Free Republic

Abstract: The founders of the United States considered intellectual property worthy of a special place in the Constitution - “To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” In today's knowledge-based economy, capturing value from intellectual capital and knowledge-based assets has gained even more importance. Global competition is no longer for the control of raw materials, but for this productive knowledge. This paper is the third in a series of studies focusing on immigrants' contributions to the competitiveness of the U.S. economy....

A brutal assault on a 78-year-old woman during a daytime burglary in an upscale Daly City home has left the victim in critical condition and prompted the city to offer a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of her suspected attacker, police reported Thursday. The assault began with a robber forcing his way into a house in the city's quiet Serramonte neighborhood, and concluded with the senior lying semi-conscious, fighting for her life on the floor of her home. She was bleeding profusely from massive blows to the face and the head — the victim of repeated strikes...

Philadelphia police continue to look for two men (in surveillance footage above and below) accused of attacking a Geno's Steaks employee. The owner of the business is offering a reward. Police say it was around 6:30am December 27th when two males started to argue with a female employee at Geno's Steaks about the now notorious sign there "this is America, when ordering please speak English". A male employee, Tony Chestnut, was power-washing the sidewalk when he went to his co-workers aide. Chestnut, who is recovering at his south Philadelphia home, describes what he says happened next. "When I just waved...

A new immigrant — legal or illegal — is expected to enter the United States every 30 seconds by January, the U.S. Census Bureau says. The agency estimates this foreign influx will increase the total U.S. population by one person every 13 seconds. The U.S. also is expected to register one birth every eight seconds and one death every 11 seconds by next month. The Census Bureau is projecting the nation's Jan. 1 total population will be 303,146,284 — a 0.9 percent increase from New Year"s Day 2007. The estimate is similar to recent annual population increases of about 1...

Despite Tough Rhetoric, Few Employers of Illegal Workers Face Criminal Charges In its announced clampdown on companies that hire illegal workers, the federal government has arrested nearly four times as many people in the past year as it did two years ago, but only a tiny fraction of those arrests involved criminal charges against those who hired the workers, according to a year-end tally prepared by the Department of Homeland Security. Fewer than 100 owners, supervisors or hiring officials were arrested in fiscal 2007, compared with nearly 4,900 arrests that involved illegal workers, providers of fake documents and others, the...

A 38-year old Armenian man tried to enter Poland illegally, hidden in the luggage of a 50-year old Ukrainian woman. This is the second case of this kind that the officers of Poland's eastern border customs service have witnessed. The man was hidden in a large bag of the Ukrainian passenger of a Kiev-Berlin train. When he was found, he presented forged documents - a Spanish residence card with a false name. The immigrant has been detained. It turned out he was trying to get to Germany.

RALEIGH - North Carolina's community college system has ordered the state's 58 campuses to admit illegal immigrants, overturning a policy of letting the heavily enrolled schools set their own rules for handling undocumented applicants. David Sullivan, the system's top lawyer, dispatched a memo this month telling the community colleges that state regulations require the schools to admit illegal immigrants who meet the schools' basic requirements of being either a high school graduate or an adult in need of skills training. "That's just wrong," said Sen. Richard Stevens, a Cary Republican and co-chairman of the higher education committee. "I can't believe...

PHOENIX - Smugglers who bring illegal immigrants into the U.S. are getting crucial help from seemingly legitimate businesses that supply them with cars, lodging, plane tickets and other services, knowing full well what's going on. Investigators say the number of these corrupt businesses is small, but they play a significant role in helping illegal immigrants reach the country's interior. The accomplices have included landlords and rental agents who provide homes for smugglers to hide immigrants; taxi drivers near the border who bring immigrants to the closest cities; used-car dealerships that let smugglers register vehicles under false names; and travel agencies...

Let's face it: Americans don't care about Kosovo. So I want to talk about Kosovo today in a way that may help you care. If for no other reason, you should care because your government is about to shape the destiny of this province in Serbia in a way that is, well, immoral, illegal and counterproductive, to say the least. For starters, Kosovo is, and always has been, a part of Serbia. Its population is mostly Muslim and ethnically Albanian, in part due to a campaign of anti-Christian persecution that continues even under the watchful eye of the United Nations...

We all remember the two Border Patrol agents who were prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced for shooting an illegal alien drug dealer. While those two agents are serving prison sentences, the real villain in the case is suddenly back in the news. The drug smuggler who was shot while evading Border Patrol agents was recently arrested in Texas for–you’ll never guess–smuggling drugs. His carelessness is understandable, however. The immunity granted him when he testified against the Border Patrol agents allowed him to continue to smuggle drugs with the endorsement of the Justice Department. To reveiw, on 17 February 2005, Border Patrol...

PHOENIX -- The legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona was arrested Saturday during a demonstration at a Phoenix store that has been a site of controversy over illegal immigrant day laborers. Capt. Paul Chagolla said Daniel Pochoda was arrested as activists demonstrated in front of Pruitt's Furniture and that Pochoda is accused of misdemeanor trespassing. The owners of Pruitt's have complained that their business is being harmed by day laborers' presence. Sheriff's deputies have responded with arrests, drawing protests from immigration rights activists. "I'm not their favorite guy," Sheriff Joe Arpaio said. "They've sued me. I...

Christmas should be downgraded in favour of festivals from other religions to improve race relations, says an explosive report. The leaked findings of its investigation into identity, citizenship and community cohesion also propose: • "Birth ceremonies", at which state and parents agree to "work in partnership" to bring up children • Action to "ensure access" for ethnic minorities to "largely white" countryside • An overhaul of Britain's "imperial" honours system • Bishops being thrown out of the House of Lords • An end to "sectarian" religious education • Flying flags other than the Union Jack. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=490925&in_page_id=1770#StartComments

NEW YORK (CNN) -- New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is mired in a mess of his own making. The governor's political fortunes are now in jeopardy because of his brash and impulsive style. Unfortunately, he is also jeopardizing the safety of New Yorkers and debasing their citizenship rights as he flails against the facts, the law and the will of the people. Governor Spitzer, or Prince Eliot as he seems to think of himself, chose more than a month ago to pay off his campaign promises to socio-ethnocentric activist groups and declared that illegal immigrants should be given New York...

An illegal immigrant was sentenced today in Chesapeake Circuit Court to a year in prison for having sex with a 13-year-old girl and producing nude images of the child. Carlos De La Cruz Ramos, fomerly of the 3700 block of S. Military Highway in Chesapeake, was arrested in May after a Wal-Mart store clerk processed film he had dropped off that showed images of a nude child, police said. Ramos was convicted in August of producing child pornography and carnal knowledge, both felonies carrying maximum punishments of 10 years in prison. Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney David Whitted said Ramos was 19...

Should states issue any kind of driver's license to illegal immigrants? Yes 15% 5066 No 85% 28311 Total Votes: 33377

This morning I was on the way to an appointment when I noticed a day laborer raking trash around a local apartment complex. Something caught my eye so turned the car around and went back. This laborer was wearing an American flag on their head as a sweat bandana. I got out my camera and took a few photos before confronting the gang supervisor. I told him in English that I was plenty upset that one of the employees was desecrating an American flag. He stopped speaking any English and only would comment "no comprehende". I have this photo and...

Immigrant pleads guilty to voter fraud Friday, October 5, 2007 . 12:10 PM By Bruce Cadwallader THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Claudel Gilbert, left, with his attorney, Eric J. Yavitch, in court today. Tom Dodge | Dispatch Claudel Gilbert, left, with his attorney, Eric J. Yavitch, in court today. A man with two residences who thought he had to vote in two counties last fall pleaded guilty today to two counts of illegal voting. Claudel Gilbert, 38, a citizen who moved from Haiti in 1994 with his family, said he had an apartment in Franklin County before he bought a house in...

Measure Would Offer Legal Status to Illegal Immigrant StudentsBy JULIA PRESTON Published: September 20, 2007 WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 — A bill to offer legal status to illegal immigrant students who have graduated from high school was revived this week in the Senate, the first effort to advance a piece of broad immigration legislation that failed in June. Senator Richard J. Durbin, the Illinois Democrat who is an author of the student measure, said Wednesday that he would try this week to offer it as an amendment to the military authorization bill under debate in the Senate. The measure would provide...

I'm absolutely furious. Last night, I went to the 7-day Store here on base. As I was pulling up, Evening Colors was sounded. As any Marines out there know, when colors sounds, you either stand and face the flag, or you stop your vehicle if you are driving. So, I stopped my car, because I was JUST in front of the store, and all the Marines coming out of the store were stopped and at attention, and other civilian workers stopped walking, and there is this guy..... He was sitting on a bench outside. He didn't stand, he didn't stop...

Felinda Williams couldn’t make herself go to court on a recent morning, couldn’t bring herself to look at the man accused of driving drunk and killing her daughter, her son-in-law and her 2-year-old grandson. She knows few details of the Aug. 11 crash in Houston that killed the newlyweds and the little boy nicknamed “Peanut Butter.” She does know that her daughter didn’t die on impact. The young woman, according to reports, felt the flames and begged helpless bystanders to pull her free. The grieving woman knows two things about Juan Felix Salinas, the man charged in connection with their...

The manhunt's final chapter went by in a flash: no time for meals, no time for a hotel, no time for a shower. And certainly no time for sleep. When it ended early yesterday at an apartment complex in a Washington, D.C., suburb, alleged murderer Rodolfo Godinez turned to the Newark cop who had been tracking him for 60 straight hours and starting asking questions. "How did you catch me? Someone told on me?" Godinez asked Detective Rasheen Peppers. "You must be very smart." Peppers, 34, smiled wryly yesterday afternoon, recounting the story from his home in Essex County. A...

A Guatemalan man who is in the United States illegally was arrested early yesterday on hit-and-run charges after a traffic accident that killed two men and injured three other highway construction workers on the side of U.S. 29 in Montgomery County, police said.

In one of the more despicable acts committed in this Washington, DC-sanctioned illegal alien disaster that plagues our country and all law-abiding citizens within it, today in Sanford, North Carolina, an illegal alien named Pastor Rios Sanchez, killer of three American children, will be offered an opportunity to walk away from the responsibility he bears for this dreadful and tragic crime. Lee County Assistant District Attorney Mike Beam, in a shameful and disgusting act that will be repudiated by all decent Americans, plans to offer Rios a chance to plead guilty to three counts of mere involuntary manslaughter and face...

New Bush immigration initiative in works WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration is planning new efforts to curb illegal immigration by raising fines and speeding up deployment of border agents after failing to push through legislation earlier this year. The proposals would raise civil fines on employers who hire undocumented immigrants by as much as 25 percent and overhaul temporary worker programs, according to a summary of the plans obtained by The Associated Press. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez planned to announce the changes in a news conference Friday. A DHS spokesman on Thursday declined...

Aided by a fingerprint left on a bottle of Colt 45 and a positive ID from a fearless survivor, cops yesterday charged the alleged ringleader in the Newark schoolyard massacre - an immigrant with a violent rap sheet that includes child rape.

ROCKVILLE, Md. — A Liberian native once held on charges of repeatedly raping and molesting a 7-year-old girl was rearrested Monday night after missing a court hearing, according to a report in the Washington Post. Mahamu D. Kanneh, 23, of Gaithersburg, Md., was arrested Monday in Philadelphia on charges he allegedly failed to appear in court on Aug. 3 at a hearing involving a prosecution effort in Montgomery County, Md., to reinstate the rape charges, the paper reports.

Soldier’s parents file suit against his wife By BRIAN SCHEID Bucks County Courier Times The parents of a Middletown soldier killed in Iraq late last year are suing their son’s wife for his military death benefits. In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Bucks County Court, Young and Ki Moon, the parents of 21-year-old Army First Sgt. Jae Sik Moon, claim his wife, Muichi Choi of Newtown, is not entitled to their son’s benefits since the couple married only so Choi would not be deported. According to the lawsuit, Jae Moon married Choi on April 25, 2006, as a favor to...

A Somali immigrant the government says plotted to blow up an Ohio shopping mall pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. Nuradin Abdi, 35, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley a week before his trial had been expected to start Aug. 6. "In this climate an American jury, we felt, could potentially find him guilty because of all this negative stuff that's coming in, and if they found him guilty he was looking at spending the rest of his life in custody," said Abdi's attorney, Mahir Sherif. "The government came back with another...

<p>Title: "VICTORY FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS"</p> <p>The decision of a US Federal Judge in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, was considered a victory for the illegal aliens when he declared unconstitutional a municipal ordinance that was established to punish and to fine those who employ and those who house people who cannot demonstrate their legal presence in the United States.</p>

U.S. Ambassador Calls for Immigrant Visas for Iraq Aides Sunday, July 22, 2007 WASHINGTON — Iraqis employed by the U.S. government in Iraq should be granted "immigrant visas" to come to the United States at the end of their service, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker has written to the State Department in a two-page letter sent earlier this month. The request comes as more and more Iraqis have quit their U.S.-backed jobs and are seeking refuge with 2.2 million others in neighboring Syria, Jordan and other countries. According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, each month 60,000 Iraqis...

LAKEWOOD, Wash. -- The man suspected of killing 12-year-old Zina Linnik has been named as a person of interest in the death of Adre'Anna Jackson, who was found dead in a Pierce County field in 2006. Lakewood Police Lt. Dave Guttu said officers went back and showed Terapon Adhahn's photo to residents in the Tillicum neighborhood where Adre'Anna lived, and several people said they saw him in the area around the time Adre'Anna disappeared. "He is commonly known as a handy man in that area," Guttu said. "Stores or apartment complexes or individuals have used him as a handy man."...

As grandson of a Texan, experienced diplomat has a rare perspective Mexico must create better-paying jobs to stem its exodus, Enrique Hubbard Urrea tells a mostly Latino crowd at a recent breakfast. As head of the Mexican Consulate in Dallas – Mexico's third-busiest in the U.S. behind Los Angeles and Chicago – Mr. Hubbard's familiarity with the flow is extensive. Daily, he deals with such issues as deportations, wage theft complaints and identification cards for Mexicans – often up to 1,300 a week. "President Calderón was the first to say that unless we create well-paying jobs, people will leave," Mr....

TACOMA, Wash. — Police and FBI agents found the body of a 12-year-old girl who was snatched from an alley behind her house during a July 4 fireworks celebration, police said. Information provided by a man in custody on an immigration complaint led police and FBI agents to an undisclosed location in Pierce County where they found Zina Linnik's body, Tacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell said late Thursday. The news brought "great anguish" to the Linnik family as well as Tacoma police and FBI agents who had worked to find the girl, Ramsdell said.

WASHINGTON - Senators urging the passage of a bill that would legalize millions of illegal immigrants hope to revive bipartisan support for the embattled measure and push it to passage by week's end. President Bush's team is predicting victory Tuesday on the effort to allow the bill — among the president's top domestic priorities — to go forward. "We're optimistic," said Joel Kaplan, Bush's deputy chief of staff. "Our intelligence suggests that there will be the votes there." Conservative critics who paint the measure as amnesty for lawbreakers, however, said their efforts to stop the legislation were gaining momentum. With...

Bill Nelson's staff told me that he "always" votes for cloture, believes that things should come to vote. This is pure noise. Here are a few things he voted against cloture on recently: Voted "No" on cloture motion S312, Cornyn Amendment 312, which included strengthening the governments ability to retain terrorists and criminals including child molestors. Date of vote 3/9/2007 Voted No on Cloture motion S. Amndt 1098, motion to invoke cloture on the Fiendgold Amendment to provide for a transition of the Iraq mission. Date of Vote 5/16/07 Point is, his staff is feeding out lines of B.S. to...

U.S. Border Patrol agents seeking to secure the nation's border in some of the country's most pristine national forests are being targeted by illegal aliens, who are using intentionally set fires to burn agents out of observation posts and patrol routes. The wildfires also have resulted in the destruction of valuable natural and cultural resources in the National Forest System and pose an ongoing threat to visitors, residents and responding firefighters, according to federal law enforcement authorities and others. In the Coronado National Forest in Arizona, with 60 miles of land along the U.S.-Mexico border, U.S. Forest Service firefighters sent...

Afraid of what? Hanging out on the corner of Western and Armitage on a Saturday night is not my usual practice. But the birthday boy got to pick what he wanted for dinner, and he picked hot fudge sundaes at Margie's Candies. We had to wait for a table, and the place is tiny, so the waiting was done on the sidewalk outside. A lovely, warm June evening. Puerto Rican Festival -- obviously, based on the number of cars flying Puerto Rico's flag. Sometimes the cars were honking or playing loud music. Sometimes the flag was waved through open sunroofs...

The IRS vs. The Illegal AliensThe cure for all of America’s woes with Illegal Immigration lies with our esteemed IRS. They do not do anything well, except for sending people to jail. Al Capone, our wonderful ex-Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell, and countless others may have broken laws, killed people, embezzled millions, or just acted like complete jackasses, but they did not get away from the IRS. Since the IRS employees will need to justify their jobs when the FAIRTAX gets implemented they can go after these “Illegals”. All they will have to do is go to all the chicken plants,...

What does it mean to be a true American? By GEMA MARIA DUARTE Bucks County Courier Times EDITOR'S NOTE: Reporter Gema Mara Duarte will write about her journey to become a United States citizen as she moves through the process. OK. It's confession time. I haven't studied for my citizenship test since I filed for American citizenship on April 2. I went to my finger-printing appointment in Philadelphia in May and now I'm waiting for another appointment to take a U.S. history test. I have printed out the 100 questions and answers. I have taken a glance at them, and...

President Bush, calling the nation's current immigration situation unacceptable, urged senators to try again to pass legislation that he described as imperfect but the best option available. In his weekly Saturday radio address, Bush said the bill would not grant amnesty to illegal immigrants, that they would have to pay fines and take other steps to get on a path to legal status and possibly citizenship. "Securing the border and upholding family values are not partisan concerns," the president said. "They must be addressed, and this bill is the best way to do it." Bush recorded his address Friday in...

U.S. Border Patrol agents in the Yuma sector apprehended 10 illegal immigrants in a taxicab that was abandoned by its driver during an agent pursuit through a Yuma neighborhood. A tip about a suspicious vehicle led agents to a local taxicab at 3 a.m. Tuesday. The driver failed to yield for a traffic stop, and the agent followed the taxicab until the driver and one passenger jumped from the moving vehicle and fled on foot into an apartment complex near the intersection of 10th Avenue and 2nd Street, according to Border Patrol spokesman Lloyd Easterling. The driverless taxicab continued down...

The wayward whales [Delta and Dawn] are presumably gone, but the reason they entered California waters is still unknown. My thinking is they were injured before they entered California, stayed until they were injected with antibiotics, then returned to the ocean. Whales are intelligent animals, and they heard if they entered California illegally, they would get free medical care. It works.

SALCAJA, Guatemala -- Working and going to school have become optional in this highland Guatemalan town, thanks to a flood of U.S. dollars sent home by migrants living in the United States. The family-run mills that produce brightly colored, hand-woven traditional fabrics have fallen quiet as their potential work force -- mostly young men -- hang out at the town's pool halls or video game salons, living off remittances and waiting to make their own journeys north. "Kids have easy money, and the only thing they know how to do is spend it on video games," complained Salcaja Mayor Miguel...

May 23, 2007 -- Officer Raphael Lora fatally shot a Bronx driver only after the man pulled his car door shut against the off-duty cop's body and began driving away - making Lora fear he would be run over and killed, sources told The Post. "He thought the only way to stop the vehicle was to stop the guy," said a person familiar with Lora's account of shooting Fermin Arzu, 41, Friday. The killing of Honduran immigrant Arzu remains the subject of pending NYPD and Bronx DA investigations. Supporters claim that the shooting was justified because Lora, 37, was in...

O.K. folks. It's time for someone, the ilk of Sean Hanity or Michael Savage, to organize a March on Washington by the hardworking, honest Americans who oppose this Amnesty Bill in the Senate. It will give all the illegals, including the thugs, an exemption from having to pay back taxes. Immigrants who became citizens legally, and all native-born Americans, don't get a pass on paying back taxes. It's time to march. I'll scrape up the money to go to Washington if someone organizes it.

The head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, has called for the government to consider an amnesty for illegal immigrants in the UK. Speaking at a colourful and moving May Day Mass for migrant workers at Westminster Cathedral, the Cardinal said that while the Church did not endorse entering the country illegally, it could not ignore the plight of people without legal status. He also used the occasion to back calls for a ìliving wageî for Londonís lower-paid workers. The plea for a significant change of tack on immigration by the government has already...

Anti-abortion activists are reaching aggressively to draw more blacks into their movement, targeting urban communities they long have considered hostile turf. They are opening crisis pregnancy centers in minority neighborhoods, establishing partnerships with black pastors and distributing leaflets that raise suspicion about Planned Parenthood, a longtime provider of reproductive health care and abortions . Framing their cause as the new frontier in civil rights - an effort to stop "black genocide" - these activists have turned to revered names in black history. A niece of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s is touring the nation, speaking out against "the war...

GENEVA A United Nations human rights expert comes to the United States later this month to investigate a highly criticized Central Texas center for detained immigrant families. Jorge (HOHR'-hay) Bustamante is the U-N Human Rights Council's independent expert on migrant rights. A U-N spokesman says the Mexican national will visit the T. Don Hutto facility in Taylor, Texas, which typically houses about 400 non-criminal immigrants awaiting deportation or other outcomes to their immigration cases. He'll also examine two border areas where U-S officials have announced a crackdown on Mexicans illegally crossing the border. He'll discuss migrant issues with U-S government...

Shooter at Tech massacre identified in bomb threat; 9 hospitalized; victims named Monday morning's campus rampage was the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. These are the latest details to emerge. Alan Kim | The Roanoke Times At mid-day today, Blacksburg's South Main Street looks much the same as it always does. Traffic is manageable. Businesses are open. But the flag at A Cleaner World drycleaner is at half mast. Farther down the street, in downtown Blacksburg, it looks a little like a Virginia Tech Game Day. Plenty of students are crossing streets and walking along sidewalks. Almost every one...

Grassroots Americans of all parties and economic classes rose up out of their political apathy a few months ago and forced President Bush to reverse his administration's decision to allow a Middle East government to own America's major ports. But the push for foreign ownership continues: the next port scheduled to be taken over is Kansas City, Missouri. Even though public schools stopped teaching geography a couple of decades ago, most Americans (especially residents of the Show Me state) are surprised to learn that Kansas City (where the only waves are "amber waves of grain") is a port. We are...