January 17, 2018 – Bridge Agents

No, Immigrants Are Not Stealing Our Jobs

January 17, 2018 Bridge Agents

United States (FEE) – The continuing controversy over immigration, legal and illegal, smothers long-standing flattering descriptions of the United States as a “nation of immigrants.” Ditto for “melting pot” and e pluribus unum (“out of many, one”). I enjoy asking people opposed to immigration when it was that immigrants began to undermine the US economy. Answers laced with smugness about immigrants “stealing our jobs” and racial or ethnic animus are common. Amusing to me was a relative who said that immigrants “went bad after our people arrived.” It is good…

India’s Biometric ID System Is Leaking Personal Data — And State Agencies Won’t Fix the Problem

January 17, 2018 Bridge Agents

(GV – India’s national scheme holds the personal data of more than 1.13 billion citizens and residents of India within a unique ID system branded as Aadhaar, which means “foundation” in Hindi. But as more and more evidence reveals that the government is not keeping this information private, the actual foundation of the system appears shaky at best. On January 4, 2018, The Tribune of India, a news outlet based out of Chandigarh, created a firestorm when it reported on that people were selling access to Aadhaar data on WhatsApp, for…

US Freezes Funding for Palestinian Relief Efforts – State Department

January 17, 2018 Bridge Agents

United States (Sputnik) – The United States will withhold more than $60 million in aid to the UN Relief Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said during a briefing on Tuesday. “$65 million, that is money that will be held for future consideration,” Nauert said regarding UNRWA funding. “It’s money that’s being frozen at this time, it’s not being cancelled.” The United States has committed a voluntary contribution of $60 million for 2018 to sustain schools and health services, Nauert said. The decision by the United States is…