[Breitbart] Apple has agreed to pay a paltry $25 million settlement to resolve allegations of discriminating against U.S. citizens and legal residents in its hiring practices. The DOJ charged the Silicon Valley giant with giving preference to foreign workers by failing to advertise open positions on its recruitment website in a scheme to ensure it could fill vacancies with foreign workers it could sponsor to enter the country.
An H1-B game? Lovely.
Engadget reports that Apple has settled claims brought by the DOJ, agreeing to pay $25 million over allegations of discriminating against U.S. citizens and permanent residents during its hiring process. This case is particularly noteworthy as it is the largest settlement the DOJ has obtained under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act, but even taking that into consideration, it is less than a drop in the bucket for Apple, which enjoyed profits of about $100 billion in 2022.
#1
Apple could be fined $25 Million per week for the next 10 years and it's bottom line wouldn't feel the impact. Settlements such is this ensure no one goes to jail and the minimum corporate disruption is experienced.
I wish they would. Good riddance. But they won't because they have too much invested in all the politicians they've bought. Then they'd have to bribe all the politicians in some other country.
And, yes, settlements like these should be designed not just to compensate the aggrieved parties but to punish the offender to such an extent that they won't be tempted to do it again.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
11/12/2023 15:15 Comments ||
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[ZERO] A man with no criminal history who saved a woman from being attacked by a homeless man has been arrested and charged by the Manhattan DA with criminal possession of a firearm and reckless endangerment because he fired a warning shot, stopping the assault. No foto of the suspect was made available.
Officials, who aren't protecting vulnerable citizens, are pissed.
"I’ve looked at the video," said New York City Transit President Richard Davey at a news conference Wednesday. "It’s, I would say unusual. He sort of looks very calm, pulls out a gun, fires two shots, calmly puts the gun back in the bag and walks away."
"The point is, that’s not what we need from anybody in this system," Davey continued.
John Rote, 43 is originally from West Virginia and has ties out of state, but no criminal history, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. His attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
"Thank goodness nobody was hurt here—but what happened was outrageous, reckless, and unacceptable," Mr. Davey said in a statement released after Rote was arrested.
A human smuggler, who caused a head on crash last week in Texas, killing 8 migrants and an American couple, was identified as a 17-year-old Honduran teen
The incident occurred at about 6:30 AM on US Highway 57 near the farming community of Batesville
The driver, a suspected human smuggler from Honduras, allegedly tried to outrun deputies from the Zavala County Sheriff's Office
The crash killed all eight people Wednesday, including the teen driver, the migrants and the American couple identified as Jose Lerma and Isbael Lerma, who were driving to Mexico.
The smuggler was a Honduras native and had a Honduran passport but was reportedly living in Houston, officials confirmed. His family has been notified.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Donald Trump appeared to be given a double bird by the wife of comedian Bill Burr after he arrived at UFC 295 to an otherwise hero's welcome at Madison Square Garden.
The 77-year-old received an ecstatic ovation from almost everyone inside the arena when he turned up with his son Don Jr, Kid Rock and Tucker Carlson on Saturday night.
But cameras caught Nia Renee Hill, sitting near Trump, appearing to swear at the former Commander-in-Chief when he was in shot.
The former President was in high spirits, grinning and flashing the thumbs up, despite being on trial for a $250 million fraud in the city.
Trump frequently attends UFC bouts and is wildly popular among fight fans.
On Saturday, he was flanked by UFC chief Dana White as he made his entrance after the preliminary bouts.
He was spotted talking to singer Kid Rock near the Octagon, while comedian and actor Burr was also in the crowd alongside actor Jared Leto and UFC royalty, including Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier.
[MAIL] The remains of a British soldier have finally been identified, 130 years after he died in one of Britain's bloodiest colonial battles.
Colour-Sergeant M.C. Keane was just 24 on January 22, 1879 when he fell during the first major battle of the Anglo-Zulu War.
For more than a century his body lay anonymously near the mass graves of more than 1,300 colleagues who also lost their lives in Britain's bloody defeat at Isandlwana, in what is now South Africa.
But historians have now finally been able to identify his remains after archaeologists unearthed a tunic button on his skeleton.
Historian Arthur Konigkramer said the distinctive metal badge was that of the General Staff Corps - and the only soldier from that regiment who fought at Isandlwana was Colour-Sergeant Keane.
He added: 'This is a truly remarkable discovery.'
The metal badge was discovered with Colour-Sergeant Keane's skeleton in April during excavations by Amafa, the heritage organisation responsible for protecting the historic battle field 100 miles north of Durban.
Archaeologists found it as they dug out the foundations of guards' accommodation.
A photograph of the badge was emailed to British military medal expert John Young in London, who identified the markings and the soldier it belonged to.
Amafa spokesman Mr Konigkramer said the finding had helped historians build up a clear picture of what had happened to the young Colour-Sergeant during the bloody battle, in which around 1,350 British troops were slaughtered by 22,000 Zulu warriors.
[AFRICANEWS] Gabon says the African Development Bank has lifted financial sanctions on it after President Ali Bongo was removed from power in a coup in August.
Bongo served two terms as president after the death of his father in 2009, who himself ruled Gabon for 41 years.
In a meeting last week officials from the government and the AFDB met in Morocco to agree on resuming work together.
The bank tries to achieve sustainable economic development in Africa and at the same time reduce poverty.
Two weeks ago U.S. President Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. Joe's wife and daughter weren't killed by a drunk driver. He didn't graduate with three or even two degrees, wasn't in the top half of his law class, and his daddy didn't come home from a hard day's work in the mines and play football with the guys. The NAACP hasn't endorsed him every time he's run.... announced he would stop Gabon participating in the African Growth and Opportunity Act trade programme. It allows Gabon duty-free access to the U.S. market for its exports.
President Biden cited the country's inability to establish or make consistent progress in safeguarding political pluralism and the rule of law.
Gabon is a member of OPEC but its oil wealth is concentrated in the hands of an elite.
Nearly 40 percent of those aged 15 to 24 were unemployed in 2020, according to the World Bank.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2023 00:00 ||
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[Breitbart] The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) released a report this week that found China has become a leading power in operating seaports across the globe, as well as “the world’s largest trading country and second-largest economy.”
China owns or operates a seaport on every continent except Antarctica and, at last count, it had stakes in 92 active seaport projects.
“Chinese President Xi Jinping’s launch of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013 and the introduction of the Twenty-First Century Maritime Silk Road, which connects China to Europe and the Arctic Ocean via the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean, have supercharged China’s overseas port investment and construction activities,” CFR said.
Interestingly, China became a dominant port power without becoming a major naval power, at least not yet. The Communist tyranny developed “significant geoeconomic influence over international sea-lanes and commercial ports underpinning the global flow of goods” without building many naval bases outside its borders.
The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has certainly grown large enough for force projection. The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) reported last month that China now has “the world’s largest navy, with a battle force of more than 370 ships and submarines,” including three aircraft carriers and three amphibious assault ships. China’s air force is also “rapidly catching up to Western air forces,” according to U.S. officials.
China’s network of overseas ports is impressive, but its domestic ports are nothing to sneeze at. China runs some of the world’s largest and busiest container ports, led by Shanghai, which has been the world’s most active port for 13 years running.
For all you financial types: Given the economic slowdown China is facing, is it possible her domestic ports are not as busy as they used to be? And given the worldwide economic slowdown post-COVID, is it possible that those international ports are also not as profitable as heretofore? At what point would the investment become unprofitable, and how close are they to that point?
CFR looked at China’s port infrastructure and determined that many of its “commercial” ports could be easily repurposed to hold warships. PLAN ships have paid “friendship visits” to a number of these ports, possibly testing both their physical capacity and the local political climate for future military use.
The report authors thought it was “inconceivable” that China could get away with docking warships at the Port of Los Angeles, even though the facility is physically capable of handling them, although after watching California Governor Gavin Newsom’s obsequious conduct during his recent trip to China, the word “inconceivable” might not mean what CFR thinks it means.
CFR thought increased Western scrutiny and the “de-risking” movement, in which more foreign money is pulling out of China than dictator Xi Jinping anticipated, might prevent China from using its massive port network to project military influence. Beijing could, however, “influence global trade and logistics” in various ways by controlling so much of the world’s port capacity.
“China’s leverage is in its varied degrees of investment and ownership in the world’s busiest and most-connected ports, which underpin the global flow of goods,” CFR concluded.
The United States and China’s regional rival India are beginning to take steps to curb Beijing’s port dominance. On Wednesday, the U.S. announced $553 million in funding for a port terminal in Sri Lanka’s capital city of Colombo, to be developed by Indian tycoon Gautam Adani.
The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), an agency established in response to China’s massive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), said the port project would boost Sri Lanka’s economic growth and enhance its “regional economic integration, including with India.”
“It is a high priority for the U.S. to be active in the Indo-Pacific region. It is obviously the engine of economic growth for the world,” said DFC chief executive Scott Nathan.
Nathan said DFC’s loans would help Sri Lanka “expand its shipping capacity, creating greater prosperity” without “adding to sovereign debt.”
This is a vital consideration, as Sri Lanka was driven into bankruptcy and political chaos by massive Chinese loans for dubious Belt and Road infrastructure projects. China infamously seized one of Sri Lanka’s ports in 2017 after the BRI client state defaulted on its BRI loans.
#4
You can own a Dock/Port, but if the Dockworkers Union decides not to work or unload certain ships, it won't happen. The days of unskilled dock work are over.
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/12/2023 7:06 Comments ||
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#5
WebOct 16, 2019 · U.S. forces COSCO to sell U.S. terminal to get Chinese government out of ownership of the Long Beach Port.
#6
If the cranes on the docks are hacked and can’t operate your harbor operations stop abruptly. Where are the cranes electronics manufacturered? Closed ports require diversions to operational ports. Just saying …
[REVOLVER] Two private planes collided on the runway of a Houston airport early last week. Luckily, no one was seriously injured, and the ultimate nightmare scenario of a midair collision did not transpire. Investigators are still looking into the incident, though early reports suggest the air traffic controllers were responsible.
New York Times (archive):
"We just had a midair," the pilot of the Hawker is heard saying in an audio recording posted on LiveATC.net, which shares live and archived recordings of air traffic control radio transmissions.
Someone in the control tower responds by saying, "Say what?"
"You guys cleared somebody to take off or land, and we hit them on a departure," the Hawker pilot says.
The recent accident in Houston is just the latest noteworthy instance in what a major New York Times investigation this summer determined to be "an alarming pattern of safety lapses and near misses in the skies and on the runways in the USA." According to internal records of the Federal Aviation Agency, the Times reported that these safety lapses and near misses occurred as a "result of human error." The Times report further revealed that "runway incursions" of the sort described above have nearly doubled, from 987 to 1732, despite the widespread proliferation of advanced technologies.
A follow-up report by the Times revealed that Austin’s airport alone has experienced so many close calls as a result of air traffic controller error that a pilot proclaimed, "They’re trying to kill us in Austin." One such incident involved an air traffic controller clearing a FedEx cargo plane to land on a runway just as a Southwest Airlines jet was set to take off on the same runway. The air traffic controller in question said the Southwest jet would take off before the FedEx plane got too close, though the two planes ended up just seconds from colliding, with the FedEx plane skimming less than 100 feet over the Southwest jet, whose 128 passengers had no clue how narrowly they just escaped death.
Below is an audio recording of the exchange between the pilots and air traffic controllers.
Despite the remarkable lack of transparency with respect to such near misses and the air traffic controllers behind them, the Times was able to identify the controller behind this incident as one Damian Campbell, a "Navy veteran and self-published poet." According to the report, even fellow air traffic controllers were "baffled" by Campbell’s actions. Still more baffling is the fact that Campbell is apparently back on the job. FAA’s policy is not to take disciplinary action against a controller unless he or she is guilty of "gross negligence" or illegal activity.
The Times report does not provide a picture of Mr. Campbell. Such is the extreme reluctance to show an image of Mr. Campbell that the only reference we could find is from a Twitter user who posted a screenshot of the LinkedIn profile of one Damian Campbell who works as an air traffic controller in Austin, Texas. The LinkedIn link has since been scrubbed:
#4
From NYTimes: Austin-Bergstrom, like the vast majority of U.S. airports, lacks technology that allows controllers to track planes on the ground and that warns of imminent collisions. The result is that on foggy days, controllers can’t always see what is happening on runways and taxiways. Some have even resorted to using a public flight-tracking website in lieu of radar.
In addition, for years Austin has had a shortage of experienced controllers, even as traffic at the airport has surged to record levels. Nearly three-quarters of shifts have been understaffed. Managers and rank-and-file controllers have repeatedly warned that staffing levels pose a public danger. The controller on that February morning was working an overtime shift.
#6
"aggressive affirmative action policies implemented during the Obama administration have resulted in a catastrophic collapse in the quality of controllers. In short, COVID policies have gutted the quantity of air traffic controllers, and diversity policies have gutted the quality of air traffic controllers, creating unprecedented danger for the aviation industry."
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...46th president of the U.S. Joe's wife and daughter weren't killed by a drunk driver. He didn't graduate with three or even two degrees, wasn't in the top half of his law class, and his daddy didn't come home from a hard day's work in the mines and play football with the guys. The NAACP hasn't endorsed him every time he's run....
