Unemployed IT Worker Of The Month

"A 29-year-old software engineer who was laid off four months back hanged himself last night, apparently fed up with his joblessness.

"Police said Sachin B. Khandewar, who hailed from Sholapur in Maharashtra and had been working in a city firm, hanged himself from the ceiling fan at his aunt’s house in the Kacheguda area.

"He left behind a suicide note addressed to the police saying his `unsuccessful career` had forced him to take the dire step, the police said.

"`I am bored of this meaningless and useless life. My unsuccessful career is the cause of my death. Nobody is responsible for it,` the note said."

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India Passes Cybercrime-Friendly Legislation

"In the last week of December, 2008, the Parliament of India has passed the amendments to the Information Technology Act 2000, which is popularly known as Indian cyberlaw. The IT Amendment Act 2008 brings about various sweeping changes in the existing Cyberlaw...

"The most bizarre and startling aspect of the new amendments is that these amendments seek to make the Indian Cyberlaw a cyber crime friendly legislation; — a legislation that goes extremely soft on cyber criminals, with a soft heart; a legislation that chooses to encourage cyber criminals by lessening the quantum of punishment accorded to them under the existing law; a legislation that chooses to give far more freedom to cyber criminals than the existing legislation envisages; a legislation which actually paves the way for cyber criminals to wipe out the electronic trails and electronic evidence by granting them bail as a matter of right; a legislation which makes a majority of cybercrimes stipulated under the IT Act as bailable offences; a legislation that is likely to pave way for India to become the potential cyber crime capital of the world."

From The Business-Standard...

World Bank Burned by Offshoring

"For months, the World Bank has been stonewalling and denying a series of FOX News reports on a variety of in-house scandals, ranging from the hacking of its most sensitive financial data to its own sanctions against suppliers found guilty of wrongdoing.

"But last week the world's most important anti-poverty organization suddenly came clean — sort of — in its tough sanctions against a vitally important computer software service supplier that has been linked not only to financial wrongdoing but also to the ultrasensitive data heists.

"A top bank official, FOX News has learned, has admitted that a leading India-based information technology vendor named Satyam Computer Services was barred last February from all business at the bank for a period of eight years — and that the ban started in September.

"The admission confirms what FOX News reported from its own bank sources on October 10 — a report the World Bank officially disparaged at the time.

"The World Bank's revelation of the ban on Satyam comes at a watershed moment for the $2 billion (sales) outsourcing giant, which boasts more than 100 Fortune 500 companies as clients and which trades on the New York Stock Exchange. Last week, India's securities commission announced that it would investigate Satyam."

From FOX News...

Cry Me A River

"In filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, companies that use H-1B and L-1 visas are alerting investors that it may become more difficult to obtain them in the future. Some firms are also noting that they don't know whether President-elect Barack Obama and the new Congress will help them get adequate numbers of visas.

"Bangalore, India-based Wipro Ltd., one of the largest users of H-1B visas, warned in an SEC filing shortly after the November presidential election that the "increasing political and media attention" directed at outsourcing may lead to legislation that restricts visa use or "imposes disincentives" to expanding offshore programs.

"During the presidential campaign, Obama repeatedly promised to 'stop giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas' and to provide incentives that help companies keep jobs in the U.S. [NOTE: That's why I voted for him -Hinky] Since his election, Obama has not unveiled a detailed plan for H-1B visas."

From ComputerWorld...