Germany: Anti-Immigrant Party Growing

Posted on March 14, 2016March 14, 2016 by Denise Simon

This has been building since 2014 and gained real traction in 2015.

USAToday: Far-right protests were held in more than a dozen other nations in Europe on Saturday including the Czech Republic, France, Poland and the Netherlands. The marches and demonstrations were part of a coordinated attempt by PEGIDA and like-minded groups to hold a so-called European Action Day. Riot police clashed with protesters at several of the rallies including in Calais, France, where police used tear gas to disperse crowds. Ten people were arrested.

The synchronized demonstrations came as the number of Syrian refugees assembled on Turkey’s border jumped to 35,000, according to Reuters.

The latest exodus is a result of a renewed offensive by Syria’s President Bashar Assad to retake ground controlled by opposition groups near the city of Aleppo, previously a valued commercial center.

Turkey refuses to open the border. It already hosts over 2.5 million Syrian refugees.

German anti-immigration party makes gains in local elections amid refugee crisis

FNC: A nationalist, anti-migration party powered into three German state legislatures in elections Sunday held amid divisions over Chancellor Angela Merkel’s liberal approach to the refugee crisis. Merkel’s conservatives lost to center-left rivals in two states they had hoped to win.

The elections in the prosperous southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, neighboring Rhineland-Palatinate and relatively poor Saxony-Anhalt in the ex-communist east were the first major political test since Germany registered nearly 1.1 million people as asylum-seekers last year.

The three-year-old Alternative for Germany, or AfD — which has campaigned against Merkel’s open-borders approach — easily entered all three legislatures.

AfD won 15.1 percent of the vote in Baden-Wuerttemberg and 12.6 percent in Rhineland-Palatinate, official results showed. It finished second in Saxony-Anhalt with some 24 percent, according to projections by ARD and ZDF television with most districts counted.

“We are seeing above all in these elections that voters are turning away in large numbers from the big established parties and voting for our party,” AfD leader Frauke Petry said.

They “expect us finally to be the opposition that there hasn’t been in the German parliament and some state parliaments,” she added.

There were uncomfortable results both for Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union and their partners in the national government, the center-left Social Democrats. The traditional rivals are Germany’s two biggest parties.

“The democratic center in our country has not become stronger, but smaller, and I think we must all take that seriously,” said Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, the Social Democrats’ leader.

Merkel’s party kept its status as strongest party in Saxony-Anhalt. It had hoped to beat left-leaning Green governor Winfried Kretschmann in Baden-Wuerttemberg, a traditional stronghold that the CDU ran for decades until 2011. It also hoped to oust Social Democrat governor Malu Dreyer from the governor’s office in Rhineland-Palatinate.

However, the CDU finished several percentage points behind the popular incumbents’ parties in both states and dropped 12 percentage points to a record-low result in Baden-Wuerttemberg, with 27 percent support. Its performance in Rhineland-Palatinate, with 31.8 percent, was also a record low.

The Social Democrats suffered large losses in both Baden-Wuerttemberg and Saxony-Anhalt, where they were the junior partners in the outgoing governments, finishing behind AfD.

Other parties won’t share power with AfD, but its presence will complicate their coalition-building efforts.

In all three states, the results were set to leave the outgoing coalition governments without a majority — forcing regional leaders into what could be time-consuming negotiations with new, unusual partners. Merkel’s CDU still has a long-shot chance of forming an untried three-way alliance to win the Baden-Wuerttemberg governor’s office.

Germany’s next national election is due in late 2017. While Sunday’s results will likely generate new tensions, Merkel herself should be secure: she has put many state-level setbacks behind her in the past, and there’s no long-term successor or figurehead for any rebellion in sight.

A top official with Merkel’s party called for it to stay on its course in the refugee crisis. CDU general secretary Peter Tauber pointed to recent polls indicating that her popularity is rebounding and added: “this shows that it is good if the CDU sticks to this course, saying that we need time to master this big challenge.”

Merkel insisted last year that “we will manage” the challenge of integrating refugees. While her government has moved to tighten asylum rules, she still insists on a pan-European solution to the refugee crisis, ignoring demands from some conservative allies for a national cap on the number of refugees.

AfD’s strong performance will boost its hopes of entering the national parliament next year. It entered five state legislatures and the European Parliament in its initial guise as a primarily anti-euro party before splitting and then rebounding in the refugee crisis.

The CDU may have been hurt by an attempt by its candidates in Baden-Wuerttemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate to put cautious distance between themselves and Merkel’s refugee policies, which may simply have created the impression of disunity. The party slipped in polls there over recent weeks.

The two last month called for Germany to impose daily refugee quotas — something Merkel opposes but which neighboring Austria has since put in place. Separately, Merkel’s conservative allies in Bavaria have attacked her approach for months, demanding an annual refugee cap.

Center-left incumbents Kretschmann and Dreyer often sounded more enthusiastic about Merkel’s refugee policy than their conservative challengers.

“The result hopefully will be that the CDU and (their Bavarian allies) will realize that this permanent quarreling doesn’t help them,” Vice Chancellor Gabriel said.

Iran’s ICBM on Launch Pad

Posted on March 12, 2016March 12, 2016 by Denise Simon

Iran preparing to conduct new space launch this weekend

FNC: Iran is preparing to launch a new long-range rocket into outer space as soon as this weekend, U.S. officials told Fox News.

The missile is known as a Simorgh and officials are watching the missile on the launch pad as it is being fueled at an undisclosed location inside Iran.

Officials told Fox they have not seen this specific type of rocket launched in the past.

Any test of a new ballistic missile would be an apparent violation of a UN resolution forbidding Iran from working on its rocket program.

A Simorgh rocket is designed to carry a satellite into space. Officials are concerned that any space launch uses the same technology needed to launch a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile or ICBM.

This week, Iran launched multiple ballistic missiles on one day for the first time since 2012, according to defense officials.

UN Security Council Resolution 2231 says Iran is “not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology.”

Thursday, a senior Revolutionary Guard commander said that Iran’s ballistic missile program will continue to move forward, despite threats of international sanctions.

The U.S. State Department says the launches this week were not in violation of the nuclear deal, but “inconsistent” with UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which was tied to the nuclear deal when it went into effect.

Secretary of State John Kerry raised concerns about Iran’s recent missile launches in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Thursday, including reports that Iran scribbled “Israel must be wiped off the Earth” according to State Department spokesman John Kirby.

Both short and medium-range ballistic missiles tested recently by Iran are capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

“Iran should face sanctions for these activities,” Hillary Clinton said Wednesday.

“The latest missiles launches are further evidence of Iran’s aggression and of how its leaders intend to use the money it is receiving under the Obama nuclear deal.” said House Armed Services Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas.

Kirby said earlier this week that reports of Iran’s recent ballistic missile launches would be brought to the attention of the UN Security Council.

The launches would not violate the landmark nuclear deal implemented in January, according to Kirby.

Vice President Joseph Biden, while meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Wednesday did not acknowledge the missile launch directly, but he issued a strong warning to the Iranians.

“A nuclear-armed Iran is an absolutely unacceptable threat to Israel, to the region and the United States. And I want to reiterate which I know people still doubt here: if in fact they break the deal, we will act,” he said.

Despite reports of Iran repeatedly violating the UN resolution by launching ballistic missiles, the State Department is confident additional sanctions could be called upon unilaterally if needed.

“We always have those tools available to us,” said Kirby this week.

In January, the Obama administration sanctioned nearly a dozen individuals and companies tied to Iran’s ballistic missile program.

Appearing in front of the Senate Armed Services committee in Washington, the outgoing head of U.S. Central Command, Gen. Lloyd Austin said Tuesday, “Some of the behavior we’ve seen from Iran of late is certainly not the behavior you’d expect from a nation that wants to be taken seriously.”

Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic & International Studies says the Obama administration’s policy toward Iran is muddled.

“I don’t think we’ve sent clear signals. We seem to be dealing with the nuclear agreement as if it’s some kind of legacy. It won’t be a legacy if Iran acts out in other ways,” he said.

Israel has been sounding the alarm on this since at least 2010:

Israeli Missile Experts: Simorgh Sets Iran on Path to ICBM

TEL AVIV, Israel — The recent unveiling of a large Iranian satellite launcher with the potential for doubling as an ICBM has injected additional anxiety into rapidly escalating international tension over Tehran’s nuclear weapons program. The new Simorgh is a two-stage liquid-fueled booster with an estimated takeoff weight of 87 tons, nearly four times that of the solid-fueled Sejil and double the weight of the Safir vehicle used to deliver Iran’s first satellite into space. Iran unveiled a full-scale mock-up of the system in Feb. 3 National Space Day ceremonies broadcast live on state-run television. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi presided over the event, which also featured the launch of the Kavoshgar-3 (Explorer) rocket and its live payload — a turtle, a rat and worms — into space. No first launch date was announced for the Simorgh, but U.S. and Israeli experts say that if Iranian claims are true, and the engine is already developed, it could be readied as a headline event for next February’s National Space Day. In February 2009, Iran marked the occasion with the Safir-2’s successful deployment of the Omid research satellite into low Earth orbit. More here.

Comprehensive Details on Hillary Server Provided to FBI

Posted on March 11, 2016March 11, 2016 by Denise Simon

Source: Clinton IT specialist revealing server details to FBI, ‘devastating witness’

FNC: Former Hillary Clinton IT specialist Bryan Pagliano, a key witness in the email probe who struck an immunity deal with the Justice Department, has told the FBI a range of details about how her personal email system was set up, according to an intelligence source close to the case who called him a “devastating witness.”

The source said Pagliano told the FBI who had access to the former secretary of state’s system – as well as when –and what devices were used, amounting to a roadmap for investigators.

“Bryan Pagliano is a devastating witness and, as the webmaster, knows exactly who had access to [Clinton’s] computer and devices at specific times. His importance to this case cannot be over-emphasized,” the intelligence source said.

The source, who is not authorized to speak on the record due to the sensitivity of the ongoing investigation, said Pagliano has provided information allowing investigators to knit together the emails with other evidence, including images of Clinton on the road as secretary of state.

The cross-referencing of evidence could help investigators pinpoint potential gaps in the email record. “Don’t forget all those photos with her using various devices and it is easy to track the whereabouts of her phone,” the source said. “It is still boils down to a paper case. Did you email at this time from your home or elsewhere using this device? And here is a picture of you and your aides holding the devices.”

A source close to Pagliano did not dispute the basic details of what was provided to the FBI, but said the highly skilled former State Department IT specialist had met with the bureau on a “limited basis” and was at best a “peripheral” player in the investigation.

At a Democratic debate Wednesday evening, Clinton brushed off the question when asked by the moderator whether she would withdraw from the presidential race if faced with criminal charges.

Univision’s Jorge Ramos asked, “If you get indicted, will you drop out?” Clinton responded, “My goodness. That is not going to happen. I’m not even answering that question.”

She then added her now standard explanation that nothing she sent or received was marked classified at the time. While technically correct, the distinction appears misleading. The January 2009 classified information non-disclosure agreement signed by Clinton says she understood that classified information could be marked and unmarked, as well as verbal communications.

Classification is based on content, not markings.

The intelligence source said the FBI is “extremely focused” on the 22 “top secret” emails deemed too damaging to national security to publicly release under any circumstances, with agents reviewing those sent by Clinton as well her subordinates including former chief of staff Cheryl Mills.

“Mrs. Clinton sending them in this instance would show her intent much more than would receiving [them],” the source said. “Hillary Clinton was at a minimum grossly negligent in her handling of NDI [National Defense Information] materials merely by her insisting that she utilize a private server versus a [U.S. government] server. Remember, NDI does not have to be classified.” According to the Congressional Research Service, NDI is broadly defined to include “information that they have reason to know could be used to harm the national security.”

It was emphasized to Fox News that Clinton’s deliberate “creation” and “control” of the private server used for her official government business is the subject of intense scrutiny. Pagliano knows key details as to how the private server was installed and maintained in her home.

The 22 “top secret” emails are not public, but in a Jan. 14 unclassified letter, first reported by Fox News, Intelligence Community Inspector General I. Charles McCullough III notified Congress of the findings of a recent comprehensive review by intelligence agencies identifying “several dozen” additional classified emails — including specific intelligence known as “special access programs” (SAP).

That indicates a level of classification beyond even “top secret,” the label previously given to other emails found on her server, and brings even more scrutiny to the presidential candidate’s handling of the government’s closely held secrets.

Pagliano’s lawyer offered no on-record comment for this report. Clinton recently told CBS, “I’m delighted that [Pagliano] has agreed to cooperate, as everyone else has. And I think that we will be moving toward a resolution of this.”

The FBI has not commented beyond the public statements of FBI Director James Comey, who recently told Congress: “I can assure you is that I am very close personally to that investigation to ensure that we have the resources we need, including people and technology, and that it’s done the way the FBI tries to do all of its work: independently, competently and promptly.”

The intelligence source described the morale of agents as “very good and nobody is moping around which is the first sign a big case is going south.”

Bryan Pagliano: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Heavy: Bryan Pagliano, a former IT specialist with the State Department during the tenure of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, has been under intense scrutiny for his role in setting up Clinton’s private email server, through which she may have illegally received classified information. After pleading the Fifth through several House Committees, Pagliano was granted immunity by the Justice Department and will cooperate with the FBI in its investigation into the matter.

Pagliano served in the State Department for four years, during part of which he was paid personally by Clinton for “IT services” that include setting up the server in question. In less controversial work, Pagliano helped expand remote work arrangements in the State Department from a D.C.-only option to give worldwide access.

Here’s what you need to know:

He Was Paid off the Books for His Work with Clinton

Pagliano, here with wife Carrie Pagliano and Hillary Clinton, was paid by Clinton personally for “IT services” while employed at the State Department. (Getty)

Pagliano first worked for Clinton as the IT director of her 2008 Presidential campaign, then worked for her political action committee after she suspended her first quest for the White House. In 2009, he joined her State Department team as an IT specialist, but continued to work for the Clintons as a private consultant to their family, and was personally paid by the Clinton family.

Pagliano did not disclose the job or salary on State Department financial disclosure forms, an act that internal documents show could lead to a $10,000 fine or imprisonment. His immunity deal likely prevents these outcomes.

He Pled the Fifth at Several House Committees

Pagliano leaving the Capitol after his call to testify in Benghazi hearings. (Getty)

The question of Hillary Clinton’s emails first arose during the scandal regarding the Benghazi attack. Pagliano, having left the State Department at the time, was subpoenaed by House Select Committee on Benghazi chairman Trey Gowdy regarding information “related to the servers or systems” Clinton used while Secretary of State. Pagliano’s lawyers released the following statement in response:

While we understand that Mr. Pagliano’s response to this subpoena may be controversial in the current political environment, we hope that members of the Select Committee will respect our client’s right to invoke the protections of the Constitution. For these reasons, we respectfully request that the Select Committee excuse Mr. Pagliano from personally appearing on Sept. 10, 2015.

Pagliano was not excused, but did not answer a question during the committee’s hearing. The Justice Department’s grant of immunity means that Pagliano can be compelled to testify.

He Received Immunity & Is Cooperating with the FBI

Pagliano after his House testimony. (Getty)

On March 2, the Justice Department announced that Pagliano would be granted immunity in exchange for his testimony regarding the email scandal. As the name suggests, this means that nothing he says can be used against him, but also means that he cannot invoke the Fifth Amendment to avoid answering questions.

Journalists and legal experts mark this as a major turning point in the inquiry. National Review writer and former prosecutor Andrew McCarthy suggested Pagliano’s immunity deal meant there was “probably” a grand jury for Pagliano. Though he didn’t share McCarthy’s certainty, Charles Tiefer at Forbes suggested the immunity deal meant the case was coming to a conclusion.

His Deal Could Be a Bad Sign for Hillary

Hillary Clinton and longtime aide Huma Abedin both face significant scrutiny in the email scandal. (Getty)

Whether Pagliano’s immunity deal was sought by his legal team or by the FBI to circumvent his Fifth Amendment invocations, his testimony is “potentially damaging” to others facing scrutiny. A key part of the investigation into Clinton involves whether she knew the information she sent and received through the private server was classified, which requires speaking to her state of mind. Free from fear of his own prosecution, Pagliano can testify (or be forced to testify) to that state of mind. Other top aides, like Huma Abedin and Jake Sullivan, may also be implicated by his testimony.

Clinton, though, doesn’t seem worried. In an interview with CBS News, she dismissed concerns about any upcoming indictment:

It’s a security review. I’m delighted that he has agreed to cooperate, as everyone else has, and I think we’ll be moving toward a resolution of this…I think we’re getting closer and closer to wrapping this up. I also know that there were reports today about the hundreds of officials and the thousand emails that they were sending back and forth that have been looked at and classified retroactively. This really raises serious questions about this whole process, I think.

In His Government Career, He Pioneered Remote Work for State Employees

*

Not all of Pagliano’s work was particularly controversial. The State Department’s remote work, or “teleworking,” capabilities were initially confined to the Washington, D.C. area. Pagliano stated in an interview with Trezza Media Group, part of which is seen above, that Foreign Service Officers rotating into D.C. as part of their duties gave rave reviews of the system and wanted access in their regular embassies. Pagliano, as a member of the Information Resource Management Bureau, helped expand the system around the world.

Pagliano left the State Department in 2013 to serve as an analyst at technology firm Gartner, a position he held for one year. While at Gartner, however, Pagliano continued to perform contract work for the State Department, which was terminated at an unknown time and announced one day after his being granted immunity.

Facebook’s Zuckerberg Against Hiring Americans

Posted on March 11, 2016March 11, 2016 by Denise Simon

Record high 91.5 million people not included in labor force, 2014

Senate legislation to stop H1B Visa Abuse.

Zuckerberg to Supreme Court: Give Me More Cheap Foreign Labor

IR: In news that will surprise no one, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg urged the U.S. Supreme Court to allow for the implementation of President Obama’s executive amnesty programs. In a friend of the court brief (known as an amicus brief), Zuckerberg and 60 other business executives asked the Supreme Court to overturn the Fifth Circuit’s injunction blocking the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) amnesty programs. “The federal government’s recent actions—clarifying its enforcement priorities and making temporary work authorization available to certain low-priority [illegal aliens]—strengthen the American economy by stabilizing the workforce, promoting job creation, reducing deficits and increasing federal, state and local tax revenues,” the brief claims. The business executives continue, “Preventing or delaying these policies will only withhold the tangible benefits of a more diverse, productive business environment.”

The message from Zuckerberg and Co. is clear: we want access to more cheap foreign labor. Rather than “stabilizing the workforce,” implementation of DAPA and expanded DACA would flood the labor market with at least 5 million illegal aliens who would receive work authorization under these amnesty programs. Instead, Zuckerberg and his business pals want to stabilize costs in the form of lower wages to these amnestied illegal aliens in order to further pad their pockets with even higher profits. Unsurprisingly, Zuckerberg’s brief fails to mention that the tech industry has experienced record profits yet wages have flat-lined for years.

Despite the ample supply of native workers at the high-skilled (there’s a glut of STEM degree holders) and low-skilled (workforce participation is at historical lows) levels, Zuckerberg continues to demand amnesty and increased guest worker programs simply because they are cheaper than hiring Americas.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments in U.S. v. Texas starting April 18. To learn more about the case, visit FAIR’s resource page here.

**** Then there is the Donald:

In the CNN March 10 debate…..hey Trump is there a right or wrong standard you won’t exploit? See the video here.

Donald Trump, facing questions in tonight’s CNN debate about the H1B visa program, said it’s a program he knows well. “It’s something that I frankly use and shouldn’t be allowed to use,” Trump said. “We shouldn’t have it — very, very bad for workers.””I’m a businessman and I have to do what I have to do,” Trump continued. “When it’s sitting there waiting for you, but it’s very bad. It’s very bad for business. And it’s bad for our workers and unfair for our workers.”

NYT:Donald J. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., describes itself as “one of the most highly regarded private clubs in the world,” and it is not just the very-well-to-do who want to get in.

Since 2010, nearly 300 United States residents have applied or been referred for jobs as waiters, waitresses, cooks and housekeepers there. But according to federal records, only 17 have been hired.

In all but a handful of cases, Mar-a-Lago sought to fill the jobs with hundreds of foreign guest workers from Romania and other countries.

In his quest for the Republican presidential nomination, Mr. Trump has stoked his crowds by promising to bring back jobs that have been snatched by illegal immigrants or outsourced by corporations, and voters worried about immigration have been his strongest backers.

But he has also pursued more than 500 visas for foreign workers at Mar-a-Lago since 2010, according to the United States Department of Labor, while hundreds of domestic applicants failed to get the same jobs.

*** Further:

Trump’s modeling agency broke immigration laws, attorneys say

CNN Investigations: Throughout his campaign, Trump has loudly opposed the practice of U.S. companies using foreign workers instead of Americans — specifically the highly-skilled workers brought to the United States through the controversial H-1B visa program.

“These are temporary foreign workers, imported from abroad, for the explicit purpose of substituting for American workers at lower pay. I remain totally committed to eliminating rampant, widespread H-1B abuse,” Trump said in a statement on his website, though he backtracked on his position during a recent Republican debate.

While this visa program is best known for bringing over technology workers like engineers and computer programmers, Trump’s own modeling agency has used the program for years, federal data shows. That’s because federal law surprisingly lumps in fashion models with these other specialized workers — though it’s the only job that doesn’t require higher education. (Instead, models must have “distinguished merit and ability.”)

And now, the use of this visa by Trump Model Management, founded by Trump in 1999, is being questioned.

The agency is currently battling a proposed class action lawsuit filed by Jamaican model Alexia Palmer, who was brought to the country with an H-1B visa.

The suit alleges that the agency recruits foreign models with promises of wages that never materialize and defrauds the U.S. government on visa applications. Palmer is currently the only plaintiff and the suit has not yet been approved as a class-action.

In her case, Palmer says she was paid only a few thousand dollars over three years despite being lured with the promise of more than $200,000 in earnings in that same time period.

That salary was also what was listed by Trump Model Management as part of the visa application.

“Ms. Palmer will receive compensation of at least $75,000 per year,” the agency’s president Corinne Nicolas said in a letter to immigration officials. “She is a model whose services have been in great demand, and whose proposed temporary presence in the United States has stirred great anticipation by Trump Model Management and its clientele.” (Nicolas did not respond to a request for comment).

Government data analyzed by Howard University professor Ron Hira shows that since 2008, Trump’s agency has successfully brought over around 30 foreign models — from countries like Brazil, Latvia and China — using the H-1B program. Almost half of these applications indicated the same $75,000 annual salary, while others went as high as $416,000.

CNNMoney asked a dozen attorneys and other immigration experts to review facts and documents from the case, and the vast majority said Trump’s agency appears to have violated immigration law.

“It seems pretty clear to me that there was a violation… and a pretty egregious violation,” said New York immigration attorney Jeffrey Feinbloom.

Experts say that the U.S. government requires that full-time H-1B workers like Palmer be paid a high enough wage that they aren’t being exploited or displacing American workers — regardless of how much they end up working.

Experts say that the firm was required by law to pay the amount stated on Palmer’s visa — in this case, $75,000 a year. Even more egregious, they say, was that the Trump agency didn’t pay the “prevailing wage” determined by the U.S. government (which is based on the industry and location).

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency (USCIS) confirmed that a sponsoring company “must pay the actual wage or the prevailing wage, whichever is higher” — meaning it was illegal to pay Palmer below either listed wage. “Employers may never pay below the prevailing wage,” the agency said in a statement.

For Palmer, the prevailing wage acknowledged by the Trump agency on the visa application was roughly $45,000 a year. Instead, she made less than $30,000 over three years from modeling jobs for clients ranging from Conde Nast to Saks Fifth Avenue.

And she didn’t even get to keep that full amount. It was almost entirely eaten up by taxes, a 20% commission to the Trump agency, administrative fees and modeling-related costs like $75 walking lessons and a $200 dermatology visit.

In the end, Palmer netted $4,985 over three years (which included cash advances and a $3,880.75 check), a figure acknowledged by the Trump agency. Much more here.

Silenced workers who lost jobs to H-1B visa abuse (quietly) speak out

WashingtonExaminer: The Senate Judiciary Committee recently held a hearing into abuses of the H-1B skilled guest worker visa program. Lawmakers heard experts describe how the use of foreign workers has come to dominate the IT industry, with many tech giants using the program to fire well-paid current workers and replace them with workers from abroad at significantly lower pay.

“The current system to bring in high-skill guest workers … has become primarily a process for supplying lower-cost labor to the IT industry,” two experts who testified at the hearing, Howard University’s Ron Hira and Rutgers’ Hal Salzman, wrote recently. “Although a small number of workers and students are brought in as the ‘best and brightest,’ most high-skill guest workers are here to fill ordinary tech jobs at lower wages.”

Exhibit A in the abuse of H-1Bs was the case of Southern California Edison, which recently got rid of between 400 and 500 IT employees and replaced them with a smaller force of lower-paid workers brought in from overseas through the H-1B program. The original employees were making an average of about $110,000 a year, the committee heard; the replacements were brought to Southern California Edison by outsourcing firms that pay an average of between $65,000 and $75,000.

Iran and North Korea: Terror in the Same Discussion

Posted on March 11, 2016March 11, 2016 by Denise Simon

DOJ expected to charge 5 Iranians in 2013 hacking of New York dam

FNC: The Department of Justice is expected to announce charges against up to five Iranians believed to be tied to the 2013 hacking of a New York dam, a law enforcement source told Fox News.

The DOJ is expected to make the announcement sometime in the coming days, according to the source. The individuals are believed to have connections within the Iranian government.

The hackers allegedly infiltrated the control system of the Bowman Ave Dam in Rye Brook, N.Y., which is about 20 miles outside New York City, The Wall Street Journal reported at the time. The breach raised fears of the vulnerabilities of the United States’ infrastructure to foreign hackers. It also came at a time that the Iranians were on the offensive in attacking U.S. banks.

It was believed at the time that the hackers never took control of the dam, but were able to probe the system, the report said.

The expected DOJ announcement was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

In this case, the hackers were believed to have gained access to the dam through a cellular modem, the paper reported in 2015, citing an unclassified Homeland Security summary of the case that did not specifically name the dam. Two unnamed sources told the paper that the summary was referring to the relatively small, 20-foot-tall, concrete dam about 5 miles from Long Island sound. The dam is used for flood control in the area.

Initially, intelligence analysts feared the hackers were targeting another dam: The Arthur R. Bowman Dam in Oregon, a 245-foot-tall earthen structure that irrigates local agriculture and prevents flooding near the town of Prineville, approximately 150 miles southeast of Portland. That belief prompted investigators to notify the White House that Iran had escalted its cyberwar with the United States.

The source told Fox News that the upcoming charges are expected to come out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York.

****

North Korea reportedly orders more tests to build up nuclear attack capability

FNC: North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un reportedly ordered officials Friday to improve its nuclear attack capability by conducting more weapons test.

Reuters reported, citing North Korea’s official news agency (KCNA), that Kim watched a ballistic missile test take place but was most likely referring to the country firing two rockets into the sea as a response to South Korea’s new round of sanctions.

“Dear comrade Kim Jon Un said work… must be strengthened to improve nuclear attack capability and issued combat tasks to continue nuclear explosion tests to assess the power of newly developed nuclear warheads and tests to improve nuclear attack capability,” KCNA reported.

Earlier this week, Kim was quoted by state media as saying North Korea had miniaturized nuclear warheads to mount on ballistic missiles. Photographs showed him standing around what was perceived to be a nuclear warhead.

North Korea also “liquidated” South Korean assets at the closed joint factory park in the North Korean border town of Daesong and at a scrapped tourism resort at Diamond Mountain Thursday.

In a continuation of bellicose rhetoric that has spiked in recent weeks, it said North Korea will also impose “lethal” military, political and economic blows on the South Korean government to accelerate its “pitiable demise.”

South Korea’s government called the North Korean statement a “provocative act” and warned the North not to damage any South Korean assets.

The missiles fired by North Korea on Thursday flew about 310 miles before falling into the ocean off the country’s east coast, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said. They were believed to be Scud-type missiles, ministry spokesman Moon Sang Gyun said.

Such missile firings by the North are not uncommon when animosity rises. North Korea hates the annual military drills staged by Seoul and Washington, calling them preparations for an invasion. The allies say the drills, which this year are described as the biggest ever, are defensive and routine. North Korea warned at the start of the drills Monday of pre-emptive nuclear strikes.

On Wednesday, North Korea printed photos in official media of a purported mock-up of part of a nuclear warhead, with Kim repeating a claim that his country has developed miniaturized atomic bombs that can be placed on missiles.

Information from secretive, authoritarian North Korea is often impossible to confirm, and the country’s state media have a history of photo manipulation. But it was the first time the North has publicly displayed its purported nuclear designs, though it remains unclear whether the country has functioning warheads of that size or is simply trying to develop one.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry on Wednesday disputed the North’s claim that it possesses miniaturized warheads.

The United States said Wednesday it has dispatched three B-2 stealth bombers capable of launching nuclear as well as conventional weapons to the Asia-Pacific region. The U.S. Strategic Command said the bombers will conduct training with the Australian military during their deployment, which amounts to a show of force at a time of mounting tensions with North Korea.