洛杉磯時報：A shallow, magnitude 3.2
earthquake was reported Saturday afternoon two miles from the Bay Area
town of Piedmont, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The temblor occurred at 2:52 p.m. at a depth of 3.7 miles.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the epicenter was three
miles from Berkeley, three miles from Emeryville and 11 miles from San
Francisco City Hall.
In the last 10 days, there have been two earthquakes magnitude 3.0
and greater centered nearby.
Small quake rattles Bay Area
三藩市紀事報：(11-05) 15:22
PDT Oakland -- Another small
earthquake rattled the East Bay today, the latest in a string of
temblors along the Hayward Fault.
The 3.2-magnitude quake hit at 2:52 p.m., centered near Lake Temescal
in Oakland, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. There were no
immediate reports of damage. The shaking was felt as far south as
Redwood City and north into Benicia.
Magnitude-3.2 quake in S.F. Bay area jolts Berkeley
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) – An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude
of 3.2 has rattled part of the
San
Francisco Bay area.
The U.S. Geological
Survey says the quake hit at 2:52 p.m. Saturday about three miles
southeast of downtown Berkeley. A police dispatcher says police
hadn't received any reports of damage or injuries.
The quake follows a series of similar-sized
temblors that shook the area in recent weeks. Two quakes on Oct. 20
— one with a magnitude of 3.8 and another a magnitude 4.0 — hit the
same day that many Californians took part in an annual earthquake
preparedness drill.
There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of this
company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the economy has changed
for the worse and presents many challenges. However, the good news is this: The
economy doesn't pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however,
is the changing political landscape in this country.
However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help you decide
what is in your best interests.
First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts
employers against employees, you have to understand that for every business
owner there is a back story. This back story is often neglected and overshadowed
by what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside. You've seen
my big home at last years Christmas party. I'm sure; all these flashy icons of
luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about my life.
However, what you don't see is the back story.
I started this company 28 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300 square foot
studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living apartment was converted into an
office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a company, which by the
way, would eventually employ you.
My diet consisted of Ramen Pride noodles because every dollar I spent went back
into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a defective transmission.
I didn't have time to date. Often times, I stayed home on weekends, while my
friends went out drinking and partying. In fact, I was married to my business --
hard work, discipline, and sacrifice.
Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a modest
$50K a year and spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy cars and lived
in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes. Instead of hitting the
Nordstrom's for the latest hot fashion item, I was trolling through the Goodwill
store extracting any clothing item that didn't look like it was birthed in the
70's. My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I,
however, did not. I put my time, my money, and my life into a business with a
vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able to afford these luxuries
my friends supposedly had.
So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9am, mentally check in at about
noon, and then leave at 5pm, I don't. There is no "off" button for me. When you
leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend all to yourself. I
unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, and breathe this company every
minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no weekend. There is no happy
hour. Every day this business is attached to my hip like a 1 year old
special-needs child. You, of course, only see the fruits of that garden -- the
nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations... You never realize the back story and
the sacrifices I've made.
Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the right
decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people who didn't. The
people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the same
luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life for.
Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I've paid is steep and not
without wounds.
Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you, is starting
to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me tell you why:
I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don't pay enough. I have
state taxes. Federal taxes. Property taxes. Sales and use taxes. Payroll taxes.
Workers compensation taxes. Unemployment taxes. Taxes on taxes. I have to hire a
tax man to manage all these taxes and then guess what? I have to pay taxes for
employing him. Government mandates and regulations and all the accounting that
goes with it, now occupy most of my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US
Treasury for $288,000 for quarterly taxes. You know what my "stimulus" check
was? Zero. Nada. Zilch.
The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the guy who has
provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000 people per year
with a flourishing business? Or, the single mother sitting at home pregnant with
her fourth child waiting for her next welfare check? Obviously, government feels
the latter is the economic stimulus of this country.
The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your paycheck you'd quit and you
wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? That's nuts. Who wants to get
rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree which is why your job is in
jeopardy.
Here is what many of you don't understand ... to stimulate the economy you need
to stimulate what runs the economy. Had suddenly government mandated to me that
I didn't need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of depositing that $288,000 into
the Washington black-hole, I would have spent it, hired more employees, and
generated substantial economic growth. My employees would have enjoyed the
wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and better salaries. But you
can forget it now.
When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don't defibrillate and
shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to life, do you? Or, do you
defibrillate his heart? Business is at the heart of America and always has been.
To restart it, you must stimulate it, not kill it. Suddenly, the power brokers
in Washington believe the poor of America are the essential drivers of the
American economic engine. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is
the type of change you can keep.
So where am I going with all this?
It's quite simple.
If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, my reaction will be swift and
simple. I fire you. I fire your co-workers. You can then plead with the
government to pay for your mortgage, your SUV, and your child's future. Frankly,
it isn't my problem any more.
Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and retire. You
see, I'm done. I'm done with a country that penalizes the productive and gives
to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be
destroyed, and with it, will be my citizenship.
If you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the economy; it will be at the
hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country, steamrolled the
constitution, and will have changed its landscape forever. If that happens, you
can find me sitting on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry
about....
2006 (First Quarter) INS/FBI Statistical Report on Undocumented Immigrants
CRIME
95 % of Warrants in LOS ANGELES are for ILLEGAL ALIENS
83 % of Warrants for MURDER in Phoenix Arizona are FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS
86 % of Warrants for MURDER in Albuquerque New Mexico are for ILLEGAL ALIENS
75 % of those on the most wanted list in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Albuquerque are
ILLEGAL ALIENS
24.9 % OF ALL INMATES in California detention centers are Mexican Nationals here
ILLEGALLY
40.1 % of all inmates in Arizona detention centers are Mexican Nationals here
ILLEGALLY
29 % (630,000) Convicted ILLEGAL ALIENS felons fill our state and federal
prisons at the cost of $1.5
Billion Annually
53 % Plus of all investigated burglaries reported in California, New Mexico,
Nevada, Arizona and Texas
are perpetrated by ILLEGAL ALIENS
50 % Plus of all gang members in Los Angeles are ILLEGAL ALIENS
71 % Plus of all apprehended Cars stolen in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada,
and California were
stolen by ILLEGAL ALIENS or "Transport Coyotes "
47 % of cited / stopped Drivers in California have NO License, NO Insurance, and
NO Registration for the
vehicle of that 47 %, over 92 % were ILLEGAL ALIENS
63 % of cited / stopped Drivers in Arizona have NO License, NO Insurance, and NO
Registration for the
vehicle of that 63 %, over 97 % are ILLEGAL ALIENS
66 % of cited / stopped Drivers in New Mexico have NO License, NO Insurance, and
NO Registration for
the vehicle Of that 66 %, over 98 % were ILLEGAL ALIENS
BIRTHS
380,000 Plus "ANCHOR BABIES" were born in the U.S. in 2005 to ILLEGAL ALIEN
PARENTS, making 380,000 babies automatically U.S. Citizens 97.2% of all costs
incurred from those births were paid for by American taxpayers.
66 % OF all births in California are to illegal alien Mexicans on Medi-Cal whose
births were paid by taxpayers
HOUSING
300,000 plus illegal aliens in Los Angeles Country are living in garages
Nearly 60 % of all occupants of HUD properties in the United States are illegal
aliens.
TV & RADIO STATIONS
14 out of 31 TV stations in L.C. are Spanish only16 out of 28 TV stations in
Phoenix are Spanish only
15 out of 24 TV stations in Albuquerque are Spanish only 21 radio stations in
Los Angeles are Spanish only
17 radio stations in Los Angeles are Spanish only 17 radio stations in
Albuquerque are Spanish only
SCHOOLS
34% plus of Arizona students in grades 1-12 are illegal aliens and 24% plus are
non-English speaking
39% plus of California students in grades 1-12 are illegal aliens and 42% plus
are non-English speaking
In Los Angeles County, 5.1 million people speak English - 3.9 million speak
Spanish
SOCIAL SERVICES
43 % of all Food Stamps issued are to illegal aliens
41 % of all Unemployment Checks in the United States are to illegal aliens
58 % of all Welfare payments in the United States are issued to illegal aliens
Less than 2 % of illegal aliens are picking crops but 41 % are on welfare
POPULATION
Over 70% of the U.S. annual population growth (and over 90% of CA, FL, and NY)
results from immigration
EMPLOYER PROFITS
The estimated profit to U.S. corporations and businesses employing illegal
aliens in 2005 was more than 2.36 trillion
TAXES
62 % of all "undocumented immigrants" in the U.S. are working for cash and not
paying taxes, predominantly illegal aliens are working without a green card
The cost of immigration to the American taxpayer in 1997 (last known calculation
by Professor Donald Huddle, Rice University) was a NET (after subtracting taxes
immigrants pay), $70 Billion per year. [What are the 2006 costs?]
The lifetime fiscal impact (taxes paid minus services used) for the average
illegal alien is $55,000 cost to the American taxpayer in a 5-year span. You
personally pay $11,000 every year to illegal aliens.
JOBS (per Center for Immigration Studies - September 2006): Between 2000 and
2005, 4.1 million immigrant workers arrived in the U.S., accounting for 86% of
the net increase in the total number of employed persons (16 & older), the
highest share ever recorded in the U.S. Of the 4.1 million, between 1.4 and 2.7
million are estimated to be illegal aliens. Also, between 2000 and 2005, the
number of young (16 to 34) native-born men employed declined by 1.7 million - at
the same time, the number of new male immigrant workers increased by 1.9
million. [Do you still believe the gov't employment rate stats?]
ACTION: Please share this data with elected officials, particularly those who
spew the PCBS about all the "contributions of illegal aliens to our society" AND
"our economy would collapse without them"! However, NONE of this will matter IF
our borders are not secured OR Pres. Bush succeeds in abolishing them (via his
SPP, NAU, NAFTA Hwy), and illegal alien murders, drug smugglers and terrorists
continue to be welcomed into our country
7/24/07
百年難得一見
候菜因隻貓相片
5/16/07
盟報副刊
不是只有星島才會亂作新聞標題，老番都是。。。
第一位，是
Bush Moving on Air Pollution
JENNIFER LOVEN
The Associated Press
看看原文，其實是欠了一個字，Bush Moving on Reducing Air Pollution
才真。
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