[TaskAndPurpose] Lt. Cmdr. Lucas Martinez, 61, was arrested after paying a 14-year-old for sex, authorities say.
A lieutenant commander from the Navy’s Fleet Readiness Center Northwest was arrested in Washington Friday on allegations of raping a 14-year-old after paying them for sex.
Lt. Cmdr. Lucas Martinez, 61, who also goes by Lucas Martinezmendieta, according to the Anacortes Police Department, was arrested on charges of third-degree rape of a child, commercial sexual abuse of a minor and communication with a minor for immoral purposes.
According to an affidavit obtained by Task & Purpose, Martinez allegedly went to the home of a 14-year-old boy he met online. Wearing his green camouflage Navy Working Uniform, Martinez paid $200 to have sex, according to the affidavit. Martinez also allegedly used an official Navy phone line to contact the boy after their meetup.
According to police report, when Martinez was arrested as his Oak Harbor, Washington residence on Friday, he initially remained silent and then allegedly told police as they collected his belongings: “I never slept with a minor, let alone rape.”
Third degree rape of a child under Washington law is sexual intercourse with a minor who is between 14 and 16 while the perpetrator is at least 48 months older than the victim.
It gets more lurid from there, including photos in uniform, calls from his work phone, and the boy disobeying his mother. OpSec, too, is flouted.
[ABC Australia] Australian takes American barbecue to new heights building 19,000L smoker big enough for 150 briskets.
"Everything is bigger in Texas" is a popular expression for a reason — Texas is the largest state in the US mainland, it boasts the country's biggest ranch, and it's home to the world's biggest pair of cowboy boots.
It also has a big infatuation with barbecue. A primary food group, check the pyramid.
In 1999, the Texas House of Representatives even passed a proclamation making Lockhart the state's official "barbecue capital".
But across the Pacific, Aussies are quickly catching up when it comes to American-style barbecuing — building bigger meat smokers, hosting bigger festivals, and receiving acclaim from international "pitmasters".
MEET 'FRANK THE TANK'
American barbecue is a style of cooking that originated in the southern US.
Unlike Australian-style grill barbecuing, it involves slow-cooking meats — such as pork, beef and chicken — in a smoker, over indirect heat from wood or charcoal.
The meats are typically marinated or rubbed with a mixture of spices and sauces — and the result is intense, smoky flavours.
In a sign of the times, a metal fabricator at Plainland, 60 kilometres west of Brisbane, has just finished building what he says is the biggest smoker of its kind.
"It is the biggest reverse flow smoker in the world," creator Brendan Muhling said.
While there are larger "regular flow" offset smokers out there, Mr Muhling argues reverse flow provides a more even cooking temperature due to the way the smoke and heat travels.
In a reverse flow smoker, the smoke and heat are forced under an internal plate, then back over the meat and out the chimney, whereas in a regular offset smoker, smoke and heat travels directly from the firebox towards the chimney.
Affectionately named "Frank the tank" and built for a restaurant at nearby Walloon, Mr Muhling's $30,000 steel behemoth was crafted using the ends of an old service station gas tank and a large sheet of rolled steel.
It measures 7.5 metres in length and 5.5m from the ground to the top of the smokestack.
And with a diameter of 1.8m, a tall person can stand upright in it.
After being welded together, Frank had to be moved with a crane due to its 6.5-tonne mass.
These dimensions give it the capacity to cook 150 briskets at a time, which is about 1T of meat.
For a typical 12-hour cook, the single firebox needs to be loaded with about 140 kilograms of wood.
The build, which took four weeks, didn't go unnoticed in Mr Muhling's neighbourhood.
"When it was at the front of my place, everyone was pulling up and just taking pictures and people were saying, 'That's just insane'," he said.
PUSHING THE LIMITS
As to why there was a need for a 19,000L (5,000 gallon) smoker, Mr Muhling said since 2018, restaurant owner and mate Luke Saggus had been pushing the limits of what was possible in the world of barbecue.
"It started one night when we were just having some beers," Mr Muhling said.
"Luke goes, 'We need to go bigger'.
"In America, they all stop at 1,000 gallons (3,800L) because they believe [that] over 1,000 gallons, you can't make a smoker work.
"I guess we wanted to prove them wrong [and] it actually works very, very well — it's pretty crazy."
Mr Muhling believes Australia's love of the culinary style was driven by TV shows from the US like BBQ Pitmasters, and that social media has taken it to the next level.
Videos of Frank the tank on social media have been viewed more than 1.5 million times.
"My page is blowing up with a lot of American people starting to follow, because even they're blown away just by the sheer size of it," he said.
"Big Manny?"
[Regnum] In the United States, they found “evidence” of gender reassignment by the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, Brigitte Macron (Tronier). American journalist and TV presenter Candace Owens said that she spent three years collecting “facts” presented to the public.
Good lord. Has the woman nothing at all better to do? In a related question, why does the left side of the news media care?
They say that in 1977, a transgender man calling himself Véronique was interviewed on television, and a comparison of the voice recording with Brigitte Macron's proved that he was the same person.
In addition, according to Owens, the wife of the French president is actually her brother Jean-Michel Tronier, who took the place of his sister who allegedly disappeared in 1961. No one announced what could have happened to her, and from about 1984 he used the identity and even obtained his sister’s birth certificate, identity card and other documents. Accordingly, as the journalist stated, Brigitte’s three children are the children of Jean-Michel, he is their father, and he allegedly called himself a mother with the birth of his last youngest daughter, Tifan, in 1984. The real mother of the children is Jean-Michel's wife Brigitte Ozier, and the first marriage of "Brigitte Macron" in 1974 is not documented, since it was registered without identity verification.
“The secret is well kept. Apparently, after January 1984, Brigitte, née Ozier, lived in Croix or Lille under a different name. So far we have three signatures of her, her wedding photo and her quote from her 1980 wedding,” Owens said on her podcast.
Among other things, she noted that this level of secrecy was achieved thanks to Jean-Michel’s acquaintance - his wife’s brother worked in a certain secret service. Despite all this, the journalists did not find out where the real mother of the children was. In addition, lovers of conspiracy theories noted that the English King Charles III, when meeting with the heads of other states, always kissed the hands of the first ladies, according to etiquette, but in the case of Brigitte Macron, he shook them.
As reported by IA Regnum, Brigitte Macron is almost 25 years older than her husband, he was a classmate of her daughter, they met in 1993, when Emmanuel attended literature classes taught by Brigitte. Then the future president, at the age of 16, wrote a frank novel, which he dedicated to his teacher. She married her student in 2007.
In 2022, a video appeared on the Internet by two women who claimed that the wife of the French president allegedly used to be a man named Jean-Michel Tronier, who, according to them, changed his gender and became a woman. After this, Brigitte Macron, her children and brother filed a lawsuit, demanding compensation for interference in their personal lives, but the court rejected the application, qualifying the circumstances of the case as public libel.
Macron himself until recently did not comment on the topic of gender reassignment, but in March 2024, after the end of an event dedicated to International Women's Day, he called such statements untrue. The French leader called false information and fabricated scenarios the worst that can happen, and noted that rumors about his wife are spread by transgender people and that this is nothing more than the attacks of misogynists that the fairer sex has to put up with every day.
#4
Well, from "undeniably true but still disinformation" - think everything about COVID - to "proven utterly false but serves the narrative," - think Charlotte "good people on both sides" hoax, evidence comes in many forms.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/19/2024 11:56 Comments ||
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#5
I wish to associate myself with the comments of the gentlemen in #3.
Also, a photo of a 70-something woman who has probably had a bit of cosmetic surgery, a photo perhaps with a sharpening filter applied to enhance fine detail, is not exactly what I would call confirmation of anything.
"After looking into this, I would stake my entire professional reputation on the fact that Brigitte Macron is in fact a man," Owens wrote
Entire professional reputation, eh? So we're not exactly playing for high stakes here.
#9
Based on recent evidence, I don't think you wanna go on the record supporting her, even if she's right on any singular issue. Nutcase, IMNSHO, particularly on Juice
N.B.: I had thought different before
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/19/2024 18:51 Comments ||
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Therapist and gastroenterologist Daria Utyumova spoke about the peculiarities of nutrition during Lent. According to her, meals should be balanced, and foods can be boiled, steamed, stewed and baked in the oven.
Among the most useful, Utyumova named such foods as cabbage, carrots, beets, pumpkin, onions of various types, apples, pears, pomegranates and citrus fruits, as well as persimmons and grapes. The doctor noted that peas, chickpeas, lentils, soybeans, beans and buckwheat, millet, oat and corn cereals, quinoa and bulgur are useful.
During fasting, nuts, corn starch, plant milk, various types of which contain calcium, vitamins B and E, are useful. The specialist suggested supplementing the diet with honey and sunflower halva, which will provide the body with the necessary antioxidants, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc and iron, and a large number of vitamin groups B, E, C, RR, will strengthen the immune system and improve the functioning of the nervous system and the quality of sleep.
“Medical research confirms the positive effects of eating meatless foods on health. It helps fight acidification of the body, promotes weight loss, prevents atherosclerosis and endocrine diseases, and is good for the cardiovascular system,” Utyumova told Izvestia.
At the same time, the doctor emphasized that it is important for patients with diseases of the heart and blood vessels to consult with a doctor before starting fasting and observe moderation in food intake, while fasting is contraindicated for pregnant and lactating women and people with chronic diseases.
According to church tradition, Cheese Week, Maslenitsa, the last week before Lent, began in Russia on March 11. Since ancient times, it has been customary to celebrate it with sledding from the icy mountains, bonfires and pancakes. For believers, Maslenitsa is a kind of preparation for Lent, when the Church prescribes to think more about God, forgive enemies and the misdeeds of loved ones, and give up meat food, leaving only butter, fish and eggs in the diet.
As IA Regnum reported, on February 9, endocrinologist Ekaterina Young said that eating healthy carbohydrates from seasonal root vegetables in the evening promotes good sleep and weight loss. According to the specialist, sleep is important for health, beauty and longevity, and one of the reasons for poor sleep is surges in cortisol in the body, which also affect weight. Cortisol can increase glucose levels and lead to a further increase in insulin production.
Three survivors of a secret Army group that tricked Nazi Germany into calamitous mistakes through a series of audacious battlefield stunts will finally be honored at a ceremony in DC on Thursday.
Bernie Bluestein, 100, John Christman, 99, and Seymour Nussenbaum, 100, were members of a tactical deception unit called the 'Ghost Army' whose exploits were so secret they were not allowed to mention them for more than 50 years.
Just seven members are still alive out of the 1,100 artists, designers and technicians who would sometimes masquerade as a force 40 times larger within 100 yards of the front line.
They used inflatable equipment, sound effects, and radio trickery to dupe the enemy, and their efforts will be recognized with the Congressional Medal of Honor.
'I didn't even tell my wife until the 1990s, when the secrecy came off,' said Nussenbaum of Monroe Township in New Jersey.
I couldn't potentially risk the lives of any soldiers who might be involved because of what I said.'
Army brass began trawling theaters, advertising agencies, and art schools in 1944 for men who could fool the Nazis as D-Day approached in 1944.
They were initially drafted into two units the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops and the 3133rd Signal Company Special before coming together at Stratford-Upon-Avon in England in the spring of 1944.
Once in Europe they duped Nazi surveillance by deploying fleets of inflatable rubber tanks, trucks and airplanes, sometimes even building entire bogus airfields to leave the Germans mystified as to the Allies' true positions.
'It was the first mobile, multimedia, tactical deception unit in the history of warfare,' said Rick Beyer of the Ghost Army Legacy Project.
'They were capable of projecting their deception — visual, sound, radio, special effects — through all these different means, and they are essentially another arrow in the quiver of a battlefield commander to maneuver the enemy.'
Five-hundred pound speakers would blast recordings of non-existent troop exercises up to 15 miles away while they filled the airwaves with phony radio reports.
They helped keep the Germans in the dark about the true location General George Patton's Third Army as it ploughed through France in the weeks after D-Day.
[Washington Examiner] Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson raised concerns that the First Amendment may stand in the way of government censorship in unique times.
She’s asking the questions that wouldn’t occur to anyone else.
In Monday’s oral arguments for Murthy v. Missouri, Jackson appeared to be skeptical that the government could not censor social media posts in "the most important time periods."
"My biggest concern is that your view has the First Amendment hamstringing the government in significant ways in the most important time periods," Jackson said to Louisiana Solicitor General Benjamin Aguiñaga.
"You seem to be suggesting that that duty cannot manifest itself in the government encouraging or even pressuring platforms to take down harmful information," Jackson said. "So, can you help me? Because I’m really worried about that because you’ve got the First Amendment operating in an environment of threatening circumstances, from the government’s perspective, and you’re saying that the government can’t interact with the source of those problems."
Aguiñaga said his view was that the government should intervene in certain situations, but it has to do so by following the First Amendment.
"Our position is not that the government can’t interact with the platforms there. They can and they should in certain circumstances like that, that present such dangerous issues for society and especially young people," Aguiñaga said in response. "But the way they do that has to be in compliance with the First Amendment. And I think that means they can give them all the true information that the platform needs and ask to amplify that."
#6
In this year's Diversity Hires' Cup she's plainly ahead of Willis. Jackson was able to display her profound ignorance in complete, coherent sentences. She also avoided that zesty frisson of lying in open court in direct language, or perhaps dialect.
#13
affirmative action, thank you LBJ. I think that anyone accepting an affirmative action benefit would afterwards feel less worthy. but thats only me and what do i know about 'worthy'.
#16
Looks like the gotcha question about what a woman is was a smoke screen for the deeper issue. She doesn’t understand anything about the Constitution.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/19/2024 15:52 Comments ||
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#17
^ "So, it's a restriction on the Government? That hardly seems fair!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/19/2024 18:48 Comments ||
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#18
Yes, and you have the CNN girlie who has like quintupled down now on "Christian nationalists think rights come from God, not the gummint. How scary!"
No self awareness at all.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/19/2024 18:58 Comments ||
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#19
Can a supreme court justice be impeached?
Section 1 of Article 3 of the Constitution says:
The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.
A Russian Sukhoi also had an engine failure recently near Moskva.
[Regnum] A passenger plane of the budget airline Air Arabia flying from Morocco to Belgium suffered an engine failure in the sky. The AeroInside portal reported this on March 17.
Nice to know it’s not just Boeing, I suppose. But really, was it inshallah maintenance or Airbus imperfections?
It is clarified that the incident occurred on March 16, when the aircraft crew commander reported the failure of one of the airliner’s two engines.
As a result, the crew decided to make an emergency landing at Casablanca airport, which went well and none of the passengers were injured.
As Regnum reported, on March 15, it became known that a passenger plane operating a flight from Moscow to St. Petersburg requested an emergency landing at the capital’s airport. It was noted that the crew reported an engine malfunction sensor and decided to return to the capital.
Later that day, the SSJ-100 airliner with a failed engine landed safely at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport. According to the airport's press service, this happened at 11:27 Moscow time.
Haiti's civil war has exploded as masked vigilantes fight back against Barbecue's bloodthirsty gangs - leaving the island nation teetering on the edge.
Hundreds of dead bodies now lie unburied in the streets as residents band together to protect themselves against armed factions bolstered by thousands of convicts freed from stormed prisons.
Chaos escalated since Prime Minister Ariel Henry was forced from office last week amid attempts by armed gang leader Jimmy 'Barbecue' Cherizier to seize power.
Nearly 1.5 million Haitians are on the brink of famine and Monday's attacks on five of the state's power stations has left them 'completely dysfunctional'.
'Such acts of theft and sabotage only further aggravate the financial and technical situation of the company, by the acts of vandalism and terror of bandits,' a spokesman for EDH said.
The attackers carried off electrical equipment, batteries, computers and office equipment, as well as company documents.
It left much of the capital in darkness including the area around the US embassy in the east of the city.
Around 80 per cent of Port-au-Prince was already in the hands of armed gangs before Henry was swept from power last week after announcing another delay to long-postponed elections.
He is now stranded in neighboring Puerto Rico trying to broker a transitional government as the gangs extend their control, blockading fuel, food and water supplies outside the city.
Cherizier, a former police officer turned gangster, has claimed responsibility for the latest surge in attacks, and said his goal is to capture Haiti's police chief and government ministers and prevent Henry's return to the Caribbean nation.
Barbecue's threats will have struck fear into the hearts of many Haitians, with his reputation for burning people alive - something he has long denied - preceding him.
But terrified residents are flocking to a vigilante movement known as 'bwa kale' which attempts to preserve neighborhood security through shared surveillance systems, checkpoints and patrols.
Sans gossamer wings.
[Regnum] Japan plans to send two astronauts to the Moon after 2028 as part of the US Artemis space program. The Japanese newspaper The Japan Times reported this on March 17, citing sources.
It is clarified that the Japanese and American sides can reach an agreement on this issue after a meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and US President Joe Biden scheduled for April 10 in Washington.
According to the publication, Japan and the United States are also considering the possibility of agreeing on the operation of the lunar rover developed by Japanese scientists for ten years.
As Regnum reported, on March 9, the first launch of the Japanese private Kairos-1 rocket from Space One from the private spaceport Spaceport Kii was postponed. According to the head of Wakayama Prefecture, Shuhei Kishimoto, this decision was made due to the vessel’s entry into a water area declared as a high-risk zone.
On January 12, the Japanese Aerospace Agency JAXA successfully launched the H2A launch vehicle with the Kogaku-8 optical satellite on board. The satellite belongs to the Japanese government and is designed to collect information about the Earth's surface.
[WND] Exxon Mobil Corp. went to court last week to establish its basic right to review, and ultimately approve or preempt, Chevron Corp.’s planned megadeal to acquire Hess Corp., an independent American energy company that owns a minority stake in Guyana’s enormous offshore oilfield, the Stabroek Block.
Bar none the most exciting and prolific oil find of the past decade, it’s understandable that Chevron would want to get in on the Stabroek action. But as 45% owner and operator of the block, it’s also understandable that Exxon would expect to have the first right of refusal, which is lawyer speak for the opportunity to match Chevron’s offer for Hess’s 30% stake.
Contrary to some critics’ claims, Exxon’s is neither being aggressive nor a bully in seeking to establish its contractual right of first refusal, or preemption rights. Rather, it’s abiding by the terms and obligations of the Stabroek Joint Operating Agreement (JOA), first signed by Exxon and its then-partner, Shell, in 2008—the year exploratory drilling began. At that time, Exxon and Shell agreed to split the risks and costs equally, with each holding a 50% stake.
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But after years spent drilling into empty wells, Shell decided to cut its loses, exiting Guyana in 2014 by selling its position to Hess for the bargain price of US$1 per share. Exxon, however, continued to believe in Guyana and welcomed two new partners to the Stabroek consortium that same year: Hess and CNNOC, a Chinese oil company. Some 30 other companies were also invited to join, but none were interested, believing—like Shell—that exploration was too costly, and chances of success too slim.
In defiance of these naysayers, Exxon willfully assumed the lion’s share of the risk with a 45% majority stake, followed by Hess with 30%, and CNOOC with 25%. Months and millions later, in May 2015, Exxon was vindicated with a significant first discovery.
Since then, the Exxon-led consortium has made more than 30 additional discoveries, with Exxon alone investing some $20 billion to develop the Stabroek, now estimated to hold over 11.2 billion barrels of oil-equivalent, including an estimated 17 trillion cubic feet of associated natural gas reserves. That’s more than 110,000 times the total daily oil consumption of the entire world, and more than half the annual natural-gas consumption of the U.S., the world’s largest producer and consumer of natural gas.
Before this abundance was realized, Exxon, Hess, and CNOOC signed a JOA that clearly stipulates the right of all existing partners to participate in any deal that would result in an ownership change, making Exxon undeniably justified in seeking to establish its contractual right of first refusal of the Chevron-Hess deal.
Indeed, it has a fiduciary duty to do so—not only to shareholders, but to the government of Guyana, for whom Exxon last year generated $1.4 billion in revenue by producing 645,000 barrels per day (bpd), making Guyana the world’s no.1 fastest-growing economy with the highest real GDP growth rate on record. And as Exxon ramps up production to reach 1.2 million bpd over the next three years, this growth will only accelerate, with the Guyanese government expected to generate $10 million in annual oil revenues by 2027, and as much as $157 billion by 2040.
Guyana’s people are also benefiting, with per capita GDP rising from $6,477 in 2019 (the year Exxon began production) to $20,560 in 2023. By 2027, per capita GPD is expected to reach $35,900, again thanks to Exxon’s planned production ramp-up. As a result, Guyana has experienced a substantial decline in poverty, with fewer than one-in-every-three Guyanese estimated to be living below the $5.50-per-day poverty line, compared to more than two in every three in 2006.
Having assumed the lion’s share of the risk at a time when few believed in Guyana’s potential, Exxon has both a right and an obligation to shareholders to ensure it realizes the value created in the Stabroek. Just as important, it also has a duty to the government and people of Guyana to ensure it can continue supporting the country’s socioeconomic development—and to do that, the terms of the JOA must be respected. In this case, that means respecting Exxon’s right to participate in and perhaps preempt Chevron’s takeover of Hess’s 30% stake.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The price of futures for Brent oil for delivery in May rose above $87 per barrel on March 18 on the London ICE exchange, trading data shows.
This happened for the first time since November 3, 2023. According to ICE data at 21:46 Moscow time, the price rose to $87.01 (by 1.96%). At the same time, by 21:55 Moscow time, the Brent futures price dropped to $86.97.
The futures price for WTI oil for delivery in May reached $82.07 per barrel (an increase of 1.41%).
As Regnum reported, in mid-September at the auction the price of Brent oil exceeded $94 per barrel, which has not been observed since November 16, 2022. The rise in cost comes as forecasts for a deficit in the oil market in the fourth quarter of 2023 after Russia and Saudi Arabia announced voluntary cuts in exports and production of the resource.
On January 7, 2024, Bloomberg wrote that Saudi Arabia, against the backdrop of declining market demand, decided to reduce oil prices for buyers in all regions, including Asia. Riyadh associated its move with the risk of a supply surplus arising from increased oil supplies from the United States.
In October, the World Bank released a report saying that further escalation of the conflict in the Middle East could cause oil prices to rise by 56-75%. In this situation, the cost of raw materials can reach $140–157 per barrel.
[Federalist] Steven Michael Nasholm passed away "unexpectedly" on Jan. 30, according to his obituary.
The 35-year-old husband, father, and trucking company owner was killed in a late January crash in northern Wisconsin’s Rusk County. Nasholm’s killer, according to police, was Jorge Sanchez-Tzanahua, a 22-year-drunk driver who was in the country illegally and had no business behind the wheel of a vehicle.
The fatality is another in a growing list of "unexpected" deaths allegedly at the hands of an illegal immigrant in President Joe Biden’s borderless America.
[CNN] National Security Analyst Juliette Kayyem said the Biden Department of Justice’s lawfare against former President Donald Trump is not enough to defeat him and called on the Department of Homeland Security to meddle in the election to stop Trump from winning. Conspiracy, or RICO?
On Saturday, Trump warned Americans of an economic "bloodbath" in the auto industry if Biden wins a second term.
"China now is building a couple of massive plants where they’re going to build the cars in Mexico," Trump said during an Ohio rally. "[China thinks] that they’re going to sell those cars into the United States with no tax at the border."
"We’re going to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you’re not going to be able to sell those cars — if I get elected," the former president continued. "Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath."
Democrats and the media, however, cut the clip to suggest the former president was simply saying there would "be a bloodbath" if he lost. All over TV screens and social media last weekend, they spread the deliberately false disinformation narrative that Trump had called for a violent "bloodbath" if he loses.
#2
Actually, though he didn't mean it that way, I think - if Trump losses - there IS going to be a bloodbath. Thousands of prosecutors like Fani Willis, judges like Engoron, and NKVD FBI will be "settling accounts" with Trump supporters.
[Texarkana Gazette/Dallas Morning News] U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is set to raise the fees to apply for work visas and residency starting April 1, in some cases hundreds of dollars more, to better fund and speed along the infamously slow immigration process.
The agency is backlogged and has become increasingly burdened. USCIS responds to the uptick in demand for foreign work permits and extends resources to the thousands of people being processed each month for humanitarian parole at the southern border. Even more of an incentive for illegal entry.
If an employer is sponsoring a foreign national worker, they're being hit twice, said Matthew Gross, partner and co-head of the Dallas office of BAL, a global corporate immigration law firm.
"That's shifting the cost burden to U.S. employers who are completely independent of that political issue on the border for simply filing petitions to legally sponsor work for international workers in areas that they need the talent," Gross said.
The cost of filing a petition for a nonimmigrant worker for an H1-B visa, or a work permit for a high-skilled foreign worker, is planned to jump 70% to $780, according to the federal agency. The corresponding registration processing fee will grow next year from $10 to $215.
The rate hike came as the integrity of the H1-B registration process was largely called into question. Reports of employers gaming the lottery system to better their prospective workers' chances by filing duplicate applications led to a change in the petition process. I guess the Brandon immigration plan the evil MAGA morons killed a few weeks ago would have been better?
The fees for the form used to apply for permanent residence will increase by 26%, costing $1,440.
There's also a $50 discount for filing online.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/19/2024 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[34 views]
Top|| File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] In the UK, an excavator driver unearthed an 1,800-year-old Roman sculpture while constructing a parking lot.
The parking lot was built near Stamford. Excavator driver Greg Crowley, who was at a construction site, noticed a piece of marble in the ground. At first he mistook it for a stone, but soon saw human features. It turned out that the marble head was part of an ancient Roman bust, the remains of which were found near the construction site two weeks later. Experts dated the statue to the 1st–2nd centuries AD.
The construction took place next to the mansion of the Dukes of Exeter, so it is assumed that the bust could have been brought by the ninth Earl of Exeter, who visited Italy several times and brought various artifacts from there. However, in any case, it remains a mystery why the bust was split and buried. This was reported by the Yahoo portal.
As Regnum reported, on September 16, seven tombs about 900 years old were discovered in southern Peru. In them, scientists found human remains, ceramics and gold items. Experts suggested that the burials were of a religious nature.
About 400 objects from the 18th–19th centuries were discovered during excavations on Usachevaya Street in Moscow. According to the head of the department of cultural heritage of the Russian capital, Alexei Emelyanov, among the artifacts found are children's toys, household items, jewelry, exquisite dishes, coins, pharmaceutical bottles and lipstick jars.
Excavations were carried out in 2022–2023 on an area of more than 5 thousand square meters. Among the finds are, for example, tongs from a set of sweets from the Tremblay confectionery, an unusual tin toy and a porcelain baby doll. All found objects are at the disposal of restorers, who will transfer them to the museum fund.
Let us recall, as the mayor of the capital Sergei Sobyanin previously reported, over the past 12 years, the archaeological funds of Moscow have been replenished with 100 thousand finds.
[IsraelTimes] Community excavation of Huqoq village carried out with the aid of volunteers and schools; 2,000-year-old finds at site to open to the public March 29 and April 5
Archaeological work at an ancient Jewish site near the Sea of Galilee has revealed a complex of underground bolt holes that were likely used by Jewish villagers during revolts against Roman rule, some 2,000 years ago.
The ongoing excavation of "the most extensive hiding complex discovered to date in the Galilee" has revealed "about eight hiding cavities" with "connecting tunnels... dug at 90 degrees, to hamper the heavily armed Roman soldiers chasing the rebels," the Israel Antiques Authority said in a Monday statement announcing the find.
The underground cavities in some cases had tunnels connected directly to the community mikveh or houses in the village, and one hiding space was created out of a converted Second Temple-era water cistern.
The cavities were found to contain hundreds of broken ceramic and glass dishes, utensils, traces of non-perishable food and other small artifacts, including a ring with the central stone missing.
The areas "weren’t for living, they were like small, underground bomb shelters," said Prof. Yinon Shivtiel of the Zefat Academic College, one of the excavation directors.
Speaking to The Times of Israel by phone from the dig site, he explained that during the period of the First Jewish Revolt, also known as the First Jewish-Roman War (66-70 CE), and during the Bar Kochba Revolt (132-136 CE), Jews could hide out underground or conceal certain people or items when Roman patrols were in the area.
#1
It's interesting how quickly Britannia reverted the the shaggy hair barbarian stage after the Romans pulled their legion out. "What have the Romans ever done for us"
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.
[WND] 
The agency is backlogged and has become increasingly burdened. USCIS responds to the uptick in demand for foreign work permits and extends resources to the thousands of people being processed each month for humanitarian parole at the southern border.
