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Big tech companies have pulled back on PERM applications, often the first step to a green card. AdvertisementBig tech companies have backed off green card applications in a big way because the process has become tougher and there's less competition for talent. "If some of these people say 'yes, I'm interested,' then you're out of luck with the green card application." So this makes the green card process potentially easier outside of places like the Bay Area and NYC, she explained. Are you a foreign tech worker struggling with a green card application?

Persons: Ava Benach, —, Googlers, Benach, It's, Hugh Langley, Kali Hays, Eugene Kim Organizations: Big, Google, Service, Department of Labor, Washington DC, Amazon, Business, Meta, Companies, Citizenship, Immigration Services, Supply, Bay, Labor, Area, Big Tech, US, Department, Labor Department, Software Engineer, Research Locations: PERM, Silicon Valley, New York City, Washington, khays@businessinsider.com

☆ Google says immigration rules are making it hard to hire top AI talent
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Google wants the US to change immigration rules to help it hire AI talent. The company said its need for AI roles will "increase significantly" in the coming years. AdvertisementAs the AI wars heat up, Google says immigration rules must change if the US is to attract the talent needed to stay ahead. AdvertisementConsequently, companies have cut back on offering to put employees on US green card tracks. Amazon recently suspended new green card sponsorships until the end of 2024.

Persons: — Organizations: Google, US Department of Labor, Service, Department, Software Engineer, Research, Department of Labor, Companies, Amazon Locations: PERM

☆ Amazon has suspended new US Green Card applications for foreign workers, leaked memo shows
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Amazon has suspended new US Green Card sponsorships for foreign workers until the end of 2024. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. AdvertisementAmazon won't be sponsoring any new US Green Cards for foreign workers for the rest of this year, a sign of sustained weakness in the tech job market. It aims to check that admitting foreign workers into the country doesn't impact job opportunities, wages and working conditions of US workers. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: — Organizations: Amazon, Green, Service, Cards, Business, US Department of Labor Locations: PERM

☆ Opinion: The real story behind Russia’s new ‘Stalin Centers’
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Opinion Jade Mcglynn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Last month, a new ‘Stalin Center’ was opened in Barnaul, Siberia. According to the independent Levada Center, Stalin has taken first place in their ‘who is the greatest figure of all times and all people’ survey since 2012. Students of a military-sponsored school attend the opening of a series of busts of Russian leaders, including Josef Stalin (center), in Moscow, on September 22, 2017. What the West gets wrong about Stalin and PutinMoreover, these comparisons divert attention from important differences between the Stalin and Putin regimes. That is abundantly not the case in Putin’s Russia, where the government instead encourages a ritualistic patriotism and political apathy.

Persons: Jade McGlynn, “, Read, ’, Jade McGlynn Jade McGlynn, Stalin, Vladimir Putin’s, Josef Stalin, Alexander Zemlianichenko, Memorial, Gorbachev, Yury, Putin, Vladimir Putin, Alexander Nemenov, demonize ’ Stalin, —, weren’t, Mikhail Bulgakov Organizations: Center for Strategic, International Studies, CNN, Communists, Kremlin Russian Communist Party, Levada Center, YouTube, Communist, Reuters, Kremlin, Putin Locations: Putin’s Russia, Barnaul, Siberia, Russian, Penza, Bor, Communist, Russia, Vladimir Putin’s United Russia, Moscow, Perm, Baltic, Laski, Ukraine, today’s Russia, Kyiv, Putin Russia

The settlement is the largest ever for the Justice Department involving claims of discrimination based on citizenship, the agency said. It requires Apple to pay $6.75 million in civil penalties and $18.25 million to an unspecified number of affected workers. The Justice Department did not specify which Apple jobs were affected by the recruitment procedures or how Apple may have benefited from them. Along with the payout, Apple agreed to align its recruiting for PERM jobs with its normal practices. The company will be required to conduct more expansive recruitment and train employees on anti-discrimination laws, according to the settlement.

Persons: Mike Segar, Apple, Daniel Wiessner, Alexia Garamfalvi, Deepa Babington Organizations: Apple Inc, Apple, REUTERS, U.S . Department of Justice, Justice Department, Justice, DOJ, The Justice, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York, U.S, PERM, Albany , New York

☆ Apple will pay $25 million in DOJ discrimination settlement
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Apple will pay $25 million in back pay and civil penalties to settle a matter over the company's hiring practices under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Department of Justice announced Thursday. Apple has agreed to pay $6.75 million in civil penalties and establish an $18.25 million fund for back pay to eligible discrimination victims, the DOJ said in a release. The DOJ said that it believed that Apple followed procedures that were designed to favor current Apple employees holding temporary visas who wanted to become permanent employees. PERM jobs are typically used to hire international graduates from U.S. universities. When we realized we had unintentionally not been following the DOJ standard, we agreed to a settlement addressing their concerns," an Apple spokesperson told CNBC.

Persons: Tim Cook, Joe Biden, Apple Organizations: Apple, White, Washington , D.C, Immigration, Department of Justice, DOJ, Labor, CNBC, PERM Locations: Washington ,, PERM, U.S, United States

☆ CAS registers Russian appeal against Olympic membership suspension
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach gestures as he speaks during a news conference, ahead of the 141st IOC Session, in Mumbai, India, October 13, 2023. REUTERS/Niharika Kulkarni/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 6 (Reuters) - The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has registered an appeal filed by the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) against the decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to suspend its membership, the independent judicial body said on Monday. The challenge arose over the IOC's suspension of the ROC following the ROC decision to include as its members some regional sports organisations which are under the authority of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine. "The CAS arbitration proceedings have commenced. The Russian Olympic Committee was banned with immediate effect on Oct. 12 for recognising regional organisations from four territories annexed from Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee said.

Persons: Thomas Bach, Niharika Kulkarni, Vladamir Putin, Putin, Trevor Stynes, Christian Radnedge Organizations: Olympic Committee, 141st IOC, REUTERS, Sport, Russian Olympic Committee, International Olympic Committee, National Olympic Committee, IOC, Olympic, Sports, Russian Olympic, Sporting Power, Swiss, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, ROC, Ukraine, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Russia, Perm

☆ ‘Fingernails’ Review: Love, Factually
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Jeannette Catsoulis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Heartache and horror walk hand in hand in “Fingernails,” a disarmingly sweet science-fiction romance from the Greek director Christos Nikou. Opening with a brief explanation of the title — the first sign of heart disease is often noticed in the fingernails — and closing on a note of indescribable yearning, this gently humorous movie operates so smoothly you may not notice its subversiveness. Though comfortably settled with her longtime boyfriend, Ryan (Jeremy Allen White), Anna feels strangely lost: Ryan is sweet but dull, their interaction as predictable as the job interviews she disinterestedly pursues. Responding to a crisis of dwindling romantic partnerships, scientists have developed a test that can determine whether you and your significant other are truly in love. Years earlier, Anna and Ryan had passed the test with flying colors; so why was she feeling so restless, and so attracted to Amir (Riz Ahmed), her handsome new work colleague?

Persons: Christos Nikou, Anna, Jessie Buckley, Cameron Diaz’s, John Malkovich ”, Ryan, Jeremy Allen White, disinterestedly, “, Amir, Riz Ahmed Locations: perm

☆ The Wagner Group is back, Russian regional media says — and led by Prigozhin's son
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian regional media reported this week that the Wagner Group is hiring again in two oblasts. The reports follow months of speculation that Pavel Prigozhin would lead Wagner under the Russian Guard. And the fighters are led by the young son of Prigozhin himself, Pavel Prigozhin, reported 59.RU, a regional news outlet based in Perm. A Telegram channel affiliated with Wagner, Prigozhin 2023, has also been touting Pavel Prigozhin as the organization's future leader. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Russian news site Military Review also reported on Sunday that Wagner would continue operations as a division of the Russian Guard.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Pavel, Pavel Prigozhin, —, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Russian Guard, Service, Group, Kremlin, Getty, Wagner, Telegram, Russian Defense Ministry, New York Times, The Defense Ministry, Institute for, RU, Russian National Guard, Defense Ministry Locations: Perm ., Perm . Novosibirsk, Perm, VKontakte, Russian, Ukraine, Moscow, AFP, Africa, US, Wagner Perm

☆ The Wagner Group is back, and led by a new Prigozhin, Russian regional media says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

☆ Putin accuses IOC of using Olympics for politics and racism
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 19 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin on Thursday lashed out at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for effectively suspending Russia from the Olympic movement, accusing it of using the Games as a tool of politics and racism. Last week the IOC banned the Russian Olympic Committee for recognising regional bodies from four territories that Moscow claims to have annexed from Ukraine. "And that the Games themselves can be used as an instrument of political pressure against people who have nothing to do with politics. The IOC did not say last week whether they would be admitted to Paris 2024. Stanislav Pozdnyakov, head of the Russian Olympic Committee, said in Perm that the key thing now was to prepare athletes for the 2028 Games.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Russia's, Dmitry Chernyshenko, Stanislav Pozdnyakov, Maxim Rodionov, Kevin Liffey, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: International Olympic Committee, IOC, Russian Olympic Committee, Sporting Power, Olympic, Games, Olympics, Zvezda, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Perm, Sochi, Paris, Kazan

☆ Russian and Iranian emigres find haven in old Armenian factory
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Roman Churikov | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Launched in 2022, the project is called Abastan - "shelter" in Armenian - and is open to participants and guests from around the world. Polina Ivanova, a co-founder of Abastan, said locals in the northern Armenian town of Tumanyan were at first bemused by the strangers in their midst. Arghavan Majd, a painter from Iran, said she found the atmosphere "more free" in Abastan and it was easier to make personal connections. Timofey Moskovkin, a Russian now working in a cafe funded by the charity, said local people in Tumanyan, a town of about 1,000 people, had treated him warmly. "We looked and saw the lights were on, it was beautiful, there was music and young people dancing," he said.

Persons: Polina Ivanova, Abastan, Majd, Mahsa Amini, Vladimir Putin, haven't, Danil, Timofey, Mark Trevelyan, Gareth Jones 私 Organizations: Armenia Locals, Reuters, Georgian Locations: Russia, Iran, Ukraine, Tumanyan, Armenia, Soviet, revitalise, Abastan, Russian, Perm, Ararat, Soviet Union

☆ London’s Pointe Black ballet school aims to break racial barriers
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Alishia Abodunde | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

And classical ballet companies strive for a uniform look especially in works like “Swan Lake,” making it harder for dancers of colour to get hired or promoted. At The Royal Ballet, “we are determined to make our theatre a welcoming and inclusive place for all,” a company spokesperson said. “Dance is for everybody,” noted a spokesperson at The Royal Academy of Dance, whose syllabus is taught worldwide. “Ensuring there is diversity in the dance world is important to everyone at the RAD.”Essel wants to speed up change by disrupting the status quo. And it’s really just about celebrating the person no matter where they come from.”Maya Beale-Springer, a 10-year-old student at Pointe Black and another ballet school, enjoys exploring various styles.

Persons: Sandie Bourne, ”, Essel, “, ” Maya Beale, won’t, ” Essel, Richard Chang, E Wong, Eve Watling Organizations: Britain’s Society for Dance Research, Royal Ballet, The Royal Academy of Dance, Springer, Pointe Black Locations: Asia, South America, Cuba, perm

In short, Russia’s children are being prepared for war. Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov said recently that there are now about 10,000 so-called “military-patriotic” clubs in Russian schools and colleges, and a quarter-of-a-million people take part in their work. There are mandatory classes on military-patriotic values; updated history books accentuate Russian military triumphs. President Putin has personally led the campaign to inject patriotism into Russia’s schools. That message - hammered home by the president and state media - is now being taken into Russia’s schools.

Persons: Sergei Kravtsov, Vladimir Putin, ’, ”, ” Putin, Ukraine “, Putin, “, Vyacheslav Gladkov, Uliana Shumelova, schooler, Sergei Shoigu, Shoigu, Daria, Vladimir, Ukraine –, Buryatia, She’d, It’s Organizations: CNN, Education, Security, Defense, Education Ministry, Novosti, RIA Novosti, Russia, Kremlin, Educational, Ministry of Defense, Air Defense, United, ”, Northern Military District, Military Sports Games, Defense Ministry, Armed Forces Russian Federation Locations: Pacific, Ukraine, Moscow, Russian, Russia, Crimea, Ukrainian, stoke, Belgorod, Krasnodar, Vologda, Sakhalin, Russia’s Far, Yeysk, Azov, Astrakhan, United Russia, Vladivostok, Voronezh, Ussuriysk, Buryatia, Chita trumpeted, Orenburg, Polish, Perm, State

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — What would Bob Ross think? Growing up in a small town, Nelson said he was introduced to art through Ross' show and loves his paintings. “This isn’t an institution that’s telling you that Bob Ross is great. It’s not some high-brow gallery telling you that Bob Ross is great. Nelson bought the painting last year and then gave it a “not for sale” price of $9.85 million, said publicist Megan Hoffman.

Persons: Bob Ross, Ross, ” Ryan Nelson, Nelson, ” Ross —, we’ve, Michelangelo, ” Ross, ”, ” Nelson, It’s, Ross ’, Megan Hoffman, Hoffman, Nelson isn't, “ Ryan, ” Hoffman, “, he's Organizations: PBS Locations: MINNEAPOLIS, Minneapolis, perm, Falls Creek , Virginia

☆ At Mrs. Roper Romps, the Caftan Is Queen
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Erik Piepenburg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“The way that she is constantly needling Mr. Roper is a takedown of the patriarchy,” Baume said in a phone interview. The ladies got tipsy on the Oh, Stanley, a special cocktail of white rum and grenadine named for one of Mrs. Roper’s frequent hubby-shaming chastisements. Nancy Rafi, a 65-year-old retired event planner who co-organized the Romp, said she wasn’t surprised tickets sold out quickly. For many women of her generation, she said, Mrs. Roper was “a feminist icon.”“I loved Suzanne Somers and Joyce DeWitt,” said Rafi, who is also a practicing witch. “But they were very vanilla to me.” Mrs. Roper, she said, “was a firecracker.”

Persons: Mr, Roper, ” Baume, “, Stanley, Roper’s, Nancy Rafi, wasn’t, Suzanne Somers, Joyce DeWitt, ”, Rafi, Mrs Locations: Providence, perm

☆ The return of perms
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Yola Mzizi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Perms, or the permanent wave, have been a fixture of American culture since the late 19th century and reached peak popularity in the 1970s and 1980s. While beauty trends, like fashion, are cyclical, perms today differ greatly from those once seen on stars like Cher and Stevie Nicks, thanks to gentler products and digitized heat technology. Digital perms, or hot perms, have also become popular. “It certainly helps that K-Pop and K-Dramas are popular and the stars get perms, so that has made it more culturally acceptable,” said Chen. Wella’s Munz is hopeful the resurgence of perms will also encourage brands to further engage with the multicultural consumer.

Persons: Charles Chen, “, ”, Cher, Stevie Nicks, perms, Roland Munz, Briana Dunning, Dunning, BTS’s, Kim Tae, Gong Yoo, Lydia Wolfe, Jack, Wolfe, Chen, Wella’s Munz Organizations: The, Fashion, CNN, Wella, Korean, Busan ”, perms Locations: perm, Manhattan, TikTok, perm ”, Euromonitor, Gen, Los Angeles, “, Striiike, Korean, Korean perm, American perm, Busan, London

☆ Evelyne Axell was a trailblazer of erotic pop art in the 1960s. Then she died
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Jacqui Palumbo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Throughout Evelyne Axell’s short but radical career, the Belgian artist revered the female body in psychedelic hues rendered in gleaming enamel. In 1972, only a handful of years into painting, she died in a car crash and faded into relative obscurity. But such sales for Axell are infrequent, according to Sara Friedlander, Christie’s deputy chairman of post-war and contemporary art. Her stylistic approach — a mix of pop art influences and dreamy surrealist settings — is still underrecognized, according to Morris. “She acts as a historical bridge (between surrealism and pop art),” she said.

☆ ‘Book Club: The Next Chapter’ Review: Cinema Pinot Grigio
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Amy Nicholson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The 2018 comedy “Book Club” had a simple, sturdy spine of a plot: Four longtime friends (Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen) power up their sexual prowess while panting over — and mocking — the best seller “Fifty Shades of Grey.” At some point during the brainstorming of “Book Club‌: The Next Chapter,” the returning director Bill Holderman and his co-screenwriter Erin Simms must have decided they could ditch the book gimmick. With a cast this beloved, who cares what they’re reading? This sequel opens with a formal quote from “The Alchemist” and, when pressed, mutters about how its author Paulo Coelho embraces fate. But that’s just a spaghetti-thin excuse to send the pals on a frenetic adventure through Italy with no time to crack open a paperback. Our close familiarity with the cast is the sole thing giving this fluff a sheen of emotional weight.

☆ Why Are More Men Getting Perms?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Wilson Wong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Tyler Jung, 26, an analyst in New York City, said there were only two types of people in the world: those who understand the hairstyle and those who do not. For a little more money, a person can choose what’s known as a down perm, which relaxes and flattens stubborn strands that stick out, creating a smoother appearance. In the early 1900s, Garrett Morgan, a trailblazer for Black inventors, discovered an effective hair straightener, or what’s better known today as a relaxer. Instead of creating coils, this chemical treatment straightens tendrils. Though relaxers have historically been used among Black people and other communities who have natural curls, treatment and applications to accentuate these curls have contributed to some of the most iconic hairstyles for Black men.

☆ Russia's desperately trying to drum up new recruits by selling military service as a 'worthy future' as thousands of troops die in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia is desperately selling military service as a "worthy future" to prospective recruits. The Washington Post reported that much of Russia's recruitment is happening regionally. Some of the army brochures say that "Contract service is a worthy future," the Post reported. Vlad Karkov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesIn recent months, Russian authorities have also increasingly sensationalized military enrollment in television ads. Russia's push for more troops and glamorization of military enrollment comes as the country's casualties continue to climb.

☆ Soviet-era bike revived by Russian factory as Moscow shuns West
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Not everyone had one, but it was everyone's dream to have one," Forward's commercial director Alexei Boyaryshnikov told Reuters. At 98 roubles - around half the average Soviet monthly wage in 1980 - it was not the most affordable bike on the market but was highly sought after. "Although two generations have probably passed since people first rode the bike ... our bicycle factory decided to start producing the Kama again because we're in Perm and it is the ancestor of the (previous) large bike factory." Dozens of Western products have been replaced with domestic equivalents, as Russian entrepreneurs aim to capitalise on the departure of brands such as Coca-Cola and McDonald's. ($1 = 74.75 roubles)Reporting by Reuters, Writing by Caleb Davis, Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ At least 15 killed in Russian nightclub fire
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

A fire in a nightclub in the Russian city of Kostroma killed 15 people and injured five others on Saturday, local authorities said. The blaze erupted in the early hours after someone apparently used a flare gun during a dispute, authorities said. The fire broke out at Polygon, a multi-purpose recreation venue used as a cafe, nightclub and bar. A criminal investigation has been launched, and the police are searching for the person who used the flare gun. In 2009, more than 150 people were killed in a blaze at the Lame Horse nightclub in the city of Perm that erupted after someone set off fireworks.

☆ At least 13 killed in Russian nightclub fire
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russian Emergencies Ministry in Kostroma region/Handout via REUTERSNov 5 (Reuters) - At least 13 people died after a fire broke out in a busy nightclub in the Russian city of Kostroma, officials said on Saturday. Kostroma is a city of around 270,000 people, 300 km (190 miles) north-east of Moscow on the banks of the river Volga. The fire took place in the early hours of the morning at Polygon, a multi-purpose recreation venue used as a cafe, nightclub and bar. Most of those killed in the fire had been found in the smoking room, utility room and near the toilets, TASS reported, citing emergency services. "As a result of the fire, 13 people died; the number of dead and injured is being clarified," the Investigating Committee said in a statement.

☆ LoveShackFancy built a pretty, skinny, rich-girl dreamworld. The fantasy was impossible to live up to.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Anna Silman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +34 min

Suddenly, in the midst of discussing what Cohen should wear to the next LoveShackFancy store opening, there was the sound of glass clanging. (Another person confirmed hearing this exchange, though the person close to the company said multiple Zoom attendees did not recall it.) The person close to the company said, "It is not uncommon for trips to have dual purposes — they always generate content." Another time, during a visit to the Palm Beach store, Cohen freaked out after seeing staffers in sweatshirts and sneakers. "As with most contemporary fashion brands, we currently do not operate in the plus-size business," the person close to LoveShackFancy said.

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