Below, [...]]]>
Below, Amina and Sarah Said, along with the father Yaser Abdel Said.
Yaser was born in Egypt in 1957, according to his description on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list. Since his arrival in the US, he exhibited traditional muslim values of misogyny and harsh parenting, while his daughters grew up to live like American teens in their home in the Dallas area with their US-born mother.
And that behavior seemed to be a problem to Yaser, though it was a predictable outcome of the situation. Unless children of immigrants are sent to religious or foreign-language schools, they will normally absorb conduct typical in a public high school — like dating Americans, which was an irritant for the muslim father.
It’s interesting that Yaser was arrested in Justin, Texas, which is only 35 miles from Irving where the double murder took place. Was he in hiding for 12 years in the Dallas area? If so, it might suggest a community of traditional muslims willing to protect a killer who was seen as sharia friendly. The August 2016 issue of the Texas Monthly reported that the Dallas metro area is “home to more than 150,000 Muslims.”
If any of those persons protected Yaser Said from the law, they would be in big trouble because Texas takes harboring offenses seriously:
Federal and State Laws Punish “Harboring”
In Texas, the law that criminalizes the act of harboring a fugitive is known as Hindering Apprehension or Prosecution. . . Hindering Apprehension or Prosecution is a Class A misdemeanor unless the harbored person is wanted for a felony, in which case it is a Third-Degree Felony punishable by 2-10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
In fact, a Dallas CBS report noted that Said’s son Islam and brother Yassim were arrested for harboring.
Muslim family values are strong — but deadly.
]]>Fugitive dad arrested for slaying teen daughters in ‘honor killing’, New York Post, August 27, 2020
A Texas father — one of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives — wanted for the slayings of his two teen daughters was busted after more than 12 years on the run, the federal law enforcement agency announced.
Yaser Abdel Said, 63, was arrested Wednesday by agents in the small town of Justin, about 36 miles northwest of Dallas, officials said.
The Egyptian-born taxicab driver was sought on capital murder charges since the New Year’s Day 2008 shootings of his two daughters, Sarah Yaser Said, 17, and Amina Yaser Said, 18, which have been described as “honor killings.”
The teens were found shot multiple times in a cab outside an Irving motel after one of them called 911, saying she was dying, authorities said.
“Help,” the younger sister could be heard crying on a 911 recording. “I’m dying. Oh my God. Stop it.”
Relatives at the time told cops that Yaser threatened “bodily harm” against Sarah for going on a date with a non-Muslim.
The girls’ mother, Patricia Said, fled with both girls in the week before their killings because she was in “great fear of her life,” police said.
Gail Gattrell, the sisters’ great-aunt, described the deaths as an “honor killing” — which are often carried about by a relative who believes a woman went against conservative Islamic values on love or marriage. (Continues)
It turns out that not only are humans being replaced by smart machines, but workers are also getting reduced paychecks even in the booming jobs economy because of automation in the workplace.
The Fed report starts out:
[...]]]>It turns out that not only are humans being replaced by smart machines, but workers are also getting reduced paychecks even in the booming jobs economy because of automation in the workplace.
The Fed report starts out:
The portion of national income that goes to workers, known as the labor share, has fallen substantially over the past 20 years. Even with strong employment growth in recent years, the labor share has remained at historically low levels. Automation has been an important driving factor. While it has increased labor productivity, the threat of automation has also weakened workers’ bargaining power in wage negotiations and led to stagnant wage growth. Analysis suggests that automation contributed substantially to the decline in the labor share.
Certainly America no longer needs to import immigrant workers to perform simple repetitious tasks because smart machines are increasingly taking the place of human employees.
The man interviewed in the Fox Business clip included below is cheerful about how the coming economy will work out, but keep in mind that William Santana Li is the CEO of Knightscope, a company that manufactures security robots among other automated items.
]]>Robots are hurting your paychecks, study finds, Fox Business, October 1, 2019
‘The world is going to change in the next 10 years than the last 100 years combined.,’ William Santana Li, Knightscope Inc. CEO, said.
Automation has “significantly contributed” to a decrease in the portion of national income that goes to American workers over the past two decades, according to a new report published by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
Although the bank found that a decline in union membership, increased outsourcing and offshoring and non-compete clauses that hurt workers’ ability to switch jobs are also contributing to a shrinking paycheck, automation is the primary cause.
Despite a strong labor market and consistently low unemployment, the labor share, or the portion of national income going to workers, declined to 56 percent in 2018, compared to about 63 percent in 2000. Although the decline steepened during the financial crisis, the labor share has remained at historically low levels, despite strong employment growth over the past few years.
In part, that’s more businesses are increasingly relying on automation for what are generally hard-to-fill jobs. Because of rapid advances in artificial intelligence and robotics, robots can perform jobs and tasks that only humans could do just a few years ago.
Why has the labor share failed to bounce back despite strong #employment gains? Our latest #EconomicLetter suggests #automation may be partly to blame: https://t.co/NwRH32ziuc | #SFFedResearch #EconTwitter #Jobs #LaborShare pic.twitter.com/yxUgf4Bh3u
— San Francisco Fed (@sffed) October 1, 2019
Coupled with a steady decline in the price of this equipment over the past few decades, it’s not only easier for businesses to automate, but cheaper. Plus, workers — worried about the possibility of being replaced by a machine — have a weaker amount of bargaining power.
“In this environment, workers may be reluctant to ask for significant pay raises out of fear that an employer will replace their jobs with robots,” the report found.
Since the early 2000s, the labor share has dropped about 7 percentage points, half of which occurred during the 2008 recession. But even in the midst of a record-long economic expansion, labor share remains stagnant at 56 percent, near the historical low.
“The significant decline in the labor share reflects that increases in real wages have not kept up with labor productivity improvements over the past two decades,” the authors wrote. (Continues)
Walmart’s robot floor cleaner scrubs and polishes all by itself [...]]]>
Walmart’s robot floor cleaner scrubs and polishes all by itself with no worker required to guide it, as shown below:
In addition, Walmart has been using inventory robots to keep its shelves adequately supplied. The machines scan to see what is needed, but cannot physically stock the needed merchandise — yet.
The following article talks as if regular Walmart employees clean the floors and the robots will allow them more time for “customer-centric” work — don’t the stores have janitors for that chore?
In fact, industrial janitor is a job which many low-skilled immigrants take, so perhaps we needn’t continue importing them when so many such occupations will soon be done by smart machines.
]]>AI-Powered, Self-Driving Robots Are Taking On a Bigger Role at Walmart Stores, Motley Fool, March 19, 2019
The world’s largest retailer is making a growing bet on robots and artificial intelligence to gain a competitive edge.
Competition in the retail industry has never been more cutthroat. The dawn of e-commerce has caused a paradigm shift, with traditional retailers having to change with the times or fall by the wayside.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is representative not only of the old guard of retail, but also of the transition that is happening among brick-and-mortar stores to adapt to this new reality. In addition to a fierce move into e-commerce, the once-stodgy retailer has embraced cutting-edge technology to help keep costs in check and provide a better shopping experience for its customers.
Case in point: Self-propelled robots are now taking on an increasing role in Walmart’s operations.
Walmart is using self-driving robots to scrub floors. Image source: Brain Corp.
The coming of the ‘bots
Walmart recently revealed it’s bringing self-driving robots powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to its stores to handle the mundane task of floor cleaning. The Auto-C — Autonomous Cleaner uses assisted autonomy as it navigates around Walmart stores, employing a variety of lasers, cameras, and sensors to scan its surroundings for people and obstacles. This technology allows the self-driving robots to function effectively and safely in complex, crowded environments, which leads to increased productivity and efficiency.This often-overlooked chore would typically take Walmart associates (what the retailer calls its employees) about two hours per day, on average. Multiply that by more than 11,000 stores worldwide and that’s a lot of time cleaning floors. Having a robot complete the task frees up Walmart employees for other, more customer-centric tasks.
The self-driving floor cleaners were initially tested in about 100 Walmart stores, and the company recently expanded that rollout to 360 stores. (Continues)
He must have been one of those “hard-working” immigrants we hear praised so much. How else could he have mooched $35 million via Medicare fraud over two years?
Some immigrant doctors are unduly attracted to the riches available to them when they act as wolves among sheep. Physicians are respected perhaps too much in American society, and the unscrupulous can make out like bandits. (See Top Medicare Ripoff Doc Is Dominican.) Do foreign doctors see us as sheep to be fleeced because Americans are a different tribe? The hard-wired tribal urge of humans cannot be dismissed here, along with greed of course.
In the present case, around 150 victims filed impact statements with the court. The judge allowed two dozen former patients to testify as part of the sentencing process.
The stories were pretty awful:
Some of the victims didn’t think a 45-year sentence was enough for all the pain Fata had caused to so many.
It’s always a good idea to get a second medical opinion for a major illness — double that with a non-American doctor who may only be here for the money.
]]>Former cancer doctor Farid Fata sentenced to 45 years in prison, Ch4 Detroit, July 10, 2014
Fata admits to giving patients unnecessary treatments for insurance money
Calling the scheme “horrific,” a judge sentenced a Detroit-area cancer doctor to 45 years in prison Friday for collecting millions from insurance companies while poisoning more than 500 patients through needless cancer treatments that wrecked their health.
U.S. District Judge Paul Borman this week heard stories of brittle bones and fried organs as patients chillingly described the effects of excessive chemotherapy at the hands of Dr. Farid Fata.
Fata “shut down whatever compassion he had as a doctor and switched it to making money,” Borman said.
Moments earlier, the judge called it a “huge, horrific series of criminal acts.”
Fata, 50, offered no excuses before getting his punishment. Stone-faced all week in court, he repeatedly broke down in loud sobs as he begged for mercy Friday.
“I misused my talents, yes, and permitted this sin to enter me because of power and greed,” Fata said. “My quest for power is self-destructive.”
He said his patients knocked on his door for “compassionate care” but “I failed, yes, I failed.”
Fata pleaded guilty last year to fraud, money laundering and conspiracy. He didn’t strike a deal with prosecutors, so Borman needed much of the week to hear details about treatments. Patients and relatives hired a bus to get to court to watch.
“He preyed on our trust, our exhaustion, our fears,” said Ellen Piligiam, whose late father, a doctor, was administered powerful drugs he didn’t need for a tumor in his shoulder.
Federal prosecutor Catherine Dick had asked for a 175-year prison sentence, while Fata sought 25 years.
“It is not mob justice. It is appropriate for this crime,” Dick told the judge, referring to the extraordinary request.
Outside court, many former patients, dressed in yellow in solidarity, were disappointed with the punishment.
“Prosecutors did a fantastic job — and he got 45 years. It’s a lifetime sentence for the rest of us,” said Monica Flagg, 53, who was treated for cancer before doctors examining a broken leg found she had no cancer. “What about all the grave markers out there that all the victims’ families have to look at?”
Liz Lupo held a picture of her mother, Marianne Lupo, who died in 2007 at age 62. She believes Fata’s treatments hastened her death.
“It’s not justice at all,” Lupo said.
The government identified 553 victims, along with insurance companies. Medicare and insurers paid at least $17 million.
“Dr. Fata pounced on every opportunity to use a patient’s body as a profit center,” said Barbara L. McQuade, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Fata will get credit for about two years served in custody since his arrest in 2013. His stay in the federal prison system also could be shortened with good behavior.
“We’re very disappointed. The judge, when he first started talking, just the way he talked, he misled us to think that he (Fata) was going to get much more than what he got,” said Geraldine Parkin. “I think it went totally wrong … but we do realize he will probably die in prison.”
His clinic, Michigan Hematology Oncology, had seven offices in the Detroit area and a related business that performed tests to look for cancer. Testifying for the government, two experts from Harvard medical school said they were troubled after looking at a small portion of patient files