Tanul Thakur

The H-1B program has been abused for so long that the latest Executive Order makes Trump look like a total … softie. The Hindu interviewed me on the H-1B issue. My book on its systemic abuse will be published in a few months. youtube.com/watch?v=CMfTZh… A thread (1/11).

@Bullitfhr yeah, that's what i feared :/

@Plebeian42 its also just a reel factory, people don't read but just consume short videos

I created an Instagram account (ugh) a few days ago, and I'm feeling boomer af. Reminds me of the late '90s when I taught my dad how to use email. I've so many questions: 1) So it's basically a photo-sharing app, but it still allows you to write long War and Peace kinda comments, and if you share your piece, you've to say "Link in the bio"? (And you've do it piece after piece? Right?) Why can't one just copy-paste the link in the comment itself like a normal human being? (Will Instagram arrest me if I do that?) 2) If you see someone's story, they'll find out that you've seen their story? 3) Also, sharing conventional posts is passé but sharing stories is cool? 4) How do you change your reels' scene? Why am I watching someone baking cake in Oklahoma? (I'm only interested in reels related to literature, cinema, and cricket. So maybe I'll have to watch, say, HUNDRED cricket reels for my algo to wake the fuck up?) 5) You can't do a thread on Instagram, right, like we do on Twitter? For that, there's something called 'Thread'? Is it on Instagram -- how and where do I find it? Or is it not on Instagram and I'll have to file an RTI for it? 6) Stories stay live for 24 hours? Can I repost stories? 7) How easy is it to pick a fight on Instagram? (I love Twitter for this.) 8) I've more questions, but I'm forgetting. I'll ask later. For what it's worth: instagram.com/tanul.thakur42/ (I'll follow you back only if you're as good looking as me. It's a tough ask, I know, but you can try.)

@haroonava Yes, good one, I've read this.

This is a good (woefully underread) example from the late Dileep Padgoankar:

The kind of book I was referring to in this tweet. It dropped recently, and I'm v eager to read it.

One of my super powers (I've many, including modesty) is that I talk in "ser supra note" IRL. It is crazy, yes, but less crazy than formatting 800+ endnotes in a few weeks.

Hard agree, followed by changing "see supra note" to "just ctrl + f, bro".

@BrentDeYou69736 @VBierschwale @KumarXclusive I totally understand, thank you for your interest!

@Plebeian42 @VBierschwale @KumarXclusive I look forward to it! I listened to your interview. Americans don't want to believe that such a pervasive amount of fraud has been happening for such a long time. It's similar to the shock many of us felt when USAID was revealed to be a giant money-laundering operation.

well hell, if its any indication, I read the book in about 24 hours and I wasn't going to read it because I had concerns about what was in there. After all, I had gave a total stranger in another country access to about 500,000 emails written during the worst period of my life. With class, he nailed it. Hats off to @Plebeian42

I've the fondest memories of reading Haruf's books in autos in chaotic Bombay traffic in 2017. Nothing seemed to matter; he could literally make the world disappear. Never wrote on his books, but I did review a movie that was adapted from his novel: thewire.in/film/our-souls…

Nope. When done well, it feels like a balm (and no, I'm not talking about Cormac McCarthy). A writer who aces this is Kent Haruf. Read his books; he'll convince you that quotation marks are redundant.

@BrentDeYou69736 @VBierschwale @KumarXclusive The book will release on April 13, Brent, when you can either buy it in an e-format (say, Kindle/iPad) or order a physical copy from Amazon.

@Plebeian42 @VBierschwale @KumarXclusive Is this going to be released anytime soon, Virgil? Will you be reading it for the accompanying audiobook release?

@VBierschwale @LayoffAI Thanks for the link, Virgil. There it is -- under the "Support_H1B" field name (on page 4).

@Plebeian42 @LayoffAI here you go. dol.gov/sites/dolgov/f…

To hire an H-1B worker, companies must sign a federal form saying they can't find qualified Americans. We pulled 15 years of filings. Analyzed the top 5. 314,100 times they said no Americans available. 99,000 times they fired Americans. Signed under oath. Exposed by data.

@VBierschwale @LayoffAI I haven't seen the LCA spreadsheets in quite some time so my memory is foggy but since the $60K condition/waiver applies to all employers, so it may not be getting recorded on spreadsheets (as that'd be redundant info). I'll still check and get back.

The reason I mentioned it is I’ve looked at all years data It simply says something like public or business as to where the form is displayed Nothing is under oath and the whole process is rubber stamped by the government I was hoping that they had something I haven’t seen before so I could add it to my database By the way, the only databases built by Americans are mine and @PlumbNick All others, and probably this one are foreign built

"Yes?" the captain asked inquisitively.

@VBierschwale @LayoffAI The account is talking about Labor Condition Applications (LCAs), Virgil. But there's a catch there, too: The firms don't have to be bound by those attestations if they pay their H-1Bs more than $60,000. Just $60,000! An amount that has not been revised since 1998.

@LayoffAI What form do they sign?

But if you want to discern Junod's true genius, you *have* to read this piece: esquire.com/news-politics/… Man, old school magazine writing -- that was the dream once. A dream that no longer exists -- at least in India -- because everything is obscured by anti-Modi blaze. Pity.

I had actually forgotten that that journalist was Tom Junod, one of my favourite magazine writers! Here's the piece that inspired the movie: esquire.com/entertainment/…

Last night, I finally watched a movie that my therapist had recommended six years ago. "Tanul, there's a character of a journalist in the film whom you'd find interesting." The movie? A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Haha, well played, dear therapist, and what a great film