Free Republic

When techies consider unions By Aliza Earnshaw, The Business Journal of Portland The very notion of a labor union for software developers and other information-technology workers may strike some as paradoxical, or even ridiculous. After all, techies are thought of as well-compensated, highly skilled workers. So the beginnings of a techie labor union here in the Portland area, called ORTech, may come as a surprise to many who work with or are themselves high-tech workers. "THEY [TECHIES] THINK of themselves as highly skilled individuals who are valued for what they are," said Ilya Ratner, a programmer with years of experience...

U.S. corporate technology purchases may not be increasing in a big way, but chipmaker Intel (INTC ) certainly isn't crying. The Santa Clara (Calif.) outfit's investment in new technology, such as wireless gear, during the long earnings downturn is boosting profits big-time. How big? On Oct. 14, Intel reported that profits had more than doubled from a year ago. Third-quarter net income came in at $1.7 billion, or 25 cents a share, vs. $686 million, or 10 cents a share, in the same period of 2002. Revenue for the quarter was $7.8 billion, vs. $6.5 billion a year ago. The...

Intel easily beats expectations, raises guidance The chip giant sees its gross margin expanding in the 4th quarter to more than 60%. Before the close, stocks moved higher in an afternoon rally. Merrill Lynch, Johnson & Johnson impress. Chip giant Intel (INTC, news, msgs) earned 25 cents a share in the third quarter, up from 10 cents a year ago and beating analyst expectations by 2 cents. And the semiconductor said it sees a big profit in the fourth quarter. Intel said it earned $1.7 billion in the quarter on $7.8 billion in revenue up from $686 million and $6.5...

WASHINGTON: Observing that India and China are "key threats" to continued US dominance in important high technology sectors, Intel Chairman Andrew S Grove has said India could surpass America in software and tech-service jobs by 2010. India's booming software industry, which is increasingly doing work for US companies, could surpass America in software and tech-service jobs by 2010, Grove, one of the founding fathers of America's hi-tech industry and co-founder of Intel, told a global technology summit in Washington via satellite yesterday.He warned that America's software and service industries, strong drivers of US economic growth for nearly two decades, show...

One of the founding fathers of the nation's high-technology industry warned in dire terms yesterday that U.S. dominance in key tech sectors is in jeopardy, threatening the country's economic recovery and growth. Speaking via satellite to a global technology summit in Washington, Intel co-founder and chairman Andrew S. Grove said that the software and technology service businesses are under siege by countries taking advantage of cheap labor costs and strong incentives for new financial investment. "I'm here to be the skunk at your garden party," Grove said, noting wryly that his remarks coincidentally fell on the same day as one...

DETAILS HAVE EMERGED of the future design of Intel’s Tejas/Pentium V processor, and of how the chip firm will present it to the world. The chip will sample internally at Intel in January 2004 and will take between four to six months to get to market. The Pentium 6 will follow a very similar schedule. The Pentium V is likely to fly along at between 5GHz to 7GHz, have 2MB plus of level two cache, be built on a 90 nanometer process, and have a stackable design. The processor we believe, sits in the LGA 775 pin socket, and above...

Signatory of Israel pilots' letter says regrets signing petition By Amos Harel and Gideon Alon, Haaretz Correspondents, and Haaretz Service Colonel Ran, one of the 27 signatories of the pilots' letter of refusal, in which they stated that they would not participate in operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, said Sunday he regretted signing the letter, and was changing his mind. The move came after a slew of criticism of the pilots' move from government figures and from fellow Israel Air Force airmen. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, speaking in a holiday interview to Israel Radio on Friday condemned...

Al-Jama'a al-Salafiya al-Mujahida Takes Credit for Attacking US Forces in Iraq ISRAEL NEWS AGENCY----Jerusalem......September 24..... By Joel Leyden A new Iraqi Sunni resistance organization, al-Jama'a al-Salafiya al-Mujahida, is the leading terror organization in Iraq which is targeting American troops, said Lt. Col. Jonathan D. Halevi in a private research study just released by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. "Al-Salafiya al-Mujahida is seen to be offering a radical Islamic platform that contains many points in common with al-Qaeda," says Halevi. "It views Americans not just as modern crusaders waging a religious war in the name of Christianity against Islam, but...

Court battle resumes between tribes, scientists over ancient remainsWILLIAM MCCALL; The Associated Press PORTLAND - The definition of "Native American" is at stake in deciding whether the 9,300-year-old skeleton known as Kennewick Man belongs to scientists or Indian tribes, lawyers for both sides told a federal appeals court Wednesday. The Interior Department has fought with scientists since the bones were discovered in 1996 along the banks of the Columbia River near Kennewick. A group of eight anthropologists who want to do research on the skeleton went to court to seek permission. But then-Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt ruled three years ago...

Companies Rated on Their GLBT Policies Tuesday, August 26, 2003 Twenty-one companies received a perfect score from the Human Rights Campaign for their treatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees and consumers, almost doubling the number of companies with the same distinction last year. "What we see this year is improvement in every category measured, from written nondiscrimination policies to domestic partner health insurance benefits and beyond. Corporate America continues to be a leader in the quest for GLBT civil rights," says HRC Education Director Kim I. Mills, who oversees HRC WorkNet, the organization's workplace project. "The bottom...

TOKYO (AP)--Japan's space agency announced Friday it has decided to postpone the launch of its second pair of spy satellites to late September to conduct additional preparatory work. The rocket with the satellites aboard is now scheduled for launch on Sept. 22, instead of Sept. 10, according to an announcement by the Cabinet's Satellite Information Center. Two spy satellites were successfully put into orbit by Japan for the first time in March. The second launch had to be delayed because additional work needed to be done, according to the center. Officials refused to elaborate, but Japanese media have reported that...

American businesses continue to march in lock step with homosexual ideals.America's top corporations continue to take on policies pleasing to homosexual activists. A new ranking shows more companies than ever are rewriting employee manuals to include gay ideals. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation found that two out of every of three companies on the Fortune 500 list of America's top corporations now specifically protect sexual orientation in their employee codes. The group rated companies on seven criteria, such as offering domestic-partner benefits or diversity training. More than 20 companies scored a perfect 100, representing a 91 percent increase over last...

<p>Intel Corp. plans to invest more than $200 million in a new semiconductor-chip facility in central China, highlighting the country's increasingly central role in the global electronics supply chain and delivering a much-needed boost to Beijing's campaign to channel investments into China's hinterland.</p>

Maher 'Mike' Hawash holds his five-month-old daughter Sarra Hawash in their family home in Hillsboro, Ore., in this May 1998 family handout photo. Hawash, a software engineer pleaded guilty Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2003, to a charge of aiding the Taliban, agreeing to testify against other suspects in exchange for the dropping of other terrorism charges. (AP Photo/Hawash Family) Ore. Engineer Pleads to Terrorism Charge By ANDREW KRAMER, Associated Press Writer PORTLAND, Ore. - A software engineer who unsuccessfully tried to enter Afghanistan to fight against U.S. troops pleaded guilty Wednesday to aiding the Taliban and agreed to testify against other...

PORTLAND, Ore. — A software engineer pleaded guilty Wednesday to a charge of aiding the Taliban (search), agreeing to testify against other suspects in exchange for the dropping of other terrorism charges. Maher "Mike" Hawash (search), one of the so-called "Portland Seven," will serve at least seven years in federal prison under the deal, which was approved by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft (search). Hawash pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide services to the Taliban. Prosecutors agreed to drop charges of conspiring to levy war against the United States and conspiring to provide material support for terrorism. "You and the...

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- A software engineer pleaded guilty Wednesday to a charge of aiding the Taliban, agreeing to testify against other suspects in exchange for the dropping of other terrorism charges. Maher "Mike" Hawash, one of the so-called "Portland Seven," will serve at least seven years in federal prison under the deal, which was approved by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. Hawash pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide services to the Taliban. Prosecutors agreed to drop charges of conspiring to levy war against the United States and conspiring to provide material support for terrorism. "You and the others in...

PORTLAND - Maher "Mike" Hawash, one of the so-called "Portland Seven" charged with terrorism related crimes, pleaded guilty this morning to conspiring to provide services to the Taliban, but will not face other charges in exchange for testimony against other suspects. Hawash, a 39-year old software engineer who worked for Intel, had initially pleaded innocent to charges of conspiracy to wage war against the United States, conspiracy to provide material support to al-Qaida and conspiracy to contribute services to al-Qaida and the Taliban. In exchange for testimony, federal prosecutors agreed to drop charges of conspiring to levy war against the...

Task Force 20 began scouring the country for Iraqi officers and personnel involved in concealing the forbidden weapons or secreting them out of the coutry to Syria. The force recieved hundereds of leads. By the time a team arrived at a suspect location, it was invariably bare of contents.The Bush Administration is still hunting for solid proof of Saddams possession of WMD since testimony by top his regieme officials and scientists will not satisfy the skeptics.Many of the officers and men of the Special Republican Guards listed as operators of chemical and biological warfare systems, who denied knowledge of the...

Prescott, the next big desktop chip from Intel, is slated to come out at 3.4GHz, while Dothan, an energy-efficient chip for slim notebooks, will have a server-size cache and is expected to debut at 1.8GHz, according to computer industry sources. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based chipmaker is gearing up for a busy second half of the year with a slew of new chips and price cuts, according to an Intel presentation forwarded to CNET News.com as well as industry sources. Details about future server chips also came out. Competitors Advanced Micro Devices and Apple Computer will also tout new high-end...

<p>FOX just had the familys attorney for Gulf War I vet Scott Spiecher shot down over Iraq and missing for 13 years.</p> <p>They said that Senator Nelson told them that he is for the first time 'optimistic' of resolving the case after hearing a new Security Intelligence briefing from Baghdad.</p>