ET - Indian talent helps Silicon Valley: US think tank

From my archive of press clippings:

Economic Times

Indian talent helps Silicon Valley: US think tank


3 Dec 2009, 2235 hrs IST, IANS

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA: Global technology and innovation hub Silicon Valley needs "Indian talent and entrepreneurial energy" to build powerful businesses, according to a economic and policy think tank in the US.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"According to the 300-page report, the research institutions and technology companies in Silicon Valley and its risk-taking culture will work better when juxtaposed with Indian talent and entrepreneurial energy.

However, the council warned that the present visa and immigration policies of the US restricted access to global talent.

"US visa and immigration policy unnecessarily restricts access to global talent, fails to compete aggressively for top foreign students and researchers, and discourages them from staying to contribute to the economy," said the report.

This leads students and recent immigrants to return home, especially at a juncture when India is no more a destination for lower-end-work as against the innovation streams in the Valley, it added."

WT - Grassley calls for more visa screeners. GOP senator writes to Clinton.

From my archive of press clippings:

Washington Times

Grassley calls for more visa screeners


GOP senator writes to Clinton


By Nicholas Kralev

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

A senior Republican senator urged Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday to drastically increase the number of specialized units at U.S. embassies around the world that screen visa applicants for security concerns, including ties to terrorists or other criminal groups.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"In a letter to Mrs. Clinton, Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa decried the slow pace of setting up visa-security units — only at 14 of more than 220 U.S. missions abroad so far - and blamed the State Department for putting "roadblocks" to efforts by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to boost its presence at several consulates."

"Congress directed DHS when it was established in 2002 to create the units in question to help State Department consular officers abroad in screening visa applicants."

"After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the U.S., there were calls in Congress for the State Department to be stripped of its visa-issuing responsibilities, but the secretary of state at the time, Colin L. Powell, managed to keep that function in his agency. The visa-security units were created as a compromise."

"State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley confirmed Monday that there are 14 visa-security units in 12 countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Egypt and Venezuela, but he rejected Mr. Grassley's accusations."

&


continued

"While some critics blame the State Department, which has full authority to cancel visas without permission from other agencies, others say the intelligence community should have recommended revocation based on information it had — but the State Department did not."

THBL - US lawmaker seeks tighter checks on H-1B visa frauds

From my archive of press clippings:

The Hindu Business Line

US lawmaker seeks tighter checks on H-1B visa frauds

Moumita Bakshi Chatterjee

New Delhi, Nov. 9 The din over H-1B visa programme is rising once again.
US Senator Charles Grassley – the co-author of the Durbin-Grassley Bill, which had proposed to limit the H-1B hirings to 50 per cent of the total workforce of an employer – has shot off a letter to US immigration authorities seeking tighter checks on frauds and abuse of the high-skilled visa programme.

Read the whole article here.

WT - MOWBRAY: It's the visas, stupid. State Department can't treat travel to U.S. like a civil right.

From my archive of press clippings:

Washington Times


MOWBRAY: It's the visas, stupid


State Department can't treat travel to U.S. like a civil right


By Joel Mowbray

Monday, January 11, 2010

Tucked away in a single paragraph near the end of the declassified preliminary report on the failed Christmas Day terrorist attack is the key fact glossed over by most in media and the government: Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had a valid visa when he boarded his Detroit-bound flight.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"(T)he State Department has barely budged its default position that visas are to be issued unless they have a clear reason to deny applications."

"This suicidally legalistic approach does not owe to President Obama or previous political leadership, but rather to the long-held institutional mindset of the State Department. Using a questionable legal interpretation, State's position has been that a visa must be issued to qualified applicants, with denials only possible with specific, credible proof that someone can be deemed a security threat.

But unlike in a court of law, foreigners wishing to enter the U.S. should not be presumed innocent.

Moreover, denial of the privilege to come to the U.S. is not reviewable, and it can be made unilaterally by State. Yet it is State who pushes to issue visas to those who raise red flags, but don't quite belong on the terrorist watchlist."

&

"Any probable cause of terrorist connections needs to result in visa denials and revocations unless the evidence can be disproved or reasonably deemed illegitimate. Even when we have no specific information, as was the case with most of the Sept. 11 terrorists, State should enforce the visa laws as strictly with young Muslim men from known terrorist hotspots as it does with poor (or even middle-class) Filipinos.

But for State to enforce existing law and err on the side of security, the department must undergo a complete about-face from its current operating procedures. If Mr. Obama is as serious as he purports to be, however, he must demand nothing less."

_____
Joel Mowbray is an investigative journalist living in New York City.

MSNBC - American teacher vanishes in Germany

From my archive of press clippings:

MSNBC


American teacher vanishes in Germany


22-year-old disappeared without a trace after leaving concert in Frankfurt

Read the whole article here.

re: "Quickie: That Fortress Embassy in Haiti Stood Up to Quake's Shaking"

Domani Spero at DiploPundit ("just one obsessive compulsive observer, dipomatic watcher, opinionator and noodle newsmaker.... monitoring the goings on at Foggy Bottom and elsewhere in the worldwide available universe") reports that it's not all bad to have a "fortress embassy."

NSN - Put Homeland Security in charge of issuing visas

From my archive of press clippings:

The North Star National

Put Homeland Security in charge of issuing visas


January 10th, 2010

Gregory D. Lee

On December 30, 2009, I was a guest on a Monterey, California radio talk show discussing the events leading to the Christmas Day capture of a Nigerian national who attempted to detonate a bomb aboard a Detroit bound U.S. airliner.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"I reasoned that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agent with real world experience would do a better job of screening foreign nationals who never intend to return home or have ill will towards the U.S."

&

"(I)t’s time the State Department get out of the visa business since it is incapable of just saying “no!”

A U.S. visa is not a guarantee of entry into the United States. Immigration authorities still have the ability to deny entry and send the traveler back to his home country. Someone with an ICE-scrutinized visa would stand a much better chance of entering the country. Giving ICE total responsibility for visas and immigration eliminates an entire layer of government bureaucracy and increases accountability.

Half of all illegal immigrants in the U.S. are “visa overstays.” Most of these people are not Mexican nationals. They come from all over the world to take advantage of the economic opportunities this country has to offer without bothering to apply for a work visa or permanent residence status. All these people receive pay under the counter or use stolen Social Security numbers to avoid detection. Some marry U.S. citizens and seek legal status by playing on the sympathy of others.

An ICE agent with immigration enforcement experience would do a superior job of screening these people compared to a newly hired, recent college grad foreign service officer who thinks the entire world is entitled to a U.S. visa. ICE agents would have instant access to their own databases and those of other law enforcement agencies to check the names of visa applicants. The next time a father visits a U.S. embassy to report that his radicalized Muslim son has a valid U.S. visa and recently visited Yemen, an ICE agent could immediately enter the person’s name on the no-fly and terrorism watch lists. He wouldn’t have to write endless cables to Washington to seek permission. He could cancel the visa on the spot and share the information with the airlines, CIA, Interpol and the FBI. These are things the State Department hesitates to do. It has a culture that firmly believes law enforcement and diplomacy don’t mix, and I agree."

_____
Gregory D. Lee is a syndicated columnist for The North Star National. You can reach him through his website: www.gregorydlee.com

CT - Pall lifts along with AIDS travel ban

From my archive of press clippings:

Chicago Tribune

Pall lifts along with AIDS travel ban


Patients, families cheer lifting of U.S. AIDS travel ban

By Bonnie Miller Rubin Tribune reporter

December 1, 2009

Senora Desiree cries when she talks about her only son, who is HIV-positive. The fact that the 18-year-old has been barred from visiting Chicago only heaps humiliation on top of her pain.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):"

"President Barack Obama recently announced that the 22-year-old ban on entry into the United States for anyone infected with HIV/AIDS will be lifted in January, making life a bit easier for mothers such as Desiree, who did not want her full name used because of the stigma of having an HIV-positive relative."

"(T)he Immigration and Nationality Act denied visas to anyone with a "communicable disease of public health significance," adding HIV to the list, alongside other travel-restricted conditions, such as tuberculosis and leprosy."

"The ban meant those with HIV and AIDS were not allowed to enter the U.S. and noncitizens already here could not stay, dividing families and upending lives.

While Immigration officials have granted special waivers to some people with the illness, the process is complicated and expensive, attorneys say.

Only about a dozen countries -- including Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Libya -- have similar HIV travel restrictions."

"The CDC, however, was required by statute to uphold the ban, said Cetron, director of the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine."

&

"The process started during the Clinton administration, but picked up momentum under George W. Bush, eager to build a legacy around his HIV work. As a candidate, Obama pledged to keep up the fight, culminating in the White House ceremony a month ago when it was announced the ban would end Jan. 4."

_____
brubin@tribune.com

HB - U.S. lifts travel ban on scholars

From my archive of press clippings:

Houston Belief

U.S. lifts travel ban on scholars


By DANIEL BURKE RELIGION NEWS SERVICE

Jan. 28, 2010, 5:56PM

WASHINGTON — The State Department said recently that two prominent Muslim intellectuals will no longer be barred from traveling to the U.S. based on past accusations that they had supported terrorism.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed orders allowing Tariq Ramadan and Adam Habib to reapply for U.S. visas, said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley."

&

"He had donated about $1,000 to a Swiss-based charity that gave funds to Hamas, the militant Palestinian group, according to The New York Times, but denied knowledge of the charity's ties to Hamas."

AP - Paraguay named illegal immigrant to consular post

From my archive of press clippings:

AP


Paraguay named illegal immigrant to consular post

By PEDRO SERVIN (AP) – 4 days ago

ASUNCION, Paraguay — Paraguay named an undocumented U.S. immigrant to run its consulate in New York, discovering his illegal status only when the man returned home to get his diplomatic papers and was denied a U.S. visa.

Read the whole article here.

___
Associated Press Writer Cristian Salazar in New York contributed to this report.
(This version CORRECTS name to Centro Paraguayo, sted Casa Paraguaya)

NYT - Adopted From Korea and in Search of Identity

From my archive of press clippings:

New York Times

Adopted From Korea and in Search of Identity


By RON NIXON

Published: November 8, 2009

As a child, Kim Eun Mi Young hated being different.

DIFFERENT Kim Eun Mi Young in an undated photo with her brothers, David, left, and Shawn. Growing up, she says, “at no time did I consider myself anything other than white.”

J. Michael Short for The New York Times

Kim Eun Mi Young in her San Antonio home with family photographs and mementos.

When her father brought home toys, a record and a picture book on South Korea, the country from which she was adopted in 1961, she ignored them.

Growing up in Georgia, Kansas and Hawaii, in a military family, she would date only white teenagers, even when Asian boys were around.

Read the whole article here.

WP - Swine Flu

From my archive of press clippings:

Washington Post


Swine Flu

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

In the Health section's special report on swine flu last week, we posed some common questions to Andrew Pekosz, an associate professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. As readers submit further questions, he will continue to offer answers.
-- Rachel Saslow

Read the whole article here.

re: "Bright American Future"

John at World-Wide-Matel ("My personal observations and opinions. I write about what was happening around me and this blog reflects my idiosyncratic interests.") discusses changing American demographics.

Money quote(s):

"We need more Engineers & plumbers and fewer leaf blowers & Lawyers

We Americans screw ourselves, however. Canada or Australia favor the skills their countries need. An immigrant with skills has a better chance of getting into those places. Our immigration policies give too little weight to the skills and education we can use in our economy. We are too "fair". We don’t need to import any more unskilled labor or even worse - people who don’t plan to labor at all. We have the right to ask potential immigrants what they will contribute to our country. Besides the relatively small numbers of bona-fides refugees, we have no moral duty to admit anybody. As long as we will limit total numbers and we have a choice, we should choose the best and the brightest, not people we need to train before they can operate a leaf blower. "

JG - DSP questioned in gun probe

From my archive of press clippings:

Jamaica Gleaner

DSP questioned in gun probe


Published: Sunday February 7, 2010


A PROMINENT deputy superintendent (DSP) of police was interrogated yesterday for more than eight hours by senior detectives probing last Thursday's massive gun and ammunition find in the Munster Road community of eastern St Andrew.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"A senior a government official, as well as the police High Command, have confirmed that the DSP was taken into custody. Up to news time last night, he was still being questioned. There are allegations that he was picked up after his home was searched by his colleagues."

&

"Over 11,000 assorted rounds of ammunition and at least 19 guns, believed to have been stolen from the police armoury on Elletson Road, Kingston, were found at a home on Munster Road. A police sergeant who was assigned to the armoury was nabbed at the scene."

SFE - International child abductions tear families apart

From my archive of press clippings:

San Francisco Examiner

International child abductions tear families apart


By: Katie Worth Examiner Staff WriterJanuary 31, 2010

International child abductions have sharply increased nationwide, ripping many families apart and leaving others in search of answers. (AP file photo)


SAN FRANCISCO — Dusk had long since fallen over the jungles of northwestern Honduras, but Lt. Carlos Sanchez could still make out the three children playing in the dirty yard of the bare hut his team had surrounded.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"The children had been abducted from San Francisco by their father in June 2008, and he had carefully hidden them."

"The children were victims of what the U.S. Department of State believes is a growing phenomenon: international child abduction. According to State Department statistics, there are about 3,000 children currently missing who have been abducted by a parent and ensconced out of the U.S. At least 400 of those missing children are from California — about 50 from the Bay Area.

The issue of international child abduction briefly received widespread attention last Christmas when a New Jersey father successfully retrieved his 9-year-old son from Brazil, where his mother had taken him for a visit and never returned. After her death, the boy’s stepfather refused to return him to the U.S. until courts forced him to.

The international press treated the Brazil case as an anomaly. In fact, the number of open international kidnapping cases have doubled in about a decade: In 1998, there were about 1,000 open cases, according to nonprofit Committee for Missing Children. Today, there are about 2,000 open cases, State Department spokesman Ryan Palsrok said."

"The abductions are complicated, because both parents often feel they are right in their actions. Because the abductions are international, multiple countries’ legal systems are often involved, as well as an international body empowered by a 1980 Hague Conference treaty.

According to the treaty, an abducted child must be returned to his or her “country of habitual residence,” whose courts will determine the best outcome for the child."

Tips:

- A well-written custody decree: This can be an important line of defense against international parental child abductions. The decree can include a statement that explicitly prohibits your child from traveling abroad without your permission or that of the court. If the other parent has significant ties to a foreign country, the court can require that parent to post a bond that would be forfeited if they leave with the child.

- Passport Issuance Alert Program: You may ask that the State Department alert you if an application for a U.S. passport for the child is received. Because it is much easier to travel out of the country with a child if the child has a passport, preventing one from being issued can deter international travel.

- Quickly alert the State Department: If the child is in the process of being abducted but is not yet abroad, contact the department’s Office of Children’s Issues. The office can work with law enforcement in the U.S. and in other countries to try to stop the departure of children being abducted from the U.S.

The Office of Children’s Issues can be reached at (202) 736-9090 during working hours, and (888) 407-4747 evenings, holidays and weekends. For additional details on missing children, visit www.missingkids.com. If you have information on a missing child, call (800) 843-5678

Source: U.S. Department of State, Office of Children’s Issues

Unresolved cases
2,000: Open cases of international parental abductions known by the U.S. Department of State
3,000: Children involved in these cases
400: Children taken from California
50: Children taken from the Bay Area
50: Percent increase in cases reported to the State Department in the last two years
62: Countries on six continents where children from California have been taken
Source: U.S. Department of State

______
kworth@sfexaminer.com

Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/International-child-abductions-tear-families-apart-83080057.html#ixzz0eJ8ijE9k

re: "Not just visas"

Digger at Life After Jerusalem ("The musings of a Two-Spirit American Indian, Public Diplomacy-coned Foreign Service Officer") deconstructs Joel Mowbray's piece in the Washington Times.

Money quote(s):

"(I)ssuing the visa was the appropriate decision. However, even had State revoked the visa the moment his father raised concerns, this would not have affected his ability to get onto the flight because he still had in his passport a visa that looked valid. Airlines don't have access to our visa records for understandable security reasons, and we don't have DHS agents at every overseas airport in the world. So the first place that it could have been noticed that his visa had been revoked would have been at the U.S. border. and his attack occurred long before that."

Which doesn't fit Mr. Mowbray's normal default position of finding State at fault.

"When I took con-gen (the training course for consular officers), I was told that for tourist visas you start at no. All applicants are to be presumed to be intending immigrants until they can prove otherwise."

Under Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (as amended), every applicant for a non-immigrant visa (NIV) must be considered to be an intending immigrant (and thus inelible to receive a non-immigrant visa) unless they convince the interviewing consular officer of their qualifications and non-immigrant bona fides. Period.

There are specific categories of NIV where this doesn't apply (such as fiancee visas for persons who're traveling to the U.S. in order to marry their U.S. citizen intended and who will adjust status to Legal Permanent Resident once the ink's dry on their marriage certificate), but for tourism and business travel it's square one.

"I think this is the default position for every officer working the visa window, especially those of us who joined after 9/11. Because no one wants to be part of letting that happen again. We all jumped through a lot of hoops to join the Foreign Service because we love this country and wanted to serve it."

JO - Time to care again for Caricom

From my archive of press clippings:

Jamaica Observer

Time to care again for Caricom

Sir Ronald Sanders

Sunday, April 26, 2009


IT seems that every time the countries of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (Caricom) make one step forward in the quest for deeper integration, they take two steps backward, and the goal becomes even more elusive.

Sir Ronald Sanders

There have been several recent manifestations of this, one of them being the approach to ALBA - the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas - created by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"One member government of Caricom is formally a member of ALBA and two others have indicated that they might join the organisation.
The government that has joined ALBA is Dominica and the governments that have announced their intention to do so are St Vincent & the Grenadines and Antigua & Barbuda."

"The known members of ALBA are: Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Dominica.

When ALBA was conceived, it was not a treaty organisation and its principles resided in economic co-operation arrangements which appeared to benefit countries that joined it with Venezuela being the principal donor."

&

"Since then, however, a military dimension has crept into the organisation. Both Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega have argued that the member countries of ALBA "should work to form a joint defence strategy and start joining our armed forces, air forces, armies, navies, National Guards, and intelligence forces, because the enemy is the same, the empire (meaning the United States)"."

_____


Responses to: ronaldsanders29@hotmail.com

Sir Ronald Sanders is a consultant and former Caribbean diplomat.

JG - The Earl of Trident

From my archive of press clippings:

Jamaica Gleaner

The Earl of Trident


Published: Sunday April 26, 2009


Contributed photos

LEFT: Guests and staff huddle for a group picture at Trident Castle following Earl Levy's Easter Sunday lunch.

RIGHT: Host Earl Levy (left) and friend, Charles Hanna, before lunch on Easter Sunday, at Trident Castle.


Chester Francis-Jackson, Contributor


He is known and celebrated internationally and nationally as a world-class architect. His creations stand like pillars of good taste and unimpeachable style in the preferred neighbours of upper St Andrew, such as Old Stony Hill and the 'Golden Triangle' and its environs, and are to be found in the more exclusive resort neighbourhoods outside of Kingston.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"Years later, the Trident Castle was added to the Trident Hotel and Villas portfolio, adding just the right touch of élan and fantasy to the skyline and social stratosphere of Port Antonio. Though some thought it somewhat quirky at the time, the Trident Castle, was a stroke of marketing brilliance, adding as it did another dimension of fantasy and escape to the product and fast became not just a favourite get-away for the wealthy and famous, but was greeted with enthusiasm by the residents. They see the castle as a worthy landmark, helping to cement the status of their neighbourhood as a preferred destination.

Still king

Well, today, Port Antonio, Jamaica, is still the preferred destination of the international 'A-crowders', particularly so among European nobles, their scions and the very wealthy. The Trident Hotel and Villas have changed ownership, but Levy, is still king of his Castle. And on Easter Sunday, he threw open its doors and hosted what was a most delightful lunch that was so fabulous, it's still the buzz all over!
Luvs, the Trident Castle is not only a legendary Jamaican landmark, it has made of its owner and builder a celebrated figure in Port Antonio where he is reverentially referred to as The Earl of Trident. This is a sign of respect for his vision and accomplishments. It has earned him quite the grudging respect of many a titled Europeans, who has come to regard it as creative architectural intervention, adding to the appeal
and diversification of the appeal of sun and beach."

JG - Falmouth port gets nod from investors

From my archive of press clippings:

Jamaica Gleaner

Falmouth port gets nod from investors

Published: Sunday April 26, 2009

ContributedThe latest rendering of the historic Falmouth port.


Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer


WESTERN BUREAU:


After months of trying to secure money for the construction of the island's cruise ship port in Falmouth, Trelawny, The Sunday Gleaner has been told that the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) is wrapping up debt-financing proposals from three international government banks.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"The Export Import Bank of the United States Government, in addition to the Belgian and Danish governments, have shown keen interest in the US$250-million project, one of the port's developers, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCCL) confirmed to The Sunday Gleaner at the just-concluded Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference (CHTIC) in Hamilton, Bermuda."

"Falmouth is one of three projects being developed by RCCL for a western Caribbean itinerary, which includes Labadde, a private destination in Haiti and Cozumel in Mexico. The cruise company, in its proposal to the Jamaican Government, has committed to bring in a minimum of 400,000 passengers annually for the next 20 years. An average cruise ship passenger spends US$105 per person per port."

&

"The project is broken down into two components: The marine works, which include the pier and terminal building; and the land side project "which will feature a variety of business entities to be housed in structures", including shops, entertainment and restaurants that mimic Georgian style architecture. It is understood that some of the work to be done by Royal Caribbean could include renovation of historic structures at Hampden Wharf and Tharpe House.""


_____



Janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com

JG - WARNING IGNORED! Despite airport-security audit prior to attempted hijacking, Jamaican authorities failed to plug loopholes

From my archive of press clippings:

Jamaica Gleaner

WARNING IGNORED! Despite airport-security audit prior to attempted hijacking, Jamaican authorities failed to plug loopholes

Published: Sunday April 26, 2009

>Glenroy Sinclair, Assignment Coordinator


THE CRACKS and weaknesses in the security systems at the island's two international airports were identified long before 21-year-old Stephen Fray armed himself with a gun, walked through the critical checkpoints and attempted to hijack a CanJet aircraft at the Sangster International Airport, St James, a week ago.

Read the whole article here.

SI - U.S. bill aims to make it tough to hire foreigners

From my archive of press clippings:

Silicon India

U.S. bill aims to make it tough to hire foreigners

By IANS
Sunday,26 April 2009, 20:13 hrs

Washington: Two U.S. senators have introduced a bill to make it tougher for American firms to employ foreign professionals under its H-1B and L1 visa programmes utilised the most by Indians and the Chinese.

Snippet(s):

"Indian professionals followed by those from China account for the maximum number of H-1Bs visa designed to bring highly skilled professionals here. L1 B visas are for skilled workers."

&

"Despite an extension of date twice, only 44,000 H-1B visa applications have been received against the existing cap of 65,000."

S&S - General, on tour, says AFRICOM does not look to dominate

From my archive of press clippings:

Stars and Stripes

General, on tour, says AFRICOM does not look to dominate


By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes


European edition, Sunday, May 17, 2009

John Vandiver / S&S

During a question and answer session with Gen. William “Kip” Ward at Politecnica University in Maputo, Mozambique, student Miguel Prista asked what the U.S. intends to accomplish with U.S. Africa Command. His theory was that the command was formed as part of an attempt toward global domination, but Ward said the purpose of his command centers on helping African countries develop more capacity to provide for their own security.

MAPUTO, Mozambique — In an auditorium of academicians, diplomats and defense attaches, a bearded student took the microphone and went off on a monologue.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"During a question-and-answer session with Gen. William "Kip" Ward, the Portuguese-speaking Maputo resident let loose on his theories about the United States and its intentions with U.S. Africa Command. AFRICOM isn’t about building partnerships, but rather another means for U.S. to achieve global domination, Prista argued.

Prista’s long speech and multipart question elicited a succinct response from Ward, the AFRICOM commander

"That’s a quick one for me," Ward said. "We do not seek to dominate." "

&

"During his visit in Maputo, Ward met with military and political leaders to discuss areas where the U.S. can support efforts of the military to build its security capacity. The general has been having similar discussions in the past week with leaders from other southeast African countries.
But on a continent with a long history of colonialism and having its natural resources plundered by outsiders, the notion that American interests are restricted to helping Africans provide for their own security appears to be a hard sell at times."

S&S - Lawmakers seek better job security for guardsmen, reservists

Stars and Stripes

Lawmakers seek better job security for guardsmen, reservists


By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes

Mideast edition, Saturday, April 25, 2009


WASHINGTON — Lawmakers on Tuesday pushed for stronger legal protection for guardsmen and reservists looking to return to their civilian jobs without penalty after mobilization, saying the government owes them that security.

Snippet(s):

"That law prohibits employers of guardsmen and reservists from firing them, cutting their pay or changing their benefits when they are called to active-duty service. But veterans groups complain that too often businesses ignore those rules with little or no consequence."

"Davis’ said his bill and companion legislation introduced by Sen. Bob Casey Jr., D-Pa., would add "more teeth" to the existing USERRA rules. The measure would for the first time allow punitive damages in such disputes, instead of limiting reservists to only actual lost wages."

&

"The legislation would also allow USERRA cases against private employers to be heard in state courts, instead of just federal courts. Bocceri said that could dramatically cut down on the typical three-year wait that reservists face in employment disputes.

State governments would also be held to the same standards as private companies under the measure, and wage discrimination related to a reservist’s deployment would be specifically outlawed."

JG - Welcome! Our doors are open

From my archive of press clippings:

Jamaica Gleaner

Welcome! Our doors are open


Published: Sunday May 17, 2009


Winston Sill/Freelance PhotographerMarco Vinicio Ruiz, minister of foreign trade, Costa Rica.


COSTA RICA is the first Central American country to establish a free-trade agreement with Caribbean Community (CARICOM) states. The Jamaican Parliament is still to ratify the agreement.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"The Central American economic powerhouse of 50,000 square kilometres and 4.5 million people exports 4,000 products to 150 countries. Costa Rican companies export 60 per cent of their production. The country's per capita income of US$10,000 is the highest in Central America."

S&S - Author of report that cited vet threat to be replaced

From my archive of press clippings:

Stars and Stripes

Author of report that cited vet threat to be replaced


Stars and Stripes

Mideast edition, Saturday, April 25, 2009


A Homeland Security official reportedly responsible for a controversial report suggesting military veterans could be recruited by extremists in the U.S. is being replaced, the Washington Times reported Friday.

Snippet(s):

"The report was titled "Right-wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment."

Under the heading "Disgruntled Military Veterans," the report said "right-wing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat.""

JG - Airport drug bust

From my archive of press clippings:

Jamaica Gleaner

Airport drug bust


Published: Sunday May 17, 2009


Llewellyn


CUSTOMS OFFICIALS, assisted by narcotics and other law enforcement personnel, seized more than 165 pounds of cocaine and 175 pounds of compressed ganja at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James, yesterday morning.

Read the whole article here.

BW - H1B Visa Law: Trying Again

From my archive of press clippings:


Business Week

H1B Visa Law: Trying Again


April 24, 2009, 12:01AM EST


Senators Dick Durbin and Charles Grassley plan to reintroduce legislation aimed at curbing abuses of the H-1B visa program


By Moira Herbst


Two U.S. senators are reintroducing legislation aimed at revamping the H-1B visa program for guest workers in the U.S., at a time of rising unemployment and growing evidence that the program has been marred by fraud. Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) hope that the bill, "The H-1B and L-1 Visa Fraud & Prevention Act of 2009," has a better chance of passing now than when they originally introduced it in 2007.

Snippet(s):

"The bill would not reduce the number of H-1B visas—now 85,000 per year—but contains provisions to increase oversight and enforcement and discourage outsourcing of H-1B visa holders. It also requires all employers seeking to hire an H-1B visa holder to pledge that they have made a "good faith" effort to hire American workers first, and that the H-1B visa holder will not displace an American worker. Under current law, only heavy users of the program must make such a pledge."

"Microsoft came under fire in January when it announced it would lay off 5,000 workers while continuing to seek H-1B visas. On the company's first-quarter earnings call on Apr. 23, Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said the company wants to add 2,000 to 3,000 new jobs in "higher growth" areas over the next 18 months. He said Microsoft's overall applications for H-1B visas are down about 20% and new-hire visas down 40% from last year."

"The introduction of the bill comes as concern has spread about the H-1B program's susceptibility to fraud. In October, the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services released a report stating that 13% of H-1B visa applications are fraudulent and another 7% contain some form of technical violations."

continued

(page 2 of 2)

"The new bill calls for the Labor Dept. to conduct random audits of at least 1% of companies using the H-1B program, and would require the agency to conduct annual audits of companies with more than 100 employees that have 15% or more of those workers on H-1B visas. The bill also authorizes 200 additional Labor Dept. employees to administer, oversee, investigate, and enforce guest worker programs such as H-1B. The bill would also require that employers advertise a job opening for 30 days on a Labor Dept. Web site before seeking a visa for such a position. It would also forbid employers from advertising a job as available only for H-1B visa holders."

&

"The bill also includes a number of changes to the L-1 visa program, which is used for intracompany transfers of employees for up to seven years. It would establish for the first time a process for Labor Dept. officials to investigate, audit, and penalize L-1 visa abuses."

_____

Herbst is a reporter for BusinessWeek in New York.

Seasons Greetings

Happy holidays, whatever they might be, wherever you find yourself.

ST - Passports made easy

Seattle Times

Passports made easy

Originally published Sunday, November 29, 2009 at 12:05 AM

Need a passport? You can get one more easily on Dec. 5 when the federal Seattle Passport Agency hosts a special "Passport Day" at its downtown...

By Kristin Jackson

Seattle Times travel staff

Need a passport? You can get one more easily on Dec. 5 when the federal Seattle Passport Agency hosts a special "Passport Day" at its downtown office.

Read the whole article here.

Kristin Jackson: kjackson@seattletimes.com

Ruedesheim fixer-upper

Taken in Ruedesheim, Germany, on April 14, 2006.