, GA by the end of 2012."

2010-12-10 07:47PST (10:47EST) (15:47GMT)
Ruth Mantell _MarketWatch_
UMich consumer sentiment index increased from 71.6 in November to 74.2 in early December

2010-12-10
Martin J. Kidston _Billings MT Gazette_/_Lee_
Bearing arms at the Cody city recreation center

2010-12-10
Bill Toland _Pittsburgh PA Post-Gazette_
Highmark off-shoring via Accenture, Ill-Begotten Monstrosities, to India
"Downtown-based Highmark, the state's largest health insurer, has been internally debating which of its back office, enrollment and tech positions to out-source since 2009.   Earlier this year, the company began off-shoring some technology work to India through an over-seas work center run by Houston-based [Bermudas-based for tax purposes] Accenture.   This new round of [off-shhoring] talks involves IBM, the American tech and computer company.   It has an [off-shoring] subsidiary in India, called IBM India, as well as its newly re-branded international business out-sourcing unit, IBM Global Process Services...   Highmark is one of the region's largest employers, with 10K employees in the state and 20K across the country...   Foreign workers stationed in developing countries, such as the Philippines or India, can often do similar work at one-sixth the cost of a U.S. worker...   A survey conducted last year by Insurance Dialogue, a Michigan business process out-sourcing company, suggested an increasing reliance on out-sourcing among health insurers; 27% of respondents said they planned to increase amount of operations work out-sourced in 2010.   Only 9% of those surveyed were considering a reduction."

2010-12-10 10:15:31PST (13:15:31EST) (18:15:31GMT)
Mike Swift _San Jose CA Mercury "News"_
CT attorney general and senator-elect sub poena's Google Street View data
"While privacy officials in Canada have viewed the Wi-Fi data collected by Google, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Thursday that to his knowledge, no federal or state authorities in the U.S.A. have viewed it.   Google has repeatedly apologized for the international data breach, which the company says was inadvertent...   The Federal Trade Commission closed its inquiry into the data breach in October, saying it was satisfied with privacy reforms Google announced.   The decision was blasted by online privacy advocates, and privacy regulators in other countries continue to scrutinize the privacy breach.   Google has promised that it will never use in any product the 600GB of data -- roughly equivalent to 300M printed pages -- it collected from unsecured Wi-Fi networks in homes and businesses around the world dating back to 2007.   'As soon as we realized what had happened, we stopped collecting all Wi-Fi data from our Street View cars and immediately informed the authorities.', Google said in a written statement to the Mercury News Thursday."

2010-12-10 11:02PST (14:02EST) (19:02GMT)
Michael O'Brien _The Hill_
Rogue Republicans might pass own version of NIGHTMARE act next year

2010-12-10 11:35:34PST (14:35:34EST) (19:35:34GMT)
Howard Mintz _San Jose CA Mercury "News"_
2008 Securities fraud conviction of Network Associates/McAfee CFO Prabhat Goyal over-turned in the 9th circus
"In a separate opinion, Chief Judge Alex Kozinski blasted the government for the Goyal prosecution, calling it 'one of a string of cases in which courts have found that federal prosecutors over-reached by trying to stretch criminal law beyond its proper bounds'...   A federal grand jury indicted Goyal, a Los Altos resident, in 2004, accusing him of disguising $330M in losses at Network Associates."

2010-12-10 12:02PST (15:02EST) (20:02GMT)
_Knoxville TN News Sentinel_
SBA is extending its "Patriot Express" loan program for veterans
Roger Harris
SBA Patriot Express Pilot Loan Initiative

2010-12-10 12:36PST (15:36EST) (20:36GMT)
_CNN_
India firm Tata looking to hire in Detroit, MI
"A company with roots in India is planning to nearly double its presence in Michigan.   Tata Technologies -- part of the Mumbai-based Tata Group -- is looking to fill 400 job openings primarily for its North American head-quarters in Michigan.   The company organized a job fair in Southfield, MI...   Tata routinely works with the Unites States' largest auto manufacturers..."
Tata median salaries by city

2010-12-10 13:34:24PST (16:34:24EST) (21:34:24GMT)
Vikas Bajaj _San Jose CA Mercury "News"_/_NY Times_
Little demand for Tata Nano car
"Mumbai, India...   Though car sales have shot up across India, because of an economy that is growing at nearly 9% annually, sales of the Nano have been falling for the past four months.   Its maker, Tata Motors, sold only 509 Nanos to its dealers in November -- a stark contrast to the 9K it delivered in July.   Last year, when media coverage and auto writers' praise were stoking demand, Tata had orders for more than 200K Nanos, which has a list price starting at about $2,900.   But as Tata has struggled with problems like production delays and fires in some of the cars, rival cars like the Maruti Suzuki Alto have overtaken the Nano.   The Alto, which starts at $6,200 here, had sales of more than 30K in November, making it India's best-selling car last month...   'People want to jump into something more substantial.'   That seems evident from the booming car market in India, where total sales climbed more than 22%, to nearly 203K in November.   The most popular cars in India are small, fuel-efficient hatchbacks that sell for $10K or less.   Maruti Suzuki, a division of the Japanese auto-maker Suzuki, now sells nearly half of all cars here."

2010-12-10
_Voters Unite_
Unions chose to favor 7M illegal aliens over 7M unemployed US citizens
"Using the largest estimate of illegal workers in agriculture jobs, that means more than 7M illegal aliens are holding down jobs in the construction, manufacturing and service industries...   backing illegal foreign workers — and foreign workers in general -- is where the money is.   Even for unions.   The Ford Foundation -- the prime backer of higher immigration, more foreign workers and rewards for illegal immigration for 40 years -- has announced that it is pouring $30M into immigration efforts the next 18 months."

2010-12-10
William L. Anderson
Holding Economic Logic Hostage to Keynesian Nonsense part1

2010-12-10
David Evans _Chronicle of Higher Education_
More Charades: Discrimination by Nationality in Academic Hiring
"The dysfunctional rules for hiring a non-citizen often require institutions to conduct faux searches at a considerable expense...   we recognize that we have some level of ethical obligation to U.S. citizens, an obligation that is recognized and codified in the rules for hiring non-citizens at our institution.   These rules are troublesome in many ways, however.   For example, if we conduct a search and a non-citizen emerges as the strongest candidate, we have to demonstrate that 'no qualified [wink wink nudge nudge] American' was available to accept the job.   The level of proof for this demonstration is pretty high, and, unfortunately, it sometimes calls for a sort of charade search of the type that is objectionable to anyone who cares about running ethical searches...   I understand fully that there are good reasons for preferring to hire American citizens in most cases.   Moreover, the United States has made a series of public-policy decisions that drive us in that direction whether we want to go that way or not.   While there are also very strong reasons to hire international faculty, I do not dispute the priority on hiring citizens."

2010-12-10
Amy Schatz _Wall Street Journal_
Lobbying War Over Telecomm Heats Up

2010-12-10
Rob Preston _Information Week_/_UBM_
Innovation Mandate: American Students Score 'C' In Math And Science

2010-12-10 (5771 Tebeth 03)
Caroline B. Glick _Jewish World Review_
Why Latin America turned against Israel

2010-12-10

DJIA	11,410.32
S&P 500(SPX)	1240.40
NASDAQ(COMP)	2637.54
Nikkei	10,212
10-year US T-Bond(UST10Y)	3.32
crude oil(CLF11)	$87.79/barrel
gold(GCG11)	$1,384.90/ounce
silver(SIH11)	$28.61/ounce
platinum(PLF11)	$1,675.30/ounce
palladium(PAH11)	$732.70/ounce
copper(HGF11)	$0.256875/ounce
natgas(NGF11)	$4.42/MBTU
reformulatedgasoline(RBF11)	$2.31/gal
heatingoil(HOF11)	$2.46/gal
soybeans	$12.96/bushel
maize	$5.675/bushel
wheat	$7.78/bushel
dollarindex(DXY)	80.11
yenperdollar(USDYEN)	83.91
dollarspereuro(EURUSD)	1.3232
dollarsperpound(GBPUSD)	1.5773
swissfrancsperdollar	0.9803
indianrupeesperdollar	45.055
mexicanpesosperdollar(MXN)	12.4520
MorganStanleyHighTechIndex	660.01

I usually get this info from MarketWatch.
 

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

2010-12-11

2010-12-11
Grace Wyler _Youngstown OH Vindicator_
Sales of Chevy Cruze are doing surprisingly well

2010-12-11 05:45PST (08:45EST) (13:45GMT)
_KFVS_/_Raycom Media_
Hua Huang pled guilty to harboring, transporting, employing illegal aliens, conspiracy to commit visa fraud

2010-12-11 07:29PST (10:29EST) (15:29GMT)
Kevin Leininger _Fort Wayne IN News-Sentinel_
Feds dump illegal alien prisoner's medical bills on local tax-victims

2010-12-11 08:47PST (11:47EST) (16:47GMT)
_Cypress Times_
Federal court dismisses several federal executive branch challenges to Arizona's SB1070

2010-12-11
Susan Winston _NYTimes_
Losing a Job, Mourning a Life-Style
"Beverly Hills is an industry town, home to movie-making and television production. This community is used to a life of creative fulfillment and a sense of everyday well-being. The people who have been cut off from this world are having a hard time finding their way."

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

2010-12-12

2010-12-12

2010-12-12 22:08PST (01:08EST) (06:08GMT)
Jason D. O'Grady _Ziff Davis_/_CBS_
Apple's 10 patents on mobile device cameras

2010-12-12
Justin Post _Billings MT Gazette_/_Montana Standard_/_Lee_
UV light being used to kill bacteria at waste-water plants

2010-12-12
_GreeneLiberty.org_
Governments Across Globe Struggling With Excessive Immigration

2010-12-12
Peter Raymond _American Thinker_
Vote Fraud Is Leftist Strategy

2010-12-12
"Liberty Chick" _Big Government_
Former SEIU Exec Joins Center for American Regress Action Fund

2010-12-12
Thomas E. Brewton _View from 1776_
Disastrous legacy of leftist "planning" in Bell, CA
William Voegeli: City Journal: How the read to Bell was paved

2010-12-12
_Chronicle of Higher Education_
Astronomer suing U of KY for denying him observatory directorship over religions views

2010-12-12
_Chronicle of Higher Education_
Banning congressional pork would cost colleges billions

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

2010-12-13

2010-12-13
Doug Blackburn _Tallahassee FL Demagogue_
"100 Urban Entrepreneurs" foundation gives $10K grants to 5 young entrepreneurs
"A junior at Florida State University, BSmith was convinced his wrist-support invention could be parlayed into a successful business if he only had enough cash to buy parts for production...   He already has a patent pending on the wrist support he designed.   BSmith plans to use his new-found cash to help with advertising and marketing...   In May [RM] earned a master's in educational leadership at FAMU, but her passion is the catering business she has started -- Sunny Days Bakery.   Now she can afford to rent a commercial kitchen and turn her dream into a reality...   The nonprofit 100 Urban Entrepreneurs is a foundation started by TheCASHFLOW, an international, online business designed to help emerging companies.   Magnus Greaves, founder and CEO of 100 Urban Entrepreneurs, has provided seed money to 30 start-ups; his goal is 100...   Multi-Enterprises...Started in 2008 by DB, a 2009 FAMU graduate, Multi-Enterprises provides plants and upkeep of them for homes and businesses.   He is hoping to add roof-top gardens to his repertoire.   'I want people to be able to order plants online and ship them across the country.'...   ES with Elevated Expressions, and SP of Sensorium Solutions."

2010-12-13
Kevin Sack _NY Times_
Federal judge has ruled requirement of Obamacare bill is unconstitutional
Bloomberg
Ken Sweet: Fox
Michael Duncan: Freedom Works
Bill Mears: CNN
Michael Sluss: Roanoke VA Times
Michael Memoli: Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune
Julian Walker: Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot
Janet Adamy: Wall Street Journal
Tom Schoenberg & Margaret Cronin Fisk: BusinessWeek
Robert Schroeder: MarketWatch
Ben Smith: Politico
Jim Nolan: Richmond VA Times-Dispatch
"In a 42-page opinion issued in Richmond, VA, judge Hudson wrote that the law's central requirement that most Americans obtain health insurance exceeds the regulatory authority granted to Congress under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution...   A multi-state challenge filed by Florida on behalf of at least 20 states is also progressing through the court system.   The federal government is expected to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.   Either party, however, could opt to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case directly."

2010-12-13 03:12PST (06:12EST) (11:12GMT)
Julian Borger, Richard Norton-Taylor, Haroon Siddique, Sam Jones & Ian Black _Manchester Guardian_
2-bomb terrorist in Sweden: Police search BedfordShire house: Father of Iraqi-born Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly, who lived in Luton, tells Swedish press he had lost contact with his son

2010-12-13 07:33PST (10:33EST) (15:33GMT)
Rachel King _Ziff Davis_/_CBS_
Google has launched yet another assault on privacy: Latitude

2010-12-13
_Youngstown OH Vindicator_/_AP_
Yale law librarian released list of his favorite/most interesting quotations of 2010

2010-12-13 10:50PST (13:50EST) (18:50GMT)
_Knoxville TN News Sentinel_
Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company files for chapter 11 bankruptcy

2010-12-13
Brenda Walker _V Dare_
SC county deports criminal illegal aliens
Lake Wylie Pilot/AP

2010-12-13
_Center for Immigration Studies_
The illusionary allure of grand bargains

2010-12-13
Jerome R. Corsi _World Net Daily_
Government's plan to dissolve America's sovereignty: shocking reason U.S. government refuses to secure border with Mexico
"the Security and Prosperity Partnership, or SPP, an agreement signed in 2005 by President George W. Bush, Paul Martin of Canada and Vicente Fox of Mexico, is nothing less than a full-frontal assault on American sovereignty.   This aim to create a North American Union between the United States, Mexico and Canada..."

2010-12-13
William L. Anderson
Shop Until You Drop, Or Think Economically

2010-12-13
Michelle Malkin
Stop the NIGHTMARE act bail-out of illegal alien students

2010-12-13
Jim Puzzanghera _Los Angeles CA Times_
Obama to tell executives to hire more: Doesn't say whether they should employ US citizens or reduce incentives to bodyshop guest-workers, instead
San Jose CA Mercury "News"
"The Federal Reserve estimates that U.S. companies are sitting on nearly $2T in cash.   Spending some of that on hiring could make a dent in the unemployment rate, now at 9.8%."

2010-12-13
Barry Neild _Global Post_
From Texas to Sudan, Red China is snatching up oil fields. But will it play fair on the global market?
"CNOOC returned to the U.S. this year and, with relatively little fuss, made a $1.1G offer for a stake in 600K acres of southern Texas oil and gas fields.   The Texas acquisition is part of China's staggering global fossil fuel investment spree this year, which has also seen it snap up concessions in Argentina, Canada and Africa.   Just this week, Beijing-based Sinopec, Asia's biggest refiner, agreed to buy all of Occidental Petroleum's oil and gas assets in Argentina for $2.45G, bringing Chinese bids for over-seas energy assets to a record $38.8G this year...   China is now the planet's leading consumer of energy.   The 2.25G tons of oil it guzzled last year easily surpassed America's 2.17G tons.   The Texas deal, seen as a possible precursor to further investment in the U.S.A., has yet to be approved.   First, the Committee on Foreign Investment will decide whether CNOOC's investments in Iran contravene U.S. sanctions laws."

2010-12-13
_NASA JPL_
Voyager passes a mile-stone

20010-12-13
David North _Center for Immigration Studies_
Brits Have a New, Sophisticated Way to Determine Whether Skills "Shortages" Exist
"There is a strong argument to be made that there is no such thing as a skills shortage, only a wages-and-training shortage, but it is highly unlikely that employers' desires for low-cost skilled workers from over-seas can be thwarted with that sensible line of reasoning.   But one way to cope with the challenge is to perfect tough new, evidence-based standards for defining an immigration-creating skills shortage, and the British have done just that."

2010-12-13
Krista Ramsey _Cincinnati OH Enquirer_
More parents moving in with their grown children as families close ranks in face of economic depression
"From 2000 to 2007, the number of older parents living with adult children rose from 2.2M to 3.6M, a 67% increase, according to the U.S. Census."

2010-12-13
Robert H. Nelson _Independent Institute_/_Weekly Standard_
Oil Spill Hysteria

2010-12-13 (5771 Tebeth 06)
Rabbi Doctor Asher Meir _Jewish World Review_
Job Loyalty to Employees

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

2010-12-14

2010-12-14 02:30PST (05:30EST) (10:30GMT)
Sam Diaz _Ziff Davis_/_CBS_
600-700 workers expected to be dumped by Yahoo! today
San Jose CA Mercury "News"/AP
"The cuts would represent about 5% of the company's work-force, last reported at a little over 14K in October."

2010-12-14 03:00PST (06:00EST) (11:00GMT)
Patrick Thibodeau _ComputerWorld_/_IDG_
Peri Software says increased use of U.S. workers leads to a "marked improvement in client satisfaction"
IDG Norway
"The company says it has approximately 1K employees, including about 300 in the U.S.A., and others working in offices in India and [Red China]...   Peri was an H-1B dependent employer...   Labor Department rules state that 'the H-1B employer is not required [go through the charade of pretending] to recruit U.S. workers, unless it is H-1B-dependent'."

2010-12-14
Jerome R. Corsi _World Net Daily_
Privileges for illegal aliens at stake in senate vote Reid & Durbin are pushing on NIGHTMARE act
"'Only a massive reaction from the American people can stop the [NIGHTMARE Act] from passing the Senate before Christmas.', William Gheen, head of Americans for Legal Immigration, told WND."

2010-12-14
Jerome R. Corsi _World Net Daily_
84M "trusted" to access U.S.A. through Security, Prosperity Partnership
"The Transportation Security Administration [TSA] refused to answer a WND inquiry regarding whether trusted traveler cards issued to Mexicans would allow the holder to avoid the new U.S. enhanced screening with full-body backscatter X-ray machines.   As described on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website, the trusted traveler program allows applicants to receive a biometric border pass to facilitate cross-border travel.   The recipient must undergo a thorough background check against criminal, law enforcement, customs, immigration and terrorist files, including biometric finger-print checks and a personal interview with a CBP officer [but does not require an actual background investigation]."

2010-12-14
_World Net Daily_
Most covered-up story of 2010

2010-12-14 08:34PST (11:34EST) (16:34GMT)
Jennifer Waters _MarketWatch_
Banker's customer-satisfaction scores go up when customers get so disgusted that they leave

2010-12-14
_FL DoR_
What employers need to know about Florida Unemployment Compensation Law: Your Extortion Rate
"When a new employer becomes liable for the tax, the rate is 0.0270 (2.7%) and will stay that until the employer has reported for 10 quarters.   The account will then be rated by dividing the total benefits charged to the account by the taxable payroll reported for the first 7 of the last 9 quarters immediately preceding the quarter for which the rate is effective.   The one exception would be employers liable by succession and who choose to accept the tax rate of the previous employer, along with the responsibility of paying any outstanding amounts due.   At that time, a tax rate will be calculated using the employment record and the rating factors, which are built into the Unemployment Compensation Law.   The maximum tax rate allowed by law is 0.0540 (5.4%), except for employers participating in the Short Time Compensation Program.   Rate notices are mailed to all contributing employers each year.   You may appeal your tax rate within 20 days from the date of notification (date printed on Form UCT-20, Unemployment Compensation Tax Rate Notice).   The minimum and maximum tax rates effective 2011 January 1 are as follows (based on annual salary up to $7K per employee): Minimum rate: 0.0103 or $72.10 per employee; Maximum rate: 0.0540 or $378 per employee."
Jim Ash: Florida Today/Gannett
"The first bill lawmakers passed in the spring session in March and the first one governor Charlie Crist signed was an emergency measure delaying and spreading out a 1,100% increase that would have taken the minimum rate from $8.40 to $100.30...   The year before, the state unemployment compensation trust fund had $1.3G.   It fell to zero in 2009 August, triggering the tax increases.   The state was forced to borrow from the federal government.   Federal loans now top $1.8G.   On 2011 Feb. 1, employers will get another notice that they face an additional $9.50 per-employee charge to help cover the first interest payment, $61M...   The highest per-employee rate is $378."

2010-12-14
Tom Lutey _Billings MT Gazette_/_Lee_
Economy Golden for wheat

2010-12-14
Thomas E. Brewton _View from 1776_
End redistribution of tax-victims' earnings to National Socialist Radio

2010-12-14
_NCPA_
Government employee unions vs. tax-victims

2010-12-14
Michelle Malkin _V Dare_
The Leftists' Lame-Duck Land Grab
Michelle Malkin

2010-12-14
Robin Wilson _Chronicle of Higher Education_
union refused to back adjunct in flap over sports and grades

2010-12-14
Rich Karlgaard _Forbes_
Bernanke wants a $10 3-piece chicken dinner
"Fast food is supposed to be cheap.   But $9.47 for one ordinary meal is not cheap.   What's going on?   Facts such as higher KFC prices reflect the world as it is.   These facts contradict recent headlines about Consumer Price Index inflation.   The October CPI rose just 0.6% at an annualized rate, the lowest since records began in 1957.   Bear in mind that the official score-keeper for CPI inflation is the U.S. Department of Labor, whose head is politically appointed.   At the same time the independent Federal Reserve has its own inflation target, rumored to be 1.5% to 2%.   There you have it.   The Fed thinks prices are too low.   It wants higher prices -- $10 for a chicken dinner at KFC; $40 for a family of 4...   Ironically, for a Democratic Administration that fancies itself a greater friend of the poor, a cheap dollar slams the working poor the hardest.   The working poor -- those striving to stay off unemployment and/or welfare -- pay the highest percentage of their wages for food.   They tend to have the longest commutes in older, gas-guzzling cars.   Higher gas prices slam them.   Many working poor don't have smartphones or computers or the time and know-how to bargain shop on the Internet.   Finally, they have most of their meager assets in cash: pay-checks, tips, checking accounts and small savings accounts."

2010-12-14
Steve Forbes _Forbes_
Why Ben Bernanke is addicted to failure

2010-12-14
_Bloomberg_/_Cincinnati OH Enquirer_
US wealth being drained to DC
"Falls Church also had the highest share of people ages 25 and older who had a bachelor's degree or higher at 69.5%.   In all, 17 of the nation's 3,221 counties had college completion rates of more than 50%, compared to 62 counties whose rates were less than 10%.   The national college completion rate was 27.9%.   The Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky rate was 28.5%.   Warren county had the highest completion rate of the 7 largest counties in the region at 35.6% while Clermont county had the lowest at 23.1%."

2010-12-14 (5771 Tebeth 07)
Thomas Sowell _Jewish World Review_
Wisdom is the best gift
see also jgo's reading room

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

2010-12-16
Lawrence Biemiller _Chronicle of Higher Education_
Cherokee for Beginners
Cherokee community of central California

2010-12-16
Geoffrey Nunberg _Chronicle of Higher Education_
Quantitative Analysis of Google Books

2010-12-16
Richard Vedder, Christopher Denhart, Matthew Denhart, Christopher Matgouranis & Jonathan Robe _Center for College Affordability & Prductivity_
From Wall Street to WM: Why College Graduates Are Not Getting Good Jobs
"More than one-third of current working graduates are in jobs that do not require a degree, and the proportion appears to be rising rapidly.   Many of them are better described as 'under-employed' rather than 'gainfully employed'.   Indeed, 60% of the increased college graduate population between 1992 and 2008 ended up in these 'lower skill' jobs...   This study argues that the conventional wisdom that going to college is a 'human capital investment' with a high pay-off is increasingly wrong.   Evidence shows that currently more than one-third of college graduates hold jobs that governmental employment experts tell us require less than a college degree.   That proportion of under-employed college graduates has tripled over the past four decades.   In 1976, Harvard economics professor Richard Freeman wrote about _The Over-Educated American_ -- at a time when most college graduates, at the margin, entered professional, managerial and scientific positions traditionally considered jobs for college graduates.   If we were 'over-educated' at that point in time, what is the case today?   Moreover, the push to increase enrollments has led to a majority of the increment of our stock of college graduates finding employment in relatively low skilled jobs, most of which are not particularly high paying (although there are exceptions).   We added roughly 20M college graduates to the population between 1992 and 2008, for example, but the number of graduates holding jobs requiring less-than-college education skill sets rose during that same period by about 12M; in other words, 60% of the total increase in graduates over the past 2 decades was under-employed."

2010-12-16 (5771 Tebeth 09)
Tim Rutten _Jewish World Review_
Iraq's war on Christians
"The culprits are Salafist Islam's increasingly virulent intolerance, the West's convenient indifference and, in the case of Iraq, America's failure to make responsible provisions to protect minorities from the violent disorder that has persisted since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003."

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

2010-12-17

2010-12-17
_ALIPAC_/_MMD News Wire_
NIGHTMARE Act (Never Indict, a Great Human Travesty, More Are Rapidly Entering) Allows Obama To Grant Amnesty To All Illegal Aliens

2010-12-16 21:01PST (2010-12-17 00:01EST) (2010-12-17 05:01GMT)
Thomas Kostigen _MarketWatch_
Science and politics don't need more mixing: Party affiliation shouldn't matter in objective work
"Just like journalists, scientists are not supposed to take sides [and yet, they almost always do]. Objectivity is a key tenet of the craft."

2010-12-17 04:01PST (07:01EST) (12:01GMT)
David Sirota _Salon_
Why the myth persists that the unemployed need to be punished into getting work
TruthDig
"The idea is that unemployment has nothing to do with structural economic forces or rigged public policies and everything to do with individual motivation...   With 5 applicants for every 1 job opening, the over-arching problem is a lack of available positions -- not a dearth of personal initiative...   3 more subtle forces are also at work...   the Just-World Fallacy -- the tendency to believe the world is inherently fair...   Narcissism... our self-centered culture leads the slightly less destitute to ascribe their own relative success exclusively to superhuman greatness...   The myth...plays to that conceit, helping the still-employed experience potentially scary unemployment news as a booster shot of self-aggrandizement.   You remain in a job, says the myth, because you are better than the jobless.   Finally, there's raw fear -- arguably more powerful than even arrogance...   the still-employed are understandably pining for a defense mechanism to cope with persistent lay-off anxieties...   The trouble, though, is that the whole narrative averts our focus from the job-killing trade, tax-cut and budget policies that are really responsible for destroying the economy."

2010-12-17 07:39PST (10:39EST) (15:39GMT)
Maureen Downey _Atlanta GA Journal Constitution_
US Secretary for Feeding Propaganda to Children, Arne Duncan, backs NIGHTMARE (Never Indict, a Great Human Travesty, More Are Rapidly Entering) act
Steven A. Camarota: Center for Immigration Studies: Estimating the costs of the NIGHTMARE act

2010-12-17
Patrick J. Buchanan _Human Events_
Is this Our America anymore?
"In the April-May-June quarter, foreign-born workers in the U.S.A. gained 656K jobs.   And native-born Americans lost 1.2M.   From 2009 July 1, to 2010 June 30, foreign-born Hispanics gained 98K construction jobs.   Native-born Hispanics lost 133K.   Black and white U.S. construction workers lost 511K jobs.   According to the Center for Immigration Studies, from 2000 Jan. 1, to 2010 Jan. 1, 13.1M immigrants, legal and illegal, entered the United States, a decade in which America lost 1M jobs.   From 2008 and 2009, the figures are startling.   In 24 months, 2.4M immigrants, legal and illegal, arrived, as U.S. citizens were losing 8.6M jobs...   Why do we not declare a moratorium on all immigration, until our unemployment rate falls to 6% or 5%?...   According to the Pew Hispanic Center, each year between 300K and 400K anchor babies are born to illegal aliens...   Again, according to the Pew Center, the number of anchor babies here now is about 4M...   'Aliens granted amnesty by the [NIGHTMARE Act] will have the legal right to petition for entry of their family members, including their adult brothers and sisters and the parents who illegally brought or sent them to the United States, once they become naturalized U.S. citizens.   In less than a decade, this reality could easily double or triple the 2.1M green cards that will be immediately distributed as a result of the [NIGHTMARE Act].'   Law-breaking would be rewarded.   Chain migration would continue.   A permanent powerful magnet would be provided to all foreigners to sneak into the United States and be sure to bring the kids.   As representative Dana Rohrabacher argues, one effect of the [NIGHTMARE Act] will be to move illegals applying to college ahead of many Americans, as 80% of illegals are Hispanics and eligible for affirmative action."

2010-12-17 09:40PST (12:40EST) (17:40GMT)
John Shinal _MarketWatch_
Where the miniscule number of tech jobs are and are not

2010-12-17 11:49:51PST (14:49:51EST) (19:49:51GMT)
Mike Swift _San Jose CA Mercury "News"_
Google refuses Street Snoop data request by CT attorney general
"Google has repeatedly apologized for the international data breach, which the company says was inadvertent. Google has promised that it will never use in any product the 600GB of data -- equivalent to about 300M printed pages -- it collected from unsecured Wi-Fi networks around the world dating to 2007 [and up-loaded to Google servers]."

2010-12-17
James R. Edwards _Center for Immigration Studies_
Importing Labor: The Flip-Side of Off-Shoring

2010-12-17
David North _Center for Immigration Studies_
A Comparison of 2 exploitative guest-worker programs -- H-1B and L-1

2010-12-17
Kate Alexander _Austin TX American Statesman_
Texas government will end IBM data center consolidation contract

2010-12-17
William L. Anderson
Krugman denies the report of Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission and video-/audio-recordings of congress-critters badgering Fannie, Freddie and banks to give out more unsound loans

2010-12-17 (5771 Tebeth 10)
Caroline B. Glick _Jewish World Review_
Bringing down Bibi Netanyahu: The media and the Obama administration are again colluding with the Israeli Left's political leadership to over-throw the Netanyahu government. How they intend to succeed at their goal
"Last Friday, Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian Authority's chief peace negotiator with Israel published an op-ed in Britain's Guardian newspaper in which he declared eternal war on the Jewish state.   This he did by asserting that any peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians that does not permit the immigration of some 7M foreign Arabs to Israel will be 'completely untenable'...   So with or without a Palestinian state, as long as Israel exists, the Palestinians will continue to seek its destruction."

2010-12-17

DJIA	11,498.04
S&P 500(SPX)	1243.91
NASDAQ(COMP)	2642.97
Nikkei	10,304
10-year US T-Bond(UST10Y)	3.33
crude oil(CLF11)	$88.02/barrel
gold(GCG11)	$1,379.20/ounce
silver(SIH11)	$29.13/ounce
platinum(PLF11)	$1,698.50/ounce
palladium(PAF11)	$738.60/ounce
copper(HGF11)	$0.27777/ounce
natgas(NGF11)	$4.07/MBTU
reformulatedgasoline(RBF11)	$2.32/gal
heatingoil(HOF11)	$2.47/gal
soybeans	$12.99/bushel
maize	$5.7777/bushel
wheat	$7.8888/bushel
dollarindex(DXY)	80.36
yenperdollar(USDYEN)	83.94
dollarspereuro(EURUSD)	1.3174
dollarsperpound(GBPUSD)	1.5632
swissfrancsperdollar	0.9696
indianrupeesperdollar	45.35
mexicanpesosperdollar(MXN)	12.45
MorganStanleyHighTechIndex	658.90

I usually get this info from MarketWatch.
 

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

2010-12-18

2010-12-18
David Skolnick _Youngstown OH Vindicator_
members of 112th congress getting word of committee assignments

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

2010-12-19

2010-12-19
Grace Wyler _Youngstown OH Vindicator_
Some holiday retail temps get the word they will be kept on the pay-roll longer

2010-12-19
William L. Anderson
stupid, ignorant or evil "economist" attempted to cast aspersions on Ron Paul
Robert Wentzel
Ryan W. McMaken
William L. Anderson
William L. Anderson

2010-12-19
Steve Sailer _V Dare_
PISA scores and diversity (with graphs)

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

2010-12-20

2010-12-20
Kristine Gill _Youngstown OH Vindicator_
US students turn to on-line education because school lesson plans/curricula are too slow

2010-12-20
Pui-Wing Tam _Wall Street Journal_
Tech Sales Revival Lifts Sili Valley (with graph)
"In November, the unemployment rate in the greater San Jose metropolitan area—including key Silicon Valley towns such as Sunnyvale and Santa Clara—declined to 11% from 12.2% last December.   California's unemployment rate remained virtually unchanged at around 12.4% over the same period, according to the state's Employment Development Department.   Private sector job growth is also coming back, up 1.6% in the San Jose area since a 2009 November trough, outstripping California's 0.6% growth, according to an analysis by Beacon.   Indeed, the Silicon Valley area is already helping to spur the overall California economy.   Since late 2009, the region has accounted for almost 12K of the 66K jobs -- or about 18% -- that California has added back, according to Beacon.   The San Jose area is also 1 of 2 metro regions in California—the other being Orange County—that has recently shown sustained job growth, said Mr. Thornberg.   Silicon Valley's economy isn't back to pre-recession levels, however.   The local unemployment rate remains far higher than the 4.9% in late 2007 and is above the national 9% unemployment rate.   Some local companies have also recently had lay-offs, with Yahoo Inc. last week saying it would eliminate 600 jobs, or about 4% of its work-force."

2010-12-20 09:56PST (12:56EST) (17:56GMT)
_Knoxville TN News Sentinel_/_AP_
Amazon.com moving ahead with up to $139M investment in facilities in Chattanooga, TN area

2010-12-20 10:33PST (13:33EST) (18:33GMT)
_Knoxville TN News Sentinel_
SunCoke gets $4.8M from IL tax-victims to relocate its HQ from Knoxville to Chicago
"The company operates coke plants in VA, IN, OH, IL and Brazil that produce more than 5M tons of coke each year.   A plant under construction in Middletown, OH [near AK Steel, formerly Armco Steel and The American Rolling Mill Company], should be operational in the second half of 2011."

2010-12-20
Rob Preston _Information Week_/_UBM_
Innovation Mandate: Is America's STEM Education Deficit Overblown?

2010-12-20 (5771 Tebeth 13)
Steven Emerson _Jewish World Review_
Why the "Palestinians" still suffer

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

2010-12-21

2010-12-21 03:09PST (06:09EST) (11:09GMT)
Jason Overdorf _Global Post_
Can telecomm scandal bring down India's government?
"A telecomm scandal involving billions of dollars, and perhaps even the prime minister himself, has beset India.   But does the public even care? But in scam central, Indians have scam fatigue [just as US citizens have with their congress-critters].   Despite new efforts to publicize the criminal records and out-sized assets of politicians, the number of members of parliament who face charges of crimes including robbery, extortion and murder increased from 128 in the 2004 elections to 162 in 2009, while the average law-maker's assets grew to $1M apiece from around $400K."

2010-12-21 01:05PST (04:05EST) (09:05GMT)
Mark Schenker _Vancouver Examiner_
Jon Voight says Barack Obama and leftist congress-critters are still capable of destroying the USA during the lame duck session

2010-12-21 08:37PST (11:37EST) (16:37GMT)
Jim Turner _Treasure Coast FL Palm_
Florida to get 2 more seats in US House in 2012: Hispanic community growing
census coverage
Paul Edward Parker: Providence RI Journal
David Skolnick: Youngstown OH Vindicator
Malia Rulon: Cincinnati OH Enquirer
Peter Grier: Christian Science Monitor
US census bureau press release
Hideous Over-Crowding
Ratio of population to irresponsible congress-critters continues to worsen

2010-12-21 09:43PST (12:43EST) (17:43GMT)
Nadia van der Hoof _Treasure Coast FL Palm_
Average wages up a little in Martin county FL and St. Lucie county, but down in Indian River county
bureau of economic analysis

2010-12-21
Scott C. Reynolds _McSweeney's_
Dream jobs that you're glad you did not pursue: #5 So You Wanted To Be a Computer Programmer (satire)

2010-12-21 15:48:19PST (18:48:19EST) (23:48:19GMT)
Pete Carey _San Jose CA Mercury "News"_
BEA says pay in Sili Valley down, but pay per job is up (with graph)

2010-12-21 13:51PST (16:51EST) (21:51GMT)
_San Jose CA Mercury "News"_/_AP_
Lucasfilm agrees to stop anti-competitive hiring

2010-12-20 21:01PST (00:01EST) (05:01GMT)
Ruth Mantell _MarketWatch_
Tough road continues ahead for the unemployed
Ed Brayton: Michigan Messenger

2010-12-21
Gary Kelly _Patriot Freedom_
Is the freedom experiment over?
Patriot Action Network

2010-12-21
William L. Anderson
federal government employment trend is upward

2010-12-21 (5771 Tebeth 15)
Michael Gerson _Jewish World Review_
When foreign polcy "realism" is not realistic

2010-12-21 (5771 Tebeth 15)
Batsheva Sobelman _Jewish World Review_
The search for Sodom and Gomorrah: Scientists drill beneath Dead Sea seeking priceless data
"Scientists here are drilling 1,640 feet beneath the bottom of the Dead Sea, to a depth of more than 2,600 feet below sea level."

2010-12-21 (5771 Tebeth 15)
Thomas Sowell _Jewish World Review_
Random thoughts
"Let's face it, most of us are not half as smart as we may sometimes think we are -- and for intellectuals, not one-tenth as smart.   One of the biggest obstacles to economic recovery is that politicians and the media are both focused on how government can MAKE the economy recover, rather than on how it can LET the economy recover...   Is there some reason why football helmets have to be hard? Wouldn't a thick rubber helmet provide protection without being itself an injury-producing weapon?   The History Channel has some very good programs when it sticks to history.   But it keeps going off on tangents...   One of the telling signs carried in a Tea Party demonstration said: 'Spread my work ethic, not my wealth.'...   the king of Saudi Arabia has a more realistic understanding of the enormous dangers of an Iranian nuclear bomb than does the President of the United States...   An amazing example of invincible ignorance is the widespread assumption that lower tax rates automatically mean lower tax revenues.   Tax rate cuts have often been followed by higher tax revenues, not only in the United States, but also in India, Iceland and 19th century German principalities, among other places...   University students rioting against tuition increases on both sides of the Atlantic are painful signs of the degeneracy of our times.   The idea that [tax-victims] owe it to you to pay for what you want suggests that much of today's education fails to instill reality, and instead panders to a self-centered sense of entitlement to what other people have earned...   Too many people debate as if the point is to show who is smarter, rather than which conclusion is correct.   When the attempt to get wholesale amnesty for illegal immigrants through Congress failed, that just led to new legislation seeking to get retail amnesty, for selected sets of illegals, under the [NIGHTMARE act].   IOW, we are now supposed to buy disaster on the installment plan.   Many parents of college-bound students wonder whether there are still any places where most of the professors are teaching instead of indoctrinating.   Actually, there are more than 50 colleges with a 'green light' rating on that score in the huge college guide, 'Choosing the Right College'...   government big spenders and big taxers...confiscate not only the earnings of today's citizens, but the earnings of generations yet unborn, who will be left a record-breaking national debt."
justice violated by Obummer/Holder DoJ

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

2010-12-22

2010-12-22
John Lasker _City Beat_
Invasion of the Body-Shoppers: Special visa allows firms to fill jobs with foreigners for less
"At any given time, an estimated 600K H-1b foreigners are working in this nation.   Yet nearly every U.S. corporation that [uses/abuses] H-1bs -- such as MSFT and [Ill-Begotten Monstrosities] -- refuses to say exactly how many they've hired.   Numbers culled by CityBeat from MyVisaJobs.com, the Department of Homeland Security and other immigration-related Web sites, suggest the the estimated number of H-1bs working in Greater Cincinnati is between 3K and 5K, with a salary most likely between $50K and $100K.   Some of the biggest [abusers] of the H-1b locally are The University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.   'Yes, I have heard several people say that (they were displaced by an H-1b holder), especially the older guys in the field.', says Troy Davis, head of Cincinnati's Programmers Guild.   'The most angry are the ones who have been displaced by an H-1b and then trained the foreigner -- the H-lb holder -- to do their job.'...   According to MyVisa.com, Tata in Milford ranks 20th out of the top 100 American companies that have utilized the H-1b since 2001.   At any given time, Tata has 8K H-1bs working in the U.S.A., while the top H-1b user, MSFT, has roughly 35K, states MyVisa.com...   Michael McCabe, director of North American communications for Tata...   John Kasich, who's a gung-ho supporter of out-sourcing..."
Tata median salaries by city

2010-12-22 03:00PST (06:00EST) (11:00GMT)
Patrick Thibodeau _ComputerWorld_
congress taps fees on visas to fund border security and benefits by those whose health was harmed by the 2001-09-11 terrorist attacks

2010-12-22 07:17PST (10:17EST) (15:17GMT)
Chelsea Levingston _Oxford OH Press_/_Cox_
Stephen Lippmann, assistant professor of sociology for Miami U, says unemployment rates suggest extremely slow recovery
"Unemployment is perhaps the worst in Hamilton.   Both Hamilton and Middletown started the year with unemployment of 12.5%, or more than 3K people each, according to the state.   They ended the year with unemployment in Hamilton of 10.5%, or 3,200 people, and in Middletown 9.8%, or 2,500 people.   Fairfield seems to have the lowest unemployment of 8.5% in November, or 2,100 people, down from 10% in January."

2010-12-22 07:52PSt (10:52EST) (15:52GMT)
_Knoxville TN New Sentinel_
Longview, TX, petroleum refinery back in operation
It's used to produce olefins.

2010-12-22 11:41PST (14:41EST) (19:41GMT)
Gregg Keizer _ComputerWorld_/_IDG_
Individual rights sites are being attacked
"The study conducted by Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society showed that distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks frequently knocked such sites off-line.   Of the sites surveyed by the center, 62% were victimized by DDoS attacks in the last 12 months, and 61% experienced unexplained down-time...   According to the Berkman Center, there was a 'particularly high prevalence' of attacks against sites in Burma [Myanmar], [Red China], Egypt, Israel, Iran, Mexico, Russia, Tunisia, the U.S.A. and VietNam, with groups targeted both from within their own borders and from outside their countries."

2010-12-22 12:22PST (15:22EST) (20:22GMT)
Patrick Thibodeau _ComputerWorld_/_IDG_
Plea agreement reached in Vision Systems Group H-1B visa fraud case
"The plea agreement was filed recently in U.S. District Court in Iowa and signed by Viswa Mohan Mandalapu, president of Vision Systems.   The agreement lets a federal Judge fine the company up to $500K.   Vision Systems also agreed to pay restitution of at least $236,250.   Jail time may be involved, but that was also left up to the judge's discretion.   The plea agreement calls for Vision Systems to plead guilty to mail fraud charges.   The U.S. [government] alleged that the Vision, in South Plainfield, NJ, created a shell company in Iowa so it could pay some of its visa workers the state's lower prevailing wage rates.   The government said that it displaced U.S. workers and violated prevailing wage laws."

2010-12-22
_Knoxville TN News Sentinel_
1,150 employed at $1.2G Hemlock Semiconductor plant in Clarksville, TN
"Michigan-based Hemlock Semiconductor is a joint venture between Dow Corning Corp. and 2 Japanese companies, Shin-Etsu Handotai Co. and Mitsubishi Materials Corp.   Polysilicon is a raw material used to make solar cells and semiconductor devices."

2010-12-22
Michael Mandel _Economist_
America's Aging InfraStructure

2010-12-22
Peter Ferrara _American Spectator_
The Death Panel's First Murder

2010-12-22
Pallab Ghosh _BBC_
ancient hominins called "Denisovans" inter-bred with Homo sapiens sapiens
"A study in Nature journal shows that Denisovans co-existed with Neanderthals and inter-bred with our species -- perhaps around 50K years ago...   The study shows that Denisovans inter-bred with the ancestors of the present day people of the Melanesian region north and north-east of Australia.   Melanesian DNA comprises between 4% and 6% Denisovan DNA."

2010-12-22
_PR USA_
UK's FDM Group vows to create 1K jobs in 2011; received over 20K job applications in 2010

2010-12-22
Ted Nugent _Human Events_
The American Dream vs. the NIGHTMARE act
"The first reality is that there are 20M or more illegal aliens in America right now, the vast majority of whom don't commit crimes and are decent hard-working folks.   Their tremendous work ethic and strong family values are commendable, if only they brought them here legally.   The second reality is that ordinary Americans know we shouldn't reward illegal behavior unless we want more of it.   Only criminals and bloodsuckers reward bad behavior.   The political reality is that both sides of the [political] aisle benefit from illegal immigration."

2010-12-22 (5771 Tebeth 15)
Walter E. Williams _Jewish World Review_
Black Education Disaster
"SAT scores confirm the poor education received by blacks.   In 2009, average SAT Reading test scores were: whites (528), Asians (516) and blacks (429).   In Math it was whites (536), Asians (587) and blacks (426).   Twelve years of fraudulent primary and secondary education received by most blacks are not erased by 4 or 5 years of college.   This is evidenced by examination scores taken for admission to graduate schools.   In 2007, Graduate Record Examination [GRE] Verbal scores were: whites (493), Asians (485) and blacks (395).   The math portion scores were: whites (562), Asians (617) and blacks (419).   Scores on the LSAT in 2006, for admission to law school, were: whites (152), Asians (152) and blacks (142).   In 2010, MCAT scores for admission to medical schools were: whites (26), Asians (26) and blacks (21)...   The clear message given by D.C. voters and teachers' union is that any politician who's willing to play hard-ball in an effort to improve black education will be run out of town...   According to the recently released Program for International Student Assessment [PISA] exam, our 15-year-olds rank 25th among 34 industrialized nations in math and 14th in reading."

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

2010-12-23

2010-12-22 18:25:01PST (2010-12-22 21:25:01EST) (2010-12-23 02:25:01GMT)
David M. Levitt _San Jose CA Mercury "News"_
Google completed deal to purchase NY office building atop fiber back-bone
"Google agreed to pay about $1.8G for the 15-story building, where it is the largest tenant...   The building at 111 Eighth takes up an entire block between West 15th and 16th streets in the Chelsea section of Manhattan, south of Midtown.   The former industrial warehouse has 2.94M square feet, according to Real Capital.   At that size, it has more floor space than the Empire State Building.   Google, with more than 2K employees in the neighborhood, occupies about 550K square feet at 111 Eighth...   Poornima Gupta, a spokeswoman for Google, didn't immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.   Other tenants in the building include WebMD, Nike, Deutsche Advertising, Lifetime Networks and Armani Exchange.   Taconic acquired it in 1998 and did $68M of capital improvements, the sellers said in their statement.   The building, completed in 1932, was originally a freight terminal serving the city's Hudson River piers."

2010-12-23 05:30PST (08:30EST) (13:30GMT)
Scott Gibbons & Tony Sznoluch _DoL ETA_
un-employment insurance weekly claims report
DoL home page
DoL OPA press releases
historical data
"The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 495,587 in the week ending Dec. 18, an increase of 5,311 from the previous week.   There were 565,243 initial claims in the comparable week in 2009.   The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.3% during the week ending Dec. 11, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week.   The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 4,173,407, an increase of 110,889 from the preceding week.   A year earlier, the rate was 4.1% and the volume was 5,345,467.   The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending Dec. 4 was 8,883,578.   Extended benefits were available in AL, AK, AZ, 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, PR, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, WV, and WI, during the week ending December 4.   States reported 3,785,978 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending Dec. 4, a decrease of 68,089 from the prior week.   There were 4,456,518 claimants in the comparable week in 2009.   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.]
EUC (Excel)
EB
graphs
more graphs

2010-12-23 07:06PST (10:06EST) (15:06GMT)
Ruth Mantell _MarketWatch_
durable-goods orders fell in November
census bureau report (pdf)

2010-12-23 07:26PST (10:26EST) (15:26GMT)
_MarketWatch_
UMich consumer sentiment index rose from 71.6 in November to 74.2 earlier in the month to 74.5 in late December
Federal Reserve Board St. Louis
Federal Reserve Board St. Louis

2010-12-23 09:16PST (12:16EST) (17:16GMT)
Ronald Mortensen _Salt Lake City UT Examiner_
Bill filed to end Utah's in-state college tuition program for illegal aliens

2010-12-23 13:11PST (16:11EST) (21:11GMT)
Dominique Doms _International Trade Examiner_
NAFTA changes and the impact on US jobs and exports

2010-12-23 13:59PST (16:59EST) (21:59GMT)
John Shinal _MarketWatch_
tech job markets better in some places than others: Put your waders on before reading this one

2010-12-23
Jay D. Homnick _American Spectator_
Arlen Specter no longer able to kick around the US citizenry
Paul Chesser

2010-12-23
Philip Klein _American Spectator_
post-mortem on the 111th congress

2010-12-23
Lorna Thackeray _Billings MT Gazette_/_Lee_
Corrupt leftist federal judge Donald Molloy goes part time, to open up another position for a fellow extremist while Obama is still in office
"Senior status 'is a much more relaxed position', he said.   'You can travel anywhere in the United States and sit.   I imagine he will sit on the 9th Circuit by invitation.', Shanstrom said.   Senior judges are sometimes asked to sit in cases heard by appeals courts, he said."

2010-12-23
_Gulen Charter Schools USA web log_
Joshua Hendrick calls on Gülen (Guelen) charter schols to come clean

2010-12-23
_blogs 4 Borders_
Anti-Border Corruption Act

2010-12-23
William L. Anderson
Krugman: Scrip! Print more money!

2010-12-23 (5771 Tebeth 16)
Joshua Mitnick _Jewish World Review_
Israel warns Gaza missiles could provoke new offensive against terrorists

2010-12-23

DJIA	11,573.49
S&P 500(SPX)	1,256.77
NASDAQ(COMP)	2,665.60
Nikkei	10,304
10-year US T-Bond(UST10Y)	3.4
crude oil(CLF11)	$91.41/barrel
gold(GCG11)	$1,380.50/ounce
silver(SIH11)	$29.33/ounce
platinum(PLF11)	$1,723.10/ounce
palladium(PAF11)	$758.10/ounce
copper(HGF11)	$0.26625/ounce
natgas(NGF11)	$4.07/MBTU
reformulatedgasoline(RBF11)	$2.44/gal
heatingoil(HOF11)	$2.54/gal
soybeans	$12.99/bushel
maize	$5.7777/bushel
wheat	$7.8888/bushel
dollarindex(DXY)	80.51
yenperdollar(USDYEN)	83.01
dollarspereuro(EURUSD)	1.3112
dollarsperpound(GBPUSD)	1.5424
swissfrancsperdollar	0.9585
indianrupeesperdollar	45.16
mexicanpesosperdollar(MXN)	12.3210
MorganStanleyHighTechIndex	663.85

I usually get this info from MarketWatch.
 

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

2010-12-24

2010-12-23 21:10PST (2010-12-24 00:10EST) (2010-12-24 05:10GMT)
Grace Wyler _Youngstown OH Vindicator_
V&M Star forges ahead with construction of steel mill

2010-12-23 21:47PST (2010-12-24 00:47EST) (2010-12-24 05:47GMT)
Shefali Anand _Wall Street Journal_
Miniscule US Visa Fee Extended
"The U.S. Senate has extended an increase in visa fees for the U.S.-based employees of some non-American companies as part of a bill to fund aid for people who responded to the 2001 Sept. 11, terrorist attacks in New York.   Money generated from the extension of the visa fee will be used to provide medical and economic assistance to the police, firefighters and others who were affected from the dust which rose after the collapse of the World Trade Center in 2001.   Earlier this year, the U.S. Senate passed a law that all companies with U.S. staff that have more than half their U.S.-based employees on H1-B or L-1 visas would pay thousands of dollars in special new fees for each worker.   The new fees -- $2K to $4K per visa application -- was supposed to fund a $600M border security spending bill and was to be paid till 2014...   Now, the fee has been extended by one year and will now have to be paid through 2015 under the bill passed in the Senate Wednesday."

2010-12-24
James R. Hagerty & Joe Light _Wall Street Journal_
Job ads rising as economy warms up
"Many of the new jobs are in retailing, accounting, consulting, health care, telecommunications and defense-related industries, according to data collected for the Wall Street Journal by Indeed Inc., which runs one the largest employment web-sites.   It said the number of U.S. job postings on the Internet rose to 4.7M on Dec. 1, up from 2.7M a year earlier.   The company daily collects listings from corporate and job-posting web-sites, removing duplicates...   A Wall Street Journal survey of 55 economists in early December showed they expect only moderate job growth in 2011, enough to reduce the unemployment rate to a still-high 9% at the end of 2011 from 9.8% last month...   There were 3.2M private-sector job openings [13.903M unemployed actively seeking work, and 84.878 not in the labor force] at the end of October, up from 2.3M a year earlier but well below the 3.7M in 2007 October, before the recession, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics."

2010-12-24
Walt Gardner _Educatino Week_
Both the USA and Red China suffer from delusions about the value of college degrees

2010-12-24
Eileen Ambrose _Baltimore MD Sun_/_Grand Forks Herald_
With job-hunters desperate, employers are on the alert for resume deceptions
Kansas City Star
"Bonnie Windsor, senior director of human resources for Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System, one of the largest employers in Baltimore. The hospital system receives 10K applications a month for up to several hundred openings."

2010-12-24 08:30PST (11:30EST) (16:30GMT)
Stephen Ohlemacher _Knoxville TN News Sentinel_/_AP_
new federal extortion law packed with pork
"tax breaks for producing TV shows, grants for putting up windmills, rum subsidies for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands."

2010-12-24 10:26PST (13:26EST) (18:26GMT)
Chris Oliver _MarketWatch_
Red China government shows it's totalitarian bent again in attempts to restrict car ownership and driving patterns
"Officials are planning to issue about 240K new vehicle licenses next year, compared to 700K registered so far this year, Zhou Zhengyu, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing municipal government, told reporters Thursday...   Beijing already limits passenger cars from entering the downtown area, with each automobile prohibited from driving in the area one day a week, based on which license-plate number it carries.   Analysts said this latest rule change would hit makers of low-end domestic vehicles hardest, potentially forcing half of such auto dealers within the municipality to shut down, Cui Dongshu, vice-secretary-general of the National Passenger Car Information Exchange Association, said in the state-run China Daily...   About 88% of the plates will be allocated to private cars, 2% for commercial use and 10% towards both government and corporate use.   Figures cited by government officials Thursday showed 4.76M vehicles were licensed in the city as of Dec. 19, compared to 2.6M at the start of the 2005...   Beijing's vice-mayor -- responsible for traffic management -- resigned Thursday and will be transferred to a post in the remote region of Xinjiang..."

2010-12-24
Andreas Lorenz _Der Spiegel_
Life in Beijing's Cellars
"As speculators and increasing demand drive up Beijing's real estate prices, those who cannot afford the rent are going underground -- literally.   Hundreds of cellars and air-raid shelters are being rented out as living spaces in the Chinese capital...   The only accommodation she can afford is a tiny room in the cellar of an apartment building.   Every month she pays the equivalent of €52 ($68) for the room, around 15% of her income.   Other tenants must live even further down, on the cellar's second level, where the rent is even cheaper."

2010-12-24
Ben Tracy _CBS_
Fed up with failing schools, parents take over

2010-12-24
Chris Horner _American Spectator_
EPA, for "when congress resists action"

2010-12-24
Debra Wilson _Atom Stack Tribune_
Should the USA be tough on illegal immigration?
"Millions of illegal aliens are filling jobs that unemployed Americans want, but the President of the United States pledges to 'stave off' bills that might make it tough for illegal aliens to stay in the U.S.A."

2010-12-24 Bruce Bartlett _Fiscal Times_
Cooking the Books: the FY2010 federal government deficit was a terrifying $2.1T

2010-12-24
William L. Anderson
Just who is spreading humbug?

2010-12-24 (5771 Tebeth 17)
Caroline B. Glick _Jewish World Review_
Slouching towards Teheran

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

2010-12-30 05:30PST (08:30EST) (13:30GMT)
Scott Gibbons & Tony Sznoluch _DoL ETA_
un-employment insurance weekly claims report
DoL home page
DoL OPA press releases
historical data
"The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 521,834 in the week ending Dec. 25, an increase of 24,879 from the previous week.   There were 556,517 initial claims in the comparable week in 2009.   The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.3% during the week ending Dec. 18, unchanged from the prior week.   The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 4,095,135, a decrease of 85,886 from the preceding week.   A year earlier, the rate was 3.9% and the volume was 5,088,864.   The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending Dec. 4 was 8,866,924.   Extended benefits were available in AL, AK, AZ, 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, PR, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, WV, and WI, during the week ending December 11.   States reported 3,711,288 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending Dec. 11, a decrease of 77,741 from the prior week.   There were 4,869,540 claimants in the comparable week in 2009.   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.]
EUC (Excel)
EB
graphs
more graphs

2010-12-30 06:20PST (09:20EST) (14:20GMT)
Amity Shlaes _Forbes_
The best commentary on Fed policy currently out there is a do-it-yourself animated short called "Quantitative Easing Explained"
"The 6-minute, 48-second cartoon... [points] out the illogic in the official Federal Reserve position that today the danger of deflation is greater than that of inflation.   The animals also criticize the Fed officials' recent pursuit of QE2, the acronym for its decision to inject $600G into the economy...   Readers and viewers are so relieved to be free of the obligation to appear erudite that they turn to the cartoon in droves.   The same phenomenon has produced another unlikely economic messenger: a rap video.   A mock rap debate between John Maynard 'Let-the-Spending-Soar' Keynes and the Austrian School economist Friedrich 'Too-Much-Aggregation' von Hayek has received 1.7M hits on YouTube...   What the national leap to these new media tells us is that many Americans are desperate.   They want to know what must be changed -- or kept the same -- in the U.S. economy.   Professional economists may be on the trail of the answer, but to find it they have to dedicate more time to inquiry and less to self-important obfuscation.   Seminars were tolerable at 4% unemployment.   At over 9% they're too expensive.   That's arithmetic anyone can understand, whether in the class-room, in the news-room or when looking at a cartoon."
Quantitative Easing Explained (video)

2010-12-30 09:57:37PST (12:57:37EST) (17:57:37GMT)
Richard Halstead _San Jose CA Mercury "News"_
2 women arrested in Marin county for blocking PG&E Idiot Meter trucks
"It was the third consecutive day that a group of West Marin residents have attempted to stop employees of Wellington Energy from installing meters in Inverness.   Wellington was hired by PG&E to do the work...   'We're just responding [to the massive privacy violations and rate increase].', said Sandizell, co-director of West Marin Citizens Against Wireless Smart Meters.   'I'd love to work out a peaceful solution where people's concerns are honored.   We certainly don't want to get arrested.   We want to be home with our children.'   M said, 'This is not anything I've done in the past.   I don't consider myself an activist.   I'm just an individual acting on a gut instinct to protect the health and civil liberties of my family and my community.'"

2010-12-30
Ashley Luthern _Youngstown OH Vindicator_
Top news-makers of the year

2010-12-30
_Fibre 2 Fashion_
India to limit cotton exports to 5.5M bales in 2010-2011
"In October, the government had granted permission to export 5.5M bales (1 bale=170kg=374.4pounds) of raw cotton and appointed the Textile Commissioners Office as the authority to register the export contracts.   Along with which it had also set a deadline of 2010 December 15 to ship these 5.5M bales...   As per sources from the Textile Commissioners Office, around 3.4M bales have been shipped [as of] December 15." [US standard cotton bales are 500 pounds=226.8kg]

2010-12-30
Maxim Lott _Fox_
8 botched environmental forecasts

2010-12-30 12:00PST (15:00EST) (20:00GMT)
David Dreman _Forbes_
QE2: another Fed back-fire

2010-12-30 12:29PST (15:29EST) (20:29GMT)
Olivia Munoz _Knoxville TN News Sentinel_/_AP_
Honey protectionism?
Washington DC Post
Modesto CA Bee
Baltimore MD Sun
"The True Source Honey Initiative is an effort by a handful of producers and importers looking to certify the origin and purity of the honey sold to U.S. consumers in jars and products such as cereals, snacks and glazes...   In September, the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago announced the indictments of 11 German and Chinese executives and 6 companies on charges that they avoided nearly $80M in honey tariffs and sold honey tainted with banned antibiotics."

2010-12-30
Yoni Heisler _NetworkWorld_
Apple not as keen on multi-million dollar lobbying efforts as some other tech firms
HP $1.6M; MSFT $1.63M; Google $1.2M; Ill-Begotten Monstrosities $1M; Intel $830K; Yahoo! $540K; Apple $340K; FaceBook $120K.

2010-12-30
Calvin Azuri _TMC_
Tech executives spending big money in DC
Arik Hesseldahl: All Things Digital
Open Secrets
Open Secrets current overview

2010-12-30
Aaron Goldstein _American Spectator_
"Rosie the Riveter" RIP
"Geraldine Hoff Doyle, a.k.a. 'Rosie the Riveter', passed away on Sunday.   She was 86.   The famed image of Doyle's flexed muscle would become a call to arms for women to enter the workforce during the Second World War to help manufacture munitions, aircraft, boats, jeeps and other goods.   It would later serve as an inspiration to future generations seeking equality for women.   Ironicially, Doyle herself was unaware of the poster until 1984."
London Telegraph
Library of Congress
Detroit MI Free Press

2010-12-30
Cal Thomas _Town Hall_
Leftist Death Panels

2010-12-30
Roger Harris _Memphis TN Commercial Appeal_
Lobbying/Bribery is a very lucrative business
Knoxville TN News Sentinel
Justin Rohrlich: Minyanville
Timothy P. Carney: Washington Examiner
Nashville Business Journal
"The study by University of Tennessee professors Russell Crook and David Woehr and University of South Florida professor Sean Lux found that corporate political activity typically results in 20% higher performance for companies...   Larger firms are more likely to be politically active.   Incumbent politicians are the most frequent targets of corporate political activity.   Companies that are heavily regulated by government or dependent on government contracts are more likely to be politically active.   The study, titled 'Mixing Business with Politics: A Meta-Analytic Study of Corporate Political Activity', will be published in the January issue of the Journal of Management.   The authors used a study approach known as meta-analysis to combine findings from 78 studies that investigated sources and/or outcomes of corporate political activity, Crook said.   The various studies looked at more than 7K companies."

2010-12-30 15:58PST (18:58EST) (23:58GMT)
Marc Schenker _Vancouver Examiner_
CAIR suing Cook County Forest Preserve for discrimination because they were ejected from swimming pool for wearing long robes and veils, i.e. inappropriate swimming attire
Investigative Project: CAIR-Hamas-Muslim Brotherhood links
Discover the Networks: Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
anti-CAIR
Discover the Networks: Muslim Brotherhood (MB)

2010-12-30 15:31PST (18:31EST) (23:31GMT)
Nikie Mayo _Anderson SC Independent Mail_
Textile, chemical executive, Roger Milliken, died at age 95
John Monk: Charlotte SC Observer
Tom Baxter: Southern Political Reporter
Tulsa OK World
Timothy Williams: NY Times
Portland ME Press Herald
Charleston, SC Post & Courier
David Dykes: Greenville SC News/Charleston, SC Post & Courier
Greenville SC On-Line/Gannett
Jenny Munro: Greenville SC On-Line/Gannett
Textile World
Home Textiles Today
American Consumer News
Page Ivey: Myrtle Beach SC Sun News/AP/McClatchy
Trevor Anderson & Robert W. Dalton: Go Up-State
John Monk: Orangeburg SC State
Ryan J. Donmoyer: Bloomberg
Augusta GA Chronicle
Patrick J. Buchanan: Sioux Falls SD Argus Leader/Gannett
Patrick J. Buchanan: American Conservative Magazine
Patrick J. Buchanan: V Dare
"Roger Milliken (son of Gerrish Milliken) died Thursday 2010-12-30.   The leader of Milliken & Company for more than 70 years, he moved to Spartanburg in the early 1950s and led what would become the world's largest and most productive privately owned textile and chemical research plant.   It employs 9K workers, manufacturing technical and industrial materials, specialized chemicals and floor coverings.   Milliken & Company holds 2,300 patents in the U.S.A. alone...   He was the only chairman of the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport Commission since its inception in 1959 until his death, was a dyed-in-the-wool conservative and was the first person ever inducted to the American Textile Hall of Fame...   His family's company was founded in the 1860s, but Milliken's own entry to the textile business was a humble one.   He started out in New York City's Mercantile Stores, in which his family had an ownership stake.   He made the rounds of suppliers, making sure that coats and suits ordered by the stores were delivered.   One of his jobs there was to pin up the hems of women's coats.   In 1941, he was given the stewardship of 3 small woolen-producing mills in Maine.   When his father, Gerrish, died in 1947, the 32-year-old Milliken succeeded him as president.   He would take the company that his grand-father, Seth Milliken, founded in 1865 and grow it to a manufacturing powerhouse with more than 50 plants and a presence in 7 countries...   Roger Milliken opposed NAFTA, GATT and the new World Trade Organization.   He opposed MFN and PNTR for Red China, and pushed for racial integration at Wofford College.   In 1983, Milliken launched the 'Crafted with Pride in the U.S.A.' advertising campaign, which aimed to control the textile imports that were threatening the U.S. apparel industry.   In 2001, in his mid-80s, Milliken co-founded the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition.   The Washington-based coalition aims 'to preserve and create American manufacturing jobs through the establishment of trade policy and other measures necessary for the U.S. manufacturing sector to stabilize and grow', according to its mission statement.   Milliken left a mark as big as his fortune in areas ranging from politics to environmentalism, from philanthropy to industrial innovation to worker safety."

2010-12-30
Patrick J. Buchanan _V Dare_
Is a Federal Government Bond Crisis Inevitable?

2010-12-30
Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar _Ledger_/_AP_
Aveage life-time Medicare benefits by far top life-time costs
Arizona Republic
"average-wage, two-earner couple together earning $89K a year. Upon retiring in 2011, they would have paid $114K in Medicare pay-roll taxes during their careers [but would receive] $355K [back], about 3 times what they put in."

2010-12-30
Chuck Baldwin _V Dare_
Enemies within the Gates

2010-12-30
William L. Anderson
Krugman's Snow Job

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

2010-12-31

2010-12-31
Rich Karpinski _Connected Planet_
Some mobile software and a few D.C. lobbyists does not a carrier make of Google

2010-12-31
_Taipei Times_
Red China could restrict VOIP
"'We are carrying out with relevant authorities a campaign to crack down on illegal Voice over Internet Protocol phone services.', the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a circular posted online earlier this month.   In the brief notice, which did not offer details on the crackdown or a timetable for shutting down 'illegal' services, the ministry listed a telephone hotline for citizens to report any violations.   The ministry declined to comment immediately when asked for clarification of the policy yesterday.   However, the Beijing Morning Post yesterday quoted Industry and Information Technology Vice Minister Xi Guohua (奚國華) as saying only state-owned major Chinese telecommunications operators were licensed to provide Internet phone services linking telephones and computers."

2010-12-31
Michael Geist _P2Pnet_
A to Z of tech law in Canada in 2010

2010-12-31
William L. Anderson
Krugman's voodoo economics: Tax, spend, and inflate ourselves to prosperity

2010-12-31 V. Phani Kumar _MarketWatch_
Asia's best- (Djakarta)/worst-(Shanghai)performing indices in 2010

2010-12-31
_Glass Door_
10 interview questions every job candidate should know part2

2010-12-31
Douglas French _Ludwig von Mises Institute_
GAO says it can't render an opinion on the federal government's financials "because of widespread material internal control weaknesses, significant uncertainties, and other limitations"
"according to GAAP, the government's deficit in 2010 was $2.08T, a considerable widening from the $1.254T deficit in 2009."

2010-12-31
Aaron Goldstein _American Spectator_
Crimes against Jews rising in USA

2010-12-31
_Treasure Coast FL Palm_
Indian linemen are silhouetted as they repair high-tension wires on the banks of the Ganges River in Allahabad.   According to the Renewable Energy Ministry, India plans to quadruple its power generation capacity from renewable sources to 72.4GW by 2022.

2010-12-31 (5771 Tebeth 24)
Caroline B. Glick _Jewish World Review_
Hizbullah and the information war

2010-12-31

DJIA	11,578.33
S&P 500(SPX)	1,257.64
NASDAQ(COMP)	2,652.87
Nikkei	10,229
10-year US T-Bond(UST10Y)	3.29
crude oil(CLG11)	$91.38/barrel
gold(GCG11)	$1,421.40/ounce
silver(SIH11)	$30.94/ounce
platinum(PLF11)	$1,773.30/ounce
palladium(PAF11)	$803.30/ounce
copper(HGH11)	$0.2779375/ounce
natgas(NGG11)	$4.41/MBTU
reformulatedgasoline(RBG11)	$2.43/gal
heatingoil(HOG11)	$2.54/gal
soybeans	$12.99/bushel
maize	$5.7777/bushel
wheat	$7.8888/bushel
dollarindex(DXY)	79.18
yenperdollar(USDYEN)	81.24
dollarspereuro(EURUSD)	1.3369
dollarsperpound(GBPUSD)	1.5429
swissfrancsperdollar	0.9338
indianrupeesperdollar	44.71
mexicanpesosperdollar(MXN)	12.36
MorganStanleyHighTechIndex	664.20

I usually get this info from MarketWatch.
 

++++++ HJRes102; Bishop; let super-majority of states veto federal statutes
++ S887; Durbin, Grassley; H-1B and L-1 visa program reform
Status of S877
+++ S2804; Sanders; Employ Americans: prohibit firms who lay off large numbers of capable US citizens from making use of guest-work visas
---- HR5658; Shadegg; STEM Job Destruction Act
++ S3816; Durbin; Creating US Jobs and Ending Off-Shoring
-- S729; Durbin; NIGHTMARE act
-- HR1751; Berman; American NIGHTMARE act
more of what congress-critters are up to
 
 

 
 

2010
_Heritage Foundation_/_Wall Street Journal_
Economic Freedom Index
Top 10

Name	Year	Overall Score	Business Freedom	Trade Freedom	Fiscal Freedom	Government Spending	Monetary Freedom	Investment Freedom	Financial Freedom	Property Rights	Freedom From Corruption	Labor Freedom
United States	2010	78.0	91.3	86.9	67.5	58.0	78.1	75.0	70.0	85.0	73.0	94.8

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Proposed Bills 2010

Congressional candidate fund-raising, expenditures, and debt
 

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

"Perhaps the most alarming fact is that contempt for intellectual liberty is not a thing which arises only once the totalitarian system is established but one which can be found everywhere among intellectuals who have embraced a collectivist faith and who are acclaimed as intellectual leaders even in countries still under a liberal regime.   Not only is even the worst oppression condoned if it is committed in the name of socialism, and the creation of a totalitarian system openly advocated by people who pretend to speak for the scientists of liberal countries; intolerance, too, is openly extolled." --- Friedrich A. Hayek 1944, 1963 _The Road to Serfdom_ pp163-164

Movies Coming Soon
 

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