13 Articles Worth Reading
13 Articles Worth Reading
Date: Wednesday, June 01, 2005 1:09 PM
JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER
by Rob Sanchez
June 01, 2005 No. 1269
Article 1:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/15/AR2005051500302.html
Mexico's Fox Draws Fire for Racial Comment
President Vicente Fox came under criticism Saturday after saying
Mexicans were willing to take jobs "that not even blacks want to do in
the United States."
Article 2:
http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzreut4263249may17,0,4212836,print.story?coll=ny-business-headlines
Union protests over outsourced news
Union employees at Reuters are stepping up their campaign against the
wire service's outsourcing of U.S. jobs, most recently transferring the
editing and caption writing of photos to its Singapore office and some
Internet work to Toronto.
Article 3:
http://www.suntimes.com/output/mitchell/cst-nws-mitch19.html
Jackson let Fox off hook too easy for racist remark
Vicente Fox put his foot in his mouth. Now, the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.
has rushed to Mexico to help him take it out. This is what Fox told an
audience of Texas businessmen: "There is no doubt that Mexicans, full
of pride, willpower and desire to work, are doing jobs over there that
not even blacks want to do."
And I'd like to know: What jobs does Fox think blacks don't want to do?
Article 4:
http://washingtontimes.com/commentary/20050520-081036-5342r.htm
Guest worker morass
Sen. Ted Kennedy may do a lot of talking about his love for the little
guy, but if two major proposals he made in this Congress were to become
law, it would be a disaster for the poorest workers and a blow to
American freedom.
Article 5:
http://www.coaflcio.org/NJ%20Governor%20Barrs%20Outsourcing.htm
NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR SIGNS BILL BARRING OUTSOURCING OF STATE CONTRACTS
Legislation (S. 494) signed by acting New Jersey Gov. Richard J. Codey
(D) May 5th requires that services performed under state contracts or
subcontracts must be performed within the United States, unless no
local contractor can supply the service.
Article 6:
http://newswithviews.com/Wooldridge/frosty57.htm
AMERICAS DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS
Have you ever cut your finger while slicing an onion? How about a
scrape on your elbow when you fell? Ever suffer sunburn? What happened
when you suffered a bloody nose? Have you ever cut a major artery where
you could have bled to death? Today, America bleeds to death by a
thousand cuts. Were bleeding from every sector of our society. At
some point, the United States of America cannot and will not survive
the bleeding.
Article 7:
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/May-29-Sun-2005/news/26624597.html
WORKING IN AMERICA: Card Games
Needing ID cards to get U.S. jobs, illegal immigrants willing to take
risks to obtain fake documents
Earlier this month, I took my new immigration document and Social
Security card to the Culinary union hall to find out whether I could
get a job as Cristina Perez. I was guided to the desk of an orientation
specialist who asked for my identification. I handed her the permanent
resident card, commonly called a green card though it's not green, and
the Social Security card. She looked at them for less than two seconds
before replying in Spanish. "You're papers aren't good, right?" I shook
my head and dramatically put a hand to my forehead, feigning anxiety at
being caught. "Don't worry, don't feel bad," she assured me.
Article 8:
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050530/main7.htm
Indian call centre workers face racial abuse, quit
Alleged racial abuse and rude behaviour from British and American
customers are driving an increasing number of Indian call centre
workers to quit their jobs, a media report indicated today.
Article 9:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0505/S00473.htm
CAFTA and its Discontents
In a last ditch effort by the White House, six Central American
presidents visited Washington on May 12 to lobby for congressional
backing of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which
would eliminate all bilateral trade barriers to the U.S. and those
protecting Central American markets. In spite of massive protests by
labor rights groups throughout the hemisphere, the Bush administration
hails CAFTA as a solvent to spread democracy and fight poverty.
Article 10:
http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?chklogin=N&autono=190149&lselect=1&leftnm=lmnu9&leftindx=9
Bank of America plans BPO centre in Mumbai
Bank of America (BoA) is setting up its second outsourcing centre in
India to undertake market research for its global capital markets and
investment banking divisions. The centre, which is coming up at Andheri
in Mumbai, will have a capacity to seat around 500 people.
Recommended Links (text not provided in this newsletter):
Article 11:
http://www.vdare.com/rubenstein/050519_nd.htm
Young College Graduates Are Struggling. Guess One (Unmentionable)
Reason By Edwin S. Rubenstein
Article 12:
http://www.vdare.com/roberts/050520_hearing.htm
Statement for US-China Commission Hearing, May 19, 2005
By Paul Craig Roberts
Article 13:
http://www.vdare.com/guzzardi/050513_vfl.htm
View From Lodi, CA: Microsoft And Intel - Profit Without Honor
By Joe Guzzardi
1. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/15/AR2005051500302.html
Mexico's Fox Draws Fire for Racial Comment
By MORGAN LEE
The Associated Press
Sunday, May 15, 2005; 11:05 AM
MEXICO CITY -- President Vicente Fox came under criticism Saturday
after saying Mexicans were willing to take jobs "that not even blacks
want to do in the United States."
Fox's remark Friday came a day after Mexico announced it would formally
protest recent U.S. immigration reforms, including the decision to
extend walls along the border and make it harder for illegal migrants
to get driver's licenses.
"There's no doubt that the Mexican men and women _ full of dignity,
willpower and a capacity for work _ are doing the work that not even
blacks want to do in the United States," Fox told a meeting of the
Texas-Mexico Frozen Food Council in the western city of Puerto Vallarta
on Friday.
The Mexican newspaper Milenio cited "Vicente Fox's racist comment" in a
small front-page headline, while the newspaper Reforma called the
president's words "controversial."
The Rev. Jesse Jackson told CNN that the comments were "unwitting,
unnecessary and inappropriate."
He said the president "should not confuse the need for sound legal
immigration policy between the two countries, which is important, and
the border disputes between the two countries, with a spurious
comparison."
Mexico's foreign relations secretary, Luis Derbez, said Fox was not
motivated by racism but was emphasizing that "Mexican migrants are
making great contributions in the United States and that their role is
a positive role."
2. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Members of the Newspaper Guild-Communications Workers of America have
distributed leaflets outside Reuters' office in Times Square. Critical
ads also have been placed in Investor's Business Daily and the Columbia
Journalism Review, and more are planned for the Web.
To support their position that outsourcing undermines the quality of
Reuters' journalism, union activists point to a string of high-profile
errors, most originating from a small newsroom set up last year in
Bangalore, India. The errors include misidentification of the Polish
city of Krakow as being in Portugal and saying Army Reservist Lynndie
England, who was involved in the prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq, was
commander of her unit rather than a private.
Reuters executives acknowledged that some mistakes had occurred but
said the "error rate" from Bangalore didn't exceed company guidelines.
They also said the wire service's "migration" of jobs to Asia and
Canada from here and Britain is about more than cost-savings and
involves boosting the number of stories and graphic images available to
newspapers, Web sites and other customers.
Union official and editor John Phillips, who handed out leaflets
Friday, said news consumers should be concerned about Reuters' offshore
initiative because "it affects the quality of your news. ... You have
to cover the news from where the news is happening, not from thousands
of miles away."
No guild member has received a pink slip because of outsourcing, but
six to eight are "at risk" - primarily in the Washington office -
because of last month's opening of the global photo-editing desk in
Singapore, according to Bill O'Meara, secretary-treasurer of the
union's New York local. It represents about 450 Reuters employees and
has been in protracted contract negotiations for more than two years.
A Reuters spokeswoman said outsourcing would not reduce its pool of
journalists, which totals 2,300 worldwide, but that some of the 100
affected workers may leave because they don't like their new
assignments.
"The actual number of job losses have been minimal" in New York City,
said global managing editor David Schlesinger. "We are just trying to
make better use of the resources we have and to add even more content."
Schlesinger also said he was offended by the guild's suggestion - which
the union has denied - that American journalists are superior to their
foreign counterparts. The wire service remains committed to
"on-the-ground reporting, but some stories can be done very well by
telephone or by reading something on the Internet," he said from India.
The experiment begun last year to have earnings reports and other news
from small U.S. companies handled by the Bangalore office has been
expanded to 30 journalists from six. Separately, graphics for Latin
America, once produced in Miami, have been farmed out to a regional
vendor.
These moves are part of a cost-cutting plan aimed at making
London-based Reuters more competitive with rivals such as Bloomberg and
Dow Jones. Hundreds of information-technology jobs have been moved
overseas, to Thailand and India, including at least 40 from Reuters'
offices in Hauppauge and Lake Success, where as recently as a year ago
at least 450 people worked.
Reuters is believed to be the first big media company to embrace
outsourcing, but it probably won't be the last, according to experts.
Linda Foley, president of the 35,000-member Newspaper Guild, said, "If
a sterling news organization like Reuters can do this, can others be
far behind?"
3. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.suntimes.com/output/mitchell/cst-nws-mitch19.html
Jackson let Fox off hook too easy for racist remark
May 19, 2005
BY MARY MITCHELL SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
Vicente Fox put his foot in his mouth. Now, the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.
has rushed to Mexico to help him take it out. It just makes you wonder.
What Mexico's president said during a speech last week was not only
offensive to blacks, it was racist. Fox, who is critical of U.S. policy
banning illegal immigrants from obtaining a U.S. drivers license,
repeated an ugly racial stereotype that some Mexican-Americans hold
about black people.
This is what Fox told an audience of Texas businessmen:
"There is no doubt that Mexicans, full of pride, willpower and desire
to work, are doing jobs over there that not even blacks want to do."
Obviously, Fox sees black Americans as the lowest in American society.
It is the not even that got to me. His choice of words says so much
about the Mexican perspective of blacks. What gives him the right to
put down black people?
He has bought into the stereotype of the shiftless, lazy black and the
lie that blacks as a group aren't further ahead in this country because
they don't work hard enough.
Eager and ready
Instead of addressing this in-your-face racism, Jackson, the preeminent
civil rights leader, flew to Mexico for Wednesday's meeting so that Fox
could clarify his remarks -- and possibly appear on his radio show, and
participate in Rainbow/PUSH Coalition's convention in June.
This year, instead of entertainer Bill Cosby beating up on low-income
black parents for raising rotten kids, Fox could chastise black people
for not wanting to work as hard as Mexicans.
I'm especially frustrated by the way Jackson responded to Fox, because
working-class black people have long complained about not being able to
find low-wage jobs. And when you throw in the barriers to employment
that felons have to overcome, then we already know where this is
heading.
Black people aren't blind.
They walk past construction sites and they see who's being hired, and
it's not them. They see whites. They see Latinos. They don't see
blacks.
They eat in restaurants and notice that there are fewer black
waitresses and waiters, and that the person in the kitchen cooking up
the soul food is from Mexico, not Mississippi.
And I'd like to know: What jobs does Fox think blacks don't want to do?
Is he talking nannies and butlers? Is he talking about maids,
waitresses, dishwashers and cooks? Black people would be more than
willing to do these jobs if employers hired them. That's the real
problem.
Fox was more than insensitive. He was wrong. And Jackson should have
said he was wrong.
Too many moving-on-up black folks think like Fox. They see blacks
hanging on the corner in front of the liquor store and see blacks who
don't want to work. They don't see blacks with criminal records. And
they don't see blacks with limited education who could dig a ditch same
as a Mexican immigrant, but don't get hired.
Why hire a black man when an undocumented worker will work longer hours
for less pay under the worst conditions?
An occasional critic of my column, A.J. Fox (no relation to Vicente
Fox), set me off about this when he called me up just to tell me to go
easy on the Mexican president.
"Why should he apologize when what he said is true?" A.J. said.
That's the sort of reasoning that has kept me from becoming a
Republican. Because this politically conservative brother pulled
himself up by his bootstraps and wasn't too proud to wash a dish or
flip a burger, he is extremely hard on the brothers who stand on the
corner and sell drugs.
He forgets there are lazy people in every race.
Drive over to a Latino neighborhood and you will see young men who
would rather sell drugs than get up at 4 a.m. and go to work like their
parents did.
How quickly we forget.
Black people have paid their dues.
Generations of black people picked cotton, washed dishes, shined shoes,
swept floors, pushed strollers and lifted bales. And they were
exploited like undocumented immigrants are being exploited today. Even
so, only the desperate want to get up and go to a low-skill job every
day.
No apology
Most of the houses on my block are owned or rented by Mexicans. And I
agree with Fox -- they get up pretty early in the morning to go to
work. But I haven't seen one of them leap for joy when they leave for
work and it's barely light outside.
Mexicans may very well be full of pride and willpower and the desire to
work, but they wear the same beat-down look everyone else wears when
they are in a low-wage, manual labor job.
Jackson met with Fox to patch up the "misunderstanding," the foreign
papers reported, but with Jackson leading the charge, I doubt if the
real conversation that needs to take place will ever happen.
And Fox didn't apologize for his remarks.
I don't know whether to blame this shortcoming on machismo or
ignorance.
4. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://washingtontimes.com/commentary/20050520-081036-5342r.htm
Guest worker morass
By Terence P. Jeffrey
Published May 21, 2005
Sen. Ted Kennedy may do a lot of talking about his love for the little
guy, but if two major proposals he made in this Congress were to become
law, it would be a disaster for the poorest workers and a blow to
American freedom.
Some American workers would lose their jobs, while others would see
their wages suppressed by the legalized mass importation of foreign
workers who would be allowed into the United States precisely because
they had agreed ahead of time to sell their labor here for less than an
American would.
Mr. Kennedy's first major proposal, narrowly defeated in the Senate
in March, would have increased the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to
$7.25 an hour. That would have thrown some Americans off the bottom
rung of the employment ladder.
His second proposal, introduced last week, would provide amnesty to
illegal aliens while creating a permanent, ongoing guest-worker program
to fill -- as a summary on Mr. Kennedy's Web site puts it -- "jobs that
require few or no skills."
This would thrust the American employment ladder down into Mexico
and other underdeveloped regions of the world, so workers who are
accustomed to laboring for Third World wages could routinely, legally
and in massive numbers climb into the U.S. job market and compete
directly with American workers for pay and positions. Mr. Kennedy's
minimum-wage increase would have effectively cut demand for low-wage
labor. His guest-worker program would increase supply. Both would cost
jobs for the poorest Americans.
When promoting his plan to increase the minimum wage from $5.15 an
hour to $7.25, Mr. Kennedy attacked rich executives for not
volunteering to pay more than the market demands to their lowest-paid
workers. "What is fair about executives who pay themselves millions of
dollars but can't find a way to pay a decent minimum wage?" he fumed on
the Senate floor.
But, with his guest-worker program, Mr. Kennedy wants to allow
these same executives to import cheap foreign laborers whenever the
domestic labor market drives the wages of American workers higher level
than the executives want to pay.
Mr. Kennedy is not utterly inconsistent: Both proposals favor
government intervention in the market to fix the price of low-skilled
labor. But while his minimum-wage proposal may be bad economics, his
guest-worker plan is worse: It is un-American.
It would create a new H-5A visa that would allow an alien to live
and work in the United States for three years. This visa would be
renewable once. After that, the employer can sponsor the guest worker
for permanent residency status, or the guest worker can apply for that
status himself. But to get the visa in the first place, the alien must
be willing to take a job offered at pay the employer could not get an
American worker to accept. Once in the country, in this low-paying job,
the worker can switch to another job, but he must leave the country if
he is unemployed more than 60 days.
Initially, 400,000 new guest workers would be allowed into the
country each year on this basis. But, according to Mr. Kennedy's
summary, if the demand for these must-be-paid-less-than-American
workers is greater than 400,000 per year, the number can be "adjusted
up."
Until now, the American ideal immigrant has come here with the
ambition to work harder, earn more, save more, perhaps start a business
and succeed in the free-enterprise system. But this entrepreneurial
spirit will not be encouraged among the subclass of guest workers Mr.
Kennedy would create. The bill, says Mr. Kennedy's summary, "prohibits
the hiring of temporary workers as independent contractors."
Writing in National Review in 1998, Mark Krikorian, director of the
Center for Immigration Studies, aptly likened earlier guest-worker
plans of this type to "indentured servitude."
But the worst part of Mr. Kennedy's plan is that it is co-sponsored
by Republicans, including Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who hope to win
the support of President Bush for this plan. "We've used the
president's framework and principles to craft this package," said Mr.
McCain. "And I applaud President Bush for his leadership on this
issue."
No matter who tries to push this package through Congress,
conservatives should return it to sender.
Terence P. Jeffrey is a nationally syndicated columnist.
5. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.coaflcio.org/NJ%20Governor%20Barrs%20Outsourcing.htm
NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR SIGNS BILL BARRING OUTSOURCING OF STATE CONTRACTS
Legislation (S. 494) signed by acting New Jersey Gov. Richard J. Codey
(D) May 5th requires that services performed under state contracts or
subcontracts must be performed within the United States, unless no
local contractor can supply the service.
"Today New Jersey is taking an important step to protect our workers
and keep jobs from going overseas," Codey said in a statement. "With
this bill, we are sending a clear message that if a company wants to
take jobs from our hard working families and send them overseas, then
it will not do business with the state."
The measure codifies Executive Order 129 issued in September 2004 by
then-Gov. James E. McGreevey (D). It provides for exceptions only when
it is certified that a service cannot be performed within the United
States.
Response to Public Outcry
The legislation was crafted in response to a public outcry over a state
contractor's decision in 2002 to set up a customer call center in India
to handle inquiries by New Jersey welfare and food stamp recipients.
The practice of moving jobs overseas to take advantage of lower wages
and benefits, a common trend in the manufacturing sector during the
past few decades, has recently spread to service sector jobs that had
been the main engine of job growth, the governor noted. He said the
largest occupational groups at risk include administrative support
services, information technology, business and financial operations,
and health care.
"Companies that receive multi-million-dollar state contracts should not
have the option of outsourcing jobs at the expense of the economic
viability of the hard-working people of New Jersey," Assemblyman Reed
Gusciora (D), who co-sponsored the measure in the lower chamber, said
in a statement. "The costs saved by businesses that outsource pale in
comparison to the residual cost to the state in terms of job losses and
economic deterioration."
The offshore outsourcing ban applies to the executive and legislative
branches of New Jersey state government and to any independent state
authority, commission or agency authorized to enter into a contract on
behalf of the state. It does not cover county, municipal, or school
district contracts.
The bill, which becomes effective 90 days after enactment, requires the
state treasurer to review all ongoing state contracts to determine
whether any state services are being performed outside the United
States and report these findings to the governor, state lawmakers, and
the public within nine months.
Business Groups Oppose Measure
New Jersey's business community opposed the measure, arguing that it
will drive up costs, eliminate competition in state contracting, and
discourage businesses from creating new jobs in the state.
"These measures are not in step with today's realities," New Jersey
Chamber of Commerce lobbyist Jim Leonard said in a statement. "What
this can do is discourage a major company from doing business in New
Jersey altogether."
But organized labor stood behind the bill, which makes New Jersey the
first state to enact legislation prohibiting the performance of state
funded service contracts by workers in foreign countries, according to
the New Jersey State AFL-CIO.
"The labor movement has worked hard to protect the jobs of workers in
this state and has supported many efforts to make New Jersey a more
friendly environment for companies to do business in," Charles
Wowkanech, president of the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, said in a
statement. "It seems only right that we insist that businesses
contracting with this state, funded by New Jersey taxpayers, keep the
jobs within our borders."
6. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://newswithviews.com/Wooldridge/frosty57.htm
AMERICAS DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS
By Frosty Wooldridge
May 16, 2005
NewsWithViews.com
Have you ever cut your finger while slicing an onion? How about a
scrape on your elbow when you fell? Ever suffer sunburn? What happened
when you suffered a bloody nose? Have you ever cut a major artery where
you could have bled to death?
Today, America bleeds to death by a thousand cuts. Were bleeding
from every sector of our society. At some point, the United States of
America cannot and will not survive the bleeding. Why? Take a look.
Each day, Americans burn 20 million barrels (55 gallons per barrel) of
oil in their cars, but we import over half of that oil from other
countries. Therefore, thats $2.25 per gallon X 55=$123.75 X
10,000,000 barrels, which equals $1,237,500,000.00 we pay other
countries daily. Thats money that never returns to America. Its
like America cutting its wrist. Meanwhile, we have NO energy
conservation policy in America.
Last year, the trade deficit totaled $618 billion according to the New
York Times. Its expected to exceed $700 billion in 2005. Thats
money going out that isnt coming into America.
Brian Williams of NBC stated that the Federal deficit will grow another
$383 billon in 2006. Do you feel your pocketbook bleeding?
What about American enterprise? Recently, General Motors and Ford
suffered their demotion to Junk Bonds. Ironically, Chinas Yuan is
undervalued because its tied to the American dollar, but the Yuan
will jump when it is ultimately pegged to the Euro. Soon, the Euro will
become the new standard for exchange as it displaces the dollar on the
international money markets. But, if GM and Ford collapse, Michigan,
Ohio, Indiana and Illinois will become basket cases because most of
their jobs involve the auto industry.
In the high tech jobs arena, the H-1B, H-2B and L-1 visas were given to
over 1,000,000 foreigners to displace American workers. Who is
responsible? Your congressman and senators! Go to www.numbersusa.com
and check out the report card on your senators or congressman and
youll mostly see Fs.
The hemorrhaging accelerates when you realize that our Federal debt
stands at $7.4 trillion. We pay over $600 million a day in interest
payments. Bush bumped the debt ceiling by $800 million at the first of
the year while borrowing $1.6 billion daily from foreign investors.
Their interest rates bleed us further. Is the fabulously wealthy George
Bush paying that interest? No, you are! The rich get richer and you get
poorer. Further, you, the average American with a credit card carry an
average of $8,000.00 balance (debt) on your credit card. That equals
$2.0 trillion in consumer debt according to CBS News. Added to that
bleeding, youre paying 18 percent APR on that debt credit card debt.
For more bleeding, over 20 million illegals siphon off $68 billion
annually out of your taxpayer pocket as they use our schools, welfare,
medical care and services. Folks, theyre not just picking lettuce
anymore. Theyre taking jobs away from Americans. Harvards
Professor Borjas of economics showed that illegal aliens displace
American workers out of $200 billion in lost wages annually. Were
not talking about a financial nose bleed. Were talking slashed
arteries!
All the while, according to a recent Bears and Sterns report, illegals
work off the books to the tune of $400 billion annually in uncollected
IRS income taxes. Who makes up that money? You do with the blood, sweat
and tears from your working legally in your country. What are the
consequences? For starters California with three million illegals
stands at $38 billion in debt and last year, 86 hospitals and ER wards
bankrupted. Every single state in America is under horrific financial
crisis because of unpaid taxes by illegals and their massive
liabilities. What makes it worse; over three million illegals add their
illegal working hands to the US workforce annually. Feel your life
blood draining?
Home foreclosures and personal bankruptcies stand at an all time high
for American citizens. How about the $80 billion annual price for the
ongoing $30 billion Drug War that has solved nothing? What about the
price of a home today that has doubled in 20 years? How about the $128
billion in cash leaving the USA annually to pay for the drugs coming
across the Mexican border? How about $81 billion just appropriated for
the Iraq War?
In the meantime, this Congress and president promote outsourcing,
insourcing and offshoring of millions of jobs out of the America in a
bloodbath that is cutting the Middle Class in the jugular. Americas
working poor cant find a job at a living wage - so - what happens?
They stand in welfare lines and beg for food stamps. Feel the financial
bloody laceration?
Additionally, illegal aliens send over $56 billion back to their home
countries each year. In other words, they are slashing and slicing the
Golden Goose. Over $15 billion bleeds to Mexico, $25 billion to South
America and $16 billion to Asia. How does that feel when you fill out
your annual income tax filing - thats if you have a job that pays a
living wage?
Last year, America suffered a $230 billion trade deficit with China.
Right now, China is licking its chops as they sell us billions in goods
but buy nothing from us in return. Why? Because weve lost our
manufacturing base which means we have nothing to sell. In fact, China
aims to surpass Japan in total manufacturing output by 2015. By that
time, the United States wont have anything to sell anyone in the
world. How long do we keep spending money we dont have?
Where does that leave you and me? How about boiling to death in a
caldron that is melting down our ability to function as a society?
Were adding SUCH insane debt, we cant pay it off. Where does that
leave us? Were on the edge of a financial cliff with no safety net.
Were playing with fire that will burn us to death. Our Middle Class
is headed for the Low Class. Our working poor are headed for welfare
lines while illegals do the jobs that all Americans would work for a
living wage, but cant because illegal aliens depress wages and steal
jobs. What happens when another 20 million breach our borders and take
even more of our jobs?
How long can we allow our leaders to take us down this path to self
destruction?
America is in deep trouble. We need to replace 33 senators in the 2006
elections because they are deadwood. We need to replace the House of
Representatives in that same election with men and women who will
change course. We need to promote statesmen like Tom Tancredo for
President of the United States. Go to www.teamamericapac.org and
www.newfrontierscoalition.org to get the ball started in your state. If
we dont change the captain and crew of the Titanic, well end up
like the Titanic.
Write for that 28-point action letter to stop this nation-destroying
madness. For you West Coast night owls, every Thursday you can catch
yours truly in Las Vegas, Nevada on Mark Edwards "Wake Up America"
talk show on 50,000watt KDWN-Am-720 10:00 PM to midnight PT, or on the
worldwide internet at www.wakeupamericafoundation.com On the home page,
click on www.americanvoiceradio.com heard around the world. Five nights
a week, Edwards engages patriots from across the nation to bring you
the latest on this nation-destroying invasion. If you are affected by
illegal aliens, please write 600 to 800 words for national publication.
Your name will remain confidential.
7. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/May-29-Sun-2005/news/26624597.html
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Copyright ) Las Vegas Review-Journal
WORKING IN AMERICA: Card Games
Needing ID cards to get U.S. jobs, illegal immigrants willing to take
risks to obtain fake documents
By JULIET V. CASEY
REVIEW-JOURNAL
We rehearsed our cover story during the drive to the Bonanza Indoor
Swap Meet.
Fellow reporter Hernando Amaya, of the Spanish-language weekly El
Tiempo Libre, would pretend to be my uncle, a slightly annoyed
gentleman who wanted to get me the identification cards I would need to
get a job.
After all, if I was going to be living with his family in America, I'd
need to start contributing to the household.
A tall, skinny man with a pock-marked face approached my old black
Honda Civic as we rolled into the swap meet parking lot at Eastern
Avenue and Bonanza Road on a sweltering day in late August. He was
wearing a Freddy Krueger T-shirt, and he called himself "El Moreno,"
Spanish for "the Dark One."
"Do you have help for immigration?" Amaya asked in Spanish.
"Yes, we have all that," El Moreno said with a smile.
He waved us to a nearby parking spot, one outside the view of the
security guards at the swap meet's front door. There, he said he could
provide replicas of government cards that indicate a person is a
permanent resident alien who is eligible to work in this country.
One, called la blanca, or "the white one," cost $220. "It's the newest
thing and we use a laser for the markings," he said in the fast-paced
Spanish that's typical of people from Mexico City.
Another, called la mica, cost $140. "It comes with the photo imprinted
right on it."
There was another card available for $100, but he warned us away from
it. "Basically, they take the picture and just glue it on the card. Not
good."
Amaya and I considered our options.
"So, how's la blanca? Will it get my niece in the door?" Amaya asked,
shooting me a glance.
"Yeah, most any gig will take it," El Moreno said.
"Is that all I need?" I asked in Spanish, leaning over Amaya to get a
better look at our salesman.
"Well, she might need a social, that's like another $30," he told
Amaya, preferring to keep the business between men.
"Would you give me the white card and the social for $220?" Amaya
asked.
After haggling for a few minutes, El Moreno left to consult two men
standing at the front of the market.
They nodded their heads, signifying that $220 was acceptable. El Moreno
then directed us to a booth inside the market where a woman would offer
us "immigration assistance."
"We can't make the ID without a good picture," he said.
The booth advertised portrait photography and "immigration
photographs." Swinging her long black hair over her shoulder, the
proprietor leaned over a glass counter and asked which of us spoke
English.
I gave her a blank look.
"I speak some English," Amaya said.
She said the federal government had just changed the required camera
angle for immigration photos.
Before, the person would be looking slightly to the right. Effective
Aug. 31, the person must look straight at the camera, she advised.
"Fifteen dollars for four," she said.
She motioned for me to sit on a stool before an all-white background,
had me move the wisps of hair covering my ears, then snapped the
picture.
"It'll be ready in eight minutes," she said.
Exactly eight minutes later, she handed me an envelope with the four
passport-size photos.
Amaya and I headed back to the door, where El Moreno was waiting.
He removed two of the photos and asked me to write my name, birth date
and phone number on the back of the envelope.
I jotted down a name I decided on earlier: Cristina Perez.
"So, how long do you think it'll be? Do we pick them up here again?" I
asked.
"Um, no. It's too hot here," El Moreno said, shooting a sideways glance
at the security guard just inside the door. "When they're ready, we'll
call and tell you where to go."
We agreed to the arrangement and Amaya pulled out his wallet.
"So, $200, right?" he said, cutting the price another $20.
"Fine, fine," El Moreno said, shifting uncomfortably in his shoes. He
then suggested we pay him $50 now and the rest when he filled the
order. "I'm not trying to rip you off."
Amaya handed him three 20s, and the salesman gave us a cell phone
number to call if we wanted an update. "Just ask for El Moreno," he
said.
We shook hands with him and headed back to our office.
Amaya and I called El Moreno several times during the next six hours.
Each time, we found him full of apologies and excuses.
Finally, he said the manufacturer had run out of the blue paper for
Social Security cards. He said the whole package would be ready in the
morning, and we arranged to meet at a bus stop less than a block from
the swap meet.
El Moreno greeted us at the bus stop with "la blanca" and more
apologies. His people were still searching for blue paper, and the
Social Security card would take a little longer.
El Moreno insisted we take la blanca, which at first glance appeared
quite official, and give him just $20.
He said he would have the Social Security card by 3 p.m., and pledged
this was not how he typically did business. We should keep him in mind,
he said, if we knew anyone else who needs "immigration help."
He profusely thanked us for not beating him up, saying the last time
the manufacturer ran out of paper, some of his customers took him to a
nearby alley and roughed him up.
As instructed, we went to a pool hall across from the swap meet at 3
p.m. A dozen men sipped beer and took turns at the pool tables as I
glanced around the darkened bar. No El Moreno.
After watching us for several minutes, a stout man with cowboy boots
and a Western-style shirt asked us in Spanish if we were looking for
someone.
"El Moreno," I said.
"Does he have something of yours?" the man asked.
"He was helping us with immigration," Amaya said.
"OK, I'll call him for you," the man said, whipping out a cell phone
into which he mumbled a few words and quickly hung up. "He'll be right
here. Just wait outside."
Less than five minutes later, El Moreno appeared from around the
corner, teetering a bit as he walked. He handed us a brown paper bag
containing the Social Security card and asked for the rest of the
money. He smelled like beer.
Amaya handed him the money. El Moreno shoved it in his pocket and
walked away without a word.
Failing the test
Earlier this month, I took my new immigration document and Social
Security card to the Culinary union hall to find out whether I could
get a job as Cristina Perez.
After first informing a top union official of my plans, I showed up
unannounced at the orientation office. That's where prospective union
members get on the dispatch list for casinos needing a variety of
workers, from chambermaids and dishwashers to porters and waiters.
I was guided to the desk of an orientation specialist who asked for my
identification.
I handed her the permanent resident card, commonly called a green card
though it's not green, and the Social Security card. She looked at them
for less than two seconds before replying in Spanish.
"You're papers aren't good, right?"
I shook my head and dramatically put a hand to my forehead, feigning
anxiety at being caught.
"Don't worry, don't feel bad," she assured me. "I just have to be
honest with you. I can still register you, but you have to know that if
a hotel calls you and has questions about your papers, we can't help
you. Do you still want to sign up?"
I said I did.
She then began to enter my biographical information into the computer.
On several occasions, I had trouble remembering the details of my new
identity. I blurted out the wrong birth date, and I couldn't recite the
nine digits of my phony Social Security number without looking at it.
The worker looked as embarrassed as I was.
"When you go to the hotels," she advised, "you really should have all
this memorized, or they're going to know for sure."
As she continued to type, I asked her how she knew my documents were
fake.
She said the color of the permanent resident alien card was all wrong.
It's supposed to be off-white, almost almond colored. Mine was white
with a pink hue.
The Social Security card was an especially bad replica, she said. The
blue ink wasn't raised, and the lettering appeared faded in spots.
As she finished entering my information into the computer, the worker
recommended I sign on to the dispatch list for chambermaids, a job that
doesn't require a health card from the Clark County Health District.
I thanked her. But instead of heading to the cashier to pay my fee and
sign onto the list, I headed for the office of Wanda Henry, the union's
director of operations.
Henry knew from an earlier phone conversation that I would be there,
trying to pass off my new fake identification cards.
"Basically, when people present bad documents, there's nothing we can
do," Henry said.
She produced a U.S. Department of Labor sheet that tells human resource
offices what documents they are required to ask for to determine
whether a person is eligible to work in the country.
"If you can produce what we're looking for, we'll take it and that's
all there is to it," she said. "There's nothing we can do about the
phonies. We're not an authority and we don't want to be accused of
discrimination. If a company finds it and determines it was a fake, we
can't help you."
The Culinary union tries to verify Social Security numbers, but will
question the applicant only if more than one name pops up when their
number is entered.
"At that point, we tell them, `We can't register you,' " she said.
My Social Security number apparently was fictitious and hadn't been
issued to anyone else.
Henry said workers hired directly by union hotels often are referred to
the union offices, where they present documents of equally suspect
quality.
The obvious signs
Eager to see whether my fake identification would pass inspection by a
police officer, I next visited Las Vegas police Lt. Steve Franks, who
oversees document forgery and identity theft investigations.
He said major flaws were immediately visible to a forgery detective.
For instance, the gold lettering on the permanent resident alien card
was too bright and several spelling and grammatical errors were
obvious.
Other problems were instantly apparent under a magnifying glass.
On the back of a legitimate card, a magnifying glass will reveal gold
specks that spell out letters and numbers. My card had tiny gold
specks, but they didn't form any numbers or letters.
Also, a magnifying glass will reveal a row of tiny international flags
along the bottom of an authentic permanent resident card. On the fake,
the flags appeared blurred.
On the Social Security card, Franks made similar observations as the
union officials had. The blue print wasn't raised, and the signature
line, which under the magnifying glass would reveal miniscule numbers
and letters, instead was just a blue line with a few tiny breaks in it.
"If you showed these cards to a regular police officer or to someone
who doesn't handle them all the time, they would pass scrutiny," he
said.
But, he added, they would not fool anyone experienced with the
legitimate documents.
8. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050530/main7.htm
Indian call centre workers face racial abuse, quit
London, May 29
Alleged racial abuse and rude behaviour from British and American
customers are driving an increasing number of Indian call centre
workers to quit their jobs, a media report indicated today.
Irate customers and their "racial abuses" were factors contributing to
the stress and strain in the call centre industry and some
organisations have begun employing psychiatrists and counsellors to
help their employees to cope, according to a report in The Observer.
"Ive had people tell me, Back off ... and dont call me
again", said Eugene, 27, whose former employer, Spectrumind,
provided an accounts services for BT. "There was a lot of racist abuse
once people detected from our accents that we werent English. I saw
girls reduced to tears by it."
Pooja Chopra, 29, from Delhi, who spent two years fielding calls for BT
Cellnet and America Online, faced similar abuse. "People would say ...
I dont want to talk to you, pass me to someone who can speak my
language."
Workers face a spectrum of rudeness-from sexual harassment to fury at
unsolicited sales calls, to "open racism", the report said.
Industry analysts have seen the phenomenon of "racist" clients grow in
recent years, as customers in the UK and the US become increasingly
sensitive to the political issue of jobs outsourced to India, it said.
According to the report, there are no unions yet to represent the
350,000 workers in the Indian call centre business, but unionist Gautam
Mody, who is trying to launch the first call centre workers
collective, said this was a problem that needed to be addressed
urgently abroad.
"Some workers are deeply hurt by this abuse. The issue of xenophobia
cannot be resolved from India-end: there must be a battle against it in
the countries responsible."
The report quoted Anita Bhuttar, training vice-president of GTL, a
Mumbai-based company, as saying that "British customers can be very
rude but in a polite way. Usually they wont use abusive language but
you can tell from the tone of their voice theyre angry." -- PTI
9. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0505/S00473.htm
CAFTA and its Discontents
Tuesday, 31 May 2005, 10:06 am
Column: Council on Hemispheric Affairs
CAFTA and its Discontents
In a last ditch effort by the White House, six Central American
presidents visited Washington on May 12 to lobby for congressional
backing of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which
would eliminate all bilateral trade barriers to the U.S. and those
protecting Central American markets.
In spite of massive protests by labor rights groups throughout the
hemisphere, the Bush administration hails CAFTA as a solvent to spread
democracy and fight poverty.
CAFTA is Washingtons answer to the perceived threat to the U.S.
economy posed by South Americas new-left movement and Chinas
growing industrial power and its search without respite for new energy
resources.
If NAFTA is to serve as the model to CAFTA, rough times lie ahead for
Central American farmers and day workers.
In an unprecedented trip on May 12, the presidents of Costa Rica, the
Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua
visited Washington to lobby for Congressional approval of the Central
America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). The agreement, which would remove
virtually all trade barriers on goods entering the U.S., purportedly
aims to better lure outside investment to the area by opening up
Central Americas market to the U.S by means of the use of bilateral
trade preferences. CAFTAs U.S. proponents hail it as one of
Washingtons important answers to threats to its economy posed by
Chinas growing trade preeminence. But according to its critics,
those U.S. businesses likely to benefit will do so at the expense of
impoverished Central Americans. The House leadership hopes to bring
CAFTA to a vote before the end of July. The mission of the Republican
Speaker is to present the trade pact as a win-win arrangement: good for
Central America and good for the U.S. In fact, this is no small task
since CAFTA by no means provides a win-win situation for all sides.
Rather, it is not good for the U.S. family farmer or his Central
American counterpart. It is good for Central American maquiladora
assembly plant operators but not necessarily their workers a percentage
of whom will be paid slave wages of around a dollar a day. Nor should
CAFTA have any appreciable impact on the flow of tens of thousands of
area refugees seeking a living wage who monthly head for illegal entry
to the U.S. If CAFTA will help the poor, why have so many workers
throughout Central America demonstrated against its passage both in the
streets of their hometowns or by migration northwards.
Washington Under Pressure
While the Bush administration claims that CAFTA will help secure and
strengthen democracy throughout the hemisphere by promoting growth and
reducing poverty in Central America, economic indicators convincingly
establish that U.S. agribusinesses and multinational corporations will
be the pacts overwhelming beneficiaries as a result of cheap labor
and easily penetrable and non-competitive local markets. Under the
current Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) and the Generalized System of
Preferences (GSP), 80 percent of Central American products already
enter the U.S. duty-free, while U.S. exports to CAFTA nations presently
face tariffs of forty percent or more.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a major proponent of CAFTA, insists that
the pact would "level the playing field" for U.S. workers and
businesses and that CAFTA could expand U.S. agriculture exports by $1.5
billion a year. But those exports would come not from family farms but
almost entirely from multinational agro-industries like Cargill.
Moreover, the CAFTA countries today can freely export to the U.S. at no
or very low tariffs and already are the second-largest U.S. export
destination in Latin America, receiving $15 billion of U.S. exports,
making them the 13th largest global export market for this country.
U.S. Trade with the region now exceeds shipments to Russia, India and
Indonesia combined. Bilateral trade between U.S. and Central America
currently amounts to approximately $32 billion. Clearly, the current
playing field is not slanted enough to be a significant deterrent to
U.S. exports, or enough of an incentive to justify the stampede tactics
the Bush administration seems intent on mobilizing in order to gain
support across the country for House passage of the bill.
Trade between the markedly and hugely asymmetrical economies could very
well have a catastrophic impact on the latters relatively
uncompetitive markets such as the U.S. and those of Central America.
While the Bush administration may be justified in wanting to stimulate
the U.S. economy by expanding trade in all elections, nevertheless, it
must be wary of doing so at the expense of developing nations or the
weaker components of Americas own labor pool. Central American
farmers will simply not be able to compete against subsidized
agricultural products from the U.S., while increased American exports
will only make CAFTA members more dependent on U.S. deliveries.
Unfortunately, this scenario could be precisely what some Washington
insiders are hoping for. One of the White Houses greatest fears is
that Central America and Mexico may decide to join South Americas
spreading coalition of new left-leaning governments, which now includes
Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Venezuela. With much of the hemisphere
moving to isolate the U.S., Washington feels immense pressure to
bolster its regional assertiveness and the Bush administration sees
CAFTA as its vehicle to exert masterful authority in a part of Latin
America closest to the continental U.S.
CAFTA already has been approved by all of the Central American
governments and many business leaders, but it still must be voted upon
by several legislative bodies, including that of the U.S., Costa Rica
and the Dominican Republic. However, the CAFTA presidents do not
necessarily represent even a simple majority of their constituents in
spite of the megalithic public relations campaign they have been waging
to influence the affected populations. More than half of Central
Americas population live below the poverty line and more than
one-third work in the agriculture sector. Hundreds of thousands more
have been lured to the U.S. by prospects of a living wage. Like
President Bush, the CAFTA presidents vow that the agreement will
bolster their economies growth and reduce poverty. However, Central
American leaders historically have been unsuccessful in addressing
their citizens poverty plights, with some of them resorting to death
squad murders and massacres to resist an equable distribution of their
countries wealth to the poorer sectors of their population. Not only
will CAFTA fail to ease the hardship experienced by impoverished local
farmers, but it will most likely compound it by forcing them to compete
against U.S. subsidized goods, further exacerbating the already dire
economic disparity and menacing levels of common crime to be found
today throughout Central America.
The China Factor
CAFTAs proponents claim that income shortfalls to Central American
farmers will be relatively modest because subsistence farmers will
continue to provide for themselves and that surplus agriculture workers
will be able to find jobs in other sectors -- namely apparel production
-- if Washington gets its way. In a recent interview with the
Associated Press, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez
emphasized that CAFTA could help prevent China from taking over the
U.S. textile market, stating that "[u]nless we do something to keep the
textile industry healthy and vibrant, it could well go to China."
Although China offers much cheaper labor, supporters of CAFTA claim
that the U.S. and Central Americas close proximity to each other
will achieve economies in transportation and furnish incentives for
businesses to remain in the region. By eliminating trade barriers,
CAFTA would provide a major incentive for U.S. textile manufacturers to
expand their export market, allowing them to become more competitive in
the global market.
CAFTA Could Be Doomed to Follow in NAFTAs Footsteps
There is also concern in Washington that either the EU or alternately,
China - or even both - are threatening to replace North America as the
worlds leading trading bloc. For others, CAFTA is seen as an
intermediate step between the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) which brings together the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and the
proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), which would create a
hemisphere-wide trade bloc. If indeed CAFTA is to be modeled after
NAFTA, the future could appear dim for impoverished Central American
farmers and working-class U.S. residents. At its inception in 1994,
NAFTA promised to create high-paying jobs in the U.S. and improve
living standards in Mexico. However, after more than 10 years, Mexico
has seen relatively little such prosperity, and distinctly has not
produced a win-win situation. Although investments and exports have
somewhat risen, NAFTA has, predictably, increased inequality and
poverty in a number of sectors while reducing buying power for large
numbers of Mexican workers and agriculturalists. More than one million
Mexican farmers have lost their land, including tens of thousands of
subsistence farmers, because they were unable to compete with the lower
prices offered by U.S.-subsidized agriculture exports. Ironically,
Mexico, where corn originated as maize, saw even its subsistence
farmers unable to compete against subsidized U.S. agro-industry. Under
CAFTA, Central American small-scale farmers could face a similar
depressing fate. In the U.S. alone, NAFTA has prompted the loss of
nearly 900,000 jobs -- many of them high-paying -- because U.S. and
Canadian businesses have continued migrating south in search of cheap
labor.
Labor Rights: a Blatant Omission
While U.S. and Central American leaders continue to promise that CAFTA
will provide a magnitude of new jobs, a shift in industry could
represent a profound turn for the worse for workers. Unlike current
regional trade agreements such as the CBI and the GSP, CAFTA does not
require signatory nations to uphold universal workers rights, including
the prohibition of child labor, which is a pervasive problem in Central
America. In its current form, CAFTA encourages countries to abide by
their existing labor codes. Ironically, the U.S. State Department, the
International Labor Organization and scores of human rights groups have
consistently criticized Central American nations like Guatemala and El
Salvador, for their either ineffective or unfair labor regulations,
poor work standards and government-sanctioned union-busting tactics.
Almost every affected labor group in both the U.S. and Central America
adamantly opposes the pact, and Guatemala witnessed thousands of
protestors rallying against CAFTA, only to be met by repressive police
tactics.
Ultimately, both CAFTA and NAFTA are based on the logic that the end
justifies the means, with the list of beneficiaries scheduled to be
very modest and one-sided. The Bush administration would be wise to
give serious consideration to the consequences of its narrow trade
rationale, which essentially puts revenue and short-term profit ahead
of basic workers rights and decent living standards, and which could
endanger Washingtons already shaky reputation as a dependable
champion of personal rights in the hemisphere, both in the U.S. and
Central America.
This analysis was prepared by COHA Directory Larry Birns and Research
Fellow Sarah Schaffer.
Additonal Research provided by COHA Research Associates, Xuan-Trang Ho
and Hampden Macbeth.
10. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?chklogin=N&autono=190149&lselect=1&leftnm=lmnu9&leftindx=9
Bank of America plans BPO centre in Mumbai
Our Banking Bureau / Mumbai May 30, 2005
Bank of America (BoA) is setting up its second outsourcing centre in
India to undertake market research for its global capital markets and
investment banking divisions. The centre, which is coming up at Andheri
in Mumbai, will have a capacity to seat around 500 people.
The second outsourcing centre is part of a move by the second largest
bank in the US to cut costs. BoAs first outsourcing centre at
Hyderabad has grown to nearly 1,000-strong team since it began
operations in mid-2004. The Hyderabad centre works on the banks
corporate and consumer accounts .
BoAs business process outsourcing operations in India are
implemented through a wholly owned subsidiary-Continuum Solutions.
Continuum is part of BoAs global delivery centre of expertise and
manages the banks offshore outsourcing activities.
"The banks decision to establish the second research outsourcing
unit was inspired by the performance of its Hyderabad centre and Mumbai
has been chosen for easy availability of human resources for research
purposes," sources said.
BoAs investment banking services include capital-raising solutions,
advisory services, derivatives capabilities, equity and debt sales and
trading for clients. The bank has made expansion of investment banking
operations a priority and plans to increase personnel, technology and
market share.
In 2004, BoA was the fifth most profitable company in the world,
trailing Exxon, Shell, Citigroup and General Electric. Of the $14.1
billion profit earned last year, global capital markets and investment
banking earned almost $2 billion.
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