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On March 26, the State Department announced that the applications of new and returning farm and non-farm seasonal workers would be immediately expedited by waiving requirements for most visa applicants to be interviewed...Clearly the Department of Agriculture is pleased to deliver the cheap labor that U.S. growers have become accustomed to, rather than adopting farm modernization trends used successfully in the rest of the developed world...The number of visa issuances to H-2 guestworkers has more than doubled in the last decade, from 103,324 in 2010 to 280,183 in 2018.

Scientists have developed a large-scale economical method to extract hydrogen (H2) from oil sands (natural bitumen) and oil fields. This can be used to power hydrogen-powered vehicles, which are already marketed in some countries, as well as to generate electricity; hydrogen is regarded as an efficient transport fuel, similar to petrol and diesel, but with no pollution problems. The process can extract hydrogen from existing oil sands reservoirs, with huge existing supplies found in Canada and Venezuela. Interestingly, this process can be applied to mainstream oil fields, causing them to produce hydrogen instead of oil. Hydrogen powered vehicles, including cars,...

Oil fields, even abandoned oil fields, still contain significant amounts of oil. The researchers have found that injecting oxygen into the fields raises the temperature and liberates H2, which can them be separated from other gases via specialist filters. Hydrogen is not pre-existing in the reservoirs, but pumping oxygen means that the reaction to form hydrogen can take place. "This technique can draw up huge quantities of hydrogen while leaving the carbon in the ground. When working at production level, we anticipate we will be able to use the existing infrastructure and distribution chains to produce H2 for between 10...

GM Sues Avanti Motors in SUV Dispute Fri Feb 14, 5:45 PM ET DETROIT - General Motors Corp. has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Avanti Motor Corp., saying Avanti's new Studebaker XUV too closely resembles GM's Hummer H2 sport utility vehicle. GM said in a statement Friday that the Studebaker XUV, which debuted Friday at the Chicago Auto Show, "knocks off and misappropriates the shape" of the Hummer H2. GM trademark attorney Charles Ellerbrock said "the Studebaker XUV is so similar to the H2 that the public will be confused by the knock off of the H2. "GM will...

The new Viceland cable channel takes to the air Monday with the ultimate in user-generated programming. The network set up a phone number a few weeks ago and invited callers. They reached a recording with simple instructions -- talk about what kept them up at night, or what they would do as president. Much of the network's first day on the air will be footage of executives listening to these messages... There's a "let's put on a show" vibe to Viceland, a partnership between Vice Media and the A&E Networks. It replaces the H2 network on cable and satellite systems,...

You expect a certain sort of magic from a car like Toyota's Mirai, the world's first mass-market, hydrogen-powered all-electric named after the Japanese word for "future." It maxes out at 300 miles, refuels in five minutes and spits out zero emissions except for water, all for tens of thousands of dollars less than Tesla's electric Model S. But behind the wheel of the four-door Mirai, which California drivers can buy in October for around $50,000, what you get is something much more, well, boring: a smooth, quiet, mid-size sedan you wouldn't find out of place in a school pick-up circle....

To extract hydrogen from natural compounds such as water, methane, or coal requires very large inputs of energy. Most commonly, hydrogen is produced from methane gas using heat and steam, or by electrolysis of water using large quantities of electricity. Hydrogen can be used to power rockets, cars, and engines of all types. However, the energy used to produce the hydrogen can never be fully recovered from the energy in the hydrogen. It is thus not a source of energy. It is merely a storehouse for energy – a battery.

Audi Announces It’s ‘Mastered’ Hydrogen, Unveils First Fuel Cell Vehicle Giuseppe Macri 3:23 PM 11/19/2014 13 13         Audi announced it has mastered hydrogen fuel cell technology at the LA Auto Show Wednesday, where the company unveiled its new sustainable model — the A7 Sportback h-tron quattro.The German auto giant’s new entry into the plug-in hybrid market features a hydrogen fuel cell and twin electric motor drivetrain in the front and rear of the vehicle, which can carry the car some 341 miles between three-minute refuelings. The electric battery alone can carry the car about 31 miles on...

An Homage to Hummer Comedian Penn Jillette laments the passing of the 'big, stupid' vehicle By PENN JILLETTE There's a feeling one gets when one sits behind the wheel of a really big stupid military-lite American Hummer. You have that feeling of being strong and safe, high on your pleather throne, above the fray, above the danger, not having to listen to anyone or anything, the rumble of a too-big motor giving you a wiggle and jiggle and tickle inside you. You have the power to run over anyone else on the road, if they dare monkey with you and...

A Denver judge halved the bond today for a suspected eco-terrorist accused of setting firebombs in large SUVs after his father, a Colorado Springs lawyer, agreed to post the bond. Bond for Grant Barnes, 24, was reduced from $200,000 to $100,000 after defense attorney Phil Cherner told the judge that Barne’s father, Thomas Barnes, a former deputy district attorney in El Paso County, would ensure that his son appears in court. Prosecutor Ryan Younggren said he and the victims objected to a bond reduction because Grant Barnes might plant more firebombs if he gets out. Grant Barnes, suspected of using...

Federal regulators are investigating the Hummer H2 after receiving three reports of wheels falling off the vehicle, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday. Involved in the investigation are Hummer H2s from the 2003 and 2004 model years. General Motors Corp. said there are approximately 59,670 of those on the road. Four drivers reported a fracture in the steering knuckle, which allows the wheels to turn. All said they lost control, including one driver whose H2 veered into oncoming traffic and ended up in a ditch on the other side of the road. In three of the cases, a...

DETROIT - A long-simmering dispute between the beefy sport utility brands Hummer and Jeep has heated up with one-upmanship claims and accusations of copied designs. The mud-slinging between the off-road SUV brands began nearly three years ago when DaimlerChrysler AG’s Jeep claimed the about-to-be launched Hummer H2 from General Motors Corp. copied its grille. That battle ended when a judge allowed the H2 to go into production, but now the war has moved from the courtroom to television commercials, the printed page and the auto show floor. At stake is one of the fastest-growing and most profitable segments of the...

<p>Buy a shiny new Hummer or a fully loaded Cadillac Escalade, then get a hefty tax deduction on the monster vehicle, all compliments of Uncle Sam.</p> <p>Dozens of wide-eyed customers packed into the Valley's Hummer and Cadillac dealers on New Year's Eve to take advantage of a federal tax windfall allowing them to buy the oversize gas guzzlers and deduct the purchase from their 2003 tax bills.</p>

GM enjoying profits from licensing deals DETROIT (AP) -- The discerning child this year is definitely not interested in a hand-knitted sweater or Barney. Wal-Mart Store Inc. says the most-demanded toys this Christmas are the radio-controlled replicas of General Motors Corp.'s Hummer H2. It's a vehicle that has gone from the deserts of Iraq to a box under the Christmas tree of thousands of American families. The battery powered mini-Hummers, which are made by New Bright Industrial Co., can reach speeds of 11 mph and feature a honking horn, revving engine and an alarm that beeps when the vehicle is...

Greek composer and cultural icon Mikis Theodorakis added his contribution to the anti-Semitic miasma rising in parts of the world by characterizing the Jews as the root of the world's evils. Theodorakis, a towering figure in Greek music best known outside his native land for scoring the music for the film Zorba the Greek, took his shot at the Jews at a press conference to launch a new book. "We, the Greeks, did not turn aggressive like them because we have more history," Theodorakis was quoted by Y-net as saying. "Today it is possible to say that this small nation...

BERLIN, Oct 31 (AFP) - A German member of parliament faced charges of anti-Semitism Friday for a speech in which he played down the Holocaust and described Jews as a "race of perpetrators". Deputy Martin Hohmann of the conservative opposition Christian Democrats (CDU) said in a speech to constituents on the 13th anniversary of German reunification October 3 that primarily Jewish Bolsheviks were responsible for crimes against civilians during the Russian revolution. He went on to draw a comparison between what he claimed was bloodshed orchestrated by Jews during that period and the murder of Europe's Jews in the Holocaust....

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - If you've got a theme, you might as well stick with it. LeBron James' first series of Nike shoes, which have been dubbed the Air Zoom Generation, have been modeled after, get this, his famous Hummer H2. The design and look of the shoe were inspired by James' $100,000 vehicle, which his mother bought for him for his 18th birthday last December. The shoes, which will likely be priced in the $150 range, are scheduled to hit stores on Dec. 26. Nike prepared several mockups of the signature shoe when the company pitched itself, with about...

Wed, October 29, 2003 Hummer inspires shoe design By AP CLEVELAND -- LeBron James' new sneakers should help him drive to the basket. After all, they're modelled after the Cleveland Cavaliers rookie's infamous Hummer. Tonight, James will make his NBA debut in Sacramento wearing his signature Nikes, dubbed the Zoom Generation. The shoes, which will retail for $160 US per pair, are the first of six models James will wear as part of the $90 million sports apparel deal he signed with Nike in May. The design was inspired by James' Hummer H2 sports utility vehicle, which made headlines earlier...

Japan's revamped space agency [JAXA] plans new rocket to cut launch cost TOKYO (AFP) Sep 17, 2003 Japan's revamped space agency plans to develop a new rocket to halve launch costs and will cut staff to increase its efficiency, the head of the organization said Wednesday. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), which will formally start operations on October 1, will develop a new rocket that costs about half the 8.5 billion yen (73 million dollars) needed to launch the present H-2A rocket, said Shuichiro Yamanouchi, who will become head of JAXA. "We want to pursue space technologies that...

Models and cars will both be on hand at the motor show. (TRJ) DETROIT - General Motors Corp. will sell the Hummer H2 sport utility vehicle in Russia under a three-year agreement with Russian automaker Avtotor. The companies announced the deal Wednesday during the Moscow International Motor Show, Detroit-based GM spokesman Pete Ternes said. Hummers are produced in Mishawaka, Indiana, in a partnership between GM and AM General Corp. GM is to ship 500 H2s to Russia during the next three years, Ternes said. The vehicles will be fully assembled in Mishawaka, then partially disassembled and shipped to Russia in...