Monday Night Football

[Noyac]

That was sure nice to see the Superdome open again.

The pregame show with Greenday and U2 was better that any superbowl halftime show I ever saw.

The Saints kicked some serious ass.

The only problem with the whole thing was when they brought Spike Lee on. He sat there and berated the gov't once again for their handling of the whole disaster. Said that things were not being done fast enough. But never offered an option. I get so tired of these better than thou Hollywood dinguses spouting at the mouth, complaining about this and that, but never offering a solution. I understand that he did a documentary on the tragedy but I never saw or heard a solution from his big mouth. I generally have liked Spike but I wish he would admit to his limited knowledge and butt out. Or give us something we can use. Hell, Harry Conick just said that we can help by visiting N.O. and filling the hotels. Now thats simple and something we all can do.

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[aredoubleyou]

I get so tired of these better than thou Hollywood dinguses spouting at the mouth, complaining about this and that, but never offering a solution. .

And then do a fund raiser but have the charity pay for their posh hotel, 1st class airfare (for them and friends), and other non-monetary insentives. If you truley want to help people, help make them self-sufficient. There is an entire city to rebuild, a lot of money (much of it already squandered) that could be used to rebuild a local economy with dispaced residents. Less focus on what happened and more focus on moving foward (what this silly football game was supposed to represent) would be nice, but there are those who make careers out of rehashing old events. I understand that there are different circumstances between Mississippi and NO, but it seems that Miss is at least on a path towards rebuilding, whereas NO is spinning its wheels. But then again, truth be told, I, like Spike, really don't know what I'm talking about on this subject.

 

[SleepIsGood]

Hey Noy

Sorry to but in. But since you are talking football. DA BEARS

Man, Rex is stepping it up this year! Fellas, I think we have a superbowl team on our hands this year.

 

[Noyac]

then do a fund raiser but have the charity pay for their posh hotel, 1st class airfare (for them and friends), and other non-monetary insentives. If you truley want to help people, help make them self-sufficient.

In these few words, you said much more than Spike has said in every interview, film, or whatever he does.

So how do we make the people more self sufficient? Give them jobs? How many will accept the jobs? Many want handout but i agree we need to find a way to make them self sufficient and give them a sense of pride. I know its small but the Saints do give them some sense of pride. And if for some reason they make it to the playoffs the pride will grow. Albeit false pride. They need some pride in themselves. i just don't know how to achieve that. Rambling on a bit now.

 

[aredoubleyou]

So how do we make the people more self sufficient? Give them jobs? How many will accept the jobs? Many want handout but i agree we need to find a way to make them self sufficient and give them a sense of pride. .

American's are no longer interested in a honest day's work, and you cant even give jobs to the poor who supposedly want work. Yet again, it will be the Mexicans who do our work for us, while the Americans eat twinkies and watch daytime TV. The French Quarter will be Spanish again!

 

[aredoubleyou]

Hey Noy

Sorry to but in. But since you are talking football. DA BEARS

Man, Rex is stepping it up this year! Fellas, I think we have a superbowl team on our hands this year.

DA BEARS INDEED! The excitement of having even an average skilled quarterback in Chicago is mindblowing. Its hard to make much out of Rex since he hasn't barely ever played. Didn't like the way he tried to force the ball against the Vikings - reminded me of Farve, except without the same level of talent. Of course, now the run game is suffering,and Benson is becoming even more annoying even though he's not even playing. They beat Seattle, I'll jump on the superbowl bandwaggon with you (ok, I'm already on it - but I just want to keep a cool head for now).

 

[bullard]

Lifelong Bears fan here. They look great, but I don't think they've really been tested yet. Seattle would have been a good test, but without Alexander, they're very beatable. In fact, if you look at the rest of their schedule...it's pretty easy. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they go 13-3 and then lose early in the playoffs again (having played nothing but crappy teams).

Let's hope I'm wrong.

 

[Noyac]

I don't know where the Bears **** is coming from but your right that they have not had a decent QB is some time. Hell even J. McMahon was less than your average QB.

 

[mdnsw]

American's are no longer interested in a honest day's work, and you cant even give jobs to the poor who supposedly want work. Yet again, it will be the Mexicans who do our work for us, while the Americans eat twinkies and watch daytime TV. The French Quarter will be Spanish again!

Mexicans aren't Spanish.

 

[chesterfield]

American's are no longer interested in a honest day's work, and you cant even give jobs to the poor who supposedly want work. Yet again, it will be the Mexicans who do our work for us, while the Americans eat twinkies and watch daytime TV. The French Quarter will be Spanish again!

This is the same old lie repeated over and over by the cheap labor lobby that there are “jobs no American will do”. So there for we need visa workers and illegal aliens to do the work nobody want to do.

This is a lie, if employers paid fair livable wages for work they would have workers lined up around the block. With the current situation employers have a glut of visa workers and illegal aliens to fill any position at far less than a livable wage.

Don’t think that just because you are a physician you are immune from the cheap labor lobby look at the recent post about the 140K per year pain job in UTAH or look at what the House and Senate are trying rewrite the immigration laws with a huge new guest worker program (i.e. unlimited cheap labor.)


From; http://www.jobdestruction.com/shameh1b/JobDestructionNews.htm

<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1556 -- 09/15/2006 >>>>>
The War on Nurses and Other Workers (Doctors)

Seth Sandronsky wrote an excellent article, "The War on Nurses and Other Workers", about the negative effects that the Senate's Comprehensive Immigration Bill (S.2611) will have on domestic nurses. He has a firm grasp on the fact that immigration is being used as a weapon to flood labor markets and to bust unions.

Sandronsky made one factual error:

Contrast the Senate's immigration provision for the labor shortage
of U.S. nurses and a national labor policy for medical doctors.
There is a government restriction on the number of foreign
physicians who may practice medicine in the U.S.

His assumption that doctors would be better off than nurses if S2611 passed isn't correct. S2611 has an exemption from the employment based green card cap for a wide variety of occupations -- including medical doctors in "SEC. 505. SHORTAGE OCCUPATIONS". The bill gives exemptions to aliens who have an advanced degree in science, technology, engineering, math, college professors and researchers, and any other category that the DHS decides to waive. The green card, or EB visa, is unlimited for foreign physicians who agree to work in a location designated by the Department of Health and Human Services as having a shortage of health care professionals (in other words, in lousy areas that most doctors don't want to practice in). This exemption will last until September 30, 2017 at which time most white collar professions in the USA will be on the endangered species list.


***** READ THE PREVIOUS PARAGRAPH AGAIN VERY CAREFULLY *****

... because you might have missed the fact that all shortage occupations will be subject to unlimited green card visas. Decisions about what job categories have shortages, and therefore which are exempted, would be totally at the whims of the DHS. If you are an engineer, scientist, or programmer you will be thrown to the wolves just like doctors and nurses!

Sandronsky overlooked another piece of legislation that is just as devastating to doctors and nurses. Section 201 of the Skil Bill (H.R. 5744 and S. 2691) contains an identical visa exemption as S2611. The Skil bill has a much higher probability of passing through Congress because it's a standalone bill that continues to be off the radar screen of immigration and labor activists.

Sandronsky also failed to mention the threat that H-1B poses for doctors and nurses. H-1B visas can be used for almost anyone in the medical industry, and of course the numbers of H-1Bs will be dramatically increased if either S2611 or the Skil bill is passed.


<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1551 -- 09/07/2006 >>>>>
Cornyn Hearing to Push Skil Bill - Part 2

Usually when a sham Senate hearing is held, they have the courtesy to invite at least one token speaker from the opposing side of the issue. Sen. Cornyn didn't bother with tokens - everyone he invited is a well known H-1B visa pusher. Two out of the three are immigration lawyers who have an obvious self-interest in H-1B visas.

Hearing transcripts can be accessed from this link.

http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearing.cfm?id=1801

We can learn a lot from listening from these people even though they come from the "dark side". The speeches are quite long so I'm not going to debate everything they said. Suffice it to say, there is a lot of shortage shouting and fear mongering about the coming crisis if the Skil Bill isn't passed. The analysis below is taken from sections that I thought were of special interest.


NOTICE: The last part of the analysis of Phyllis Norman's testimony is of critical importance. Do not skip it!


My commentary is delineated as follows:

COMMENT FROM ROB: blah, blah

The testimony is labeled by the speaker's name:

SPEAKER: blah blah

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Statement of Bo Cooper
Former General Counsel, Immigration and Naturalization Service,
on Behalf of the Global Personnel Alliance

Hearing before The Senate Committee on
the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration,
Border Security and Citizenship
on
"U.S. Visa Policy: Competition for International Scholars, Scientists and Skilled Workers"
Thursday, August 31, 2006


Introduction: Immigration and American Competitiveness


COMMENT FROM ROB: Bo Cooper is an example of Washington DC's revolving door - a public servant who goes to work for a special interest group. In this case, he is working for an immigration law firm, so his interest in H-1B is to help the lawyers line their pocketbooks with cash from processing visas.


BO COOPER: Mr. Chairman, we are grateful for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Bo Cooper. I served as General Counsel of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service from 1999 to 2003, and I now head the immigration practice in the Washington, D.C. office of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP.

<<<>>>

COMMENT FROM ROB: Cooper is a typical globalist. He sees no difference between a worker who is a U.S. citizen and one with a visa. Globalists consider all workers of the world to be "natural people", not citizens. All he is concerned with is maintaining the supply of units of labor to employers.

BO COOPER: For the United States to maintain its position of leadership, the pipeline of knowledge and skills that leads into our schools, laboratories, hospitals and businesses must not be blocked, whether the source of these skills is within the United States or abroad.

<<<>>>

COMMENT FROM ROB: Of course all the speakers had a variation of this line. I'll try to resist repeating it as often as they did.

BO COOPER: There is a drastic shortage of visas for professionals.

<<<>>>

COMMENT FROM ROB: This is perhaps the most outrageous gaffe in the entire testimony, but you wouldn't recognize it without re-arranging the order of what he said. To understand Cooper's flub, you need to know that foreign students are allowed a one year "Optional Practical Training" (OPT) work permit. OPT is sort of like doing an internship. The Skil Bill would double the OPT from one to two years.

Notice that Cooper considers the foreign students who come to the U.S. to be the "world’s best and brightest". Cooper uses that phrase and many variations throughout his testimony. He also seems to think that U.S. students are the world's worst and dullest.

Most Americans are given a 90 day trial period when they are hired. Cooper doesn't think that's long enough for foreign workers - he thinks they should be given 730 days to prove their competency. If Cooper is correct that foreign students are superior then they should be able to prove themselves just as quickly as most Americans are expected to. Most of us are always told that we will be required to "hit the ground running" so I say "what's good for the goose is good for the gander"!

If I was cross-examining Cooper I would ask: "Well, Mr. Cooper, if these students are truly the "best and the brightest", why would it take two years for employers to recognize their genius?" Surely you aren't giving employers enough credit; or do you think U.S. companies are dumb and dumber?


BO COOPER: Many of the world’s best and brightest students choose to complete their college and graduate-level education in the United States.

The performance level of U.S. elementary school students in mathematics is sagging. Too few undergraduate students pursue science and engineering.

Furthermore, as noted above, current law offers only one year of practical training following the completion of a degree program. This limited period of time is frequently insufficient to allow a U.S. employer to fully evaluate a foreign national student’s skills and growth potential, and because of the problems noted below with the unavailability of H-1B visas, there are often times when foreign students cannot continuously work for a U.S. company or maintain their status in the U.S., and thus have to leave the United States.

<<<>>>

COMMENT FROM ROB: Cooper confirms what we have always contended - as long employers can exploit the fresh young blood of H-1Bs, they won't hire Americans. Employers might gripe about the delays to get H-1B visas but they will wait until they get them before adding to their workforce.

BO COOPER: A new low was set this spring, when H-1B cap for Fiscal Year 2007 was reached more than four months before that fiscal year even began. This has left U.S. employers unable to hire needed professionals for a staggering 16 months.

<<<>>>

COMMENT FROM ROB: Cooper understands that H-1B isn't just for programmers. It never ceases to amaze me how few people in the mainstream media understand this, and even more disturbing how few immigration reform activists acknowledge the simple fact that H-1B is used for a wide variety of job classifications.

BO COOPER: Difficulty with the H-1B cap dampens the ability of U.S. companies to recruit the best and brightest workers; and it discourages the world’s most talented scientists, researchers, doctors, and other skilled workers from considering a career in the United States.

<<<>>>

COMMENT FROM ROB: Cooper also knows who his daddy is - Bill Gates! I call the legislation "Bill's Skil Bill" for a reason, and I don't think Cooper would disagree.

BO COOPER: Microsoft, for example, has made a cogent and compelling case for the urgent need to open our doors to the best minds worldwide.

<<<>>>

COMMENT FROM ROB: I assume all of you have been reading my newsletters so I won't go into detail about the evolution of the Skil bill. Cooper is well aware that S. 2611 in the Senate contains all the provisions of the Skil Bill. He would be happy if either of them were passed by Congress.

BO COOPER: Moreover, the Senate had already included a thorough and far-reaching set of high-skilled immigration reforms in the comprehensive immigration reform bill that it considered in the spring, S. 2611, and the provisions of the SKIL bill -- along with other valuable reforms -- were added into the bill before its final passage by the Senate in May.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


COMMENT FROM ROB: Phyllis Norman is speaking for hospitals, who never have enough cheap labor - especially when it comes to nurses from the Philippines.

Testimony of
Ms. Phyllis Norman
Vice President, Patient Care Services
Harris Methodist Ft. Worth Hospital


COMMENT FROM ROB: Norman makes her case for the nursing shortage - Americans are getting fat, old, and diseased, so we need more foreign nurses to take care of us as we get infirm. Of course Norman uses this to prove that all of our nurses are getting old too, so they need to be replaced with young foreigners.


PHYLLIS NORMAN: These challenges include an aging population, an increased rate of obesity, and the development of chronic health conditions in each of those populations, which places huge demands on existing healthcare services as well as requiring us to increase access to and availability of services in the future.

The average age of an RN is 46, and they tend to retire earlier than many other occupations due to the physical, mental, and emotional demands of the job. Within the next ten years, a large portion of the most experienced RN population will begin to decline due to full or partial retirement.

<<<>>>

COMMENT FROM ROB: Norman says that it would be too expensive to train more U.S. nurses (at least she is honest about that one!). She says there is no quick remedy, but she is more than happy to get a quick fix of H-1Bs! Notice she also blames a shortage of faculty, which of course she would be happy to import with H-1Bs also. Norman claims that the shortage of faculty is due to lousy wages, but she of course bemoans the fact that to fix that problem would cost lots of money.

PHYLLIS NORMAN: There is no quick remedy to this problem, because it stems from a shortage of trained nursing faculty and insufficient clinical facilities. Both of these causes require significant amounts of money and time to fix.

Faculty shortages are due primarily to poor faculty salaries compared to those paid to practicing nurses by healthcare facilities, making it difficult for academic institutions to recruit and retain qualified faculty members, who must have higher levels of education than required for most practice positions.


<<<>>>

COMMENT FROM ROB: Of course everyone who argues for H-1B says that without more visas, the U.S. will have a crisis.


PHYLLIS NORMAN: It is estimated that 15% of new nurses being licensed in the U.S. each year are foreign graduates. Any interruption of their avaialbilty has an immediate and very detrimental effect on the healthcare industry, making an already difficult situation worse. But just such an interruption already occurred in 2005 and another looms for this fall. Without Congressional action we face a crisis in this area.

As I have explained, we face a crisis within the next three months. We urge that Congress pass the SKIL Bill, either as part of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, as a separate bill, or as a rider to a year-end spending measure.

<<<>>>

COMMENT FROM ROB: Ah yes - the solution is at hand. If only Congress would pass the Skil Bill Norman and her profit hungry hospitals could finally get all the cheap labor they need! This is the most alarming part of the testimonials, and I hope all of you have read this far.

Phyllis Norman is telling Cornyn what he needs to do, and she is very blunt about her expectations. The scariest suggestion she has is that the Skil Bill should be tacked onto the next omnibus spending bill. If that happens, the Skil Bill would be impossible to defeat!

No H-1B increase has ever been defeated once it was inserted into a spending bill. That's because no politician is going to vote against a spending bill in order to oppose H-1B. He or she would be put in the position of closing down the government to stop an H-1B increase. Folks, that just never happens and if you need an example the increases of 2000 and 2004 are perfect.

The next big battle over H-1B will be to stop the Skil Bill from being put into the omnibus spending bill.


PHYLLIS NORMAN: Luckily, there is a ready solution at hand. Mr. Chairman, your excellent SKIL Bill addresses this problem along with providing many other improvements to employment-based, legal immigration. It does so by taking nurses and physical therapists out from under the annual worldwide cap for skilled workers. It does so based on the existing designation of these professions by the Secretary of Labor as "shortage occupations" receiving blanket labor certification.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Mr. Lance Kaplan
Partner
Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen, Loewy, LLP


<<<>>>

COMMENT FROM ROB: Kaplan's involvement with Fragomen is all you should need to hear if you know about the history of H-1B. Fragomen is a rich immigration attorney who is one of the original architects and lobbyist for H-1B.


LANCE KAPLAN: I am here on behalf of the American Council on International Personnel (ACIP). ACIP represents nearly two hundred in-house immigration professionals at America’s leading corporations, universities and research institutions, all of whom have substantial interest in facilitating the global mobility of highly-educated professionals around the world.

<<<>>>

COMMENT FROM ROB: Everyone at the hearing complained that our universities aren't producing enough advanced degree holders in science and engineering. None of them mentioned the fact that there aren't enough jobs for the ones we do produce.


LANCE KAPLAN: At the same time, developing countries are increasing efforts to entice their domestic talent to study and work at home.

The reality for American employers is that our education system does not produce a sufficient number of professionals that are able to compete in today’s economy. As evidence of our changing economy, job opportunities that require a degree are rising at twice the rate as those requiring only on-the-job training. Some estimate that by 2010, ninety percent of all science and engineering Ph.D.s will come out of Asia. According to the National Science Foundation, in 2000, foreign-born scientists accounted for over fifty percent of U.S. engineers with a Ph.D., and forty-five percent of our life scientists, physical scientists and math and computer scientists holding doctoral degrees. These percentages are only increasing over time as our children pursue other degrees.

<<<>>>

COMMENT FROM ROB: Kaplan thinks that employers should have access to a band of wandering gypsies called "global nomads". Without doubt, having a pool of workers that employers can move around the world serves the best interest of corporations who care to increase profits by fostering global labor arbitrage. This concept will spell doom for the the world's middle class if it's ever fully implemented. As you will see in the rest of his testimony, we are very close to that point.

KAPLAN: We must recognize that international education is a fact of life in the Twenty-first Century economy, with both companies and universities clamoring for these "global nomads" who have the language and cultural skills to live and work in multiple societies.

Even our government will be adversely affected by the labor shortage. According to recent reports, about forty percent of those who work for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are over fifty years old, and the ratio of the number of employees over sixty to those under thirty is three-to-one. The outlook for the manufacturing sector is bleak as well, unless we take measures to enable an influx of skilled workers.


<<<>>>

COMMENT FROM ROB: Remember when you were a kid, and you used the argument to your parents that "all the other kids have the new toy, or they are allowed to stay up until 10 pm, why can't I?" Kaplan uses the same argument, but in this case he is using other countries as examples that the U.S. should emulate. OK, kiddies, here he goes!


If our immigration policies and practices continue to deter the recruitment or retention of the best the world can offer, the top talent will go elsewhere and we will find ourselves watching other countries prosper at our expense and loss.

<<<>>>

COMMENT FROM ROB: If you ever doubted the connection between H-1B and globalism, you won't after reading what Kaplan has to say.

LANCE KAPLAN: Many countries are realizing that the concept of "localizing" employees at a host company site is no longer appropriate for today’s mobile worker.

I would like to share with you just some examples of what other countries are doing.


<<<>>>


COMMENT FROM ROB: The similarity of Australia's "Skill Stream" and our Skil Bill is very eerie. It just shows how the globalists are all working off the same blueprint.

LANCE KAPLAN: Australia

Australia’s immigration system specifically favors skills-based entry for both temporary and permanent workers. On the temporary entry side, the Australian system provides a mechanism to pre-certify petitioning companies.

Under what the Australians call the Skill Stream, roughly seventy percent of permanent entry visas (green card equivalent) would be allocated to skilled workers.

<<<>>>

COMMENT FROM ROB: It may be surprising to find that Canada has institutionalized age discrimination, but don't think for a minute the U.S. is one bit better. Everyone knows that H-1Bs are, on the average, young and male and they are being used to replace older Americans. H-1B is extrinsically linked to age discrimination whether our government admits it or not.


LANCE KAPLAN: Canada

Canadian immigration policy has placed an emphasis on attracting young, highly skilled immigrants. In fact, according to recent data, roughly sixty percent of new arrivals to Canada are "economic immigrants." The immigrants are selected using a point-based system that favors persons of relatively younger age who have training and expertise in skilled occupations and knowledge of the country’s official languages.

In June of 2002, Canada implemented a new set of regulations that elevated the standard for skilled workers. The new system favors those with university degrees and removed the requirement that applicants fit into specific niches (preferred occupations). Instead, the new system permits consideration of applicants with expertise in most skilled occupations. This system is commonly known as the "Human Capital" model.

Most recently, Canada promulgated a new policy of permitting foreign students who possess a Canadian post-secondary degree to remain in the country and work for two years.

<<<>>>

COMMENT FROM ROB: As you can see, there is nothing unique about the desire in the U.S. for a labor pool of "global nomads". At first reading you might think Germany stands out as the one country who wants to protect their workers, but that doesn't pertain to programmers or engineers. Read the special section on Germany for more on that.


LANCE KAPLAN: The European Union

In fact, on December 13, 2005, the Brussels-based European Commission designated 2006 to be the "European Year for Workers’ Mobility."


At first, only Ireland, Sweden and the United Kingdom immediately granted unrestricted work authorization and freedom of movement to nationals of the new EU member states. Earlier this year however, Finland, Greece, Portugal and Spain joined Ireland, Sweden and the United Kingdom in granting the nationals of the new EU states access to their labor markets. Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Luxemburg and the Netherlands opted to lower work permit requirements for nationals of the new EU countries. Austria and Germany, citing high unemployment, have decided to maintain restrictions on their domestic labor markets.
The new, "post-enlargement" countries, such as Poland, Slovenia and Hungary, intend to impose similar work permit requirements as well as restricted freedom of movement privileges on nationals of both pre- and post- enlargement countries that impose restrictions on Polish, Slovenian and Hungarian nationals. For example, in July 2006, Italy abruptly lifted its work permit restrictions against all "accession" country nationals. In return, Hungary lifted its work permit restriction requirements against all Italian nationals.

<<<>>>

COMMENT FROM ROB: The UK has a system that's worse than H-1B. They don't even require a work permit for "highly skilled" migrants. Scotland has a "Fresh Talent" worker provision that sounds just like the 2 year OPT in the Skil Bill.

LANCE KAPLAN: United Kingdom

Most categories of employment-related temporary status in the United Kingdom (UK) require a work permit. However, a few categories are exempt from that requirement. One such category is the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP), a points-based scheme that permits individuals of exceptional skills and experience to enter or remain in the country to seek employment or take up self-employment opportunities.

In addition, the Scottish Minister of Finance recently announced the "Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme" that permits non-European Union (EU) foreign national students to work and live in Scotland without the need for a work permit. This program is designed to allow foreign students who have graduated from an accredited Scottish college or university to apply, within one year of completing their studies, for an unrestricted, two-year work authorization as a Fresh Talent worker.


<<<>>>

COMMENT FROM ROB: The Irish data on foreign workers makes the U.S. sound downright restrictionist!


LANCE KAPLAN: Ireland

Historically, Ireland has been a country of emigration. However, during its economic boom of the mid-1990’s, known as the "Celtic Tiger," Ireland began to experience a shortage of skilled workers that was felt by many other industrialized countries. From 1999 to 2003, the number of work visas issued rose from 6,250 to 47,000. In fact, Irish census data suggests that the population of foreign nationals within Ireland may comprise as much as ten percent of the total population.

<<<>>>

COMMENT FROM ROB: France's version of the OPT is for three years.


LANCE KAPLAN: France

France recently approved a new immigration bill that heavily favors highly skilled immigrants. One key provision is a new type of three-year residence permit, called a "skills and talents permit," which encourages selective immigration for persons with higher qualifications and thoroughly documented work opportunities.

<<<>>>

COMMENT FROM ROB: Spain gives expedited processing for "highly skilled immigrants".


LANCE KAPLAN: Spain

Spain’s immigration policy has shifted drastically towards welcoming highly skilled immigrants during the past two decades. For example, beginning in November of 2005, Spanish companies that have more than five hundred employees in Spain and have offices in more than one Spanish city would qualify for expedited processing of two types of work permit applications. They are 1) "Temporary Work and Residence Authorization" (reserved for quota-driven categories), or 2) "Transnational Work and Residence Authorization" (reserved for employees who will remain on the home "sending" company's payroll). The processing time is thirty to sixty days, significantly shorter than the normal four to six months.

<<<>>>

COMMENT FROM ROB: Germany protects their blue-collar workers, but everyone else is thrown to the wolves.


LANCE KAPLAN: Germany

Although Germany has not agreed to lift all restrictions for new EU members to access its labor market, it did pass a new set of immigration laws, effective January 1, 2005, to attract skilled workers. The most frequent categories of persons seeking temporary status in Germany typically include highly qualified specialists or information technology specialists with a university diploma. Permanent residence is possible from the beginning for scientists with special technical knowledge, teaching or scientific personnel in prominent positions, or highly qualified specialists and managers earning minimum of EU 85,500 annually.

<<<>>>


COMMENT FROM ROB: Like Canada, the Netherlands institutionalizes age discrimination as long as the immigrants make a specified minimum salary. In other words, they want youngsters to replace their more expensive old geezers.


LANCE KAPLAN: Netherlands

As of October 1, 2004, the Netherlands began a new program to admit "knowledge migrant workers." Under this new law, a highly skilled migrant is defined as a migrant coming to the Netherlands for the purpose of employment and earning a minimum gross income of EU 45,495, or EU 33,363 if the highly skilled migrant is under the age of thirty.

<<<>>>


COMMENT FROM ROB: New Zealand has an H-1B program on steroids since they don't have an annual cap on the number of visas issued.


LANCE KAPLAN: New Zealand

The Skilled Migrant Category was introduced by the New Zealand Department of Labor in 2003 to attract highly skilled foreign workers in critical shortage areas (e.g. information technology, medicine, professions requiring specialist certifications, or professions requiring master's/doctorate degrees).

It is also important to note that New Zealand, with a population of just over four million, does not have a capped temporary work visa system.

<<<>>>

COMMENT FROM ROB: Foreign workers get expedited to the front line in Costa Rica.


LANCE KAPLAN: Costa Rica

Costa Rica recently implemented a program that allows companies to register for "accreditation" and receive priority processing of work permit applications.


***********
CONCLUSION
***********

I constantly get email from people that say they are going to leave the United States and immigrate to a country that respects its workers. My recommendation is that you save your effort on moving and concentrate on changing our laws. There is nowhere in the world that you can escape the globalists so you better start defending what little you have left before they take that too.

 

[Gern Blansten]

Is there a Cliff's Notes version of this?

 

[chesterfield]

Is there a Cliff's Notes version of this?

If you think just because you are a big shot physician, your job in not going to be outsourced, you need to open you eyes.

look at this thread about a 130K pain job in UTAH,

http://forums.gasforums.net/showthread.php?t=309291

What's called medical tourism &#8211; patients going to a different country for either urgent or elective medical procedures &#8211; is fast becoming a worldwide, multibillion-dollar industry.

The reasons patients travel for treatment vary. Many medical tourists from the United States are seeking treatment at a quarter or sometimes even a 10th of the cost at home.


"When my colleagues get a letter from a constituent who has been displaced by temporary foreign guest workers, they should write back to them and say, 'It is the policy of this government to displace you, to move you into a lower economic income category, because we believe in cheap labor and we believe the politics of open borders helps our party." -- Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO), U.S. Congressman


"It does [H-1B] allow employers to evade the basic rules of the capitalist market Typically, if you have a hard time finding workers, you have to offer better wages and working conditions to attract them. Employers in the H-1B program don't do that." -- Mary Bauer, legal director of the Virginia Justice Center


"Unlike the permanent and temporary labor certification programs, Congress did not include a requirement for a labor market test, or a no-layoff provision, under the H-1B program. Therefore, the Department does not have any information concerning employers' efforts to recruit U.S. workers for the position, nor are employers required to provide such information." -- Dale Ziegler, Division Chief of Foreign Labor Certifications, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

 

[LostTommyGuns]

Yeah having Spike Lee on was poor form. I thought that it was a horrible misuse of valuable air time but no matter - seeing New Orleans play essentially a perfect game couldn't re ruined by some jackass's babble.

In Spike's defense though, I don't think he ever said that he had a great plan... And he stated that his movie was meant to give voice to some New Orleanians. Granted I haven't (and won't) watch that garbage but I don't think he was posturing to be a politician, merely criticize. That said, I don't like him and his points of view.

 

[aredoubleyou]

In the thickest Southwest side accent as possible.....


DA BEARS