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E! Online - Call it the battle of the contractual web weavers. Tobey Maguire's very interested in doing the next Spider-Man sequel, sure, and now there's word today that the deal is done. Not true at all, blab several top sources on the project, who say the news about Spidey 4—and maybe 5—is jumping the gun.

One of the greatest literary and science works of the ancient world, rarely studied today, was the Opus Majus. The amazingly futuristic content of the Opus Majus was virtually a modern tutorial, written in the 13th century, on an array of literary, scientific and philosophical topics. The writer was the eclectic, brilliant Franciscan friar, Roger Bacon.

Bacon was born to a prosperous English family in the 13th century, attended Oxford University at the age of 13 and soon commenced a career as a teacher at Britain's most famous university. He lectured on Aristotle and a wide range of philosophical and theological topics. He became a Franciscan friar late in life and a confidant of Pope Clement IV.

His study and observations on astrology, science, alchemy and medicine were advanced for the age, controversial and dangerous. It is widely believed that he was imprisoned for his presumed heresies while in Paris. His discovery of the "visible spectrum", obtained while viewing a sitting glass of water preceded the discovery and observations of the same by Sir Isaac Newton by some four centuries.

During a long and varied life of study, observation and experimentation Roger Bacon was both adored and pilloried. His work was often under attack from Catholic Church theologians and competitive thinkers vying to supercede his growing reputation for modern, innovative thought. Nevertheless, his writings, lectures and theorems were widely studied and many became the under pilings for more advanced scientific and practical science that would evolve in the future in a more modern world.

If Roger Bacon has produced nothing else, the Opus Majus would have secured his legacy for all time as an innovative, exciting thinker. The work is still considered a primer for inquiring minds seeking guidance in the vast galaxy of experimental science.

For many years we have been reading and hearing that the United States is not producing enough scientists, mathematicians, engineers and technicians. We live in a technological age. These work skills are needed by any economy hoping to stay cutting edge, grow rapidly and provide better living circumstances for all. Certainly the United States requires copious quantities of such skilled workers to maintain our economical edge.

And yet, our educational system is not producing technologically advanced graduates at a rate anywhere near our industrial requirements. Managers at tech giants MicroSoft, Dell, Hewlitt-Packard and Oracle complain loudly, and publicly, that they are hamstrung by the serious decline in the ability of our educational system to train and produce enough engineers to satisfy the demands of a technologically based economy. They must seek candidates for high paying tech centered jobs from India, China and Korea; all countries where mathematics and science courses are pre-eminent in their educational curriculum.

Roger Bacon was predictive of the consequences of a lack of concentration on mathematics and sciences. The following is one of the most famous quotations from Opus Majus:

"Mathematics is the gate and key of the sciences. Neglect of mathematics works injury to all knowledge, and he who is ignorant of it cannot know the other sciences or things of this world".

Roger Bacon was a 13th century visionary whose observations are most prescient today. The United States has lost a generation of potential talent in the scientific fields by watering down the curriculum and minimizing the importance of chemistry, calculus, algebra, physics and trigonometry. Our security, both militarily and economically is being imperiled by the lack of importance placed on these essential building blocks of scientific knowledge.

Knowledge of mathematics disciplines is color-blind. Understanding the Pythagorean Theorem is not politically correct or incorrect. It is the same proof in Zimbabwe as in Sacramento, Athens or Beijing. Roger Bacon offers a wonderful reference to one of history's truisms: He who does not learn the mistakes of history is doomed to repeat those mistakes. Will we learn?

Geoff Ficke has been a serial entrepreneur for almost 50 years. As a small boy, earning his spending money doing odd jobs in the neighborhood, he learned the value of selling himself, offering service and value for money.

After putting himself through the University of Kentucky (B.A. Broadcast Journalism, 1969) and serving in the United States Marine Corp, Mr. Ficke commenced a career in the cosmetic industry. After rising to National Sales Manager for Vidal Sassoon Hair Care at age 28, he then launched a number of ventures, including Rubigo Cosmetics, Parfums Pierre Wulff Paris, Le Bain Couture and Fashion Fragrance.

Geoff Ficke and his consulting firm, Duquesa Marketing, Inc. (http://www.duquesamarketing.com) has assisted businesses large and small, domestic and international, entrepreneurs, inventors and students in new product development, capital formation, licensing, marketing, sales and business plans and successful implementation of his customized strategies. He is a Senior Fellow at the Page Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Business School, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.

AP - Crime just never stops paying for Guy Ritchie.

Migrant labor is an issue receiving an increasing amount of attention. It has become a matter of growing importance as a number of factors, including rapid population expansion and higher rates of urbanization, lead many people to seek better economic opportunities in other countries.

The International Labour Organization estimates there are roughly 96 million migrant workers and their dependents in the world today. Some experts predict that the number will double in the next twenty years.

In the United States there are 6.3-million illegal workers in the United States, according to estimates by the Pew Hispanic Center. About half of those are from Mexico. These illegal Mexican immigrants are at the center of an ongoing debate as to how the United States should handle illegal immigration.

A common belief is that Mexicans immigrate to the United States in order to find work. But according to a study conducted by the center, a lack of jobs in Mexico is not a major reason that immigrants come to the United States illegally. Rather, immigrants are driven out of their home country because of Mexicos low wages, poor job quality and lack of long-term prospects and opportunity.

Study results were based on interviews with 4,836 men and women applying for Mexican identification cards at consulates in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Fresno, Atlanta and Raleigh, N.C.

The study found that only 5% of Mexican immigrants who have been in the United States for less than two years were unemployed in Mexico. In fact, the vast majority of undocumented migrants interviewed were gainfully employed before they left for the United States.

The study also found that immigrants have little trouble finding work in the United States, despite the lack of legal rights to work. After six months in the United States, only 5% of the immigrants reported being unemployed. This statistic reveals how important these immigrant workers are to the United States economy, because they perform jobs that few others are willing to do.

And they do so for low wages. Immigrants generally make poverty-level wages in the United States, or about $300 per week. While shockingly low, these wages are twice what workers in Mexico make.

According to the Pew Hispanic Center study, Mexican immigrants provide many types of labor needed around the country, including construction in Atlanta, Dallas and Raleigh; hospitality in New York; manufacturing in Chicago; and agriculture in California. These four industries employed about two-thirds of survey respondents.

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington D.C., says its not news that a demand for low-wage labor exists in the United States. But instead of establishing guest-worker programs or amnesty for illegal immigrants, Krikorian advocated removing immigrant workers from the economy gradually. In his view, this would, among other things, improve wages for American workers.

Despite a seemingly steady stream of immigrant workers, farms in California and other businesses are having a hard time finding enough people willing to work for low wages. Many immigrants are choosing to work in the riskier but higher paying construction industry. And the government and civilian border patrol groups like the Minutemen are stepping up efforts to secure the United States-Mexico border, making it harder for immigrants to enter.

Government officials, including the President, want to establish new legislation that will more strongly enforce the immigration laws.

In January of 2004 President Bush outlined a plan to revamp the nation's immigration laws and allow some eight million illegal immigrants to obtain legal status as temporary workers, saying the United States needs an immigration system "that serves the American economy and reflects the American dream."

Illegal immigrants already in the United States could apply for the temporary worker program only if they already had a job. The special status would last for three years and could be renewed once, for a total stay of six years. If temporary workers failed to stay employed or broke the law, they would be sent home.

Bush said the new legal status would allow illegal immigrants to travel back to their home countries without fear of not being allowed to return to the United States.

The reason for the reform, Bush said, is to confront "a basic fact of life and economics -- some of the jobs being generated in America's growing economy are jobs American citizens are not filling."

Currently, about 140,000 "green cards" are issued each year to people wanting to migrate to the United States. Bush has called on Congress to raise it, but did give a specific number.

Bush described the immigration proposals as a national security measure that will help the United States exert more control over borders. "Our homeland will be more secure when we can better account for those who enter our country," he said. "Instead of the current situation, in which millions of people are unknown ... law enforcement will face few problems with undocumented workers and will be better able to focus on the true threats to our nation from criminals and terrorists."

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Labor Department and other agencies, would administer the new program.

When Bush announced his ideas in early 2004, some Democratic party leaders voiced suspicion that he was trying to increase his popularity with the Latinos contingent as the 2004 campaign got under way. Senator Kennedy said "I certainly hope the administration's long-awaited reinvolvement in this fundamental debate is genuine and not because of election-year conversion. The immigration status quo is outdated, unjust and unacceptable.

Many senators also have ideas on reforming immigration law. Republican Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Jon Kyl of Arizona propose a program that would allow immigrants to work in the United States for two years, followed by a one-year break. This pattern could be repeated a total of three times before the worker had to return to his or her home country permanently.

Senators John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., support legislation that would allow illegal immigrants to work in the United States for up to six years without obtaining any permits or paperwork. After the six years, workers would have to be in the process of obtaining legal residency or return to their home country.

And Nebraska Republican Senator Chuck Hagel has proposed granting illegal immigrant workers legal status if they pass criminal background checks, have lived in the United States for at least five years, pay taxes, have working knowledge of the English language and pay a $2,000 fee. Before this program is implemented, Hagel wants to see border security strengthened.

But efforts to stem the tide of immigrant workers flowing into the United States seem to have stalled. Many farmers do not want to change the system that provides them with much-needed labor. And conservative anti-immigrant groups like vigilante group the Minutemen critically oppose reform that would in any way encourage immigration.

Guest worker programs are worthless, says Minutemen president Chris Simcox. We cant even talk about that until there is real government enforcement on the border. The Minutemen is an all-volunteer organization of citizens opposing illegal immigration. Members patrol the United States-Mexico border in search of illegal immigrants trying to cross over.

"This is a direct challenge to President Bush," Simcox has said. "You have continued to ignore this problem. Our state officials, senators, and congressmen will do nothing. So this is a last-ditch effort to roll up our sleeves and do it ourselves."

The Minutemen and others believe that illegal immigrants are bad for the United States, an economic drain and security threat. Immigrants often require the assistance of government and social service agencies, but because of their non-legal status often do not pay the taxes that fund these programs. Groups like the Minutemen claim immigrants are a threat to national security.

Many businesses and industries also oppose new immigrant legislation for fear that it might further reduce the pool of available workers they need. Tamar Jacoby, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, says most Americans are unwilling to do hard labor or farm jobs. Immigrants are willing and do them cheaply, making their presence a matter of economic importance.

Those in favor of new immigrant legislation may get their way. A 2004 poll by National Public Radio, the Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government found that Americans are less negative about immigration than they have been in several years. However, non-immigrant Americans polled felt that the government has not been tough enough on immigration. They would like the government to spend more to tighten the borders.

According to www.census.gov, Florida has between 243,000 and 385,000 undocumented immigrants. But the numbers probably are even higher, because experts say illegal immigrants often avoid government surveys. The 2002 Census survey included both legal and illegal immigrants.

In the Tampa Bay area, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties have seen foreign-born populations grow faster than the general population. Of the more than one million residents in Hillsborough, 13% are foreign-born. Census data shows that Hillsboroughs foreign-born population grew more than 80% during the 1990sfour times the growth rate of the overall population.

In Pinellas, the proportion of foreign-born residents topped 10% for the first time in 2002, according to the Census Bureau. The foreign born population grew 45% during the 1990s, nearly six times the growth rate of the overall population.

Mandy Minor is the Co-founder and Senior Marketing Consultant for J. Allan Writing and Design Studios. A member of the American Advertising Federation, Mandy is the Achievements Chair of Ad 2 Tampa Bay and a staff writer for the Tampa Bay Sun.