The Los Angeles Times has published a highly critical review of California’s sole international trade offices- a privately fund office for the small country of Armenia. The California-Armenia Trade Office in Yerevan is a legacy of a confused period for the State in international business development as lawmakers struggle to determine the proper role of the Government in this area. At the time when the Legislature was closing the other trade offices, California’s influential Armenian-American community convinced then to accept private funding in exchange for official status and recognition.

Critics consider it ludicrous to put the state’s sole overseas trade office in such a small and isolated country. If California were a nation, it would have the world’s eighth-largest economy, they note. Armenia ranks 128th. The contract with the state required a minimum of $150,000 (amount of business) for 2006, a June 30 report from the Schwarzenegger administration to the Legislature said. The report cited only one significant achievement, a deal between a North Hollywood spirits importer and Safeway to market a high-end Armenian vodka. “It appears the trade office did not successfully complete any of the priorities set forth in the contract,” read a letter signed by Dale E. Bonner, secretary of the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, which oversees the trade office.

What’s more, critics warn that bureaucrats in Sacramento don’t have the money to effectively supervise the operations of a faraway entity. Bonner noted in his letter that the Scott legislation did not provide “budget authority for direct supervision or ongoing oversight.” As a result, the state could be legally liable for any misconduct by unsupervised representatives working in a part of the world not known for especially honest or stable governments. “This is an invitation to a scandal,” said Jock O’Connell, a veteran trade consultant in Sacramento. “They’ve created a system that allows a private company to obtain for a ridiculously small amount of money the right to represent California commercial interests in a distant country, while effectively prohibiting any state agency from looking into the activities of the people who are representing us overseas.”

Dragged down by the real estate slump, California’s employment engine ground to a near standstill in June with a net gain of only 400 positions, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. As expected, financial activities and construction were the biggest losers among six sectors that posted employment declines in June, according to the state Employment Development Department report.

Reflecting layoffs by troubled sub-prime mortgage lenders and the big chill in home building, the financial activities sector lost 5,700 jobs, while construction shrank by 5,300. By comparison, the four other declining sectors lost a total of 5,900 jobs. “Slowing state job growth has been primarily caused by the slowdown in residential building and resale activity,” said Stephen Levy, senior economist for the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy. “A continuation of the slowing will cause problems for this year’s and next year’s state budget.”

Unemployment ticked up by 0.2% in the Inland Empire and by 0.4% in San Diego, where home construction has slowed, said Steve Cochrane, an economist with West Chester, Pa.-based Moody’s Economy.com, a consulting and forecasting firm. The Central Valley may be the next major area to be hit by problems tied to sub-prime mortgage delinquencies, Cochrane added.

Overall, California’s unemployment rate held steady at 5.2%. By comparison, the state jobless rate was 4.9% in June 2006, and the U.S. rate was 4.5% last month, unchanged from May. A steady unemployment rate means the number of jobs is growing at about the same pace as the number of people seeking them. The state has matched the national job growth rate for the last year, Levy said, although unemployment has risen here but not in the nation because the state labor force has grown by nearly 300,000.

Since June 2006, the state’s employers have added 204,700 jobs, an increase of 1.4%, for a total last month of 15.3 million. Sectors gaining jobs last month were led again by the educational and health services category at 8,600. Government employers added 4,600 jobs, while the leisure and hospitality sector hired 3,300 workers. Other services added 600 jobs, and professional and business services added 200.

Some of the slack in the housing market is being taken up by continued construction activity in the commercial real estate market and by motion picture and film production, said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. Movie studios “are rushing to get productions done” ahead of possible labor-related disruptions related to contract negotiations with screen writers, actors and directors late this year and early next, he said.

According to a report in Reuters, June home sales in southern California fell to their lowest in 14 years and the slump hit the region’s most affordable markets east of Los Angeles hardest, according to a report released on Tuesday. The report by DataQuick Information Systems said a total of 20,166 new and resale homes were sold in June in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties last month, marking a rise of 1.5 percent from the prior month and a decline of 36.2 percent from a year earlier. The region’s home sales have been declining from year-earlier levels since October 2005, raising concerns that the downward trend could cause the broad California economy to suffer.

The Los Angeles Times has written still another expose of Governor Schwarzenegger’s use of shadowy “non-profit organizations” funded by “undisclosed donors” to pay for his foreign trips- euphemistically called “trade missions” . The California State Protocol Foundation, one of the most notorious of these groups, is closely associated with the California Chamber of Commerce, and is widely thought to be a vehicle used to curry favor with the Governor by major corporations and others with business before the State.

By giving to this foundation, donors can avoid having their identities made public, because these charities are not governed by the disclosure rules that apply to campaign contributions. And they can donate unlimited amounts to the nonprofit, which is not subject to contribution ceilings the way campaign accounts are, the Times reported. In addition, The protocol organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, also known as a public charity and donations to these groups are tax deductible- which may technically be legal but is a clear abuse of the purpose of non-profit organizations.

Governor Schwarzenegger stays in luxury hotels and flies in top-of-the-line private jets when he travels overseas. “That jet for those international jaunts is extremely expensive,” a source told the LA Times, “China was probably well north of $100,000.” The protocol foundation’s expenditures have exploded since Schwarzenegger began using it — from $55,000 in 2003 to $1.8 million in 2005 and $1.3 million last year. Nonprofit monitors say it is almost impossible to justify routine spending of charitable dollars on aircraft that can cost $6,000 to $10,000 an hour to lease.

A foundation spokesman told the Times that the returns are “sufficient to demonstrate how the foundation pursues its mission of relieving the taxpayers of the cost burden of certain government activities, especially those related to international trade and diplomacy.” That’s all well and good, but aren’t these trade missions supposed to be for the benefit of all California business- not just Schwarzenegger’s business associates and campaign contributors? Remember the guy who was going to be “the Governor for all the people” and who would “shun special interest money”. He now resides over a State government that has grown increasingly hostile to small business interests, and an administration that is almost completely closed to all ideas and input from ordinary citizens.

The times said that “most of Schwarzenegger’s foreign sojourns have been trade missions, though his critics say the trips really are little more than junkets designed to boost his international profile.” Count us now to be among them. While we were ecstatic when Schwarzenegger got elected, in the area of international business development his administration has become more and more corrupt. In fact, this abuse of non-profits to fund junkets is strikingly similar to the corruption scandal of lobbyist Jack Abramoff, now serving time in a Federal Penitentiary for his actions.

The California Governor’s economic development and international trade activities were not supposed to be focused on making Arnold Schwarzenegger the most successful and internationally known person in the world, they were supposed to be for all of us- and in that regard, he is failing miserably. Someone close to him needs to tell him he is on the wrong road- a very dangerous road.

If you think California is crowded now, just wait until 2050. The Department of Finance predicted Monday that California will have 59.5 million residents when the state reaches the mid-century mark — nearly 22 million more than today. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Hispanics will make up 52 percent of the population in 2050, up from 36 percent currently. Whites, now 43 percent of the population, will drop to 26 percent, while Asians’ share will grow by one percentage point to 13 percent and blacks will decline from 6 percent to 5 percent, according to the department’s forecast. Hispanics are projected to become a majority of the population by 2042.

The sharp drop-off in growth in the first quarter of 2007, and the expected weak second and third quarters of less than 2% growth, caused the widely watched UCLA Anderson Forecast, a leading national economic forecaster, to conclude that although we may not actually be in a recession “it is certainly close.” The Anderson Forecast saw the slowed economy as lasting longer than previously expected. Weakness in the housing market and higher gasoline prices are starting to affect consumer spending. California, hit by a “double-whammy” from construction and mortgage finance, foreshadows a drag on the rest of the economy.

“Weakness in the real estate sector will finally spill over into the job market as the combination of job losses in construction and real estate finance pull overall payroll job growth in California to less than 1% for the next five quarters. Unemployment will rise to 5.5% and broad measures of real output (Gross State Product and Personal Income) will grow at a less-than-average rate of just-below 3%. The Forecast believes that weakness in the housing sector will finally spill into consumption spending, noting that retail sales stalled in April and that auto sales have been weak.

With housing and consumption both “down,” the strength of the national economy lies in the rest of the world. “The global economy is booming,” the report states “Indeed, it is the strength of the global economy that is powering the stock market to new highs (and) it is no accident that the Wall Street rally is being led by the giant global corporations who are benefiting most from the worldwide expansion.”

Governor Schwarzenegger’s toured European last week and stopped in France, where he discussed trade, global warming and politics with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. After a 30-minute talk, Schwarzenegger said he admired Sarkozy “tremendously” and believed the president would “put a new energy in the relationship between France and other countries, and our state.” Both pledged to work together on ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Schwarzenegger called Sarkozy “fresh new blood for politics in the world, because he is a politician that believes in inclusion and not in making everyone the enemy, which we have seen so many times in politics.” The Governor said he also was studying France’s method of using public-private partnerships to build schools, highways, rail lines, energy plants and other projects. Schwarzenegger and Sarkozy also discussed the possibility of twin trade missions next year, with French officials promoting their country’s products in California and Schwarzenegger returning to France. The Governor has previously organized trade missions to China, Japan, Mexico and Canada for his business associates and Corporate supporters. An additional trade mission to India is planned for the fall.

Fair Trade LA has announced the screening of the documentary “Made in LA”

Many of you may have heard about the documentary MADE IN L.A., about garment workers in L.A. After five years in the making, MADE IN L.A. is finally finished! Please come support the Los Angeles premiere! It’s a FREE community screening at the Los Angeles Film Festival!!! MADE IN L.A. follows the remarkable journey of three Latina immigrants working in L.A.’s garment factories and their struggle for self-empowerment as they wage a three-year battle to bring a major clothing retailer to the negotiating table. In intimate verité style, MADE IN L.A. offers a rare and poignant glimpse into this “other” California, where immigrants in many industries toil long hours for sub-minimum wages, fighting for an opportunity in a new country. A film by Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar. In Spanish and English with bilingual subtitles!

WHEN: Saturday, June 23, 12noon The screening will be followed by a Q & A with the filmmakers and the women in the film.

WHERE: Los Angeles Film Festival –Mann Festival Theater, 10887 Lindbrook Dr., Los Angeles 90024 (Westwood)

Excerpts from an insightful and balanced article in Mercury News about the severe environmental problems in China and how this in now impacting California.  Not covered in this article is how China is at a competitive advantage, since the costs of pollution control don’t need to be added to their products:

For China, the 21st century holds boundless possibilities. The awakening economic giant could surpass anything that has come before it. But China is also an environmental time bomb.  Its polluted air is not only choking its citizens but also spreading 6,000 miles across the Pacific, giving Californians – even those with no other ties to China – a personal stake in that country’s exploding environmental crisis.

Microscopic soot particles belched from coal-fired plants across the ocean are settling in Sierra Nevada snowpacks. Low levels of mercury from those plants are showing up in soil and water. And dust from expanding deserts in China and elsewhere in Asia can be found in the air high above the state.

Pollution migration is not new – Europeans, for example, get it from the United States. And the current levels of pollutants from Asia do not pose an urgent health or environmental threat. But experts worry about the potential increase of emissions from China as the world’s fastest-growing economy continues to expand. At the very least, pollution from China will add to the cost and difficulty of cleaning up California’s skies…

“The question of the century is: Can China industrialize in a way that does not crush the planet?” said Erik Straser, general partner in MDV-Mohr Davidow Ventures of Menlo Park and an expert in energy company investments who has consulted with Chinese officials… mounting evidence suggests China’s pollution poses problems beyond its own borders.

“It’s apparent there is a lot of pollution coming from Asia and that pollution is increasing,” said Steven Cliff, an atmospheric scientist at the University of California-Davis, whose research has detected matter he believes comes from China.  “A persistent Asian plume is evident in the air over California,” said Cliff, whose air-sampling equipment has been placed at Donner Summit, Lassen Peak and Mount Tamalpais. “It looks vaguely smoky. Generally, you see the type of pollution you might expect from large urban areas in Asia, that might be from a diesel engine or a coal-fired power plant for a cement factory.”

Much of the year, Asian pollution – including soot, ash and dust from farms, factories and coal-fired power plants – hovers high above the Golden State and is, on average, equal to a quarter of the state’s legally allowed concentrations of these particles, said Richard “Tony” VanCuren, a researcher with the California Air Resources Board.

Although China’s pollution may be a growing worry for other countries, the brunt of the harm falls on the Chinese, the article concludes, “One hundred ninety-million Chinese are drinking water that is making them sick,” observed Elizabeth Economy, director of Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of “The River Runs Black: The Environmental Challenge to China’s Future.” Growing health concerns from environmental calamities, such as industrial waste dumped into rivers that provide drinking water to rural communities, have triggered thousands of riots and protests across the countryside. “It could undermine our social stability,” said Ma Jun, a Beijing-based environmental crusader who heads the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs. “The pollution is way beyond our environmental capacity, and it’s increasing,” he added.

The University of California at Berkeley released a report Saturday documenting rising violence in the twenty-year-long conflict between Ugandan government forces and a rebel group. according to a report by CBS Broadcasting. The UC Berkeley report, conducted in conjunction with Tulane University, could be used in the International Criminal Courts indictment of rebel leader Joseph Kony and four other commanders of the Lord Resistance Army (LRA), according to UC Berkeley officials. The report echoes an indictment alleging that Kony and the LRA have abducted as many as 38,000 children and 37,000 adults into its army over the past eleven years. The report claims that the LRA forced civilians to commit horrible crimes, including the mutilation and killing of fellow villagers and even family members. “One of our most alarming findings is that young women between ages 19 and 30 were held the longest in rebel captivity, averaging about four and a half years,” said report coauthor Phuong Pham. “Many, if not most, of these women were forced to serve as ‘wives’ and domestic servants to top rebel commanders.” The report, compiled by faculty and researchers from UC Berkeley’s Human Rights Center and Tulane’s Payson Center for International Development, collected data from Ugandan rehabilitation centers.

It wasn’t so much what the Governor said, it was where he said it:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told a gathering of Hispanic journalists that immigrants should avoid Spanish-language media if they want to learn English quickly. “You’ve got to turn off the Spanish television set” and avoid Spanish-language television, books and newspapers, the Republican governor said Wednesday night at the annual convention of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.  “You’re just forced to speak English, and that just makes you learn the language faster,” Schwarzenegger said.  “I know this sounds odd and this is the politically incorrect thing to say, and I’m going to get myself in trouble,” he said, noting that he rarely spoke German and was forced to learn English when he emigrated from Austria.Schwarzenegger was responding to a question about how Hispanic students can improve academically. Many journalists for Spanish-language organizations in the audience were surprised by the remarks.

“I’m sitting shaking my head not believing that someone would be so naive and out of it that he would say something like that,” said Alex Nogales, president and chief executive of the National Hispanic Media Coalition.  Hispanic immigrants need Spanish-language media to stay informed and “function in this society,” Nogales said.

While many others praised the Governor’s frankness, it was also noted that he bought advertising on Spanish network during his election campaign.

Israeli historian Saul Friedlander will receive the top prize of the annual Frankfurt Book Fair in recognition of his narratives documenting the Nazi Holocaust, the German Book Trade association said Thursday.  According to the International Herold Tribune, Friedlander, 74, who holds a professorship at the University of California, Los Angeles, is to be given the €25,000 (US$33,000) peace prize during the annual book fair in October.  In honoring Friedlander, the jury praised him as an “epic narrator of the history of the Shoah and of the persecution and extermination of the Jews during the Nazi era in Europe.”  Among Friedlander’s best-known works are his two-volume collection “The Third Reich and the Jews.”  Previous winners of the award include German sociologist Wolf Lepenies, last year; outspoken Turkish author and Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk; and former Czech President Vaclav Havel.

If this wasn’t so funny, it would be sad- or if it wasn’t so sad, it would be funny- I’m not sure which.  In any event, I thought America had an over-supply of right-wing political operatives- do we really need to import them?

The California Republican Party has decided no American is qualified to take one of its most crucial positions — state deputy political director — and has hired a Canadian for the job through a coveted H-1B visa, a program favored by Silicon Valley tech firms that is under fire for displacing skilled American workers.  Christopher Matthews, 35, a Canadian citizen, has worked for the state GOP as a campaign consultant since 2004. But he recently was hired as full-time deputy political director, with responsibility for handling campaign operations and information technology for the country’s largest state Republican Party operation, California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring confirmed in a telephone interview this week.

In the nation’s most populous state — which has produced a roster of nationally known veteran political consultants — “it’s insulting but also embarrassing … to bring people from the outside who don’t know the difference between Lodi and Lancaster … and who can’t even vote,” said Karen Hanretty, a political commentator and former state GOP party spokeswoman.

U.S. Department of Labor records show the state Republican Party applied for an H-1B visa to fill the job of “political consultant” and was granted a visa labor certification in March 2007. The three-year H-1B visa does not become valid until Oct. 1, 2007, government records show.

Party officials said Matthews has been working in the interim under a “TN” visa — a renewable one-year special visa for Canadian and Mexican professional workers created under the North American Free Trade Agreement.  Matthews was hired by Michael Kamburowski, an Australian citizen who was hired this year as the state GOP’s chief operations officer. But neither new official has experience in managing a political campaign in the nation’s most populous state — and as foreign citizens, neither is eligible to vote.

Kamburowski, a former real estate agent who sold property in the Dominican Republic, is a permanent U.S. resident in the process of obtaining American citizenship and does not require a specialized work visa, state GOP officials said. “There are talented Republicans in California, and the message that (party chair) Ron Nehring is sending is that there’s no talent pool here,” Hanretty said.  The state party and its 58 county operations face several challenges, Hanretty said, including “redistricting on the ballot, uncertain legislative races ahead of us … and a number of Republican congressmen who are under federal investigation and are going to be challenged by Democrats.  “Who will help these candidates?” she asked. “A couple of foreign transplants who don’t know the political landscape and don’t know the history of the complicated politics in California?”

More indications the Californians aren’t exactly thrilled about the economy these days.  From the Los Angeles Business Journal:

Consumer confidence in California evaporated during the second quarter thanks to the one-two punch of a soft housing market and record high gas prices, according to a survey from Chapman University.  Chapman’s consumer sentiment index rating for the second quarter was 82.8, down 19 points from the first quarter, though slightly higher than the second quarter of 2006 when gas prices also were high and the housing slowdown had just begun statewide.  n index level below 100 reflects a higher percentage of pessimistic consumers in the survey as compared to those who are optimistic.  “Continued housing market woes coupled with higher gasoline and food prices are negatively impacting consumers’ assessment of current and future economic conditions,” said Esmael Adibi, director of the Anderson Center for Economic Research at Chapman and the author of the survey.

This is bound to harm U.S. Iran relations, according to this report in the Guardian, and it will certainly harm California-Iran Relations, with our huge population of Americans of Iranian descent- many of whom are reaching out in a positive way to the Iranian people.  

Mohammad Ali Hosseini, the spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, confirmed at his weekly news briefing that Iranian-American Ali Shakeri is being held.  On Friday, the semi-official ISNA news agency first reported the detention and investigation of Shakeri, of Lake Forest, Calif., by the security department of the Tehran prosecutor’s office.  Shakeri, a founding board member of the University of California, Irvine, Center for Citizen Peacebuilding, is the fourth dual citizen detained in Iran in recent months.  Iranian officials previously confirmed the detentions of three other Iranian-Americans: scholar Haleh Esfandiari, the director of the Middle East program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; Kian Tajbakhsh, an urban planning consultant with George Soros’ Open Society Institute; and Parnaz Azima, a journalist who works for the U.S.-funded Radio Farda.  All three are accused of endangering Iran’s national security and of espionage, according to a judiciary spokesman. It is not known if Shakeri has been accused of specific wrongdoing.

The United States broke ties with Iran after the storming of the U.S. Embassy there in 1979 and the seizure of U.S diplomats as hostages, however the Bush Administration was recently forced to begin talks with Iran because of public and congressional opinion and the Baker Hamilton Report.  Since political extremists now control the Federal Governments of both countries, it is thought that these people-to-people contacts may offer the best hope for better relations between the U.S. an Iran.  This action by the current Government in Iran, however, could put a chill on those relations for many more years to come.

The San Diego Union News Blog writes that with upcoming California advisory measure on the Iraq occupation- supported mostly by Democrats, and a public retirement fund divestiture from Iran- supported mostly by Republicans, that the State already has a foreign policy:

California’s economy and population are so large the state is often compared to a nation/state. If that’s true, California lawmakers reason, why not start setting our own foreign policy? On Wednesday, the California Senate took a step in that direction by approving legislation The vote was 23-11. Democrats favor the plan, proposed by Senate President Pro Tempore Don Perata, D-Oakland, while Republicans oppose the measure. “It is important that we stand up and lead the way,” said state Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco. Senate Republican leader Dick Ackerman of Fullerton said state lawmakers should get out of foreign affairs. “For people who want to handle federal issues, they should run for Congress,” he said. Yet on Tuesday, it was a fellow Republican leading the charge into foreign policy. Assemblyman Joel Anderson, R-Lemon Grove, sponsored legislation that would divest California’s public retirement funds from foreign businesses that invest in Iran. The measure passed the Assembly unanimously. that would ask voters on Feb. 5 to decide whether they support an advisory measure urging the withdrawal of U.S. soldiers from Iraq.

The Schwarzenegger administration seems to relish the publicity it gets from its foreign adventures- including a possibly unconstitutional treaty with the United Kingdom.  Unfortunately, by their use of their own non-profits and private business network, it is also rapidly turning into a corrupt Foreign Policy. If California is to have its own foreign policy it  needs to mean much more than just plastering Arnold Schwarzenegger posters all over Tokyo- it needs to involve and represent all of us.

According to IFAW’s Animal Rescue Blog:

As these things happened, however, the pace picked up dramatically with the receipt of a call from one of our media contacts asking us if we could comment on some information he had received indicating that ebay would be announcing a global ivory ban. After a flurry of activity, including calling San Jose, California, speaking with journalists and confirming details, we were elated by the news that ebay had indeed (and not a moment too soon), decided to announce global policy banning sales of ivory across international borders, in compliance with CITES regulations. Their quote, regarding ivory, was a resounding ‘it’s the right thing to do,” a refrain that we have been repeating for quite some time now! The message is clear for us here in the trenches; both public opinion and commercial trends indicate a move towards decisions based on responsible conservation practices. Not bad for a day’s work (plus all the work over the course of two years; well done all of you who spearheaded this effort)!

Governor Schwarzenegger has written a letter to the U.S. Senate criticizing the proposed reforms of the H1B visa program.  His letter says in part:

Although I support the bill’s effort to increase temporary H-1B visas it is critical that the annual level be based on the actual workforce needs of these sectors and not an arbitrary cap. The current caps of 65,000 for skilled professionals and 20,000 for holders of advanced degrees have proven to be far less than what is needed. Future levels for these visas must be based on the demands of the market or this policy will strangle these important industries, forcing them overseas. The H-1B program must also be enforced in a way that does not impose unnecessary, costly administrative burdens on law-abiding U.S. businesses. I am concerned that the current bill may make the H-1B program harder to administer, especially for smaller businesses, such as technology start-ups, and force these companies to consider moving critical functions, including product development, to facilities offshore. My greatest concern, though, is with the proposal for a new points-based “green card” system designed to encourage the immigration of workers with training and skills in key areas. Replacing the current employer-based system, where companies can identify the specific skills needed and sponsor qualified immigrants, with an untested system run by the government threatens the very foundation of the program and must be amended. I strongly urge the Senate to retain an employment-based application process and consider authorizing a smaller points-based pilot program prior to any wider implementation.

This opinion could be expected from a Governor who takes all his consul from large Corporations and campaign donors, but he has absolutely NO right to claim that he is representing the opinions of small business. The current H1B Visa program is a modern version of indentured servitude- a throwback to this seventeenth century system that was long ago banished from our society. Naturally big Corporations love the current H1B visa programs as it gives them a ready supply of something akin to slave labor- employees that are completely beholden to them and under their complete control. Ask anyone who has worked on an overseas contract as a small business or independent contractor- you must completely shut down your life to work on one of these contracts and you are completely at the mercy of your “Corporate Sponsor”.

In 1999 and 2000, at the tail end of the dot com boom, I worked as a Program Manager in Silicon Valley. The firm I worked for imported large numbers of technical workers from a large Central Asian country. My job was to try to manage these poorly trained workers who were assigned to companies in California cities outside of the Silicon Valley, and I can tell you from first hand experience that any claims that these workers are more qualified then Americans- or that they can’t find Americans to do these jobs, is simply laughable. They want the cheap slave labor- it is as simple as that.

If we need to let people into our country to fill workforce needs, then they should be allowed to work where ever they want in our economy for some specified period of time, and a comparable number of Americans should be allowed to go to those countries to work. If these corporations really must hire foreign workers instead of Americans, then they should be required to provide at least some re-training of American workers. What we are seeing here is a sad example of what happens when big Corporations hijack our Government and political system. Governor Schwarzenegger probably doesn’t know any of this as he has closed himself off to all business opinions except those expressed by large Corporations and select business associations, such as the California Chamber of Commerce. As a result, he presides over a State Government that has become increasing hostile to small business interests, and is well on its way to becoming far more corrupt then the Davis administration ever was. Please call or write Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and tell them to that on this issue, Governor Schwarzenegger is once again sadly misinformed and his opinions in this letter represent Corporate interests, not the interest of the people of the State of California.

Media mogul Barry Diller’s IAC Interactive is reported to be starting up a new venture capital fund to invest in internet and Silicon Valley technology companies, according to a report in Mercury News.  Jim Safka, chief executive officer of online dating service Match.com, an IAC subsidiary, will head the fund, which will be called “Primal Ventures and will be located in Palo Alto, California.

The University of California, Santa Barbara has announced that Virgil Elings and Betty Elings Wells have made a $12.5 million gift to UC Santa Barbara to support pioneering research at the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI). In recognition of their recent gift, the new building that is home to the prestigious California Institute for Science and Innovation will be named in honor of Virgil Elings.  The CNSI is a multidisciplinary research partnership between UCLA and UC Santa Barbara established by the state in 2000 with the support of the state legislature and California industry.  Virgil Elings is a former UCSB professor of physics who made
fundamental contributions leading to the scientific revolution at the nanoscale. In 1987, he co-founded Digital Instruments (DI), the first company to make the power of atomic scanning probe microscopy readily available to scientists and engineers, enabling them to view and
explore nanoscale features and structures never seen before – a critical starting point in nanoscience and nanotechnology.